Aurora 4x

C# Fiction => Zap0's Fiction => Topic started by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:04:43 AM

Title: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:04:43 AM

This campaign is a conventional 6-nation Earth start - with default resources. 

Background

The year 2050 marks the discovery of unexplained properties in 11 elements. With that, the possibility of trans-newtonian physics has just been considered for the first time. There are six conventional nation states or state-centered blocs who will invest in space programs utilizing the new, hypothetical technology.

   The Corporate Congress of the United States of America

Following after a succession of billionaire businessman presidents, the old democratic institutions were eventually amended or abolished after a coup and following civil war. The victors of the conflict were an alliance of various business interests, reforming the old congress as a place for the largest employers of the country to officially meet and make policy.
While the abolishment of democratic elections and many of it's institutions was initially met with violence by the populace, the new government now has a steady support of the people. The right to bear arms continues to exist and the many military corporations of America continue having a great influence upon it's politics.

Doctrine
Now that the focused US militaries are a thing of the past and instead relegated to a shared consumer of military products, the US fields a large variety of weapons with each system heralded as the best/most powerful/most flexible by the respective competing armaments producer.

   The European Union

After the US fall into it's brief civil war in the 2030s and the rescinding of global influence that followed, the Russian Federation, then still-led by Imperator Putin, was able to realize it's ambitions of reintegrating much of eastern europe back into it's territory much more openly. Initial conflicts were meant to divide the Union further and succeeded in delaying a response, but the efforts to create a unified european military and foreign policy proceeded much more smoothly with the immediate threat of a foreign actor attacking and occupying neighboring nations and, eventually, the baltic member states.
The 2040s saw a major war between the unified EU and Russia which has only recently ended in a cease-fire agreement. Fortunately, it never turned nuclear. There are still many points of tension between the two powers.

Doctrine
Having recent experience in war, sticking to what works seems best - as such, railguns will be the primary european weapon system, with ASM strikes as a secondary weapon system.

   The Russian Federation

Living on dreams of reunifying the member states of the Soviet Union and led by an oligarchy with a new, strong president, Russia is determined to reclaim it's past status as a world power. Recognizing that they do not have the industrial strength to stay at war with the EU or another power for an extended period, they were still able to do much damage to european politics and prosperity before being stopped. Now the lines on Earth have hardened, but will they be able to continue playing it smart in space?

Doctrine
As in the past, the word of choice when it comes to russian military is missiles and their warheads. Primary armaments are missiles with high yield. Energy armaments play a defensive role only.
Engine boosted Box launcher FAC/Fighters.

   The People's Republic of China

The eminent superpower of the mid-21st century. The past 30 years saw a slow but steady expansion of the already considerable influence of the chinese around the world. Taiwan was conquered, Hong Kong is fully integrated and the massive populace of China is held in willing check through collectivist ideology and total digital control.

Doctrine
Having a numerical advantage means nothing if you're afraid to use it, as such a focus on a large number of medium-strength weapons is the leading principle here.
As an asian high-tech nation energy weapons are preferred over kinetic ones, but massed missiles are very much on the table.

   Japan

Following the retreat of American influence from the region and faced with an expansionist China, Japan followed a political long and painful path dancing around it's pacifist constitution towards military self-sufficiency together with it's unlikely, but similarly abandoned, political partners in South Korea.
Japanese military and foreign policy as such is still very much a defensive one. In the wake of corporate complacency paralyzing the US and war cutting budgets in Europe, they are now also the technologically most advanced power on the planet.

Doctrine
Large, high-tech warships. Rejecting base and primal kinetic weapons, the Japanese are firm believers in energy weapons.
Use of missiles, especially for AMM use not excluded.

   Argentine Republic

Argentina, in a period of long political stability, found itself hit by an economic miracle comparable to the one that brought prosperity to the nation over a hundred years ago. While they are still not a power comparable to the other blocs and nations on Earth, their budding space program has in recent years been the source of awe in many a corner of the globe and leaves the nation and the partners participating in it's space programme in a prime position to exploit the new fields of science about to be discovered.

Doctrine
The Argentinians are no fools and know that they can't compete directly with the sheer advantage in numbers of the other nations. In order to maximize usefulness, they are striving to create universally useful designs and systems over specialized ones. As such, laser weapons are very attractive to them as a catch-all option, but railguns are initially preferred for lack of capable energy weapon scientists. A single ASM missile size may be used, but energy weapons will be preferred to avoid long and expensive supply chains.



Earth Minerals

Duranium:   180 000   0.90
Neutronium:   104 000   0.50
Corbomite:   119 600   0.40
Tritanium:   81 700   1.00
Boronide:   89 800   0.40
Mercassium:   60 800   0.50
Vendarite:   78 300   0.90
Sorium:   99 300   0.60
Uridium:   119 000   0.90
Corundium:   58 300   0.50
Gallicite:   97 000   0.40

(https://i.imgur.com/P6AmZ1N.png)
Race comp 2050 - game start

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:21:36 AM

   2050s

The two powers lacking a civilian shipyard at the start, Argentina and the EU, queue one. The other powers build military academies, financial centers or naval HQs while everyone researches trans-newtonian tech. Nothing of this will get built for a few years as everyone is stuck with conventional industry.

Argentina starts building minimal-engine missiles with a large payload as orbital bombs to avoid having idle ordnance construction capacity. Run limited to 100 as the nation has a disproportionally large spending on research compared to the others, leading to wealth issues.

Trans-Newtonian Physics times:
28 Feb 2052 - Japan - starts energy weapons and reactors/engines
27 Jul 2052 - China - starts reactors/engines
27 Jul 2052 - Argentina - starts jump point theory
26 Aug 2052 - US - starts armor and reactors/engines
25 Sep 2052 - EU - starts railguns and reactors/engines
25 Oct 2052 - Russia - starts missile tech and reactors/engines

In 2053 conversion to TN industry has started in all parts of the globe, with reduction or pausing of unfinished conventional projects, like the Argentine commercial shipyard which is only 15% done. The EU one finished, now enlarging to 50k like all others.

Chien Ai Shan demonstrates the first functional nuclear thermal space drive, the first human trans-newtonian engine. The PRC secretly begins developing a missile system using this new technology.

By 2054 many nations research their first Trans-Newtonian reactors and technologies. Estimates are that as soon as 2060 the whole world will have cheap, reliable energy available to all.

Leaders around the world are more concerned with securing strategic advantages, short-term and long-term, through the research of new technology rather than through land campaigns made unpredictable with the now rapidly advancing technology.

In July of this year American advances in duranium armor construction are dispersed around the world as they are leading in the field. Everyone will now have an easier time reaching Duranium Armor technology, but only they currently possess the technology needed to compress duranium into a denser form.

By the end of the year the Argentine effort for Jump Point Theory is finished and the development of sensors for the detection of such jump point as well as basic engine technologies and the other base technologies for a functional jump drive are queued.

In May of 2056 the Japanese Sugitani corp. unveils the first space-capable, wholly trans-newtonian weapon system: The Sugitani Microwave Beamer. A non-lethal weapon, fit for use with the SDF space force.
They still don't possess a practical system for aiming the weapon in space nor a system that locates targets for it.

The Europeans scope out the first designs of an interplanetary cargo vessel, named the STARFREIGHTER project, using INTE drives. As of now there is nowhere for such a vessel to go, however, and unlike many of it's competitors the EU has not invested in basic fuel efficiency technologies yet, making the range and consumption of such a vessel limited to interplanetary trips, preferrably in the inner solar system.

In mid-2057 NASA launches a new, large space telescope dubbed "Hubble II" - it's bulk, relative to preceeding non-TN satellites, hides the NSA's latest nefarious deed - an ELINT module designed to spy on the other nations.

By the end of the year NASA is also the first to lay down a functional exploration ship for a survey of the solar system. It's first ship, the USS Aldebaran, will have a six-year mission to survey planets, moons and other bodies in the solar system for potential off-world mineral exploitation.

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Discoverer class Geological Survey Vessel      2 544 tons       49 Crew       333.4 BP       TCS 51    TH 64    EM 0
1258 km/s      Armour 1-16       Shields 0-0       HTK 20      Sensors 5/0/0/2      DCR 2      PPV 0
Maint Life 6.10 Years     MSP 163    AFR 26%    IFR 0.4%    1YR 8    5YR 113    Max Repair 100 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 72 months    Morale Check Required   

Boeing C-INTE Thermonuclear Engine Assembly (1)    Power 64.0    Fuel Use 5.76%    Signature 64.00    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 200 000 Litres    Range 245.7 billion km (2260 days at full power)

ASS1 "Space Radar" (1)     GPS 1000     Range 18.5m km    Resolution 100
Knighten Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5.0     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Geological Survey Sensors (2)   2 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
A Dutch team demonstrates before the break of 2058 that a live, healthy human can be frozen, kept in suspension for an arbitrary amount of time, and revived without any permanent damage to them. The dream of cryonics is alive again, and with it a realistic prospect for colonizing distant worlds.
Mass cryonic storage systems are quickly incorporated into the EU STARFREIGHTER plans. The project is accelerated to the point that first construction is started in January 2058 already. A general enthusiasm for colonization of Mars or other worlds develops, with many companies springing up from nothing to develop technology for settlers to use at their proposed destinations - some are for real, some are there to cash in on the fad.

In August 2058 the first American survey vessels are launched. The USS Aldebaran and her sister ship, the USS Alpha Centauri, set out to map the inner planets and asteroid belt bodies.
Both Mars and Venus have large accessible Duranium deposits, with Venus also having large accessible Gallicite. Jupiter has a moderate amount of 1.0 Sorium, giving humanity an easy fuel source.

May 2059, the People's Republic of China opens it's official orbital spaceport. Still small in size, it's nontheless an impressive display of technological and engineering prowess. The station will serve as a permanent diplomatic station on the most neutral ground possible.
Not willing to be outdone, other nations prepare similar projects.

While the general populace of Japan is highly educated, there are few able and even fewer competent personnel capable of leading concrete scientific efforts for the state due to the education system not favoring original thinking and private companies picking up all those who excel at it anyway. To correct this state of affairs, Japan's only Energy Weapon scientist, Nosaka Taji, will henceforth be the director of the national military university.

November 2059 - The PRC completes a 12cm Laser system, able to fire every 10 seconds. This new weapon, termed the "People's Laser Weapon", is now slated to be mass-produced to give every chinese military installation and future warship the means to defend themselves.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:27:11 AM

   2060s

The first European survey ships set out into Sol. The findings of Duranium on Mars are no secret, but as of right now no nation is in a position to found a colony there to exploit them just yet.
The first European colony ship, commissioned on the 5th of March 2060, changes this - the first human colony is founded as two European STARFREIGHTERs, one loaded with cryogenically frozen colonists, another with materials and infrastructure needed to ensure their survival, sets down on Mars.
Little later, DB Schenker logistics launches the first civilian colony ship. Operation of the government-operated Starfreighter Cryo is halted in hopes that the civilian sector can take over this segment, generating extra income for the strained EU budget.

2060 marks a year of change for ground-based militaries, as the initial rush to applying TN-tech to existing militaries wears off. The doctrines that have evolved are as follows:

Japan
Large army corps formations with dedicated Divisions, with a focus on defense. Inflexible, little focus on supply.
May construct a set of ground-based microwaves to disable attackers in orbit.

Argentina
Technologically behind in ground-based warfare technology, the current doctrine relies on not getting hit in the first place - through the use of all-light vehicle brigades. Although weak in attack strength, this kind of doctrine will do just as well on the attack as it does on the defense.

US
The US is all about powerful infantry currently, having developed Powered Infantry Armor. The US currently possesses the best armor, but has not increased it's ground attack strength yet for lack of scientists in weaponry fields.

PRC
Chinese ground troops currently enjoy a weapon strength advantage. Infantry heavy. Plenty of armor.
Building ground-based lasers.

Russia
The armor-heavy invasion armies of the past are taking a backseat as the neo-Soviet think tanks are already at full capacity keeping up with the other types of developments around the world. The Russian TN army model is therefore centered around the infantryman.

EU
Technologically solid, combined arms hierarchy. Supply heavy.

19 Jul 2060 - The PRC finishes industry conversion to TN. Their conversion scheme was heavy on industry, going for 450 con-facts, 300 mines and 50 fuel refinieries. Industry switching to cryo transport modules to accelerate colonization program.

24 Apr 2061 - The first war vessel built by human hands launches into space; an EU Eurofighter Space Striker with 10 size 3 missile racks. The first fighter of the batch, it trades two launch racks for a sensor and slightly more range.

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BM Eurofighter Space Spotter 001  (Eurofighter Space Spotter class Bomber)      500 tons       7 Crew       40.6 BP       TCS 10    TH 32    EM 0
3206 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 2      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 2.4
Maint Life 2.28 Years     MSP 5    AFR 20%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 1    5YR 20    Max Repair 16 MSP
Magazine 24   
Korvettenkapitan    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 15 days    Morale Check Required   

Eurofighter INTE Heavy Monoengine (1)    Power 32    Fuel Use 127.28%    Signature 32    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 24 000 Litres    Range 6.8 billion km (24 days at full power)

Cerberus Launch Rack (8)     Missile Size: 3    Hangar Reload 86 minutes    MF Reload 14 hours
Eurofighter Medium Range Target Electronics (1)     Range 4.3m km    Resolution 5
Cerberus ASM Prototype (8)    Speed: 6 400 km/s    End: 47.8m     Range: 18.4m km    WH: 2    Size: 3    TH: 23/14/7

Eurofighter Target Acquisition (1)     GPS 20     Range 4.3m km    Resolution 5

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 Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
There is no notable international response to this new space warfare capability of one power over the others as it's considered a mere evolution of existing fighter-bomber designs, albeit with drastically improved capabilities.

Argentine efforts pay off as the Chubut, the first and for the foreseeable future only Argentine ship, is laid down. The design is a self-jump capable survey cruiser equipped with both kinds of survey sensors, passive sensors and 7 years endurance. It's downside is low speed, as it's built with basic Nuclear Thermal technology whereas all other space programs have opted to deploy at least Improved Nuclear Thermal engines with some already designing Nuclear Pulse engines.

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Chubut class Survey Cruiser      9 997 tons       128 Crew       706.3 BP       TCS 200    TH 150    EM 0
750 km/s    JR 1-25(C)      Armour 1-41       Shields 0-0       HTK 48      Sensors 5/5/2/2      DCR 7      PPV 0
Maint Life 7.57 Years     MSP 709    AFR 114%    IFR 1.6%    1YR 22    5YR 326    Max Repair 100 MSP
Capitán de Fragata    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 71 months    Morale Check Required   

Casartelli Device     Max Ship Size 10000 tons    Distance 25k km     Squadron Size 1

Bañuelos C-NTE Starship Engine (3)    Power 150    Fuel Use 5.76%    Signature 50    Explosion 4%
Fuel Capacity 400 000 Litres    Range 125 billion km (1929 days at full power)

Munguía Warning & Control Radio Receiver (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Munguía Warning & Control Heat Detector (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km
Gravitational Survey Sensors (2)   2 Survey Points Per Hour
Geological Survey Sensors (2)   2 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Argentine developments of a functional jump drive are still kept secret from the other nations, although the theoretical concept is increasingly discussed with chinese laboratories actively researching Jump Point Theory.

In January of 2062 the US finishes it's first set of colony ships, enabling them to found an offworld colony on mars as well. The US survey of the sol system has progressed and is finishing up the Kuiper belt, but aside from large 0.9 deposits of Sorium on Neptune no further particularly interesting mineral deposits have been found in Sol.

April. The first Chinese colony ship finishes, set to ferry settlers to the moon. The moon has no special resources and is, naturally, a much less prestigious target than Mars, but avoids diplomatic confrontation for the time being. As it stands both the US and Russia are developing armed frigates and the EU has a squadron of space fighters, whereas China's military construction has been limited to STO lasers.
The co-settlement of the US in addition to the EU colony on Mars was not agreed upon, but did not cause waves as the American effort is, by nature, largely led by commercial interests and only indirectly a state power. Chinese authority on the other hand is the very model of a ruthless centralized state power.
China will certainly not be content to accept second place in anything as the dominant world power in the long term, however.

The Argentine Republic is the last spacefaring faction on earth to complete conversion of all industry to a trans-newtonian model in July 2062. Some parallel progress has been made on the civilian shipyard, which is why it took a bit longer than it did for the other nations. Now focus will lie on gaining the capability to establish an offworld colony.

Saturday, 30th of December 2062. The Argentinian Chubut class survey cruiser identifies a jump point in the asteroid belt and engages the experimental Casartelli Device at it's location, successfully transiting into another star system. No other nation notices.
The system is centered on a star similar to the sun with five planets and 44 moons around it. None of them have an atmosphere or are near habitable. As per standing orders for a successful transit the crew begins surveying the system.

(https://i.imgur.com/AFXJigl.png)
First transit

On December 1st 2063 the first private interplanetary mining colony begins operation on the comet Van Biesbroeck, sending valuable Duranium, Uridium and Mercassium back to America.

A year later the Argentinian Chubut finishes the survey of the extrasolar star system, now named Aguascalientes. The only interesting find aside from the system's two comets and a few orbitally minable moons is the moon 4-11, with around 100k Duranium, Vendarite and Uridium, all at 0.9 accessibility. The ship begins the gravimetric survey of the system.

In May 2064 the Russian Federation is the last competitor to finally commission it's first spaceships. The ships in question are a series of three "Krivak" box-launcher armed missile frigates, capable of delivering 24 size-7 missiles each.
The ships will begin training excercises a small distance from Earth so as to not be vulnerable to point-blank energy fire.

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Krivak class Missile Frigate      4 000 tons       76 Crew       384.7 BP       TCS 80    TH 320    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 1-22       Shields 0-0       HTK 22      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 2      PPV 16.8
Maint Life 4.12 Years     MSP 230    AFR 51%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 22    5YR 325    Max Repair 80 MSP
Magazine 168   
Kapitan vtorogo ranga    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

NIKIET INTE Engine Block (2)    Power 320    Fuel Use 111.17%    Signature 160    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 319 000 Litres    Range 12.9 billion km (37 days at full power)

Pavlov Launch Rack (24)     Missile Size: 7    Hangar Reload 132 minutes    MF Reload 22 hours
Samoylov Frigate Targeting Dish (4)     Range 24.3m km    Resolution 80
Pavlov Heavy Missile (24)    Speed: 8 000 km/s    End: 51m     Range: 24.5m km    WH: 9    Size: 7    TH: 29/17/8

Samoylov Frigate Detection Dish (1)     GPS 1600     Range 24.3m km    Resolution 80

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
Feb 2065: The Argentinian Chubut finds a JP in the other system and moves to investigate. The discovered system is named Melo, a trinary system. The B component has several interesting planets, but orbits at a distance of 120b km - unusably far away without a Lagrange Point present in the system.
The second Argentinian survey cruiser built has begun surveying the Sol system by this point.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:30:03 AM

16 years in - Nation summaries

   European Union

Research Priorities
Research is proceeding to develop a viable railgun system for missile defense and short-range engagement. The platform it will be deployed on has not yet been decided.

Military Analysis
Militarily the EU has grown to 36 Eurofighter bombers by this year. Construction has been halted. Currently considered the strongest force.

Economic Situation
European maintenance facilities are grossly insufficient for this growing number of space-worthy fighters and supporting the fleet of existing survey craft orbiting Earth; Many ships are currently gaining maintenance debt. Fortunately the fighters come with enough spares to last years.
One squadron of Eurofighters is being stationed on Mars with the requisite 3 maintenance facilities, however currently no MSP can be shipped to the red planet for lack of that capability.

Ground Forces
Four divisions of Infantry, one division armor. Deemed sufficient.


   Russian Federation

Research Priorities
Current research projects is AMM capability. Sensor research coming up.
With merely 5 research facilities Russia is afraid of falling behind in tech and is trying to build another facility at least, but other projects keep taking priority.

Military Analysis
Six Krivak-class missile frigates are now in operation and being trained. They were originally designed to fight opponents of similar size, but the growing number of Eurofighters in orbit has caused a review of doctrine. Capable sensor systems able to detect and target a Eurofighter-sized craft at 24.3km, the maximum firing range of a Pavlov heavy missile, are being developed. A planned refit for some or all of the Krivaks has them forego their own sensor suite in exchange for one of the targeting systems capable of firing at fighters. Since only one fighter will be able to be targeted at a time, it is critical that enough time can be had to cycle through all targets during an engagement. This necessitates the flotilla holding position several million km from Earth in the future, much farther than the previous "outside of energy range" doctrine.
The need to cycle through targets for some time during an engagement negates much of the advantage of box launchers, making this an suboptimal solution. Additionally new craft will be needed to actually deploy a sensor capable of detecting the fighters in the first place.
The observed speed of some of the initial Eurofighter designs is below that of the fast Krivak frigate, but the actual speed of the bulk of the fighters is unknown.

Other plans are AMM frigates. Since most likely engagement involves defence against massed missile attack very powerful sensors to give AMM as much time as possible. Perhaps hybridized sensor ship design for AMM and fighter detection is possible.

Ships will train and overhaul in batches, so that some are always able to respond to an emergency.

Waiting on shipyard expansion to finish to construct diplomatic station with secret ELINT capability.

Economic Situation
Low Wealth reserves. Newly constructed financial centers will help avoid paralysis.
Freighter construction has completely drained fuel reserves; no new refinieries have been built since industry has been converted from conventional tech. Space-based refineries would be preferrable as ground construction capability is low since it was opted to convert industry into a larger share of mines rather than construction facilities, but effective sorium conversion from a gas giant is five years out as the technology for it has not been developed yet. For now refinieries are being built to at least restart missile production.

Ground Forces
Behind in army size, constructing more units.


   Corporate Congress of the United States

Research Priorities
Disparate efforts by different companies. Working to increase lead on armor technology and researching plasma weapons.

Military Analysis
Three Lexington class frigates, recently built, undergoing training.

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Lexington class Frigate      6 000 tons       154 Crew       485 BP       TCS 120    TH 360    EM 0
3000 km/s      Armour 4-29       Shields 0-0       HTK 39      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 2      PPV 24
Maint Life 3.62 Years     MSP 501    AFR 144%    IFR 2.0%    1YR 59    5YR 887    Max Repair 81 MSP
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 27 months    Morale Check Required   

General Motors NPE Impulse Drive (2)    Power 360    Fuel Use 43.74%    Signature 180    Explosion 9%
Fuel Capacity 254 000 Litres    Range 17.4 billion km (67 days at full power)

Raytheon Raygun Prototype (8)    Range 20 000km     TS: 3 000 km/s     Power 3-1     RM 10 000 km    ROF 15       
Target Tracker 3k (2)     Max Range: 20 000 km   TS: 3 000 km/s     38 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Power Bank (8)     Total Power Output 8    Exp 5%

ASS1 "Space Radar" (1)     GPS 1000     Range 18.5m km    Resolution 100
Knighten Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Laser armament deemed weak and considered for replacement by a different system.

Economic Situation
Large amount of wealth in the bank, able to keep purchasing civilian minerals and spending generously.
Exploitation of Martian resources has not yet begun, but may soon as the first of Earth's deposits are drying up.

Ground Forces
16 individual Infantry Divisions deployed, all with powered armor. More than enough ground power for Earth and eventual colonial deployments as it stands, no further construction underway.


   Japan

Research Priorities
Looking to push the boundaries of the possible - finished much-publicized research into Jump Point Theory this year, unlike the other nations secret efforts. Other military scientists looking to make mecha a reality within this decade.
Still suffering from low amount of capable scientists.

Military Analysis
Japan possesses a handful of microwave fighters to disable attacking ships and is considering building ground-based microwave stations as well. As Japan's chief threat, China, has not deployed armed warships yet this is considered acceptable for now, but more lethal weapons will have to be deployed in the medium term. The only weapon system Japan has the capability of producing aside from microwaves are TL1 lasers, albeit with a capacitor recharge of 3.
Japan possesses two as of yet unused 12k ton military slipways, but concrete plans for a warship design to be laid down have not yet materialized.

Economic Situation
Very wealthy. Owns many financial centers and recently research economic tech.
Japan is looking to found a colony, but with Mars semi-officially claimed by the EU in cooperation with US companies, Venus and it's even richer mineral deposits are being considered. Planetary infrastructure would be prohibitively expensive, so large orbital habitats are being considered. Those would be quite vulnerable, but staking an exclusive claim over Venus might be a big boon. As it stands, Japan does not have the power to enforce such a claim. Should colonization of extrasolar bodies be possible, other priorities may arise which could make Venus an inefficient endeavour.
For now, expensive infrastructure-based Venus colonies are planned in the short term to legitimize a future full claim.

Ground Forces
Three divisions in the field with more being trained. The money is there to afford it.


   People's Republic of China

Research Priorities
Chinese gravsurvey ships found their first jump point this year. The top secret development of a jump drive has been progressing for some time, but Japan recently duplicated some basic theoretical efforts and announced to the world that interstellar travel is likely possible, potentially reducing the advantage gained by this secret research. Early South American experiments in the field were not reported to have success, however.

Military Analysis
Earth is being protected by a large and capable STO laser force, as such no warships are immediately needed.
A capable laser destroyer with 12k tons displacement has been designed and will be built over the next few years.
Geo- and gravsurvey of Sol is progressing through the use of fighter-sized survey vessels.

Economic Situation
Very rich! Good amount in the bank and large surplus, will be able to stock money for the future.
The moon colony avoids diplomatic complications while no mobile spacefaring military units exist. The colony there stimulates the civilian shipping economy, at a higher rate than a Mars colony as well.
In light of Earth's waning deposits other mineral sources will have to be exploited, but given large stockpiles that is no concern for the next few years at least.

Ground Forces
6 Infantry divisions, 2 armored divisions, 1 STO division with 24 lasers. Cost ~17% of the national expenses this year, but very much considered sufficient to protect China and threaten others.


   Argentine Republic

Research Priorities
Developing a light railgun system for logistics-free general usage. Development of more powerful engines than basic nuclear thermal is a priority after.
Due to the small size of the Argentine economy but it's research output being comparable to the larger powers about half of the government budget goes into research.

Military Analysis
Argentina does not currently possess any kind of spacefaring or space-striking military.
Plans to change this are underway, but first deployments of the new railguns may well happen in an STO function.
The nation is still several years out from being able to found an interplanetary colony, as such, there is currently nothing in space to protect. Trying to keep pace with the major powers in raw military power is also a losing proposition due to the small size of the nation.
Three survey cruisers are in operation now, with one still secretly surveying extrasolar systems. As far as other nations are concerned, the ship is busy surveying the Kuiper belt. A fourth survey cruiser is under construction - these vessels are expected to serve for a long time, albeit perhaps with some engine upgrades in the semi-near future.

Economic Situation
A years worth of surplus has amassed in the bank, so financial issues should not dictate policy in the near future. There is worry about the low amount of fuel in store and being produced, as well as insufficient facilities in most other areas. Everything requires more, so the nation is attempting to double it's construction factory count from 50 to 100 - a painfully long process which is assumed to take another 8 years, with Neutronium stocks likely not lasting until then.
In any case, the argentinian commercial shipyard exists now and is expanding to accomodate the construction of freighters and cryoships.

Ground Forces
Seven divisions worth of infantry brigades are mostly finished constructing. There are also some lower tech light vehicle-based brigades around. The tech level of the infantry brigades is not outstanding, but together with their number considered sufficient to deter aggressive powers from considering the nation an easy target.
Infantry in it's nature is largely defensive, but still a more flexible option than relying heavily on static units or expensive to research and build vehicles.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:32:28 AM

2067

   European Union

Current fire control tech is insufficient to make an adequate-size fire control for the new Krupp Vacuum Autocannon, base research in the field is being done.

Plans are drawn up for a general support vessel. It will be able to carry fuel, supplies and ordnance to Mars or other locations. The need for such a vessel was highlighted during last year's maintenance crisis.

The maintenance situation that EU shipping was in last year has been resolved, with all ships overhauled. One of the fighters which was stationed on Mars had to be abandoned after it's engine malfunctioned and it couldn't return to Earth under it's own power, but that was a small loss.
The first EU CMC has been established on the comet Machholz. There are deposits of Duranium, Neutronium, Corundium and some Mercassium. For now, the government purchases it's output.


   Russian Federation

The newer Eurofighters have been observed to have the same speed as the Krivak frigates. This is fine, as it does not give tham an advantage.

Four infantry divisions are in the field now. Another two will be recruited, no more due to budget constraints.


   Corporate Congress of the United States

Military Analysis
In an espionage coup the CIA got it's hands on the current design schematics for the planned Chinese laser destroyer. The project, cleverly named the same as one of their survey craft, makes it clear that the current laser frigates of the US space force are outgunned. The saving grace is that the planned ships are slower than the current American fleet owing to more advanced nuclear pulse technology. Other potential weaknesses include a gap in sensor coverage against small ships releasing missiles from over 1m km away, suggesting that the PRC does not have plans to enter a conflict with the EU at this time.

Code: [Select]

Jiangwei class Destroyer      12 000 tons       317 Crew       945.3 BP       TCS 240    TH 576    EM 0
2400 km/s      Armour 4-46       Shields 0-0       HTK 68      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 48
Maint Life 1.16 Years     MSP 212    AFR 329%    IFR 4.6%    1YR 160    5YR 2 405    Max Repair 96 MSP
Zhong Xiao    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Feng-Dai Thrust INTE Capital Ship Drive (3)    Power 576    Fuel Use 51.96%    Signature 192    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 700 000 Litres    Range 20.2 billion km (97 days at full power)

People's Laser Weapon (12)    Range 80 000km     TS: 2 400 km/s     Power 4-2     RM 20 000 km    ROF 10       
Xue-Fen Capital Fire Director (2)     Max Range: 80 000 km   TS: 3 000 km/s     66 56 47 38 28 19 9 0 0 0
Standard Power Unit (12)     Total Power Output 24    Exp 5%

Xue-Fen High-Resolution Scanner (1)     GPS 30     Range 6.9m km    MCR 621.9k km    Resolution 1
Xue-Fen Long-Range Sensor Array (1)     GPS 3600     Range 34.1m km    Resolution 120

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
A similar espionage success reveals to the US that the planned Russian diplomatic station is supposed to contain most un-neutral ELINT facilities. The findings are publicized, generating moderate outrage, and the Russian government is called to halt these plans. They deny the accusations and describe the supposed spy functions as ordinary civilian technology. Two weeks later the world has forgotten, but the US now knows about the true nature of the station design and can plan around it.


   People's Republic of China

As a response to PPV problems on the moon, owing to the current lack of armed Chinese spacecraft, a few laser fighters on the basis of the survey craft are built. Due to their low speed they are not expected to be useful in actual combat, but will serve to pacify the populace and have other powers wonder about their capabilities while they do not engage their engines and reveal their speed.


   Argentine Republic

The system adjacent to Sol with the JP in the asteroid belt is confirmed to only have the one other JP. The Chubut is returning home for an overhaul.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:35:13 AM

2068

   Corporate Congress of the United States

Through espionage, the US has gained several techs, including the top secret Jump Point Theory from China, basic magazine construction techs and others.
In yet another intelligence coup aided by the powerful spy installations on board the Hubble II "telescope", hints are picked up about an Argentinian ship leaving the Sol system through the pickup of detailed maps of a solar system that is not Sol. Concentrated operations manage to penetrate the middling Argentine operational security measures and reveal that yes, the Chubut both does have an operational jump drive aboard and first visited the system as early as six years ago.
The question became of what to do with that intelligence. Admitting to having it would also acknowledge penetrating Argentinian security. Publicizing the information would no doubt attract a lot of attention, as it confirms that interstellar travel is possible and likely do lasting damage to the reputation of the Argentinian space program. This threat could be used as leverage to gain exclusive access to more information about their extrasolar exploration efforts, provided they accept.
A clandestine offer was made to the Argentine officials in charge: transmit all information gained about and through the use of interstellar travel for evaluation as a possible threat to national security or the findings will be publicized and several minor US-Argentinian cooperation projects would stop.
On the Argentine side the offer was considered. The purpose of the secret exploration project was to gain access to resources or a strategic advantage before other nations did, contributing to national wealth and security. The two systems discovered so far held no advantages deemed large enough to matter and exploitable so far, so giving up information about other solar systems would not be a big blow. There is suspicion about how the CIA got their hands on that information however. Evidence of a pinpointed information extraction operation was found, but it was too targeted to be coincidence. Suspicion immediately fell upon the one large orbital installation of the US, the "Hubble II" telescope, and TN electronics interception capabilities.
The Argentine response to the North American blackmail was as follows: Before any response to the offer was given, a propagandist release was made under false names that the Argentine space program had secretly been testing a functional jump drive, named the "Casartelli Device", and that a ship had visisted another star system. The timeline was muddled, and as it was this one initial announcement that got all the attention, subsequent US releases about this happening six years ago would be cast in doubt, or at least not have as big an impact as the big, shocking news were already out. Secondly, it was said that this information was gained through covert space-based signals interception based on the Hubble II satellite and that an armed team of US commandos slaughtered their way through a civilian Argentine laboratory to gather the evidence. All this was released in quicky succession through impersonation of several US agencies and news outlets.
This campaign allowed the South American nation to control the spin, show the US in a bad light and minimize the damage to it's own space program's reputation. The continuing stream of reports about US signals interception through the use of Hubble II, fed by conspiracy theories and real happenstances alike, caused a general consensus that such actions were an attack on other nation's internal affairs and caused a UN resolution to be passed outlawing such forms of spying. By the end of the year the US was forced to decommission Hubble II.
The reveal of human interstellar exploration was big news and very inspiring to the populace anywhere, but especially in South America. It was considered disappointing that such advances had not been shared for the good of all mankind but instead been made under military secrecy. As recent famed Japanese research had shown that the principles behind Jump Point Theory were sound, the surprise was not as big as it could have been. The relations between Argentina and other nations remained largely unharmed, although the were now increasingly perceived as a competitor in the field of space exploitation rather than a curiosity.
US-Argentine relations suffered as a consequence of the whole ordeal. There was general sentiment that the minor nation neeed to be "put in it's place", but no concrete actions came of it.

   Argentine Republic

The whole hubbub with the US spying affair revealed the viability of interstellar travel to other nations, so it is expected that efforts to advance in that field will progress more quickly around the world now. Argentina is increasingly being seen as a competitor in space, even as a minor player, so Argentine resolve to develop space-based weapon platforms is hardened.
The crew of the Chubut, on shore leave on Earth, are regarded as heroes and tell tales of their adventures in outer space.

   Russian Federation

The US blunder in having their ELINT capabilities inferred by other nations casts doubt on the project to construct a diplomatic space station with secret ELINT capabilites. The new UN resolution forbidding such forms of espionage against other nations could cause an incident in the future. Nontheless, the go-ahead is given.


   European Union

Finalized design of a railgun armed frigate. It's relatively slow and designed to absorb Russian missile strikes. A dedicated sensor ship may follow to give these vessels a longer sight range, much like how there are spotter Eurofighters in addition to strike ones.

Code: [Select]

Adana class Frigate (P)      8 000 tons       182 Crew       517 BP       TCS 160    TH 435    EM 0
2720 km/s      Armour 3-35       Shields 0-0       HTK 44      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 2      PPV 25
Maint Life 2.41 Years     MSP 320    AFR 256%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 75    5YR 1 131    Max Repair 46.2400 MSP
Fregattankapitan    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Airbus INTE Vacuum Turbine (4)    Power 435.2    Fuel Use 42.39%    Signature 108.80    Explosion 8%
Fuel Capacity 350 000 Litres    Range 18.6 billion km (79 days at full power)

Krupp Vacuum Autocannon (5x4)    Range 20 000km     TS: 2 720 km/s     Power 6-2     RM 10 000 km    ROF 15       
Krupp Autocannon Targeting Electronics (2)     Max Range: 48 000 km   TS: 2 700 km/s     53 39 25 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
R2 Power Supply (5)     Total Power Output 10    Exp 5%

Koski Electronics Projectile Scanner (1)     GPS 20     Range 5.6m km    MCR 507.8k km    Resolution 1
König Hitzelspitzel (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

---

2069

   Corporate Congress of the United States

The weak lasers of the Lexington class frigates are slated to be replaced with new plasma weapons, giving the ships a high short-range alpha strike capability and hopefully high ground bombardment potential.


   People's Republic of China

Chinese survey craft confirm that there are only two jump points present in Sol. (Strange, I thought I set 4)


   Argentine Republic

Discovery of Salto through a newly found JP in the Kuiper belt. The system orbits a single F-type star, slightly larger than the sun. A terrestial planet with plenty of surface ice is near the habitable zone and has a thin nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. A prime settlement candidate, if not immediately habitable. The crew of the Aguaray excitedly sets out to survey the system.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:39:39 AM

   2070

The US corporate hierarchy is expanded to accomodate expansion into space. A sector command of size 2 has been built.

In a much-propagandized campaign the Chinese effort to terraform the moon has begun. The material released to the population shows blue skies and lush vegetation on the once cratery moon surface with Earth in the backdrop of the sky. Reality may not turn out to be entirely as idyllic, but it's the first project of this kind nontheless.

At this point China is working on an actual jump drive designed to allow it's under-construction destroyers (and also their survey craft) reach other star systems. In both the EU, US and Japan research into jump drive tech is being undertaken. Only Russia is not currently investing into this field.
Either way, the reveal of Argentine forays into other star systems is accelerating human efforts in that area.

The Argentine geosurvey results of the second system connected to Sol, Salto, were unfortunately very disappointing. The next system found by the survey ship investigating the system finds an atmosphere-less planet in the habitable zone of the primary. The system is either a binary system or a quarternary, depending on wether or not you wish to class the overgrown gas giants classed as brown dwarves as stars.

   2071

The US is the first nation to move government mines offworld. With only 3.7k Corundium left in stocks at home 128 out of 300 mines are ordered to be shipped to Mars and it's ample 0.5 Corundium plus 0.9 Duranium deposits via government freighters.

Japan lays down two self-jump capable survey cruisers following Argentinian example. The Japanese ships are 20% bigger and armed, albeit with short-range microwaves. The ships are being built for 10 years of independant operation outside of Sol.

Argentine mineral stocks hit 0 Neutronium, which is currently being used for expansion of construction factories and shipyard retooling. For now 10 automines to establish an offworld mining colony are switched to, likely on the comet Machholz which offers Duranium, Neutronium, Corundium and some Mercassium.
There are many interesting deposits in the Santa Maria system, the fourth and most recent one discovered. The small nation does not yet have the capabilities to exploit extrasolar deposits, however, for lack of a way to transit freighters.

This year the rapidly depleting mineral reserves on Earth are finally being felt by all six spacefaring nations. There is no critical shortage yet anywhere, but plans are being drawn up to plug the most relevant holes and to transition mining away from Earth. The nations with civilian mining corporations have an advantage here. There are currently 6 US, 4 EU and 1 chinese CMC in operation on comets or moons in Sol. All outputs are currently being purchased by their respective governments.

The Russian Federation still has not established a colony in Sol, despite having had the ability to do so for a while. A colony on Mars is just asking for trouble as tensions with the EU remain high, the moon is in exclusive Chinese possession these days and Venus, which isn't of immediate practicality for a civilian colony but also has valuable resources, has been claimed by Japan. A colony on some other "worthless" body after the Chinese model has been discussed, but no conclusion could be reached yet. By the end of the year the President puts his foot down and orders the colonization of Callisto around Jupiter without firm intention of claiming the body in the long term. Mercury would have been easier to colonize in terms of required infrastructure, but Russia is developing technology to extract Sorium straight out of the atmosphere of a gas giant and establishing a presence around Jupiter made sense. Additionally, Callisto is said to have some secondary mineral deposits. As it stands Russia has not conducted it's own geosurvey of Sol, so exact numbers or alternatives are unavailable for detailed analysis, which was one of the factors contributing to the indecision in the first place.
So far the Federation has been almost exclusively been focused on building up a space-based military, rather than economy, in order to stay relevant in the future.

(https://i.imgur.com/dcjCWJw.png)
Sol in 2071

   2073

Argentina discovers a planet with breathable atmosphere, if you exclude the small amounts of Fluoride in it, on a -40°c world almost entirely covered with ice.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:45:18 AM

2075 - Survey ship comparison

By this year, all nations have developed or deployed some sort of capability for interstellar exploration. The doctrines that have evolved are largely inspired by the initial Argentinian survey cruiser, the Chubut.

   European Union - Survey cruiser

Size: 8k
Endurance: 6y
Speed: 1000
Deployed: 3 (under construction)

Exploration: Geosurvey of Sol completed


   Russian Federation - Lighter survey frigate

Size: 4k
Endurance: 8y
Speed: 800
Deployed: Last technologies still under development, not started construction yet
Only single grav and geo sensor

Exploration: Full survey of Aguascalientes adjacent to Sol gained through ELINT, no survey in Sol yet.


   Corporate Congress of the United States - Armed exploration frigate

Size: 6k
Endurance: 5y
Speed: 1066
Deployed: 2 (Another 1 or 2 with better engines planned)
Armed with short-range plasma weapon
No passive sensors
Only grav survey, seperate geosurvey variants will follow.

Exploration: Still grav-surveying Sol. Knows Aguascalientes next to Sol and it's geosurvey results.


   Japan - Advanced survey cruiser

Size: 12k
Endurance: 10y
Speed: 1000
Deployed: 4
Armed with two short-range microwaves
No passive sensors

Exploration: Three systems known


   People's Republic of China - Short-range survey fighters

Size: 500
Endurance: 2-3y
Speed: 512
Deployed: 7
Total of seven geo and grav survey fighters, no jump capabilities to other systems. Will have to be replaced for extrasolar surveys. Military jump ship has investigated Sol JPs.

Exploration: Poked head in both systems adjacent to Sol


   Argentine Republic - The original exploration cruiser

Size: 10k
Endurance: 7y
Speed: 750 (Refit: 1200)
Deployed: 4

Exploration: Seven systems known, most fully surveyed or survey in progress.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 04:50:18 AM

2075 - Nation summaries

   European Union

Research Priorities
The EU does not have any experts in the critical field of Power and Propulsion and is lagging behind in that area. Otherwise there are no deficiencies in facilities or personnel.
There are no critical technologies or capabilities missing for the EU. Current efforts are directed towards ground support capabilities for the existing Eurofighters and increased ship maintenance capacities.

Military Analysis
The EU maintains the largest space navy. Nine 8k railgun frigates are in service as well as 36 Eurofighter box launcher fighters. One squadron of six is permanently stationed on Mars. The fighters have a competetive speed of 4000, but the warships are held back by their INTE engines from exceeding 2700.
Another expansion of maintenance facilities to support up to 120k of naval tonnage is underway.

Economic Situation
Wealth is not an issue due to civilian shipping. Mineral stocks are short on Corundium because of investments into more mines and secondarily Mercassium as the fleet of state-owned colony ships has been increased to 5.
Mining operations are in progress on Mars and through 4 CMCs on two comets. This will be insufficient in the long term and leadership is entertaining alternative options of acquiring minerals from asteroids or extrasolar sources. Exploration of nearby systems will dictate future strategy.

Ground Forces
With five divisions the unified European army is relatively small, but so is the principal threat's force, Russias. The expanding armies of other nations are viewed with concern, however, and expansion is slated for after the next technological breakthrough.

   Russian Federation

Research Priorities
Through ELINT, the Russian Federation is now capable of building it's own jump drives. These are four expensive techs totaling 10k RP alone. You're supposed to quit while you're ahead, and so the operation aboard the diplomatic space station was shut down. It is quite a feat for the technologically behind nation to achieve parity in jump drive capability (all other nations have developed the requisite techs at this point) without needing to invest into expensive R&D.
In other regards tech is lagging behind the other nations. Even with the stolen jump drive techs gravitational sensors and a concrete Casartelli Device to open the jump points must still be designed, while other nations are already building or operating exploration ships.

Military Analysis
Sensor research over the last 10 years has born fruit and two dedicated armored sensor ships are under construction. Six box-launcher Krivak missile frigates are in operation, three have their own ship-detection sensors, three have been refit with targeting systems capable of hitting small bombers like those the EU employs.
Because of fears that this doctrine will consume excessive fuel the plans to have ships take permanent station off of Earth were never implemented, but are still called for in times of war or heightened tension.
AMM technology has advanced and plans are that dedicated AMM frigates be built soon. The sensor ships already provide powerful missile dection capabilities, but competing interests for military yard time may delay construction of the AMM frigates.
With most nations starting to employ NPE drives the Russian INTE-based ones are starting to lose their edge, but are predicted to remain comptetitive for the near future because of their high boost factors.
The nation does not have refueling capabilities or jump ships, limiting deployment to Sol for the years to come.

Economic Situation
Through the still recent establishment of the Callisto colony the nation is now supported by a budding civilian shipping industry. Only a handful ships are in operation yet, but the effect is already being felt in the state treasury.
The mineral situation is not urgent as it is for some other nations. Leadership has during the conversion to TN industry decided to invest in a disproportionally large amount of mining industries, foreseeing this situation. Current Earth deposits are only yielding scraps at this point, so mining locations for all minerals must be located and secured in the medium term - even if Russian need is not as immediate as that of some other nations, it is important not to fall behind in that race.
Sorium harvesting technology will hit maturity soon and enable the construction of refining ships or platforms to be deployed around Jupiter, freeing the nation from dependence of ground-based Sorium deposits.

(https://i.imgur.com/TAHtkw4.png)
Dwindling mineral deposits on Earth

Ground Forces
Six infantry divisions. Expansion is underway as more advanced high-density duranium armor and powered infantry gear has just been developed.
STO capability, particularly for the defense of Callisto or other future mining colonies would be desirable, but Russia does not have the ability to produce any energy weapon systems but basic plasma carronades. As research capabilities are already stretched it is unlikely that advanced regular troops or a functional direct-fire weapon system for STO use will be built anytime soon.


   Corporate Congress of the United States

Research Priorities
Currently investing into Improved Nuclear Pulse Engines (INPE), the first nation on the planet to do so.
Number of research labs has been expanded to 10, equal to the EU and Japan.
There are no pressing military or strategic needs for research, so general technological advances - like engines - can be made.

Military Analysis
Owns six, soon nine plasma frigates. Americans love their big guns, and these ships have the biggest around. By nature they are unsuited to missile defense and rely on a powerful first strike. If trouble is on the horizon current doctrine states to attack the other nations military assets in Earth orbit first. Assaulting ships and installations at distance may prove difficult. INPE engine refits would help the existing ships in fulfilling their role.
Stationing one or two ships on Mars is a short-term goal to help having ships already in position where trouble is brewing. The establishment of maintenance facilities on Mars requires a ship capable of carrying supplies there.
Experiments with point-defense capabilities in the form of turreted light lasers are being made.
The fleet has no support ships or jump capability, but currently American companies have no rush to expand outside of Sol.
All in all the nation is considered blessed with wealth in money and minerals, technologically advanced and well-protected.

Economic Situation
Civilian shipping makes wealth not an issue. Continuing investments into mining industries made Mars as productive a producer as Earth. Mars and the 7 CMCs on three different bodies provide streams of all minerals except Neutronium, Boronide and Gallicite. There are 10k+ units of each mineral in stock except Corundium due to that being re-invested into mines. The 128 mines on Mars mining 0.5 Accessibility Corundium will prevent a shortage.
Aside from the few as of yet untapped minerals, there is no immediate need to claim many more resources, but defense and expansion of the civilian-controlled comet mines may prove challenging.

Ground Forces
The US maintains the largest ground force on Earth and has the best technology for ground troops (8/8, whereas most have 6/5), owed to TL3 plasma carronade research.
More forces with these better technologies will be built, and upkeep on the older units is no problem.

   Japan

Research Priorities
Spent a lot on ground force technology. Still lacking a lethal weapon system, Otherwise technologically solid. Priority over the next few years will be the development of a mobile space-based doctrine.

Military Analysis
Current forces amount to a flight of 10 microwave fighters. The future will require larger investments into warships to protect Japanese interests in space, but there are no concrete plans yet.
Large troop transport bays are available to all nations, including ours. A ground-based deterrence doctrine is an option if the developments in the field turn out capable.

Economic Situation
Civilian shipping makes wealth not an issue. Like with all nations, mineral stocks are dwindling and Corundium is of special interest as it's needed for construction of more mining installations.
The Venus colony does not allow for a workforce large enough for manned mines on the planet. Instead, 10 automated mines are deployed there, mining Duranium and Gallicite. A civilian operation supplies Duranium and Corundium. These incomes will avoid immediate shortages of a critical element, but the numbers mined in total are grossly insufficient compared to consumption. Large-scale expansion of mining operation of all minerals must happen.
The deployment of orbital habitats to support more efficient manned mining operations on Venus is an option, but interstellar exploration has just begun. Future decisions will depend on there being exploitable deposits outside of Sol.

Ground Forces
MECHA. Do you hear me? Giant frakking robots.
With the advent of TN tech, the direction ground forces would evolve in was clear. 20 meter tall bipedal robots and the equipment for them is actively being developed in Japanese laboratories.
The first units, termed TSF (Tactical Surface Fighters), are entering production by the end of the year.

Code: [Select]

Type-01 Kiyomune
Transport Size (tons) 324     Cost 38.88     Armour 36     Hit Points 72
Annual Maintenance Cost 4.9     Resupply Cost 90
Heavy Autocannon:      Shots 3      Penetration 25      Damage 10
Heavy Autocannon:      Shots 3      Penetration 25      Damage 10
Heavy Autocannon:      Shots 3      Penetration 25      Damage 10

Vendarite  38.88   
Development Cost  1 944

   People's Republic of China

Research Priorities
Base technology was falling behind, current research projects are duranium armor compression and Nuclear Pulse Engines (NPE).
Chinese investment into terraforming technology yields a spaceship-mountable version of the terraforming plant. Future worlds can be terraformed from orbit if necessary, but there are no plans for immediate deployment of such technology as the ground-based installations on the moon are doing just fine.
Lunar terraforming is progressing well. The average temperature has been raised to human comfort levels and the atmosphere is reaching almost livable levels of pressure. There is no oxygen in the atmosphere yet (starting with it would make for a very flammable atmosphere) and no hydrosphere has been created yet.

Military Analysis
The Chinese space navy is a powerful one, employing 6 laser-destroyers. Two tankers support the fleet and three armed and armored jump destroyers provide jump capability. Only one of these jump tenders has been built yet.
The laser armament is powerful and flexible, but it's vulnerability to massed missile strikes from EU or Russian doctrine has been called into question.
The nation also keeps a stash of anti-ship missiles (but currently lacks a launch platform) and a flight of slow, laser-armed patrol fighters.
The jump-capable main fleet can be expected to project power for years to come as interests will expand into other star systems, keeping the will of China a constant point that has to be considered. This is the result of Chinese early and independant research into jump technology.

Economic Situation
A majority of national income is gained by taxing shipping from and to the moon. Wealth is not an issue.
Chinese mineral stockpiles look big, but the appetite of their super-scale industry is just as large. There are no minerals on the moon. 50 automines have been deployed on the comet Faye, giving the nation an income of all minerals but Boronide, Vendarite and Gallicite together with the civilian complexes on other bodies.
The nation hungers for more though, and it's outdated small survey craft doctrine leaves it behind in the race to the stars. What it can't explore and claim first it may have to take from others.

Ground Forces
Eight divisions and a large STO division. Another STO division with a defending infantry division is under construction for deployment on the moon.
More units for the regular army will be built in the future as Vendarite and Wealth are non-issues. Individual superiority of rival's units is no concern.


   Argentine Republic

Research Priorities
A light railgun system has been developed, with improvements in fire control tech queued before it's first deployment.

Military Analysis
Space-based military capacity is sorely needed to defend assets in other star systems, and may have to be concentrated there to be powerful enough to withstand the will of other nations. This may leave Earth and Sol largely undefended.
A pure ground military as currently does not work for the defense offworld colonies. Ground forces on other worlds could simply be cut off from reinforcments from home and conquered at the leisure of an invader.

Economic Situation
Compared to the blooming economies of the other spacefaring nations the space program of Argentina has failed to bring wealth to the nation so far. Argentina is the only nation who still does not control an offworld colony, even Russia has recently reversed policy and founded a colony on Callisto to stimulate the civlian sector and is already better off for it.
The Argentine government operates a cargo and a colony ship, so they can found a colony. The dream was always to found a colony outside of Sol, but holding off so long gave the other nations an advantage, and the small nation can't afford to give away any advantages if it intends to stay competetive.
Either way, exploration has finally yielded a candidate colonization target outside Sol and the technology for it in form of civilian jump tenders, able to be stationed at jump points and helping cargo ships transit through, is already there with two such ships deployed.
The target in question is the Santa María system, two jumps from Sol. The second planet of the primary has a size similar to Mars, average temperatures well within human tolerance and has a surface covered in 31% liquid water. The Chinese are already demonstrating on the moon that it is entirely possible to generate a new atmosphere for a body of this size, if such a feat could be duplicated this planet would easily become just as habitable as Earth. The planet itself has good accessibility deposits of Duranium and Uridium, two important minerals, and trace deposits of five more. Not a second Earth, but the general mineral wealth of the rest of the system is quite impressive, on paper. Exploitation may turn out to be a wholly different issue.

Off-Topic: show

Santa María-A I
     Duranium 39 002 112   Acc 0.1
     Corbomite 2 518 569   Acc 0.1
     Tritanium 804 609   Acc 0.8
     Mercassium 41 177 889   Acc 0.1

 Asteroid #88
     Duranium 18 779   Acc 0.9
     Boronide 229 249   Acc 1.0
     Mercassium 812   Acc 1.0
     Vendarite 292   Acc 0.8
     Uridium 141 526   Acc 1.0
     Corundium 113 098   Acc 0.8
     Gallicite 23 685   Acc 0.9

 Asteroid #56
     Duranium 32 942   Acc 1.0
     Corbomite 33 226   Acc 1.0
     Vendarite 10 088   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #36
     Duranium 6 050   Acc 1.0
     Sorium 2 916   Acc 1.0
     Uridium 2 916   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #69
     Duranium 62 403   Acc 1.0
     Tritanium 6 816   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #42
     Duranium 134   Acc 0.9
     Neutronium 46 989   Acc 0.9
     Tritanium 2 024   Acc 0.9
     Corundium 75 092   Acc 0.9

 Asteroid #34
     Duranium 72   Acc 1.0
     Sorium 900   Acc 1.0
     Corundium 1 936   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #61
     Duranium 7 200   Acc 1.0
     Tritanium 2 209   Acc 1.0
     Corundium 5 041   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #82
     Boronide 10 791   Acc 0.9

 Asteroid #20
     Mercassium 3 854   Acc 0.9
     Sorium 11 803   Acc 0.9

 Asteroid #28
     Uridium 9 216   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #8
     Duranium 98   Acc 1.0
     Mercassium 6 084   Acc 1.0
     Uridium 2 500   Acc 1.0
     Corundium 7 056   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #72
     Corbomite 19 915   Acc 1.0
     Boronide 25 472   Acc 1.0
     Mercassium 914   Acc 0.9
     Vendarite 3 074   Acc 0.9
     Uridium 15 455   Acc 1.0
     Gallicite 1 908   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #66
     Duranium 14 744   Acc 1.0
     Neutronium 16 180   Acc 0.9
     Vendarite 2 430   Acc 1.0
     Sorium 12 036   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #51
     Duranium 4 418   Acc 1.0
     Neutronium 2 304   Acc 1.0
     Boronide 196   Acc 1.0
     Sorium 10 000   Acc 1.0
     Uridium 529   Acc 1.0

 Asteroid #70
     Duranium 6 498   Acc 1.0
     Tritanium 676   Acc 1.0
     Boronide 144   Acc 1.0
     Mercassium 3 721   Acc 1.0

 Santa María-A II
     Duranium 12 300 800   Acc 0.7
     Neutronium 3 844   Acc 0.7
     Tritanium 1 860 496   Acc 0.1
     Boronide 8 133 904   Acc 0.1
     Mercassium 3 844   Acc 0.1
     Sorium 47 089   Acc 0.1
     Uridium 7 107 556   Acc 0.8

 Santa María-A IV
     Sorium 3 096 000   Acc 0.4

 Santa María-A V
     Sorium 304 000   Acc 1

 Santa María-A IV - Moon 12
     Duranium 1 280 000   Acc 0.6

 Santa María-A IV - Moon 2
     Duranium 11 007 432   Acc 0.4
     Neutronium 4 443 664   Acc 0.8
     Corbomite 8 749 764   Acc 0.9
     Tritanium 1 498 176   Acc 0.1

 Santa María-A IV - Moon 5
     Duranium 2 312   Acc 1.0
     Corbomite 529   Acc 1.0
     Boronide 9 216   Acc 1.0
     Vendarite 6 724   Acc 1.0
     Sorium 1 225   Acc 1.0
     Gallicite 4 225   Acc 1.0

 Santa María-A V - Moon 1
     Corbomite 5 776   Acc 1.0

 Santa María-A V - Moon 10
     Duranium 16 245 000   Acc 0.1
     Boronide 21 622 500   Acc 0.1
     Uridium 490 000   Acc 0.1

 Santa María-A V - Moon 4
     Duranium 1 789 832   Acc 0.9
     Neutronium 1 069 156   Acc 0.5
     Corbomite 698 896   Acc 0.6
     Tritanium 7 744   Acc 0.4
     Boronide 1 162 084   Acc 0.1
     Vendarite 2 509 056   Acc 0.8
     Sorium 774 400   Acc 0.2
     Uridium 4 840 000   Acc 0.7
     Gallicite 698 896   Acc 0.1

 Santa María-A V - Moon 6
     Duranium 14 905 800   Acc 0.6
     Neutronium 777 924   Acc 0.1
     Boronide 3 572 100   Acc 0.5

 Comet #1
     Neutronium 54 497   Acc 0.5
     Mercassium 125 511   Acc 1
     Uridium 70 704   Acc 0.8
     Corundium 21 488   Acc 0.6

Other nations are now also racing to explore the stars and may stumble upon this system sooner rather than later. Efforts are being made to get the first colonists there as early as next year. The immediate roadblock is the lack of suitable infrastructure to accommodate the settlers before an atmosphere can be established. For now staking the claim is most important. Figuring out the defense of the colony will have to come later, hopefully not too much later.

(https://i.imgur.com/f25Z8aE.png)
Argentine exploration as of 2075

In recent years the Argentine economy has experienced a Neutronium crunch. The mineral is needed for construction facilities, mass drivers, maintance facilities and shipyard operations, in amounts that proved too much for the feeble 50 mines of Argentina. Since then 10 automines have been deployed on the comet Machholz (containing Neutronium), which is already being mined by several other nations. Current international agreements allow anyone to mine the comets of Sol in a first-come-first-served fashion; anyone is allowed to mine to any degree they wish. Comets don't have very large, but still substantial, deposits of minerals, so there is no conflict arising from their exploitation at this time.
Other mineral stocks aren't necessarily looking solid, especially duranium. Civilian mining operations would help the Argentine economy much more in their proportion than they would do for other nations.

Ground Forces
Feeling somewhat threatened the national military has seven divisions strength. They are not considered particularly advanced or capable, and building and maintaing more units may prove a strain on the budget.
The nation only has facilities to assemble one unit at a time though, so expansion is a lengthy process.

(https://i.imgur.com/6aMGzBI.png)
Race comp 2075

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 02, 2020, 12:07:24 PM

   2076

American military companies develop another variant of the Lexington type frigate armed with three twin laser turrets, capable of tracking targets up to 9k. It does not have a built-in sensor and will have to rely on the existing sensor ships in the fleet to detect incoming missiles. The project is termed Enterprise, after another old US carrier.
Improved Nuclear Thermal Engines (INPE) also become mature enough to be included in the design and future shipbuilding efforts.

A European project to develop ground support equipment that can be mounted on existing Eurofighters is completed. The results are disappointing, only yielding low-power bombardment weapons. Enough of the weapons are being ordered to supply all 36 fighters, even if their use will likely only happen as a last resort.

China is the first nation to deploy a troop transport ship. It is scheduled to deliver an infantry division and an STO division to the moon in the future.

The Argentine colony on Santa María II has been founded. Two commercial jump tenders are holding position at the jump points inbetween on the side further out from Sol.
Two STO railgun brigades for PD purposes are being built now, with one intended to be deployed on the colony at some point.

Russia has designed a fuel harvester platform for deployment around Jupiter with self-moving capabilities at low speed. Construction may start after the current set of troop transports and then some more generic freighters are built.
Construction of a batch of exploration frigates has also begun, taking precedence over the planned development of AMM escorts.
Research efforts are now underway to fix the nations dependence on outdated INTE engine tech.

   2077

DB Schenker has as the first civilian shipping line taken a ship out of service. Civilian ships getting replaced now will put a bit of a brake on the meteoric rise of the civilian shipping industry as it has grown so far. The ship in question has been replaced with an identical one as the EU lines don't have access to better than INTE engine tech for a lack of experts in the field of Propulsion in that part of the world.

The Russian exploration frigates are setting out this year and begin by surveying Sol.
The Chinese are designing their survey cruiser as well. Their larger shipyards can afford to build a very capable ship. On the table were options for a ship armed with both box launchers and a laser weapon, a design with a buoy deployment mechanism or a smaller, simpler version that limits itself to the basics, not taking on any extra capabilities or roles. The other variants were deemed over-engineered, sticking to basic exploration capabilities would avoid wasting resources. The result is a solid long-range exploration cruiser with strong sensors. Actual construction will be delayed one year pending the development of INPE drives.

The EU develops orbital mining tech. There is plenty of accessible material in the small asteroids of the Sol system and beyond. They are cheaper than automines, even considering the vessel that has to be built to carry the modules, and don't require hassling with the ground and ground defenses.
The question is how they should be deployed. The options boil down to either large immobile platforms that can be constructed as stations and need to be moved by as of yet undeveloped tugs with unknown grappling technology or self-moving mining vessels roughly freighter sized, built in existing commercial yards.
The choice fell upon a few large platforms as they would be able to be managed more efficiently by fewer skilled personnel, even considering the extra effort spent on new support ships.
A seperate effort providing defense will need to happen either way. Space-based maintenance facilities could be deployed by tugs alongside the mining platform, allowing destroyers to be parked on station with the existing supply ship moving supplies.
All of the EUs remaining Corundium and that mined for the next two years is slated to go into this project.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 03, 2020, 11:29:18 AM

   2078

The Argentine mineral situation continues to be very precarious. The nation is virtually out of Duranium, Neutronium and Corundium. 125 units of each are being mined on the comet Machholz every year, but transport of the minerals requires the service of the nations only freighter, which is expected to have work for years moving infrastructure to Santa María. The nation was unable to afford a second mass driver until now.
At least the nations own civilian shipping line, Cadorna Colony Line, now has ships available. For now they're being contracted to transfer a few extra automines to Machholz, supplementing the nations government freighter. Unfortunately the civilian ships are not built for transit to Santa María using the stationed jump tenders.

The Russian AMM escort program lays down humanities first batch of dedicated anti-missile ships. Since only the EU has deployed missile-based doctrines this is a clear sign that past conflicts have not been forgotten. The ships have the same operational parameters as the Krivak missile frigates and can fire 10 volleys of 10 AMM missiles each at two targets at once, provided targeting information is being fed by a Kirov sensor frigate.

A large US company has recently begun a terraforming effort on Mars, following the Chinese example on the moon.
Both the EU and the US colony on Mars have just broken the 100m population mark. With such a large workforce on the planet there are talks in the US congress about moving more critical industries over to the red planet. Already twice the amount of raw minerals are produced there compared to Earth due to it's declining deposits and it would not be outrageous to relocate all science or all fuel refining installations to Mars, for instance. For now, the many government research facilities are set to be transferred.

   Colony Comparison

Every spacefaring nation only supports one populated colony. More would be considered hard to defend, and multiple factions settling on the same body is generally avoided to prevent tensions. With the ongoing discoveries of new star systems by all nations now and the establishment of the first offworld colony by Argentina it is generally expected that additional colonization will happen on distant worlds, not in the Sol system. As such, no additional colonization efforts are currently being made by any power.

EU: Mars, 100m - 128 mines
Russia: Callisto, 4.2m - no ground installations
US: Mars, 100m - 128 mines, 4+ terraformers, 1+ research facilities
Japan: Venus, 6m - 10 automines
PRC: Moon, 212m - 20 terraformers, atmosphere breathable, no hydrosphere yet
Argentina: Santa María II, 0.23m - no ground installations

Exploration ships are increasingly beginning to see each other in other star systems. The Argentinian Chubut just stumbled upon two Japanese survey cruisers making scans of the moons of a gas giant three jumps out from Sol. Often only one side is able to see the other because of differences in sensor capacities.
For the crews of the survey ships these encounters are surprises, but welcome ones, as they stave off the isolation of years-long exploration missions. Captains are known to make alterations to survey schedules to allow the ships to spend more time alongside another with the crews swapping stories and trinkets.
The general mood towards the exploration missions is very good, both amonst the populace and the crews of the exploring vessels, who do not necessarily see themselves as being in competition with each other. Peacefully exploring the stars and building a better future together have inspired many a dream. Government strategists are of course less enthusiastic, particularly on the Argentine side about this specific encounter as it means that Japanese exploration is already catching up to the extent of their own exploration. This means they are less likely to find valuable resources and planets first and can keep a monopoly over them for a shorter time.

Argentina has run out of fuel. Supplying the 4 exploration cruisers and now also freight trips into distant systems has proven too much for the national 10 fuel refinieries. An expansion is in progress, but even with a higher rate of conversion the nation only has 1422 Sorium in storage and no income.
For now, the cargo and colony ships will have to stay in port.

   2079

US engine refits to INPE technology finish. The mainly plasma-armed fleet now has a speed of 4000. A third sensor frigate has been built. The extra redundancy was considered necessary when considering splitting the fleet for stationing some on Mars.

Japanese development of a primary weapon doctrine come to a conclusion with the development of str3 160km particle beamers. These hybrid weapons aren't purely energy-based, but instead accelerate a very small amount of material to relativistic speeds, ensuring high range and delivering as much or more energy to a target as a regular kinetic round.
Having an advantage in range will allow successful energy engagements even without speed advantage. With a speed advantage enemy ships can be dispatched without ever having to enter their weapons range, at least in theory.
Success of this doctrine will hinge on two things: first, targeting systems capable of tracking hostiles at the great ranges this weapon is capable of and secondly, highly trained and reactive crews able to outmaneuver the enemy and control range in an engagement. The first part is being worked on, the second part will require additional time and resources after a ship has already been built. Combat ready units may only be available as late as 2085.

The lack of capable scientist to work on military projects that initially crippled Japanese research is no more. The nation finds itself now with a healthy pool of experts in all fields, and consequently the once only energy weapon scientist of the nation has retired from his career as commandant of the national academy.

   2080

China stops it's refineries as sorium reserves sink below 1k. Current income is 300 units per year from comet Faye. 40m fuel are in stock, so it's not an immediate problem.

(https://i.imgur.com/jG9oFlZ.png)
Chinese mineral reserves

The two nations who do not operate an orbital diplomatic spaceport make plans to construct one. Orbital diplomacy is becoming increasingly important and no nations wants to be looked upon as inferior or be left out.
The US has so far refrained from constructing such an installation due to it's general isolationism and "America First" doctrines and Argentina simply couldn't afford to spend the time and industry.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 04, 2020, 11:54:21 AM

   2081

The European survey ship George Everest is the first to discover the precise location of the Argentinian colony in Santa María. The existence of the colony is no secret, as it would be hard to conceal the establishment of a colony from other states when preparing millions of civilians to settle off-world.
Later in the year Japan also finds the location. Both nations are impressed by the system's relative mineral wealth and it is clear that Argentina does not have the capacities to exploit either the system or the planet fully.

The massive European mining platform, named Hambach after the world's largest mine in Germany, is completed. A shipyard is still being prepared to construct the tug needed to move the massive 250 thousand ton platform. Construction now begins on a smaller maintenance platform, a deep-space drydock able to maintain four destroyers on station indefinitely.
The concrete location the Hambach platform will mine has not finally been decided on, but there are not too many good locations to choose from in Sol. If operation of the first platform proves satisfactory another mining platform costing another 6000 Corundium will be built - with 288 mines on Mars producing over 2000 units of Corundium every year, this is affordable.

The Argentine warship construction program is about to kick off. The refits of all four survey cruisers to NPE drives finishing has opened up the yard capacity. Important decisions have to be made in the planning phase, and the requirements to the program are very high. Compromises need to be made.

• Firstly the ship or fleet needs jump capability, as it's primary objective will be securing the Santa María colony from the other nations interests. Self-jump capability would be preferred to avoid having to rely on dedicated jump ships which may not be available for years to come. Argentina only has one naval yard with one slipway and can't afford retooling more than necessary, with meaningful expansion currently completely out of the question. Given that a military-engined ship needs to afford a quarter of it's tonnage to the jump drive that leaves only enough space for token weaponry to be present (The Chinese jump escorts are of this type). Self-jump capable warships with significant armament would have to compromise too much in other regards to be viable with current technology.
  Usage of the existing jump tenders is not possible as they are constructed for use with civilian engine fields, presenting an irrecoverable incompability.
  By necessity it is decided that a dedicated jump ship must be part of the program. It will be unarmed but armored and have the same operational parameters in range, endurance and speed as the primary warship.
• The ships must not be obsolete in the near future, as Argentina can't afford to refit ships often. Primarily this means the ship needs a high speed. Current engines are regular NPE drives, which is considered standard currently, but the US and China are already operating INPE warships. A high speed either means low fuel efficiency or a large fraction of the hull must be dedicated to engines.
• The weapon that will be used is the Aragão Armaments Light Mass Driver, a 10cm railgun. This is by nature a quite short-ranged weapon, another factor that necessitates a high speed. It's advantage is that it should functions as a servicable missile defense weapon, but flexible lasers like in the Chinese doctrine would be preferrable for their higher striking power and longer range. Unfortunately, Argentina hosts many experts on kinetic weapons and none for energy-based armaments.
• The ships must be able to operate without assistance from support vessels as much as possible. Again, Argentina does not have the capacities to operate various support vessels. This point is already being compromised on with the decision to construct seperate jump ships, but reliance on tankers, supply ships or sensor vessels is to be avoided. Even if the nation were to operate such vessels, they would only have one, the loss of which might cripple operations, introducing a single point of failure.
• Continuing from the last point, this means ships need to have large internal fuel reserves. The specific point targeted is 22b km, as it is just below 11b km from Earth to the colony on Santa María. Given the need for high-speed engines, this will allocate a decent chunk of internal space to fuel tanks.
• Ships must be capable of flexible operations. This is largely given by the rather flexible armament and the eventual inclusion of jump capability. For ship design this means independant operation without port or maintenance needs to be possible for some time as station-keeping on distant bodies or jump point may be required for months at a time. A years worth of deployment time and maintenance life is considered sufficient, and is in line with that of other navies.
• Adequate protection and integrated detection capabilities must be included. Sufficient armor for a warship is self-explanatory, integrated sensor suits are a result of foregoing dedicated sensor ships. Every ship should have a primary sensor array, the resolution of which may be varied between ships in the series to afford best possible coverage. Each ship will also carry a small minimum-resolution sensor to enable it's anti-missile capabilities and to serve as a backup. In order to get good performance out of the basic tech sensor arrays they need to be of relatively large size, giving us another component competing for internal space.

After long deliberations, the design created was this one:

Code: [Select]

Dorado class Destroyer (P)      10 000 tons       254 Crew       962.6 BP       TCS 200    TH 800    EM 0
4000 km/s      Armour 3-41       Shields 0-0       HTK 56      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 30
Maint Life 1.33 Years     MSP 260    AFR 267%    IFR 3.7%    1YR 156    5YR 2 335    Max Repair 100.00 MSP
Capitán de Fragata    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 13 months    Morale Check Required   

Petrucci Marine NPE Warship Engine (4)    Power 800.0    Fuel Use 56.92%    Signature 200.00    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 781 000 Litres    Range 24.7 billion km (71 days at full power)

Aragão Armaments Light Mass Driver (10x4)    Range 20 000km     TS: 4 000 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 20 000 km    ROF 5       
Munguía Warning & Control Mass Driver Fire Control (2)     Max Range: 40 000 km   TS: 4 000 km/s     75 50 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Márquez-Ledesma Standard Generator (10)     Total Power Output 30    Exp 5%

Munguía Warning & Control Tactical Sensor (1)     GPS 5     Range 2.8m km    MCR 253.9k km    Resolution 1
Quiños Area Scanner (1)     GPS 3000     Range 31.1m km    Resolution 120
Munguía Warning & Control Heat Detector (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
50% of space was allocated to engines, to allow high speed without compromising fuel efficiency too much. Still, 7.5% of the volume are fuel tanks. The three layers or armor are considered the minimum of what could be called adequate protection, especially given the need to close in to short distances with opponents. More armor would simply be too bulky with high density duranium armor. A further 22% of the ship are dedicated to weapons, generators and fire controls. The many small power generators distributed throughout the ship is inefficient, but one or two large generators would introduce single points of failure and require significant additional engineering effort. The engines and most sensor and control systems are already prototypes, so in the interest of redundancy and to expedite the start of ship construction the choice fell on this scheme. The armament may be short-ranged, but is capable of continous fire. Even with weak individual shots, The total amount of kinetic energy this design can output is not to be underestimated.
The remaining question is which to build first, the combat vessel or the jump ship? And how many of each should be built before the shipyard is retooled? With just one slipway, construction will be slow either way. The decision was to construct a single jump ship and then have Fontane Marine Inc. retool to produce the Dorado destroyers. Being able to send warships to the colony sooner rather than later was deemed most important, even as a bluff by sending an unarmed support ship without weapons. Multiple jump ships would only be useful in a jump point assault scenario, a very hypothetical situation humanity has no experience in or much consideration of as of yet.
Affording the ships will likely not be a problem. Retooling will only be able to start 2 years down the line when engine designs have been finalized. Each ship will cost 300 Duranium and 60 Neutronium, 800 of each are in store right now. There is enough Gallicite in store to build 5 vessels. The automines on Machholz output enough Duranium to build another destroyer almost every year. Unless the retooling costs are very high production should go smoothly. Actual construction can be accelerated through component prefabrication.
Fuel and Sorium are another issue. Refining must be stopped immediately and a few automines redeployed to a location with Sorium deposits as current stocks are 32 units short for the jump destroyer. Casartelli devices, the pieces of magic that enable ships to stabilize a passage through space-time, require a stable quantum singularity to operate. The creation and subsequent stabilization of that singularity requires great amounts of energy - hence the need for Sorium.
Enough fuel for one ship is in storage. Survey ships coming home in the near future won't be able to be refueled. Future fuel production is anticipated to happen through refinery ships deployed in either Sol or Santa María, but start on construction of the first one is ~3 years off currently.

What does the current doctrine of Argentina look like? a PD-optimized STO Mass Driver brigade on Earth is ready to be deployed to the Santa María colony following the construction of a troop ship in early 2082. This will prevent hostile forces from landing troops on the colony, as currently all troop ships require days to unload their cargo from orbit. This means orbital bombardment will be required to pacify the planet, something other nations either don't have the capability (for lack of military jump capability) or the will for. A replacement STO brigade for Earth is finishing later that year.

   2082

Chinese colony lines have grown very large, and contribute massive amounts of money to the state treasury. The main factors in this is the short round trip time between Earth and the moon and the fact that every one of these trips is taxed the same as a longer trip to Mars or Callisto. Even with the infrastructure shipping business breaking down due to Luna's increasing habitability there was still over 13k wealth generated by taxing colony ship trips alone. For comparison, this is 41% of the state income and as much the entire state income of the EU or US, who also benefit greatly from shipping taxes. There are 39 civilian Chinese colony ships in operation. The moon is estimated to be at half population capacity with now a staggering 430m inhabitants, only slightly less than the population of Russia or Japan.

(https://i.imgur.com/KMF062l.png)
Chinese income 2082

In a survey of a system adjacent to Santa María the Argentinian SRV Alemania discovers a jump point just 70m km from the entrance JP. The ship moves to investigate, and discovers a K-class star with no system save for 13 comets. Comets so easily accessible from Santa María may give access to additional minerals in the future, especially if competing nations don't have bases in the area.

In August the Gallicite mines closed down, in October the last of Earth's Duranium had been mined. Save for some 9k Corbomite of little interest to any power, Earth is out of minerals. This means a lot of mining equipment standing still, looking for new work off-planet.
The US and the EU transfer their remaining manned mines to Mars. US companies run many civilian mining operations and the EU is building massive mining platforms. Argentina has begun converting manned mines instead of building new automines using their Corundium income. Russia has moved 60 out of 160 mines to Callisto, the maximum the population there can man. Callisto itself is not very interesting to mine, bearing only middling accessibility Corbomite and Vendarite itself, but it beats Earth. Japan doesn't have anywhere for the mines to go and plans to convert them to automines should an extrasolar colony site not be found soon.
That leaves China. Their Corundium stockpiles are empty, so conversion of a meaningful amount of mines is not possible. Having just launched the first of their survey cruisers, data about extrasolar colony sites is wholly unavailable. Mineral-bearing bodies in Sol colonizable without special infrastructure are Mars, Venus and Callisto. Callisto's minerals are uninteresting and colonization expensive, Venus simply isn't suitable for large-scale manned mining operations.
Which means the western powers will have to accept a new tenant on the red planet - or be made to accept, if necessary.

(https://i.imgur.com/HBBb60m.png)
The fat years are over

The first two Russian fuel harvesters finish. They are freighter-sized vessels capable of relocating themselves at low speeds. 1.5m litres of fuel are expected to be produced annually, two more are laid down.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 05, 2020, 12:27:55 PM

   The Battle of Mars

Chinese preparations finish. On November 18, the general secretary of the communist party of China announces plans to found a Chinese mining outpost on Mars. Both US and EU diplomats object, stating they will not allow a foreign presence on the planet. China does not relent, and leaked plans make clear the scale of the mining "outpost"; practically the entire Chinese mining industry is to be moved.
Officially the Mars government is wholly subservient to the European Union, with status as a member state on another planet. However a large number of US companies have vested interests in or operate wholly on the red planet, with millions of US citizens also permanently living there. Both parties operate ~300 mines on the planet each, but the US government has also relocated other many important functions, including research facilities, financial infrastructure, the sector-based chain of command and a spaceport there. So the EU is the official custodian of the planet, but the US has a greater interest in it.
Economically, Mars mining has two big advantages: Firstly, it can be mined on a large-scale with moderate investment into infrastructure through manned mines. Secondly, it produces high-accessibility Duranium and 0.5 accessibility Corundium. Mass-produced Duranium is a must for any kind of TN industry and running out of the mineral is considered the worst-case scenario for the economy. The Corundium, minable in large quantities, is needed for expansion of mining facilities or flexible creation of mining operations elsewhere and therefore a big factor in reducing dependence on just one mining location in the future.

A conference to discuss the issue is convened a week later aboard the Chinese diplomatic station. EU and US representatives are present. Firstly, they present an acknowledgement of the Chinese need to mine a TN-mineral bearing body to feed it's economy. Chinese mining operations on Mars could be tolerated if they remain limited to mining industries and are strictly demilitarized. Both western powers would want such a presence to be as mininmal as possible, but limiting the amount of mining that can be done by China is not discussed as the planet has deposits millions of units deep. With that there is no basis for reducing their share. The western representatives add that this offer is made graciously in an effort to keep the peace and allow China to keep conducting their business.
From the Chinese point of view, an offer like this was expected. Relocating all or almost all mines to Mars and leaving them there at the mercy of other governments is not an option. A military presence to protect the Chinese interests must be allowed. This much is said in the negotioations.
There is an uproar from the western delegations. Neither nation wants China to be able to stage ground troops for a takeover of their own Mars colonies. At best, allowing Chinese forces on Mars would lead to an arms race.
China offers to sweeten the deal by offering to move the terraforming equipment on Luna to support the US-led Mars terraforming program once the moon hydrosphere project completes. The offer does not address the real issue and, as the EU delegate points out, is not entirely selfless as a more habitable Mars would benefit them as much as anyone else.
Negotiations continue for a while and the Chinese side retracts the demand to station warships in Mars orbit but remains adamant about the demands for ground troop stationing.
Western strategists would of course be delighted to be able to deny the strongest competitor access to Sol's prime mining location, but complete refusal would make war at this stage unavoidable, hence the initial offer. Militarily the two nations could confidently take on the Chinese both in space and on the ground, but the unity of the western front is discordant. They both may not fear interference from another at this time, but the EU's primary interest is guaranteeing the security of the Martian mines and avoiding a conflict, seeing Russia still as it's primary opponent. The US is much more adamant in their refusal to allow Chinese ground forces on Mars as they are both more dependant on Mars as a mineral source and operate more facilities there they don't want to see threatened or drawn into a war - that was the whole point of getting them off of Earth in the first place.
With no side having anything substantial to add anymore, the talks eventually break down without a concrete result. At the end, the Chinese delegation declares that the Mars colony announcment is already a done deal and that there would be a Chinese mining operation on Mars, western blessing or not.

Time passes. Propaganda material is released throughout China and in the western world celebrating the coming peaceful establishment of the Chinese Mars colony, with many pictures and videos showing American and Chinese engineers working together on the Mars terraforming project. A bright future is painted, and there is little to no opposition amongst the western populations to a Chinese presence on Mars.

   2083

Colonization of Mars begins on January 14th. All five Chinese government freighters approach Mars and begin unloading their freight, repurposed pressure domes from the Lunar colony. Diplomaitc protests are issued again, but the freighters aren't stopped on their second approach either. Little ways behind it is a colony ship carrying the first settlers, C4-019 from Dong Interstellar.
A decision has to be made at the top of the US hierarchy. The Chinese have demonstrated their will to establish a colony without their consent. Will they allow colonization to continue? Are they willing to threaten force of weapons on approaching Chinese ships?
US command answers both questions with yes. A purely civilian colony would be tolerated. Any approaching military ships or troop transports would be fired upon. A Chinese presence on Mars would threaten American business interests, private investment into the Mars colony has already declined since the announcement in November.

The Chinese government is quick to make good on their propaganda promises and starts moving a few token terraforming installations from Luna to Mars with the next freighter loads.

On February 28th the Chinese send a troop transport towards Mars. It is escorted by four military vessels, three laser destroyers and one jump ship, picked for it's ability to detect the EU fighter squadrons. Other shipping to Mars has been temporarily halted and other Chinese non-combatant ships, such as the remaining jump destroyers and tankers, have been ordered to Lunar orbit for protection by the STO systems there. Chinese leadership is well aware of the US demand that the Mars colony remain demilitarized, like they had asked in the conference. Not mining Mars or mining Mars while other forces could just decide to walk in one day and take over hundreds of mining complexes is not an option, and leadership is prepared to secure Mars by force if necessary.
The first warning was issued on March 4th, March 5th already by Chinese time, with the force 40m km away yet. The ships are not permitted to enter Mars orbit and must turn around. The crews have their orders and keep advancing.
A similar, more urgent warning is given upon 10m km approach and a final demand issued at 1m that the ships are ordered to leave or they will be fired upon.
The warnings are issued by Commander Herb Rater, captain of the US Mars Fleet flagship, the USS Borie. Four Lexington-class frigates are stationed on Mars, including one sensor variant.
The Chinese forces also only number four ships, but outmass the US Mars fleet 2:1 as the Chinese destroyers are twice as large as the US ships. However one ship is a jump escort with only minimal armament.

With every warning ignored, the American sensor ship begins radiating emissions, marking the first time a human military vessel has doen this outside of a training excercise. Under international law navies are not allowed to do so under normal circumstances as activating active sensor emissions is considered "An act preceeding imminent aggression". Less than a minute later the Chinese ships activate their sensors. Chinese communications in response to the warnings explained that they are here to see the escorted transport ship unload it's cargo. Loaded onto the ship are two infantry divisions and their supporting troops. As the now-active sensors allow the Chinese to see, the US and EU ground forces stationed on Mars are both of similar size to the Chinese troops loaded.
The distance between the navies begins to shrink. At 30k distance from Mars, already within firing range of both sides, the US frigates suddenly begin speeding towards the Chinese force. With the distance now a mere 7k km, they open fire from their plasma cannons.

(https://i.imgur.com/vYUW8Sr.png)
First Strike

For the Chinese position it was important not to be the first one to start shooting. The American first strike proves devastating however, as 15 hits at maximum strength are scored, distributed over the four approaching ships. One ship, the DD Velociraptor, receives successive hits in two armor locations and is rocked by a secondary explosion, virtually incinerating the entirety of the ships internal space. It is already out of the fight. Two more ships suffer the loss of a third of their engine power due to shock damage or overlapping hit areas.
As was prearranged by the Chinese captains, the return fire is directed towards the US sensor ship. Despite the chaos caused by the American plasma strike, the response is instantaneous. The Chinese vessels accelerate away from the troop transport and begin opening the range, firing on the American ships retreating towards Mars. Eight hits (strength 2) are scored, but no damage is visible. As both groups sped away from another, the distance was rather large when the Chinese fired.
The American ships continue to retreat past Mars like they trained, avoiding the enemy while the weapons regenerate their plasma. The next Chinese volley does even less damage. The American squadron owes it's combat speed of nearly 4000km/s to their INPE drives. The Chinese squadron operates on INTE tech and has a top speed of 2400. They were only expecting their opponents to operate at 3000km/s. Between this and one of the two combat destroyers having suffered engine damage it is hard to gain an advantage even with superior weapons range.
Another volley grazes the USS Richard P. Leary before the squadron pulls out of range. The Chinese commander Gao Xia Zi orders his ship to abort the chase and stay in Mars orbit. This will prevent the Americans from being able to pull another 180 and close the distance and threaten the EU fighter squadron in orbit with immediate annihilation should they decide to join their US counterparts in enforcing a blockade. Given that they are fighters they are expected to be faster than the destroyers and standing orders are that they should be immediately fired on and destroyed should they attempt to pull away in this situation.
Nearly recharged, Commander Rater gives the command to reverse course and close the range again. The Chinese ships respond, retreating from Mars towards Earth again. It is obvious they want to use their longer range to their advantage. More shots hit the USS Richard P. Leary, bringing it's armor to 63%.
The Chinese ships are each heading away at their best speeds, meaning the more damaged Xian II support ship and the DD Tyrannosaurus are quickly within weapons range again.

(https://i.imgur.com/1e8UJuD.png)
Getting into strike range once more

Expecting the need to retreat the Richard P. Leary soon Commander Rater has the ship open fire first on the closer Tyrannosaurus, then turn around. Return fire from the Chinese rocks the ship much harder now with the distance closed, causing the engines not to respond when ordered to turn.
The Tyrannosaurus' engines are disabled by the strike, as are some other internal systems. Seeing the Tyrannosaurus dead in the water has Rater order the remaining three ships to distribute their fire between the two remaining combatants.
The next blow disables the Triceratops, who was until now the least damaged Chinese destroyer. The Xian jump escort is still mobile, but only armed with a single laser. Recognizing their defeat, Zhong Xiao Zi opens communications to signal their surrender - but not before another combined volley hits the Richard P. Leary and blows it to pieces. With the American sensor ship blinking out on his console, Zi hesitates for a moment and closes the channel.
The crews of the US Mars fleet are enraged by the death of many of their own aboard the P. Leary, but with the sensor ship down have no recourse but to pull distance. Sporadic fire from the disabled Chinese ships and the Xian impacts the frigates as they retreat, even damaging the engines on one.
The Xian enters Mars orbit and ceases fire, the American ships pulling out of range. Having lost their sensor ship, with no sensors of their own, they can't feed accurate enough information to their targeting systems to have any hope of hitting a ship in space.
Commander Rater opens a channel to the commanding officer of the Eurofighter squadron stationed on Mars, demanding he open fire to avenge his comrades and defend the red planet. Expecting to get drawn into it, the officer in question sternly refuses, stating that he is under strict orders not to fire on Chinese ships unless they open fire first.
Out of options, Rater and his fleet retreat and take up position some distance away, conceding Mars orbit to the Chinese.

(https://i.imgur.com/ukxyWJs.png)
The dust starts settling

The Chinese destroyers assess their damage and begin damage control operations. The troop transport, which ceased movement at the onset of the battle, is called in to begin unloading the troops.
Options are weighed in the US command. As it stands, the troop transport still needs time to unload it's cargo. Seven frigates stationed on Earth could get to Mars in 24 hours and would arrive before Chinese reinforcements. What is unknown is if the transport can finish unloading before that point. It is decided against sending out additional ships because of that uncertainty and to avoid escalating the conflict. Moving some or all ships would also leave Earth's orbit vulnerable. There are now Chinese ground forces on Mars, that is the reality the western powers now have to contend with.
Over the course of the next day the damaged Chinese destroyers restore some engine capacity and move themselves into Mars orbit.

Tactically the Chinese force was down to rights by the point the USS Richard P. Leary went down. All combat ships were dead in the water with other internal damage ranging from moderate to serious. Only the Xian jump ship retained mobility. On the other side damage was relatively light, even considering the destruction of the P. Leary. The three other frigates present were undamaged; the next volley would have surely destroyed all Chinese ships.
The fatal mistake was to allow the Americans the first blow, at such close a distance at that, as their doctrine specializes in alpha strikes. Striking second was considered important to avoid being seen as a force invading Mars, and the hope was that the American threats were only a bluff anyway. Regardless of the near-defeat at Mars, the Chinese action debriefing considers current doctrine valid, only urging immediate refits of existing ships or the construction of new ships with newer engines. INPE tech, equal to what the Americans were using in the battle, is available.
The loss of the battle despite tactical superiority causes a great stir in US military leadership. Blame is shifted around, eventually falling on anyone who was involved in the refits that removed the Lexington class's original sensors. Immediate refits to provide existing ships with at least minimal short-range detection capability is the obvious takeaway from this one. Particularly enraging is the fact that the US was expecting to win the engagement after seeing the composition of the force dispatched from Earth orbit. Detailed schematics for the three Jiangwei destroyers were available to US intelligence, the result of a CIA operation 15 years ago when the ships were just being drafted. The ships encountered here were only minimally different to the original design, making this a battle the US went into with a lot of variables known.

Up until now the Chinese fleet was considered menacing. Being virtually defeated by a smaller force is a serious blow to the Chinese image. Achieving it's objective was it's only saving grace, although nobody expected that a weak support ship, with it's only weapon added as an afterthought, would be the unit that wins the day.

US-EU relations take a hit as a result of the engagement, which is starting to become known as the "Battle of Mars". The EU also issued protest against Chinese ground force deployment to the red planet, but was unwilling to back up their obvious partner in the matter with actions. Sentiment in the EU continues to see Russia as the world's primary antagonist. Unwillingness of the population due to propaganda conducted certainly contributed to the decision.
Response amongst other nations to the incident is not especially pointed. There is of course a lot of real and feigned shock about human infighting in space, but no concrete consequences develop.

Propaganda-wise the battle is a loss for the Chinese. The fact that the US fleet shot first is overshadowed by the news of a US ship destroyed in combat by an invading Chinese fleet. This is despite higher Chinese losses. They lost 286 crewmen versus the 134 aboard the P. Leary and a further 24 dead on the USS Bailey.

A week after the battle the Chinese unleashed the entirety of their civilian shipping on the red planet. Contracts are out to move massive amounts of infrastructure from Luna to Mars and colony lines are all too eager to fill the new domes with hopefuls hearing of rich employment opportunities.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 06, 2020, 03:22:52 PM

I was already thinking about what to write for their postmortem of the attack when they managed to pull out a win! Certainly didn't expect that after that devastating first strike.

---

   2083 (cont.)

Life goes on. EU and US militaries refrain from sending more ground troops to Mars right away as they each have more than enough to deal with the two and a half divisions a single freighter can carry there. A close eye would be kept on future troop movments, however.
The real problem stems from the possibility that there may be STO units amongst the Chinese landing force. PRC leadership insists that there are no such elements present on Mars, but it's impossible to be certain, and deceit is certainly not being put past the Chinese. STO units can easily amass enough firepower to overwhelm a good number of ships in orbit, thereby securing a way in for more troop transports to land in case of a ground war. And the obvious solution of firing on STO units stationed on an inhabitet body is... problematic.

The remainder of 2083 proved rather quiet. There is a lot of Russian shipbuilding going on (escorts and fuel harvesters), with the deployment to Mars China updated their ground unit designs and queued more. The Chinese ships involved in the fighting would be in dock until fall. Refitting them would be uneconomical, so a revised design making use of a spinal laser and increased armor was also drawn up, beginning construction by mid-October.

The terraforming project on the moon finished. In addition to the breathable, if thin, atmosphere, there are now large crater lakes dotting the surface of the Earth satellite. The water is definitely not drinkable without filtering due to the toxic properties of Lunar dust. A human may now walk on the surface of the moon with just minimal precautions, but the long process of creating a biosphere, an ecosystem for an entire world, is only just beginning. Enrichment of moon soil for select Earth plant species and treatment of the water through introduction of algae and plankton species are only the first steps.

   2084

The EU tug, after several delays, finally finishes. The ship is named Hercules, barely more than 50 commercial INTE engine blocks packed together in a statically sound package. It comes in at 67k tons and, without load, reaches 3000 km/s. The delays were unfortunate, as at this point not only the Hambach mining station, but also a maintenance facility for defending ships is finished. A second mining station is already ~70% done.
The original location intended for deployment of the station, an asteroid in the asteroid belt, is considered obsolete as it's primary products would have been Duranium and Corundium, both of which are produced on Mars. The EU Duranium reserves also sit at a very healthy 40k. Mercassium and Gallicite are the shortages. There are only two comets with appreciably deposits of both minerals in Sol. Wolf-Harrington is chosen for it's additional deposits of several other minerals. At 633 km/s, the tug will arrive at the comet with the mining station in just under 2 days - the comet is passing by near Earth.

By mid-2084 the Chinese Mars colony has grown to 75m inhabitants - in the span of less than two years. All 300 mines are in operation on the planet, as are most of the moon's old terraforming installations. The new Martian population enjoys full employment, but with saturation of the mines reached no new settlers will be moved anymore. There were some more minor diplomatic skirmishes between China and the western powers regarding Mars issues, but nothing near the severity of the Battle of Mars. With two divisions in place China trusts that the ground can, in case of an invasion, be defended for as long as it takes to pacify Mars orbit again and land reinforcements.
The PRC leadership also has another project: Moving all of Earth's critical infrastructure onto the moon, out of the immediate reach of the other powers. If EU tractor beam tech could be replicated there would be no issue with moving all of China's military manufacturing and shipbuilding operations to Luna by the end of the decade.

At this time of the year Earth and Mars are at their closest approach to another, making interplanetary shipping trips especially efficient.

(https://i.imgur.com/HWKz7Kl.png)
Civilian shipping as far as the eye can see

   2085

The Russian Federation moves it's two Ground Force Training Facilities (GFTFs) to Callisto. With 13m people living on the moon manpower is still short, but given it's rich Vendarite deposits it will make for an adequate training facility.

With two EU Hambach-class mining platforms in place and a third under construction, mining of the comet Wolf-Harrington is going smoothly.

(https://i.imgur.com/LQnPSVy.png)
Commander-powered orbital mining in action

Only the defending squadron of ships has a problem, it's crews are feeling the strain of extended deep-space missions without being able to leave their ship. Long-range survey cruisers have completely different accomodations to make up for it, but they too see the same loss of morale after some time. A study has been carried out, determining what kind of facilities would be needed for indefinite stationing in deep space and the resulting list is rather long, and therefore expensive. As it is most difficult to get projects termed "casino ship", "floating garden" or "space brothel" through the EU parliament, the decision to tack on an administrative facility to ensure mining efficiency was made to make the project politically palatable.

Tragedy has befallen the USS Alpha Centauri. The planetary survey vessel was in a system codenamed Miwok, three jumps from Sol, already on it's way back to Earth. In a freak accident it's engine assembly suffered damage the ships crew was unable to repair, stranding the ship in space. Outreach to the Argentinian space program failed; the US does not have the diplomatic clout needed to conscript the use of one of their jump tenders to reach the Alpha Centauri with a tug. A direct result of the nation's negligence in diplomatic matters. As it stands the ship will have to be abandoned and the crew picked up by the nearby USS Osmond Ingram, who is conducting a gravsurvey on the other side of the system. The crew of the Osmond Ingram has just arrived there from an overhaul and is not thrilled to be making it's way back to Earth so soon again.

Russian private industry founds the nations first commercial mining complexes on Van Biesbroeck. The nation has been hit hard by the drying up of Earth's deposits, so this is a much-needed break for them - Both their Duranium and Gallicite stockpiles are dangerously close to 0 with the recent batches of shipbuilding.
Russian automine conversion has just begun, and the only body in Sol able to deliver both Duranium and Gallicite is Venus, claimed by Japan. In relatively pleasant negotiations Russian diplomats explain their desire to extract minerals from Venus and Japan, being kind and understanding, allows it with the condition that no military be stationed on the planet, to which Russia agrees.

Argentina duplicates the Sorium Harvester, the promised solution to free the nation from it's fuel paralysis. One survey ship is idling in Earth orbit, another undergoing overhaul and the two others scheduled to return soon. The jump ship to begin the military shipbuilding program has been finished, but could only be partially fueled. There hasn't been any shipment to the Santa María colony in years. The nation is kept above water by Sorium income from the asteroid Lamberta. 22 automines are in operation between Lamberta and the comet Machholz, with a mass driver periodically being moved between the two by civilian shipping.
The fuel harvester to be laid down in the Argentine orbital yard is practically a carbon copy of the Russian Kiev type. It is doubtful that Duranium will be plentiful enough to construct both the harvester and the first Dorado-class destroyer at the same time, not with shipyard retooling of both yards consuming even more of the metal.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 08, 2020, 01:11:57 PM

   2086

Exploration is progressing slowly. Every nation is operating anything between three and eight survey vessels at this point but aside from Santa María system no great concentrations of minerals or prime colonization targets have been found.
Current exploration extent is as follows:

Argentina: 15 systems
US: 11 systems
EU: 7 systems
Japan: 11 systems
PRC: 7 systems
Russia: 11 systems

(https://i.imgur.com/mMhmVlI.png)
Argentine exploration 2086

Nations generally codename systems after Earth locations to have an easier time referring to them, the only system names that stuck globally are the Argentine names for Aguascalientes, the first other star system entered by humanity, and Santa María as well as Salto, the system between Santa María and Sol.
The location of the Santa María colony has been discovered by all nations now, who have varying degrees of interests in taking it over. Currently no nation has the ability to move commercial ships to other systems, and therefore no way to exploit the system's riches.

The European Union decideds to afford extra protection to it's civilian mining complexes in the form of STO autocannons. One brigade with 10 railgun systems each is to be stationed on every body with an EU presence.

In May the first Argentine Dorado-class destroyer rolls off the assembly line. With all possible components prefabricated construction was possible in record time - yet the amount of fuel available amounts to nothing more but a few drops, barely sufficient for getting out of orbit. Components for two more destroyers are in storage, but Duranium concerns delay the construction start of more ships until the first fuel harvester can be laid down. It's components are also under prefabrication.

The US mineral situation is not cause of much concern to the nation as the mines on Mars are rich and 18 CMCs on 7 different bodies provide a diverse income, but that organic growth of private enterprise has so far failed to find a way of profitably exploiting Gallicite. The corporate congress must step in and puts out contracts for a mining operation on Neujmin. 75 automines are to be built - the large amounts of Corundium required for the project available because of the Martian mines.

   2087

An American startup has gathered funding and built a specialized ship for salvaging wrecks. It's primary aim is the wreck of the USS Richard P. Leary near Mars orbit, but the company has also secured salvage rights for the old Eurofighter wreck that fell into disrepair on Mars and for the hull of an abandoned Japanese survey craft who's engines gave out in the outer solar system.

The Japanese are the last nation to lay down a major warship. For too long the only space-based military units of the SDF was the squadron of 10 microwave fighters. The Tama class destroyer is based on the most advanced technology available. It's main armament consisting of eight experimental particle beamers which should outrange any other energy weapon system in existence by a considerable margin. The range is being paid for in a lower sustained energy output compared to simpler weapon systems. Additionally the targeting computers needed to make use of the high range possible with the weapon are quite bulky, or to be more precise, their cooling units are. Two high power microwaves allow for a measure of defense in a short-range engagement. The ship is protected by a medium armor belt and two high-tech forcefield generators, an untested technology here deployed on a warship for the first time. At 3.3k km/s with NPE tech the Tama is not especially fast, but the speed should be sufficient to gain an advantage of the long-range weapons. It's endurance is more limited than that of it's counterparts of other navies. In particular it's range is very short with 8b km, enough to reach the Kuiper Belt, but not to come back. The ship will have to rely on tankers for long distance operations. Japan does not operate any such tanker yet, the plan is to create a jump-tender/tanker hybrid.

Code: [Select]

Tama class Destroyer      12 000 tons       345 Crew       1 227.5 BP       TCS 240    TH 800    EM 1 200
3333 km/s      Armour 3-46       Shields 40-500       HTK 89      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 54
Maint Life 1.03 Years     MSP 255    AFR 768%    IFR 10.7%    1YR 242    5YR 3 627    Max Repair 40.00 MSP
Kaigun-Ch?sa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

Toshiba NPE Impulse Drive (10)    Power 800.0    Fuel Use 80.0%    Signature 80.00    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 430 000 Litres    Range 8.1 billion km (27 days at full power)
Nippon Forcefields Deflection Field (2)     Recharge Time 500 seconds (0.1 per second)

XG3 Particle Beamer (8)    Range 150 000km     TS: 3 333 km/s     Power 7-3    ROF 15       
Sugitani High Power Microwave (2)    Range 15 000km     TS: 3 333 km/s     Power 3-3    ROF 5       
Hiraseli Fast Tracking System (1)     Max Range: 20 000 km   TS: 3 400 km/s     42 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Matsusmega Electric High-Performance Target Prediction Computer (2)     Max Range: 256 000 km   TS: 3 400 km/s     82 78 75 72 68 65 62 58 55 52
Toshiba Starship Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 24.6    Exp 7%
Nagasaki Three-Point Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 6    Exp 5%

Hiraseli Short-Range Sensor (1)     GPS 40     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 10

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Argentina finishes it's first fuel harvester and all hopes of getting the space program back on track rest on it. The ship makes it's way towards Neptune, which only has a 0.9 Sorium density, but is also not claimed by the Russians like Jupiter. It will take three months for the harvester to get there.
Not long after the ship leaves the jump drive on Aspirante Morel, the Argentine jump destroyer, breaks down due to insufficient maintenance. Argentina has facilities to maintain two destroyer-sized ships in orbit indefinitely, right now there are two destroyers and also three survey ships of equal size in orbit. It will be two years before enough Sorium and Duranium will be mined again to repair the jump drive. For now, both naval ships are put in mothballs (permanent overhaul due to over-capacity) to prevent any more such failures. Additionally, maintenance supplies are short, causing their production to put additional pressure on Duranium and Gallicite. Reserves of the latter will last two years. The nation is seriously considering downsizing it's overly-ambitious space program.

   2088

China constructs a tug and completes the process of moving all critical TN infrastructure to the moon by tugging the shipyards there. Only the more educated and desirable individuals were allowed to emigrate to the Lunar surface from Earth, but with nearly 3b humans under it's government, the best, brightest and most loyal really do number 728m, almost enough to fill the body to capacity. Shipping of more colonists to Luna has stopped a while ago.

(https://i.imgur.com/O6i8Owf.png)
China now lives on the moon

In TN industries base human labor is not really all that important anymore, so leaving the uneducated masses behind on Earth has little effect on the economy. Still, the amount of people needed to sustain the massively complex pieces of TN infrastructure can be great, and the moon can only sustain a maximum of 222m workers in the manufacturing sector. Chinese industry, discounting the mines on Mars, currently requires 80m workers. So while there is still ample space to grow the industrial base on the moon, it will not last forever.
China, as of now, is not dependent on Earth anymore as a spacefaring nation. To reflect this the general secretary of the China Communist Party decrees both the country and the party renamed. It is now the People's Republic of Luna (PRL).
China, or now the PRL, will still maintain a presence on Earth for political and strategic reasons. It's remaining 2b Chinese inhabitants may be considered excess to requirements, but may still come in handy in the future. More importantly it is critical to be able to threaten all other nations with immediate reprisals through ground troops and ships stationed in orbit of Earth. This is what has kept all nations away from starting any major conflict with another since the advent of TN tech, shipyards and other infrastructure in Earth orbit getting destroyed by ships stationed at effectively point-blank fighting distance from another could only end in a bloodbath and would likely see both nations critically weakened. For the People's Republic of Luna, this is now not the case anymore.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 09, 2020, 04:08:46 PM

   2089 - Summaries

   European Union

Research Priorities
The EU suffers from poor engine technology caused by lack of specialists. An expensive program to keep the nation competetive and develop INPE engines has just finished, but European engines are still less efficient or less capable than the counterparts designed in other parts of the world.

Military Analysis
The EU operates a set of nine large defensive frigates distributed over three posts: Earth, Mars and the location of the Hambach mining complex. Offensive firepower is provided by Eurofighter launch platforms, which are hard to operate away from their stations. With being split over a number of bases the forces stationed at each one will be individually inferior to the navies of the other nations. Both problems are expected to be solved by the Hades class cruiser currently in development. With a displacement of 20k tons it is the largest warship to be built by humans yet. The ship is not especially fast, but it's armament of 24 Cerberus missile launch tubes does not require a speed advantage to be utilized like energy weapons do. It can carry enough ammunition for ten volleys and carries a defensive armament equal to the autocannons of two Adana class frigates. Only it's range is relatively limited, requiring the assistance of a tanker for sustained operations.

Code: [Select]

Hades class Cruiser (P)      20 000 tons       562 Crew       1 935.3 BP       TCS 400    TH 1 190    EM 0
2975 km/s      Armour 5-65       Shields 0-0       HTK 130      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 5      PPV 122
Maint Life 1.95 Years     MSP 662    AFR 640%    IFR 8.9%    1YR 228    5YR 3 414    Max Repair 72.25 MSP
Magazine 732   
Fregattankapitan    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Airbus INPE Vacuum Turbine (7)    Power 1190    Fuel Use 42.39%    Signature 170    Explosion 8%
Fuel Capacity 500 000 Litres    Range 10.6 billion km (41 days at full power)

Krupp Vacuum Autocannon (10x4)    Range 20 000km     TS: 2 975 km/s     Power 6-2     RM 10 000 km    ROF 15       
Krupp Autocannon Targeting Electronics (2)     Max Range: 48 000 km   TS: 2 700 km/s     53 39 25 11 0 0 0 0 0 0
R20 Reactor Chamber (1)     Total Power Output 20.1    Exp 7%

Cerberus Firing Tube (24)     Missile Size: 3    Rate of Fire 30
Cerberus Guidance System (3)     Range 10.9m km    Resolution 80
Cerberus B ASM (244)    Speed: 13 467 km/s    End: 12.8m     Range: 10.3m km    WH: 4    Size: 3    TH: 49/29/14

Destroyer Detection Dish (1)     GPS 4320     Range 33.3m km    Resolution 240
Koski Electronics Projectile Scanner (1)     GPS 20     Range 5.6m km    MCR 507.8k km    Resolution 1
Koski Electronics Frigate Detection Dish (1)     GPS 320     Range 10.9m km    Resolution 80
König Hitzelspitzel (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m 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

Another piece of important EU strategy are the current attempts to stabilize Sol's jump points. This experimental technology has just been deployed during 2088 and it's first mission is to open a stable passage to the Santa María system. This is the result of a research project to give the Hambach mining platforms jump capability. The advantage of stabilizing the jump points is that, once stabilized, ships of any size and engine types can pass through and do so without the use of a jump tender. The downside is, everyone else can do it too. The strategic implications of opening up these jump points for all are still up in the air, but for now any plans for jump drive ships in the EU are on ice.

Economic Situation
EU mineral stocks are large and driving the nation to ever more construction projects - it can afford them. Fuel is rather short (although Sorium reserves will still last to keep up planetary refining for some time) and Sorium harvesters are planned soon. Large, immobile harvesting platforms would pair well with the nation's already existing station infrastructure.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 19 048
Thanks to it's investment into orbital mining platforms the EU enjoys the strongest mineral inflow in absolute terms. This scheme is unfortunately dependent on prime mining locations for peak efficiency, which tend to run out quickly, as such access to locations outside Sol is required in the medium term.

   Russian Federation

Research Priorities
Russian technology is weak. The nation has never had more than 6 research facilities, and lack of Duranium will prevent more from being built anytime soon. Research will have to limit itself to the essentials; Missile technology to have the fleet's firepower keep step with the other nations and, currently, basic economic techs to make the industrial base more efficient.

Military Analysis
The Russian space navy follows an all-missile doctrine, with small box launcher armed frigates on the attack and AMM-armed frigates on the defense. Together with two sensor ships and two new jump ships, 21 frigates a 4k tons are in operation. Due to mineral shortages, this is the extent of the fleet for the foreseeable future. Engagements must be well-chosen, as the effectiveness of the nation's chosen doctrine is directly proportional to the amount of ammunition in stock.
A permanent military presence must be established on Callisto to protect the fuel harvesters and the colony's facilities. This can happen either through a splitting of the fleet, stationing some on Callisto through the use of maintenance facilities there, or, in a more limited fashion, through STO weapons teams. There is no expertise in the field of direct-fire weapons in the nation, so the only STO weapon system would be a basic slow-firing laser or plasma cannon. The decision falls on the stationing of proper warships, however this requires a specialized transport to be built that can move maintenance supplies to the colony first. In order to avoid splitting firepower too much, only a single offensive frigate will be stationed on the moon.

Economic Situation
Russia has averted a fuel crisis through early investment into Sorium harvesting technology and the claiming of Jupiter. Six harvesters are currently in operation, producing 3.8m litres of fuel per annum.
Russia is successfully operating eight survey frigates. They are smaller than their counterparts of other nations and only carry one sensor of each type, but their small size keeps them cheap and fuel-efficient and their solid construction grants them much endurance. This gives the nation a higher rate of exploration than the others, increasing hopes of finding a habitable or resource-rich planet outside Sol.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 2 163
Most of Russia's mining happens on Callisto in the form of largely worthless Vendarite and Corbomite. The real income is very small, consisting of just 12 automines on Venus at the start of the year (with 15 more contracted to arrive there shortly) and the 20 automine equivalents on a comet.
For the near future spending will have to be very frugal. The eventual goal is the establishment of defensible mining colonies in other star systems, but for now there is no way to move commercial traffic out of Sol for Russia and no fuel to support such an endeavour.
The appropriation of other nations mineral sources is a consideration, but Earth, especially the shipyards, are quite vulnerable and there is only ground-based military stationed on Callisto. Reprisals could be dangerous.

   Corporate Congress of the United States

Research Priorities
US research is strong and diverse, with some saying that the many companies pushing US science lack focus. Missile systems are the latest fashion amongst military contractors, and various launch platforms are expected to make their way into the space navy in coming years.

Military Analysis
The US space navy operates 16 frigates a 6k tons with a mixed armament of turreted lasers and plasma cannons. There is no jump capability in the fleet, nor any planned, as the nation is doing just fine exploiting Sol and sees no need to spend on extrasolar power projection at this time.
The atmosphere of Mars just became breathable at the end of the year due to the joint Chinese-American terraforming effort, instantly doubling the amount of people current infrastructure can support. Until now a relative lack of manpower shortages has prevented the full transfer of all critical infrastructure to Mars, which has been a goal of US leadership all along. Much like how China reduced it's vulnerability by moving to the moon, having all critical US manufacturing on Mars would be a big boon. A new colonization rush to Mars is predicted to finally allow this to become a reality in the next few years. At that point the continued EU and Chinese presence on the planet would become an issue, but less so than the presence of more factions on Earth.
The Chinese have so far kept their word about not stationing more military assets on Mars, and no indications of STO weapons there have been found yet. Despite the Battle of Mars almost 6 years ago, there is little lasting animosity from the US side - the blockade was simply a strategic move to deny a competitor easy access to resources.

Economic Situation
The US is doing very well economically. The mineral situation is fine and fuel is still well-stocked with 20m litres in storage, necessitating no rush in the construction of refinery vessels. Wealth is not an issue with interplanetary trade between two major populations.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 14 719
Operating the mines on Mars, a large array of civilian mining colonies and a shared government-mandated mining colony to plug holes in the income streams, the nation feels comfortable in it's mineral situation. All minerals, save for Gallicite and to some degree Sorium and Boronide, are well-stocked. Martian Corundium income allows the construction of new automines in numbers other nations can only dream of and US military construction is expected to continue smoothly for years to come.

   Japan

Research Priorities
Japan is currently researching three key technologies: INPE drives, composite armor for more efficient shipbuilding, and Sorium harvesters. The total research capability of the nation is solidly average. Research for the next few years is expected to be occupied with helping to transform the nation's economic base to a model fed by minerals mined offworld.

Military Analysis
Recently Japan was forced to give Russia mining rights on Venus. It would have been preferrable not to allow this, but with no warships and only ground force strength it would have been very difficult to stand up to them should they wish to force the issue like China did in 83 with Mars.
The first Japanese warships will be laid down in 2089. The doctrine is considered capable and will protect space-based assets for years to come. Support ships to extend the range of operations are planned.

Economic Situation
Wealth is fine, fuel is still okay but will require deployment of harvesters in the near future. Mineral stocks allow for ship construction, but not much in the way of economic expansion.
The nation's chosen colony site of Venus has the advantage of being one of the few viable Gallicite mining sites in Sol, but is hard to exploit fully. Plans for habitats to be placed in low orbit to "float" on the clouds of the planet have existed for quite some time, but only now the technology is there. The remaining question is not necessarily one of cost, as the individual habitats are quite cheap, but of protection and relocation of the habitats. Without strong tugs it will take years for each station to get there, and even with INPE engine tech on the horizon currently tugs can only be built so big. Protection can hopefully be provided once the SDF operates it's first warships, but the real solution the Japanese are looking for is the establishment of a major extrasolar colony. Aside from Santa María II, the only serious candidate at current is a snowball of a world one jump past Santa María in a system known to the Japanese as Kobe. Kobe IV features attractive Duranium and Corundium deposits and some other trace minerals, but is covered to 100% in never-ending ice fields with a corresponding average temperature of -47°C. A thick nitrogen atmosphere exists, but addition of more oxygen would be a major undertaking as the planet is very large.
Once current projects are finished development on solutions for either option can begin. Unfortunately both Venus and Kobe IV require great effort to become viable colonies. Perhaps investments into both will be made to keep options open.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 4 317
Japan was unprepared for the drying up of Earth's deposits. A number of CMCs and the Duranium/Gallicite automines on Venus, which have been expanded since, keep minerals flowing in and the nation able to act. Aside from deployment of more automines in Sol on comets and asteroids there are no short-term mining options, and the current weak inflow of minerals endangers the long-term plans of the nation for a major offworld colony.

   People's Republic of Luna

Research Priorities
Chinese tech is solid. Base economic tech has been neglected so far, this is being corrected now. There are no concrete demands on tech otherwise at current.

Military Analysis
The slow Jiangwei destroyer line has been kept around unupdated after the Battle of Mars. A new variant of the destroyer, the Mighty Dolphin, has been put into service in addition to the old ships. It features more advanced engines, a spinal weapon and much heavier armor. Six destroyers of either type are in operation, support ships amount to four jump destroyers of the Xian type, one of which has the speed to operate with the new Dolphin-class destroyers, and two slower tankers.
Strategically the nation has gained a lot of leeway in moving all operations to the moon. Fear of Earth-based reprisals against shipyards and the population is no longer a concern, if another nation possesses something we desire, we can now just take it.

Economic Situation
Mineral stockpiles on the moon are very large, but so is consumption as the PRL does not believe in limited-series production. Sorium is the only mineral with reserves critically low. The 20m units of fuel in reserve will go relatively quickly with as many ships in operation as there are and fuel refinery platforms are only just now starting to be built. Extrasolar colonization, requiring lots of fuel for long-distance freighter trips, will have to wait until the current fuel situation is resolved.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 11 483
Luna is unfortunately not blessed with TN minerals, so the nation relies on Mars and a number of mining outposts throughout Sol to keep itself fed. The total income is not considered sufficient for long-term growth and the establishment of extensive extrasolar mining outposts is planned in the Santa María system. Argentine presence will be suppressed or removed if necessary. It is thanks to the mines on Mars that establishment of more mines in Sol and beyond in the future is possible.


   Argentine Republic

Research Priorities
Argentina is plagued by mineral shortages. Much research in recent years has been focused on increasing the efficiency of what little economy there is: make each mine dig more minerals, each Sorium harvester refine more fuel and each maintenance facility maintain more tonnage. As long as the nation is paralyzed by it's weak economy any other new technologies couldn't be utilized anyway.
This, paired with the nations already comparatively small array of research facilities, is predicted to have the nation fall dangerously behind in technology.

Military Analysis
On paper, the nation now possesses the ability to send military expeditions to other star systems, particularly the Santa María colony. In reality, it can barely afford to maintain the two warships it built and fuel is scarce.
Only one proper warship was built before economic paralysis hit the country. Prefabricated components for two more ships lie in storage, sans the engines for the second. As there is currently no fuel, Duranium or maintenance capacity for more ships, the construction program is on hold indefinitely.
Strategically Argentina is 100% dependent on it's Sol automining colonies, neither of which have any form of protection. Their primary defense is the threat of retaliation on Earth.
Argentina would very much like to keep a monopoly over Santa María, but at current maintaining a claim over the entire system is unrealistic. Maintaining a claim over Santa María II, the site of the colony, may be possible as the colony has an STO mass driver brigade stationed there. This can prevent unauthorized landings on the colony and can only be dislodged via orbital bombardment. The nation is very determined in keeping it's one advantage intact.
Ground forces are the one section that has not, or not yet, been hit by the economic downturn of recent years. The nation has kept breeding more legions of war, coming in at an impressive 10 infantry divisions on Earth. They may not be particularly advanced, but it is the hope that through compensation with more ground units some semblance of parity in power with competing nations can be reached.

Economic Situation
The source of all of Argentina's troubles in recent years has been the decline of Earth's mineral deposits. The nation's TN economy was unprepared to transition to other mineral sources. Wealth-wise, the situation is under control, even without civilian shipping income. This is largely due to little new construction going on, however. Current expenditures are limited to research (70%) and ground unit construction/maintenance.
Planned construction in the near future is planned to be an expansion of maintenance facilities on Earth and a third fuel harvester to be deployed on Neptune. Given the seven month round-trip from Earth, recalling harvesters early is inefficient.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 1 637
Current shortages are Duranium, Corundium, Sorium and Gallicite. Neutronium has stabilized for now. 28 automines are extracting minerals from two comets and other bodies in Sol, but the currently tapped resources do not produce Gallicite, another body must be tapped for this if any more shipbuilding is to take place. In order to save fuel, all facility transfers are conducted by civilian shipping where possible. The nation only has a single mass driver, excluding the receiver on Earth, which must periodically be transferred between mining locations. Another 41 mines are present on Earth, so automine conversion can continue for some time yet. Medium-term, it might be preferrable to tap mineral sources in Santa María, but at current there simply is not enough fuel for the long trips required.

(https://i.imgur.com/gXOZ53e.png)
Race comp 2089

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 10, 2020, 04:30:17 PM

There isn't a lot of action going on right now due to everyone being hit by the mineral shortage to some degree. Most nations don't have Gallicite to build ships and are dealing with building more mines, fuel harvesters, maintenance facilities. Playing around the dysfunctional Argentine economy was especially fun here but they're not over the hill yet.

Haven't said this before, but when I'm referring to freighters or colony ships (player-built ones) I always mean quite similar designs just under 50k size. That's enough to fit a standard cargo hold or enough cryo for 100k people and a bit more engine ratio than civvies use. To help keep my sanity and as everyone had plenty of time to expand their shipyards at the conventional start I decided not to have nations build smaller colony ships or freighters that can only move part of a regular facility. It also makes sense that some standards establish themselves across nations. Similarly I only started building ground troops 10 years into the game at 2060, before that point tech advances so fast that it was nearly pointless and trying to keep up with tech would have been a lot of busywork for units that quickly become irrelevant. It's reasonable to assume that the conventional armies that would have existed before game start held their respective forts until that point.
Another standard I mention frequently is the ground force division which amounts to 10k size in this game. Brigades are 5k, corps are 25k - enough to just fit into the troop transport bay of a 50k ton freighter.

---

   2090

Japan finishes a ground construction program. 120 Type-01 Kiyomune TSFs are now in service, striking awe into any that see them. The ground SDF banks on these new, massive machines being the future of ground warfare. Other nations are not yet ready to accept such a radical change to established doctrines, with most militaries still using pre-TN organization and concepts upgraded with TN tech.
The initial research costs for the project were enormous and the four "Tactical Assault" TSF division represent an investment of over 5k Vendarite, most of the national stockpile.

The stabilized passage to Santa María completes. Argentine civilian shipping lines finally see regular work and take up operations. In addition to regular civilian infrastructure the government arranges for a few mining complexes to be moved - the planet has rich deposits of Duranium, Neutronium and Uridium. Sentiment on the Santa María colony towards their sponsoring government and Earth as a whole is not very good, as they understandably feel abandoned. The colony is still tiny with just 350k inhabitants at this point, and the hope is that relations can be repaired. To the population of Earth as a whole the Santa María colony is a powerful symbol - it is the first interstellar colony of mankind, after all.
The EU stabilization ships are credited with bringing more mineral sources into the reach of humanity without trying to gain an individual advantage. The Argentine government in particular is thankful. Not seeing any reason not to, the stabilization program continues working on connecting more nearby systems to the "stable jump network".

   2091

The EU and the PRL operate large fuel harvester platforms in orbit of Neptune now. The Argentine harvesting ships in orbit are starting to get full, survey ships which are able are directed to fuel up and set out again. Gallicite is currently short in production of spare parts for Argentina, gravely impacting the maintenance situation. The immediate fuel paralysis has been solved.
In the time where Argentine explorers stood still the US has unexpectedly surveyed the most systems, bringing their total known to 17.

The Chinese/Lunar Santa María colony project begins. The nation's hordes of civilian shipping lines are being contracted to move infrastructure from Mars to Santa María V-4, a moon with rich mineral deposits. It is comparabale to Callisto in size and colonization difficulty with a colony cost of over 8, but the large amounts of shipping, existing infrastructure and terraforming plants promise to turn the body into a productive base within a reasonable timespan.
Outright conquering Santa María II is not out of the cards, but not necessary at this point. This unnamed moon has more mineral deposits and may serve as a base of operations for an attack later.

   2092

Japan puts out the first contracts to move small amounts of infrastructure from Venus to Kobe IV, their chosen colony site one jump past Santa María. The system of Kobe is very small, 4 planets, 4 comets, with the innermost planet also having interesting mineral deposits. In exchange it is scalding hot, orbiting the star at less than 10m km distance. Kobe is also the system with two jump points in very close proximity to another. Travling from Santa María to Miyazaki, the comet-only system past Kobe, is much quicker than the 4b km trek from the JP into the planetary system of Kobe itself.

Shipbuilding in recent years has declined and only Japan and the EU have constructed new warships. Two Tama-class destroyers are ready, with a second batch featuring incremental armor and engine upgrades under construction. The second European Hades-class cruiser, the Charon, has just left the shipyard. This cruiser series is named after Pluto and it's moons due to their associations in mythology.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 12, 2020, 10:21:55 PM

   2093

American ordnance factories on Mars begin mass-producing a missile design. It's a very long-ranged cruise missile with a large warhead, able to to at least as much damage as a comparable hit from a plasma cannon. This massive 8 MSP weapon is even larger than the Russian heavy missiles. Size was the factor the competing defense contractors compromised on in efforts to outbid each other on range and firepower.
As a launch platform, the F-94 Eagle has been proposed. A small 250t strike craft capable of carrying a single cruise missile. The fighter has 2b km range and could also take on a ground support role if refit correctly.

Code: [Select]

F-94 Eagle class Attack Craft (P)      250 tons       5 Crew       40.1 BP       TCS 5    TH 40    EM 0
8013 km/s      Armour 1-3       Shields 0-0       HTK 2      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 1.2
Maint Life 3.33 Years     MSP 20    AFR 50%    IFR 0.7%    1YR 3    5YR 41    Max Repair 20.00 MSP
Magazine 8   
Lieutenant Commander    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 days    Morale Check Required   

P&W INPE Fighter Aerospace Engine (1)    Power 40.0    Fuel Use 1011.93%    Signature 40.00    Explosion 20%
Fuel Capacity 28 000 Litres    Range 2 billion km (69 hours at full power)

Cruise Missile Mount (1)     Missile Size: 8.00    Hangar Reload 141 minutes    MF Reload 23 hours
WD Cruise Missile Guidance Computer (1)     Range 36.9m km    Resolution 80

WD ATS2 "Pocket Radar" (1)     GPS 96     Range 7.5m km    Resolution 80

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
The current show-stopper for Argentine operations is the lack of maintenance supplies. Production has been restarted, but remains low. Every survey ship at full load carries over 700 MSP, unaffordable at current. A minor refit to the Chubut-class survey cruisers is planned to use the space aboard previously allocated to maintenance storage for more engineering and maintenance access points instead. The ships lose a bit of endurance but will consume less MSP when sent out again. Unfortunately the plan can't be executed as retooling the only national shipyard back to service survey cruisers is prohibitively expensive.

Mars becomes habitable without the need to rely on infrastructure. The polar ice caps are melting and where there wasn't water before there are crater seas now - some connected by newly constructed canals. The second world terraformed by humans, this is mostly considered an American achievement - although the Chinese contribution was substantial.
The PRL has already arranged for it's Martian terraforming plants to be transferred to Shèng Yuè, which is the new name of the Chinese moon colony in Santa María.
One of the American operating companies has arranged for it's 10 terraforming installations to be sold to the Russian government, which is very interested in terraforming Callisto. The price was 20m litres of fuel, 4 years worth of production for the six fuel harvesters on Jupiter. The fuel is worth a lot more on the American market as there are no fuel harvesters in operation on the US side. The trade pushes back timetables for their own Sorium harvesting operations as it's not projected to be profitable anytime soon with such a large influx onto the market.

   2094

The EU finishes it's second massive fuel harvesting platform to be deployed in orbit of Neptune. With 274k tons displacement they are even bigger than the Hambach mining platforms. Named after old oil rigs, these two platforms will generate up to 10m litres of fuel per year. In order to bring these massive amounts of fuel home another Starfreighter variant has been designed, a 50k ton tanker with a capacity of almost 30m fuel.

Russian state-sponsered research develops INPE engines as the last nation save for Argentina, who does not have any program to improve it's engine tech scheduled. A speed advantage is seen as critical for Russian strategists, both for the effectiveness of their missile-based doctrines and of their launch platforms. A revision of the existing missile series is the first project undertaken to utilize the new technology. Continued access to the Gallicite mines on Venus is key to make use of the new engine technologies.

Argentina begins the long process of moving it's 35 automines over to "Número Ocho", the largest body in Santa María's asteroid belt. Russian institutions are increasingly putting pressure on the Machholz mining operation, which is nominally protected under the UN Sol comet free mining resolution. For fear of a hostile takeover, and seeing as how "Número Ocho" offers rich deposits of all minerals mined on both Argentine comet mining locations, the decision to relocate the mines was made despite the extra effort involved in shipping the resources back to Earth.

(https://i.imgur.com/l79kos8.png)
Santa María in 2094. Not in the Argentine view: ~20 PRL freighters moving installations to Shèng Yuè.

   2095

The maps were redrawn this year. The Lunar and Japanese exploration programs independently from each other determined that the chain of systems beginning with Santa María is a dead end. Details about the more distant systems are typically kept under secrecy, but especially with the advent of interstellar civilian shipping thanks to the EU stabilization network standardized maps have evolved. The Argentinian names for the Santa María pocket have semi-officially been adopted by the shipping companies of all nations. The system codenamed Kobe, the site of the Japanese extrasolar colony, is now named Grand Bourg.

(https://i.imgur.com/gxXZUMA.gif)
The maps in 2095. Can you guess which map belongs to which nation by their system naming scheme?

For all nations one of the largest, if not the largest, expense of Wealth is the funding of civilian mining interests throughout Sol. Exept for Argentina, which still struggles to attract enough capital for a civilian asteroid or comet mining operation to launch. Russia, with it's heavily state-controlled economy, also significantly lags behind it's competitors achievements. But for the nations with extensive civilian mining programs they have effectively ended any worry about running out of Duranium in at least the next decade, with EU and US stockpiles (also boosted by Mars income) breaking 100k units in stock.

All nations save for the US operate fuel harvesting ships or platforms by the end of the year. Neptune is the chosen location for all of them as the closer and slightly more efficient location of Jupiter is in the immediate striking range of a Russian military base. Japan and Argentina both have plans to eventually move some harvesters off nearer their colonies. The four nations exploiting Neptune have fortunately not entered in a race of militarization on the gas giant, the location remains largely undefended by major military assets. The distance is the main factor here. Trips from and to Neptune are hoped to be made shorter by the stabilizing of a Lagrange point near Venus and more in the outer solar system by an EU stabilization ship.

   2096 - The Machholz Incident

The Russian nation is not doing well in the grand scheme of things. It is weak technologically and has a low mineral income. Initiatives to rectify this state of affairs all fail at the same point: lack of Corundium to expand the economy. As such, for some time now, the Russian government has overtly and covertly put pressure on various Corundium mining locations in Sol. Ignoring Mars, the comet Machholz is the prime Corundium mining location around and the first target of the program to enrich the Russian state. To be precise, the target is the small Argentinian automining operation on it.
The reasons for choosing the Argentinians as a target are obvious, it is no secret that the Argentinian economy has been struggling and that it's infant navy is unable to act. The small nation may be more willing to react strongly because of it's dependence on the outpost, but is most unlikely to be able to defend it.
Preperation for the operation has been going on for some time. The Argentinian mining operation on Machholz has been brought into disrepute, Kreml-controlled entities have purchased partial stock in the Argentinian government's shell company running the operations as well as some of the mining rights in overlapping regions of the body, creating a claim on the operation. Now the legwork begins via deployment of security forces on the body. Trouble will be stirred up by the ununiformed, the regular troops will "restore order". Two and a half divisions of the best Russian troops are being allocated to the operation.
A squadron of warships will stand by in deep space outside of passive sensor range from the comet, just in case. The Callisto base allows redirection of ships without their destinations known by other nations as they all lose sensor readings on them on the way to Jupiter, providing plausible enough deniablity about involvment of Russian state-owned ships during the operation.
March 11th, the troops arrive. The regulars lay low while the insurgent squadrons will initiate a 6-8 week campaign of politically motivated sabotage.
April 12th, the situation on Machholz has come to a head. Various minor acts of sabotage have ended in a forced general strike on the comet. The subterfubge teams have picked issues that were close to the heart of the Argentinian automine operators and inflamed their complaints. There is deep distrust about who did or didn't commit acts of sabotage between the operators and the work stoppage provides the opportunity needed to have the troops march in to restore order, as Russian state interests on the comet are affected by the disturbances. The troops quickly occupy the complex, placing it into Russian hands for the moment.
This, finally, gets attention from Argentinian government officials. The disturbances on Machholz were not unknown to them, but with the colony scheduled to be disbanded anyway no importance was placed on them. The overburdened Argentine shipping industry has failed to move a single mine of the comet in the last two years, however. The way the government sees it, they have two options: Lay down and accept the loss of half their mines, or fight to get them back. Naturally, they chose to fight. The Catrapan troop transport loads five brigades bound towards Machholz, escorted by the sole Dorado-class destroyer. A day later the second Dorado-class destroyer is rushed into service and joins the convoy.
International response to the Machholz incident is largely negative, claiming the Russian intervention on the comet both against international law and against the UN free comet mining resoltion. Yet with the prepwork done by the Kreml enough doubt and confusion is seeded that nobody takes a firm position.
A US company is also mining the comet, fortunately on the other side of the body and so far untouched by the incident.
April 24th, the Russian force detects the Argentinian landing group and has two choices: engage them in space while they're still trying to land the troops, or engage them on the  ground. The appearance of a second Argentinian warship is unexpected, frankly, that they had the ability to mobilize them at all was unexpected, but even two ships should still not be a force the group of five frigates waiting in deep space couldn't overcome. Still, the decision is made to rely on the ground troops. The Argentinians will be allowed to unload their legions on Machholz and fighting between the ground forces will commence.
The Argentinian strategy was not as limited as the Russians imagined. It was, in fact, so far-reaching as to be a total shock to the population. On April 27th 2096, Argentina formally declares war on the Russian Federation. The stated goal is to recover the Machholz mining complexes from Russian occupation, but an Earth-based ground campaign starts at the same time as the fighting on Machholz. Vast oceans dividing opponents are not much of a concern anymore in the era of TN tech, Argentine suborbital insertion straight into the Urals region is the opening move of the war. There is no Argentine orbital presence near Earth with both warships covering the Machholz landing. Intelligence has reason to assume that a large detachment of Russian warships may arrive there from Callisto. If the war does not go well, threatening the Russian shipyards in Earth orbit with STO weapons to force a peace is always an option.
The Argentinian overreaction is definitely not what the Kreml wanted. Yet, it is done. With an official declaration of war and Argentinian ships providing orbital bombardment support to their ground campaign on Machholz there is no need to hold back, the deep space squadron is sent to execute a strike.
48 heavy missiles are streaking towards each of the two Argentinian destroyers. The missiles appear on sensors without warning, the launch platforms were not detected. Argentine ships activate sensors, still not finding the launch platforms, and prepare for point-defense fire.

(https://i.imgur.com/s8PsuOC.png)
A perfect stealth strike

13 missiles are hit by the 80 Argentinian mass driver rounds - and 26 impact their tagets. With 9 damage per warhead, the two destroyers blink out of existence.
Together with the destroyers all hope for reinforcements for the Argentinian troops on Machholz died. The ground war would now have to decide the conflict. Given that only two Russian attack frigates remained in Earth orbit the majority of their fleet must have been dedicated to the strike, but that is little consolidation as Argentina now finds itself without a navy. The second Dorado-class destroyer, the DD Custodian, might well go down in the records as the ship with the shortest service history, it was lost only two weeks after commissioning.
Argentine command proceeds with the ground campaigns on Earth and Machholz for a few more days, but it is apparent that no upper hand will be gained. The troops are dug in in the Urals landing zones, losing two soldier for every one killed and the force the Russians deployed on Machholz is showing no signs of budging. The soldiers wearing power armor prove especially resilient. With the Argentine ground strength reduced by roughly 20%, the government sues for peace on May 2nd, conceding Machholz to the invaders. Since Russia is publicly on the defending side in the conflict and politically not in a position to gain anything more from war with Argentina at this point, they accept.

The aftermath is a disaster for Argentina. The sudden declaration of war in reaction to semi-legal squabbling on a faraway mining outpost is considered an extreme overreaction by the people and was condemned by the other nations. In addition to internal and external trust the government has lost both it's warships, although the jump destroyer which hid in the asteroid belt during the conflict is still safe. With Machholz 18 automines, half of the Argentine total, are gone, setting the nation years back in it's economic growth. While the losses of life are tragic, the material losses on the ground can be replaced. More disappointing is the lack of results the armies were able to achieve.
Argentine projections for a naval engagement with Russian forces were better than they turned out to be in reality. It was hoped that the point-defense heavy armament of the Dorado-class destroyers would be able to absorb more incoming ordnance than it did. When the navy will be rebuilt a decision must be made whether or not the concept of an all-railgun destroyer is valid.

Russian deployment of forces and combat doctrine proved successful as even stronger enemy forces than expected were able to be defeated. Even so, the Argentinian navy was third rate compared to the other nations.
Russian analysts are quite pleased with the overall outcome despite the state of a formal war with Argentina being far from what they had initially envisioned. Public opinon was largely on Russian side when the Argentinians declared war, despite reservations about the legitimacy of actions on Machholz. Propaganda will further spin the nation as being the victim in the incident. For now, a mass driver will be built to tap the nation's newly gained source of Corundium.

Amongst all that trouble, the Japanese survey cruiser Chuyo makes a groundbreaking discovery: Another habitable planet amongst the stars. Kyoto IV is an ocean world with Earth-like atmosphere composition with readily breathable atmosphere. On it's planetary survey the crew was able to remove the helmets from their pressure suits and breathe the atmosphere without assistance. Powerful pictures of the crew on the shores of a distant world make the rounds on Earth. It is too bad that the rest of the system is wholly uninteresting and that the mineral deposits on the planet itself are minimal. Still, there is now proof that Earth is not unique.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 13, 2020, 08:41:07 PM

   2096 (cont.)

Argentina makes plans to restructure it's military. Postmortem analysis of the ground fighting highlights deficiencies in supply lines and critizes the current flat hierarchy. Orbital support seemed ineffective for reasons not yet clear. For now, a project to introduce power armor into the infantry is started. Research efforts are currently directed towards INPE engine tech as the state was able to hire a talented P&P scientist. Once that project has come to fruition more investment into ground combat will be made.
More detailed plans for naval rearmament will be made at another time, but for now components for one more Dorado-class destroyer are already in storage, sans the engines. As the shipyard is still tooled to the class, the decision is made to assemble the ship once the new INPE engine tech is available. Current mineral stocks allow for the expense, if barely.

   2097

The European Union sees an opportunity in the Argentine situation. The Union has been looking to establish it's own extrasolar colony and has decided to request from Argentina the right to settle Santa María II. EU forces would assume responsibility for the defense of the planet and future EU terraforming projects would benefit both parties. Cooperation in more areas, such as economic, scientific and military projects, is suggested for the future depending on how this initial project goes.
Argentina accepts. Facing off against Russia has shown that the nation can't stand on it's own. Entering a relationship to grow dependent on another entity is something the nation only does reluctantly, but there is a lot to be gained by cooperation with a stronger power.
The first EU colony ships land only months later, establishing the colony of Taíno, named after the indigenous people Cristopher Columbus met when he stepped of the Santa María.

The Lunar shipyards have not stood still the past few years. The PRL fleet swells with 12 "Mighty Dolphin" destroyers in it's ranks, the newest batch a type with faster-reload laser batteries. Together with the older Jiangwei destroyers there are now 18 Chinese warships, before counting support vessels. That is three times as much military tonnage as most nations and still almost twice as much as the nearest competitor, the EU.
The People's Republic of Luna believes in mass production.

After an intensive 7-month training regimen the crew of one of the older Lunar Dolphin destroyers celebrates a perfect maintenance record, leaving all spare parts aboard sealed in storage while some other ships participating in the excercise suffered damage requiring a return to the docks.

Japan is facing a maintenance crisis. The nation was able to begin expanding it's navy, but not the supporting structures. Facilities built for 30k tons of ships are asked to handle nearly four times that amount, resulting in frequent equipment failures while in orbit. Expansion of the facilities requires Neutronium, extraction of which has only recently started on comet Hale-Bopp as a stop-gap measure. A mineral-rich comet in the Grand Bourg system is the intended long-term source. The maintenance crisis is exacerbated by the onset of a Wealth shortage caused by the contracting of civilian shipping to establish the Kobe colony. That not only has the shipping lines not go about their regular, taxable business, but also directly costs money. The mineral outputs of less important civilian mining sites are being redirected to the open market to compensate.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 14, 2020, 08:50:02 PM

   2098

Russian explorers find an almost habitable dwarf planet seven jumps "east" on the map. It's small size would make the terraforming effort required to turn it habitable managable. Unfortunately, the planet bears no minerals and the only two other bodies in the system only have moderate deposits. The location could serve as a forward outpost for further exploration, but the cost of establishing such an installation is not justifiable for the state at current. The search for a Russian extrasolar colony site continues.

The Lunar shipyards hunger for more Gallicite. There are no good comets or asteroids bearing it left in Sol. The Gallicite/Duranium mines on Venus are controlled by Japan with a Russian presence also exploiting them. Fighting for the right to mine the planet and perhaps even conquering the existing mines there is an option, but Venus is still no better than any other deposit in that it requires automines or orbital habitats to be mined.
Thanks to the mines on Mars enough Corundium flows in that mass-production of automines for comet-based deployment elsewhere is possible and a fight for Venus not a necessity. 100 units are ordered, expected to be completed within five years. Candidate locations are an asteroid in Shanghai, a system three jumps from Sol, or Número Ocho, the almost-dwarf planet in Santa María. Since there is already a colony established in Santa María, the choice is obvious. The Argentinians won't be able to stand up to Chinese might for maintaining the exclusivity of their mining site and the deposits are deep enough to last a decade anyway.

(https://i.imgur.com/Uoqa9Ww.png)
Aten and another, smaller Sol deposit were disqualified because of small deposits and no secondary products.

   2099

American manufacturers finish three squadrons of the F-94 Eagle design. As an alternative armament to the big anti-ship missile the strike craft can carry bombardment equipment for ground support operations has been prepared. The Eagle is expected to be a versatile multi-role fighter and a carrier platform to transport it to distant battlefields is currently under development.

The EU Hambach mining complex is seeing reduced returns on Wolf-Harrington and it's Gallicite deposits have been mined out completely. The complex is scheduled to be tugged station by station to a moon around Santa María IV, chosen for it's Gallicite and Boronide deposits. With just one tug available, this will take a while.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 19, 2020, 02:04:04 AM

   European Union

Research Priorities
Many basic industrial processes have recently been streamlined into a more modern scheme, increasing efficiency in all matters industry: shipbuilding, fuel refining, figther and ordnance production, research itself. This program is now nearing completion and a series of sensor tech upgrades is planned, followed by a joint "large railgun" project with Argentina, who also possesses expertise in the field.

Strategic Situation
The EU is interested in establishing extrasolar colonies and maintaining a presence there but at the same time has no intention of leaving Earth as some other nations have effectively done, sticking to it's "old world" roots. There is some tension with the US Corporate Congress as they wield the real power on Mars while the planet, save for the PRL population present, is nominally a member state of the Union.
The recent partnership with Argentina has allowed the founding of the colony of Taíno without issue and promises to bind Argentina to EU policy, gaining an ally against potential Russian aggression. More than fifty years have passed since the great eastern European wars before the advent of TN tech, but tensions in the region still run high at times.
Six Hades-class cruisers orbit Earth, supported by Adana-class escort frigates. The size of the European navy is second only to the large PRL destroyer fleets. It's outposts are also protected by Adana-class frigates, with two being recently stationed in Santa María.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 22 271
The Hambach mining complex with it's five stations (three mining, two support) is currently being moved to Santa María. Civilian mining operations and the Martian Corundium mines continue to operate at full capacity. Manned mining on Taíno, the EU colony on Santa María planet, will also commence within a years time at good capacity.
All in all, the EU has a large mineral income but still suffers from low income of a few key minerals, mainly Gallicite and Neutronium.

   Russian Federation

Research Priorities
At current missile and related technologies are furthered to enable future generations of missile-armed doctrines. The eventual goal of deploying non-box launcher missile systems is driving much of this.
With an increased Duranium income in recent years the national stockpiles of Mercassium are being turned into three additional research complexes, increasing research capacity by 50%.

Strategic Situation
Current doctrine has demonstrated it's validity with the destruction of the Argentine navy over Machholz. The availability of TN minerals only allows relatively few additional ships to be constructed at current. It's intended to increase current strike capabilities either by deploying more box-launcher frigates of the old Krivak type or a new, reloadable missile ship.
As the nation does not maintain any extrasolar presence tankers for long-range operations are not given priority at current, but two jump frigates are in operation.
Callisto has a civilian population of 55m people these days, allowing for the support of significant military infrastructure. The moon serves as a major fleet base (although the majority of warships are still stationed on Earth) and terraforming installations are slowly creating an atmosphere designed to retain heat, allowing more efficient use of current heating infrastructure. Complete movement of all national facilities to the moon like China and America have done is not feasible at current, but relocation of shipyard operations to the moon may become possible within a decade.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 4 660
Sixty automines on Venus and Machholz and fifty civilian automine-equivalents make up the nation's mineral base. Income is low, but reserves allow for measured expenditure of all minerals except for Corundium, income of which has been added in the successful takeover of Machholz. Due to the reliance on missile doctrines, a source of Tritanium is next on the nations acquisition list.

   Corporate Congress of the United States

Research Priorities
The privately funded scientific efforts throughout the nation continue to be a diverse mess of energy field, sensor tech and ground weapons research at the moment. With no pressing needs for the well-being of the economy the Corporate Congress declines intervention and leaves direction in the hands of it's constituent members.

Strategic Situation
More heavy warships are sorely needed to counter the PRL's growing space navy. The shipwrights on Mars are awaiting a shipyard expansion to begin construction on a new type of vessel, the Mega-class destroyer. It's modeled after the European Hades-class and armed with the very long-range LRT1 Cruise Missiles the F-94 Eagle uses. Able to fire one volley every ten minutes it will exhaust it's magazines within 90 minutes of fighting.

Code: [Select]

Mega class Missile Destroyer      15 999 tons       310 Crew       1 791.1 BP       TCS 320    TH 1 188    EM 0
3711 km/s      Armour 4-56       Shields 0-0       HTK 112      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 5      PPV 59.2
Maint Life 1.33 Years     MSP 436    AFR 402%    IFR 5.6%    1YR 261    5YR 3 921    Max Repair 112.8125 MSP
Magazine 1 094   
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 15 months    Morale Check Required   

General Motors INPE Impulse Drive (5)    Power 1187.5    Fuel Use 44.51%    Signature 237.5    Explosion 9%
Fuel Capacity 731 000 Litres    Range 18.5 billion km (57 days at full power)

United Technologies Plasma Cannon (1)    Range 48 000km     TS: 4 000 km/s     Power 16-2     RM 10 000 km    ROF 40       
Target Tracker 4k (1)     Max Range: 48 000 km   TS: 4 000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Power Bank v2 (2)     Total Power Output 2    Exp 5%

Cruise Missile Ignition Bay (16)     Missile Size: 8    Rate of Fire 570
WD Cruise Missile Guidance Computer (2)     Range 36.9m km    Resolution 80
LRT1 Cruise Missile (136)    Speed: 10 300 km/s    End: 57m     Range: 35.2m km    WH: 16    Size: 8    TH: 51/30/15

ASS2-35M (1)     GPS 2448     Range 35.6m km    Resolution 120
ARS2 "Acquisition Redundancy System" (1)     GPS 288     Range 9.4m km    Resolution 240
Knighten Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m 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
All important installations operate on Mars now. Martian population has exceeded Earths with 768m US citizens living on the red planet now. This places the nation in a similar situation as China with no important infrastructure left on Earth, although it still shares Mars with two other nations.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 16 499
The majority of minerals continue to be mined by private enterprises throughout Sol. The shared Gallicite mines on Neujmin are becoming uneconomical, a Kuiper belt object with large and moderately accessible deposits is slated to replace Neujmin. To make up for the lower income rate compared to the comet another 100 automines will be produced, courtesy of the Martian mines.
There continues to be no interest in the expensive establishment of an extrasolar presence in the head offices of most major corporations on Mars.

   Japan

Research Priorities
Japanese expert Tayama Kiyomori has received a grant to develop novel new engine technology on ion emission basis following the recent introduction of gas-cooled reactors. The first functional prototypes are expected in five years.
Other research has been concentrated on developing AMM capability and a number of logistical and production technologies, such as the improvement of the nations maintenance infrastructure.

Strategic Situation
Current doctrine is considered vulnerable to missile strikes, as such short-range interceptor rockets to counter such attacks are under development for eventual deployment on escort destroyers.
The Maintenance crisis caused by the sudden expansion of military tonnage without expansion of the underlying infrastructure has been somewhat mitigated by the deployment of new facilities and technologies, but is not over yet.
Colonization is progressing slowly, Neo-Kobe City in the Grand Bourg system has grown to just over 6m inhabitants operating 25 mines. Mining on the richest comet in the system has not begun yet as automines are still being deployed in Sol at current. At current colonization rates the nation will remain dependent on Earth-bound industry for decades to come.
The Venus orbital habitat "cloud city" project has not gotten anywhere yet due to mineral shortages, particularly Neutronium.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 7 617
The nation faces shortages of Neutronium and Corundium with reserves of Boronide, Mercassium and Vendarite also being low. Income is small and limited to 63 automines on Venus and the comet Hale-Bopp. Manned mining operations in Neo-Kobe city are just ramping up. Smart spending will be key to success in the future. As such, it is the intention of Japan to make best use of it's limited resources by creating higher quality ships than it's competitors.

   People's Republic of Luna

Research Priorities
Lunar weapons labs are developing ever bigger and better lasers. Basic laser technologies have become so common they have filtered down to all other nations. Besides lasers, the nation is conducting a program to modernize it's ground forces. With the move to the moon not much focus was placed on surface units for some time, this is now being rectified. Powered infantry armor is being introduced, as most nations have at this point and a large construction program will make the PRL number one in ground forces as well as space forces. For now the project is still in the research phase, however.

Strategic Situation
Without access to the Corundium mines on Mars a larger conflict for resources would have been unavoidable by now. As it stands however the nation can construct large numbers of mines to exploit as many deposits as needed to fill demands.
Within only a few years the PRL was able to grow it's colony on Shèng Yuè in Santa María to a third of the size of the Russian colony on Callisto. The moons are comparable in colonization difficutly and at the current rate the body will become more productive than Mars in just a few years. A hundred mines are already in operation, infrastructure for the establishment of a permanent military base will follow.
The PRL's military might is unmatched and it's navy capable. The interests of other nations are of little concern. Critique of the navy is mostly directed against it's composition, as it's entirely made up of laser-armed energy combatants. While flexible, the nation could afford specialized forces to complement the generalist core.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 16 513
Like with most nations, the mineral most needed at current is Gallicite. The establishment of an automine complex on Número Ocho in Santa María will meet demands in the near future but is not large enough to sustain the nation for long. A good long-term source of the mineral that isn't Venus just hasn't been discovered yet, and the longer one takes to find the farther out from Sol it is.

   Argentine Republic

Research Priorities
INPE drives have been researched, the same level as all other nations. Funding will now go towards ground unit techs.

Strategic Situation
The Machholz incident has shown the nation can't effectively defend itself. Entering into a full military and economic alliance with the EU or any other greater power may be the only path to survival. There is worry about over-dependence and having foreign policy dictated by outsiders, so steps may be necessary to retain national identity and independence.
One ship of an updated version of the Dorado-class destroyer is scheduled to be completed by 2102, exhausting the nation's Gallicite reserves for the moment. As there are no new technological advances in shipbuilding or weaponry expected in the near future it is likely that more Dorados will be built again if mineral stocks allow.
The Lunar establishment of a mining complex on Número Ocho will mine the body of it's reserves faster, but is not of immediate concern and the EU has expressed no interest in contending the PRL for control of the body as it's interests lie elsewhere.

Mineral Income
Total annual mineral income: 2 610
The loss of half the automines on Machholz was a harsh blow. They are being replaced by manned mines coming online on Santa María planet itself, but that just puts the global income back where it was instead of making the situation less tenuous.
All Argentine mining happens in Santa María now, several freighter trips carrying minerals back to Earth have already been made. High-accessibility deposits of all important minerals except for Mercassium are tapped, future development will focus on the expansion of the existing mining complexes as income is still small.

(https://i.imgur.com/BZNqpkr.png)
Race comp 2100

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on June 20, 2020, 09:19:31 AM

   2100 - First Contact

The Russian survey frigate Vityaz engages it's Casartelli device, warping space-time around itself, and emerges in the system designated as Petropavlovsk. This being the sixth time the vessel penetrates an unknown jump point on a survey mission, the results of the initial system body scan are in quickly: Petropavlovsk VI is an Earth-like world with large oceans and a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere. Closer scans show dense vegetation-like growths appearing like a large fungal jungle covering most of the land surface. The fungal forests might be to blame for the small CO2 content of the atmosphere. If the excess CO2 were to be removed the planet would be immediately habitable for humans, if a bit hot.
A companion star with it's own planetary system orbits the A-type primary at great distance. If a lagrange point could be stabilized in the primary component the outer part might become accessible through it's naturally occuring LP on Petropavlovsk-B VI.
The search for a Russian extrasolar colony site might be over. The crew of the Vityaz is excited about their return through the jump point after scanning the system and reporting their discovery in detail.
On September 10th the crew of the Vityaz detects two strong electromagnetic signatures in it's path towards Petrapavlovsk VI. Less than an hour later the two anomalies on scan turn into five and keep moving towards the ship. When they close to melee range, the Vityaz is torn apart by violent impacts.
The turn of the century would so mark first contact with an alien lifeform. Will the violent nature of the encounter set the tone for the 22nd century, or will it remain an isolated incident?

(https://i.imgur.com/pbIdlle.png)
The location of the first contact system. Of course the aliens had to pick a decidedly non-alien British flag...

On January 1st 2101 the prime minister of the Russian Federation holds an address to the nation and humanity as a whole, disclosing the loss of a survey frigate five jumps from Sol to, what analysts figure, can only be alien weapons fire. He considers it his duty to inform mankind of the potential threat amongst the stars, one which has already claimed sixty lives. He urges an international response to determine the disposition of this intelligent alien force.
He ends the speech saying that he would not mind being wrong about the whole thing and this speech going down in history as nothing but a giant scare.

There was a lot of debate internally if the destruction of the Vityaz by alien weapons should be announced at all, especially given the apparent value of the system. In the end it was considered prudent as keeping the information to oneself with the intention of eventually exploiting the system may not bear fruit, virtually nothing about these aliens (if they are sentient lifeformss and the ship was not instead destroyed by natural phenomena) is known and exploitation of a system this distant is unfeasible within a timeframe in which other exploration programmes would likely come across it.
The information transmitted by the Vityaz prior to it's destruction is sparse, as the bandwidth in systems outside of the stable jump network is very limited. Only short, textual messages from the captain about the discovery of the system, the near-habitable planet and then some reports about closing electromagnetic anomalies were received. Automated telemetry about the destruction of the ship could be interpreted a myriad of different ways, detractors to the "alien warships" hypothesis say.

   2101

International response to the announcement of the existence of aliens is skeptical, but if there is something in that system which can destroy survey ships, it warrants an investigation, whatever it is. The only navies with military jump ships are the Russian and the PRL ones, but the system in question is out of the operational range of Russian ships. PRL space command draws up a scouting operation sending an old INTE-generation jump escort to investigate the planet. The ship is equipped with a powerful thermal array and a long-range scanner and carries a weapon and, most importantly, is expendable. A tanker will escort it partway. The jump point has been located some time ago but hasn't been penetrated by the discovering survey vessel.
On August 2nd, the Xian 2 makes sensor contact with the signatures reported by the Vityaz before it's destruction. There was no presence or anomaly near the wreck of the Vityaz, but the destruction of the vessel was quite complete and fits the destruction patterns caused by energy weapons. As such, the assumption is that the contacts visible are indeed alien vessels. Maneuvering around shows that the aliens adapt their course to a direct intercept. Turning off the engines, which should minimize the thermal signature caused by the ship, has them approach the ship directly, suggesting they can still detect it either way or are heading for the last known location.
Given that the contacts are closing in at over 5.5k km/s, fear starts to set in with the crew, especially as the aliens don't break off their pursuit when the Xian moves away again. Once well in range the commander activates the main sensor, detecting five ships of ~7200t. The captain makes efforts to transmit as much information as possible to command about the alien ships, their behavior and the apparent value of the system. As the distance shrinks to half a million km the crew prepares to fire a warning shot, but the aliens beat the Xian to it, hitting the ship with some kind of energy weapon at 300k km. More impacts rock the vessel, destroying it within a minute.
The 291 crew did not sacrifice their lives in vain, the Xian 2 was able to transmit relatively much before it's destruction. The armored, fleeing vessel was able to withstand the alien fire for some time - longer than the small Russian survey frigate, no doubt. The mission and the information, even the confirmation that it is indeed alien ships, is kept secret by the Chinese in light of the reported value of the system. If this is indeed the full strength of the alien force the PRL fleet should be able to handle them, even if the speed advantage is somewhat concerning. No signals were detected coming from the planet, suggesting it is quite free for the taking. Will the first contact with alien sentient life really mark the start of a war?
For now, another jump ship will be sent to retrieve the tanker from the preceeding system.

Near the end of the year the first civilian extrasolar mining complex is founded by an EU enterprise on an asteroid in Santa María with a high Duranium content. It begins sending back it's output to Taíno, the colony on Santa María planet.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on July 06, 2020, 02:43:47 AM

   2102

US companies are becoming increasingly involved in exploiting Jupiter. A civilian fuel harvester from Bunt shipping now shares the Sorium fields on the gas giant with the Russian harvesters and a different company has established a mining colony on Praxidike, one of the outer moons containing Duranium ores. For now, Russian authorities are tolerating this, but a strategically sound location for US interests this is not, for anything in Jupiter's system is in the immediate range of Russian nukes.

The maintenance crisis that limited Japanese shipbuilding and readiness is all but resolved. All available Neutronium for some time has went into new facilities and technology has advanced to the point where each facility is twice as effective as it originally was, making these the most efficient human maintenance works in existence.

   2103 - PRL Assault

Chinese preperation for the assault on the alien presence is proceeding. Four more destroyers will finish early next year and technology to exploit the system is under development. The additional destroyers are intended to replace possible losses and keep up presence in Sol, the main assault fleet leaves now. The 15 faster destroyers and all their support ships are being sent, the rest will remain in orbit of Luna.
As a force of 21 ships leaving Lunar orbit is hardly inconspicuous, notification is given confirming that the target of the expedition is the alien force reported by the Russians. Military observers in other nations could make of the failure to return by an earlier vessel what they wanted.
On June 25th the fleet arrives and the operation begins. Refueling one last time before transiting into the alien system, the five military tankers are left behind. They would have to return to Sol and bring more fuel before the fleet could come home. The jump ship escorts the destroyers through the jump point, taking up station on the jump point with sensor active to warn of incoming ships. Two random destroyers activate sensors and off the fleet goes, approaching the presumed alien position via the seventh planet as to conceal their approach.

(https://i.imgur.com/bJao8Ms.png)
The PRL assault fleet approaches the alien position

On July 8th planet VI comes into sensor range, revealing the five previously known alien ships and two more signatures, each twice the size of the alien ships. This is still well within mission parameters. The notable thing here is that the aliens have opted not to engage the fleet head-on as before, but are remaining on station.
Tension rises as the aliens remain passive while the distance shrinks. At under 2m km distance several ships start to come under a hail of by what appears to be tiny self-propelled projectiles, the launch or approach of which was undetected. Zhong Xiao Chen Dai Tao, commander of the fleet and a man of many talents, has to make a decision. Retreat in the face of a new, invisible weapon or continue approaching the enemy fleet for another eight minutes while under fire? Failure to destroy or even engage a force he outmasses by almost 3:1 would doubtlessly end his career and possibly his life back on Luna. Still, each incoming hit is not very strong and the PRL destroyers are heavily armored. Additionally, the hits so far are distributed over several ships, not concentrated. Chen makes the decision to head deeper into the enemy field of fire, hoping he is not weakened too much - or dead - by the time he gets into energy engagement range.
Half a minute later one of the targeted ships manages to get a fix on an incoming volley, instantly transmitting the information to all the fleet's firecontrols. Point defense destroys nine projectiles, reducing the number of impacts to 24 on the DD Whale. This pattern continues for some time, with incoming volley sometimes being locked by sensors, sometimes not.
A third of the way through the hostile field of fire it becomes clear that the destroyers with active sensors are the focus of the hostile fire. Their heavy armor belt slowly being whittled away, the Dolphin is first to have a hit penetrate and take out a weapon. The option brought forth by his first officer to detach the focused ships and retreat them outside of enemy weapons range is dismissed by Chen, wanting them around to absorb more fire. Away from the main force incoming fire could also not be reduced by the occasional point defense volleys.
A military presence on the planet is detected, likely meaning yet more guns the fleet would have to face once in range of the planet.
By the time the fleet is halfway through the enemy field of fire the Dolphin, which had suffered engine damage, couldn't keep up with the main fleet anymore and had therefore started retreating, is destroyed. Destruction or deactivation of the sensors on the targeted ships had no influence on enemy target selection.

(https://i.imgur.com/K8XYwGY.png)
First blood. Every 10 seconds on approach the fleet gets hit by a precursor AMM volley.

Efforts to target volleys flying past the main fleet to hit the stragglers were unsuccessful. Little later the Moray and Whale suffer the same fate.
DD Crab is the next target, looking like it will be destroyed before reaching the planet, when at a distance of 240k km the ship additionally gets hit by energy fire from the alien warships and planetary guns. Most of the distance to the planet has been crossed, but alien energy range proves to be three times as long as the PRL range.
Having sacrificed the Crab, the fleet finally enters energy range. Already four out of fifteen destroyers down, now the real fight begins. The aliens begin by proving the deadliness of their lasers at close range by instantly eviscerating DD Jellyfish, continuing the onslaught of high-speed projectiles all the while.

(https://i.imgur.com/z9sMonA.png)
The melee begins as the PRL fleet finally starts shooting back

Fire on the laser ships proves ineffective, not penetrating the armor. It does, however, cause them to retreat past the planet, opening the distance further. Chen orders the orbital platforms targeted instead - one of which just began directing a massive volume of fire in kinetic projectiles at the fleet together with more ground-based units. This stationary platform proves rather easy to destroy, finally inflicting the first casualty upon the enemy as the sixth PRL destroyer goes down. Turning his fleet back around towards the planet again after having tried to get out of the station's range he orders the next volley on one of the ships keeping distance in an attempt to score a hit before they open the range again. Eleven hits are scored, but still fail to penetrate. It is undeniable that the enemy weapons are much stronger. Two more destroyers fall. It was clear to Chen that he would not get out of this with his life when the Jellyfish was eviscerated in the alien energy first strike, but this is grim. Holding position at 51k his fleet has time to unload their broadsides on the remaining orbital station without response from their close-range fire, allowing the fleet a few seconds of time between impacts. Still, he has no response to the devastating long-range lasers on the surface of the planet, which prove near impossible to hit when fire is directed against them. Their next volley would relieve Chen from the burden of having to come up with a solution as his command ship, the Octopus, is blown apart by the strength-36 ground lasers. Commander Hong takes over command from DD Devilfish. Having lost two thirds of the initial force he orders a retreat out of the planet's range. The alien ships, still at full strength, follow, but don't let themselves get baited into weapons range of the assault fleet anymore. Then, the incredible happens: The aliens break off their pursuit, returning to the planet and remaining there. The bridge crews of the remaining ships were fully expecting the alien vessels to finish them off from outside of weapons range. Could this be them showing mercy? The fleet continues it's retreat, picking up the life pods of the four ships which went down on the approach along the way.

(https://i.imgur.com/pCspkKU.png)
The battlefield as the dust settles

The trip home would have to be delayed until the tankers arrive again, but there was sufficient fuel to get the fleet out of system and away from the jump point. The five remaining destroyers have escaped with their lives.

   2104

The cloak-and-dagger games between American corporations which constitute the politics of that nation have not stood still in the past few years. A new bloc of power has emerged, centered on the many new and profitable Mars businesses. This "interest group" shares many common goals, few of which still have anything to do with expending money on the defense of Earth, an economically dead planet compared to Mars. Power has shifted far enough for them to act independently. The new group seizes power over all ships and assets off-Earth and names itself the Martian Consortium. Having cut ties with their Earth-bound American heritage they have effectively lost the remaining 226m Earth population and the few facilities left on it. But all US citizens which could afford to - and are therefore of any economic significance - have already left Earth for Mars, as such it can be said that nobody important is currently left behind on Earth. The new group considers it's new organisation, free from Earth-bound anchors holding them back, a great success and will look to pursue a different approach in foreign policy.

Tayama Kiyomori develops the first functional ion drive in a Japanese government laboratory. Knowing about the importance of advances in engine technology and unwilling to upset the balance of power this development is kept secret for now. Outwards the pretense will be kept that new ships, like those of all other nations, are being constructed with INPE technology. The first application this novel tech will find is as the propulsion for AMM interceptors.

Russian exploration has this year located two somewhat near-habitable planets far from Sol, one of which bears deposits of all elven minerals at varying accessibilities. The search for a Russian colony site may finally bear fruit.

By the end of October the PRL assault fleet finally returns to Sol. After some back and forth with the tankers the fleet finally arrives on Luna, over a year after the battle and after 18 months in space, at the very edge of what the ships will tolerate. Consequences the PRL draws from the fighting are translated into action immediately. The remaining first-generation Mighty Dolphin destroyers are upgraded to the mk II variant with faster-firing and longer-ranged lasers, as the refit mainly costs Corundium. With repairs, refits and overhauls the Lunar shipyards will be busy for the immediate future. The next generation of PRL shipbuiling will no doubt be a direct response to the lessons learned in this battle, primarily concerned with countering the devastating effects of an enemy speed and range advantage.
As the alien force seems content to stay in it's system, the assumption is that they pose no immediate threat to humanity. The outpost seemed to be of purely military nature, as even on their closest approach to the planet the fleet never detected more than the military units on the surface. Dislodging these fortified and well-armed ground forces is a task the PRL strategists have no answer for at current, given it's near-invincibility by direct fire and the devastating strength and range of their lasers. The ships still present need to be out-ranged or out-sped by a sizable force, something considered achievable.
The results of the battle are not made public, though the PRL fleet, by far the strongest human space navy, running home with their tail tucked between their legs speaks volumes.

Argentine exploration ships, looking to make up for lost time by foregoing closer exploration avenues and pushing deeper into unknown space, have for the first time revealed a jump point back to a previously known system. The connection is not advantageous but may require some creative rearranging of the map to better reflect adjacencies.

The new Martian Consortium is looking to secure it's influence over the red planet. The first step of this involves removing the PRL presence still mining the planet in force. With the expedition fleet coming back beaten down all proper PRL warships are at this time in the shipyards estimated at varying states of readiness, leaving only the old Jiangwei destroyers to contend with - which have already been beaten once at the Battle of Mars 20 years ago.
Given that the Consortium has the superior force in space for now demanding the Chinese remove their colony is possible, but would allow them to delay until their forces are ready again. An immediate ground invasion of the PRL territories on Mars is needed.
On November 26th by the Earth calendar the Martian Consortium begins ground combat operations on Mars on the grounds that the PRL violated their old demands they don't found a colony on Mars, something they forced through use of weapons and the destruction of a US military ship.
The ground attack is devastating, within a day both the Martian PRL defenders as well as the defenders of the PRL CMC on Neujmin were virtually annihilated within a day, utterly failing in their mandate to withstand a ground invasion for long enough for reinforcements to arrive. On Mars, 300 mines, 30 landed small civilian colony ships and 126m stunned population are now under Consortium control. The Neujmin invasion happened primarily because there was already a Consortium ground force present, the mines on the body are end-of-life, expecting to mine the remaining Mercassium deposits within a few years.

The whole affair is over before the Chinese even have a chance to respond, and as much as they might want to the analysis of the new Martian Consortium that their space navy is wholly incapacitated is true. Not putting every ship in repair immediately and holding some back was not possible as the ships were starting to mount systems failures due to the long time since last overhaul. The newly constructed batch was already undergoing overhaul as it finished a training tour.
The American strike may have come at the perfect time, but that does not mean the PRL is willing to simply abandon the 300 mines and it's citizens on Mars. They will be conquered back when the PRL fleet has returned to strength - eventually.
And so the end of 2104 marks the beginning of open Martian-Lunar hostilities.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on July 08, 2020, 08:19:41 AM

   2105

PRL analysis of the new situation following the Martian annexiation of the PRL mining colony on the planet is as follows: the loss of 300 manned mines is a heavy blow to long-term income and should be the primary objective to recover. Loss of access to the Martian Corundium deposits is inconvenient, but two decades of mining it have allowed for the 150 automines and 100 manned mines now in operation in Santa María to be constructed. Corundium is plentiful on the asteroid Número Ocho, making reestablishment of the Martian mining operations not as important as the recovery of the facilities themselves. The loss of the population on Mars could be ignored despite their somewhat substantial size as population reserves on Earth are still massive, but for political reasons their liberation should also be a primary goal. It would not do to be seen as a government that doesn't care about it's people. Finally, 30 small civilian colony ships have been seized by the American Consortium during their assault. Their number is not high enough to be a significant reduction of PRL civilian colony shipping to have a strategic effect, nor are they likely to be of much use in the hands of the Consortium now that they have to pay for the fuel. Similarly to be ignored is the loss of the Neujmin CMCs as they were only mining trace deposits of Mercassium at this point, but the willingness of the Martian Consortium to seize unrelated civilian mining outposts on other bodies can be used as justification for similiar seizures on our side.

PRL exploration ships uncover the same near-habitable planet the Russians recently found. Once their mineral survey reports it's riches a race for colonization may well start - beginning with the development of jump point stabilizers in both nations.

The Argentinian survey cruiser Chubut has been destroyed by aliens while conducting a geosurvey in a system codenamed La Plata. Information is sparse, especially since Russian and Chinese sources were unwilling to diclose detailed information about their alien encounters, but all signs point to this force being of the same kind encountered by other nations previously.

(https://i.imgur.com/7jys4nv.png)
Isn't it always interesting to see how other people color their event log? I wish there was a default scheme and I wouldn't need to try to keep it consistent between six races.

The loss of the Chubut has devastating effects. The ship was a powerful national and international symbol, being the first Argentine ship to be completed and the first ship to transit a jump point, discovering another star system, it stood for the new age of human exploration and colonization. The famous announcement of the Russian president on new years 2101 focused on the existence of aliens, not so much on the threat they posed. The destruction of the human icon of peaceful exploration by alien weapons causes a shift towards xenophobia and militarism in the general populace. The Argentine space program with it's limited resources can hardly afford to lose ships like this as well. Orders are given to the remaining explorers to avoid approaching habitable-looking planets for now.

Russian trials also concerned with the problem of detecting threats before they reach a slow and vulnerable survey ship fail. A set of slow, sensor-equipped missiles was built. Prototypes launched from military craft showed operational promise in the system, but the probes failed to detect anything when launched towards the busy civilian ports of Mars. Back to the drawing board.

A joint EU-Argentine military R&D project finishes. Pooling the knowledge of the Krupp defense company and Aragão Armaments for several years resulted in both general advances in railgun technology as well as two specific weapon systems making use of them: The Aragão Light Mass Driver 2, an upgrade over the older system with better projectile ballistics, and the all-new Krupp Heavy Autocannon, a 20cm railgun capable of hitting out to 160k km, intended for ship-to-ship combat. Both systems are now available to each nation, although the Argentine side would not be able to replicate the railgun systems to this extent and the somewhat more advanced Argentine capacitor designs used throughout the project remain out of the hands of the European engineers.
Both sides profit: The Argentine side gains a heavier and longer-ranged direct-fire system without having to invest heavily into it's development and the EU shipbuilders gain a weapons system considerably more efficient for point defense than the current Krupp Autocannons.
In November the EU begins refitting it's Hades-class cruisers to carry the heavier autocannons while Argentina adjusts it's yard to build Dorado-class destroyers with updated mass drivers.

By the end of October all 9 existing modern PRL destroyers have completed repairs, refits and overhauls and are operational again, putting the nation back in the fight. Several support ships are still undergoing work. Seeing as Gallicite is still short and intended to be used for the next generation of PRL warships and not for more replacements immediate aggression against the Martian Consortium may remain muted.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on July 11, 2020, 04:18:21 PM

   2106

The EU asteroid mining operation is wrapping up operations in Santa María. Unfortunately only that one asteroid was worth mining, the only other minable location in system is the sole comet which carries no Gallicite or Boronide and only half accessibility Neutronium, which are the three minerals Europe lacks. The stations are to be tugged to Bremen, three jumps from Sol towards the first encountered presence of the aliens, a system with 611 asteroids including many mineral-bearing ones. It should be able to host the mining complex for the foreseeable future.

The Martian Consortium has found a way to get use out of the captured PRL colony ships: scrapping them. Each ship yields an approximate 187 tons of reusable TN minerals, boosting Consortium stockpiles by over 5000 units of mostly Mercassium and some Gallicite, the latter of which is sorely needed.

One of the two large PRL fuel harvester stations in orbit of Neptune is being towed to Santa María V, the gas giant around which the Shèng Yuè colony orbits. There it will join a small Argentinian fuel harvester already mining the giant. The reason for the move is to spread out the eggs amonst more baskets. Neptune still remains without military presence by any Sol power as of yet.

A PRL explorer has discovered a new connection between a system six jumps out from Sol and Córdoba, the comet-only system two jumps behind Santa María inside the previously thought closed-off pocket. The concept of dormant jump point is only now being formulated to explain this and similar discoveries and the other nations don't know about the connection yet. It is unlikely to have strategic importance, but shaves off a few billion km for travel to that distant system.

   2107

The EU founds a low-gravity colony on Número Ocho, the large mineral-rich asteroid in Santa María. Creating enough artifical gravity units for an entire population will cost much Boronide, which the union is short on, but which is also a primay product of Número Ocho. The move is not without political risks as the PRL (and Argentina) also conduct automining operations on the body.

Japan begins refitting it's destroyer fleet to ion drives. The refits cost more than half of what a new ship would cost each, but Japanese maintenance capacity remains limited and, unlike in other nations, leadership does not believe in keeping outdated vessels around. Once these refits are done the long-awaited AMM escort program is scheduled to launch - the AMMs themselves have long been designed and stores built up.

A controversial Argentine program to found a new colony, Tablada City, is starting. Years ago Japanese explorers found a habitable ocean world five jumps from Sol. While an encouraging confirmation that habitable planets could naturally form on their own, it was largely passed over as a serious colony site for a near-total lack of minerals in the system (or even bodies in general) and the fact that the planet, tide-locked and almost fully covered in liquid water, only has preciously little space for colonists.
The new Argentine colony is supposed to use the nation's advantage of having commercial jump tenders, meaning only they could found a colony there at present. A large part of the driving factor behind the project is simple national prestige and keeping up the image to be at the forefront of interstellar exploration and colonization, even in the wake of the loss of the Chubut. Practically, the location can serve as a base for further exploration missions in the surrounding systems. Critics say any resources put towards this would be better spent growing the Santa María colony which is already being dwarfed 14:1 by the large European settlements on the planet.

   2108 - The Second Machholz Incident

PRL command executes a plan to test Consortium will for war and their capabilities, particularly of the new Mega class destroyer who's capabilities are largely unknown to the PRL. The plan is to provoke a naval response by invading Machholz and the Consortium's Corundium mines on it, claiming them as partial recompense for loss of the Martian Corundium mines.
Given their slow nature the troop transports are to be escorted by the slower Jiangwei destroyers. Half the Dolphins will participate in the operation by standing by in deep space. Showing the enemy beatable ships and choosing a target in the inner solar system where it can be reached before they finish unloading their troops is obvious bait designed to probe the Martian response. Analysts are confident the Dolphin squadron can beat the older fleet of American frigates which have not received significant upgrades since the Battle of Mars.
Alarm bells don't start ringing in the Consortium until the PRL force transits the Earth LP to the Venus LP and sets course towards Machholz, crossing half the distance to the comet without having had to give away their destination. Diplomatic inquiries followed by protests are issued, but they are not expected to have any effect. The Mega is ordered to abort training exercises and fuel up along with the rest of the fleet.

(https://i.imgur.com/IP9O6l9.png)
Sneaky approach by way of LP2

The Consortium can't afford to send a large fleet away from Mars for lack of planetary defenses. Given that the PRL force escorting the transports consists of the old "Dinosaur" destroyers which are known to be beatable by the plasma frigates, which make up the bulk of the Consortium fleet, it can be assumed that this force is intended to lure the plasma fleet away from Mars. Reconquest of their lost Mars colony is their stated main goal after all.
The decision is made only hours later, before the PRL fleet even arrives at Machholz, to send the Mega, a few escort laser frigates and all three F-94 Eagle squadrons to intercept the Chinese. They would also take the LP and fall in behind them.
The Consortium has failed to detect the Dolphin flotilla which left Luna beforehand and has taken up position 20m km from Machholz. The PRL detects the Mega and three frigates leaving Mars orbit towards the Earth LP but fails to detect the fighter squadrons escorting the ships. PRL command is pleased the Mega has left orbit, as finding out that ship's capabilities is one of the primary goals of the operation.

(https://i.imgur.com/tke9ziX.png)
The chase

As the PRL fleet closes on the comet the Consortium ground force is revealed to be quite small, only the usual token defense force. The PRL force arrives on Machholz before the Martian fleet gets into strike range. Firing on the PRL force while stationary was the intent of Commander Ziv aboard the Mega either way, as having the missiles chase them would give them more time to detect them and shoot them down. Target selection once in range is simple: the Mega directs eight launchers each onto two of the destroyers, the fighters fire all 18 missiles on the DD Tyrannosaurus, which is the ship that destroyed the USS Richard P. Leary during the Battle of Mars 24 years ago.

(https://i.imgur.com/FUI5spZ.png)
More wrecks around Machholz?

The missile strike is detected by the Machholz DSTS fourty minutes after launch, along with the fighter squadrons escorting the Consortium task force. With those units known and the disposition of the missile strike known a reasonable assumption about the Mega's capabilities can now be made.
The Dolphin squadron is too far away to join the rest of the group before the strike hits, but is ordered to start moving anyway to be better prepared for eventual future strikes. This first volley the destroyers will have to tank.
Half the incoming missiles are destroyed by point-defense fire - unfortunately the entire half targeting DD Tyrannosaurus is not intercepted and impacts, destroying the ship with 16 str-16 detonations. The Americans have avenged their loss around Mars.
Commander Ziv on the Mega has held his fire awaiting the results of this first strike before launching more ordnance. The destruction of one hostile ship is commendable, but the destruction of half the volley by point defense fire is worrying as that amount of fire is exactly what he can put out with the Mega. Even more worrying is that the Chinese have shown their ace in the hole as thermal sensors have just picked up four of their newer destroyers approaching Machholz from deep space. He sends the Eagle squadrons home to rearm, which will take a day. He is unable to push the PRL fleet off of Machholz without an energy engagement with major parts of the fleet helping, something command is not prepared to commit to - not over a mining outpost. PRL ground forces will still take at least a day or two to unload, forcing their warships to stay in orbit. The decided course of action is for the fighters to come back tomorrow and to attempt a second missile strike, hopefully costing the enemy another ship. The Mega and it's escorts are safe to stay on station off of Machholz, Both they and the PRL fleet have a very similar speed and will be unable to catch each other before either side could run all the way home.
The PRL's judgement of the situation is favorable. The loss of one old destroyer is entirely acceptable and with the other destroyers joining the task force more missiles shouldn't be able to get through. They would be able to sit here until the comet was theirs.
38 hours later the fighters link up with the Mega again for the second strike. The targets have not moved. All missiles are launched towards a single target. The results are most disappointing, 32 out of 34 missiles get shot down. Only one makes a connection. Disheartened, the Consortium forces retreat, leaving Machholz in the hands of the Chinese. Two days later the six Consortium CMCs on the body begin sending their output to Luna instead of Mars.

In the postmortem of the engagement both sides conduct a review of their fleet's performance. The Martian fighters are considered to have performed well, being able to undertake successive actions in the inner solar system without assistance and being the element that boosted damage to a level where it could hurt the enemy. More squads to join the existing three are recommended. The PRL side considers their ability to absorb enemy fire as their greatest strength between this engagement and the battle with the aliens, reinforcing their armor-heavy doctrine further. Still, they lacked the ability to actually engage the enemy themselves in this operation. Faster warships or missile armament themselves are needed. Faster engines are already under development as a consequence of the engagement with the aliens.
Actually taking control of Machholz and it's Corundium mines was only a secondary objective of the fight, but it has been achieved as well. More important is to know the new preference of the capitalists for missile weaponry. Now that this is known a counter can be prepared.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on August 16, 2020, 12:56:27 PM

   2108 (cont.)

The Russian state is looking to secure itself a source of Tritanium to secure it's future ordnance production. A new generation of extremely capable missiles has just entered production and reserves will run out in eight years at the current rate of 100 heavy missiles manufactured every year. Conquest of an EU or Argentinian mining operation may be an option, but no suitable targets are around. There may be no alternative to establishing a mining operation from the ground up. The state still has sufficient mines for conversion but Corundium stores and income are limited, as is industrial capacity.

As a consequence of their failed ground campaigns during the first Machholz incident Argentina is the first nation to deploy military construction units. This will help them fortify their units better

The Martian Consortium loses a geological survey craft to unknown alien weapons seven jumps from Sol in orbit of an uninhabitable desert world. The source of the fire was not detected as the old American survey ships lack passive sensors. Another exploration program joins the club for trying to detect alien presences before they destroy survey ships. Aside from "really big passive sensors" and "shoot missiles at suspicious planets and see if they get shot down" no options have been discovered yet.

   2109

The EU and Argentine exploration programs will work more closely together in the future, sharing gravsurvey and geosurvey data with another. As the agreement only applies to newly gathered data the benefits to another will take time to develop.

The European Hambach mining complex is finally in position in the system named Bremen. In the time it took for all the stations to arrive the first asteroid has already been mined out, the Hercules class tug is now moving the complex to the next designated mining location in the system.

A Chinese exploration vessel makes a curious discovery in an empty brown dwarf system eight jumps from Sol: a stabilized jump point. This location is far outside of the network of systems the Europeans have stabilized, so is this a naturally stable jump point or has an alien empire stabilized it? Scientists agree that the former is unlikely. The ship moves to investigate, jumping through.

   2110 - Second Contact

Seven alien ships of a new race are discovered in orbit of the first planet. To the great relief of the survey crew the aliens remain passive as the ship approaches. It seems not all aliens shoot on sight. The planet itself has a nitrogen atmosphere but is otherwise pretty dead, so it's unlikely to be the home of another sentient spacefaring species to the minds of the surveyors. Communication attempts using short-range radio emissions are made, but it quickly becomes clear that proper communication will take a long time to achieve.

Russian military labs on Callisto are testing new plasma weapons. They are chiefly concerned with energy weapons to equip their ground troops, not their ships, and plasma weapons are the most cost-effective for that purpose.

Tension over Mars grows as the Consortium alleges that the EU does not spend adequately on defense of the red planet. It is true that their force stationed on Mars is small both compared to the total European forces and the Martian navy present. The planet, despite it's large population and extensive mines, is not nearly as important as Earth to the EU however.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on August 16, 2020, 12:58:30 PM

Okay, it's been a while since I touched this. Shall we reacquaint ourselves with our competitors?

The last post I had mostly played and written up already, just not posted.

---

   European Union

Colonies
Earth, 1132m
- capital
Mars, 446m
- 350 mines: Duranium, Corundium
- 32k maintenance capacity
- tension with the Martian Consortium over overlordship of the planet
36 CMCs in Sol
Taíno (Santa María II), 82m, CC 2
- minor amounts of manufacturing industries
- 100 mines: Duranium, Uridium
- 10 terraformers
Número Ocho, 1m, CC 2 (LG)
- large asteroid/dwarf planet in Santa María
- shared with Argentine and PRL autominers
- low gravity colony
- being terraformed (very quickly due to small size)
5 CMCs in Santa María
Salto III Moon 3
- listening post, 10 DST
- system between Sol and Santa María
- can detect traffic near Sol JP
Hambach Mining Complex
- stationed in Bremen, 3 jumps from sol. Asteroid rich system
- 3x station with 50 asteroid mining modules each
- 1x maintenance station for 4 frigates (32k) and 1x recreation station
- two frigates on permanent station

Fleet
6x Hades B Cruiser, 20k
- 24 fast-firing missile launchers
- strong secondary rail armament
- slow. Secondary armament serves to discourage other ships closing to energy range
- largest military ships in space at 20k tons
9x Adana A Frigate, 8k
- many deployed as station guards: 2x Earth, 3x Mars, 2x Taíno, 2x Hambach
- inefficient railgun armament intended as PD
- newer, faster variant with more efficient Argentine railguns in production (3x in training), old ships can continue to serve
36x Eurofighter, 500 t
- 24x Earth, 12x Mars
- ~10 box launchers each
- slow, unupdated, vulnerable in their positions against enemies striking point-blank
- no carrier capacity to move them
1x Aachen, 20k
- fuel/supply/ordnance ship
- 1k magazine
- fuel capacity: 3m

4x survey cruiser, 8k
3x stabilization ship, 67k
- 180d module
3x Hambach mining platform, 254k
- 50 mining modules each
1x Quad Destroyer Drydock, 102k
- 32k maintenance capacity
1x Administrative complex, 102k
- recreation station
1x Hercules tug, 67k
- stationed with Hambach mining complex
2x Eirik Raude fuel refinery station, 267k
- Neptune
- 9.6m l per year total
2x Starfreighter tanker
- large, slow tanker
- 30m l capacity
1x troop transport


The EU fleet is centered around the six Hades-class cruisers, the largest human warships currently in existence. Escorts provide point defense for the capitals and protect colonies and other assets. There are no jump ships in service, the EU relies on it's stabilizers for access to remote systems. Other military support ships are one small tanker/supply vessel and two large commercial tankers which may be unsuited to accompany a fleet.
Tonnage-wise the fleet is the largest after the PRL fleet, even after their losses at the hands of the aliens. A more modern run of the Adana class escort frigates is being built now to replace the older ones. Refits are not possible as every major system of the frigates is being replaced. The new escorts are quite similar in profile to the Argentine Dorado class destroyers with whom they share the same weapon system.
The European Cerberus missiles may not carry the punch of the Russian Pavlov or even the American cruise missiles but hope to make up for that shortcoming with greater numbers. Being size 3 with a warhead of 4 each ship can carry more of them, which should make an EU missile strike harder to defend against than one of their competitors. No AMMs are employed by the EU, they rely entirely on railguns for missile defense.


Strategic Situation
The EU has a minor conflict brewing with the Martian Consortium over the Mars colony, but the real enemy is considered to be Russia. Argentina has been won as an ally after their loss against Russia. Still, at current there are no great tensions and Russian strength is not overbearing, allowing the EU to focus on extrasolar colonies instead. Recent focus has been on turning the Taíno colony in Santa María into a self-sustaining manufacturing economy independent of Earth, the first such project.

Economic Situation
Mineral stocks are low on Gallicite and Neutronium, as is the case with most nations. With mining operations on Mars, Santa María and the Hambach mining complex income is acceptable however.


   Russian Federation

Colonies
Earth, 756m
- capital, shipyards, manufacturing, ordnance production financial centers
Callisto, 119m, CC 4.1
- main fleet base, ground construction
- 60 mines: Vendarite, Corbomite
- 10 terraforming installations: adding greenhouse gas to reduce CC further
- research in the process of being moved here from Earth
- goal is to get all critical infrastructure off Earth, mainly shipyards. Limit: worker capacity
11 CMCs and 70 automines in Sol (Venus, Machholz)

Fleet
6x Krivak Missile Frigate, 4k
- 24 box launchers each
- fast, but outdated engines, so average speed nowadays (4k)
- 3x are AB subtype: Anti-Bomber. Has special fire control to target fighters
2x Kirov Sensor Frigate, 4k
- large missile and fighter detection arrays
- unarmed
8x Moskva Escort Frigate, 4k
- AMM escort, 10 launchers, 100 capacity
- faster than the Krivaks/Kirovs (5k)
2x Kuznetsov Jump Frigate
- unarmed

1x Slava Supply Ship, 4k
- dedicated MSP carrier
7x Kresta Survey Frigate, 4k
6x Kiev Fuel Harvester, 50k
- 4.32m l per year total
- stationed on Jupiter near Callisto colony
4x fuel transporter, 10l
- 3.8m l capacity each
2x troop transport

Strategic Situation
The navy is growing incresingly obsolete and there is not enough Gallicite to replace ships or engines or even expand the limited strike capacity. Novel concepts to make the most out of each unit of Gallicite are being considered.
Establishment of a rich extrasolar colony is one of the main goals and now that a possible location has been found five jumps from Sol a project to stabilize the jump points there is underway. Unbeknownst to Russia, the PRL is also planning to colonize that body.


Economic Situation
Gallicite is the main shortage, but reserves of many other secondary minerals aren't too large either. Tritanium in particular is a worry as ordnance production is critical to the navy. Conquest of a mining outpost, like it was done with Machholz, would be ideal but is not considered possible at the moment.


   Martian Consortium (USA)

Colonies
Mars, 1415m
- capital, only populated body
48 CMCs and 200 automines in Sol

Fleet
2x Mega Missile Destroyer, 16k
- reduced reload missile launch platforms (16 tubes)
- large, long range missiles
- decent speed (3.7k) and range (18b)
10x Lexington v4 Frigate, 6k
- plasma armament
- 2x are sensor variants with slightly reduced weapons
6x Enterprise Frigate, 6k
- turreted lasers
- 9k tracking
26x F-96 Eagle, 250 t
- single box launcher tube for heavy cruise missile
- can take on ground support role
- being built up to 40x units
- no carrier

4x survey frigate, 6k
- 1x Geosurvey, 3x Gravsurvey
- armed
1x tractor ship, 24k
1x salvage ship
2x troop transport
no fuel harvesters

Strategic Situation
The Martian Consortium seeks to consolidate it's hold over Mars. Nominally the planet is a member of the European Union, who also have many civilians, a large mining operation and a small military presence on the planet. The Consortium has already incurred the ire of the PRL by conquering their large mining colony on Mars, starting open conflict with both the largest (the PRL) and the second largest (the EU) space force of humanity would be inadvisable, so current efforts are political and propagandist: seperatist sentiment is stirred among the EU citizen population and Martian nationalism bolstered.

Economic Situation
Wealth shortage due to lack of civilian shipping income, being compensated by taxing more CMCs.
Gallicite is short and being automined in Sol, Martian Corundium income can afford many mines here.
A colony must be founded to stimulate the civilian shipping sector again, but interest in extrasolar colonies remains vague.


   Japan

Colonies
Earth, 795m
- capital, all installations
Venus, 18m, CC 25
- population lives in infrastructure, no manufacturing sector
- 50 automines
- Russian automines also present
27 CMCs and 51 automines in Sol
Neo-Kobe City, 12m, CC 2
- Grand Bourg system, 1j past Santa María
- 60 mines: high accessibility Duranium, Boronide, Corundium
- planet at -47°C, 2 atm nitrogen pressure, 100% covered in ice sheet and has 0.28 terraform rate: terraforming very expensive

Fleet
8x Tama B/C Destroyer, 12k
- particle beams
- shields
- half of them have undergone secret refits to upgrade their engines to faster ion engines
10x Amai Fighter, 500 t
- microwave armed
2x Hiro tanker, 6k
- 2.5m l capacity
- designed to extend Tama-class operational ranges
- slow

4x survey cruiser, 12k
2x troop transport
6x fuel harvester, 50k
- Neptune
- 5m l per year total

Strategic Situation
With a high-tech destroyer fleet and high-tech ground troops deployed the Japanese government feels secure and is focused on it's long-term colony projects on Venus and Neo-Kobe City. The first orbital habitat for Venus will be built soon now that enough Neutronium to create a shipyard big enough for a decent tug could be scrounged up.
AMM escort destroyers will be built once current engine refits complete.

Economic Situation
Japan is the only nation not hit by a Gallicite shortage due to the Venus income. Neutronium (for shipyard expansion/retooling and maintenance facts), Vendarite (ground troops) and Mercassium (research labs) are the current shortages. Some of these will require new sources to be tapped.


   People's Republic of Luna (China)

Colonies
Earth, 2.7b
- maintenance facilities, ground units
Luna, 890m
- capital, all manufacturing/yards, research etc.
38 CMCs and 50 automines in Sol
Shèng Yùe, 38m, CC 7.9
- resource-rich moon of Santa María V: Duranium, Neutronium, Corbomite, Vendarite and Uridium in high quantities and accessibilities
- being terraformed
- maintenance facilities for small destroyer squadron
2 CMCs and 100 automines in Santa María (on Número Ocho)

Fleet
9x Mighty Dolphin II, 12k
- heavily armored laser destroyer
5x Jiangwei II, 12k
- outdated laser destroyer
5x Jiangjuan I/II, 12k
- military tanker/supply ship
- token armament
- 3x are newer versions which can keep up with Dolphin-class destroyers
- 2.5 to 4.5m fuel capacity each
3x Xian I/II/III, 12k
- jump escorts
- token armament
- only the newest ship fast enough to keep up with Dolphin-class destroyers

5x Yinchuan class Survey Cruiser, 12k
2x tugs, 50k
3x troop transport
2x fuel refinery station, 270k
- 9.6m l per year total
- one on Neptune, one on the Gas Giant Shèng Yùe orbits

Strategic Situation
The PRL this year deployed new and powerful ground laser units to all it's major colonies.
The primary antagonist in Chinese minds is the Martian Consortium which occupied the PRL Mars colony six years ago. With ship numbers still below where they were before the engagement with the aliens all-out war with the Consortium will have to wait.
Encountering a non-hostile alien race in the far reaches of space could have any number of implications. For now the encounter is not being made public. The survey ship which made first contact was ordered to finish surveying the system before continuing communication attempts. A special project is being prepared to establish relations with the aliens, if at all possible.

Economic Situation
No Gallicite, enough of everything else. Santa María Gallicite deposts on Número Ocho will run dry soon, a distant colony in a system called Wenzhou is planned. A stabilization ship is under construction to enable civilian shipping to reach the location.


   Argentine Republic

Colonies
Earth, 445m
- capital, all manufacturing
Santa María II, 6m, CC 2
- 35 mines: mainly Duranium and Uridium
- planet shared with EU colony
Tablada City, 0.23m, CC 0.37
- colony outside of currently stabilized network -> unreachable by civilian shipping
- intended as exploration base
- maintenance facilities for 10k shipping underway
- no way to move maint. supply there yet
Número Ocho (asteroid/dwarf planet)
- mining colony site, shared with PRL and EU
- 26 automines: Duranium (low amount), Boronide, Uridium, Corundium, Gallicite (low amount)

Fleet
3x Dorado Destroyer, 10k
- fast (5k), modern versions with 10x4 light railguns
- each ship has a different resolution main sensor: R10, R120, R240
1x Aspirante Morel Jump Destroyer, 10k
- lightly armored but unarmed
- older, slower engines than modern destroyers (4k)

3x survey cruiser, 10k
3x civilian jump tender, 30k
- with 50k size civilian jump drives, enough for virtually any standard freighter
3x fuel harvester
- 2x Neptune, 1x Santa María, 1x more under construction
1x troop transport

Strategic Situation
Argentina is too weak to stand on it's own and is allied with the EU. It has limited capacities for virtually everything: a single military and civilian yard, few mines, a low amount of research labs, low mineral stocks, low maintenance capacities, little shipping.
Recent investments into ground forces hope to enable the nation to have local superiority on individual bodies.

Economic Situation
Argentine mineral stocks are as low as ever, with Gallicite and secondarily Duranium being the primary concern. All mining happens in Santa María now and must be moved to Earth to be utilized. A new source of Gallicite will have to be found yet again as the PRL strip miners on Número Ocho will deplete the reserves within a few years. In addition, Argentina does not have civilian mining operations.

(https://i.imgur.com/4z3UjJx.png)
Race comps 2110 - The EU has high fuel on ships because I SM'd their tug to over it's capacity as there is a bug with tug fuel requirements.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on August 19, 2020, 07:56:28 PM

   2111

A EU survey cruiser detects artificial emissions from the surface of a planet in it's path, marking first alien contact for an EU ship. It also detects the wreck of another ship in orbit, apparently of human make. Putting two and two together, the ship turns to leave the system. Before jumping out, they warn a Russian survey ship that had just entered the system.

In November a different Russian exploration frigate encounters hostile ships of the known alien race in a system six jumps from sol as they activate sensors. Their point of origin seems to be a dead terrestrial world. The frigate is destroyed by missiles, leaving the state with six explorers and the still unresolved problem of how to detect these threats before they destroy you.

By the end of the year many powers are investing into faster engine technology, either to get an advantage over another or the aliens they have encountered. Improved Nuclear Pulse Engines were considered the plateau for recent years, with only the Japanese secretly upgrading to ion engines. As a consequence, they are now in possession of a very modern and capable fleet. PRL scientists also arrived at the principles of ion engines in their search for a counter to the alien fleets, Russia depends on fast ships and missiles and Argentina is plain worried about falling behind in tech.

   2112

The mining operation supposed to keep Gallicite flowing towards Luna is being established on a moon in a system named Chongqing, four jumps from Sol and one system before the new Argentine colony site of Tablada City.
The Argentine replacement for Número Ocho's fading Gallicite deposits will be a small moon in Aguascalientes, the system reachable through Sol's asteroid belt JP. Between 10 and 20 automines will be mining up to 10k units each of Duranium, Gallicite, Vendarite and some smaller deposits there.

(https://i.imgur.com/HKGXzIs.png)
The star map, PRL view

The Martian Consortium founds a civilian colony on Salto IV, the busy transit system between Sol and Santa María. The Earth-sized planet is a cold desert world without any TN resources but has a thin atmosphere, making it comparable with Mars in regards to terraforming. The colony is being founded mostly to stimulate the Martian civil economy but it's strategic location between 90m and 750m km from the Sol JP puts it in an interesting position as this puts it 4b km closer to any extrasolar destination compared to the inner Sol sytem.

A training accident makes an engine unit on an Argentine destroyer unusable. The repairs will cost five months worth of Gallicite production.

The Russian box-launcher frigates are the oldest warships in space and have for the past fifty years not received any notable upgrades along with their escort vessels. The Krivak launch platforms in particular were built before effective TN armor had emerged and are clad in crude Duranium plating. A series of refits to all warships will replace their plating and upgrade their electronics. Engine upgrades, what the old majority INTE-engined vessels really need, are not possible for lack of Gallicite. On the Krivak launch platform a gambit is made: the freed tonnage by the replacement of armor and the electronics miniaturization is used to increase the number of launch tubes by 50% to 32 but the armor will remain paper thin. The state may not be able to build more ships, but it can pack more punch into the existing ones.

   2113

Russia takes the lead in their colonization race with the PRL by being the first of the two to complete a stabilization ship. There are four stabilizations to be completed for Novokuzneck III to be reachable and their chosen stabilization equipment is the compact 360 day variant.
The planet in question is of particular interest because of the presence of all 11 TN elements on it's surface. With a CC of 2, medium ground survey potential, a nitrogen-carbon dioxide-oxygen atmosphere and a large hydrographic extent on top of that it's the best colony site human explorers have found to date.

Code: [Select]

Duranium: 74 005 778 0.30
Neutronium: 54 641 664 0.10
Corbomite: 29 052 100 0.70
Tritanium: 148 225 0.10
Boronide: 21 344 400 0.80
Mercassium: 49 098 049 0.80
Vendarite: 4 322 241 0.70
Sorium: 2 371 600 0.10
Uridium: 2 869 636 0.10
Corundium: 35 153 041 0.10
Gallicite: 39 866 596 0.50
   The Third Machholz Incident

Argentine military planners are making plans to reconquer the lost mining outpost on Machholz with European help. The crux of the matter is how to defend against the Russian missile volley of at least 100 heavy warheads. Together with the recently expanded EU forces enough escort destroyers should now be available to absorb such a strike without too great a danger. The remaining question lies in how to distrubute this defensive power over different points: the landing force targeting Machholz needs to be protected in any scenario.
There are two reasons for why an operation must happen now. First, it may not be much time before the Russians can move their shipyards away from Earth orbit to safety, taking away their number one disincentive to fight in Earth orbit. Second, the orbits currently place Earth between Jupiter and Mars, allowing an approach on the EU possessions on Mars to be reacted to by a strike towards Callisto, therefore allowing Mars to stay without additional defense.

(https://i.imgur.com/a1ZVFwG.png)
Inner Sol before operations start

The Russian deployment concentrates the bulk of their fleet in Earth orbit. Their doctrine calls for their ships to break orbit and maintain distance to Earth several million km off of it, but in practice that is almost never maintained for fuel and maintenance reasons. So, four out of six Russian frigates and the majority of their escort frigates are in Earth orbit, in terms of stellar warfare at direct point-blank range from Argentine and EU forces.
The Russian need to strike first, dictated by their box-launcher doctrine, complicates matters as it may drive them to unpredictable moves in an effort to preempt moves on our side. Even so, Argentine command is willing to gamble that the Russian commanders will not open fire in any scenario where their ships are jeopardized through immediate energy weapon retaliation. So, simply attaching a number of energy-armed ships to follow them as closely as possible on any move they make should prevent them from firing. This is possible as both the 9 new EU Adana C escorts and the Argentine Dorado 3's outspeed the Russian warships, with the Dorados even being able to keep pace with their escorts. Ideally the number of ships involved here should be as large as the enemy number to prevent them from splitting up to increase the number of targets that need to be covered.
Some ships need to stay behind to cover Earth's shipyards and other assets just in case and enough ships need to be available to cover the troop transport on Machholz from the two other Russian strike frigates presumed on station on Callisto.
The European side is not quite as enthusiastic about these plans for war, but has been convinced to demonstrate their Argentinian allies that they are indeed reliable. Given that the public image of Russia as an adversary is still being maintained in the EU populace the joint operation is possible, but politically it is preferrable to minimize EU involvement in the operation. All attacks must be spearheaded by Argentine units, the Hades-class cruisers will remain in Earth orbit and any ground fighting on Machholz will be done by the Argentine army.
One version of the plan where EU Hades cruisers threaten Callisto to divert Russian forces and attention is shelved because of the EU unwillingness to commit these ships and the need to provide additional PD power to protect them in addition to the other forces.

On July 11th Russian high command is alerted to an ARG/EU task force leaving Earth on a direct course to Machholz. Two ARG and five EU destroyers escort the sole ARG troop transporter. They have already passed outside of strike range from the Earth-stationed ships within the few hours of their departure, ruling out an immediate first strike without repositioning.
Calculations estimate that around 15 missiles from a full strike of the whole navy would penetrate the defense screen. While this would still deal a lot of damage, the ability to reload and refire may not be a given in light of the long reload times of the box launchers. It would also consume an unacceptable amount of ordnance to destroy the enemy escorts at this penetration rate. A strike against the troop transport itself is set as the goal.
Troop reinforcements from Callisto would not be able to arrive on Machholz in time given the time needed load the troops onto the transports in the first place, but two army corps are ordered to board the transports anyway. Still, this will mean nothing if space superiority over the comet cannot be established.
The Earth-stationed strike frigates, along with a number of escorts, are ordered towards Callisto for rendezvous with the remainder of the fleet. Here, the enemy's plan becomes clear: six enemy destroyers follow the departing ships almost without delay.

(https://i.imgur.com/YzUs1ni.png)
Hugged!

This presents an issue. The enemy simply follows, but does not open fire. Firing in this situation is possible, but enemy point defense will still be able to operate. Continuing towards the rendezvous with the enemy in tow would increase available firepower by 50%, but still leave the ships at the mercy of enemy energy weapon reprisals.
Opening fire with hostiles at point-blank is tantamount to suicide, regardless of what damage could be caused to the enemy and ruled out. Attempts to outsmart the enemy by splitting up have obviously been anticipated and are smoothly countered with one destroyer following each detaching frigate.

(https://i.imgur.com/HVmZGsj.png)
All according to plan. What could they have done?

Russian admiral Jebtsundamba Juchin, part of a minority of Mongolian origin, curses at the inadequacy of his forces. The state's inability to fund engine upgrades - the technology for which was already readily available and well-tested - has caused him to lose this battle before it even began. Still, he had the two frigates on Callisto free of enemy encumberance set an intercept course to the enemy troop transport. Perhaps enough missiles would still get through. The Earth force would return to near Earth, hopefully binding the destroyers following them there.
The Callisto squadron makes contact and launches it's ordnance.

(https://i.imgur.com/XLF7rSk.png)
Wonder why there's so much fighting around Machholz? After Mars it's the next best Corundium source in Sol.

The EU had picked up and followed the emissions of the Russian sensor ship approaching the troop convoy. Now that they suddenly halted position 20m km away, the commanding officer orders his ships to activate sensors and prepare for PD fire.

(https://i.imgur.com/z5oQhtj.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/tNNdnuQ.png)
179% dead is very dead. Yes, they were all toast, even if only four out of five transport bays got blown up.

Admiral Juchin was hoping for just a couple missiles to penetrate, but a whole thirteen making a connection is cause for celebration. The transport's bays are ripped open, it's contents exposed to space; It's unlikely any of the troops aboard survived. A strike by the whole fleet, not just a third of it, could have probably overwhelmed this force completely.
The Callisto squadron is called back to rearm and the convoy turns around, now escorting the crippled freighter back home.

Options are being considered in Argentine command, the EU Eurofighters or the cruisers could well be put in a position to strike at the hostile group, but the European admirals put their foot down. This battle is lost and an escalation serves no purpose, the Argentinians overestimated their PD capabilities just as they had during the first Machholz Incident. Even three destroyers per hostile frigate are not enough, as had just been proven.

Russian doctrine has proven it's mettle again today, but the enemy checkmating the ships stationed on Earth due to their superior speed is a situation that needs to be rectified. If ships can't be permanently kept on station off of Earth, more forces must be relocated to Callisto to respond to threats like they did today. The real solution is faster engines, of course, but the automines on Venus can only dig so fast.
The European assessment is rather aloof of the whole affair. Of course it'd be better if the Russians weren't emboldened and their allies won, but they themselves didn't lose anything, the incident is seen as a matter between Argentina and Russia and the main gambit regarding the Russian ships on Earth worked.
Argentina is understandably angry. A whole army corps of good troops has been annihilated without even getting to fight, representing enough life and Vendarite that it'll take years to recover. Not even an estimate of the defenses of Machholz could be made and now the enemy may well reinforce the location. Argentine mining remains understrength. The one silver lining is that the troop transport itself was not destroyed and can be repaired.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on August 28, 2020, 12:16:57 AM

   2114

The Japanese 100k-tug has finished. The first orbital habitat has been completed a while ago and is now being moved to Venus. 22 of the 1m capacity each stations will be needed to house the population currently living in hardened infrastructure on the planet's surface.
As soon as the manned mining operations begin the automines will be redeployed.

The Russian navy begins it's planned refits of the Krivak box-launcher frigates, increasing it's launch tubes from 24 to 32 and now also it's speed from 4k to 6.25k. The refit is very inefficient economically and will drain the Gallicite set aside for the next generation of warships. Even so, this will solve the nation's short-term military deficit.

Seven jumps from Sol in the eastern map direction a Russian explorer discovers some small ruins on the surface of a planet. Given the alien ships encountered in other systems it is not surprising to come across something like this, but it's still a first for human explorers.

The PRL diplomatic envoy ship arrives in orbit of Xining I, the encounter location of the new aliens. The seven ships spotted previously are still there. Transponders are active and it seems the aliens are still willing to respond to communication attempts.
After several months of effort, the aliens manage to produce intelligeble spoken Mandarin. The Xining, as they continue to be referred to as their proper name appears unpronouncable, are an hierarchic society of carbon lifeforms serving a great monarch.

Argentina has finished fortifying it's Earth ground troops. There is no Vendarite to build more and a new source has just been tapped, so it's very important for the existing troops to have maximum staying power. The first two idle construction brigades are being transferred to EU commands to help with their defenses.

   2115

The Russian stabilizer ship has finished the first set of stabilizations towards the rich colony site on Novokuzneck III. Now the ship is being joined by the two recently completed PRL stabilizers who were surprised to find the previous JP already stable. It becomes apparent to both sides that they are after the same prize. Political negotiations begin.
Neither side is really willing to accept sharing the body. It's mineral reserves are plentiful, but the PRL does not want to introduce a liability by having Russian military present on their farthest colony and Russia does not want to see PRL superiority in numbers and resources grow. They also don't have a great fear of the PRL militarily as they consider their massed-missile doctrine to be effective against the large PRL laser fleet which lacks dedicated anti-missile defenses.
The way to the planet will be clear by the end of the year. If no agreement can be reached it may well come down to who can project their power at that far-flung location the best.

The first Yayoi class Destroyer Escort are built in Japanese orbital yards. The vessels reuse the Tama class' hull and are armed with 20 AMM launch tubes. Missile detection systems are integrated.

Code: [Select]

Yayoi class Destroyer Escort      12 000 tons       267 Crew       1 510.1 BP       TCS 240    TH 1 250    EM 1 200
5208 km/s      Armour 4-46       Shields 40-500       HTK 98      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 26
Maint Life 1.00 Years     MSP 237    AFR 576%    IFR 8.0%    1YR 235    5YR 3 523    Max Repair 62.5 MSP
Magazine 437   
Kaigun-Ch?sa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

ION Kiyomori Drive (10)    Power 1250    Fuel Use 70.0%    Signature 125    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 465 000 Litres    Range 10 billion km (22 days at full power)
Nippon Forcefields Deflection Field (2)     Recharge Time 500 seconds (0.1 per second)

Sugitani High Power Microwave (2)    Range 15 000km     TS: 5 208 km/s     Power 3-3    ROF 5       
Matsusmega Electric Fast Tracking System B (1)     Max Range: 32 000 km   TS: 5 400 km/s     69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Nagasaki Three-Point Reactor (2)     Total Power Output 6    Exp 5%

Defender Start Ramp (20)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
Modegi Shuriken Guidance System (5)     Range 10.9m km    Resolution 1
Shuriken (437)    Speed: 29 400 km/s    End: 0.5m     Range: 0.9m km    WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 137/82/41

Modegi Perimeter Electronics System (1)     GPS 60     Range 10.7m km    MCR 963.4k km    Resolution 1
Matsuhita Electric Thermic Detector (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m 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
Japan may continue to see it's primary threat in China/the PRL, but these additions to the fleet will allow them to engage missile-armed opponents too.

   2116

The Russian state sends colonizers towards Novokuzneck III without having reached Lunar consent. A few days later the PRL responds by sending their own colonization convoy: 24 ships in total, colonizers, freighters, troop transports carrying an STO division and a dozen older warships and their deep space support vessels. The older destroyers are chosen as they are expected to handle Russian missile strikes almost as good as the newer ones.
Russia is undeterred by the demonstration of force and seriousness that such a fleet entails, they still believe themselves to have the superior hand in military strength. A similar troop convoy is sent after the colonizers already en route, but if they want to prevent the PRL STO force from landing the military will have to detach from the convoy and race ahead as the Russian troop transports are slower than the PRL ones.
This moment was picked intentionally, the fifth Krivak box-launcher frigate just finished it's refit, with enough Gallicite for the last refit months out. All strike frigates will be sent on the mission. Russian doctrine makes measured application of force difficult, and too weak a strike will leave them without the ability to reload and fire again. In case Argentina makes another attempt to recover Machholz, there are already five divisions in place there.
The Russian task force sets up a blockade at the JP two jumps from the destination, blocking off the PRL force and freighters still approaching. The Russian freighters are still behind them. As the PRL fleet comes into sensor range, they issue a warning. A few tense moments follow, but the PRL commander eventually backs down as he does not believe the Russians are bluffing and his ships, with a bit over a hundred slow-tracking laser cannons, won't be able to stop their barrage. The Russian freighters are assumed to be catching up still, but blocking or detaining them would require finding them first, a task that, despite some efforts, was unsuccessful.
PRL command is dismayed at having lost the gamble for this excellent site for economic long-term development. The PRL colonizers are redirected to a site in their current system. Wuhan V is another icy world with a rare, breathable atmosphere, ignoring the 6% fluorine content. Mineral content both on the planet and in the system as a whole is negligible, but the Wuhan system's central location on the map gives the location strategic value. Using this site to launch an invasion of Novokuzneck later is a possibility.
Russia recalls it's squadron as it becomes assured that their troops and colonists will land first. There is some worry about how to ensure the continued security of the new and distant Novokuzneck colony. Russian doctrine calls for massed forces unsuitable for covering large swaths of space. Prioritized establishment of a naval base on Novokuzneck to permanently station at least one or two ships there or the development of STO plasma weapons are considered.
No Argentine aggression to retake Machholz while the Russian navy is out of system happened as their sole troop transport is still not repaired for lack of Vendarite.

The PRL unveils it's next generation warship: The Jade Rabbit Strike Cruiser. The design is an evolution upon the existing laser destroyers, incorporating their heavy armor plating and extensive laser array armament. A greater proportion of new ion engines intends to propel the ship into combat range at very high speeds. It's laser arrays are not of the flexible, fast-firing 12cm type previously mounted on PRL warships, but of a heavier type designed to have more punch at range. It is also the first PRL ship to mount energy shields. It is intended to counter the fast alien laser warships and the Japanese navy, both of which it outspeeds. Each unit costs over 1.3k Gallicite, or two years worth of production at current rates. 3k Gallicite are in stores.

(https://i.imgur.com/niptMAk.png)
The EU Hades, the only other ship type this large, costs similar Duranium, 500 Tritanium and 500 Gallicite.

Code: [Select]

Jade Rabbit class Strike Cruiser (P)      19 999 tons       501 Crew       2 950.9 BP       TCS 400    TH 2 625    EM 840
6562 km/s      Armour 7-65       Shields 28-373       HTK 109      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 7      PPV 60
Maint Life 1.05 Years     MSP 645    AFR 457%    IFR 6.3%    1YR 586    5YR 8 790    Max Repair 187.5 MSP
Zhong Xiao    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 11 months    Morale Check Required   

Feng-Dai Thrust ION Capital Ship Drive (7)    Power 2625    Fuel Use 40.41%    Signature 375    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 452 000 Litres    Range 10.1 billion km (17 days at full power)
Lunar Beta Deflector (1)     Recharge Time 373 seconds (0.1 per second)

Assault Laser (10)    Range 192 000km     TS: 6 562 km/s     Power 10-4     RM 40 000 km    ROF 15        10 10 10 10 8 6 5 5 4 4
Xue-Fen Capital Fire Director V (2)     Max Range: 192 000 km   TS: 6 600 km/s     95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
Kong-Liao Nuclear Starship Reactor (3)     Total Power Output 36.3    Exp 10%
Gas Power Unit II (1)     Total Power Output 4    Exp 10%

Ying Combat Sensor II (1)     GPS 2     Range 1.5m km    MCR 136.2k km    Resolution 1
Xue-Fen Long-Range Scanner (1)     GPS 3600     Range 34.1m km    Resolution 120

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
A different project to develop a missile defense system has been in progress for years and is expected to become production-ready on destroyer-sized escort platforms within the next few years. PRL researchers are highly trained, turning the 30 Lunar research labs into well-oiled machines of progress.

(https://i.imgur.com/S0GS3CJ.png)
PRL research is getting scary strong and can afford to pick up many fields of study.

A new generation of Mecha for the Japanese SDF, the Type-04 Gekishin (loosely "Attacking Quake"), is entering Development. It's armor, now properly adapted to such a massive yet mobile behemoth, is twice as effective as that of the Type-01. The armament, a heavy tri-barrel autocannon, is merely updated. Each unit will cost 60 Vendarite, new inflow of which will come from a planet in the Japanese colony system of Grand Bourg.
In other Japanese news, orbital habitat construction is stalled with 4 units built until more Mercassium can be mined in this same location.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 02, 2020, 12:53:07 AM

   2117

The EU is the first nation to push the field of Xenogeology to the point where large-scale planetary probing for additional undiscovered resource deposits is viable. Possible leads for a number of ground-based surveys have been known for years, for instance on Mars, Venus and Titan, but were considered of minimal likelyhood to actually uncover unknown deposits. Now they will be investigated.

The crew of the Japanese explorer Chuyo makes a potentially groundbreaking discovery on a dwarf planet in the Kurashiki system, 7 jumps from Sol. An alien structure, apparently largely still intact, stands tall on the surface. It's purpose is unknown, and unlike the ruins found by the Russians recently this structure does not appear to be part of a larger settlement or outpost. In addition, the body itself is a great find, bearing 5 TN minerals at high accessibility and quantities. The path towards the system has already been stabilized by EU the long-distance stabilization project, plans to exploit the minerals and study the ancient construct are drawn up right away.

A PRL explorer meets it's end at the hand of alien weapons. The alien ships appear identical in type and numbers to the ones encountered in the first contact battle at Quanzhou, or Petropavlovsk by it's Russian name. That this alien force is identical to the other one was, of course, unknown to the Argentine explorers which were similarly destroyed in this system years before, but let's the PRL make better assumptions about the nature and objectives of the aliens than the other nations. By now they are reasonably confident that no active threat outside of the encounter systems is posed by these vessels. The other sentient alien species encountered by the Chinese, the Xining, may prove to be a different matter.

   2118

The next Martian warship design, the Utopia Planitia class Carrier, is being finalized. The 20k ton vessel, bigger than the Mega class missile destroyers, will carry 12 F-94 Eagle strike/ground support fighters and serve as a flagship for the Martian navy. It is heavily armored and shielded but only carries a small defensive turret to protect itself. Instead of fighting directly it is intended to be at the heart of a fleet and provide support through it's sensor coverage and CnC functions.

Code: [Select]

Utopia Planitia class Carrier (P)      20 000 tons       339 Crew       2 150.6 BP       TCS 400    TH 1 425    EM 4 260
3562 km/s      Armour 5-65       Shields 142-1065       HTK 96      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 6      PPV 10.59
Maint Life 1.15 Years     MSP 563    AFR 533%    IFR 7.4%    1YR 435    5YR 6 521    Max Repair 125 MSP
Hangar Deck Capacity 3 000 tons     Magazine 384   
Captain    Control Rating 2   BRG   FLG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Flight Crew Berths 60    Morale Check Required   

General Motors INPE Impulse Drive (6)    Power 1425.0    Fuel Use 44.51%    Signature 237.5    Explosion 9%
Fuel Capacity 1 566 000 Litres    Range 31.7 billion km (102 days at full power)
Bulwark Shield Generator (2)     Recharge Time 1065 seconds (0.1 per second)

Twin Raygun Turret (1x2)    Range 30 000km     TS: 9000 km/s     Power 6-4     RM 10 000 km    ROF 10       
Raytheon Raygun Turret Target System (1)     Max Range: 32 000 km   TS: 9 000 km/s     69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Power Bank v2 (4)     Total Power Output 4    Exp 5%

BMB-8 "Sticky Load" (12)    Armour Penetration: 8     Damage: 8     Shots: 3
LRT1 Cruise Missile (36)    Speed: 10 300 km/s    End: 57m     Range: 35.2m km    WH: 16    Size: 8    TH: 51/30/15

ARS2 "Acquisition Redundancy System" (1)     GPS 288     Range 9.4m km    Resolution 240
MDS1 Missile Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 35     Range 7.5m km    MCR 671.7k km    Resolution 1
ASS2-35M (1)     GPS 2448     Range 35.6m km    Resolution 120
Knighten Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

Strike Group
12x F-94 Eagle Attack Craft   Speed: 8013 km/s    Size: 4.99

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
Combined EU/ARG exploration efforts discover a massive B-type Giant two jumps behind the La Tablada colony. The already very large star of 17 solar masses is on a fast track to end it's short life through a supernova before collapsing into either a neutron star or a black hole. Practically, the sheer mass of the star makes the system not viable to map with current technology as each survey point requires more than 4 times the survey effort than a Sol-like star and each survey point is roughly 10b km away from another. Remaining planets range between 40b and 300b km orbital distance, outside of the stars current habitable zone.

   2119

An unexpected breakthrough suddenly makes orbital troop drops a possibility for all nations but the isolationist Martian Consortium. Direct insertion of combat-ready troops from a ship in orbit, bypassing the day-long unloading phase of regular troop transports, will make it possible to attack bodies with planetary weapons and may well change the face of interplanetary conflict as we know it. The newly discovered methodology will require specialized drop ships in order to be used, however.

(https://i.imgur.com/LMHpi08.png)
Tech diffusion and these new auto research techs interact weirdly.

A PRL explorer stumbles upon the wreck of an old US Discoverer class survey ship. This is the same one an EU explorer found several years ago, who proceeded to warn a Russian ship entering the system right after. The PRL ship activates it's sensors upon detecting emissions from a planetary surface, detecting two alien defensive stations in orbit. They are of known design and two have been destroyed by PRL warships during the first contact battle in 2103. No mobile units are detected. Being able to take readings without fear of retaliation allows the PRL intelligence service to improve their estimates about these aliens further, by now turning them into relative experts on the subject. For instance, it is believed that these warships and stations are leftover defense systems from a dead species of sentients, which would explain why no evidence of life has been found in the locations they guard. Accordingly, the name "Qián ti", meaning precursor, is increasingly being used to refer to these aliens. While the PRL does not share details of their findings and dealings with aliens with outsiders, the short "Qian" is entering usage as a standard name for these aliens among all of humanity.

(https://i.imgur.com/0tCRBr7.png)
China ran out of system names.

Argentina begins the mammoth project of moving an entire spaceport to their Tablada colony to enable it to refuel and resupply explorers. The 80 freighter loads worth of components will take the nation's shipping sector some time to transfer as the colony is 21b km from Earth, roughly twice the flying distance than the Santa María colony. The necessary jump point stabilization will be carried out by an EU stabilizer.

Eager to take advantage of the new troop drop technology Argentina conducts a series of design studies.
The first study uses existing troop transports as a base and replaces all transport bays with drop bays. As they are bulkier due to the extra equipment involved this would make a drop capable troop transport bigger than the 50k ton mark, meaning it wouldn't be able to use the existing civilian jump tenders and require a yard expansion, both of which are downsides, but not dealbreakers. However, it is expected that such a ship would be used to drop on bodies defended by hostile ships or STO forces and come under fire while dropping. Armoring a ship of ~55k tons size would be somewhat expensive in Duranium and Neutronium, but possible. Alternatively the drop tonnage can be reduced from 25k to 20k to get the ship within standard sizes. More questionable are the low speeds of such a vessel, at ~1.6k km/s a ship will be exposed to fire for longer while approaching a target compared to military ship speeds.
Being as fast or almost as fast as a warship would have large advantages in strategic movement as well as the tactical scenario of planetary assaults. However, a military-engined vessel able to keep up with modern ion-engined warships (like the new generation of Esperanza attack destroyers) would be prohibitively large and expensive. Even a drop tonnage of 5k tons, a single brigade, is projected to need a 25k ton warship to be dropped - costing nearly 3k BP, more than half of that in Gallicite alone. While the ideal solution, the Argentine state has neither the funds nor the shipbuilding capabilities for a vessel of these dimensions.
As such, only the first option, a drop-capable and possibly armored freighter, is possible. The main advantage of such a vessel over conventional troop transports is that the usual two-day unloading phase can be avoided. The ship remains vulnerable to detection and interception due to it's slow speed, though may be much harder to disable if armored like it happened during the third Machholz incident. On approach to a hostile world armor would need to be extreme to absorb even a standard 10 unit STO brigade's fire during approach and retreat. The costs for armor and the specialized drop bays is high, but not unaffordable. Including shipyard retooling, they amount to 3.5k BP, mostly in Duranium and Neutronium. 2.4k are available of each, but there is no Neutronium being mined at current.
In the end the government decides not to go ahead with the project, citing modest advantages and resources better being spent elsewhere. The nation's reliance on a single troop transport, a role a dropship could also fulfill, is a point of failure highlighted during the years the vessel in question was stuck in repair recently, but can be mitigated in an emergency by relying on allied EU transports to move troops for them.

   2120 - Alien warfare

Something of a situation has developed in the Xining system, the point of contact between the alien Xining Monarchy and the People's Republic of Luna. A new alien vessel from a different and previously unknown species has appeared near the planet which the PRL diplomatic vessel and the Xining's ships are orbiting. The new ship moves quickly, but away from the planet, and the Xining's ships are leaving orbit, although not on a direct intercept course to the newcomer. No active sensors are detected, but could the sensors of the diplomatic vessel just be too weak or malfunctioning? Despite his reservations about being considered a threat to both parties, Zhong Jiang Gong Tian Qiao, captain and head diplomat of the DIP Xining, orders his own sensors activated. His vessel carries defensive weaponry and he must know if he needs to use it. Neither side seems to react to the act and he continues to detect no active sensor emissions from the aliens. There does not seem to be a specific location the Xining are heading towards, although their course brings them very close to the second planet. The newcomer appears to be moving towards the second JP of the system, another JP stabilized by non-humans with an unknown destination. For now, he decides to follow the Xining fleet, hoping to find out their destination. He can't fulfill his primary mission of being a diplomatic envoy if he does not know where his point of contact is, after all.
A few hours later it becomes apparent that the Xining were likely heading towards the Fuzhou JP, towards Sol. Then, before they disappeared out of his sensor range, they changed course, either towards the also unknown JP1 or a location in the B component system. Also, an unintelligible transmission of some kind was sent by the newcomer to his ship. At least talking is in their repertoire.
Qiao enters the stabilized JP1. Emerging on the other side he finds the Xining fleet in waiting 150k off the JP. He assumes this a defensive position should the new alien vessel have followed them. To his relief the Xining are true to their word of considering him a friendly and don't fire on him. He then notes the presence of two potentially habitable worlds in the system. One a slightly warm desert world, the other a cold and mountainous planet with an atmosphere too thick with oxygen for humans to breathe. Either one could be the Xining homeworld. Then, thirdly, he is informed that this side of the JP they just jumped through is not stabilized. His ship is trapped in this system until the navy can send a jump tender to escort him back. Could it be that the JPs weren't stabilized by the Xining after all? While they were always glad to regale him with cultural tales of their homeworld and society, they spoke next to nothing about their capabilities or the location of their homeworld. Of course, neither did he, hoping that they have as little an idea about the location of Sol as he does of their worlds.
The next thirty hours are quiet. Qiao ordered a course to be set towards the inner system in an effort to locate and contact the Xining's populations directly, but then his sensor officer reports energy flashes associated with weapons fire 150k km off the Xining JP - the last known location of the Xining fleet. Fifteen seconds later impacts are detected again, and the 17k ton wreck of the Xining's flagship (he had always assumed) appears on sensors along a number of powerful secondary explosions. The tactical officer conjectures it was an ammunition transport instead.

(https://i.imgur.com/g7EVAN8.png)
It appears their quarry has found them.

The two hostile volleys detected were not especially powerful, certainly not enough to destroy an armored ship, and actually match the damage profile of a PRL destroyer quite well. Notably, the damage profile of a single destroyer. It is assumed that this is indeed the Xining fleet duking it out with the single alien ship detected a few days ago. Strangely, there are no more energy readings after that. No return fire by the Xining, no more energy volleys. Either the alien has retreated or the fight has moved past the JP. While he itches to find out more about the incident, Envoy Qiao is not planning to take his lightly armed vessel into a combat zone and stays on course towards the inner system.
Several days later he is woken up to the news: the remainder of the Xining fleet has been destroyed some 200m km past the JP they were guarding. Huge energy weapon signatures were detected, it must have been quite a battle. Still, no wreckage of the other side was detected.

(https://i.imgur.com/H7ZySq8.png)
Did that happen all in one increment, or did multiple turns of fighting get compressed because I was running large increments? Either way, the Xining got rekt.

Qiao's ship arrives on the first planet. An unknown wreck circles the star at this planet's distance, suggesting that this was a lived in system and some hull was abandoned of maintenance failure or something similar. Such was assumed when he entered the system. Now, "[SPLIT] Ground Forces Signature 4 500 tons" was shown in large letters on the main screen, with an arrow pointing towards the planet's moon. "Split" here being the temporary designation for the new alien force detected in Xining last week as the tactical officer split the new signature off from the existing alien FoF signals. If this ground force is indeed an STO force responsible for the wreck elsewhere in orbit it can most likely hit them too, with the moon orbiting close to the planet. Qiao orders the ship to flee. Fortunately, no alien fire comes.
In an effort to prevent being seen as hostile he left his ship's transponder on, as such everyone in the system knows his ship's location at all times. There was little question to him that this system was the home or at least an important colony of the Xining, but the Split presence just detected on an inner planet makes him doubt these assumptions and the wisdom of leaving his transmitter on. Previous communication attempts sent by a Split source - coming from deeper inside the system - he had decided to chalk up to an advance scout of theirs.
The approach to the fourth planet, the desert world, confirms it. A large Split population is detected. This is not the Xining's system. Were they involved in a war against these aliens? If so, they never made any mention of it in the six years he was assigned as envoy to their fleet, holding position just one jump away from here. Daring to get within sensor range, he gets a reading on the ships in orbit of the planet: None. Only a shipyard complex is detected. Were all ships sent to fight the Xining fleet and all civilians evacuated? Do these aliens even have the same concept of civilian and military ships as humans do? The mystery thickens.

(https://i.imgur.com/pQ7WU0C.png)
...and no ships whatsoever.

Planet V, the mountain world with the thick atmosphere, is uninhabited. Having decided he's seen enough of the system, and owing it to the jump tender en route not to jump into a warzone, he sets out to get a reading on the jump point. Halfway there he crosses a Split force of eight frigates, apparently on a course towards the (uninhabited) second planet from which his ship set out. He would love to follow them to get a more complete picture of what is going on in this system, but at 4.5k km/s the ships are too fast to keep up with.
Arriving near the JP the Split frigates overtake his ship towards the JP once more and another 19 heavier split warships come into view, sitting directly on the JP. All in all he has almost half a million tons of alien warships on sensors - more than any human nation. Both the EU and his PRL have around 350k tons of military ships at current.

(https://i.imgur.com/voSgOpT.png)
That's a lot of hardware. No wonder the other aliens got annihilated like that.

He can only hope that the Split will continue to ignore his ship and the jump tender en route. Until that is here, he has a job as an envoy to do and prepares to stay on station and attempt to establish communications. Upon stopping the Split frigates react - closing in on his vessel. It seems they are not content to ignore him after all.

(https://i.imgur.com/9K3Keb7.png)
They weren't heading into the inner system for some other reason, they were trying to chase down our ship!

The commanders and decision-makers on Luna have followed Qiao's reports over the last weeks with great interest. Despite six years of diplomatic contact and the exchange of meaningless pleasantries virtually no substantial information had been gained about alien affairs, ships, systems and politics. Now a great deal of new information has been uncovered, the most worrying of which is Qiao's final report of almost half a million tons of alien warships. Granted, they were nine jumps from Sol and apparently busy fighting other aliens, but a worrying thought nontheless. A combined human defensive against alien aggression would be possible, all empires have signaled some degree of willingness to participate in such an effort, but politically very difficult. So far the PRL has successfully kept it's relations with the Xining secret. Coming forward with the information gained about the threat posed by a powerful alien navy now instead of only when an invasion is imminent will undoubtably ease an international effort. Still, none of the ships and weapon signatures detected indicated capabilities far outpacing human technology, in particular all of the ship speeds reported were consistent with current generation warships employed by all human navies, with next-generation ion ships like the Jade Rabbit cruisers outspeeding them. The decision is made not to share any information with the public.

---

The Martian Consortium is the last state to develop a functional ion drive. From it they first develop a better cruise missile that isn't so dreadfully susceptible to intercept fire, going from 10k km/s to 17k km/s. For comparison, the current Russian and EU missiles have 27k km/s speed. The large size-8 device retains it's long 35m km range and the str-16 warhead. The oversized warhead once was a requirement by marketing to be able to say that it is not weaker than a blast from a plasma weapon which were very popular with navy procurement after winning the battle of Mars.

A PRL explorer investigating the systems near Xining discovers a jump point connection leading back to the Qian precursor system discovered last year. The connection is unlikely to form a travel link, even though this would be possible for the apparant lack of Qian warships in that system.

(https://i.imgur.com/6CSl6ye.png)
Human flags indicate major colony sites, not necessarily claims or exclusivity. The system where all the action was witnessed this year is now renamed Split Fire down at the bottom. All the systems beyond Xiamen only the PRL knows.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 12, 2020, 07:56:16 PM

Two more quiet years. The general mineral scarcity, especially Gallicite, has slowed construction and progress somewhat, leading to a somewhat stabilized strategic situation. Nobody can really rely on their extrasolar colonies yet, Sol is still the center of the universe, even if a lot of minerals are coming in from outside it.

A 5d increment takes about 20s time to process for me at current.

---

   2121

The Japanese navy lacks long-ranged sensors. The warships only carry short and medium-range sensors and there are no dedicated sensor ships. This will now change with the deployment of the Sendai class recons: small and fast 1k ton vessels with moderate range, able to be deployed in high numbers. They are mankinds first dedicated scout vessels.

Code: [Select]

Sendai class Recon Craft (P)      1 000 tons       23 Crew       149.9 BP       TCS 20    TH 156    EM 0
7815 km/s      Armour 1-8       Shields 0-0       HTK 8      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 1.09 Years     MSP 18    AFR 40%    IFR 0.6%    1YR 15    5YR 227    Max Repair 78.125 MSP
Kaigun-Ch?sa    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Morale Check Required   

Mitsubishi ION Small Craft Thruster (1)    Power 156.2    Fuel Use 122.28%    Signature 156.25    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 179 000 Litres    Range 26.4 billion km (39 days at full power)

Hiraseli Short-Range Sensor (1)     GPS 40     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 10
Modegi Long-Range Detection System (1)     GPS 2880     Range 35.7m km    Resolution 80
Matsuhita Electric Thermic Detector (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
   2122

A PRL explorer sent to explore beyond the other unknown but stabilized JP in the Xining system finds a small Xining colony on the third planet, along with some kind of alien construct that appears much older than the Xining colony on the planet. It appears they are studying this alien ruin. Could this be a factor in their war with the Split? The planet itself bears several mineral deposits and would, with a slightly lower oxygen content in the atmosphere, be habitable for humans, too.
No ship was sent to explore beyond the Xining system until now to avoid upsetting the Xining, but their recent "declaration of friendship" is being taken as a promise not to fire on PRL ships. Either way, it appears their homeworld is farther out.

The EU discovers a habitable world three jumps behind the La Tablada colony and eight jumps from Sol. The world is remarkably Earth-like, albeit with more extreme tectonics and corresponding geographical features. A mineral survey and probing for eventual Qian forces in orbit remains to be carried out.

The star of European logistics operations is the starship Aachen, a multifunctional supply and 20k ton support vessel able to carry supplies, ordnance and a moderate amount of fuel. Military oilers like the Japanese or Chinese ones tend to have too little fuel capacity or are too inefficient to be useful outside their intended roles, the large Starfreighter tankers are too slow and carry too great an amount of fuel. In order to relieve the demands on the Aachen a set of more mordern supply vessels with similar proportions are being built.

The Russian exploration of the small alien outpost they discovered has identified 9 alien installations for potential reactivation. It'll take several years yet again to deploy an engineering force capable of recovering them here in Sverdlovsk, 7 jumps from Sol, but won't be a high priority. Other information gained by the exploration does not yield any strategic advantage, so the findings are publicized for national prestige.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 14, 2020, 09:24:09 AM

Just one year but a bunch of pictures this time.

---

   2123

The European Union is under great political pressure. The situation on Earth is not good economically, with all TN minerals now being mined off-world and having to be imported. Earth, and the EU especially, are still rich, but the radical economic changes over the last generation or two have left Earth with a deep economic inequality among it's citizens. On Mars, the source of much of the EU's wealth, government policy is actively being undermined by the corporations of the Martian Consortium and nationalist sentiments stirred - the idea of Martian independence is openly discussed. On Taíno, the domed Santa María colony soon to crack the 300m inhabitants mark, there is a hotbed of economic activity thanks to the mineral richness of the system. An effectively self-sufficient trans-newtonian economy has been created, a first for humanity outside of Sol. This stark contrast to Earth's economic staleness continues to attract more and more immigrants looking for a better life. As a silver lining at least most of Earth's member states now have similar interests due to them all facing the same problems on off-world issues and aren't as divided as in the past. The EU parliament is as such more and more looking like a parliament composed of parties representing different worlds rather than nation states. At current at least there are no perceived outside threats due Russia being kept in check by the large space navy and relatively good relations being maintained with all other powers.

The PRL explorer Aristarchus is still surveying the other system behind the Xining system where it found an alien construct on a world with a Xining colony. By the end of April it detects combat signatures in the inner system. They are a match for the Split fleet which destroyed a Xining fleet three years ago. The emerging Xining ship wrecks are a match, too. It appears the Split are on the move. After the initial destruction of four Xining vessels another two much larger wrecks emerge, assumed to be Xining support ships. Xining survivors are being picked up, unlike last time.

(https://i.imgur.com/dxFYYyo.png) (https://i.imgur.com/sni7Ssc.png)
The same powerful energy weapon signatures as before. The Xining are getting their asses handed to them.

Russia is in something of a maintenance crisis. For quite some time most maintenance installations were being operated on Callisto, where the majority of the fleet was stationed. Earth's facilities were cut down again and again, until eventually they could not keep up anymore with the required production of precision-manufactured spare parts, which the facilities moved to Callisto could not help out with as all TN-based manufacturing is still done on Earth.
The navy can only have said to have survived the long period of near-total lack of maintenance that followed eventually due to their remarkable engineered resilience and sturdiness. Now all ships are stationed on Earth and most facilities are moved back to assist with the maintenance of the navy, but a lot of ships still have holes in their spare parts manifests and have to take turns undergoing overhauls.
Additionally, the 40 automines on Venus can't keep up with the increased demand on Gallicite between the MSP usage and ordnance production. Now even ordnance production has been paused. Without the compactness of the Russian navy, barely above the Argentine one in total military tonnage, it is unlikely that all ships could continue to be maintained in this situation. Colonization of the Novokutzneck colony, which the brave Russian navy dared the mighty PRL to take from them, is going slowly. Manned mining operations excavating it's 0.5 Gallicite deposits would help the situation immensely. 110 mines can be transferred from Callisto, where they are just mining relatively worthless Corbomite and Vendarite, but there are neither enough people nor infrastructure for them at the distant colony yet.

The "Dinosaur" line of PRL destroyers is as old as it's naming scheme suggests. The remaining five of originally six ships have all seen active duty, but after fifty years in space it is hard to continue justifying their maintenance when ships more than twice their speed are being built today. The combat ships will be recycled and the gained Gallicite will go towards another two modern strike cruisers, but the equally old supporting jump ships and tankers will remain in service.

(https://i.imgur.com/mukTIyy.png)
This one took it's damage during the Battle of Mars and the second Machholz incident. Ships of few other nations can claim to have been part of as much action as the PRL navy.

Results are in: the habitable world found three jumps past the La Tablada colony is inhabited. Large thermal signatures are detected before the survey ship even gets close. The EU/ARG crew of the Tavernier was not prepared to find a live alien civilization, being unaware of the contact the PRL had with aliens.
The crew activates the transponder and is very surprised when they are greeted in spoken Mandarin.

(https://i.imgur.com/hp0msbA.png)
Their home is a cozy quarternary system with a G-type subgiant as it's primary.

"...and they speak Chinese" was the especially shocking part to most people when they learned of first contact between an EU exploration cruiser and the aliens of the Xining Kingdom. Called "Shining" in the mouths of the populace in somewhat of a mispronunciation, but also appearing somewhat appropriate given the pictures showing alien... creatures in the bright light of their star. Yes, the EU has managed to stumble upon what the PRL has failed to locate for a decade: The homeworld of the Xining. And investigating a completely different chain of jump points at that.
The populace does not react well to the revelation that an active alien empire, not just the remnants of some, is out there. After the first contact battle and various losses against Qian precursors aliens are seen as a threat amongst the common folk. Learning that other empires already had secret dealings with aliens only fuels the paranoia. This could be the external threat that makes or breaks the EU as it is.
The Xining for their part are surprised at the surprise of the team contacting them. It appears that the PRL has failed to mention that they do not, in fact, rule all of humanity, and that they also kept their contact to themselves. This is likely to damage Human-Xining relations.
Over the following months the PRL eventually releases the rough outline of their alien relations: First contact with the Xining at an undisclosed location 13 years ago, establishment of diplomatic relations, discovery of a war between the Xining and a second alien empire with whom no communication has been established yet.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZH01uzd.png)
Location of the Xining homeworld on the EU map. The La Tablada colony is actually closer to them than it is to Sol.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 17, 2020, 11:24:36 PM

   2124 - the Five Nation Flotilla

Partially to recover lost trust by the publicization of their alien dealings, partially to position themselves as leaders of humanity, the PRL suggests a combined human military operation against a Qian target to serve as a test run for more serious cooperation against a possible alien threat. The other nations are of course doubtful of the PRL's motives but with aliens perceived a threat and the Xining demanding no ships enter their home system the proposal gains enough popularity not to be dismissed out of hand.

The target would be the Qian outpost on "Procyon's Rest" in Baton Rouge. With no Qian ships detected in the system so far and only two orbital weapon platforms of known design present this is as close to a known quantity as can be. There may potentially be an as of yet undetected STO force on the planet, but that should be much easier to dislodge than the STO force which ripped apart the PRL fleet during the first contact battle in Quanzhou, that one was dug in in a jungle, this is a desert world.

The PRL has been considering attacking the location for quite some time but figured a force too large would be required, leaving Sol open to Martian aggression. The main partner the PRL is courting for this project is the EU navy, who will hopefully pull in the Argentinians and the Japanese, at which point the Martians don't want to be left out and contribute ships themselves, allowing the balance of power in Sol to be maintained during the operation.

As no party is interested in expending their expensive missile stocks on an exercise such as this the task force will be composed of predominantly beam-armed ships. The PRL sets forth six of it's nine Dolphin type destroyers. The European Hades cruisers are too slow and rely on missiles and are therefore unsuited for the operation in question, but the PRL manages to get a squadron of escort destroyers promised to them. Smelling an opportunity to profilerate themselves and show everyone that they too play in the big boy leagues, Argentina offers to contribute ships as well. At that point the critical mass has been reached and Japan eventually commits two attack and two escort destroyers to the operation after facing pressure from it's relatively xenophobic population where the idea of pan-human military cooperation is very popular, or rather, the disunity shown since the advent of space colonization is not. The Martian businessmen were easier to convince than anticipated, a flashy operation like this with distinctly Martian ships contributing can be used for their propagandist agenda and the laser frigates they promise are old and expendable. Only the Russian state declines cooperation, citing budgetary issues preventing "non-essential" military maneuvers at current. Their all-missile doctrine does not fit in the planned operation anyhow. Any information gained as a result of the operation will be shared among the participants and physical loot will be divided according to warship tonnage contribution.

A Martian offer to use their flagship, the carrier Utopia Planitia, as a command and control platform is dismissed by EU delegates as needless showmanship as the vessel carries no offensive capabilities useful in the operation and will likely have to be defended outside hostile weapons range by escorts, likely EU escorts. European delegates are well aware of the Martian strategy regarding the EU Mars colony, and having a Martian ship steal the show as largest vessel in the fleet and center of operations would be a big boon to their agenda. Unfortunately for them the other participants see the practical benefits of using the carrier as a CnC platform, a role it was designed for after all. Martian negotiators accede that the tonnage of the vessel will not be counted in determining any eventual spoils and convince their own admirals to plan the operation with keeping the ship with the main fleet and bringing it into hostile weapons range, something they were quite opposed to. And so one more ship joins the fight. The enemy should be hopelessly outmassed and victory practically assured barring any major surprises - so goes the planning.

The real challenge begins now in organizing five different navies and their systems to interoperate smoothly, but that is the whole point, and likely the only real gain, from this operation. In addition each navy has to take care of their own supply chain, as Procyon's Rest is 24b km away from Sol no warship can reach there without refueling. Argentina does not even have the system mapped and will require assistance locating the jump points leading there.

By the time the various squabbles and negotiations finish it is already May. Until the ship dispatched to stabilize the last jump point into the Baton Rouge system arrives and finishes it's job another year is expected to pass. Smaller ships could likely all share the same few jump tenders but there are no tenders big enough to jump the large 20k ton capital ships used by the three largest powers.

---

Extrasolar fleet bases are becoming more and more popular. The EU and PRL colonies in Santa María are regularly overhauling explorers, especially now that the EU has as the second nation found the hidden JP connection back into the Santa María pocket that led the PRL to it's early contact with the Xining. Aside from Santa María the PRL's Wuhan colony is fully operational and serves as the nation's send-off base for it's contribution to the Procyon operation, as it's being called now. The Martian base in Salto, inbetween Sol, Santa María and Wuhan, is growing at rates exceeding everyone's expectation and now home to a squadron of plasma frigates in an interesting strategic location close to the Sol JP. Russia's Novokuznetsk colony is the farthest out of all but will no doubt serve as a great jump-off point for further expeditions. Even Argentina's Tablada colony is nearly operational with most of the spaceport facilities now in place.

   2125

A small, new Split colony is found by the PRL while surveying a planet. Activating it's sensors to determine threat from STO forces, the Astiarchus does indeed find ground force signatures - two of them, one of the Split, and one, one-tenth it's size, from the Xining. Are they fighting over this planet? Either way, no fire is directed against the Aristarchus in orbit.

(https://i.imgur.com/C96NaTE.png)
The sizes didn't change while the ship was in orbit. Think they're slave laborers?

The long-awaited dedicated missile defense system for use by future PRL escorts is being unveiled: It is a dome of superconducting materials with a hypercapacitor at the center. Once the capacitor releases it's charge very finely tuned magnetic fields direct the energy to flow towards the incoming projectile. As it leaves the dome the energy is converted into a particle stream. Not relying on moving mechanical parts and barrels allow the system to hit incoming targets with near-perfect accuracy at up to 16k m/s, as fast as the electronics can resolve it.
Each unit and the systems behind it is still rather bulky at nearly 800 tons but can fire 72 times per minute. The principle engineering challenge was how to make the sensitive emission dome resistant to damage.
There has been debate over the platform which will mount these systems. A repurposement of the new and fast Jade Rabbit hull has been proposed. Such ships could protect the existing Jade Rabbits on approach to a target without forcing them to lower their speed, which would sacrifice their main advantage. Then there's also the reality that Gallicite is very scarce and an engine-heavy platform like the Jade Rabbit can't be mass-produced at current. A destroyer platform after the old model uses the available Gallicite more efficiently. A "Mighty Dolphin" type destroyer only has insignificantly less tonnage dedicted to it's mission payload (weapons) despite being limited to 12k tons as opposed to a Jade Rabbit's 20k tons. It also costs only 40% of the Gallicite.
In the end the need to deploy missile defense systems en masse wins out and a destroyer platform is chosen.

---

   Procyon's Rest

At the start of the year the fleets and their various support units are set into motion, for in March, the gates open. The Argentine ship gets to the meeting point first as it has high speed and was conceived with long-distance operations in mind. The Martian squadron in particular has problems arriving as there are no dedicated tankers in their navy - they have to refuel off of a PRL and a JAP tanker on the way. A direct result from their continued focus on Sol. Last was actually the EU squadron which had to wait for a tanker to catch up while sitting just 1b from the rest of the fleet on the Baton Rouge JP.

(https://i.imgur.com/4l7X49L.png)
The Five Nation Flotilla - including support ships.

The assembled fleet is quite a sight. Total contributions to the operation are as follows:

Procyon Squadron PRL - 72k tons
Mighty Dolphin IIa class Destroyer - Codster, Devilfish, Great White, Halibut, Hammerhead, Humpback - Laser destroyer
Also underway: 2 troop transports to secure and investigate the surface

Procyon Squadron EU - 32k tons
Adana C class Escort - Kirikkale, Malatya, Manisa, Trabzon - Escort destroyer, railguns
Also there: salvage vessels

Procyon Squadron MARS - 36k tons (59k with carrier + fighters)
Utopia Planitia class Carrier - Utopia Planitia
Enterprise class Frigate: USS Ault, USS Bagley, USS Ernest G. Small, USS Hambleton, USS Herbert, USS Kidd - Outdated escort frigate, PD laser turrets
8x F-94 Eagle v2 class Attack Craft - ground support fighter, can alternatively launch single cruise missile
4x F-94 Eagle v2a class Attack Craft

Procyon Squadron JAP - 48k tons
Tama D class Destroyer: Ikazuchi, Yamagiri - Modern attack destroyer, particle beams
Yayoi B class Destroyer Escort: Kaba, Katsura - Modern escort destroyer, AMM

Procyon Squadron ARG - 12k tons
Esperanza 1 R10 class Destroyer: Salient - Modern attack destroyer, railguns

200k tons total. Expected enemy tonnage: 28k

When the order is given all ships activate sensors and proceed with the jump sequence. The jump is smooth as expected and the stabilizer begins working on the way back out. The fleet heads towards the target.

(https://i.imgur.com/Sv2VvDp.png)
The planet was named in memory of the USS Procyon who's wreck is visible in the screenshot.

Tension rises as the fleet approaches and at 1.6m from target the first hostile AMM volley is detected - quite as expected. Despite everything going according to plan several ships leave formation as they decelerate in the face of an oncoming barrage. One Japanese escort launches interceptors, but all 20 "Shurikens" miss the extremely quick Qian projectiles. In a further display of disorganization, no point-defense fire is made and all 33 projectiles impact the PRL destroyer Codster. The next volley is absorbed more professionally, with half of incoming destroyed by PD fire. It seems the disorganization was only momentary.

(https://i.imgur.com/SIBd86M.png)
A typical increment during the approach. The EU destroyers ended up getting the most missile kills.

The Japanese AMM volleys keep being too late to intercept the faster enemy volleys, so the escorts cease fire. It seems enemy targeting prefers targeting the escorts now, probably because they've outed themselves as launch platforms. Their shields fail and they start to retreat, giving a few counter-volleys again as the time-to-intercept is now lessened and there is no final fire cover from the rest of the fleet anymore. The AMM hail does not stop coming, however, and the Katsura and Kaba eventually receive internal damage. Before they get out of range the Katsura loses 20% engine capacity. The main fleet is now halfway through the hostile fire zone of 2m km.

A malfunction or something must have happened on the enemy stations as they now reduced their volley size to 27, instead sending the remaining 6 projectiles offset from the others. That makes them easier to destroy. The PRL destroyer Codster is still frequently receiving hits and it's heavy armor belt is getting worryingly light, if the enemy can keep up their assault for the remainder of the approach (which is the prediction) the ship may well get destroyed. Very unfortunate happenings accelerate it's demise: soon after the first hits penetrate and take out the first component on the Codster one of it's engines suffers a critical hit. The ship does not survive the str 62 secondary explosion.

(https://i.imgur.com/lT9IOH0.png)
Very unlucky to explode just after the armor has been penetrated! The PRL navy never really recoverd from the first contact battle where they fielded 15 modern destroyers. With this one lost now only 8 remain.

Still, the fleet presses on. It'll be all over once the allied ships are in weapons range of the planet. Subsequent volleys target the Utopia Planitia. Distance: 700k. It's mighty shields hold, but as the distance shrinks further there is no time anymore to coordinate point-defense fire between each volley launch and impact. The enemy uses this fact and changes his target once more to a PRL destroyer. The distance closes to beneath 240k and therefore within weapons range of the Japanese. Targeting data for the Qian AMM platform is relayed and the counter-fire begins. The attack ships break formation and charge forward, a few shots hit the platform - but once the PRL destroyers get in range their sheer volume of fire blows away the platform in one blast. Still, the Qian weren't silenced before they could inflict a good amount of internal damage on the PRL Devilfish.
Combined fire from all attack ships hits the remaining platform which just sits helplessly just outside it's weapons range.

(https://i.imgur.com/0sEKjRA.png)
Fear the might of Humanity!

(https://i.imgur.com/kiQodub.png)
The micromanagement involved in coordinating five different empires was actually rather managable. This engagement was a test run for me too.

The second kill goes to the Yamagiri and it's particle beamers. The fleet enters orbit, but no ground force is detected. The victory is celebrated, the crews and commanders are congratulated, hands are shaken. The support ships are called in, there are four wrecks in the system to salvage: The wreck of the Codster, the two Qian platforms and the old American survey ship in orbit.
PRL troopers land on the surface and, as expected, find no live population, only ruins. There is also a curious alien construct present which may or may not have been constructed by the people that once inhabited this world. There is very little functioning infrastructure left but a basic sensor station and a cargo lift, plainly designed to resupply the AMM platform in orbit. At it's base the real find is made: almost 12k of the alien AMM missiles that the fleet had to face in orbit. As their performance is plainly superior to human-built ones they are classed as alien artifacts and will be distributed among the participating nations according to the pre-arranged contribution key.

4250 - PRL
2833 - JAP
2125 - MARS
1889 - EU
708 - ARG

This is the distribution of AMMs between nations. Several of these do not even have AMM-capable ships at current, but such technology is not hard to develop. Most human nations having access to such advanced anti-missile technology is likely to encourage more offensive beam doctrines rather than missile doctrines in the future.

As for the other uses of the planet, each participating nation will be invited to found colonies on the surface for study of the alien relics. An orbital survey by the nearby Argentine explorer Aguaray confirms that there are no other structures nor any mineral deposits on the planet. Whether colonies will be established depends on what the Lunar Xenoarcheologists can make of the ruins and the dormant construct. Some of the technology salvaged still intact from the Qian wreckage provides clues to improving current technology, but the gains are relatively minor.

The discovery of advanced and immediately usable alien weapons, even if just AMMs, is not going to fuel more cooperative adventures of this sort. It would not be surprising to see the competing human nations try and secure such advantages on their own in the future. But given that all other Qian outposts detected so far are stronger than this one there won't be much of a rush to tackle them right now - just less incentive to cooperate in taking them down. Any real military cooperation in the future will likely be targeted against live aliens like the Xining, if any.

The Russian state is not too pleased that advanced alien missile defenses are now in all their competitors hands but not in theirs, especially as such weapons are very effective against the heavy Russian missiles. Still, as Russian doctrine calls for a massed strike, not a continuous barrage, it does not invalidate current doctrine entirely. Regardless, the best time for an offensive may be now before these alien AMMs enter regular service. Not being able to study the alien structures to derive more technology from them may prove a disadvantage long-term, but first the value of a research outpost on that planet must become clear. The state does not believe that this exercise will spark humanity to finally unite, as some dreamers are hoping, and is only concerned with the material changes in the strategic situation.

The actual efficacy of the Qian interceptor missiles recovered may have been overestimated by initial appraisal. While their speed is impressive and twice that of even the most modern human prototypes, the missile relies completely on it's high speed and accurate launch trajectory to hit a target, no special maneuvering capability is present. That makes each projectile incredibly hard to shoot down, as was the problem in both Human-Qian battles so far. But in it's intended use as a missile interceptor EU military R&D demonstrates a highly maneuverable prototype that can reach and even exceed the projected destruction rate of the captured Qian interceptors. A devious weapon: flexibly useful against the enemy but not as effective in their hands.

---

A new Japanese construction project begins: a military dropship capable of dropping 4k tons of ground forces. The hull is an elongated version of the currently active destroyers and can match their speeds. The indended use is to approach a defended planet under the cover from other destroyers and drop it's Gekishin TSF Squadron, a unit of 10 super-heavy mechas. Multiple dropships are required to drop supporting units and supplies as well. Three ships are planned.

By the end of the year most ships involved in the raid on Procyon's Rest are home again. The PRL's gambit to reduce Solar fleet strengths proportionally has worked and there were no major incidents in Sol during the operation. The gained technology is nice, but to the PRL the real gain in the project was the creation of a precedent for pan-human military cooperation that can serve as an example in case of a conflict with the Split. The large fleet numbers discovered by the diplomatic ship Xining several years ago have not been made available to the other nations. If it comes to war it'll be a great advantage to be able to use the other nations to soften the blow.

The project to terraform Luna began in the early 70's and was declared "finished" in 2083, but only now it's secondary effects are beginning to materialize. Creating an artificial atmosphere and seas can be done with technology, but a biosphere requires time to grow and adapt. The PRL's efforts have born fruit and Luna has become an idyll where plants and a few low-gravity adaptable animal populations are thriving. Massive forests with trees of sizes already outgrowing the largest on Earth span an increasingly large portion of the Lunar land, together with other plant species they have begun to form a sustainable ecosystem. Luna is now a jungle world.

(https://i.imgur.com/27HbAht.png)
Welcome to the jungle

Although they would never admit publicly that it was done for military reasons, the lush vegetation covering Luna's continents is going to be a great boon to the defender in any ground campaign on the body. Likewise it will make orbital targeting very hard. Together with the massive numbers of the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Luna is now an unstormable stronghold - just outside of weapons range of Earth itself.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 25, 2020, 12:00:00 PM

Went into a deep dive into Russia's situation to start with today. I'm always worried about what is too detailed and what not, what is interesting and what not, typically erring on the side of verbosity. Let me know what you think.

---

   2126

The Russian situation is not good. The colonization of Novokuznetsk is stalling, the civilian shipping industry is not moving any installations to the body right now. Regardless of when this strike ends, Novokuznetsk is a long-term project and won't have immediate usefulness.
What matters is the now: Mineral income is pitifully low. Commercial comet mining never really took off as much as it did in other states and their income consists of a declining rate of Duranium and Uridium extraction. Novokuznetsk does not yield appreciable amounts yet, Callisto was always just a source of secondary minerals in Corbomite and Vendarite. The real income is provided by a network of 85 state-owned automining facilities, half of them mining Venus with Japanese permission. 40 mines dedicated to Gallicite does not sound so bad, but to put this into perspective:

• The ordnance factories can use up to 485 units of Gallicite a year producing Pavlov E Heavy Missiles, manufacturing 91 missiles during that time. A full strike from all eight Krivak box-launcher frigates amounts to 256 missiles.
• The non-commercial parts of the navy have a total cost of 12 155, meaning a yearly maintenance cost of a quarter of that, 3 038. That is the yearly MSP consumption, before any extra costs from maintenance expenditures from ships on missions. Each MSP costs 0.25 wealth and 0.25 minerals, 0.1 of which are Gallicite. So yearly minimum consumption of 303 units of Gallicite.

The annual Gallicite income of those 40 automines is 700 units, assuming top grade management. It's no wonder the state is struggling. The other automining complexes are primarily concerned with Corundium (to expand mining capacity) and Tritanium (also to keep feeding the ordnance factories).
Not all is bad, however, and there are a few strengths to show. The wealth situation is fine. Callisto's long-term terraforming project has given the body an increasingly thick greenhouse atmosphere, reducing the amount of artificial heating infrastructure to just beyond that of a regular domed colony at this point. That allows 305m people to inhabit the moon now, more than a quarter of all citizens. Callisto and control of Jupiter's system may be the state's one true advantage.

Regardless, as just demonstrated, there simply isn't enough of an economic base. Mineral income is insufficient and in order to not fall behind the other powers conquest may be the only option. With the recent reports of alien missile defense weapons making their way into the competitor's hands, war plans are now drawn up in earnest.
Who are the possible targets?

• Mars and it's riches in Corundium and industry make it very tempting, but any attack aimed at taking the planet is likely to result in retaliation from both the EU and the Consortium. Besides, the army would struggle to overcome the extensive Martian ground forces. While the Martian navy is considered defeatable, taking the planet itself is unachievable.
• The Europeans, the traditional competitor. An Earth campaign could have a measure of success, given relative ground strength estimates. Yet their navy is quite strong - 6 large cruisers and a high number of destroyers, designed with Russian doctrine as their opponent in mind. The truth is, a strike from all ships at once would likely still be insufficient to destroy or cripple their usual Sol fleet, they simply have too much tonnage. Attacks on any other colonies of the EU are out too as space superiority can't be guaranteed.
• Any attack on the EU would also call Argentina into the fight, who are ostensibly allied to another to defend against Russian aggression. Argentina itself is not considered much of a threat in space or on the ground, but due to assured EU intervention they're out, too.
• What about poking the mighty dragon? The People's Liberation Space Navy has seen better days and is projected to fare poorly against a concerted missile attack, but their similarly high tonnage and armor-heavy ships may be able to absorb high amounts of missiles. Concerning are their modern strike cruisers which outspeed the Russian missile frigates, making them priority targets. Assuming the PRL navy can be beaten, what then? Luna is an unstormable fortress, the amount of troops deployed there alone exceeds the total of any other nation, Russia included. The PRL's Santa María colony of Sheng Yúe however possesses rich mines, if none mining Gallicite. There would likely be ground-based laser defenses to discourage any landing attempts, those would have to be eliminated from orbit, devaluing the planet a little bit. If one is willing to gamble on taking out the PRL navy in one strike, this may be an option.
• Last, and most promising, are the Japanese possessions. Taking full control of Venus would be the obvious goal. The two chief issues (besides taking out the navy) are taking control of the orbital habitats and there actually being something worth conquering on the surface of the planet - at current the Japanese are attempting to transition from automatic mining complexes to manned ones, controlled from their orbital habitats. Until they are in place a campaign would have no value. The Japanese navy is also one considered beatable by the navy, JAP missile defense systems are reported to have performed poorly in the recent Qian excursion. There is also the colony of Neo-Kobe City just past Santa María. Gaining it's industry would be a boon and it could be done before the Japanese set up the new Venus mines. They would likely not leave Venus as undefended as it is now if their other colony was taken from them, however.

Still, Gallicite and mines to dig it is what the state needs most, both short-term and long-term. A short-term option for conquest is unavailable anyway, as Earth still hosts much industry and, most importantly, the shipyards. Moving those is priority number one and a requirement for any major offensive action. As such, the missile production stop will be extended to save up enough Gallicite for a tug to move them ASAP. Thanks to Callisto's development the full movement of all industry off of Earth will finally be possible, even if there will be minor worker shortages on the moon yet. This will still take at least three years, but plans are set in motion for a major campaign for Venus at the start of the next decade.

---

The exploration of the ruins on Procyon's Rest is complete. When the multi-national exploration team broke into the research center that was set up at the base of the ancient construct it was immediately clear that this was just a small outpost set up by a relatively backwards species, even by Human standards, to study the construct. And what a wonder this "construct" is, for a more definite term can't be applied to the structure: Pillars and beams winding in a seemingly impossible fashion, creating a grand building without an apparent purpose - except, perhaps, as a monument. One researcher described the construct as "M.C. Escher's Dream". Either way, it's clearly more-than-three-dimensional construction is definitely worth studying, as the previous inhabitants of this world had done. It would be no exaggeration to say that even a primitive replication of the techniques involved here would let science & engineering teams come up with new construction techniques in half the time they would otherwise.

(https://i.imgur.com/ujI8ed4.png)

The value of a colony on Procyon's Rest is now clear. Setting up a research colony would result in benefits in mining, economy, industry and research itself. The principal problems are the colonies distance, which makes colonization expensive and time-consuming and it's defense tenuous, and the presence of the other nations that can be expected. An arms race on Procyon's Rest, so that each side can hold out until reinforcements arrive, is a possibility.
The value of the rest of the system is quite limited. There are Sorium giants and several bodies with multiple accessible deposits of secondary minerals like Mercassium, but only very little Gallicite.
All powers except Russia make plans for colonies of various sizes and descriptions. The restored alien research lab will remain under PRL control.

---

There are many construction projects underway in the Martian Consortium. The Consortium has recently founded a large holding company to serve as a central command unit and owner of military and supporting naval assets and is seeking to expand it's capabilities considerably. This entity is under shared ownership and the private navies of the constituent corporations that previously made up the Consortium's navy will be integrated into it's new structure.
Now that the Consortium had number of years to stabilize their own situation they are increasingly committing to long-term planning. Previously extrasolar colonies were shunned as too expensive or taking too long to turn a profit, now the reality that Sol's mineral deposits are depleting is setting in. Expansion options will be considered, the civilian colony in Salto is a first step. For that purpose the old and short-ranged US freighters will be replaced by a set of more modern ones. Then there's the strategic vulnerability of there being no fuel production facilities under Consortium control, until now all fuel has been bought off of the open market. Fuel harvesters must be built. The recent adventure regarding Procyon's Rest has highlighted that the navy lacks long-range projection capability, with the fleet needing to fuel off of foreign tankers multiple times. That too is now being corrected with plans to build military refuelers, supply and munitions ships.

After the successful Mega class as a first project of Martian cooperation a class of escorts was also planned but never realized. Prototypes of improved laser turrets never quite met expectations. With the retrieval of alien AMMs a new option is now open. The Solstice class AMM Escort Destroyer is a simple variation based on the Mega's hull. Any missing technology can be easily engineered, bypassing the need for further long-term research. The planned design carries twice the interceptor tubes of a Japanese Yayoi class. The first two units can be fully armed with Qian interceptors. Subsequent units or reloads will be provided with an attempted replica, R&D is underway.

Code: [Select]

Solstice class Escort (P)      16 000 tons       360 Crew       2 206.2 BP       TCS 320    TH 1 563    EM 0
4882 km/s      Armour 5-56       Shields 0-0       HTK 147      Sensors 5/0/0/0      DCR 5      PPV 48
Maint Life 1.40 Years     MSP 553    AFR 372%    IFR 5.2%    1YR 308    5YR 4 619    Max Repair 156.25 MSP
Magazine 1 006   
Commander    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 15 months    Morale Check Required   

General Motors ION Impulse Drive (5)    Power 1562.5    Fuel Use 44.27%    Signature 312.5    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 709 000 Litres    Range 18 billion km (42 days at full power)

United Technologies Plasma Cannon (1)    Range 48 000km     TS: 4 882 km/s     Power 16-2     RM 10 000 km    ROF 40       
Target Tracker 5k (1)     Max Range: 48 000 km   TS: 5 200 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0
Power Bank v2 (2)     Total Power Output 2    Exp 5%

Interceptor Autofire Mechanism (40)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
WD ITC1 Interceptor Trajectory Computer (8)     Range 12.8m km    Resolution 1
Qian Interceptor (1006)    Speed: 72 200 km/s    End: 0.5m     Range: 2m km    WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 240/144/72

MDS2 Missile Detection Sensor (1)     GPS 56     Range 11.9m km    MCR 1.1m km    Resolution 1
ARS2 "Acquisition Redundancy System" (1)     GPS 288     Range 9.4m km    Resolution 240
Knighten Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 5     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  17.7m 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
Aditionally more Utopia Planitia class carriers are planned. A second unit, Elysium Planitia, is nearing completion and two more are scheduled, enough for all existing fighter squadrons. The newer constructions all include up-to-date ion drive technology and ceramic composite armor platings, outclassing the initial Utopia Planitia. The naming scheme may now seem a misnomer, as today the great lowland plains of Mars are all oceans, but in common usage the seas of Mars are still called "Utopia Planitia", "Acidalia Planitia" etc., not "Mare Utopia".

Can the Consortium afford all these construction projects? Yes. The Consortium maintains exclusive ownership over the mines on C/2017 K2, a Kuiper-belt object and Sol's last deposit of significant amounts of Gallicite aside from Venus. The 200 automines mining the 0.5 accessibility deposit uninterrupted over decades have resulted in 19k units of Gallicite piling up in Martian storehouses - numbers all other nation can only dream of. Despite some looming shortages of Boronide and Neutronium the Consortium is poised to grow into a military superpower.

---

An Argentine explorer discovers a Mercury-type planet with 0.8 accessibility Gallicite and several other deposits three jumps and 20b behind La Tablada - and therefore 40b km from Sol. The location is likely to remain unexploited for the foreseeable future, simply because of it's distance.

Nine years ago the Japanese also found some sort of ancient structure in the system of Kurashiki. Now the reports are confirming earlier suspicions: The installation is some kind of advanced alien observation post. But instead of measuring regular electromagnetic emissions in the visual, infrared and radio bands, it appears to be tuned to detect the gravitic distortions of ships passing by. Needless to say, plans are being made to establish a research outpost here, too.

   2127

European exploration ship William Adams detects two alien vessels in a system 8 jumps and 30b from Sol. The explorer was on a course towards the inner system to check out the marginally habitable planet 4 when two thermal signatures were detected by chance on a nearby survey location, one of the thirty mathematically derivable points in a system where gravimetric measurements need to be taken to determine the location of jump points. The ships make no movements, appearing not to know of or not caring about the William Adams. As is protocol for a first contact situation in an apparently inhabited system, the explorer retreats.

The SRV Argentina runs into three Qian thermal signatures in the next system out from the great mineral find of last year. Their base appears to be a frozen super-Earth with a thick nitrogren-methane atmosphere. Fifteen minutes later the Argentina is destroyed by missile impacts.

(https://i.imgur.com/r9ztjB8.png)
Another heavy hit for the Argentine exploration program. Now only two survey ships remain.

The European Union has plans to expand into the System of Hannover, between Bremen and Novokutznetsk, for it's rich Gallicite reserves. The Hambach asteroid mining complex operating in Bremen, while significant, is not enough in the long term. But however much the Earth-bound nations push for it, no proposal gets anywhere in the EU parliament - the other planets don't want their economic significance to be undercut. The Union's political paralysis is starting to affect long-term projects. Distrust is growing on planetary lines and it may take only a spark for the whole system to collapse.

On December 20th the moment that many xenospecialists had been fearing most happens: An alien warship transits a dormant jump point and emerges virtually on top of a major human colony.

(https://i.imgur.com/QWYINxx.png)

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on September 30, 2020, 06:42:10 PM

Going to put this one out now before the rest of 2129 makes the post any longer than it already is.

2128 was a very difficult year for me to play, with very frequent interrupts and an interrupt loop threatening to end the game for good in the middle of it.

Ah, right, let's continue where we left off with the cliffhanger:

---

   2128

The ship appears just 67m km from the Japanese colony of Neo-Kobe City and it's 63m inhabitants. It is truly bad timing that the alien ship would emerge just when the planet's orbit would bring it so close to this position. The only ship in orbit is an unarmed Sendai class scout vessel, the colony's threat model only concerned itself with human threats from Sol, any of which the Japanese navy on Earth could detect and intercept.

Command, once informed by the planetary detection center of the incident, immediately sends a task force of six ships to Grand Bourg, but it'll take weeks for it to arrive. The scout in orbit is ordered to shadow the alien vessel and get an active sensor reading on it. Three hours later the vessel is confirmed to be 15k tons in size. Communication attempts are being made by officials on the colony but aren't having success, this isn't a Xining vessel. The intruder is on a course away from the colony and the jump point towards deep space. One theory suggests that this is a survey ship tasked with finding and investigating new jump points, but if so it is both larger than any such human vessel and significantly faster, suggesting a fuel efficiency unsuited to a long-range explorer. Unless, of course, alien technology does not have such constraints.

An unknown jump point in immediate proximity to a major colony can also not be left unscouted, but, following the trend that came about after the EU invention of JP stabilization tech, the Japanese navy does not possess any jump ships, only stabilizers. Only the exploration ships carry a Casartelli device, the ingenious piece of magic that allows a ship to bend space around itself and transit an unstabilized JP. The only explorer available would be the Chiyoda, about to transit back into Sol and looking forward to returning home after a 9 year mission in outer space. Given that the only other option is asking another power for help, the Chiyoda is ordered to divert and head to Grand Bourg. ETA: 4 months. Human exploration cruisers are not fast.

Time passes. The alien ship arrives at survey location 6 in Grand Bourg, apparently taking measurements. Communication attempts relayed over the shadowing scout craft continue all the while and within only five days, on Christmas, full communications were established. A Christmas miracle. The aliens identify themselves as belonging to a Sukabumi Alliance. The Japanese communications experts make it clear that they are very nervous over their sudden appearance and would like for them to leave. It takes a few days until they express themselves clearly enough or until the aliens hear back from their homeworld, but eventually they acquiesce and turn to leave the system.

(https://i.imgur.com/EvxfXzs.png)
Diplomacy - In Space!

The immediate crisis is resolved. As the aliens true intentions and the system behind the new JP are still unknown, the ships en route are not called back. The populace of Neo-Kobe City, who had until now known nothing of what had happened in their system, is informed, and therefore all the other nations too learn of this first contact situation. As they don't know the exact location of the JP the aliens used they can't conduct their own investigation, however. Reactions that the situation was resolved diplomatically range from surprised to relieved, but this incident has once more shown that danger may lurk around every corner in space. Many inhabitants of the outer colonies are asking what their respective governments are doing to make sure that this can't happen to them as well.

The last day of March another alien ship passes through the JP. The scout stationed to watch for further transits gets a reading, this ship is only half the size of the previous one.

(https://i.imgur.com/Bu8yqtO.png)
More visitors

The scout opens a communications channel using the previously established standard and in turn receives something... different? Either they are refusing communication or something else has changed on their end. In either case, it is very strange. The ship also makes no move to leave the JP after it's transit, it's just sitting there where it emerged, responding in communications patterns that don't quite match the previous ones. As for the time being the ship just sits there the Japanese admiralty refrains from driving it off with the fleet and continues attempts to reestablish communications.

10 days later all attempts at renewed communication remain frustrated and the aliens bring another, smaller ship through at 5.5k tons. It immediately sets a course towards the innermost planets. The leaders had it, and send a pair of destroyers to intercept. Actually catching the vessel may prove difficult as it's speed is at 5 191km/s only a hair's breadth under that of the JPN task force - 5 208km/s. Still, the interception squadron arrives at Grand Bourg I, the site of a major Japanese mining colony, first. The visitor soon arrives on sensors. If it detects the squadron yet it makes no attempts at turning around. If the ship enters interceptor range a warning shot in form of a bundle of AMMs will be fired, if the ship still does not turn around the destroyers are ordered to use their energy weapons to disable the vessel.

(https://i.imgur.com/xUj50y2.png)
Please don't scan my bacon

The vessel enters weapons range and the warning shot is fired. All four of the fired projectiles impact. If the opponent analyzes the impacts perhaps the high-speed Qian interceptors used will give them a high estimate of human technoloy. We would rather they overestimate our capabilities than the other way around. It might also be that they recognize them as Qian technology and come to see humanity as galactic junk rats. Regardless of what they might think, the volley has it's desired effect: The ship immediately turns back. The jump ship on the JP (so the theory goes) transits, perhaps to inform their homeworld. Half a day later the other ship transits as well and Grand Bourg is without alien contacts again.

The SRV Chiyoda and it's tired sailors have arrived in Grand Bourg. Despite the uncertainty of what they might find behind the new JP they're eager to get on with it so that they may finally head on to Earth and reunite with their families. The twelfth transit into an unknown star system on the ships record, the experienced crew relays back system information quickly and professionally. There is not just one but two habitable planets in the system beyond, one an earthlike terrestrial with a high oxygen concentration and the other a tide-locked ocean world, both in the habitable zone of the ordinary orange dwarf primary.

(https://i.imgur.com/E5XOW0v.png)
Who knew something like this was next door all along?

The area around the jump point is free of contacts. Having done it's job the Chiyoda sets course home. The survey cruiser Taiyo will attempt to contact the aliens who may live on one or both of the two planets when it gets out of the drydock at the end of the year.

That still leaves the question of continued defense of Neo-Kobe City and the Grand Bourg system as a whole. In the months since the first transit a new project for a planetary particle cannon has been started to solve that issue, but until enough observation infrastructure to detect alien incursions and the new weapon systems to protect the colonies are in place two years are projected to pass. The task force can only stay on station for another few months, the support infrastructure of Neo-Kobe city is not up to maintaining a half dozen destroyers at once. Eventually the force will have to be rotated out and the facilities expanded.

---

When the Japanese moved 40% of their fleet to Grand Bourg and also during a previous instance where almost all their escorts left for Procyon's Rest to pick up their new armament, the mouths of Russian warhawks were watering at the chance to take a bite out of their chosen target - but the new mines for Venus are still not in place, and the tug to move the shipyards to Callisto still isn't done, so no moves were made. Yet, anyway, as their spies tell them new automatic mining facilities are scheduled for deployment on Venus. The plans to exploit the planet using manpower from orbital habitats are not progressing fast enough, it appears.

Concepts to detect hostile aliens, primarily Qian, before they can destroy an approaching survey ship are continuing to be developed. PRL exploration cruisers are being refit with more powerful thermal arrays. The cooperating EU and ARG exploration programs are developing remote-controlled sensor devices to check out potentially inhabited worlds and Qian bases before the explorer arrives. The EU favors a shuttle-like automated scout system, which has the advantage of being reusable. A new generation of exploration cruisers able to carry one or two such shuttles are too big a project to realistically receive funding right now, however. The Argentine exploration program is beginning construction on a small prototype vessel designed to fire single-use scouting probes at distant planets. If the system proves successful it could be refit onto existing cruisers.

Terraforming has succeeded in making Santa María II, the location of the Taíno colony and the first Argentine extrasolar settlement, habitable for humans. The terraforming has resulted in an open landscape with small vegetation much like on terraformed Mars. The planet's naturally comfortable temperature makes it a popular emigration and vacation destination already, with close to 400m people already calling the world their home. Now that the construction of permanent habitats without special infrastructure is possible that number is expected to rise at an even faster rate.
Argentina has designs to move all manufacturing and government functions to the colony, but that is a long-term project requiring many years at current hauling capacities. The European nations on the other hand have always disavowed such "abandoning" of their homeworld as the PRL and Martian Consortium have already done.

   2129

The Russian tug has finished. The state begins the process of moving all TN manufacturing off of Earth to Callisto as planned.

Earth's minerals have now completely run out. It may seem strange for this to happen only now, 40 years after large-scale mining of Earth's deposits has all but ceased. For all this time there was a small, unexploited deposit of Corbomite which remained on Earth - no power had any interest in mining it. Even with energy shields for warships now entering more mainstream usage, Corbomite is still considered the least valuable TN mineral and all nations have sufficient stocks of it. The reason for depletion now is that most mining equipment is still manufactured on Earth and the local deposit was used to calibrate the machines before being picked up for off-world deployment.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on October 10, 2020, 11:58:40 PM

When I said last post "before the rest of 2129 makes this post any longer", I wasn't kidding.

---

   2129 (cont.)

Background information

There were originally three major Mars colonies: A European one, an American one and a Chinese one, despite American protests (see Battle of Mars, 2082). The American colony eventually turned into the Martian Consortium as the economic power base shifted there. In 2104 the Chinese (PRL) colony got annexed by the Martian Consortium. While large swaths of population and industry are directly under the control of the Martian Consortium now, the large European colony with it's own government as a member state of the European Union nominally "owns" the planet. An honest grassroots support for a Martian national identity has been growing for decades and has been receiving political and monetary support from the Consortium, who seek to eliminate the influence of the other interstellar powers on "their" planet.

The EU colony of Taíno on Santa María II shares the planet with the original Argentine colony there and has recently undergone explosive growth, achieving economic self-sustainability. They do not have a strong national identity as it has been built on Mars, but see Earth as only the place that all their hard-earned wealth and minerals are undeservedly flowing away to.

   The War of Independence

Negotiations between the governments of the EU colonies of Taíno in Santa María and the planet of Mars finish. Both declare their independence and their support for another. The Mars colony in particular has concrete promises from the private militaries of the Martian Consortium that their actions will be supported. Reasons cited for independence are: Stopping the drain of wealth and resources away from their colonies, freeing themselves from having policy dictated by Earth and dissatisfation with the political system of the European Union in particular, which is characterized as unfit for the interstellar age. The declaration is published on the last day of May 2129.

As was pre-arranged, the Martian Consortium releases a statement acknowledging the independence of the two former colonies. The other powers refrain from making any strong statements at this uncertain point in time. European officials on Earth are, of course, livid. Despite the declarations having wide support among both colonies populations, the EU parliament on Earth rules the move invalid and demands the colonies go through the proper legal parliamentary processes to determine their possible independence - several such proposals have however been strategically blocked by the Earth nations in recent years. The EU threatens to use force to remove rebellious government officials. They do not back down and Earth-steered attempts to mobilize security forces on Mars and Santa María II fail, with police and other bodies either refusing the orders or pledging their allegiance to their local governments. Out of options, they start contacting military commanders, putting them in a very difficult position. Some refuse outright, following the model of the civilian deserters, some claim that they do not believe their troops would follow any such orders. EU military garrisoning on the colonies is typically a permanent station with most manpower drawn upon locally - not conducive to loyalty to the central government as it now turns out.

A few days have passed now and the question is on everybody's lips: Will the Earth government send ships and troops to subdue the colonies? Heated debates are held in the EU parliament, now in session with only the Earth nations represented. In the meantime the colony on Número Ocho, a low-gravity mining colony in Santa María with 20m inhabitants, has also declared independence and joined the new government of the Taíno colony. This may well be what tipped the balance, Earth needs mineral sources to survive and thrive and another has just turned away.

The decision is made to send in the fleet. Officially to "restore order" and "arrest officials", their actual mandate is to bring the colonies back in line by means of intimidation, using force if necessary. The commander of the destroyer squadron stationed on Santa María II receives an order to blockade the planet, but broadcasts his refusal in a very media-effective manner across the planet and back to Sol, instead pledging his allegiance to the local government of Taíno. The move seems coordinated with both the local government and the commanders of the rest of his squadron. These news aren't good for the Earthers, we're not talking about a few army officers refusing to leave their barracks or being afraid of being arrested by their troops, but the unambiguous defection of major military assets. There is now a chance that European ships may end up shooting each other.

The parts of Santa María II governed by Argentina, small in comparison to the European ones, also experienced their own push for independence. No such declaration ended up being made, primarily because the Martian Consortium would not extend it's offers to the Argentine possessions. It is true that the Argentine government has been a lot less exploitive in their policies than the European counterparts, to the degree where their Earth population sometimes feels forgotten. In either case it is believed that the future of the Argentine colony on Santa María II will be tightly coupled to the fate of Taíno.

Ship defection like in Santa María is unfortunate, but not actually a scenario the EU government was unprepared for. The conflict with Mars had to come to a head eventually and to prevent exactly this kind of outcome the destroyer squadron normally stationed on Mars has not been redeployed there in recent years, instead keeping it in Earth orbit. The fleet stationed on Earth is large, counting 6 cruisers and 10 destroyers - 200k tons total. Even if individual ships and commanders have doubts about their orders or would rather defect, doing so in the middle of the entire fleet is dangerous. The commanding officers of the six Hades-class cruisers in particular are all Earth-born citizens with no particular affiliation to or affection for the colonies.

So the Consortium has thrown down the gauntlet, putting the rebellious colonies under their protection. A full-on conflict with another power's main fleet is something most want to avoid, but there may be no way around it here. The Martian fleet holds a strategic advantage, it does not need to move in order to fulfil it's objective, it's the EU fleet that needs to act. The EU has two targets to visit: Mars and Taíno. It'd be ideal to deal with the Martian fleet (and Mars) first and then send an expedition to Taíno afterwards, but that requires the balls to start a major interstellar battle, one likely to involve the liberal use of nuclear warheads against targets in space. The Martian navy is considered inferior to the EU's Earth fleet, but a full-on confrontation like that is still not something the European leaders can agree on. So the decision is made to split off part of the fleet and tackle Taíno first - as long as a large enough force is also kept in Sol the Martian navy can't afford to send it's fleet away from Mars. It is unlikely that retaking Taíno will cause the Mars colony to concede as well, but it will put the EU government in a better position.

On the Martian side sending a large fleet detachment all the way to Santa María was never really an option anyway, despite their promises to both colonies - the PRL is still looking for an opportunity to exploit Consortium weakness and retake their old colony, despite their claim growing weaker and weaker every year that it remains under Consortium control. It has been 25 years now since the Consortium annexed the PRL Mars colony and the two powers entered a state of cold war. As such a scenario that leaves the Consortium navy at home is preferrable to them anyways. Their greatest fear is an alliance between the EU and PRL against them, but for now that does not happen.

The European Earth government makes it's move: two cruisers and four destroyers leave orbit accompanied by a troop ship and a support vessel. Martian observation detects this. Their options are limited, and they must act now before the group gets too far away from Earth and an interception would leave Mars undefended. On the other hand, too close to Earth and the navy will have to contend with the entire EU fleet.

(https://i.imgur.com/J26zHMp.png)
It'd be very nice if you could remove civilian ship contacts from the map.

Any move by major Martian fleet assets will be detected as easily as the EU move, so their first instinct is to launch a fighter strike at the leaving force. Estimates show that, even with just four destroyers escorting the cruisers, not enough missiles will get through. The Mega-class missile destroyers can put out a volume of fire twice as big which can potentially be combined with a fighter strike. If some Megas need to visibly break orbit anyway it is decided to send all of them to strike at the leaving fleet and keep the fighter squadrons in reserve. A counter-missile strike is not feared as EU missiles have lower range and both their cruisers and their fighters can't catch up to the Megas.

EU military command detects the Megas setting course for their detachment. They are catching up quickly to the detachment which is slowed down significantly by their escorted troop transport. The warships could potentially reach the Earth LP before the Martians catch up and ambush them at energy range when they come through, but that would mean abandoning the troop transport to the enemy. The troops are mission critical to be able to force a surrender out of the Taíno colony, so their protection is paramount. The cruisers stationed on Earth are too slow to do more than force the Martian task group to adjust their course a little.

(https://i.imgur.com/HnDST0h.png)
The Martians are escorting their strike ships with plasma frigates to preempt a potential intercept with faster EU escort destroyers at energy range.

At 28m from target the Martian destroyers activate sensors and lock targets. 32 cruise missiles are locked onto each of the cruisers, 8 on each destroyer.

(https://i.imgur.com/AZTqSbE.png)
Fire control settings. (SF) means synchronized fire, important to make sure that all missiles are fired and arrive as one and can't be picked off piecemeal.

The missiles are in space. The long manual reload cycles of the Megas mean they probably won't get a second shot off before the fleet transits the LP.

(https://i.imgur.com/AmG8e3K.png)
As the enemy is heading away from the launch platforms it must be ensured that by the time of intercept the targets have not gotten out of range, that's why the fire order is given at 28m range despite the missiles having 35m range.

At 1.6m from impact the detachment's thermal sensors detect the cruise missiles. Willing to wager on the Martians not having targeted the troop and support ship, the warships break formation to make use of their full speed and activate sensors, preparing for PD fire. Out of 96 cruise missiles 25 miss and a further 43 are hit by PD fire, resulting in 28 impacts. As the targets were distributed no ships are destroyed, but the ES Kirikkale, the oldest escort destroyer in the squadron, loses all engine power. The cruiser Kerberos was hit heavily and loses 43% engine power but otherwise retains operable status, if limited to the speed of a support ship. The other ships range from no damage to minor internal damage. 117 out of 1862 crewmen lose their lives.

Commander Burston on the Olympus Mons, the Martian command ship, is satisfied with the result. Destruction of enemy vessels was not his main objective, he wants to leave escalation of the conflict to the other side as much as possible. With one ship disabled and others wounded they will have to reconsider continuing their mission and will be weakened regardless of whether they press on to Santa María or turn back to Earth.

The disabled destroyer Kirikkale puts the European squadron in a difficult position. Proceeding towards the LP will abandon the ship to the opponent, but staying means being exposed to additional missile volleys. Help from Earth can not arrive in time. The decision is made to leave the Kirikkale behind and continue with the mission. There are four mutinous ships to confront and a colony to bring back in line. Even with battle damage the cruiser's firepower should be more than sufficient to deter the defected destroyers from making any more stupid moves. Seeing the EU ships make their decision Commander Burston reacts impassively, ordering his task force back to Mars and detaching a couple of plasma frigates to force the Kirikkale to surrender and take on it's crew. The ship itself must be scuttled, EU ships from Earth can get here before a tug could begin moving the Kirikkale back to Mars.

The incident gathers much media attention as a major battle in the middle of a busy shipping line in inner Sol. The five nation-state powers consider the Martian Consortium an independent military power, but to the newly independent people of Mars the battle is seen as "their" military beating back an attempt by Earth to reinstate their rule. Ever since the Battle of Procyon at the latest, where much of the resulting footage and reporting happened from the perspective of the distinctly Martian flagship Utopia Planitia, the Consortium's warships have been a symbol of national pride and strength.

So ends the first major exchange in this war of independence. For the next one the Martians are going to play another advantage of theirs. Their allies on Taíno are contacted and the defected EU destroyer squadron is asked to come to the Consortium colony in Salto, between Sol and Santa María.

A month goes by. The EU flotilla proceeds towards Santa María unharried by further Martian aggression and transits the Salto JP. There the unsuspecting ships are immediately assaulted by two Consortium plasma frigates and the defected destroyers they called in to help. The EU listening post in Salto which is supposed to prevent such an ambush from happening is on a moon of planet III - currently near it's farthest point from the Sol JP. On the other hand the Consortium colony on Salto IV is very close to the Sol JP currently. Due to these unfortuntate circumstances the ambushing ships were not detected and achieve total surprise.

The cruiser Nixos, the less damaged of the pair, is blasted by the plasma frigates. An equally if not more destructive barrage is begun by the Taíno-loyal destroyers, directing continuous fire against all warships at once. Standard jump shock is two minutes, best case. An awful lot of time to be on the receiving end of six energy-armed warships. When the plasma frigates reload and fire again the Nixos simply disintegrates. Satisfied that they have made their point, and in order to get outside of the remaining ship's firing range when they recover from jump shock, the ambushing force backs off a small distance and opens communications, demanding surrender. Shortly after the ambushing ships have left immediate weapons range the Kerberos recovers from jump shock, with Captain Cortés heatedly ordering all weapons fire. The chaos (and damage) on the ship proves too great, and five out of the seven heavy batteries remain silent and over half of the missile tubes do not respond. When the Kerberos' remaining missile launchers cycle again the Isparta, commanded by Lutz Brink, a young and courageous Taíno-born officer who distinguished himself in fighter combat simulations, breaks formation, firing on the Kerberos' volley and signalling his surrender to the Taíno forces.

(https://i.imgur.com/WxrObqI.png)
Another defection

All of the Kerberos' missiles were destroyed and it's few operational batteries are ineffective at this range. It's remaining two escorts still haven't recovered from jump shock and won't win a straight-up fight against what is now seven enemy ships. Captain Cortés has no option but to call off the mission and turn back to Sol. By jumping her ships back through the JP she can at least discourage the enemy from giving chase by threatening to have her remaining ships do to them what just happened to her group; Ambush them behind a JP. After waiting on the JP for a while and confirming they don't chase she sets course back to Earth. Now it's up to the admirals and politicians to decide what to do next.

One of the lessons learned by this engagement is that even if combat is expected to happen in areas of stabilized jump points only it can be beneficial to have jump tenders. A squadron jumped via tender does not suffer jump shock for nearly as long as with an unassisted transit.

The PRL does not really want to participate in a campaign to conquer Mars only to end up in the same or a similar situation as before: with one or two other powers also present on the planet, except now there's blood and a lot more mistrust between them. Their main goal in any such action would be the liberation of their populace, which is not deemed strategically important, and gaining recompense for the state-owned industrial facilities the Consortium appropriated. While those were significant, the state has been doing fine without them, too. Because of this diplomats from Earth, no matter how enthusiastic, have a hard time convincing the PRL of their "shared goals" in the Martian matter.

The Kerberos and the remainder of it's task group return to Earth. The Martian tracking stations confirm the Kerberos is in inner Sol and give the green light for the ships in Salto to jump into Sol: The previous ambush won't work again and with most ships enjoying a speed advantage over the EU fleet there's no reason not to concentrate the forces.

(https://i.imgur.com/ap6KYQM.png)
CA Kerberos stats - That's a lot of damage

The Kerberos will be in spacedock for 9 months. It's two escorts have received heavy armor damage, but still have functioning systems. Using them in an operation again is possible, if risky. The expedition sent to Taíno was supposed to be an easy victory and put Earth in a favorable position in dealing with Mars, but all it's done is put a third of the fleet out of action. The additional bloodshed has united Earth's nations to assertively put down this rebellion and authorize planning for direct action against the Martian fleet. Without colonies mining offworld minerals Earth is helpless after all.

The EU plan for taking out the Martian navy is as follows: a direct approach while the Earth-Mars orbits still put the planets closely together so as to give them less reaction time for fighter actions. All undamaged ships will participate, leaving Earth defended by the damaged escorts and the planetary point-defense installations. PD on both the fleet and Earth should be sufficient for the limited Martian missile strike capacity, which was just a little to high for the detached fleet to absorb previously. Once in strike range of Mars, all cruisers will open fire on the Martian ships, preferentially targeting escorts and frigates. It is assumed that the Martian navy will remain on station so as to defend their planet. The first strike wave can be boosted significantly by use of Eurofighter squadron missile launches, however they require a closer distance to target in order to lock on successfully. There are significant STO ground forces stationed on Mars. While many have doubtful loyalty or may even support the enemy side, attempts will be made to mobilize as great a number of these as possible for eventual use against Martian ships in orbit, however doing so would likely precipitate large-scale ground fighting as rebel troops try to shut them down. Since it can't be guaranteed that reinforcements from Earth will land on the ground quickly enough and in sufficient numbers the STO option should only be used in a pinch.

The Earth battle fleet departs. Four cruisers and three Adana C/D escorts each with 31 Eurofighters in tow. 143k tons. On Mars await them 3 carriers, 6 missile destroyers, 3 escort destroyers, 48 light fighters, 6 laser escort frigates, 8 plasma frigates. 298k tons total. On paper this gives the Martian fleet a major advantage, but there are several diminishing factors working against their superiority: All 14 frigates are old and outdated, the escort frigates are rated to only have a fraction of the performance of a kinetic escort destroyer. The fighters all carry only a single cruise missile, as opposed to the ~10 projectiles a Eurofighter carries. The carriers contribute a lot of mass to the total but provide very little actual fighting strength. The final reason why the EU fleet considers itself superior is it's sheer advantage in nuclear firepower, it's fighter squadrons can put up to 300 missiles in the air, at once. The Martian point-defense, consisting of some old frigates and only three newer destroyers who's supply of Qian Interceptors hasn't arrived yet, is considered weak.

Martian observation detects the EU force departing from Earth, fighters included. Prepared procedures are initiated at once. Commercial Consortium-owned ships are evacuated from orbits and all shields begin the charging process. The last supplies of missiles are loaded onto the warships, the escort destroyers in particular only have a limited amount of Martian-built interceptors available to them.

Four hours later the EU fleet has crossed half the distance between the planets and it's time for the Martian navy to make it's first move. As the Martian missile systems are not designed for rapid-fire launches all available time must be used. All six missile destroyers and the 48 fighters, most aboard their carriers, move towards the approaching fleet. All 144 launch tubes are loaded with LRT3 Cruise Missiles - the Consortium's latest model, only produced in small numbers so far. There is only enough for one full strike, all reloads must use LRT2 models, which are the ones used for the strike against the flotilla departing for Taíno, or old low-performance LRT1 models. All Martian ordnance outranges EU missiles and all launch platfroms outspeed the EU launch platforms, so there is no fear of counter-fire. After an hour the Martian strike fleet is in range, deliberating targets. Targeting the fleet's core of cruisers is tempting, as their continual launch capabilities are very dangerous to the navy. Targeting the escorts to achieve higher damage with further volleys is also tempting. Captain Georgia Florek on the flag bridge of the Utopia Planitia is the risk-averse type and would prefer to target the fighters instead, as they with their high alpha-strike capability pose the greatest danger to the Martian navy, but in order to get a lock on them the fleet would need to move within 7.5m km to target, which would cost valuable time and put the fleet inside EU weapons range. Counting on the chance to strike again, Captain Florek orders three escorts targeted.

(https://i.imgur.com/7WjMU50.png)
Missiles away

The fighters are recalled and begin the rearming process. The EU battle fleet detects the launch. PD fire is being prepared, it is assumed that the volley can be weathered. An uncomfortable 20 minutes follow, knowing that there are 144 warheads incoming and you don't know if they're aimed at your ship and you can't do anything about it until the last second anyway.

(https://i.imgur.com/oJyEEsV.png)
53 miss, 45 are intercepted and 46 warheads impact

(https://i.imgur.com/anDbi9R.png)
I'm really missing the verbose damage breakdowns of VB6, they helped a lot with understanding how combat works. I have little idea what happened here, I guess three missiles each were enough to destroy the two dead destroyers? They must have died from secondaries caused by shock damage, given that nothing penetrated? Why does the summary at the bottom list 3 hits on the Edirne but I can count 6 hits on the top? The six hits on the Tarsus are all there is, I snipped a lot of "empty" messages like the second-to-last, which I imagine are "hits" after the ship had already exploded? Then why is there a single message "No hits"? I kinda wish the PD would randomly target an incoming missile instead of working on them volley by volley, this leads to weird results where some ships get fully protected but some get totally destroyed.

One targeted destroyer only has armor damage, but two were destroyed. That is worse than expected, but still within mission parameters and the Martians shouldn't be able to use their strike capacity again very soon. The mission will continue, determines Captain Sundberg aboard the Charon.

As more time passes the EU fleet enters missile range from Mars. Martian launch tubes, save for the ones on the fighter squadron still missing a carrier, are ready to fire again before the Earther fleet gets into their own fire range. It is unknown if they will strike as soon as they get within their range or if they will wait until they're closer. Martian Captain Florek would still prefer to target the EU fighters, but a lock on them can't be achieved until they close to 7.5m km range - within the 10m km range of their missiles. The need to pre-empt as much hostile fire as possible wins out, and the second strike is released against the cruisers. There is little the EU ships can do about the ordnance currently approaching them, so they keep moving. While the strike is still in the air the Mega class destroyers reload. The fighters won't be rearmed before the EU fleet gets within range, so an additional strike using old LRT1 cruise missiles is launched with the Megas. It remains to be seen how effective they are, but even if the strike fails the old ordnance can be spared.

The second strike impacts. Despite the usage of less capable LRT2 cruise missiles the previous destruction of two escorts has enough of an effect that 54 missiles impact. 44 are intercepted and 34 miss. The European command cruiser Charon suffers a magazine explosion and is destroyed, forcing the fleet commander Captain Sundberg into a lifepod. The Pluto and especially the Hydra suffer extensive internal damage. This fight is NOT going the way the EU admirals had expected, but at this point it's only a few more million km until Mars is in firing range, and fleeing now would allow the Martians to take their time finishing off the fleet. This endeavor was very much all-in from the start, and without colonial mineral income Earth is very much helpless. Even if most of the fleet does not survive this encounter, if colonial obedience can be restored, it will be worth it.

(https://i.imgur.com/qaTa247.png)
The third wave approaches. Fewer, notably slower missiles, but can the damaged EU fleet absorb them?

(https://i.imgur.com/i2ipWio.png)
They cannot.

The next strike hits the cruiser Styx amidships, causing two munitions caches to ignite at once. The last operational EU cruiser is taken out of the fight. Only four escorts and the fighters remain of the fleet, less than two million km before the cruisers would have entered into firing range of Mars. Shall the fleet push on even now? The fighters have a limited firing range of only 4m km. The exact range at which Martian sensors can get a lock on the fighters is not known, but as the Eurofighter fleet is the oldest space-based military unit built by humans many systems have been made specially to detect such platforms. Quick estimates by intelligence show that, given measured outputs of Consortium sensor systems, they can likely target and fire on the fighters before they get within range. And even if the fighters get to strike, victory is not assured. The recommendation is to recall, and the admirality agrees. Consortium command is contacted and a cease-fire offered, with the promise that the currently en-route forces will retreat without firing. The Martians accept, and little later their victory is publicly proclaimed. Spontaneous jubilations erupt among the nationalist population across the planet.

Many an Earth politician's career who promised to bring the colonies in line no matter the resistance just ended. European politics descend into chaos over the next few days, and the dissolution of the European Union in it's current form seems a foregone conclusion. There are protests about Consortium ships salvaging the wrecks of European ships, ignoring their salvage rights, but might makes right and the EU is neither politically nor military able to defend their claims. The EU fleet at the start of the conflict counted 18 escorts and 6 cruisers, now there are three undamaged and three damaged escorts remaining. Half the cruisers, the core of the EU navy, have been destroyed, and the other ones are still undergoing emergency damage control procedures in Earth orbit. 4 escorts are permanently stationed in deep space, guarding a mining outpost. 5 escorts have deserted and gone over to the enemy. 3 have been destroyed.

July ends and August rolls around, it has now been several weeks since the initial declaration of independence. With the last battle it has become clear that loyalty of the colonies can't be militarily enforced and that Mars and Taíno as independent entities are here to stay, so as a consequence, limited acknowledgements of their sovereignty have been made by the other powers. The EU governments on Earth still refuse such a statement, but colonial independence is starting to be regarded as a fait accompli. A prisoner exchange has been negotiated and safe passage for citizens wishing to return from one world to another has been promised. Due to the questionable loyalties of EU ground forces no orders calling them to action had been given and no significant ground fighting took place during the whole time. Earth is allowed to retrieve any troops wishing to return there, but is not allowed to interfere with any individual, in military service or otherwise, that wishes to remain on their current world. As a consequence some entire brigades have officially joined the Martian and Taíno governments.

Militarily the outcome of the naval showdown between the EU and the Consortium was unexpected. Many of the Consortium's ships were considered second grade to those of other nations and their missile doctrine has always been critiqued as inefficient, but it was their longer range that made the difference here. The Consortium has established itself as a first-rate military power now, especially in light of their wealth and the rapid growth of their fleet, while the EU, or what will become of it, is now looking at a rapid decline in power and influence. To the other powers Mars is still protected by a powerful navy, keeping the ambitions of smaller powers like Russia in check, but Taíno's security may prove a different matter. It remains to be seen if their alliance with the Consortium was only a temporary measure or something that will last.

One of the more immediate results of Taíno's independence is even more heavily increased calls for independence of the Argentine colony on Santa María II as well. It is clear that the governments of Taíno and Mars have been supporting such demands and would back them up militarily. Given what just happened to the EU navy, considered a first-rate power, the Argentine government sees itself forced to make more and more concessions every week, giving virtually every possible degree of autonomy to their Santa María colony. This, in turn, causes the home population of Argentina, who already felt the government was spending too much on off-world matters, to take it to streets en masse. Less than a month later the government fails; a second state in disarray as a result of the war for independence.

Another "failing" state turns out to be the Martian one: the local EU government on the body, which is the one that declared independence several months ago, is finding it's policies and personnel choices increasingly dictated by the powerful Consortium entities which allowed their independence to become a reality in the first place. Rarely can any official body say no when a candidate proposed by the Consortium is suggested for an advisory position or a post directly. Given the current rate of integration it can be assumed that true democratic elections likely won't be a part of Mars' future. The Consortium also seeks to expand the jurisdiction of the government over it's "own" populations, helping legitimize it's rule over Mars and it's citizens.

---

   Other happenings in 2129

A Consortium explorer is detecting live fire and wrecks around a JP stabilized by non-humans. The system connected through that JP is where the EU encountered survey ships on a survey point a couple years ago.

(https://i.imgur.com/vou6W4X.png)
This is another shooting incident happening half a year later. A third one then happened in December.

---

The previously encountered jump ship transits the Grand Bourg JP again. As there is currently a stabilization ship working on the JP the Japanese immediately send their fleet from the orbit over Neo-Kobe City, which is closely approaching the JP once more. The jump tender flees towards the outer system, perhaps upon detecting the Japanese vessel in vicinity of the JP. Two destroyers, barely faster than their quarrel, give chase. Communications attempts continue and the aliens keep responding, but the christmas miracle from over a year ago that allowed diplomatic contact seems all but forgotten.
At some point the alien ship turns back. It may also have been heading towards the nearest survey point, like the initial contact ship did. This opens up a chance to finally intercept it.

(https://i.imgur.com/SAGZ8yk.png)
The speeds of the hunter and the hunted are almost equal.

The destroyer Yamagiri scores several hits. The alien vessel does not appear to change course or attempt to defend itself. As the impact profile suggests the ship is not heavily armored the decision is made to close in to point-blank range with one destroyer and disable it's electronics with microwave weapons. And so it is done. The alien sensors are fried and the ship is being let escape back through the JP, unable to get a reading on the Japanese task force now sitting on it. It is also hoped that the non-lethal application of force is seen as a sign of goodwill by the aliens, assuming they understand such notions.

A mere two months later such hopes are brought to naught as the ship transits yet again and is destroyed by the blockading force.

(https://i.imgur.com/O6ffcRg.png)
They didn't want to learn.

A few days later another, larger ship transits the JP and immediately returns back through it. Before it disappeared again it activated sensors and got a reading on the JAP blockading force, perhaps that was it's purpose - or investigating the fate of the previous ship. Then it jumps through again, retreats, jumps away again. After a few more of these cycles the commander has enough and orders his ships to open fire. After one volley the ship stops returning. Concerning is that apparently none of the hits penetrated the armor, suggesting that this was indeed a warship.

OOC Note: That's the kind of interrupt loop I have to deal with. Except most of the time it's between NPRs, which makes it non-obvious what's going on or what's causing it.

A few months later the ship transits again, perhaps after having received repairs. At least this time it is content not to move, opting to sit just beside the JAP stabilizer and under the watchful eye of the blockade fleet, inside their weapons range. Intermittently sensor emissions can be received from it. An hour later it jumps out and in again, beginning the same game as before, except it stays in system for up to an hour every time now. After a few cycles the Japanese task group fires again. The ship reacts to the long-range volley, all shots of which miss, by fleeing - away from the JP. A few more volleys quickly disable the ship - it appears it was not as well armored as thought. Unwilling to give away a chance for a peaceful resolution the blockade fleet positions itself in the ships prior escape vector and waits.

---

The Russian excavation in Sverdlovsk recovers 6 000 tons of Corundium from a storage area of the alien ruins. Suddenly receiving enough minerals for 25 automines is an unexpected windfall for the economically weak nation.

As a result of their botched transition to manned mining operations on Venus and the temporary income stop of Gallicite that resulted from it, the Japanese navy is now in a state of maintenance crisis. Engine units are starting to fail on ships orbiting Earth which can't be immediately repaired. The task force keeping Neo-Kobe City in Grand Bourg secure is not hit as hard as the limited facilities in operation there can manufacture spares out of locally produced Gallicite, mined in system in trace amounts. Both the continued deployment of their forces and the supply shortage do not bode well for the nation's preparedness in the face of possible foreign aggression.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars
Post by: Zap0 on November 02, 2020, 01:30:51 AM

Fun fact: there are 2.6k ships active in this game.

---

   2130

At the start of the year the European Union was officially dissolved. The remaining off-world interests, most notably the Hambach asteroid mining complex and the remainders of the fleet, are for now under shared ownership of some of the old member states. With the collapse of the established central government and rapidly deteriorating economic conditions on Earth the political landscape has shifted dramatically. The old ruling parties have little to no influence anymore as the populace turns to increasingly extreme ideologies. While the dominant narrative is that greedy offworlders, who couldn't appreciate all the money and resources Earth has spent on building up their prosperity, turned on their brothers and instigated a violent revolution, there is also no shortage of blame being shifted around on Earth as well. Politicians and entire nations are accused of being traitors for taking the offworlders side during the crisis or taking a conciliatory approach or simply not being hard enough on them. Irregularities in where the wealth ended up, when it was still flowing back to Europe, are being put in the foreground. In short, it is chaos, and with dozens of states having newly found independence, war between nations is once again a realistic possibility on Earth.

The Argentine situation is not too different. The existing government has lost any support from their population on Earth after seeing themselves forced to give in to any demand the colonies made. The colonies are therefore quite interested in keeping the friendly government in power for as long as possible, relocating government bodies and institutions to Santa María all the while. It has, for instance, been already assured that the Argentine navy will forthwith be primarily concerned with the security of Santa María and La Tablada. The populace feels abandoned as government and fleet headquarters are relocated off-world and the entire Argentine elites basically are emigrating to Santa María. In March a new government is formed in Argentina from a broad coalition of parties and their first act essentially amounts to a declaration of independence from their own colonies, cutting off their influence on Earth and reclaiming Argentina for the Argentines.

An experimental survey craft testing new technologies for the Argentine exploration program, now headquartered in the Tablada City colony, makes a menacing discovery. The program is concerned with the problem of detecting Qian threats and bases before ships run into them, and has begun live field tests in the La Plata system, two jumps from La Tablada, as ships have been lost there to suspected Qian vessels. At first the technicians in charge deem the test a failure, but repeated analysis confirms it:

(https://i.imgur.com/nESbS4F.png)
~680k tons of Qian hardware

48 Qian signatures appear to be present in orbit of La Plata III. After successive tests to confirm that the system is indeed working as intended the findings are published. Media across the human worlds terms this find to be the Qian homeworld, owed to the presence of warships orders of magnitutes above what was previously seen. The force detected here is twice as massive than the largest human navies, a fact that makes a lot of people nervous, despite there being no indication that these Qian vessels might leave their post any more than the others detected so far. At the same time wild speculation erupts as for what wonders might be found on the surface of the planet.

An unknown alien vessel is observed in the system of Novokuznetsk. It appears to be surveying planets. There are no military ships or STO weapons on the colony, so it can only be hoped that they have peaceful intentions. The ship enters orbit and scans the planet, but launches no aggressive action.

A new batch of Gallicite has arrived on Luna from the colonies, signaling the start of the escort ship construction project. The PRL has invested considerable resources over the past decade and a half to develop adequate point defense technology, eventually culminating in the reveal of the PD Particle Dome system in 2125. The capture of alien AMM projectiles later that year provided an unexpected alternative: build AMM escorts instead. For years there has been disagreement over which system should be introduced into the navy, the decision continuously put off until there actually was enough Gallicite to support the construction of more ships. Now that that point has arrived PRL command has decided go ahead with their original plans for escort destroyers using the Particle Dome system. The decision has been reached after the PRL's lead (and only) kinetic weapons expert was found dead only a few weeks before the shipment arrived. With the program to develop an AMM munition on their own severely set back, the other option was considered safer.
This is the updated escort destroyer design from 2125, based on the Mighty Dolphin's hull. 4 units are laid down.

Code: [Select]

Black Tortoise I class Escort      12 000 tons       266 Crew       1 797 BP       TCS 240    TH 1 125    EM 1 380
4687 km/s      Armour 5-46       Shields 46-460       HTK 87      Sensors 0/0/0/0      DCR 4      PPV 72.7
Maint Life 1.23 Years     MSP 421    AFR 256%    IFR 3.6%    1YR 289    5YR 4 339    Max Repair 187.5 MSP
Zhong Xiao    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 13 months    Morale Check Required   

Feng-Dai Thrust ION Capital Ship Drive (3)    Power 1125    Fuel Use 40.41%    Signature 375    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 467 000 Litres    Range 17.3 billion km (42 days at full power)
Lunar Delta Deflector (1)     Recharge Time 460 seconds (0.1 per second)

Lunar PD Particle Dome (5x6)    Range 30 000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 0-0     RM 30 000 km    ROF 5       
PD Targeting System (5)     Max Range: 48 000 km   TS: 16 000 km/s     79 58 38 17 0 0 0 0 0 0

Ying Combat Sensor IV (1)     GPS 3     Range 2.7m km    MCR 244k km    Resolution 1
Lunar-Shao High Resolution Scanner II (1)     GPS 32     Range 10.5m km    MCR 945.2k km    Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
   2131

Wars have indeed broken out between several nations inside and outside of Europe as the situation on Earth deterioated further. Many marginalized states, which did not rose to be a significant interstellar power, were completely dependent on one spacefaring power or another and ended up harboring great resentment against them. As it had turned out at the beginning of the interstellar age, becoming a space power was a path with a heavy first-mover advantage. Even relatively minor powers like Argentina could become space powers if they invested early enough. Otherwise rich or powerful states who started investing into space too late, like India, did not manage to gain a foothold in space as competition with the already much more wealthy first-movers proved too difficult. Instead such peoples were marginalized to a second class of Earth citizens, and that's coming back to haunt the "fallen" European space power hard now.

The cruiser Hydra was considered beyond repair after the Independence War and was scrapped, leaving only the cruisers Kerberos and Pluto in service. Command over these major warships is proving a big boon for the nations that ended up with their loyalty; As the wars on Earth eventually broke out, the mere threat of orbital bombardment, nuclear or merely kinetic, was enough to make other states fall in line or back down. Only rarely the firepower actually ended up needing to be used. It'd be possible to establish hegemony over much of Earth by way of conquest for these nations. An alternative path to warlords enforcing their power has been articulated through the Terra Prime movement, which draws heavily on the resentment against colonies and offworlders, and asserts that Earth is the permanent capital and center of Human civilization. Already strong in South America, if this movement can deflect the resentment of the minor Earth nations against the space powers onto the colonies and other planets, a united - if dangerously militant - Earth is a possibility.

The extant interstellar powers with remaining populations on Earth are wary of getting involved in the fighting for fear of stoking similar resentment against their own governments. The PRL has kept the social peace in China, but there are no illusions that anything and anyone that really matters is on the moon, not on Earth. Japan's colonies are actually smaller and less significant industrially than it's home population. That and a very inward-oriented lookout, with firmly shut borders and isolationist policies, keep the Japanese people aloof from current world events. The Russian home situation isn't as rosy as voices have been getting louder that the central government, newly relocated to Callisto, does not care about the people on Earth. That is underlined by the fact that almost all TN manufacturing jobs have now moved off-world, presenting a serious downturn in wages and economic opportunity on Earth.

There are no signs of the Japanese maintenance crisis letting up anytime soon. All but two warships have been evacuated from Grand Bourg, most ships are in Earth orbit undergoing permanent overhaul operations. Failing engines can't be repaired and there are not enough tools available to prevent them from failing in the first place. Whatever the solution will look like, it'll require more Gallicite: the government has been pouring any mining capacity it can onto Venus, but at this point a high four-digit number in tons of Gallicite is needed to get all ships in shape again. It is really a self-inflicted crisis. Ambitious plans for manned mining operations on Venus were launched but eventually failed to function. In the meantime the existing mining infrastructure had already been moved away from Venus, in expectation that reserves would be sufficient to tide the state over. Then the state tried for too long to salvage the project, restarting automated mining operations far too late.

(https://i.imgur.com/coenUSg.png)
There have been a lot of increments like this this year.

The Earth nations, desperate to increase the flow of TN minerals to their homes and loathe to found colonies with major civilian populations, pick up and implement an old proposal: Bremen, the system of rich asteroid belts which the Hambach asteroid mining complex is exploiting, is also home to three mineral-rich planets. The first planet in particular bears deposits of all 11 TN minerals with particularly high concentrations of Duranium, Neutronium, Mercassium and solid Sorium. As the planet is very hostile to life due to it's close orbit to the star and the Venusian atmosphere a series of orbital habitats are indended to provide living space for workers. However, the location is three jumps and 13b km from Earth and moving even a single orbital habitat will take a long time, therefore it is planned to only move an initial few and construct any additional ones on site. This process is going to take some time. Once established the colony can also serve as a collection point for the minerals mined in the system's asteroid belts and any future products of the neighboring system of Hannover.

One of the European exploration cruisers on it's way back to Earth detects an unknown alien vessel holding position 65m off of the previously hidden Córdoba JP leading into the Santa María pocket. There appears to be no other reason for that ship to hang around there except to keep an eye on the warp point. Aliens apparently knowing one of the primary entry points into human territory is very concerning. Just in case the aliens are not aware of the precise location of the JP yet the exploration ship decides to turn around take the long way around through Wuhan to Sol instead.
Unbeknownst to the European ship there is actually a PRL stabilizer working on the JP. As this is the primary route towards Split/Xining space they deemed it important that their strike cruisers, for which they don't have large enough jump ships yet, could operate in this direction. The stabilizer does not see the alien ship and continues to be ignorant of it's presence as the explorer does not publicize the encounter right away.

(https://i.imgur.com/GfmB0rI.png)
From the EU map. Volendam is their name for the encounter system.

As part of the Martian Consortium's program to expand out of Sol refits are being scheduled for their fleet of old NASA-built exploration frigates. There are no radical changes in function or experimental Qian detection systems, this is merely an upgrade to existing capabilities.

Title: Race to the Stars, 2132 - Invasion of Venus
Post by: Zap0 on November 21, 2020, 07:55:03 AM

   2132 - Invasion of Venus

Having completely gutted their mining operation on comet Hale-Bopp (Corundium/Neutronium), there are now 66 Japanese automines churning out Gallicite on Venus again, enough to maintain maximum supply production on Earth. Work has been done and two thirds of the "maintenance debt" levels from last year have been paid off. The fleet is still in the docks. Once all ships have returned to maintenance standards stockpiles will need to slowly be filled up again and minerals expended on reconstructing failed engines.

(https://i.imgur.com/OP1qoXe.png)
Ships are now at 0.4 years maintenance instead of 1.2. Things are improving, but there's still a deep hole to crawl out of.

Russian intelligence, of course, has kept a close eye on the situation. With all industry for the foreseeable future in place on Venus and the fleet still crippled, a recommendation is made to launch the invasion now.

That recommendation is taken. For seven years Russia has prepared to take the mines on Venus. Since then virtually all important facilities have been moved off of Earth, first and foremost the shipyards. The navy has plentiful supplies and ordnance. Even a counter for the giant Japanese war machines, which they hope will protect them from any threat on the surface, has been prepared: Nearly 400 heavy armor-piercing guns have been built, most of which are scheduled to land in the first wave. Politically, the conflict will be framed as a disagreement over the mining rights which the Japanese government has granted decades ago. There will be an explicit promise that the Japanese surface colony is not a target of this operation and it won't be annexed, but fighting within it's vicinty may be unavoidable. There is reason to believe that the other powers won't intervene in a Russo-Japanese conflict.

(https://i.imgur.com/uIDjJpf.png)
RUS invasion troops bound for Venus

The troops will arrive via freighters camouflaged as a regular supply run. If all goes right the troops will have just about finished unloading before the Japanese guards notice anything wrong. On May 31st the freighters are dispatched from Callisto, without escort. A detachment of warships stands by in the asteroid belt, about as far from Venus as Earth is at current.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZRkbbRb.png)
Venus is a bit hidden behind the text.

The plan goes off without a hitch. Soldiers in high-pressure vehicles are on the surface and prepare for the first strike. Combat in an evironment as extreme as Venus's surface will be an major challenge. These soldiers have received trained specially for this for years, but dedicated high-pressure combat gear has yet to be invented. The same is true for the opponent, while they had ample time to get used to this environment, their weapons too were ultimately designed with a more Earth-like environment in mind. Neither side has an advantage, and with attacks difficult to mount under these conditions a surface war could well become very lengthy. As such the hope is to achieve an initial breakthrough using the element of surprise.

There is no such breakthrough in the first 24 hours of fighting. The terrain is, as expected, too difficult. Of the 20 Type-04 Gekishin combat mecha none have been destroyed yet: in the only engagement that saw some heavy hits land on one of them three out of the four projectiles penetrated, but failed to immobilize the behemoth. A few armored Russian vehicles were destroyed in return.

The Japanese side immediately acknowledges that a naval fight for supremacy would end badly. Conceding control over Venus' orbit means giving the Russians the ability to land as many troops as they want. The ideal Japanese strategy would be for the ground forces on Venus to hold out for months or indefinitely while the navy returns to readiness. If the situation on Venus changes for the worse a ground war on Earth is an option as a way to pressure the Russians, as their Earth contingent is considered smaller. Still, it'd be a large war and does not affect Venus.
As an immediate measure, the three least damaged escorts are taken out of overhaul and being put into service - just in case of a missile attack on Earth.

(https://i.imgur.com/hwMvz9E.png)
Unit down

The second day of fighting sees the first two out of 20 Gekishin TSFs get destroyed. The Russian heavy guns are working even in the extreme environment and the Japanese hope for a long ground war isn't looking too likely.

The Russian side wants to avoid a long ground war partially to avoid collateral damage. After five days of fighting, several mining complexes originally belonging to either side have already been rendered unusable by the fighting. As have several subsurface civilian habitats, with corresponding civilian casualties. 120 automining complexes are on the planet in total; they are the object of this war. Only one more Japanese Mecha was lost, but the number of "Bear Hunter" vehicles gunning for them has also been steadily dropping. Supplies are still holding out on both sides for now but the Japanese are reserving their logistics capabilities exclusively for the Gekishin TSFs. The Second wave of Russian troops is still two weeks away from landing.

Internationally there is little interest in getting involved in the fighting to defend Japan. The most obvious thing Japan can offer to a potential ally is access to the Gallicite deposits on Venus, but the PRL already has an established mining outposts a few systems out. The deposits on Venus are hard to exploit and the risk of being on the receiving end of a Russian missile strike is just too great compared to the gain. The government on Taíno has no interest in getting involved in conflicts in Sol. The Earth nations are not in any state to provide significant enough aid to Japan to matter militarily.
Their most likely ally would be the Consortium, who are looking for a long-term Gallicite source, but have no short-term need and are looking to expand out of system. What can the Japanese offer them that would make them take on the Russian navy? Diplomats are still trying to figure that one out.

(https://i.imgur.com/lrJK8tb.png)
Unequal losses

The fighting is turning for the worse for the Japanese. While the Russians lose more vehicles, there are more Japanese infantrymen dying - Infantry which has been out of supplies for a few days now. The Russian supply situation is deteriorating as well, but once the new troops arrive relief will come. More importantly, the Russian infantry is starting to dig in and improve their positions, further decreasing the chance for Japanese defenders to cause casualties.

(https://i.imgur.com/rXRugP0.png)
10 days since the landing the tides of war have swung back into balance - for now. The Russian AT units are out of supply and the Gekishin Mechas are using the last of theirs before the Russians dig in further.

The second wave of attackers is underway and headed for a battlefield that has quieted down somewhat from the initial few days of fighting, but they're determined to change that. With the heavy Russian guns on the ground due to be resupplied the situation for the Japanese defenders looks grim. So before it comes to that, the government decides to take pressure off of Venus and opens a second front on Earth, the only realistic option available to them at the moment. Just one or two decades earlier a major war on Earth would have seemed outrageous, now it's merely one more conflict among the rest after the downfall of the EU. Indeed, it is easy for the Japanese to find allies among the warlords in control of eastern Europe to support their campaign.

The fighting broke out on June 11th. Now, two weeks later, the war spills over to Earth as fighting starts in Sakhalin and suborbital insertions are made all over Russian territory. 70 TSF Mechas, albeit most of older models, begin their push.
The results of the first day are as devastating as the Russians had hoped they would have been on Venus. Several positions are overrun, with Japanese armor achieving a breakthrough. There are eight Russian infantry divisions stationed on Earth, and those are not necessarily the best equipped of the bunch. Attacking are six army corps, twice as many troops, before the six brigades of volunteers cooperating with the JSDF are counted.

(https://i.imgur.com/UnhEtVl.png)
A new dimension of carnage is unleashed with the commencement of combat operations on Earth.

The Russian side was hoping Earth would not be involved in any fighting. Strikes against the ships or shipyards in orbit were always an option, but don't appear to be necessary and are avoided to stop the conflict from escalating more than it has to. In principle Japan has much more to lose from a ground war on Earth; Their entire industrial base is still on the planet. Ultimately the Japanese are acting like this because they're backed into a corner, even if they did a lot to help drive themselves into it. All industry has been moved to Callisto exactly for this kind of situation: Another power looks bound to win a ground war on Earth.
The question in the room is whether or not to redirect the reinforcements headed for Venus towards Earth. It is a difficult decision, but it's the logical conclusion all preparations have been leading up to: Earth is ignored, the transports will continue on their course to Venus. Gallicite will secure continued independence and wealth in the future, attachments to the motherland can't get in the way of that. Even if it does not look like Japan will win now, we can't afford to weaken our position by sending good troops into what looks like a losing fight on another front.

The Japanese aim of diverting the Russian reinforcements has failed, they're in the process of landing on Venus. At least the ground war on Earth is going well, occupying Russia itself will no doubt be an advantage in any negotiation. What does the Japanese endgame look like? Initial feelers put out to get a feel of Russian demands were all rebuffed. It's not rights to mine Venus they're after as they already had that, despite the official casus belli being to press a claim regarding them. It's not security of their mining installations, as they've repeatedly stated they have no intent of taking over the civilian population on Venus, thereby tolerating a foreign presence on the planet. Their aim appears to be the simple capture of industry and mining output.

Given the situation the Japanese government would be open for a settlement, acknowledging some of the spurious Russian claims to their mining operations, but not all. Venusian Gallicite is essential to maintain and expand a military force in space, especially given the current state of the navy the state can ill afford to have the supply cut off at this point. Also, any settlement that results in both parties retaining a presence on Venus would be poisoned, as there would be no trust that either party won't try to conquer or reconquer the rest as soon as the situation changes. A third party to enforce the settlement and the peace could be useful here. The only power with any interest in doing so would be the PRL, as it fits their agenda of establishing themselves as hegemons over Humanity, but what would actually force them to action should the peace on Venus be broken? They themselves have little interest in defending Japan against Russia. It's not an ideal solution, but should the PRL also be allowed to establish it's own mining operations on Venus would give them an incentive to maintain the status quo on the planet. Their interest in Venus isn't great, as any prospective mining operation would be an automining operation in a difficult environment not fundamentally different than those it already operates out of system. Still, they might be receptive to arguments about diversifying their Gallicite sources and the convenience of a source right here in Sol.

The Japanese plan for peace has been hashed out. The question is when to propose it. Right now the second wave is unloading onto Venus, but the war on Earth is still going. it is believed that it can be won before the situation on Venus deteriorates too far. With Russia occupied and Venus still under siege the time will be right.

The arrival of the second wave puts the weight ratio on Venus at 73k tons for the Russians to 35k tons of ground forces for the Japanese. At the start the ratio was roughly 45k vs. 52k. On Earth 41k tons of Russian defenders remain vs. 170k attacking troops.
14 out of 20 Gekishin still stand on Venus two days after the second wave, down from 16 before their arrival. Occasional breakthroughs by the "Bear Hunter" AT brigades fell yet more, it seems Venus may fall before Earth yet as the push on Earth starts to run into supply problems as well.

July 12th, one month of fighting. The third wave, consisting of another two armored divisions, will arrive on Venus in one week. Defenders both on Earth and Venus are still hanging on and all sides find themselves logistically unprepared for a conflict that looks like it might yet drag on for another month before total victory is achieved. 85% of the Russian mining posts on Venus have been ground up by the fighting while the Japanese have largely been able to defend theirs - but civilian casualties whenever life support systems of the colony got caught up in the fighting were appalling, with tens of thousands dead every week. In hindsight it would have been prudent to evacuate the mining facilities first, but that would have given away the plan and prevented the ruse for the initial landing from working. With fourty-one of their own mines destroyed the capture of the Japanese mines becomes even more important, decreasing the likelihood that any halfway peace will succeed.

Planning for a Japanese relief operation of Venus has not been fruitful. The fundamental tactical problem with landing reinforcements is that the unload time is two days, more than enough for the entire Russian fleet to converge and execute a strike. Around 250 missiles is the expected volume, and each of the three operational escort destroyers is projected to take down up to 15 incoming projectiles - not nearly enough. Negotiations with the Consortium for military help were difficult. A squadron of old laser escorts (each projected to take down merely two incoming projectiles) could be hired on a mercenary basis. Gaining the assistence of the modern Solstice class escorts under command of the Consortium naval holding company would cost an exorbitant price in concessions, but even with them it's unlikely that a strong enough missile defense can be brought to bear. Even a handful of projectiles penetrating and impacting the troop transports during the disembarkation process would ruin the whole operation.

So a challenge to the Russian navy is not possible at the moment. The war on Earth is on no track to end significantly before the war on Venus anymore. Before Russian command decides to do something about Earth and potentially the Japanese navy after all, Japanese diplomats ask for a cease-fire and invite for peace talks aboard the diplomatic stations on July 21st.

Negotiations are not dismissed out of hand, but don't last very long. The Japanese side goes down to only asking to retain 20 of their 70 automines on Venus, but that would still just leave the Russians with the capacity they started this war with and they're not a fan of inviting a third party to the planet, either. Ultimately they believe the Japanese simply have no way to stop them on Venus or retake it anytime soon. The political capital gained by occupying much of Russia's Earth territory was overestimated, Russian leadership is clearly willing to throw them under the bus. Other nations were always interested to maintain a presence on Earth to be able to threaten the others with point-blank reprisals, but to the Russian doctrine needing to defend Earth orbit has always been a liability.

Russia aims for a complete victory on Venus. The number of defenders, on both Earth and Venus, has fallen below 20k tons. A few days later another Japanese proposal is made: declare a cease-fire and allow each side to evacuate their units from their respective fronts. This would amount to a surrender of Venus and allow the Russian troops still fighting on Earth to come home safely. This proposal, too, is rejected. Russian command would rather see the remaining eight Gekishin on Venus and their substantive supporting artillery annihilated instead of having to potentially face them again someday. All the troops on Earth are outdated guard units anyway... further lives sacrificed for the goals of the state.

(https://i.imgur.com/TdnQiSk.png)
Why exactly is the EU empire getting that notification? They're not set hostile to anyone on Earth right now. *sigh*

On August 6th the JSDF declares victory on Earth. Organized resistance has ceased, most any troops who hadn't deserted in the face of abandonment by their government have laid down their arms and all local government institutions are under Japanese control.

(https://i.imgur.com/ArmHJXB.png)
Victory achieved.

Twelve days later the Russian victory on Venus is proclaimed as the defenders become unable to render effective resistence any longer. 67 automines and 20 unused manned mines are now in Russian hands, about 20 more automines than what they started with. The goal has been achieved. While the civilian population is not formally annexed, with the end of Japanese power on the planet the population in surface and orbital habitats can be considered de-facto dependent on the Russian state.

The maintenance debt of the Japanese navy has finally been just about cleared up by the end of the war. But as the last intermittent mass driver packets are sent up from Venus, it looks like the dire times for the navy are bound to continue. As an ersatz Gallicite source a 0.8 accessibility comet with no other deposits in the system of Córdoba, just past Grand Bourg, is being prepared to receive most of the automines from the colony on Grand Bourg I. This will delay any repairs and recovery of the navy further until this operation is in place, but thanks to the previous progress made it's unlikely the state of the navy will deteriorate beyond the point it was at two years ago. The mines to be relocated are of course mining important resources already, such as Boronide or the Vendarite required for more ground troops, so all in all the loss of Venus still causes a sharp reduction in overall mining output and long-term wealth and power prospects.

On Earth, occupied Russia is soon after the war abandoned by the garrisoning Japanese troops. The government on Callisto takes the opportunity to rescind their protection of their previous motherland, plunging the country of Russia into the same hotpot of strife the majority of Earth states find themselves in.

In order to distinguish the government on Callisto from the now-distinct motherland of Russia, the term Callistoan Regime is increasingly used in both informal and formal communication by both others and them themselves. It appears the oligarchy on Callisto is quite eager to rebrand after having freed themselves of their liability in form of the Earth population. Despite the quick retreat of the Japanese occupation troops to their fortress of isolation in the pacific where they can continue to ignore the world's other wars, being able to blame the fall of Russia on a foreign invader is always welcome.

With recovery of the navy pushed back for another year or two at the mininum a few hard choices eventually have to be made in Japanese command. The three most damaged destroyers, who would need most of their engines reconstructed anyways, will be decommissioned. This will save on the Gallicite requirements needed to maintain the fleet in the meantime. That, and Japanese scientists are promising a new type of engine to be available in a few years, so repairs to then-outdated engine technology may not be economical anyways.

---

   Other happenings in 2132

The year started with an alien jump ship of the same type as the one destroyed over two years prior probing the Grand Bourg JP. It exits again and does not return, much to the relief of the two Japanese destroyers in orbit of Neo-Kobe City. While they are the only two ships in the navy still fully operational, this would be a very bad time for alien revenge. It'll still be another 20 months until the planetary defence grid comes online, too.

A PRL explorer leaving towards the Xining/Split frontier detects the unknown ship previously encountered by the European explorer at the Córdoba JP and identifies it as a Split vessel of known type - in fact the same type of Split ship that was the first one encountered, when an unknown signature approached the diplomatic envoy on station with some Xining vessels in the Xining system. PRL intelligence concludes this to be an exploration/scouting vessel but remains ignorant that they possibly shadowed the JP back to Sol for quite some time.

The development of the HERC cannon finishes on Callisto. An upscaled version of their heavy ground weapons, this weapon is supposed to target ships in close orbit and prevent landings on controlled worlds. Neither side had STO weapons in this war and the strategic situation would certainly have looked different if either side had deployed any. As the HERC system is quite short-ranged it is planned to only deploy a few individual units on each world instead of bundling them into batteries designed to fight off approaching warships as other powers do, relegating the system to a purely anti-landing role.

The Republic of Taíno has done much work to establish itself as a independent economic and political force. A critical part of that independence is access to Gallicite. As a stopgap measure an asteroid in Santa María with some low quantity Gallicite deposits has been exploited, but that deposit has now run out and the establishment of a more regular mining operation is about to happen on Comet #2 in Córdoba - the very same rock chosen by the Japanese as their fallback after the loss of Venus. Is the next conflict for Gallicite already in the making?

Title: Race to the Stars, 2133
Post by: Zap0 on November 26, 2020, 01:13:12 PM

The age of transition continues as a new power is formalized outside of Sol and the situation on Earth continues to evolve.

---

   2133

February 17th becomes League Day as the treaty to form the Interstellar League is ratified in Santa María city on Taíno. The INL is a military and economic union between the colonies of Taíno, Tablada City and Número Ocho. Dominated in power and population by Taíno, this new political entity can be seen as either Taíno increasing it's influence or the minor colonies securing their continued independence by banding together. The original vision for the political order after the Independence War was a grand alliance between the ex-EU colonies of Taíno and Mars, but with Mars' participation becoming ever more unlikely in the face of tightening Consortium control this path was not taken.

Despite Japanese mines already being present on Comet #2, now being named Uritorco after a mountain in the Sierras de Córdoba, the go-ahead is given to establish the planned mines on the body. There are no alternatives as close to Taíno as this one.

The Japanese home situation is stable under the circumstances. For the home population in the Home Islands the conflict on Venus and even the occupation of Russia was seen as something distant, not directly affecting the people at home. Yes, the government was heavily criticized for allowing the navy to fall to such a state of disrepair and an opposition party has come to power in the following elections, but nothing more extreme. That said, the new government has a slightly more militaristic stance and considers the eventual reconquest of Venus as one of it's goals. There are several tasks that need to be done to fulfill that agenda:

• Immediate reestablishment of a Gallicite mining operation. Already largely done, as the comet Uritorco in Córdoba was chosen for it's proximity to existing facilities which could be shifted. Taíno has announced the establishment of their own operation on the body. Heavy ground units are already underway to ensure security, as is the STO particle battery originally intended for deployment on Venus.
• Restoration of the navy to readiness. This will require several years worth of Gallicite income.
• Expansion of the surface military. In particular more heavy units are needed, preferrably more suited to absorb hits from the heavy Russian ground weapons. This will require several years at the minimum, perhaps a decade. Japanese GFTF capacity is limited and their expansion just one of a great number of projects vying for the allocation of resources and industrial capacity.
• Drop ships to deliver an invasion force. A suitable enlarged destroyer project was already finalized years ago, but never put into production for lack of Gallicite. At least three ships, each able to drop a brigade of 4 000 tons, are required, representing another bill of 2 500 Gallicite.
• A counter to the Callistoan navy. Their navy itself is actually quite small, tonnage wise, and relies on the deterrence factor of a massed missile strike exclusively. Aside from a few anti-missile escorts, there are no secondary ship classes. After a single attack the fleet will have to return to port for a day for rearming. There are several weaknesses in the doctrine that could be exploited, for instance by deploying a large swarm of light fighters their heavy missiles have trouble targeting. In the end it may be necessary to deploy missile defenses able to deal with a full strike to safely confront them, as it can't be guaranteed that an attack will achieve total success and not trigger a counterstrike. Concepts to combine these requirements are under development.

The abandoned population in Russia on Earth proves very receptive to the message of the Terra Prime movement. In the face of both revanchism against the colonials on Callisto and external threats in the form of warlords in eastern Europe and central Asia encroaching on Russian-held territories, it helps birth a new form of unity. The national aspect is taking a step back compared to the international aspect, and new alliances with other "Terra Prime" powers on Earth are quickly forged. Even the more powerful nation states remaining on Earth can't deny the influence of the Terra Prime movement anymore. Adopting parts of it's ideology and espousing the movement is quickly becoming the favorite tool of any politician seeking to quickly grow their support and voter base.

Lunar shipbuilding has long been relatively quiet, but that is changing currently. Four new "Black Tortoise" escort destroyers are undergoing trials while another four are being laid down. The strike cruisers are undergoing refits to install faster-firing weapons. Having studied the recent Russo-Japanese war on Venus, a new project is also being put in action: A large, non-military dropship capable of dropping a whole army corps of 25 000 tons at once, designed to supplant exisiting troop transports. The technology for massed orbital drops has been there for a while, but for the longest time it has been argued that troop drops can only be effective if made by a fast and armored warship, which quickly gets extremely expensive for non-trivial troop amounts. The Japanese dropship blueprint follows that doctrine and suffers from small drop capacity. The lesson taken from the war studies is that even if a transport is still slow and unarmored, new tactical opportunities arise by avoiding the usual 1-2 days disembarkation period needed by conventional troop transports. The drawbacks of "slow" and "unarmored" are mitigated as well as can be done economically on a commercial vessel.

Code: [Select]

Ludanaeus I class Dropship (P)      65 950 tons       516 Crew       2 578.3 BP       TCS 1 319    TH 3 750    EM 0
2843 km/s      Armour 2-145       Shields 0-0       HTK 158      Sensors 11/11/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 0
MSP 24    Max Repair 200 MSP
Troop Capacity 25 000 tons     Drop Capable    Cargo Shuttle Multiplier 5   
Shao Xiao    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months   

Qín C-ION 6050 (10)    Power 3750.0    Fuel Use 5.05%    Signature 375.00    Explosion 5%
Fuel Capacity 1 000 000 Litres    Range 54 billion km (219 days at full power)

Navigation Sensor (1)     GPS 1680     Range 36.9m km    Resolution 80
Ying Thermic Receptor III (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
Target Lock Detector (1)     Sensitivity 11.0     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
The strength of the Martian economy lies in it's great manual mining culture and workforce, with Mars originally being a mining world. Instead of relying on automated mines it'd be much more ideal to settle all those miners on another world - a world with Gallicite desposits. Such colony spots are of course rare, there are only two worlds with acceptable gravity and environments currently known. Both are in the system of Hannover, a known target for expansion of the old EU mining operation in the neighboring system of Bremen. That operation has recently seen frenzied investments by the EU successor states to increase the mineral flow to Earth. The other system neighboring Hannover is Novokutznetsk, the site of a Russian colony apparently so valuable they were willing to challenge the PRL over it. So while Hannover, or maybe even the colony in Novokutznetsk itself, are the best candidates, they come with a lot of political and likely military entanglement. Given the strength of the Consortium's navy it may be worth it, but a decision is put off for now. There is currently a survey underway in a promising system 6 jumps from Sol and the INL has expressed interest in founding a mining colony in what's currently north on the star charts, an area in proximity to the Xining aliens and high concentrations of Qian forces.

(https://i.imgur.com/nXoP6h0.png)
Discussed colony sites on the INL map. The Consortium does not have the northernmost area mapped yet.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars - 2134-2136, Faction Profile: PRL
Post by: Zap0 on December 22, 2020, 07:26:20 PM

   2134

The INL is expanding. Two colonies have been founded: A Neutronium-bearing moon named Alta Gracia around the fourth planet of the Santa María system is being settled. The fifth planet's system is under the influence of the PRL, as that is the planet Shèng Yùe orbits. More interesting is the asteroid of San Rafael in the system of the same name, between Bremen and Petropavlovsk, the system of first contact between Humans and the Qian. For the longest time the system was avoided due to it's proximity to the Qian. Now that people are reasonably sure there is no active threat from them, options are being reconsidered. San Rafael bears 86k of 0.9 accessibility Gallicite and is projected to house up to 10m miners on it's body. Due to the longer distance from Santa María and needing LG infrastructure diverted from Número Ocho it's more of a long-term project, however.

Exploration between the different powers is diversifying in different directions, largely due to the different bases for refueling and refurbishing explorers that have been established over time. The Tablada colony in the INL and Callisto's Novokutznetsk colony especially are far-off from Sol and allow their respective powers to chart, and later exploit, different areas of space without much competition from the other powers. Seeing the advantage in this, the PRL is currently establishing an exploration jump-off point four jumps and 17b km east from Sol, a direction that has not been charted as extensively as the regions beyond Sol's "western" JP.

Commercial mining of easily accessible Sol mineral deposits, primarily on comets, was once one of the main driving factors for the increase of wealth on Earth. After several long decades of heavily decresed importance, this era finally ends this year as the last of the major comet mining operations shuts down on Van Biesbroeck. The once-rich mines the body are the main reason most powers have no shortages of Uridium. There are still some Sol bodies being exploited, for instance the declining Corundium reserves on Machholz are still being exploited, and comet Encke has received investments for it's Neutronium deposits recently.

   2135

The Japanese are making good progress getting their navy back in shape. Contrary to some dark initial estimates not all engines needed to be reconstructed from scratch and the attack destroyer squadron is practically operational again, with units receiving newer shield generators and upgraded resilience against maintenance failures while they are in the yard. Similar upgrades and removals of spare parts cabinets for engineering systems are planned for the escorts.

A broad coalition to oppose the Terra Prime states has formed on Earth. The movement is amassing power at an unprecedented rate, winning many of the smaller conflicts that still rage on Earth and starting yet more. Offworld support for the new coalition is there, but largely limited to moral, not material, support.

Aside from some work in the Lunar shipyards, there isn't much shipbuilding going on at current for fears of building vessels that will quickly be obsolete: A new generation of fusion power plants has recently entered widespread usage and miniaturization efforts are underway to adapt the new power sources for usage with shipboard impulse drives. The new engines are expected to be ready before the end of the decade. As with the previous breakthrough in propulsion tech, Japanese labs are said to be closest to a functional prototype, and the Martians suffered an unexpected setback with the passing of one of their brightest propulsion engineers.

   2136

The PRL explorer Aristarchus has confirmed an uninhabited earthlike world three jumps from Procyon's Rest and almost 40b km from Sol. The system's jump point was probed eight years ago already, but an approach of the inner system has been avoided as habitable or near-habitable planets have often turned out to be home to a Qian base or already settled by aliens. Now the Aristarchus, the most modern exploration cruiser in service, has confirmed the absence of Qian or other forces in the inner system.
The planet itself is dominated by hot and humid jungles, but should be readily habitable with relatively minimal infrastructure at first, and without any after a few years of atmopsheric adjustment. The real cherry on top is the presence of 0.5 accessibility Gallicite, alongside even more accessible Duranium and Mercassium deposits. The remainder of the system is just as bountiful, with all TN minerals save for Corbomite and some weak Uridium deposits being present between the planet and three other moons, all of which are in the habitable zone of the star. Colonization plans are being drawn up right away. The name given to the planet and system is Fùguó - rich country, or rich frontier.

Off-Topic: show

Fùguó
     Duranium 64 866 050   Acc 0.8
     Neutronium 4 040 100   Acc 0.1
     Corbomite 30 924 721   Acc 0.1
     Mercassium 25 250 625   Acc 1
     Uridium 17 956   Acc 0.1
     Gallicite 13 579 225   Acc 0.5

 Asteroid #5
     Boronide 9 801   Acc 1
     Vendarite 529   Acc 1
     Gallicite 9 801   Acc 1

 Fùguó-A III - Moon 8
     Duranium 18 050   Acc 1
     Neutronium 1 444   Acc 1
     Sorium 2 209   Acc 1
     Corundium 1 296   Acc 1

 Fùguó-A III - Moon 10
     Duranium 2 765 952   Acc 0.9
     Neutronium 51 984   Acc 0.5
     Tritanium 1 440 000   Acc 0.5
     Boronide 1 382 976   Acc 0.9
     Sorium 374 544   Acc 0.7
     Gallicite 69 696   Acc 0.4

 Fùguó-A III - Moon 9
     Duranium 21 632   Acc 1
     Neutronium 19 600   Acc 1
     Mercassium 118 336   Acc 0.8
     Vendarite 10 000   Acc 0.9
     Corundium 132 496   Acc 0.8

 Fùguó-A III - Moon 6
     Duranium 1 226 178   Acc 0.9
     Neutronium 408 321   Acc 0.7
     Tritanium 99 225   Acc 0.7
     Vendarite 254 016   Acc 0.9
     Corundium 13 689   Acc 0.7
     Gallicite 110 889   Acc 0.9

 Comet #1
     Vendarite 52 218   Acc 1
     Uridium 60 666   Acc 0.6
     Corundium 38 934   Acc 1

 Comet #2
     Corundium 377 375   Acc 0.6
     Gallicite 77 894   Acc 0.6

 Fùguó-B I
     Duranium 3 607 298   Acc 0.1
     Boronide 5 997 601   Acc 0.1
     Gallicite 50 552 100   Acc 0.4

 Fùguó-B II
     Duranium 40 230 450   Acc 0.1
     Neutronium 330 625   Acc 0.1
     Corbomite 38 564 100   Acc 0.1
     Tritanium 33 062 500   Acc 0.1
     Boronide 15 288 100   Acc 0.1
     Mercassium 17 139 600   Acc 0.7
     Vendarite 62 964 225   Acc 0.1
     Sorium 119 355 625   Acc 0.1
     Uridium 18 105 025   Acc 0.1
     Corundium 50 836 900   Acc 0.1
     Gallicite 19 096 900   Acc 0.1

With it's navy back in shape and enough leftover supplies to restart the exploration program, the Japanese government launches a long-overdue expedition into the Grand Bourg JP. Two exploration cruisers are sent in with orders to make diplomatic contact and find out more about the aliens and the connecting system. Shortly after activating it's transponder the first ship in Wakayama, the system connected to Grand Bourg, receives a message from the Sukabumi aliens using the old code established during the Christmas Miracle. They quite politely suggest the Japanese ship leave the system as they consider it part of their territory - a fact substantiated by the message apparently originating from the Grand Bourg JP, suggesting they have surveillance in place there. The second explorer entering confirms a known Sukabumi jump ship on the JP.
Much unlike expected, the Taiyo was unable to find any evidence of alien colonization on the habitable worlds of the Wakayama system. The planets themselves are of only low mineral value, having low accessibility across the board, with the best find being 0.3 accessibility Gallicite on planet III. They would still be prime colonization targets, with very minor atmospheric adjustments both worlds are ideally habitable for Humans.

Shèng Yùe, the PRL moon colony around Santa María V, has in the past often been compared to Callisto in terms of a colony location. The moons are of similar size and environmental properties, and should therefore be require roughly the same effort to terraform. Now, 50 years after the start of terraforming on both bodies, Callisto is an ordinary domed colony no colder than Mars before terraforming. Shèng Yùe on the other hand still has a colony cost of 6.8, not very different from where it was when the first settlement was created. Regardless of whether you want to blame the body's more reflective albedo, the splitting of the workforce between terraforming and mining efforts, the slightly lower base temperature, or the PRL's superior colonization speed necessitating a larger percentage of service workers sooner, the issue is now being forced by way of orbital terraforming stations. Aside from a small-scale experiment in the Consortium, the two 500kt "Atmosphere Generator" terraforming stations now being towed into orbit are the first such stations built by Humanity and promise to finally make Shèng Yùe as pleasant a place to live as Callisto, and eventually Luna, within a reasonable timeframe.

A Callistoan explorer makes first contact with a new alien species. Ten ships are detected via their shield signatures holding position on an outbound JP towards a partially explored system. Not carrying active sensors, the ship's captain turns around without investigating further. Ten ships with active shields suggests a military operation is underway.

(https://i.imgur.com/E0avp6b.png)
Not going that way today.

(https://i.imgur.com/E2xAOk3.png)
Lipeck is the encounter system. The relative proximity of alien warships to the Novokuzneck colony is cause of concern.

When the survey frigate turns around, the aliens activate sensors, revealing at least eight additional ships of different types. They do not give chase. Due to the lack of any naval presence at the Novokuzneck colony, investigating the alien fleet further is not an option at the moment, but this encounter should provide impetus for the Callistoan navy to acquire new patrol and reconnaissance capabilities. Intelligence later confirms that this is the same alien species that the Japanese encountered in Grand Bourg.

A newly built PRL salvage vessel scraps the wreckage of an old PRL destroyer and two Argentinian destroyers on Machholz. A government on Earth that considers itself the legal inheritor of the salvage rights to the Argentine wrecks protests, but is ignored. The 320 units of Gallicite gained from the wrecks would have been a great windfall for such a small government. The real reason why the PRL builds salvage vessels is to eventually loot the wreckage of alien battlefields and scour them for advanced technology.

---

Faction Profile: PRL
The People's Republic of Luna (2136)

General Outlook and Personality, Foreign Relations
The PRL sees itself as the hegemon of Humanity. They are the strongest power and also the one with the most knowledge about alien affairs, having been the first to make contact with the Xining and having the most battle experience with the Qian. Having seen large-scale alien warfare it is their ambition to be Humanity's shield against the alien forces, knowing their strength can't be matched by scattered Human national flotillas. They are quite interested in international cooperation in regards to aliens, the precedent of which has been set in 2125 during the assault on Procyon's Rest. As such, their doctrine and design philosophy consider data gathered from observation of alien vessels much more intensely than the other powers, which are mostly concerned with countering each other. They wish to avoid serious conflict with other Human powers - one of the main reasons there has been no major action launched against the Consortium to liberate the PRL's Martian colony. They frown upon the prospect of inter-Human conflict destroying large parts of the existing Human navies, seeing it as a weakening of Humanity against possible alien threat. Their doctrine suggests intervention should any one faction be threatened with total destruction of their navy, all in line with their self-understanding as hegemon and arbiter of Mankind.
Their main competitor is the Martian Consortium, which has considerably grown in power in recent years. Relations were already in a state some would describe as cold war after the PRL's major Martian mining colony was annexed by the Consortium. It is one of the goals of the PRL to humiliate the Consortium and force them to acknowledge them as the strongest power of Humanity.

History

• 2050 - Beginning the Race to the Stars as the strongest superpower on Earth, the People's Republic of China
• 2062 - Colonization of Earth's moon, Luna, begins
• 2070 - Terraforming starts on Luna
• 2083 - Battle of Mars
  PRC ships force open a US blockade of Mars to found their own settlement on the mineral-rich body. The fighting is almost lost, but an armed support ship manages to drive away the US frigates which were blinded by the loss of their sensor ship in the last Chinese volley. The only ship destroyed in the fighting was an American one. Exploitation of Mars begins.
• 2083 - Terraforming makes Luna habitable to Humans
• 2088 - The nation is renamed to the People's Republic of Luna, as all Chinese TN industry and government functions are relocated to Luna
• 2091 - Shèng Yùe colony is founded in Santa María
• 2103 - First Contact Battle
  15 PRL destroyers assault the Qian in Quanzhou three years after the destruction of a Russian scout in that system, which marked first contact between Humans and aliens. The operation is a failure, 10 destroyers and an exploration vessel sent ahead to scout the system are lost.
• 2104 - The Martian Consortium takes advantage of the PRL's ship losses and annexes the PRL Mars colony. Relations with the Consortium turn hostile.
• 2108 - The Second Machholz Incident
  To make up for the loss of the mines on Mars and to test Consortium capabilities, the PRL annexes the Consortium mining operation on comet Machholz. Only one old destroyer is lost in the fighting and the Consortium's doctrinal shift to missile weaponry is discovered.
• 2110 - Second Contact. The PRL makes contact with the Xining aliens, secretly establishing diplomatic relations.
• 2116 - In a race of colonization towards Novokuzneck a Russian blockade forces the PRL convoy to step down under threat of destruction. Novokuzneck is colonized by Russia and the Wuhan system is picked as an alternative colony site.
• 2120 - Alien warfare
  The Xining diplomatic envoy is caught up and eventually destroyed in a battle between the Xining and another alien empire. Their contact, seeing alien warfare firsthand and growing experience with the Qian turns the PRL into veritable experts in xenological matters.
• 2125 - Procyon's Rest
  The PRL organizes five powers in an attack on a Qian outpost. The battle goes swimmingly and all powers found colonies on Procyon's rest, sharing in the Qian loot and the study of the alien construct on the world's surface.

Military
The main punch of the PRL navy is delivered by four fast and large strike cruisers of the Jade Rabbit class. Their speed exceeds that of any known capital ship, both human and alien, but consequently each unit is very expensive in Gallicite. Other fleet components, such as escorts, also can't keep up with them.
The more regular forces are composed of eight laser attack destroyers, the Mighty Dolphin class, and another eight Black Tortoise class anti-missile escort destroyers. All these ships are considered up-to-date and powerful ships in their own right.
Support ships are plentiful and diverse, allowing the PRL to support operations far from Sol, but not as high-tech as their main fleet.
Total naval tonnage: 421k tons
Ground force tonnage: 758k tons
Largest in both statistics, with the Martian Consortium coming close on both.
General doctrine prefers a large number of medium-sized ships or weapons. Sturdy, solid tools of war without unnecessary flab. Consequently, dedicated-role ships tend to be produced in high numbers.

Colonies

• Luna is the seat of power and all manufacturing industry for the PRL. The body settled to capacity with nearly 900m inhabitants. Despite there being no TN mineral deposits on the moon and it's close proximity to Earth, and therefore the other powers, it's considered the sole domain of the PRL and an unstormable fortress for it's degree of militarization. Luna is also home to the largest shipyard complexes of mankind. Despite the large amount of industry, the workforce is only operating at two thirds of capacity. Once that capacity has been reached, some manufacturing or research will have to be moved away from Luna - the moon is, at the end of the day, only so big.
• Control over a large civilian population on Earth is being maintained, although deliberately without any important infrastructure on the surface. The PRL has been, perhaps rightfully, accused of maintaining it's control over the Earth population only as a political tool to justify stationing ships, weapons and troops on Earth to threaten the other powers.
• The PRL maintains a presence in Santa María, the INL's home system. The moon colony of Shèng Yùe orbits the fifth planet, a Sorium source, and itself is a long-term source of several minerals. Exploitation rates have been relatively low, especially as the terraforming project has gotten nowhere to date. That is being corrected, and the mines on Shèng Yùe should prove to be one of the pillars of the PRL economy in the future. It is no secret that the INL would prefer it's home system to be free of influence from other powers, but the minor power would not dare challenge the PRL. Several asteroids in the system, most importantly Número Ocho, are home to mining operations of both the INL and PRL, with the former often griping about the greater mining capacities of the latter depleting bodies fast and leaving them little leftover.
• Wuhan V is an undomed colony without resources worth mining. It's utility lies in it's location; the planet serves as a fleet base and exploration jump-off point closer to the frontier than Sol.
• The domed Tianjin colony "east" from Sol was recently established and is exclusively set up to handle explorers at this point. Survey efforts are currently being redirected in that direction.
• Finally, like most powers, the PRL maintains a presence on Procyon's Rest, which is home to a multidimensional alien construct (Con&Prod) being studied as a research artifact by many human powers. The world is pretty far away from Sol and initial agreements were to leave the planet demilitarized, but that is being incresingly undone as the colony's importance grows. The PRL intends to establish a fleet outpost here, as it's on the way to the new Fùguó colony site.

Economy

• The PRL economy is automine-based. The primary mining location is a Gallicite moon in Chongqing, site of 300 automines, two-thirds of all automines. The site is of declining output and within a few years the mines will need to be relocated. This highlights the number one economic problem of the PRL: lack of a long-term Gallicite source. There are programs underway to find or establish a permanent mining operation, but as it stands it looks like the mines will be redeployed to another moon or comet.
• The relatively exclusive mining focus on Gallicite hurts the passive accumulation of secondary minerals which are not in immediate demand, making future shortages more likely.
• Otherwise most mining happens in Santa María and on Sol comets. Due to the PRL priding itself as the largest of the powers, it tries to shy away from asteroid mining, as each individual deposit is so small.
• Mineral stockpiles at current are healthy, with no immediate shortages. There is enough Gallicite to build a number of ships, but the next wave of shipbuilding is, much as with all other powers, expected to start as soon as the next generation of engines becomes available. Each empire is feverishly investing in it's development so as not to be left behind.
• Research-wise the PRL is diverse. Due to being the largest power, they have the greatest amount of researchers and facilities, enabling them to push the bleeding edge of technology in many fields in parallel. PRL lasers, shields, sensors, jump drives and beam PD tech are the most advanced.

Goals, active and planned projects

• Cut down the Martian Consortium as a challenger to the PRL's might: humiliate them, force them to acknowledge PRL superiority.
• Establishment of a colony in the far-off Fùguó system. A long-term project. Simultaneous defense of a major colony that far off and Sol assets may prove to be a challenge.
• Securing long-term mineral income, particularly of Gallicite. The Fùguó colony can provide this, but it is not good to put all eggs into one basket. Therefore, the go-ahead is being given for major operation in the coming years:
• The exploitation of the Quanzhou system. Also known as Petropavlovsk by it's Russian name, the system is the site of the first encounter between Humanity and the Qian. In 2103 a large PRL fleet failed in destroying the Qian base in the system. What is not known to the other powers sans the Callistoan Regime is the rich mineral wealth on outlying bodies that initial scouts reported from the system. The main problem during the fighting were heavy emplaced weapons on the surface of Quanzhou VI, to which no counter has been found as of yet. As such, the plan is to neutralize the mobile Qian vessels in the system but leaving the static emplacements intact, allowing exploitation of the rest of the system. There is some risk involved in leaving some Qian forces operational or the system may turn out to be less valuable than expected, but these risks are considered acceptable.
• Creation of a network of military bases throughout influenced space to allow for easier projection of power. The Wuhan colony, Shèng Yùe and the new Tianjin exploration base provide a good start, but must be expanded to support larger amounts of ships, stockpiles of fuel and supplies must be created and adequate static defenses must be installed.
• An ambitious R&D project to create the most powerful Casartelli Device built yet is ongoing, aiming to give jump capability to the PRL's large cruisers. This is important for operations in deep space, as the presence of stabilized JPs may not always be given.

(https://i.imgur.com/hCi26wa.png)
Populated systems highlighted. Chongqing, top-left from Wuhan, is the site of the current Gallicite mines.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars - 2137, Faction Profile: JPN
Post by: Zap0 on December 23, 2020, 09:27:32 PM

2137 - Quanzhou Operation

Stabilization vessels have done preparatory work for years, and now there exists a stabilized passage into Quanzhou, the first contact system between the Qian and Humanity. Before mankinds first scouts were destroyed in the system, reports of rich mineral deposits on the outlying bodies were made, a closely held secret known only to those nations who's blood was shed inside the system. Now, more than 30 years later, the PRL sees itself equipped to cripple the Qian threat in Quanzhou, all in an attempt to find and secure long-term mineral sources, particularly of the rare Gallicite. Ignoring support ships, the task force sent is just two cruisers - the Agate and Amber Rabbit. Both of the Jade Rabbit class, designed and built partially in response to the experiences of the First Contact Battle in 2103, where ten destroyers were lost in a failed assault onto the Qian base there. The two ships being sent are not intended to destroy the whole Qian base - just the mobile warships that remain in the system. If they are destroyed, the static emplacements on the surface of the Qian's planet should prove no threat to mining and shipping operations elsewhere in the system anymore. As the Jade Rabbit class was built as a direct counter to the Qian forces encountered here, and in order to not weaken the military presence in Sol too much, the two ships are considered sufficient in light of the expected effective enemy tonnage being barely above that of one of the cruisers. Should the battle go bad their superior speed will allow a retreat, but the operation is still a risk - the Jade Rabbits are not considered expendable, as each unit costs 1.3k units of Gallicite, and it's not guaranteed that securing the system will actually open up new worthwhile mineral sources. The risk is compounded by the passageway back not being stabilized yet - the stabilization vessel in question already braved the jump into Quanzhou weeks before the arrival of the warships, beginning to work on just that passage.

Transit into the sytem is uneventful. The Qian can't detect or don't care about ships on the JP. First contact with the enemy only happens when the pair of warships enters sensor range of the sixth planet.

(https://i.imgur.com/sShtln2.png)
All still at home.

The Qian ships are in orbit of their base. That means one of the gambits has already failed, it was hoped that the Qian would meet the warships in open space like they did the explorers they destroyed. Part of the reasoning behind not sending an overwhelming force was to provoke such behavior. Now, the targets are sitting under the umbrella of their powerful surface batteries. The operation is still a go, in light of the Jade Rabbit's heavy defenses, orders are to dive into range of the batteries and drive the warships out. An unlucky engine hit here could mean a ship stranded in hostile weapon range, however.

The hostile batteries fire first at just under 400k range - more than twice that of the PRL targeting systems. At the extreme range, they miss, however. Their refire time is 40 seconds, the second volley bringing the Amber Rabbit's shields down and the armor to 89% - this firepower can't be withstood for long, or from much closer than the current 127k km.

(https://i.imgur.com/wtZ9Bj6.png)
Oof. Let's not try to tank this for too long.

By now the Qian warships are well in range. They've been firing on the oncoming ships along with the batteries, and now the order for return fire is given. The first volley scores 6x str-5 hits and appears to penetrate the armor of the ship targeted. As expected, the Qian ships begin fleeing away from the planet. The Rabbits charge towards the planet, after the ships. Near the planet close-in fire from the surface engulfs the Amber Rabbit, penetrating the armor together with the fire from the fleeing Qian warships. An engine, two engines fail. The captain makes the split-second decision to abort the charge across the planet and extract backwards, trying to put as much distance between the planet and the ship as possible. If he's to weather the next volley of the main surface batteries, he'll need it.

(https://i.imgur.com/4v11m7s.png)
The Agate Rabbit is left to chase the Qian ships alone.

The Agate Rabbit catches up to the first Qian ship, which had already received some engine hits, and obliberates it at point-blank range, continuing the charge towards the remaining ships - and away from the planet's surface batteries. The next volley scores a lucky hit and the engines of the next Sonora class laser vessel explode, taking the ship with it. Then the surface batteries finish reloading, targeting the Amber Rabbit once again at 122k distance. 6x str-15 impacts disable another two engine units, lowering the ship's speed to just under half. The impact is not as bad as it could have been, pulling range from the planet worked. At this rate, the next volley will hit at a further 112k distance, hopefully minimizing damage enough to survive while the Agate Rabbit finishes the mission.

(https://i.imgur.com/UQhpJRZ.png)
Both ships distant from the planet again when the surface batteries reload - just like planned.

The next surface volley targets the Agate Rabbit, but it is too far to do much damage. At this point, the Agate Rabbit is free to chase the Qian ships down and further away from their protective umbrella, their own lasers not enough to bring down the strike cruiser. And so it is done, the Qian ships are defeated with the Agate Rabbit down to 78% armor. The last Qian ship, one of the escorts, has lost all engine power and apparently all weapons, but is otherwise still intact. Salvaging an intact Qian vessel is an intersting proposal, but the equipment for such an undertaking is not standing by. Just leaving the ship dead in space until such means can be arranged is considered, but decided against as it'd be too dangerous if the ship managed to repair some of it's systems. It'd be unreasonable to believe the Qian vessels and bases could survive all this time without some form of self-repair capability. It is destroyed.

While retreating, the Amber Rabbit fired some shots at the batteries on the surface - fruitlessly. The difficulty targeting the emplacements among the fungal jungles of Quanzhou VI accurately enough reinforces the belief that they can not be defeated through a beam engagement using warships. The only option may be nuclear missile bombardment, sufficient in strength to overcome the close-range defense fire on the surface. The PRL does not have the capability for such an attack, but with the mobile units in Quanzhou disabled, they have all the time in the universe to prepare.

In the aftermath of the engagement the strike cruisers retreat to the JP, awaiting the stabilization of the JP back and repairing battle damage. In addition to the five Qian vessels destroyed in this engagement, there are wrecks of two Qian defense platforms, ten of the PRL's own destroyers and two explorers in the system to be salvaged. The salvage vessel standing by behind the JP is given the go-ahead to begin operations, being mindful of the distance to the planet. It'll take some time for the survey ship Riphaeus to arrive from Sol after it's refits to evaluate the worth of the system, however.

Analysis of the wrecks pays off: an estimated four months are shaved off of the ongoing development of plasma drives by replicating the function of a field regulator used in the Qian vessels' engines.

---

   Japanese Wakayama investigation

As a makeshift solution for the lack of more suitable accomodations an idle Japanese ammunition transport has been outfitted with diplomatic facilities, translation teams and extra quarters for representatives. The ship is bound for Wakayama and will attempt to establish deeper relations with the Sukabumi on a semi-permanent basis until more dedicated infrastructure can be put in place. The ship was chosen for it's availability, expendability and the fact that one of the orbital yards was equipped to modify this particular class's structure. Naturally, no ammunition will be in the holds during it's mission.

One of the Japanese explorers sent into Wakayama to investigate the Sukabumi aliens finds a jump point, and transits. There is no presence immediately on the other side of the JP, but what the initial system scan reveals is shocking: dozens, hundreds of wrecks, most of them with enough volume to have come from a destroyer or cruiser sized ship. Most of the debris is accumulated in orbit of the fourth planet, a marginally habitable terrestrial world. Evidently the site of a great battle. Some of the wreckage can be identified as belonging to the same types of ships encountered in Grand Bourg. Could this be the Sukabumi homeworld? The crew of the SRV Chiyoda transmits it's findings, steels itself, and heads for the lagrange point leading to the inner system.

(https://i.imgur.com/b6xvpEV.png)
The display of wrecks is stacked higher than the screen can display.

The Chiyoda, which had deactivated it's transponder before jumping into this system, is eventually detected by the Sukabumi near the third planet. They send a message, wanting the ship to leave now, without much of the "Could you", and "It would be nice if..." wording of the messages received in Wakayama. The Chiyoda is prepared to follow the request, but not before sneaking in a look at the orbit of the fourth planet. The ship closes to 5m km, the maximum range of it's weak sensors, and indeed a population signature is detected, complete with industrial shipyards in orbit. No ships are in orbit, they might have left - fled - in the face of an approaching alien vessel with active sensors. Deciding not to overstay their welcome any longer, the Chiyoda begins it's trek back into Wakayama.

The situation is analyzed at home. While there was some enthusiasm at home for founding colonies on the newfound planets in Wakayama given the apparent absence of alien settlements, being next door to an alien home system, and the site of destruction two orders of magnitude larger than anything known to Humans so far, is troubling, to say the least. The brave sailors of the Chiyoda risked their lives trying to investigate the alien world and site of battle, but was unable to get any readings of alien ships or capabilities. The bright side is that the Sukabumi don't seem immediately threatening, but more reconnaissance to get a more accurate picture of their interstellar empire is necessary.

---

   Other happenings in 2137

In a sense, the formation of the Anti-Terra Prime coalition was already it's own undoing. Being faced with a formalized threat, the internationalist aspects of the ideology quickly prompted the various states led by Terra Prime-headed regimes to band together as well, taking the fight to the hostile coalition. In the process of this the power structures in the Terra Prime movement have become increasingly centralized, it may for the first time in years be possible to speak of a major central government in much of the EU/ARG/RUS territories again. Terra Prime already has the loyalty of the extant EU cruisers Kerberos and Pluto in orbit, which are still called upon occasionally to deliver orbital bombardment support during conflicts, so this new union may herald the rise of a new interstellar power.

Callistoan exploration has discovered a connection leading back to Procyon. Between this and the encounters of the same aliens in apparently distant systems, it may not be good to think of a systems connections as absolute and some systems more or less isolated than others.

(https://i.imgur.com/tSEwExw.png)
Some creative rearranging of the map may be required in the near future...

Long-term observation and control over jump points has been a problem that has plagued military planners since the advent of the interstellar age. An inventive Japanese concept is now being put into action: tiny observation stations, to be tugged into position not on, but near a JP. Using passive sensors and a minimal-emission active sensor that permanently stays on, the station promises to stay undetected while at a few million km distance from a JP, monitoring all the traffic that comes through. This concept is a response to missile-tube launched buoy systems proving unreliable in trials and the current near-permanent stationing of a scout vessel near the Wakayama JP in Grand Bourg, which this concept is supposed to replace. As using the massive tug designed for hauling orbital habitats to Venus would be overkill, small tractor-beam equipped fighters are planned to put the stations into position. Both the fighters and the sensor outposts can be assembled by regular industrial equipment, bypassing the requirement for dedicated yards the state can't afford. Once in place, the outpost can stay on station permanently.

---

Faction Profile: JPN
Japan (2137)

General Outlook and Personality, Foreign Relations
The nation of Japan is one of the smaller powers with it's home, along with most shipyards and industry, still on Earth. The nation sees itself as non-aggressive, with pacifist parts of the constitution still dating back to the second world war nearly 200 years ago, and is primarily concerned with the long-term benefit of it's citizens. As such, it tends to favor long-term projects with late payoffs, like the exploitation of Venus or the difficult to terraform Neo-Kobe colony in Grand Bourg. Japan is technologically highly advanced and will often try to fix problems through technology when possible, as such, some of the most advanced and novel military units and innovations are made in the nation.
Historically Japan has considered China, and later the PRL, as it's primary threat, but since the invasion of Venus by Russian troops from Callisto and the scares caused by alien ships appearing near the Neo-Kobe colony the focus has shifted to be more inclusive of a variety of threats.
Relations with the alien Sukabumi Alliance seem shaky. Their homeworld has been found, but not much is known about them. In particular communications seem unstable, sometimes communications are unable to be established using the previously agreed upon codes. As a consequence the Japanese navy has fired on and destroyed ships entering Grand Bourg on multiple occasions.

History

• 2050 - Beginning the Race to the Stars as the most technologically advanced nation on Earth
• 2070s - Pioneers settle the surface of Venus in specialized habitats
• 2075 - The dream of Mechas comes true as the first unit enters production
• 2085 - Russia is granted mining rights on Venus as Japan does not yet possess a space navy which would be able to defend their claim on the world
• 2092 - Neo-Kobe City is founded in Grand Bourg
• 2096 - Japanese explorer Chuyo is the first ship to find another immediately habitable world amongst the stars in what's now known as La Tablada.
• 2097 - The first military maintenance crisis, caused by insufficient maintenance infrastructure
• 2104 - Japanese scientist Tayama Kiyomori invents the Ion drive, years ahead of other powers
• 2113 - The first "Cloud Home" orbital habitat is deployed on Venus
• 2117 - Explorer Chuyo finds an advanced and abandoned alien observation post in the Kurashiki system, suitable for study by our own scientists
• 2127 - The Christmas Miracle
  An alien ship of the Sukabumi Alliance transits a dormant jump point only 60m km from the undefended Neo-Kobe colony in Grand Bourg. Within days rudimentary communication is established with the vessel. They are asked to leave and comply. Blockade of the new JP follows.
• 2129 - The second maintenance crisis, caused by insufficient Gallicite to produce supplies
• 2132 - Russian (now Callistoan) troops invade Venus as the Japanese navy is unable to act  due to the maintenance crisis. Venus is lost

Military
Japanese warships are high-tech miracles bristling with energy weapons and force fields. Kinetic weapons are looked upon with some disdain. Ships are constantly being upgraded and retrofitted to wield the most modern equipment, keeping outdated ships on the roster is not tolerated for long in the navy.
The backbone of the navy are 7 Tama-class attack destroyers, armed with long-range particle weapons and built with a speed slightly above that of other navies, particularly the PRL navy during it's inception.
Four AMM escort destroyers are currently in operation, with some units having been scuttled during the last maintenance crisis. They are partially armed with captured Qian interceptors.
The Japanese navy does not operate jump ships, but invests heavily in reconnaissance doctrines: Small and expendable Sendai-class scouts picket fleets, scout jump points and patrol colonies, deep space listening posts are planned to monitor JPs on a permanent basis.
Surface-bound particle batteries have recently been deployed to major colonies to provide static defense, a response to alien warships appearing next to the Neo-Kobe colony.
Total naval tonnage: 180k
Ground force tonnage: 324k
On the surface, the Japanese SDF operates a conventional military force with giant "tactical surface fighters" (TSF) as their breakthrough element. These super-heavy mecha are reasonably agile war machines unique to the Japanese military, but individually very expensive.

Colonies

• Unlike other powers, Japan still has the heart of it's industry and shipbuilding on Earth, consequently Earth is the permanent station for most of the Japanese military.
• The major Japanese colony is Neo-Kobe City in Grand Bourg. The system just past Santa María is home to a diverse array of mineral sources as well as the comets of Córdoba. The world has over 100m inhabitants now, but terraforming it to habitablity would be a very difficult task: The planet is larger than Earth, has a 2atm thick nitrogen atmosphere and is entirely covered in ice fields.
• A dwarf planet in the distant Kurashiki system is home to an enigmatic alien sensor station as well as some interesting mineral deposits. Exploitation has not yet started in earnest.
• Like most nations, a research outpost is being maintained on Procyon's Rest, but there are no facilities on the body beyond the research center.
• Venus no longer has a Japanese presence, but was home to a population living in surface infrastructure and received several suborbital habitats, representing heavy investment. For the sake of recovering that investment, the civil population and the body's important deposits of Duranium and Gallicite, efforts are being made to reconquer the planet.

Economy
The loss of Venus was a double blow to the economy. Firstly, the site was a prime long-term source of the important minerals of Duranium and Gallicite. Secondly, the loss of 70 automines and 20 regular mines represented a significant decline in extraction capabilites, meaning the remaining capacity needs to be spread thinner. As a consequence, uncharactaristically for Japanese foreign policy, the nearby comet Uritorco is being exploited as a temporary Gallicite source and heavily militarized in defiance of the Interstellar League of Taíno, which is also mining the body. Most of the mining in Grand Bourg for secondary minerals has shifted there, leading to a shortage of Uridium on Earth.
Research-wise the Japanese state finds it hard to keep up the competition with other nations due to it's smaller size and industrial base affording it less research capacities. Most effort is concentrated in the high-tech fields Japan already has a lead on. Therefore it has highly advanced base engine and reactor technology, shield systems, particle weapons and microwave systems.

Goals, active and planned projects

• Reconquest of the Gallicite mines on Venus and liberation of the civilian population on the body is one of the goals of the state. Internally it is being questioned whether Japan should be a power to start wars, but the righteous cause of recovering what's theirs outweighs these considerations.
• As part of the war plans for retaking Venus and beating the Callistoan navy the army must be expanded and a new doctrine introduced to the navy. Current development plans foresee swarms of beam-armed fighters which Callistoan ships would have trouble targeting and hitting.
• The alien gravimetric sensor station in Kurashiki has been found decades ago, but remains largely unexploited. This is being slowly helped by the production of LG infrastructure in Neo-Kobe, promising to make the body productive soon.
• Investigation of the capabilities of and the threat posed by the Sukabumi aliens, as well as further attempts to establish solid diplomatic relations. Colonial defense and monitoring are current priorities informed by the results of that process.

Title: Re: Race to the Stars - 2138-2139, Faction Profile: CAL
Post by: Zap0 on December 31, 2020, 08:22:25 AM

   2138-2139

Early in the 2138 the Japanese SRV Taiyo was lost to unknown forces while investigating another system adjacent to Wakayama. Suspicions fall on the Sukabumi, but the ship had received no communications prior to it's destruction and the Sukabumi deny involvment in an inquiry. It is possible the ship failed to detect Qian, or that another alien force is present in the system. The loss of the vessel highlights the already pressing need for better reconnaissance and exploration practices.

Japanese diplomatic efforts are paying off. The Sukabumi aliens, despite still frequently repeating their suggestion the diplomatic vessel should leave the Wakayama system adjacent to Grand Bourg, have agreed to an exchange of goods and commodities between another. While the actual wares that either side, alien as they are to another, may be interested in have yet to be determined, the prospect of an increased cultural exchange alongside the commercial one is exciting for many. Many being those that do not especially fear aliens given the negative light they have been in so far.

PRL xenologists are dismayed that the Japanese are making contact with aliens and investigating their systems, but given that the precise location of the new JP in Grand Bourg is only known to them, there is little that can be done about it. In order to find that JP and keep an eye on Japanese dealings with these Sukabumi, a small set of new scout fighters designed for long-term observation missions is being sent to Grand Bourg. If all goes well, they'll eventually detect a transiting ship and can pinpoint the JP location that way. There exists an alien wreck in the system, under the assumption that it is near the JP the scouts are stationed within sensor range of the wreckage. The operation quickly is a success as it detects both the JP and the Japanese listening post some distance off of the JP.

The Martian Consortium and the Interstellar League (INL) from Taíno come to an agreement regarding joint establishment of a deep space mining colony. Burzaco B-II, a cozy little planet 40b away from Sol with deposits of 0.8 Gallicite and a couple other minerals, is the first target. It is one of the previously dicussed worlds in the vicinity of the Xining homeworld and several Qian outposts past La Tablada. As the INL has a stepping stone in form of the infrastructure on La Tablada in place already, it'll be their duty to provide for the defense of the new colony. The Consortium will in exchange support the construction of new plasma-drive powered warships and patrol vessels on Taíno by supplying technology, either through license production or delivery of prefabricated ship parts. Contracting out work to Martian shipyards is also on the table.

The opponents of Terra Prime on Earth have been all but defeated. With the external threat losing importance, power struggles among the leaders of the movement have intensified. While somewhat destabilizing, the draw of ruling over much of Earth instead of just individual fiefdoms on it has the prevailing party in the power struggle avoid dividing the central authority. After much intrigue the cold and methodical Vappu Miettinen stands above the rest, declaring herself first Primarch of the Terran Primacy.

(https://i.imgur.com/8TWtj5V.png)
All hail the new leader! She will restore Terra to greatness.

The new Terra Prime government is putting resources into creating order among the old European space programs. Supplies for survey ships, returning from year-long journeys, have often been irregular, EU state fuel harvesting programs have had to sustain themselves selling to the open market and various supporting elements are in deteriorated condition. Warships have generally had more luck receiving money and support from the ground. With the Primacy controlling both cruisers, other EU warships of alternate loyalties were forced to submit to their will and had their crews replaced. It was easy to establish control over the old EU space assets, once things started moving everything else just fell into place. The Terra Prime government had something to offer what has been sorely missing for a decade: Order and a promise of stability.

   Smolensk

A Callistoan explorer runs into some Qian signatures on a planet four jumps from Novokuzneck. Given that the two signatures remain stationary they are assumed to be orbital defense platforms as have been encountered before. Then, surveying the B component, the ship finds a dormant alien construct on planet II and an identical pair of Qian signatures on planet III.

Aside from being thankful that the ship survived a run-in with the Qian, leadership is excited at the prospect of a Qian outpost - two, even - for them to loot all by themselves, as they had missed out on the spoils that came out of Procyon's Rest. The problem is that Qian defense platforms are known to be equipped for missile defense and that their performance is only able to be estimated by second-hand reports of the battle in Procyon. A sufficiently large force to keep up deterrence must also remain in Sol, so not much strike power can be made available. The safe option would be to wait a few years until the next wave of shipbuilding is underway, as it is unlikely any other power is going to discover the location. The desire to gain an advantage now instead of waiting wins out, and it is determined that a force of three frigates will execute a probing attack.
The distant system of Smolensk - surveyed by a frigate also named Smolensk, by some cosmic coincidence - is quite the find, so some form of exploitation has to happen right away. If only we could be sure the Qian are the only spooky aliens that far out.

Mid 2139 the probing force arrives in Smolensk. 96 units of obsolete ordnance are unceremoniously launched at the enemy, who equally unceremoniously destroys all of them. Only 14 missiles were destroyed by interceptors, the rest was allowed to reach the point-blank defense envelope. It is assumed that this is their level of fire they are comfortable absorbing without expending more interceptors, and, based on the timings, that they could have launched around five times as many interceptors as they had done. Having gotten their data, the ships turn back towards Callisto via refueling stop on Novokuzneck. It seems a full strike by all eight frigates will be required - impossible at current, as that would leave Callisto undefended.

(https://i.imgur.com/DSX4aB4.png)
As feared, more ships will be needed to break the Qian in Smolensk.

   Magneto-Plasma generation designs

Due to a setback in the Japanese labs and the inclusion of Qian-inspired field regulators on the Lunar side, the People's Republic of Luna (PRL) is the first power to develop a functional Magneto-Plasma drive. The first project planned is a line cruiser with much the same design parameters as the Jade Rabbit class. The "White Tiger" class targets the same combat speed, allowing tandem operation with the Jade Rabbits, but the more efficient engines allow it to carry a heavier payload in shields and weapons. Unfortunately the new engine designs don't allow for any Gallicite savings, as the laws of physics dictate a certain amount of engine power require a certain amount of Gallicite in the field coils, no matter the powering mechanism. This makes each unit just as expensive as a Jade Rabbit, if not more so because of the extra weapons. For now, the same weapons as on the Jade Rabbit will be installed, as experiments with heavier lasers don't see satisfactory sustained performance yet. The current generation of lasers sits in a sweet spot.

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White Tiger class Cruiser      20 000 tons       616 Crew       4 296.8 BP       TCS 400    TH 2 640    EM 2 760
6600 km/s      Armour 7-65       Shields 92-460       HTK 137      Sensors 11/0/0/0      DCR 18      PPV 96
Maint Life 1.43 Years     MSP 1 074    AFR 400%    IFR 5.6%    1YR 580    5YR 8 698    Max Repair 264 MSP
Shang Xiao    Control Rating 3   BRG   AUX   ENG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Feng-Dai Thrust MP Capital Ship Drive (5)    Power 2640    Fuel Use 51.29%    Signature 528    Explosion 11%
Fuel Capacity 602 000 Litres    Range 10.6 billion km (18 days at full power)
Lunar Delta Deflector (2)     Recharge Time 460 seconds (0.2 per second)

Assault Laser III (16)    Range 256 000km     TS: 6 600 km/s     Power 10-5     RM 50 000 km    ROF 10        10 10 8 6 5 4 3 3 2 2
Xue-Fen Capital Fire Director VI (3)     Max Range: 256 000 km   TS: 6 800 km/s     92 84 77 69 61 53 45 38 30 22
Kong-Liao Gas Power Plant (4)     Total Power Output 80.8    Exp 10%

Ying Combat Sensor IV (1)     GPS 3     Range 2.7m km    MCR 244k km    Resolution 1
Lunar-Shao Long-Range Scanner II (1)     GPS 2520     Range 45.3m km    Resolution 80
Ying Thermic Receptor III (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Additional projects in the queue using the new engines are Black Tortoise escorts using the new engines, allowing them to finally keep up with the cruisers, and long-range recon vessels.

Before the year of 2138 is over, the PRL has the first plasma drive in operation on a long-range recon fighter. In principle a downscaled version of the Japanese Sendai scout corvette, but focused on one type of sensor. There are variants for different types of detection.

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Dalian TH class Stealth Scout      500 tons       9 Crew       66.4 BP       TCS 10    TH 29    EM 0
3847 km/s      Armour 1-5       Shields 0-0       HTK 4      Sensors 35/0/0/0      DCR 0      PPV 0
Maint Life 6.74 Years     MSP 68    AFR 20%    IFR 0.3%    1YR 3    5YR 39    Max Repair 35.8 MSP
Shao Xiao    Control Rating 1   
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required   

Scout Craft Endurance Drive (1)    Power 38.4    Fuel Use 30.86%    Signature 28.800    Explosion 6%
Fuel Capacity 71 000 Litres    Range 83 billion km (249 days at full power)

Thermal Probe (1)     Sensitivity 35.75     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  47.3m km

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
The Japanese navy is first planning a relatively standard engine upgrade to their existing major warships, as their doctrine calls for. The process of engineering the actual engine and retooling shipyards and their supply chains will take years, and their Gallicite reserves are still low, so the first applications are still ways off. In the meantime, design work is being done on a beam fighter concept designed to counter the Callistoan navy.

The shipbuilders of Callisto are going a radically different way for their works in this new generation of engines. It is actually an older concept shelved for various reasons until now. In order to maximize the usefulness of each engine, each piece of Gallicite even, the engines must be as flexible as possible. This is achieved by not having a dedicated engine built-in in each ship, many of which may not be relevant for a given mission, and instead creating modular engine blocks designed to attach to a "payload block", an engine-less vessel with all the guns, sensors and missiles a ship would normally carry, using a clamp system. When going on a mission, each thrust block will attach to a relevant payload block, allowing for customized tailoring of the fleet composition. In case of an emergency the thrust block can detach from the payload and leave it behind, either to return and bring a new payload into the fight or to save it's own skin, with thrust blocks certainly outspeeding any possible pursuing warship, keeping the hard-to-replace part of a ship, the engines, safe. This assumes that payload blocks are available in sufficient numbers, considers them disposable to some degree even, all based on the economic assumption that Gallicite is hard to find and must be saved on, whereas other minerals are uncritically plentiful. This has certainly been true historically, and even with the full exploitation of Venus and the Novokuzneck colony growing, is expected to remain a basic economic fact for decades to come.

OOC Note: The tractor beam component in my game is modified to be 1HS instead of 10HS. It still costs 100BP and 10 crew, representing an appropriate overhead for the kind of sophisticated clamping/docking system they are using.

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????????? class Thrust Block (P)      4 000 tons       101 Crew       958.5 BP       TCS 80    TH 1 267    EM 0
15842 km/s      Armour 6-22       Shields 0-0       HTK 25      Sensors 8/0/0/0      DCR 1      PPV 0
Maint Life 0.97 Years     MSP 164    AFR 116%    IFR 1.6%    1YR 170    5YR 2 547    Max Repair 211.20 MSP
Tractor Beam     
Kapitan tret'yego ranga    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

MP Superthruster (3)    Power 1267.2    Fuel Use 193.53%    Signature 422.40    Explosion 16%
Fuel Capacity 531 000 Litres    Range 12.3 billion km (9 days at full power)

Sroczynski Minimum Viable Detection System (1)     GPS 2     Range 2m km    MCR 181.7k km    Resolution 1
Leontyev Thermal Sensor A (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Using 3k out of it's 4k tons as propulsion mass, each of these units will clamp onto a payload module of also 4k tons to form a full ship. Production of payload modules is underway, with several plasma-armed modules already orbiting Callisto in a role as static defenses. These are only 3k tons in size, so as to give the resulting short-ranged warship a higher speed.

---

Faction Profile: CAL
Callistoan Regime (2139)

General Outlook and Personality, Foreign Relations
The state of Callisto is a direct descendent of the Russian Federation. Following the trend of power moving away from Earth, they have abandoned the Russian motherland. They have one of the smallest civilian populations forming their base, with 400m people living in the domed cities on Callisto, a moon of Jupiter which is not fully terraformed yet. Being a small power, they see themselves as stuck in a tank of sharks with the other powers and need to be extra vicious to survive. Opportunism and a preference of short-term gains over long-term potential characterize Callistoan decision-making.
The Regime has nobody it considers an enemy in particular, but the Japanese think otherwise after our successful invasion of their Venus colony several years ago.

History

• 2050 - Beginning the Race to the Stars as one of the smaller powers
• 2071 - Callisto colony founded
• 2085 - Japan is coerced into giving the Russian Federation rights to mine Venus
• 2093 - Terraforming equipment for Callisto bought from a Martian company
• 2096 - The First Machholz Incident
  Russia stages a takeover of the Argentine Corundium mines. The whole Argentine navy (two destroyers) is lost in orbit of the comet. Argentine counter-offensive on Earth unsuccessful.
• 2100 - First contact with the Qian in Petropavlovsk (aka. Quanzhou). Survey frigate Vityaz lost. Existence of aliens announced to the world.
• 2113 - The Third Machholz Incident
  Argentina attempts to retake their Machholz mining outpost with EU support. The majority of the Russian fleet is checked in Earth orbit, but a strike against the Argentine troop transport allows Machholz to remain in Russian hands. As a consequence from the main fleet being checked, expensive and inefficient engine upgrades are made to the fleet, delaying further ship construction by decades.
• 2114 - Russian exploration finds and begins exploiting some minor ruins
• 2116 - A race for colonization with the PRL comes to a head as Russian ships blockade a JP. A bluff succeeds and Novokuzneck is colonized solely by Russia.
• 2123 - Gallicite shortages cause a maintenance crisis and halt ordnance production. Conquest is decided upon as the method of expansion.
• 2132 - Invasion of Venus. All Japanese possessions on the planet captured. Authority over Earth territories abandoned. The term "Callistoan Regime" becomes official.

Military
Callistoan warships are fast and small, with no vessel exceeding 4k tons in displacement. This is largely an artifact of historic Neutronium shortages preventing shipyard expansion, but nowadays seen as an advantage as many sensor arrays have trouble picking up ships this small. The second distinctive feature of the navy is an exclusive reliance on box-launched missile strikes, designed to put maximum firepower into space at once. This allows the navy to punch above it's weight and presents a powerful deterrence factor, but beyond this the navy has very little capability beyond some AMM escort capacity. Callistoan ships are very old on average, with some vessels still using primitive nuclear rockets, a form of qaint engine tech from the 2060s when TN principles were still not fully understood and wildly different concepts were experimented with. Upgrades to Callistoan combat strength have usually come from advances in missile technology, but the dependency on ordnance stocks and manufacturing, including their consumption of vital resources, are considered severe drawbacks to the current doctrine. Protection of the growing Novokuzneck colony presents a challenge to the navy, as their massed strike doctrine makes it very difficult to protect more than one place at a time. The only beam weapons operated by Callisto are short-ranged plasma weapons, which have been deployed on major colonies to prevent troop landings. They are not designed to fight off actual warships like the STO batteries of other powers, but are much cheaper.
The Magneto-Plasma build projects currently ramping up incorporate radical and new shipbuilding concepts, but don't present much of a departure from current missile doctrine. Callisto does not have the technology to switch doctrines even if it wanted to.
The Callistoan exploration program has back in the day opted for a larger amount of smaller exploration vessels. This has paid off, as Callistoan star maps are more expansive than those of the other minor powers. Ignoring the loss of lives, the loss of each ship to Qian or other forces is also more managable. As such it is the plan to continue using small explorers instead of investing heavily into alternative means of exploration or Qian detection like some other powers are doing.
Total naval tonnage: 122k
Ground force tonnage: 307k
Smallest in both categories.

Colonies

• Callisto, the outermost of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, is the center of power and all industry. The body has been terraformed to a near-habitable temperature, dispensing with the need for extensive heating and insulation infrastructure as was necessary in the early stages of colonization. Full habitability like on Mars or Luna is the goal. Callisto was chosen over the other Jovian moons for it's deposits of Vendarite and Corbomite, whereas the other moons have no TN deposits.
• Jupiter itself has easily harvestable Sorium in it's atmosphere. Limited international civilian refining operations are tolerated, but may not be for much longer in light of Jupiter's falling reserves - a third of the Sorium discovered in the initial prospecting has already been extracted. Easy access to fuel is one of the justifying factors for the highly boosted Callistoan military engines.
  With Callisto controlling the entire Jovian system, why are there no populations on the other Galilean moons? Because further investments on Callisto are more effective. Terraforming Callisto took a lot of investment, a colony on Io or Europa would require much additional infrastructure and provide little benefit.
• Venus with it's important Duranium/Gallicite mines has been exploited for a long time, but the recent invasion of the Japanese colony on the surface has expanded capacity even more, if not as much as was hoped for. More importantly, Callisto is now the sole power in control of Venus. The Japanese civilian population on the body, living partially in orbital habitats and partially in burrowed surface cities, does not have citizen rights in the Callistoan state and is largely ignored as being too high investment to make productive.
• Novokuzneck is a distant extrasolar colony on an ocean world with deposits of all TN minerals, particularly the critical Gallicite and Duranium. The world will take decades yet to fully terraform, but significant amounts of minerals are already being shipped back to Callisto. Growth of the colony has been slow.

Economy
The Callistoan economy uses manned mining on the controlled bodies to efficiently dig up what is there and uses automines on Sol comets to make up for shortfalls in the remaining categories. Civilian mining colonies have long stopped being relevant. With Novokuzneck and Venus controlled, Gallicite income is looking long-term stable - something most other powers have high on their list of priorities. Mineral stockpiles are relatively limited in some secondary categories, but a good amount of Gallicite is ready to be turned into military thrust units and missiles.
The abandonment of Earth had Callisto deal with minor wealth problems. Control over much of civilian freight shipping was lost, something which has affected the growth speed of the Novokuzneck colony.
Because of limited research capacity, Callistoan research is not very advanced outside of the primary fields of military application: Missile systems and propulsion tech are the only fields of significant advancement. What the state lacks in material resources, it makes up for in human resources: The current generation of Callisto's scientific community is unusually bright.

Goals, active and planned projects

• Providing permanent defense for the Novokuzneck colony, especially in light of alien sightings in nearby systems. CAL missile doctrine with it's focus on massed firepower does not do well with splitting forces, so the answer seems to be a large enough expansion in combat capability so that both Sol and Novokuzneck can receive an appropriate deterrent force.
• Replacing the current, outdated navy with modular ships. Currently doing initial construction and engineering work.
• Exploitation of the Qian bases and other alien artifacts in Smolensk
• Growth and expansion of the Novokuzneck colony in general. Terraforming, expansion of the mines, security for ships moving minerals back to Sol, local fuel and supply production to maintain a fleet. The planet is a prime colony spot and must be jealously guarded if we are to prevail in the interstellar power struggles.
• Notably there are no current plans for aggressive expansion. The regime has great long-term prospects for growth now, holding on to them and expanding the industrial base are the priorities.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2140-2142
Post by: Zap0 on January 09, 2021, 05:44:10 PM

   2140-2142

A civilian mining colony has been founded on a rich Gallicite-bearing moon in Novokuzneck. Adding a yearly production of 450 Gallicite to the 2000 or so from Venus and Novokuzneck itself is a no-brainer, but the Callistoan Regime will struggle to afford the cost of this operation, with the last Sol CMCs closing shop and ceasing to pay taxes and the ongoing shipbuilding programs straining the wealth budgets again. Surely a few obsolete infantry units to disband can be found, but the expansion of financial infrastructure on Callisto is what will carry most of the burden - but the expansion of financial centers comes with the opportunity cost of not expanding mines, factories or other infrastructure.
The Interstellar League (INL) is the only other power even in danger of having a wealth problem, otherwise wealth is no problem and hasn't been for decades for any power. The one thing the INL and Callisto have in common is a small civilian shipping sector. Callisto lost influence over a good portion of it's civilian sector when it abandoned Earth, and the INL and all it's colonists were for the most part shipped to the stars by corporations headquartered on Earth - where they still remain.

A Terra Prime strike force consisting of both cruisers and most available escorts is sent out to ensure the loyalty of the destroyer squadron on permanent station in the mining system of Bremen. The ships stationed there have been there since before the Independence War (called the Martian Rebellion on Terra now), and although most ships have an understrength crew in the face of irregular supplies and payments, the Primacy wishes to preempt any attempts of their enemies to use the warships stationed here against them, as well as ensure the continued flow of valuable minerals from this system back to Earth. A big show is made out of the old ship's crews being relieved: Not only was there no resistance, the images of freshly trained recruits manning a previously deteriorating flotilla show the restoration of order the Terran Primacy is advertising first hand.

"Martian" is often synonymous with "Consortium" these days. Virtually all significant business that goes on on Mars is affiliated with a Consortium member corporation to some degree, and all civilian government structures are carefully controlled by those in power. Of course there were frequent reports of public servants standing up against corporate influence and investigative reports detailing just how the rich and powerful are expanding their control, but as the Consortium naturally controls most media as well such news never gained widespread readership.

Colonization of Fùguó, the rich frontier, by the People's Republic of Luna (PRL) is progressing rapidly. 12m people already settled the hot jungle world, with facilities for them to work in, troops, defense and even a complete gravsurvey of the system still lagging behind. Between the newly formulated requirement to be able to support larger fleets on the colonies and the fleet itself growing at home, Neutronium is looking dangerously short for the PRL - a direct result of the mismanagement of Shèng Yuè, which posesses large Neutronium deposits that remain largely untapped. The massive terraforming stations now in orbit of Shèng Yuè are already making a notable difference in surface temperatures, allowing the population to gradually slide into productiveness.

Five years after the anti-Qian operation in Quanzhou the system has finally been fully surveyed. The system, having a white subgiant for a primary, is large, with some distantly orbiting gas giants and a remote B component which could be made accessible through lagrange stabilization in the A component as there luckily was a natural LP already present in the B component. The system is indeed rich in minerals in general, as several surface expeditions confirmed, but there are no truly outstanding deposits, particularly of Gallicite, and no easy colony sites aside from the world with the Qian base. As Fùguó is the current focus of expansion plans to settle the Quanzhou system are being put on hold for the moment. The most immediately attractive world in Quanzhou would be the second planet, a hot, CC15, atmosphereless world with 6 high-volume and high-accessibility minerals, including 0.4 Gallicite. A target for the Atmosphere Generator stations once Shèng Yuè is fully terraformed.
Plans to assault the Qian base on the sixth planet are taking shape with the recent completion of five heavy dropships, able to transport a total of 125k tons of ground troops and equipment. There is potential for ship loss on approach (and retreat) from the planet and it is unknown if or how much fire can be diverted by escorting the dropships with cruisers. Even so, troops and war machines able to operate well in the fungal jungles are still being developed, so a combat drop operation is likely still a decade out.

With the stabilization of the Terran Primacy as a central government of much of Earth, the age of transition comes to a close. Mankind settled new worlds and the distances between their new homes became the dividing lines between them, for travel of goods or people, even on a fast ship, takes days or weeks, leading to governments ruling over single bodies. Earth, Luna, Mars, Callisto, Taíno - all unified planetary governments to some degree. The age of the nation state may not have come entirely to an end, but it certainly has changed forms.

---

   Magneto-Plasma generation designs

Research has been ongoing in the Martian Consortium as well. The leaders of the corporatocracy are well aware that the People's Republic of Luna considers them an enemy. As such, design competitions were held in the preceeding years to come up with concepts for a doctrine designed to counter the PRL's navy. The winner of these competitions is a light cruiser concept which uses short-range rockets, designed to be fired from just outside enemy beam range. None of the beam-armed concepts presented proved to be a match for the projected combination of range, speed and firepower of the Lunar cruisers, so a missile concept was chosen despite the Martian ordnance market already being at and beyond capacity building interceptors and cruise missiles for use on the other warships.
The resulting warship carries 30 launch tubes for these new short-range rockets, which have been created specifically to have a 100% hit ratio against Jade Rabbit-like opponents. The rocket's 3m km range allow the ship to fire all 12 salvos it holds in the time it takes an opponent with a 3k km/s speed advantage to close to melee distance - a sufficient safety cushion, as the Jade Rabbit is 1.5k km/s faster than this cruiser.

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Vallis class Light Cruiser      16 000 tons       341 Crew       2 323.4 BP       TCS 320    TH 1 680    EM 2 130
5250 km/s      Armour 4-56       Shields 71-1065       HTK 153      Sensors 11/0/0/0      DCR 4      PPV 69.14
Maint Life 1.17 Years     MSP 394    AFR 471%    IFR 6.5%    1YR 293    5YR 4 393    Max Repair 120 MSP
Magazine 900   
Commander    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

Palomares Drive Systems MP Impulse Drive (7)    Power 1680    Fuel Use 57.15%    Signature 240    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 1 006 000 Litres    Range 19.8 billion km (43 days at full power)
Bulwark Shield Generator (1)     Recharge Time 1065 seconds (0.1 per second)

Raytheon EL4 Double-Barrel Mount (2x2)    Range 64 000km     TS: 16000 km/s     Power 8-8     RM 30 000 km    ROF 5       
Raytheon Raygun Turret Target System v2 (1)     Max Range: 64 000 km   TS: 16 000 km/s     84 69 53 38 22 6 0 0 0 0
Dual-Core PSU 8MW (2)     Total Power Output 16    Exp 20%

L25-1 "SRM Launcher" (30)     Missile Size: 2.5    Rate of Fire 80
Zwiebel Electronics SRT-1 Short-Range Guidance System (3)     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 1
SRM25-1 "Spear of Mars" (360)    Speed: 41 920 km/s    End: 1.2m     Range: 3.1m km    WH: 4    Size: 2.5    TH: 223/134/67

ARS3 "Acquisition Redundancy System" (1)     GPS 168     Range 11.7m km    Resolution 80
Zwiebel Electronics ASS3-35M (1)     GPS 1512     Range 35.1m km    Resolution 80
Zwiebel Electronics Heat Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m 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

The PRL's Jade Rabbit class has been a universal benchmark for designs created in the Magneto-Plasma era. The PRL is building new ships to match their performance parameters and the new Japanese engines, for instance, are being designed with a slight speed advantage over them in mind. This reflects the prevalent mentality among the human powers in that they're mostly concerned with fighting each other, rather than any alien empire.

The power of Terra Prime isn't consolidated quite far enough to begin broad construction programs yet, but military thinkers are busy coming up with plans to put into motion when the shipyards are back in order in a few years. The Terran Primacy managed to gain control over 2 Hades class cruisers and 10 escort destroyers and it intends to keep them incorporated in it's doctrine so as to be able to project power right away. The Hades class was built with an interesting concept in mind: If you aren't sure you can outspeed the enemy, don't even try, and be good at something else instead. That something else being firepower. As the Primacy sees itself as a state solely concerned with Terra and Sol, not extrasolar settlements, speed and range are seen as convenient compromise points and the plan is to apply that concept on a larger scale in future shipbuilding. As an added benefit, conceding the speed advantage at the design stage allows for ships costing less Gallicite, reducing dependence on the mineral. That said, the current Hades' speed of less than 3k km/s is not appropriate for the coming age anymore and must be corrected - which means refits. Updating the Hades cruisers shall be the Primacy's first shipbuilding project. The experience working with the cruisers can then be applied towards building new cruisers from the ground up.
But Terran shipbuilding ambitions don't end with the cruisers. If the main combatants no longer have competetive speed, the escorts also don't need to be any faster. The Adana class escort destroyers have a good record as effective anti-missile ships, but low speeds present a problem to the efficiency of their railgun armament. Therefore, the future will need to see missile-based interception capability instead. Several thousand captured Qian interceptors were recently found in an old EU warehouse, those will provide a headstart in AMM capability.

Lastly, as a more offensive component and an acknowledgement that a speed advantage can be useful at times, the Hellhound Raider is being designed, a small corvette with long endurance intended for harassing commercial and support vessels, or detached warships in a pack. It's engines incorporate a novel form of emission shielding, designed to make the vessel less detectable. A heavy autocannon with high range will let it use it's speed to strike enemies from outside their own range - the armor is only really meant to absorb a few grazing hits. Finally, a non-reloading rack of missiles provides opportunities for long-range harassment, probe launches and stealth strikes.

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Hellhound class Raider (P)      3 000 tons       85 Crew       826.8 BP       TCS 60    TH 101    EM 0
7040 km/s      Armour 3-18       Shields 0-0       HTK 27      Sensors 8/11/0/0      DCR 2      PPV 10.4
Maint Life 4.37 Years     MSP 404    AFR 36%    IFR 0.5%    1YR 34    5YR 510    Max Repair 211.2 MSP
Magazine 24   
Fregattankapitan    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required   

Falk MP Hellhound Impulse Drive (2)    Power 422.4    Fuel Use 90.24%    Signature 50.688    Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 372 000 Litres    Range 24.7 billion km (40 days at full power)

Rheinmetall Heavy Autocannon Prototype (1x4)    Range 250 000km     TS: 7 040 km/s     Power 15-4     RM 50 000 km    ROF 20       
Magna Electronica Hellhound Fire Controls (1)     Max Range: 256 000 km   TS: 7 200 km/s     96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
Graumann Reactor R5 (1)     Total Power Output 5    Exp 10%

Cerberus Launch Rack (8)     Missile Size: 3    Hangar Reload 86 minutes    MF Reload 14 hours
Magna Electronica Hellhound Guidance (1)     Range 10.4m km    Resolution 7
Cerberus E ASM (8)    Speed: 34 667 km/s    End: 5.1m     Range: 10.6m km    WH: 4    Size: 3    TH: 173/104/52

Magna Electronica Hellhound Acquisition (1)     GPS 126     Range 10.6m km    Resolution 60
Kaiser Hitzelspitzel (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m km
Magna Electronica Detection Evasion System (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m 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

As the last power the Interstellar League gains the capability to design plasma engines. Their shipyards on Taíno are of limited size and they already have an agreement with the Martian Consortium that they will supply modern modules, technologies or entire warships to bolster their navy. As an indigenous construction project the plan is a series of patrol vessels for long-term deployments, able to cross and monitor the large distances between League worlds unassisted. Their primary mission will be detecting and intercepting alien or human incursions into League systems, with a secondary function as auxiliary warships. The resulting design incorporates the active probing system developed by the ex-Argentine exploration program, advanced sensors imported from Mars, and a heavy "Bulwark" shield generator, also courtesy of the Consortium.

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San Rafael class Patrol Vessel (P)      10 000 tons       272 Crew       1 626.2 BP       TCS 200    TH 1 320    EM 2 130
6600 km/s      Armour 5-41       Shields 71-1065       HTK 63      Sensors 55/11/0/0      DCR 8      PPV 28.8
Maint Life 3.32 Years     MSP 813    AFR 100%    IFR 1.4%    1YR 112    5YR 1 679    Max Repair 220 MSP
Magazine 18   
Capitán de Fragata    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required   

Interstellar Drives MP Impulse Engine (3)    Power 1320    Fuel Use 56.18%    Signature 440    Explosion 11%
Fuel Capacity 823 000 Litres    Range 26.4 billion km (46 days at full power)
Bulwark Shield Generator (1)     Recharge Time 1065 seconds (0.1 per second)

Casagranda Heavy Autocannon (4x4)    Range 120 000km     TS: 6 600 km/s     Power 12-4     RM 30 000 km    ROF 15       
Munguía Warning & Control Capital Fire Control 2 (1)     Max Range: 192 000 km   TS: 6 300 km/s     95 90 84 79 74 69 64 58 53 48
Interstellar Reactors 16MW Miniature Fusion Reactor (1)     Total Power Output 16.3    Exp 7%

Large Probing Projectile Ejector (1)     Missile Size: 2    Rate of Fire 850
Object Launch Electronics (1)     Range 5.6m km    Resolution 1
Active Probing Projectile (9)    Speed: 7 500 km/s    End: 5.2d     Range: 3 366.2m km    WH: 0    Size: 2    TH: 25/15/7

Zwiebel Electronics ASS3-35M (1)     GPS 1512     Range 35.1m km    Resolution 80
Zwiebel Electronics Radiation OmniSensor (1)     Sensitivity 11     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  26.2m km
Consortium Passive Signature Reception Array (1)     Sensitivity 55     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  58.6m 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

Taíno found itself in the possession of 200 Cerberus ASMs after gaining it's independence. Instead of scrapping them for Gallicite, a series of system defense crafts will be built to utilize them: Short-ranged, armed with ten missiles each and buildable without the assistence of dedicated shipyards. A better use for the relatively recent missiles than scrapping them for Gallicite. Once spent, replenishments for the ships may or may not be manufactured, Taíno has poor missile technology. Outfitting the craft with kinetic beam weapons instead is an option.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2143-2144, Faction Profile: EU
Post by: Zap0 on January 17, 2021, 01:04:35 AM

   2143

Several years ago a Callistoan explorer detected an alien fleet blockading a jump point. The location is revisited, and the alien fleet is still there. This time the ship gets closer and gets a thermal image. If the internal temperature of the alien vessels is similar to our own, the hull readings suggest ~600k tons of ships to be present - more than the entire PRL navy, and several times more than the expanding Callistoan navy. The aliens send emissions towards the explorer which are judged to be an attempt at communication. The explorer retreats again without incident. In light of their overwhelming strength establishing communications sounds like a good idea, and an envoy vessel is being prepared.

(https://i.imgur.com/By8xlGT.png)
Uncomfortable amounts of warships near Novokuzneck.

Some time later a pair of their ships is detected orbiting two moons a few systems further out. No alien populations are detected.

In people's minds not all the human powers are seen equally, some are much more or much less prominent than others. Everybody knows about the PRL and it's overbearing power - all on Earth are reminded of their splendor whenever they look up at the sky and see a blue-green moon with the lights of their cities on every part of the body. That, and they like to project themselves as being present and powerful. By now the People's Republic of China is so long in the past that Lunar has become the common term associated with them. "Moonie" or "Moonface" are common derogatory terms. Contemporary fiction is full of enigmatic elites living on the moon or another close-by but unreachable body, either in hiding or not, with those elites secretly manipulating events on Earth and other places to follow some morally ambiguous master plan.
Earth, or the Terran Primacy, aren't seen as a power with a war fleet and extrasolar outposts yet, still having much of their grassroots movement character that defined them during the struggles on Earth. They are planning to make themselves known to both the other powers and the common man in the coming years.
The Martian Consortium holds much economic and military power and military strategists have long been aware of them as a threat or factor, but due to not being a government per se they aren't put on the same level as the other powers in people's minds. The absorption of the civilian administration on Mars actually lends them a decent amount of credibility when it is advantageous to appear like a government for some purpose or another. Their navy is still somewhat famous, but is typically seen as the Martian navy, fighting for the freedom of the colony. Even with the awareness that the Consortium controls much of what goes on on Mars it wouldn't be strange for the average person to think the fleet is an arm of a civilian Martian government.
The Republic of Taíno is probably still more famous than the Interstellar League it founded and dominates. Everybody knows they achieved their freedom from the crumbling European space power, but few would know that they have warships, tensions with Japan, or that they are looking to expand their navy.
In the national thinking that was still prevalent until now Japan often received attention as an independent colonizing force, but their navy is publicly near invisible as it played no part in the war over Venus. Conversely, Callisto (still colloqially called Russia, especially when referring to the people rather than the state) has a lot of focus on them as a military power after Venus and the tragic civilian casualties that were caused there.

A PRL explorer makes an interesting discovery two jumps behind Quanzhou: five wrecks, two of them identifiable as known Qian classes. One of the wrecks is in deep space near the orbit of the planet with the others, but it can be identified as belonging to a static orbital weapons platform of known type. How did it get there? Was it destroyed during relocation? Do the Qian still actively relocate their bases, or has the wreckage been floating here for millenia? Who destroyed the Qian? Just when PRL xenologists thought they had a grasp on the Qian menace a new mystery opens up. The system itself contains two nearly habitable planets, one of which the wrecks are orbiting. A set of newly built scout craft is being sent from Luna to investigate the inner system for remains of Qian or any other activity before the survey ship is sent in.

(https://i.imgur.com/zO9GZ5J.png)
Qian stations in deep space?

Another Qian encounter is made by a Martian geosurvey ship this year. Shortly after 12 Qian signatures appear on an intercept course, the crew of the USS Barnards Star is forced to realize that the numerous anomalies scattered throughout the system are actually the remains of other ships that had the same fate as they. The loss of the vessel rekindles interest in the survey carrier concept under development in the Consortium.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZrIGL51.png)
A veritable graveyard of the Qian's victims.

Usage of the word Terra in place of Earth has become a fashion among Earth inhabitants which follow the Terra Prime movement. The use of the word Terra for the planet conveys a certain acceptance and endorsement of Terra Prime ideology, and Terran is becoming something akin to a national identity that a growing number of people can identify with.

   2144

Internal disputes and power struggles in the Martian Consortium have left supply levels dangerously low. There is no reason to speak of a shortage yet, but upon completion of the latest cruisers it was discovered that insufficient supplies had been delivered to fill ship stores. The split focus of the ordnance industry also leaves missile racks empty, as was to be expected. The Consortium's shipbuilding capacities seem to outpace their ability to arm them.

(https://i.imgur.com/I4M0YXI.png)
The supplies and ordnance will be ready... eventually.

---

A Terran destroyer has intercepted an Interstellar League (INL) freighter in Sol, carrying back minerals from Aguascalientes, a system on the other side of Sol from Santa María. A minor, originally Argentine mining colony in the system has ended up in the hands of the INL after the confusion that followed the Independence War. The Terran commander demanded the ship turn around and return the cargo to it's point of origin, as he would not allow ships registered with an "unrecognized government" to do business in Sol. Seeing no alternative the freighter captain agreed to turn around. After escalating the incident up the chain of responsibility, speakers for the Terran Primacy reiterate the view that the Republic of Taíno and the Interstellar League are illegitimate governments, and that no INL traffic will be tolerated in Sol.

Given their rethoric, hostility from the Terran regime is not surprising, and the mines in Aguascalientes are ultimately in a strategically indefensible position. Still, the 600 units of Gallicite that were on that transport still need to be moved to Taíno, one way or the other. The next cargo ship sent will receive an armed escort and take a path approaching the Aguascalientes JP in Sol from the outer system instead of taking the shorter route through the inner system LPs by Earth.

Terran intelligence, using the old EU observation post in Salto, have detected the transit of an INL task group into Sol and correctly surmised that they would be in Aguascalientes to escort their ship out. A trap is set, three ships are sent to ambush the ships when they jump back into Sol. This, in turn, is detected by Martian observation stations, who inform their allies.

(https://i.imgur.com/YRM419K.png)
Huh, where are they going?

It appears that the Terrans either don't have an accurate picture of the INL escort flotilla or they believe they can stop them with just three destroyers. Either way, the operation is to continue, neither INL nor Martian analysts believe the Terrans have the will to start a fight and surmise they are just posturing.

They are proven wrong as the INL convoy transits and the Terran vessels immediately begin to fire for a few good, long salvos at point-blank range before ceasing fire and opening comms. The Terran commander restates that no INL traffic is tolerated within Sol. The "negotiations" are short, but long enough to have the INL escorts recover from jump shock, and finally end when the captain of the destroyer Salient opens fire on the Terrans. They are caught off-guard, but quickly return fire once more, but not before the destroyer Trabzon is taken out of the fight; The heavier guns of the Salient and concentration of fire quickly overwhelming the ship.

(https://i.imgur.com/v2sdSo5.png)
The lethality of modern weaponry at point-blank range can't be overstated.

With one of their own down the shocked Terrans lay in a reverse course, quickly ending the engagement as the Adana class escorts of each side fall out of each other's short range. The INL ships form up on their transport again and eventually transit out of Sol with no further attempts by the Terran vessels to cause trouble.

The INL squadron suffered considerable armor damage spread over their ships from the "welcome barrage", but otherwise managed to fulfill their mission, Gallicite for another ship is making it's way to Taíno. It seems the Terrans were also able to fulfill their goal: A new wave of propaganda is sweeping across Earth, highlighting the cold-bloodedness and amorality of the offworlders that destroyed a Terran ship. In a longer-term analysis, the INL admits that maintaining a mining outpost in Aguascalientes is not tenable if each cargo run is subject to Terran blockade attempts and would require an escort. Relocating the mines would require even more freight traffic through Sol, so an accomodation with the Consortium is sought where they take possession of the mines. The Terrans don't seem willing to antagonize the Consortium directly yet, despite also being considered a wayward colony.

(https://i.imgur.com/Psj5rUx.png)
Engagement summary box from here (http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=10419).

---

Faction Profile: EU
European Union (Historical)

General Outlook and Personality, Foreign Relations
The European Union was a supranational body of Earth nations and a major human power in the 21st and early 22nd centuries. The Union was involved in much colonization and interstellar expansion, both commercially and in the civilian sector. Modern successor states of the EU are the Interstellar League, the Martian civil government and the Terran Primacy.
Due to conflicts in the 2030s and 2040s, the Russian Federation was considered the primary antagonist to world peace by the EU, who eventually allied the Argentine Republic, a minor spacefaring power, to form a broader coalition against them. Otherwise EU relations tended to favor diplomacy over force, making it a relatively peaceful power. The EU was never part of a larger conflict until the Independence War against Mars and Taíno which eventually led to it's dissolution.
The disparate nature of the Union, giving voices to every minor nation contained in it, and failure to adapt political representation to a model suited for interplanetary governance, eventually led to paralysis and the downfall of the EU.

History

• 2050 - Beginning the Race to the Stars as a major power with recent war experience
• 2058 - Modern cryonics invented in the Netherlands
• 2060 - Mars colony founded
• 2061 - The EU launches Humanity's first military spaceship: The Eurofighter
• 2084 - The Hambach mining station commences operations
• 2089 - Hades class cruisers enter service
• 2090 - Jump point stabilization achieved. EU ships begin creating an expanding network of stabilized jump points
• 2097 - The EU enters an alliance with Argentina after the First Machholz Incident
• 2097 - Taíno colony founded on Santa María II
• 2105 - Joint EU-Argentine military research project, combining the best of each side's technology
• 2107 - Low-gravity Número Ocho colony founded
• 2110 - Tensions on Mars begin to grow: Nationalist sentiments stir
• 2113 - Participation in the Third Machholz Incident, countering the bulk of the Russian fleet without losses
• 2123 - The political system of the EU becomes increasingly paralyzed under the pressure of growing colonial importance and Earth's dependence on imported minerals
• 2123 - EU explorers find the alien Xining homeworld and are surprised to be greeted in Chinese
• 2125 - Participation in the operation to liberate Procyon's Rest from the Qian
• 2129 - The War of Independence
  Mars and Taíno declare independence, supported and emboldened by the Martian Consortium. Mass defections of ships and troops happen. Unwilling to heavy-handedly send the fleet to Mars a detachment is sent towards Taíno first. After harassment by Martian forces it is stopped by a combined Taíno-Consortium force in Salto. The remainder of the fleet is sent towards Mars, but the longer missile range of the Consortium wins the battle. The EU fleet is unable to restore control; The colonies have defended their indpendence.
• 2130 - The European Union is dissolved. Significant parts of Earth descend into chaos.

Military
At the beginning of the trans-newtonian age the EU was technologically lagging behind the Asian countries and concerned with immediately practical ways to contain Russia in space. As such, a large kinetic weapons industry blossomed in Europe, and all EU warships were armed with railguns and/or anti-ship missiles. The EU largely followed a fleet-in-being doctrine, maintaining a large navy but not necessarily intending to use or attack with it. Mutual deterrence by maximizing simultaneous launch capabilities kept an uneasy peace with Russia. The EU was the first nation to build cruiser-sized warships, the Hades class, which was considered very large during it's time. It was common practice in the EU militaries to source the manpower for garrisoning troops and fleets locally, a fact considered to have contributed signficantly to the mass defections to the colonial side during the Indepence War. The EU invested heavily into STO railguns for both anti-missile and anti-ship purposes.

Colonies

• Taíno, the EU colony on Santa María II, was the EU's most important extrasolar colony. In the 22nd century the planet was fully terraformed and experienced a prolonged economic upswing, quickly overshadowing the older Argentine colony on the planet. Taíno's economic self-sustainability would eventually allow it to give birth to the Interstellar League.
• Mars was settled early during the Race to the Stars and remained a major mining colony in the EU until it's end. The planet was formally a territory of the European Union, with the activities of the American companies (later the Martian Consortium) primarily coming in the form of private interests. The legitimacy of the PRL colony on the body was always in question and never formally acknowledged, though the colony itself was tolerated.
• The Hambach Mining Complex is a series of large mining platforms constructed in the 2080s. Designed to mine small moons and asteroids, the complex has operated in Sol, Santa María and the system of Bremen where it remains to this day.
• A number of other mining outposts without or with a small civilian population were operated by the EU, particularly on Sol comets and, later, asteroids in Santa María. The low-gravity colony of Número Ocho was the first civilian population living fully under artificial gravity.

Economy
The EU economy was mixed, relying on classical manned mining on Mars and Taíno, asteroid mining and civilian enterprises equally. Commercial shipping was an important pillar of the EU economy, with one of the "big four" of today's shipping lines, DB Schenker, originating there. (Another of the major lines is Bunt shipping, part of the Consortium, and the two largest lines are controlled by the PRL.)
European science was diverse, as allowed to be by the large research budgets the Union could afford. Lack of expertise in certain areas, particularly propulsion during the late 21st century, limited some of the more ambitious plans, however.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2145
Post by: Zap0 on January 23, 2021, 11:20:38 PM

   2145

The People's Republic of Luna (PRL) scout squadron sent to investigate the Qian wreckage found 2143 has indeed discovered the presence of another alien race in the system. Nine ships of 140k tons are detected in orbit of the first planet. They intermittently flash on and off their sensors.

(https://i.imgur.com/8JbQmJW.png)
Are these our Qian destroying aliens?

The third planet, the site of the remaining wreckage, is home to a Qian ground force signature of 15.7k. The alien ship in orbit suggests that there are either no STO units present (anymore), or that these aliens aren't hostile to the Qian, although they are the prime suspects for having produced the wreckage in the system.

(https://i.imgur.com/MVnN6jU.png)
How the other Qian defense station ended up in deep space is still a mystery.

Sensors with emissions that strong should not be able to see the PRL scout fighters at this distance, but it appears the squadron is detected regardless, perhaps through their thermal emissions. The frigate in orbit of the Qian planet is observed heading towards the past location of the scout squadron as the scouts move away to investigate to fourth planet. It appears they were spotted. The alien frigate moves at a speed of 8k km/s, faster than any known Qian vessel, faster than the PRL navy and definitely faster than the scout squadron. Still, the scout squadron manages to finish their mission unmolested. Command won't risk sending a survey ship for now, but a diplomatic vessel to find about more about these new aliens and the threat they pose is planned. As they seem quite distant from Human space it is not very urgent, however.

With the PRL expanding deep into space and supporting new fleet bases, scouting expeditions and the like, the logistics apparatus is working at capacity. The old supply ships are armed and armored military vessels, designed to escort the destroyers of days gone by at their combat speeds, which was to be their greatest advantage. Now speeds have improved, and what remains are inefficient support vessels with low capacities and advanced maintenance requirements, able to fulfill neither their mandate of escorting warships without slowdown nor managing the logistics of a growing empire. Commercial bulk transports and tankers are planned, but for now the existing ships must hold, as the PRL has expended all it's Gallicite constructing four cruisers and eight more escorts. Gallicite income is thin as the current mines in Chongqing are nearing end-of-life, but with their replacement location already being prepared and the rich frontier of Fùguó already ramping up output the future holds hope.

The Gallicite deposits on comet Uritorco in Córdoba are running low and mining rates are decreasing. The comet was the Japanese fallback Gallicite mine after the loss of Venus and has been heavily fortified by them, causing tensions with the Interstellar League which also established a mining operation there. The Japanese operation is shifting to Champaquí, another Gallicite-bearing comet in the system, while the League hopes to meet it's Gallicite demand through their new colonies on San Rafael and Burzaco, both far away from Córdoba.

---

Smolensk Operation

Callisto has found a new connection near the system with the double Qian bases of Smolensk, providing an easier route from Sol. The good news is that the expedition to attack those Qian bases, which is now being prepared with the first eight thrust block units done, can take a shorter route. The bad news is that other human powers are likely to find the system sooner now. All that remains is to destroy the Qian and dig in on their worlds first before, say, the PRL stumbles across Smolensk.

(https://i.imgur.com/i0unCev.png)
Yay! A new map connection that doesn't require large rearrangements of the map!

In November 2145 the fleet is being sent out to attack the first Qian outpost.

(https://i.imgur.com/QdfUCqm.png)
Japan detecting the departure of the Russian fleet

Japan still has a bone to pick with Callisto over Venus. Them detecting the departure of the main Callistoan fleet - consisting of their known old ships, not the newly constructed ones - presents an opportunity. Reconquest of Venus is the goal, but that seems too high a goal for at the moment. Dropships have yet to be constructed and the production of a new line of the 20m tall TSF mecha adapted for the Venusian environment is set to only even begin by 2148. All that assuming the current shortages of Vendarite, Gallicite, Uridium and Neutronium don't cause further delays.
So, as for current achievable goals, testing the remaining Callistoan forces in Sol is an option. The newly constructed vessels are known to use a modular clamping system, but little is known about their actual capabilities. A Callistoan mining outpost in Sol will be threatened with orbital bombardment and takeover to provoke a response. Bombardment of ground forces on Venus was considered, but the prospect of civilian casualties cannot be justifed without a clear chance of retaking the planet, for which new dropships are a necessity.
One problem is that the destination of the departing Callistoan fleet, and especially when and in what state they will return, are unknown, but at least a 2 months window of operations in Sol is assumed based on the time it took for the last Callistoan expedition to return. Enough time for the fourth and final Japanese escort destroyer to arrive in Sol from it's station over Neo-Kobe City. Starting a fight now after peace with Callisto was signed, especially if it doesn't have the goal of actually retaking Venus, is politically difficult for the Japanese government, but possible due to the small planned scope. Callisto's doctrine tends to have binary outcomes, making the operation risky. If a missile strike can't be defended, losses will be devastating. The operation is a gamble, but the prevailing notion is that this opportunity with the CAL main fleet away must be seized.

(https://i.imgur.com/k3DeX9d.png)
Earth is between Callisto/Jupiter and the CAL mining locations. Ships sent to Encke should be able to return to Earth in time if it is threatened.

The plan is, in short, to assault a Callistoan mining operation, see how and with what they respond, skirmish with these forces as far as possible and stand down without escalating the conflict too far. If successful, the targeted mining operation can be conquered as partial recompense for Venus.

Smolensk Operation Sol Operation

On December 6th the Japanese fleet is detected leaving Earth orbit, shortly after having received a newly arrived ship from Grand Bourg. The recent appearance of a Japanese scout craft holding position near Jupiter let Callisto know something was up. The Smolensk assault force is already too far out to be called back to Sol without refueling on the way, which would take time, so for now it's not recalled. The Japanese are escorting a troop ship, which makes them slow, making an intercept before they arrive at their destination of comet Encke possible. Their exact travel time is 65 hours, with a 370m km distance and 1576km/s speed. The distance from Callisto to Encke is 1150m km, but the thrust modules loaded up with missile launch modules have a speed of 7922km/s - 40 hours. That leaves an entire day for preparation, and that will be needed as the missile launch modules are only partially loaded with ammo. Eight thrust blocks and eight missile modules are available, presenting an awesome 680 heavy missiles simultaneous launch capacity. The Japanese assumption must have been that the Callistoan navy would be weaker with their old fleet out of system, but the new doctrine already brings 2.5 times the firepower to the table - if the new and unproven technology works as expected, at least. The four JAP escorts are expected to shoot down 120 missiles at best. Since saturation of their point defense can be achieved, it is decided to use the plentiful and old Pavlov C missiles for the first strike. Two modules will fire 170 missiles, leaving six modules in position to annihilate the remainder of their fleet, should it not turn around by then. On Encke itself there are two divisions and an anti-landing brigade of STO HERC cannons present, so the body can hold out for long enough for multiple strikes to be made from Callisto if needed.

Missiles are loaded up, the combat modules attached to the thrust sections, and 25 hours later the fleet sets out towards Encke, catching up the Japanese task group just 10m in front of the body.

(https://i.imgur.com/rTFYezW.png)
The fleet name is also the class name for the CAL thrust blocks, meaing motor or engine. Unicode support in C# is pretty cool.

At roughly the same time the Japanese task force detects the CAL ground forces on Encke and judges them to be 2-4 divisions in size, roughly as much ground force as will fit a single troop transport. They do not detect the CAL fleet approaching them, the scout shadowing them was left behind at the Jupiter LP for fear of being baited into their missile range on the other side of the LP.

Callisto completes calculations for their firing solution. The target fleet is known to move at a top speed of 5 208km/s, below the speed of their own ships, meaning they can keep sensor coverage and missile guidance on them at all times. The Pavlov C missile moves at 17 571km/s and has an endurance of 26 minutes, meaning that, should the target start to flee upon firing, the maximum distance from which missiles can be launched is just over 19m km. And so it is done, the distance is closed to 19m km and the ships Metis and Thebe unleash the ordnance loaded into their missile modules, then retreat back towards Callisto.

(https://i.imgur.com/LvMOVSw.png)
The Japanese skirmishing fleet detects the missiles on thermal sensors first.

170 incoming missiles are detected 1.4m km away from the fleet on thermals without the launch platforms being seen. Senior commander Mizumaki has a few seconds of time before the active sensor lock of the missiles can be established to decide whether or not to leave behind the troop transport and burn away from the incoming volley at full speed or not. Pulling range is a standard tactic to reduce the relative speed between you and the incoming missiles to allow the escorts to fire more interceptors, but there is also a precedent for the Russian fleet to target troop transports in an identical situation during the Third Machholz Incident. Commander Mizumaki decides to trust the information she received in her briefing and stays with the transport, given that although the incoming volley is larger than considered safe, it is also about 40% slower than expected. She is not sure what to make of the enemy apparently using obsolete ordnance against her. Little later the escorts begin their counter-fire.

(https://i.imgur.com/pcEnihp.png)
The Japanese escorts are loaded with captured Qian Interceptors, proving very effective against the slow Pavlov C missiles. At this point the AMM target ratio is adjusted down to 2:1 to prevent salvo overkill.

The interceptor fire is so effective, 404 interceptors fired in 5 volleys destroy all 170 missiles before they close to even 400k km. The Japanese commanders congratulate each other on having defended themselves against the attack. There is a bit of discussion on whether the operation should continue on course, as any follow-up attack would now have a better picture of their defensive capabilities and that the Russians would surely use more advanced ordnance next time. In any case, it is not expected that another strike will come in the next two days, as the enemy would have to return to Callisto and reload, so the task group will lay siege to Encke. Little do they know that this was only a quarter of the Callistoan fire volume.

Callistoan command is of course dismayed at the ineffectiveness of their first strike and has to adjust their estimates of JAP missile defense capability upwards. The remaining firepower on field should still be sufficient to defeat the enemy, as 510 Pavlovs remain in the tubes and each escort destroyer is now judged to be able to take down around 80 of them, based on where their counter-fire explosions started and ended. The future will require the use of more effective ordnance against the Japanese.
The go order for the second strike is given a few minutes later. Target selection remains the same, spread out over all six of their warships to discourage them from continuing the operation.

(https://i.imgur.com/Ov805M2.png)
There may have been some screaming when the second strike came on sensors.

As the second strike is detected Commander Mizumaki immediately orders the fleet to abandon the transport and head away from the incoming strike in formation. They had grossly underestimated the enemy strike capability and may now well pay with their lives for it. The escorts fire at their maximum rate, praying they can thin the wave enough.

(https://i.imgur.com/BNoYw6m.png)
Stemming the tide

The hostile salvo passes the troop transport, confirming that they are indeed aimed at the warships. Dozens of explosions take out a missile each every few seconds, but there are still hundreds more approaching the fleeing fleet. As the salvo enters their range, the destroyers fire their particle beams at long range to try and pick off a few more, knowing they will be able to fire again in the final fire phase. Twenty seconds later the final fire command is triggered, particle beams, microwave beamers and the escorting fighter squadron do their best and all ships execute evasive manouvers.

(https://i.imgur.com/7mNxaZZ.png)
Buttholes are puckered as the wave crashes against the final defenses.

109 missiles (out of 510!) were still left at the end there, and 41 make a connection. On most ships the shields absorb the hit, but the Ryujo, which had joined the fleet from Grand Bourg, is hit much harder. Damage control assesses all engine power lost, all ordnance storage bays blown out, most tactical systems disabled and various other damages. 81 crew are confirmed missing or KIA. The Japanese commanders congratulate each other again on their survival, but this time with a lot more sweat on their foreheads and any notions of arrogance towards the enemy thoroughly destroyed.

From detection of the salvo to impact the task group has managed to cross a distance of 575k km, increasing the time available for counter-fire enough for the fleet to survive by the skin of their teeth. Commander Mizumaki is subsequently commended for her battle tactics.

The Callistoan side also attributes the survival of the Japanse fleet to them opening the distance, highlighting again that speed is key, in both warships and missiles. They begin their trek back to Callisto to reload for an eventual third strike, but that does not seem necessary as the Japanese task force makes no further movement towards Encke, staying in position only until a tug can retrieve their most damaged ship. As far as Callisto is concerned, the mission is accomplished, their outpost safe.

Callisto comes out of the engagement with more knowledge about Japanese missile defenses, with their previous knowledge being limited to intelligence estimates and second-hand reports about them performing poorly in the assault on Procyon's Rest. There are two key pieces of information they are missing, however: The Japanese were using Qian Interceptors obtained from Procyon's Rest, which are more effective than even the current generation of their domestic interceptors. They are also a limited resource, once they run out, Japanese anti-missile capacity will drop. Secondly, the Callistoan forces never detected the fighter squadron that was with their fleet, they assumed they were only dealing with six destroyers. The only indication of their presence was an increased volume of low-power fire in the final defense phase, but that was attributed to changed secondary armament on the destroyers or lucky aim with those. Both these pieces of information could have been gathered by a sensor station on Encke. As it was, even the departure of the JAP fleet from Earth orbit only was detected by the single DSTS on Venus, which happened to be close enough to Earth. Mars also has a mining operation on Encke, and unlike the Callistoan one it's complete with tracking stations, which gave them a front row seat to observe this engagement.

The Japanese stopped to push further towards Encke as their primary goal of establishing the capabilities of the new Callistoan navy had been achieved and a further third strike, using faster ammunition or even just the volume of the first and second combined, would certainly have been lethal. Increased anti-missile capabilities are the main takeaway from this fight, but construction of more escort ships was planned regardless. The fighters, which are mainly intended to be a beam-range answer to the missile-armed Callistoan ships, proved their secondary use as anti-missile escorts, even if their total contribution was low and they were at the end of their three-day endurance. The slow speed of the troop transport that needed to be escorted proved to be a liabilty and provides yet more impetus for the military drop ship project that is still planned, although it's detractors say that a vessel dropping a mere 6k tons of troops is not enough. The destroyer Ryujo will be scrapped as it has lost all it's engines, and the budget is too tight to restore last-generation ion drives.

(https://i.imgur.com/Tci1lHX.png)

Smolensk Operation Sol Operation Smolensk Operation

The old Callistoan fleet has arrived in Smolensk and is ready to shoot some Qian. The fleet has of course been informed of the happenings in Sol and is glad that the new fleet was able to take care of it. At the same time, they're eager to prove their own worth. The first wrench in the works appears when the target Smolensk B-III comes into sensor range and reveals previously unknown ground elements on the surface. At 2 000 tons the signature is not very large, but should they mount space-capable weaponry on the surface orbital bombardment will be the only recourse available to allow a landing.

The old and proven fleet has been entrusted with 256 more modern ion-generation Pavlov E missiles to use against the Qian based on the estimations made after the probing attack, and launches them at the two stations in orbit. The first counter-fire takes down a salvo 1.6m km from target. Seven interceptor waves are detected taking down Pavlovs, but only an average of eight each. Final defensive fire absorbs another 99, leaving 112 Pavlovs to find their mark and turn the Qian stations into smoldering wreckage.

(https://i.imgur.com/Aj0v5Sj.png)
A bit of overkill, perhaps, but better than embarrassingly failing to achieve a kill.

The experienced crews catch something others might have missed: A single energy spike stands out among the fire profiles of the Qian's defensive fire. The strong blast seems to have come from the surface. A large unit making up two thirds of the Qian ground force is marked as an STO unit. The sensor ship Ryavnyy is detached to investigate the Qian base in the A component for a similar ground presence while the fleet carefully moves towards the planet in the hopes of attracting fire and establishing the maximum range of that new ground weapon. The fleet closes to 200k km from the planet, but no fire comes - perhaps the Qian are banking on the fleet getting even closer so they can do more damage at once. Seeing how the Krivak missile frigates have no armor to speak of, they don't dare to go any closer.

(https://i.imgur.com/NIR0Vzx.png)
Okay, is this just a bug where they move at 1km/s, thinking they're ships?

The Ryavnyy sent to scout the other Qian base in Smolensk makes a perplexing discovery the likes of which the PRL has, unbeknownst to them, also made recently: Qian defense stations in deep space. The pair of stations which should be in orbit of the fifth planet is, in fact, drifting off through space in the direction of the B component. The stations being elsewhere will certainly make it easier to explore and exploit the Qian base on the planet, especially as there is no ground force present.

(https://i.imgur.com/JFFGPE2.png)

Title: Race to the Stars - 2146 Mining Comparison
Post by: Zap0 on January 25, 2021, 01:44:19 AM

   2146 - Mining Comparison

Minerals are the foundation of power and industry. Comparing yearly income rates can give us a good impression of how well an empire is doing and who is in ascendence - or decline.
Duranium is, fortunately, not a scarce resource for anyone right now. But Gallicite, the mineral required for the construction of engines, is considered to be the gold of the 22nd century and the main limiter for most empires power projection.

Interstellar League (INL) (https://i.imgur.com/DiejxmS.png)

Total: 11 484
Gallicite: 944

The INL has a relatively high income of secondary minerals, but a low Gallicite flow at the moment. They have established no less than five distant mining outposts on various Gallicite-bearing bodies, some of which are still ramping up production.

Japan (https://i.imgur.com/xCSpFcf.png)

Total: 7 570
Gallicite: 874

Japan is feeling the effects of losing the Venusian mines hard. Keeping themselves over water with second-hand Gallicite sources, they are running with very tight budgets as a number of secondary minerals are almost out. Their Vendarite, Uridium and Neutronium income rates were slashed as the facilities were repurposed for new Gallicite mines.

Martian Consortium (https://i.imgur.com/36sBXaR.png)

Total: 23 637
Gallicite: 1 910

The bulk of Martian income comes from Mars itself and isn't actually needed - there are hundreds of thousands of Duranium and Corundium units in storage already. For a long time Martian Gallicite was fed by a Kuiper-belt object they had sole control over, but that is now starting to run out. For a long time the Consortium was content to stay in Sol and forego interstellar expansion, but mineral scarcity is driving them out - belatedly, some say. They are partnering with the INL in founding important long-distance colonies. The INL does not have the resources to make distant colonies productive quickly or protect a widely spread empire, the Consortium gains access to prime mining spots and an ally to use in their power games in Sol.
The rise of Mars seems to stagnate, but should the Consortium be able to reuse the expansive Martian mining industry that may well change once again.

People's Republic of Luna (PRL) (https://i.imgur.com/ZMxXq7q.png)

Total: 27 799
Gallicite: 3 221

The recent shipbuilding boom after Magneto-Plasma drives became practical has led to somewhat of an arms race in shipbuilding with the Martian Consortium that left both empires' Gallicite stocks depleted. Both parties are at the same time struggling with the depletion of their primary Gallicite sources, although the PRL evidently has an easier time shifting to a new source than Mars.
The arms race is considered to have been won by the PRL, who now have 600k tons of military ships in service compared to the Consortium's 457k. The Consortium's ascendence to a great power in recent decades was bought with stored up minerals and potential and seems to have reached it's zenith, while the PRL's industrial investments into mines, more mines, and even more mines is paying off exponentially.

Terran Primacy (https://i.imgur.com/dUwDCeY.png)

Total: 4 502 (25 840 in mid-2147)
Gallicite: 408 (3 159 in mid-2147)

One of the primary challenges for the Terrans to establish themselves as an enduring spacefaring power will be ensuring a steady mineral flow from out of Sol. That said, the current numbers are misleading, the Hambach asteroid mining complex is currently finishing up an end-of-life asteroid. The rate will rise by 2 500 units once relocated to the next asteroid in 2147 - until that one runs out too. Asteroid mining income naturally fluctuates, but is also dependent on suitable mining locations, and the number of Gallicite-bearing asteroids in Bremen is steadily decreasing. The Primacy intends to supplement the asteroid income with more steady automines and orbitally manned mines on Bremen's planets and pick up an old EU plan to expand into the neighboring system of Hannover and exploit the Gallicite of two small planets and a large comet there. The plans are almost exclusively concerned with securing long-term Gallicite sources as there is enough of all other minerals except Neutronium on Terra to last decades yet. Any future secondary mineral demands will then be met by the asteroid miners.

Callistoan Regime (https://i.imgur.com/FTW1hGq.png)

Total: 13 973
Gallicite: 2 670

Callisto is doing well between their income from conquered Venus and the Novokuzneck colony. At the moment they're concerned with consolidating their holdings rather than expand to new ones. There are still a number of challenges Callisto faces, such as low wealth income, the challenge of defending Solar and colonial holdings and an awkward fleet doctrine highly dependent on prime mining income and industrial output for effectiveness. If they can overcome these challenges these numbers indicate that in a few decades they will grow from a minor power into something more.

(https://i.imgur.com/71MMDu0.png)
Race comp 2146

Title: Race to the Stars - 2147-2148
Post by: Zap0 on April 18, 2021, 04:36:38 PM

It's been a while since I touched this - blame RL. Had most of the update written out already after the last update, but wasn't quite satisfied with it as things repeatedly failed to take a dramatic turn. Two more peaceful years it is :D

---

   2147-2148

Salto LP2 Ambush

(https://i.imgur.com/sqFaD1I.png)
The ones who entered a shipbuilding race against another now enter a maintenance shortage together.

The Martian Consortium knows well that the People's Republic of Luna (PRL) is having a Gallicite deficit after the recent bouts of shipbuilding, much like they themselves have. The CEOs of the Consortium would like to deepen their competitors crisis. It is known that their mineral transporter from Chongqing always takes the LP2 in Salto on it's way back to Sol, even now that the LP has shifted far enough from the Wuhan JP that a direct route would be shorter. Consequently, it spends a lot of time in Salto away from the trade routes and can get "lost" without anyone really noticing.

During the next scheduled shore leave and maintenance cycle of the pair of frigates stationed on Concordia, the Consortium's civilian colony in Salto, the ships don't stay inside their docking bays and instead receive a skeleton crew of black ops operatives. Their mission is to take the ships to the LP the target is expected to be approaching, wait until it appears on sensors, retreat back through the LP and jump through again when the target has closed the distance, blasting it away from close range. If all goes well, they will never have the time to send a distress call or identify their attackers.

The ships move into position on the LP under radio silence, but the plan fails. Calculations for the arrival time of the PRL freighter were off by a bit, not more than 10 or 15 seconds, and the black ops unit enters the LP at virtually the same time as the freighter on the other side. As the target is now in the inner system and and a mere 200m km from Concordia and the busy civilian traffic there, the operation is aborted. Although it is unlikely they ever saw the frigates, another attempt won't be made in case they noticed something was up and increase security for the next run.

(https://i.imgur.com/8Ne5phb.png)
The ships cross-jumped the LP, never seeing another. The killers jumped to LP2 and the target, the PRL's FT Luda II, jumped into the inner system at the same time.

A few months later a different cargo convoy eventually returns to Luna and unloads 6k Gallicite from Fùguó, the Rich Frontier, allowing PRL maintenance workers to get back to it. The People's Republic of Luna was very careful to not show to outsiders just how far the situation had deteriorated before. A significant number of ships have suffered reduced readiness. Now the situation can improve again. The Chongqing delivery was never critical and only 263 Gallicite in size. The Consortium was unaware of just how far the yield from Chongqing had decreased.

(https://i.imgur.com/CXSRcgP.png)
The most critical overdue repairs being carried out after the load from Fùguó has been processed.

---

San Rafael First Contact Situation

A strange sensor ping is received by the small San Rafael asteroid colony. The format and intensity of the ping does not correspond to a known human signature, so it is assumed to be alien in origin. The Interstellar League (INL) sends a ship to investigate, as the position of the ping is very strange. It came from between the JP to the known Qian system of Quanzhou and the Bremen JP, leading into human core systems.

The Terran force in Bremen, the system before San Rafael, detects the lone INL destroyer coming to investigate. Given that it's well-known that there is a whole squadron of ships on station in Bremen, it's assumed that the mission of the vessel has nothing to do with the Terran mining operation in Bremen. Two ships are sent to follow the INL vessel and learn it's mission.

The INL ship, DD Isparta, is holding position on the San Rafael JP, in case the UFO comes through, when the two Terran ships come on sensors. As the Isparta is an Adana D and faster than the incoming Adana Cs of the Hambach Protection Force it can safely retreat, but that would leave it's mission unfulfilled. The Isparta transits into San Rafael to try and find the alien.

(https://i.imgur.com/akdvAhb.png)
The INL was always the most likely to come into contact with new aliens first.

The alien is found easy enough, or at least three other alien ships are, as they are in the spot from which the original sensor ping originated. As the trio detects the approaching vessel (it is assumed), a new sensor ping is received some 30m km north of the current position. There the initial alien frigate is found. After a short while and a few more sensor pings, the frigate sets out towards the other ships. As that was the direction the Isparta just came from, the assumption is that the ship wants to attack and battle stations are sounded, but then the alien frigate harmlessly passes by. These are the kinds of misunderstandings that happen with a lack of communications. Were the Isparta missile-armed, it may well have fired on an approaching vessel of superior speed. As none of the four alien ships seem to be going anywhere, the Isparta settles down nearby and prepares to act as a relay to open just one such communications channel. In the meantime Taíno considers sending more forces to San Rafael, as only an old autocannon battery protects the colony in the system and the three smaller alien vessels outmass the Isparta by 3:1 and have a higher speed.

Four weeks later communications make a breakthrough and the alien vessels identify themselves as belonging to one Solway Confederation. They acknowledge the Isparta's request they leave San Rafael, but don't follow through. The additional warships will be there in a week. The Terran ships that were sent after the Isparta never jumped into San Rafael after it for fear of an ambush on the other side (and the possibility of setting one on this one). With five more INL warships approaching the JP they give up their position. They deem it unlikely they will attack Bremen now, after having shown their hand.

Over a month later, after the INL reinforcments have been staring down the alien visitors for a while, the aliens transit, revealing a previously unknown stabilized jump point at their location. That would explain how they got here in the first place. Since an expeditionary force is already assembled, the fleet goes to say hello. On the other side is an uninteresting orange dwarf system, and the alien squadron, of course. The alien ships are heading away at a slow speed, escorting the large work barge in their midst, which is being suspected of having just performed the stabilization of that JP in the first place. The expeditionary force follows at a respectful distance, transiting twice more until they land in a system where the return JP is unstabilized. Evidently the next target for this work detail. The expeditionary force will have to await the arrival of a jump ship to return home - luckily the INL navy operates one - and turn the task of finding the homeworlds of the Solway over to the survey ships.

---

Smolensk Campaign

At about the same time as the INL starts following the Solway aliens back into their systems, the Smolensk Assault Force returns for the second time, intent on wiping out the remaining two Qian stations. They are easily found, having drifted another 55m km from their last sighting. They are cleared as efficiently as the last ones, albeit this time with slightly cheaper Pavlov D missiles. A seperate expedition will come to clear the ground weapon on planet B-III and then there is nothing standing in the way of full exploitation of the system.

Ruins are located on Smolensk A-V, the planet which was abandoned by the drifting Qian stations. As there are no defenders on the surface, an expeditionary team lands and secures a whopping 12k Qian Interceptors, significant loot. It looks like domestic interceptor production can be stopped for the foreseeable future, especially if the base in the B component also holds this much. All the other powers which got Qian Interceptors from their hand-holding party on Procyon's Rest are certain to be baffled when they find out the Callistoans also managed to get their hands on Qian Interceptors!

The anomaly on B-II, one planet further in from where the first battle was, turned out to hold a disused alien sensor station, apparently set up to study the Qian. The investigating xenologists estimate setting up a research facility here will outright double any research efforts in the field - a great find indeed. A colony on the small desert world is planned, the body can be made habitable with only minimal atmospheric modifications.

Mineral-wise, Smolensk is not a great find with a lack of any accessible Gallicite. B-II, the desert world with the sensor outpost, has the only deposits worth mentioning: Duranium, half-accessibility Neutronium and trace amounts of other minerals. The survey of B-III, the super-earth with the Qian ground turret, is still pending.

---

Lipeck Diplomatic Mission

The diplomatic vessel has arrived from Callisto and has taken up position near the large alien fleet blockading the Lipeck-Novobirsk JP two jumps out from Novokuzneck. The mission of the DIP Kara will be to establish communications with the force and try to find out as much as possible about their intent, capabilities, allegiance and to judge if they're a threat to Humanity, Callisto and the Novokuzneck colony in particular.

(https://i.imgur.com/4ZEIo6e.png)
They didn't take very long to parse our comm protocols, as they've met humans before.

Not two weeks later the alien task force identifies itself as belonging to a polity called the Sukabumi Alliance. They don't divulge any details about their mission. This is the same species that the Japanese made contact with after one of their ships popped up next to Neo-Kobe twenty years ago. Naturally, they had never shared the communications codes they used to communicate with the Sukabumi or the location of the JP leading back to their space, and given the current bad relations with Japan, it's unlikely they ever will. So be it, should the Japanese decide to exploit this only-known-to-them connection and anger the Sukabumi, Callisto will not warn them of their overwhelming military strength encountered here.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2148 Alien contacts overview
Post by: Zap0 on April 21, 2021, 11:38:08 AM

An overview of the alien contacts of Humanity

Xining

The Xining Monarchy was the first live alien contact of Humanity. Encountered in 2110 by a PRL (People's Republic of Luna) ship and kept a secret for years, Human-Xining relations are relatively cool these days as they've come to view Humans as unreliable. They were not amused that the PRL kept their existence secret and lied about representing all of Humanity, do not like ships approaching their homeworld and dislike the Human neutrality in their war against the enigmatic Split.

In popular culture the Xining are known as the Chinese-speaking aliens, as the first non-PRL ship making contact with them was greeted in the language. Conspiracy theories have it that they are secretly allied with the PRL, promising to keep them in a dominant position among the Human powers, but in truth they like the PRL least out of all their Human contacts.

INL (Interstellar League) and Martian interests are settling in systems near the Xining home system. These systems are not claimed by the Xining, but there are voices saying Humanity should not expand that way because of the potential for future conflict. These are not the voices of those in power, however.

(https://i.imgur.com/T8OR5cM.png)
INL-settled systems highlighted. First contact with the Xining happened at a totally different location of the jump network.

Split

Ten years after first contact, the Xining fought a destructive war against another alien empire termed the Split. Not much is known about them and communications could never be established. Their proper name is unknown, even to the Xining. The Xining have lost the war, but were able to hold on to their homeworld and major colonies. Witnessing this conflict was an important lesson for the fledgeling Human powers, as it changed the way space warfare was thought about. Particularly the PRL, who had a ship get caught up in the fighting, restructured their navy with alien wars in mind as they were the greater threat.

Qian

The Qián tǐ are not a live species anymore, as far as is known. Human contact has been solely with their automated defense systems, some on once settled worlds, some on purely military outposts. Their homeworld has been located, presumed so because of the immense Qian fleet in orbit of an otherwise habitable world going through an extended nuclear winter.
Through observation and sharing of their findings with other alien races Mankind has become reasonably certain that they pose no active threat if not approached, and are starting to be seen more as an obstacle rather than the menace they were made out to be during first contact.

Sukabumi

Suddenly appearing through a dormant jump point near the Japanese Grand Bourg colony one day, the Sukabumi Alliance is well known due to the Christmas Miracle, where communications with the alien ship with unknown intentions near the undefended Japanese colony could be established within record time. Peaceful relations were established, but as usual with alien contacts, much secrecy is being kept around the precise location of the alien JP in Grand Bourg or what the Japanese found in their expeditions into Sukabumi space. And what they found indeed: The homeworld of the Sukabumi was home to an enormous belt of wreckage, with none of their ships in sight. The Japanese assumption is that their fleet was destroyed by some unknown enemy that spared their homeworld itself, but unbeknownst to them Callisto has recently found a very large Sukabumi fleet stationed on a JP elsewhere in space. The two Human enemy nations are unlikely to share that information with another.

While there has been a good amount of cultural exchange with the Xining, communication with the Sukabumi is still somewhat rudimentary, and sometimes ships of theirs couldn't be contacted when entering Grand Bourg and had to be destroyed. Unfortunately experience with the Xining has shown that even better communications and an open cultural exchange is largely something relegated to a niche academic interest, as the alien ways are often too strange to make sense of in human terms.

Bannovs

A new race encountered only a few years ago by PRL scouts after the attack on the Qian in Quanzhou. A handful of their ships were observed carrying out operations in a distant system with Qian wreckage - likely the handiwork of this species. Their ability to take down Qian presences and the observed speed of 8k km/s on one of their scout ships suggests high tech and high capabilities, exactly the kind of threat the PRL aims to prepare for. As the PRL only had a limited amount of contact through their scouts, communications with these aliens have not been established yet.

(https://i.imgur.com/mQQPpQ9.png)
PRL exploration beyond Quanzhou. System #372 was the encounter system with the dismantled Qian outpost.

Solway

The new guys on the block. A stabilization squadron of theirs was found in 2147 to have opened a passage into a INL-settled system not far from Human core space. They too are considered a potential threat due to their high observed ship speeds, but as so often with aliens, not much about them is known.

(https://i.imgur.com/vGMMQ4u.png)
The passage into their space is unknown to the other Human powers. Future exploration into this region of space has been tasked with finding their worlds. The INL never ventured into Quanzhou themselves after the reports of Qian activity there.

Others

There are also a number of other encounters made by Human explorers over the years. Some of them could be attributed to Qian, some as likely encounters of other races, but many are still a mystery: Unexplained energy spikes and weapons fire, mystery wrecks and artificial structures in space. Explorer crews often come home with stories so fantastic and outlandish that they seem unlikely to be true, but should they indeed be there may be as many as a dozen alien species active in the stellar neighborhood.

Then there are also a number of species which aren't alive anymore, the Qian taking a special position among those. While major alien ruins haven't been found yet, a number of smaller digs and excavations have unearthed a number of curiosities, some of which with great scientific value. First among these is the multidimensional complex on the surface of Procyon's Rest.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2149
Post by: Zap0 on April 26, 2021, 05:19:54 PM

    2149

INL (Interstellar League) ordnance manufacturies are now producing Martian missiles under license, as the Martian market is struggling to keep up with demand. The produced ordnance will either be sold to the Martian Consortium or used in Mars-built ships acquired for the INL navy.

---

PRL Interstellar Ambitions

A new branch has been inaugurated into the People's Republic of Luna's (PRL) armed forces, the Xeno Operations Branch. Seperate army units, specially trained and equipped to wage surface wars on alien worlds and against alien species. A host of the older and slower warships, with speeds nearer that of the large dropships at the core of the force, have been transferred to the new command. Their first task will be the invasion of the Qian base in Quanzhou. Ten division and their respective logistics chains are in training.

PRL settlement of Fùguó, the Rich Frontier, has exceeded the most optimistic forecasts. Despite it's distance from Sol, over 40m citizens are registered to the Gallicite-rich system only 13 years after it's discovery, living on two moons of planet III and the habitable main world, Fùguó Prime. Mineral output from the system alone already exceeds that of minor powers and will exceed that of the "regular" Gallicite automining operation in Baotou as soon as enough equipment from Luna arrives.

(https://i.imgur.com/9RQD1WV.png)
Colonies and outposts of the PRL near the end of 2149. Being the largest human power, they maintain the most extrasolar presences as well.

The PRL is struggling to get enough infrastructure to Fùguó quickly enough to cover the explosive growth of it's colony. Local refueling and maintenance capacities are badly needed due to it's distance from other PRL bases, the system is only really reachable due to the refueling station on Procyon's Rest already. A repair yard, central administration, naval facilities, more than just a token ground defense force, even a full gravimetric survey of the system are still lacking. Fùguó is in a very vulnerable stage of it's growth. The PRL may need to react early and decisively if it looks like another power is making a move on it.

(https://i.imgur.com/v9CdHFx.png)
Fùguó on the map. PRL maintenance locations highlighted.

The many fleet bases and refueling points established by the PRL recently are meant to provide the foundations for Humanity's first truly interstellar empire. An empire that is not centered on Sol, or any other homeworld, and is spread out over a region of space instead, where the loss of one world does not necessarily need to mean the end of the other worlds, too. Power projection over that space is the first requirement for this. With the Gallicite crunch after recent shipbuilding rounds supplies hauled out to bases were hauled back to Luna; It is evident that the envisioned network of fleet bases will require a major investment to stock all with supplies, create a distributed fuel refining infrastructure and expand the capacities laid down to actually support fleets, not just explorers. The crunch has also highlighted the inadequacy of existing PRL logistics ships, which are an overworked collection of ancient military vessels combining fuel and supply duties, with low capacities of either. A dedicated series of bulk haulers and fast couriers is a must. Add to that scouting and monitoring requirements for all the space it intends to operate in and the PRL has it's development plans laid out for the next few decades.

---

Smolensk Campaign

The fourth Callistoan foray into Smolensk has happened. Pelting the Qian ground weapon with barrages of interceptors yielded results, even if the light warheads were insufficient in number to completely destroy the target. One of the two escorting Krivaks, standing by with their heavy missile racks, was needed to finish the job. It is quite likely that any installations the units were defending was destroyed along with them. With the many thousands of Qian interceptors captured here in Smolensk it seemed a good use for the now-obsolete domestic interceptor ordnance.

(https://i.imgur.com/oAHNPYP.png)
The seperate STO Ground Forces Signature, once reading 1300 tons, is no more.

Once spent, the depleted ships head towards the already secured Qian base in the A component to load up with some of just these Qian Interceptors for transport home, leaving only one Krivak and the command frigate in orbit of B-III while the troop transport, having already arrived from Novokuzneck, is called to unload.

(https://i.imgur.com/eaZdCxo.png)
A 10k ton division of a thousand infantry units in power armor, all slaughtered in the thick mists of some unforgiving alien world.

The disembarkation process went smoothly, all units got in formation and advanced on the enemy. Upon treading across some unknowable perimeter, the defense systems of the compound sprung to life and began the slaughter. The mobile units of the Qian moved with ease through the thick mists and sharp inclines of the local terrain, efficiently cutting down squadron after squadron as the soldiers in their heavy armor struggled to hit anything. The whole assault was over within an hour, the occasional lucky hit taking down not nearly enough of the defenders.

Once more Humanity had been reminded of the harsh and unforgiving nature of space. Now that there were no more of their own troops mingled in with the defending war machines, the missile frigate Fidonisi emptied it's tubes onto the battleground, burying the fallen soldiers under torn-up gravel and the scraps of their foes. Another expedition would have to be put together to finally secure this outpost, as not all of the remaining defense systems were disabled even in that final salvo. The lesson learned here today is not to underestimate an opponent who was quite literally built for the terrain they are defending.

---

The Japanese Situation

Japan has been having tough times. Ever since the loss of Venus budgets have been tight in virtually every area. The plan is to change that with the reconquest of Venus and the liberation of it's population, for which rough preperations have been ongoing for years. It is now time for a concrete plan and timetable.

Military analysis:

There are six particle-armed Tama-class destroyers in service. Four of them are an older model. Doctrine usually calls for refits to keep the ships up-to-date, but with the last upgrades quite a while ago due to the ongoing Gallicite shortage and the Venus war, all major systems would need replacing. As the ships are meant to fight other beam-armed opponents by outranging and outspeeding them, that means outdated warships can't fulfil their role anymore as they'd get outsped or outranged. Additionally, the current threat the navy is supposed to counter is the missile-armed Callistoan one, not the heavy beam-armed PRL one anymore. As such the decision is made to shrink the attack destroyer squadron from 6 to 2, keeping only the two most modern Tama H class ships around. The remainder will get scrapped or sold. Already a deal has been struck with the INL to sell one of the Tamas for 25,000 units of Uridium, allowing the reallocation of 20 automines towards Gallicite. Negotiations with the Terran Primacy are ongoing.

The downsizing of the attack destroyer squadron opens up extra capacities for more escort destroyers, which will be needed to counter the Callistoan navy, as has been demonstrated in the skirmish over Encke a few years ago. The remaining three ion-engined escorts can be kept in service, as they do not depend on their movement speed for their efficacy, but the goal is to build up to 8 escorts again, with 6 as the minimum. Reserves of Qian Interceptors are too low for comfortable supply of all units with 1330 interceptors remaining. Good numbers of domestic interceptors are in storage, but they are not as efficient.

Twenty heavy fighters have been built and form the third leg of the navy. Their high speed (9k km/s) is meant to enable them to chase down the fast CAL missile ships and take them down in close quarters, as they lack direct-fire energy weapons to defend themselves with. The fighter's small size will make detection and targeting difficult for the enemy. When not attacking, the nimble craft can be used to intercept missile volleys, providing an extra layer of defense. There are no carrier platforms and the craft only carries air for three days - they are meant for use in Sol.

A greatly contentious issue is that of a dedicated dropship. There is no question that one is needed anymore, the Callistoan deployment of STO guns on Venus has made one a hard requirement for any campaign to retake the body. An ordinary troop transport could not stay in orbit for a day or two while the troops disembark, a dropship can launch a simultaneous orbital insertion and immediately retreat. The question is in the nature of that dropship. Designs for military dropships have come and gone over recent decades, the latest one was even ordered, but then canceled. As such, there is a yard immediately available to build a cruiser-sized military dropship:

Code: [Select]

Meiya class Dropship      20 000 tons       276 Crew       2 287.7 BP       TCS 400    TH 2 720    EM 2 130
6800 km/s      Armour 5-65       Shields 71-532       HTK 93      Sensors 6/0/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 0
Maint Life 0.58 Years     MSP 330    AFR 914%    IFR 12.7%    1YR 572    5YR 8 577    Max Repair 111 MSP
Troop Capacity 6 000 tons     Drop Capable   
Kaigun-Chōsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 6 months    Morale Check Required   

MP Plasma Drive (17)    Power 2720    Fuel Use 70.0%    Signature 160    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 849 000 Litres    Range 10.9 billion km (18 days at full power)
Rutherford Field Generator Delta71 A (1)     Recharge Time 532 seconds (0.1 per second)

Hiraseli Short-Range Sensor (1)     GPS 40     Range 5.4m km    Resolution 10
Matsuhita Electric Thermic Detector B (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

It's defenses aren't particularly impressive, but they likely won't need to be, as the Callistoans employ lighter STO weapons than most other powers. The important part is the presence of a shield that can recharge between drops: With just 6k drop capacity repeated runs will be needed to build up a force on Venus. A round-trip from Earth can happen every two days, much better than the two-week round-trip times Callisto had during their invasion. Building multiple dropships is out of the question due to the Gallicite cost. Part of the risk in having to do repeated drops comes from the uncertainty of the naval battle that is certain to unfold and the potential for loss of control of Venus' orbit. Dropping enough troops to have a fighting chance on the ground at once would be preferrable. Design studies show that the alternative, an armored commercial dropship after the PRL example, would also not be deliver an appropriate amount of troops at once (which is likely to reach the 100k tons mark), be more susceptible to damage buildup from repeated drop runs due to lack of shields, and would cost a comparable amount of Gallicite due to needing to move much more mass in addition to a higher cost in Neutronium for more armor and more parallel drop bays, which the nation can't really afford either.
The order is given to start construction on the Meiya as soon as resources are available.

That leaves the ground unit situation. The first Venus war was fought mostly in the normal-pressure underground tunnels connecting mines and surface settlements, very little action happened on the surface proper as the crushing pressure, corrosive winds and extreme temperatures made combat extremely dangerous - any kind of damage would usually be enough to cripple a surface vehicle and kill the crew inside. Only the large TSF Mecha were sturdy enough to be used on the surface. An entire army (100k tons) of troops has been trained and equipped with equipment specially designed for the conditions on Venus, and a new generation of TSF is set to enter production before 2150.

Operational Outline:

Simple. The CAL navy will be challenged with the aim of drawing them as far as possible from their base, perhaps using a similar scenario as with the Encke skirmish. This will enable their ships to be run down by the fighters once the Callistoan missile strike has been absorbed. If the CAL fleet can't be detected while firing, as was the case during the Encke skirmish, the fleet may need to be ran down back to it's base. If it does not return to base, it poses no threat as it can't reload. Once naval superiority has been established, the landings on Venus can begin. As long as our side can reinforce and the enemy can not, an eventual victory on the surface is assured.

Sufficient ground troops are technically already available, but another 3760 Gallicite is needed on top of maintenance and ordnance requirements to build the minimum force deemed necessary for the operation. Regular Gallicite surplus is around 700 per year, so six years are projected to pass before the new vessels are ready. 2155 - 23 years after the invasion - is slated to be the year of Venus' liberation.

Economic and political considerations:

Maintaining and maximizing Gallicite production is of the highest priority. Some Gallicite will be able to be repurposed from decommissioned ion engines, but rising maintenance requirements during the build-up and the need to create new supplies for the new ships and occasional returning exploration cruisers will more than counteract this boon.

The relocation of shipyards to the Neo-Kobe colony, and most types of TN-manufacturing following that, is now possible due to the growth of the colony and a good idea in case open warfare with Callisto threatens these vital industries. Now, the Japanese space power is often considered to be a relic of a bygone age of nation-states. All other nations that once set out in the Race to the Stars changed forms, some less peacefully than others. This has always come after the focus of economic activity shifted away from Earth. There are founded fears that Japan will undergo a similar transformation, especially with the specter of the Terran Primacy steadily depriving the nation of influence on Earth. Nobody wants to lose the Home Islands, but with Nippon dependent on it's colony, the Terrans controlling the rest of the world and the PRL's whims just a stone's throw away, continued independence may prove untenable.

Fulfillment of Goals:

In the Faction Profile from 2137, 12 years ago, Japanese goals were stated as:

• Reconquest of the Gallicite mines on Venus - The economy has found a new equilibrium, a probing attack on the Callistoans has been executed and informed several decisions, a concrete plan moving forward has been formulated.
• Naval plans for beating Calliso - The 20 fighters built as a counter are, frankly, not enough. Construction of other ships has priority, however, and the fighters will play a subsidiary role in the larger fleet.
• Exploitation of the alien sensor station in the Kurashiki system - The first research facility has gone into operation on the dwarf planet this year. A minor mining and terraforming effort is also underway, all enabled by LG infrastructure brought from Neo-Kobe over the past decade.
• Probing Sukabumi space and their capabilities - No real progress has been made on this. Passive monitoring is now in place on their entrance to our space and other key locations and diplomatic efforts have been continuing, but proper scouting of the systems in their space where ships were lost requires new capabilities such as a small jump-capable scout, and development priorities lie elswhere. Given that the first expedition encountered only a massive field of wreckage in orbit of their world, finding out their threat level is considered a lower priority.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2150 Faction Profile: TERRA
Post by: Zap0 on May 20, 2021, 04:30:13 AM

    2150

Callisto is pulling in more Gallicite than it can use at current, due to budget deficits. Much of recent industrial output was used to improve the regime's financial infrastructure, but with the moons small industrial base that only helped little. The core problem is the tiny amount of commercial shipping under control of the regime.

(https://i.imgur.com/s20OXrj.png)
Progress?

Callisto's atmosphere will finally become breathable in about 6 years time, after decades of greenhouse-gas generation. Once a hydrosphere has been established and the need for special housing infrastructure becomes obsolete, a colony on Ganymede or Io can be established. Although it would take precious shipping capacity to Novokuzneck and Smolensk away, it should stimulate the commercial sector enough to put the financial worries firmly into the past. If only it would be clear just how long a hydrosphere will require to take hold.

(https://i.imgur.com/1rdwNNA.png)
Only the INL (Interstellar League) sees comparable numbers due to similar civilian shipping problems. All others, even small Japan, make Callisto's annual budget from freight shipping taxes alone.

Callisto of course knows a counterinvasion of Venus is coming, as this is an issue debated in public Japanese political discourse. Politicians have it on their agenda. Unfortunately the army is one arm of the regime that has suffered as a consequence of the budget cuts, and a defense of Venus on the ground is deemed infeasible. What money there is is being invested into another run of thrust blocks. The next fight for Venus will be decided in space. There will still be a refresh of the ground troops, especially in light of the losses in Smolensk, but it's a secondary priority.

---

Wuhan Anti-Piracy Operation

Tensions between the Terrans and their wayward colonial subjects are rising again, as an INL civilian mass conveyor has been left drifting in Wuhan with several crew dead after an assault by what seems to be Terran privateers. The distributed nature of the INL makes them very dependent on their shipping sector, so they've announced increased patrols and retaliation "with all appropriate force". As such it didn't come as a big surprise to the privateer ship Garmr, appraising prey on the Wuhan-Salto JP, when the INL patrol destroyer San Rafael jumped through.

Small-scale piracy and armed vessels in private hands have been a thing for over 70 years at this point, and the advances of technology and the general increase of the wealth of mankind are steadily lowering the barriers of entry for private starships below the scale of the major civilian shipping lines. This new breed of state-backed Terran privateers is a size bigger than those minor pirates, sporting corvettes with military-grade armaments and impulse drives. That must be what emboldened the privateers when they opened up on a destroyer more than three times their size.

(https://i.imgur.com/shEWu2c.png)
The San Rafael quickly lays in a pursuit course as the privateer pulls distance from the JP.

The San Rafael is the most advanced warship the INL has, having left the docks just a few months prior. It has a speed competetive to the war fleets of the major powers and advanced Martian electronics, and even it's fresh crew is able to navigate the vessel and fire on their target only seconds after having cleared the jump point.

(https://i.imgur.com/8m8zVTJ.png)
More guns than you

The counter-volley penetrated the raider's thin plating, taking both engines and the weapon systems with it, ending the fight in one attack. Being disabled, the Garmr surrenders. The privateers had made a rookie mistake in sitting right on top of the JP and will now pay for it by spending their lives in chains.

The news on Taíno were already alight with stories about the successful anti-piracy operation when a second raider, the Cerberus, appeared on the San Rafael's screens, approaching from the inner system. Not responding to hails, the second raider kept closing in. The San Rafael was still engaged in securing the Garmr for transport to Taíno, but if these pirates wanted holes in their hull too, they could come and get them. The Cerberus reversed course as the distance between ships shrunk to 167k and began firing. The lone battery on the raider proved unable to cause much damage at this range, the few impacting projectiles barely damaging the San Rafael's advanced Martian shields. The crew of the San Rafael, unable to fire back, now understood why the second pirate had chosen to engage: They outranged them. Perhaps they hadn't known and only hoped. They also had a slight speed advantage, which made for a potentially devastating combination.

The Cerberus briefly reversed course and fell to under 90k km distance, further than they had intended. The crew of the San Rafael used the opportunity to plink away at the Cerberus before their speed advantage pulls them out of their 120k weapons range again.

(https://i.imgur.com/tJVVyhy.png)
Reversing for just a second delivered the Cerberus to 87k distance, 33k closer than they meant to be. Having a speed advantage of 442 km/s, they'll remain within enemy wepon range for 75 seconds.

(https://i.imgur.com/aXaD5vn.png)
The armor status of the Cerberus after two volleys from the San Rafael. Despite poor accuracy, the volume of fire of the larger ship threatens to overwhelm the light plates of the raider.

40 seconds into their extraction out of the San Rafael's fire range - not that they have a timer like that aboard the Cerberus - the armor is penetrated and the reactor gives. A thruster follows the volley after, ending the fight. The closer range had afforded them the opportunity to bring the enemy shields down to half, but the mishandled attempt to drop closer cost the crew this battle. No longer able to escape, the privateers aboard the Cerberus offer their surrender and join the same brig as the crew from the Garmr who they'd meant to liberate.

As the INL prize crews repair battle damage and prepare both raiders for travel, the Terran handlers of the privateers meet. An overabundance of bravado and a corresponding lack of professional precision was to be expected. An option to escalate by intercepting the San Rafael with Terran military units is put forward, but rejected as the stakes are not high enough to warrant an escalation. The INL reaction at least confirms that shipping is the point to hit with them, and intelligence on their newest ship class could be gained.

---

Other happenings in 2150:

Every power has only low stocks of Neutronium, the primary construction material for heavy industry. After the general hunger for Gallicite, it's shortage is the second most bemoaned subject, and has been for decades. There are however few initiatives aimed at procuring a significant amount of the mineral, as more industry does not help when one does not have the input to use it. Building capacity is not the problem, the Gallicite to make use of it is. This is now changing with the PRL planning a large-scale Neutronium mining operation. With Fùguó and the regular Baotou automines ramping up production Gallicite income levels are up 75% over the 2146 level. Humanity's largest shipyard complex is about to be expanded even more.

Machholz, it's large Corundium deposits once the cause for several bouts of fighting over the comet, is nearing the end of it's useful life, with several factions pulling out their equipment and redeploying it elsewhere. It is the last of the great commercial mining endeavors that once transformed Human economy. The enormous PRL mining operation on the body will still putter on for a decade or two at appalling efficiency until the last drop has been squeezed from the body, but it is certain that this rock will be no cause of further conflicts anymore.

(https://i.imgur.com/FOOPyId.png)
A new passage is explored, landing the explorer 400m from the enemy's prized mining colony.

Galactic irony has delivered a Japanse explorer with a bounty of immense strategic value: A secret passage into the unprotected backyard of the enemy.

(https://i.imgur.com/FRZH068.png)
The new passage on the map, a dormant Jump Point only findable from one side.

A stabilizer is being dispatched to secure passage for the fleet.

---

   

Faction Profile: TERRA
   Terran Primacy (2150)

General Outlook and Personality
The Terran Primacy is a pan-nationalist Earth state, now controlling most of the planet. The Terra Prime movement took the desperate masses by storm after the downfall of the EU and the sharp decline in wealth arriving on Earth after the independence of the colonies. Terra Prime views are proud and militaristic, viewing Earth as the cradle and eternal capital of Humanity and positing that mankind should be united, centralized and all colonies arms to execute Earth policy and increase it's splendor. In reality they're unlikely to realize these visions anytime soon as they are only a middling power. Being a new nation born through struggle, they have achieved something of a unity on Earth through the reestablishment of order and public investments. Now they are looking to space to assert themselves and increase their power. The Primacy is led by Primarch Vappu Miettinen, effectively dictator of Earth. She has been called a ruthless and uncaring psychopath, which may not be far from the truth.

Foreign Relations
Relations with the other powers range from bad to at best neutral. The Primacy is openly hostile to the INL and would be to Mars too, if only they didn't have a larger fleet and were so close to Earth. The independence of Mars and Taíno that sparked the Terra Prime movement still fuels much of that hostility. Opinion of Callisto is not much better as they are the ones who had forsaken the people of the Russian motherland.

Terra-Luna relations are quite peculiar. Both powers see themselves as rightful rulers of mankind and should be fundamentally at odds with another, but don't let these grand ambitions get into the way of realpolitik. There is indeed much overlap between their policies and interests, not the least of which is the shared enemy of Mars. The prospect of an unholy Earth-Moon alliance frightens the Consortium and is one of the reasons they don't want to push the PRL too hard. The only real point of contention between Terra and the PRL is the latter's control of China on Earth.

The Primacy is pressuring Japan, the only other remaining power with a presence on Earth, and has already stripped away much of it's previous sphere of influence in east Asia. The Japanese and their homeward tendencies would make for a good ally to the Terran empire, although they'd prefer the relationship to be that of vassalage or absorbtion. Knowing the small power is pressured, they offer security and help against Callisto on one hand, and threaten to suffocate and invade the Home Islands on the other.


History

• 2130 - The European Union is dissolved after Mars and Taíno successfully defend their independence from the polity. Significant parts of Earth descend into Chaos.
• 2133 - The "Terra Prime" movement gains steam, managing to deflect resentment between earth states against the offworlders that had declared their independence.
• 2139 - After the movement unites much of Earth, Vappu Miettinen is made Primarch of Terra.
• 2143 - "Terra" becomes the official name of Earth in the Primacy.
• 2144 - Terran forces stop an INL freighter in Sol. A Terran ship is destroyed in the ensuing fighting, keeping anti-offworlder sentiments running high.

Research
Terran tech is good, and with recent investments into public education it's only going to become better. Even with the instability of recent years and emigration of entire governments and those on their payrolls, there are still a lot of people on Earth, including many private laboratories that would be subcontracted by other powers. Total research output even surpasses the PRL at over 30 laboratories. Recent negotiations with Japan highlighted Terran advancement: In a bid for Terran Vendarite, the Japanse had offered to share their interceptor technology as the Primacy had shown interest in light of it's doctrinal requirements. The Terrans were thoroughly unimpressed by the Japanse sales pitch, as their Shuriken AMMs don't even reach the effectivity of Qian Interceptors which the Primacy already has a stock of. Domestic models could exceed those by a significant margin. It became clear that the Japanese could only offer know-how and doctrinal experience, which is applicable as their domestic interceptors operate under the same maneuverability-based principle as the Terran prototypes. Their opposite are speed-based projectile interceptors like the Qian ones or their Martian replicas.

More generally, the Terrans have good kinetic weapons and industrial technology in exchange for atrophied energy weapon tech. That last point is something they're looking to change, as longer-ranged and turreted energy weapons are a requirement under the new doctrine. As a stopgap measure while domestic industries catch up, Japanese particle weapons will be imported for the planned run of cruisers - the Japanese got their Vendarite deal after all.

Military
Military buildup is one of the primary goals of the Primacy. The establishment of a large, regular army is already well under way on the surface, the expansion of the navy, not so much. The current space force consists of two slow cruisers and nine outdated escort destroyers, four of which on permanent station in Bremen. Bremen and Procyon's Rest have decent-sized fleet resupply points. Having taken over most of the old EU logistical assets, the Primacy is well situated in that regard and only lacks modern warships. So far a series of raiders to be put in the hands of privateers have been built and the old EU cruisers have been refit. Now it is time to use that new shipbuilding experience for an entirely new run of warships. Seeing that the economic reality seems to be a permanent Gallicite shortage of all powers, the Primacy has envisioned a fleet doctrine using slower, less Gallicite-intensive ships, sacrificing the speed advantage at the design stage. Instead these ships will carry more weapons and armor. There are some requirements that come with a slow doctrine, such as the need for long weapon ranges. The old EU ships are rather short-ranged. Development of proper long-range weapon systems will take a while, but as a first step the Hestia class has been designed:

(https://i.imgur.com/26CNs6n.png)
Figured seeing the design screen with the component list might give a different perspective on other people's ship designs rather than just seeing the summary.

Hestia is, in mythology, the sister of Hades, the name for the other Terran cruiser class. She represents family and domesticity, the hearth and the state. All values espoused under Terra Prime ideology, with the hearth and homeliness underlining the defensive and slow nature of the ship, staying near home. More practically, it's envisioned as a heavy direct-fire combatant with a focus on range to avoid getting kited. The missile tubes give a chance to fight back in case one does get kited or can add to the volley of missile cruisers. It should do well against beam-weak fleets if it can force an engagement or current kiting doctrines like the Japanese, whose weapon it is using. It's weakness would be a faster beam-armed combatant with better damage output at short range, like the PRL navy.

Current anti-missile ships are the railgun-based and therefore speed-dependent Adana-class escorts, which are to be replaced by a series of interceptor launch destroyers.

Code: [Select]

Daimonion class Escort (P)      12 000 tons       326 Crew       2 224 BP       TCS 240    TH 1 037    EM 2 130
4320 km/s      Armour 6-46       Shields 71-532       HTK 141      Sensors 8/0/0/0      DCR 4      PPV 50
Maint Life 1.74 Years     MSP 463    AFR 288%    IFR 4.0%    1YR 187    5YR 2 805    Max Repair 210.0 MSP
Magazine 690   
Fregattankapitan    Control Rating 2   BRG   AUX   
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months    Morale Check Required   

Terra Impulse Labs MP Impulse Drive Unit (3)    Power 1036.8    Fuel Use 100.44%    Signature 345.6    Explosion 13%
Fuel Capacity 712 000 Litres    Range 10.6 billion km (28 days at full power)
Terran Shield Generator (1)     Recharge Time 532 seconds (0.1 per second)

Interceptor Launch Port (50)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
Wasp Interceptor Guidance (5)     Range 24.3m km    Resolution 1
Yellow Jacket B AMM (680)    Speed: 37 600 km/s    End: 0.9m     Range: 2.1m km    WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 363/218/109

Active Perimeter Scan System (1)     GPS 168     Range 24.3m km    MCR 2.2m km    Resolution 1
"Cockroach" Redundancy Radar (2)     GPS 7     Range 4.7m km    MCR 422.7k km    Resolution 1
Kaiser Hitzelspitzel (1)     Sensitivity 8     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  22.4m 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
The nearest equivalent to the planned design is the Japanese Yayoi class which, despite identical mass and defenses, only has 20 instead of 50 interceptor launch tubes. The increased armaments from cutting back on engine tonnage are very noticable here.

Colonies

• Earth, save for PRL and Japanese-controlled enclaves in east Asia, is under full control of the Primacy. It is the center of all things, just as it should be.
• The Bremen system houses the old Hambach asteroid mining complex in it's two dense belts. While the Gallicite deposits the complex has been moving between for decades are declining, there are also a number of more permanent settlements in the system now. The primary settlement is around the first planet, a scorching venusian world so close to it's parent star that it takes up a full 20° in the sky. Local construction facilities are slowly expanding the orbital habitat station network to allow ever-more of the planet's rich crust to be accessed. The world also serves as a collection point for minerals mined in the belts and the other planet and has facilities to permanently house a naval squadron, making it the most important extrasolar colony of the Primacy. The Primacy is not looking to found civilian colonies that can have their own ambitions and attempt to break away. All expansions of the population in Bremen are strictly tied to workforce requirements in the mines and refineries. Although expensive, a population in an orbital habitat station is much easier to control than one on the surface of a large planet.
• Hannover is the neighboring system behind Bremen and just before Callisto's Novokutznetsk. Plans to exploit the system's various Gallicite-bearing bodies have been around since before the EU collapsed, but only that the Primacy has achieved some state of stability they are pursued. Of note is a short-period comet with 420k units of Gallicite on it that is marked to receive orbital mining stations.
• Terra wields a good amount of influence on the research planet Procyon's Rest, having a fleet base and a decent-sized military there, contrary to the initial treaties that posited the world remain largely demilitarized to ensure lasting peace between the five powers on it. At some point there will be a fight over Procyon's Rest, and the Primacy makes no efforts to avoid it for it intends to win it - planets shared with other powers are it's trauma.

Economy
The defining factor of Terra's economy is it's continued dependency on offworld minerals. Almost all income comes from Bremen, making the passage back to Sol through Wuhan and Salto important. There are a number of deposits still untapped in Sol, but either hard to exploit or only of unimportant secondary minerals, not the big cahoonas. This makes Venus attractive, it's Sol's very own Gallicite well - controlling it would mean a much reduced dependency on extrasolar shipments.

Terra has a surprisingly large amount of influence on all bodies throughout Human space. After all, every Human has come from Earth at some point in the not-so-distant past. It also turns out that some types of corporations are slower to move to the stars than others, and Terra is still a major hub for commercial traffic, putting large swaths of civilian shipping at their disposal. This makes financial problems a non-issue.

Goals, active and planned projects

• Expansion of the Bremen mining operations into Hannover, the neighboring system, due to the declining Gallicite deposits in the Bremen asteroid belts and the availability of more steady supply there.
• Influencing Japan. Japan would make a good ally, a good subject or a good new province - either way, a small, independent nation based on Earth simply existing does not fit into the self-image of the Primacy. They are weak enough to be influenced and should be molded to fit our designs.
• Development of technology for the new naval doctrine, meaning long-ranged energy weapons, turrets and missiles. Particle weapons, like those bought from the Japanese for the first new cruisers, are more of a stopgap and not the end goal - heavy lasers are.
• General expansion of the navy. We require more ships to defend ourselves and bend others to our will.
• Remind the colonials of their place - the eventual, if far-off goal, is to make all the independent powers pay Terra their dues again, but the INL is first in line due to their relative weakness. A fight against Mars can't be won yet, so limited engagements that don't call upon them to defend their ally yet are the plan. Raids on targets of opportunity, further sponsorship of privateering and perhaps the takeover of a few minor outposts.

Title: Race to the Stars - 2151-2152
Post by: Zap0 on September 30, 2022, 04:55:37 PM

Surprise continuation after 1.5 years!

---

    2151-2152

Smolensk Campaign

Another military expedition of 11 ships has arrived in Smolensk from Callisto, filled with tools of war. Hopefully the 43k tons of ground pounders and tanks they carry will be able to make sure this will be the last expedition needed to secure the system. Only a signature of 300 tons remains visible from orbit of Smolensk B-III after the last orbital strikes, and the first landing squadron estimates some 400 infantry-sized units and associated support units remaining. The landing is messy, and units get immediately assaulted by the machines that had observed their approach and were lying in wait for them. Once all units are landed, the Qian units don't stand a chance against the numerical superiority of the Callistoan divisions though, and a few short days later, the planet is declared secured. Another 24k Qian interceptors are found in underground storage cells, but no active installations could be recovered. The ordnance lift and the surrounding region was flattened by the preceeding orbital strikes already.

A salvage vessel is part of this expedition. Many of the command and control systems of the platforms were still intact, and there is one component in particular that stands out amongst the others. It's apparent purpose is to project a field of backscatter towards hostile targeting systems, making the vessel it is installed on harder to target accurately. Although the effect of the recovered Qian component was too small to defend their vessels fully, this does present a promising research lead. Current Human targeting systems are considered near-impossible to fool, so the Callistoan navy being equipped with such devices would be a surprise for an opponent. Perhaps countermeasures for future combat with the Qian can be developed, too.

(https://i.imgur.com/QTPIbqp.png)
A nice haul for just four orbital defense stations.

(https://i.imgur.com/CrW8n9r.png)
The advances in technology are not unsubstantial for the small nation. Will the Callistoans develop an appetite for alien ship wrecks?

With the final victory over the Qian in Smolensk, the survey of the system could finally be completed. There are some additional deposits of mainly Corundium on B-III and one of its moons, but nothing more. Just like with the base in the A component of the system, there are some minor ruins that can be investigated, but the expected gains from them are small.

Exploitation of the Smolensk system will be difficult for the small Callistoan state, mainly because of its distance, being some ways even behind the already rather distant Novokuzneck colony. Since there are no outstanding mineral deposits, mining on Novokuzneck, Venus and various Sol comets will continue as before. A small research outpost will be established on the planet with the alien sensor station, but the movement of infrastructure and installations will take away from the shipping capacities growing Novokuzneck.

---

PRL Xenointelligence Campaign

The PRL (People's Republic of Luna) is beginning a new campaign to gather information about alien forces. The first mission is sent towards the first encounter area with the Xining and Split.

(https://i.imgur.com/fAL8Mrj.png)
The stealth scout squadron appears to have remained undetected.

A Split fleet is quickly observed on one of the JPs leading to their (presumed) home system. It consists of ~316k tons of vessels, or more than twice that if the six largest ships turn out to be battleships instead of supply barges as is assumed. A more accurate assessment of their types and capabilities is not in the scope of this mission; The scouts are just meant to touch base with as many points of interest as possible and build a profile about extent and sizes of alien spread.

The Split homeworld reads ~820k tons of indeterminate ships and very large shipyard and ground unit signatures. The thermal signature of the colony has increased by 73% compared to the last reading 30 years ago, and the shipyards have grown by 128%. For comparison, the emissions of the Luna colony, heart of the PRL empire, are at a third of the strength of these readings.

(https://i.imgur.com/26UqcK6.png)
The difference in scale between these alien powers and humans is worrying.

It appears the small PRL scout fighters approached undetected - the last time a Human ship approached this world, all vessels had left orbit to avoid detection. Unfortunately it appears that the squadron was detected at some point while making their scans, as a frigate flotilla set course towards the scout squadron when it turned to scan one of the Split colonies in the inner system. A game of cat and mouse ensues, but the scouts are ultimately destroyed as a Split fleet caught up to them at the exit JP where they had to wait on the jump tender to transit out of there again.

(https://i.imgur.com/YoiMC0I.png)
The Fury type is classed as a combat cruiser, it's armament similar to a PRL cruiser. It's observed speed is, at 4.5k km/s, slower than even the Jade Rabbit class cruisers that were introduced just around the time of first contact with the Split 30 years ago. All the ships in the task force here were scanned in orbit of their homeworld just a few weeks ago.

Aside from the Split home system and associated fleets, there were confirmations of outlying presences:
1 Small Split ground force
1 Medium Xining ground force
1 Medium Xining colony with medium ground force
1 Small Split colony with a medium Split ground force and a small Xining ground force
1 Split patrol ship that ran away as soon as the scout squadron jumped into it

Most of these colonies were known before. It seemed their conflict some time ago had not resulted in the destruction of one or the other species or resulted in much territorial changes. That was good, that meant alien wars could stop somewhere before they became total and genocidal. What is still unknown is the connection towards the Xining home system from this region. The system itself has previously been discovered through exploration of a different region of space, but the JP that connects the Xining homeworld to the Split systems, including the system of first contact, still needs to be found by a survey cruiser braving an expedition into this inhabited part of space.

There are no pressing take-aways from the intelligence gathered on the Split fleets. Most of their combat ships seem to cruise at around 4.5k km/s, decidedly under the combat speed of the modern PRL navy. Only two destroyer-sized vessels were observed at 7k km/s, just above the speed of the PRL navy. These ships may just be scouts or interceptors, or they may represent the next generation of the Split combat force. While that possibility may present a problem in the future, the main problem is and remains the sheer size of the alien fleets. On paper, the PRL has a naval tonnage of 560k. Only 256k of that are actually modern warships - and that number is still significantly above that of all other Human powers, except perhaps for the Martians. Current doctrine emphasizing naval expansion and maintaining the balance of power between Human nations is reinforced by the intelligence gathered in this expedition. As competetive numbers to even one alien species can't be guaranteed, even if these ones do not seem to possess a technological edge, the other Human fleets can be of use as a shield in the case of an alien invasion. Therefore they must be preserved and destructive intra-Human wars avoided.

The PRL is in negotiations with the Japanese regarding the sale of their share of the Qian interceptors captured on Procyon's Rest. PRL escorts don't use interceptor missiles, so they have little use for them. It is in the PRL's interest to see the Japanese navy, whom they see as a likely ally against alien threats, survive, so providing them with defensive weapons makes sense. There has been some difficulty finding something the Japanese can offer in return, though.

That problem is solved when a PRL survey cruiser shows up near Neo-Kobe in Grand Bourg and transits into Sukabumi space, the location of the JP already known to the PRL due to an intelligence coup in 2138. This happened over Japanese objections, as they had always refused to share the precise location of the JP with the other powers for fear that they might provoke the aliens. The next day, the PRL negotiation head let the Japanse know they were prepared to release the interceptors to them in the interest of good relations. It was unlikely they Japanese would have agreed to give them access to the JP, but sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission. The move had demonstrated two things: That the PRL was the one to dictate the terms, and that they do not need assistance to take what they want.

On the other side of the JP, the Alpetragius - the most modern PRL survey cruiser, just launched - finds the Japanse-Sukabumi diplomatic mission. It begins charting the system, but as neither the Japanese nor the Sukabumi themselves are likely to divulge the location of the JP leading to their homeworld, it'll be some time before can find them and get more detailed info.

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Quanzhou Campaign

After nearly a decade of preparation leveraging the large amounts of resources the PRL can muster, an invasion force has been assembled to land on Quanzhou-A VI, also called Zhēnjùn, the base for the first alien ships Humanity had found some 50 years ago. The initial attack on the Qian encountered here was a failure, in large part due to the overbearing strength of the surface weapon emplacements on said planet. A renewed expedition in 2137 destroyed the mobile ships of the Qian, leaving only the immobile surface weapons and thereby opening up the rest of the system to exploration and exploitation. Although Quanzhou has taken a back seat in PRL development plans due to the great success of the Fùguó colonies, an army of 125k tons of ground forces has been mustered, complete with five 100k ton armored commercial dropships. Specially built and trained for the fungal jungle terrain of Zhēnjùn and organized into the new Xeno Operations branch of the military, they are about to be tested in battle.

(https://i.imgur.com/yEsIuJy.png)
The PRL drop fleet assembled before the attack.

The five large dropships move at over 3.5k km/s and are designed to weather incoming fire. Their high speed - for a transport ship - is intended to reduce the time that an opponent has to fire upon them during approach. They are escorted by the remaining seven Dolphin-class destroyers that have a speed of 3.75k km/s. Most of them are veterans of the first abortive attempt at attacking the planet. They will escort the dropships during the approach, hopefully drawing fire away from the dropships. The idea is that the Qian units recognize these vessels as a known threat and preferentially direct their fire against them. If any survive, they can provide orbital bombardment support as soon as the STO weapons have been neutralized by ground forces.

The attack is still a gamble. Although estimates and simulations show a chance of success, it is far from certain that the dropships will be able to weather the surface batteries well enough, or that the ground force - of which only parts may make it to the planet - will be able to overcome the defenders. PRL intelligence is aware of recent losses the Callistoans suffered on the ground against the Qian in their first landing. An entire division lost is hard to hide, after all. The fresh XenoOps troopers should be considered superior in quality to an old Callistoan infantry unit, at least.

Should the operation fail catastrophically, the fallback option is orbital sterilization of Zhēnjùn via nuclear bombardment.

In the early morning hours of May 4th, Lunar time, the fleet nears Quanzhou VI. The 200k km mark is crossed, then the 100k km mark... and none of the expected laser barrages come. Are the Qian holding their fire until the ships enter orbit for maximum damage?

(https://i.imgur.com/vtnBr4C.png)
The previously identified STO units are still being detected. Why are they not firing?

The Qian hold their fire, and the drop goes off without a hitch. The dropships immediately retreat as planned, and the destroyers take up position in orbit to support the ground troops, given the apparent lack of fire directed against them.

(https://i.imgur.com/8mAa5zk.png)
Orbital targeting remains difficult, but takes out one of the inactive Qian STO units in this report.

The fighting goes as well as could be expected; no overwhelming resistance is met. Around 1500 Infantry-sized Qian and some 200 larger combat units are estimated, with both sides technologies seeming evenly matched. The PRL XenoOps infantry proves effective in combat, with the supporting armor elements having difficulty maneuvering in the difficult terrain of Zhēnjùn. Losses on the PRL side are still about three times as high as those of the Qian, who are making good use of their prepared defensive positions, but have trouble penetrating the armor of the PRL vehicles.

After a week of fighting 20k of the 125k of PRL drop tonnage have been ground up in the fighting, with the Qian signatures having reduced from 11 800 tons to 8 200 - a relative reduction in tonnage of 30% for the Qian and 16% for the XenoOps troops. One divisional commander has been killed. About half the PRL supplies have been used up, with the Qian showing no signs of running out of supplies anytime soon either. A change in posture is ordered by command as the fighting begins to drag on, with the infantry units being ordered to dig in so as to reduce their losses.

(https://i.imgur.com/Wd4RHm6.png)
State of the forces two weeks after the drop. Supplies on the heavy armored units are running low, and 33k tons of the initial 125k have been lost.

The supplies of the armored divisions run out after two weeks of fighting. There are still some supplies left with the infantry units, but they are kept in reserve for them due to their improved kill rate compared to that of the armored units. Although the orbital support has not contributed much to the battle, the ships are being kept in orbit and being resupplied by the fleet tenders. In light of its successes in securing new Gallicite sources, PRL command is willing to allocate the 5000 or so MSP that are being used up by the fleet if it saves some lives on the ground.

Fighting drags on, and eventually the Qian are broken. Cleanup takes a long time. The Qian supporting units, after their fighting force was destroyed, disperses and hides in the surrounding terrain, waiting for a relief force that will never come. Only on August 8th 2152 Zhēnjùn is finally secured. The final tally counts 3 769t of ground forces destroyed by orbital support. 42k of the 125k troops that landed were lost - replacements are being built. The STO units, while present until the very end, kept holding their fire. The only losses in orbital assets were a few burnt-out guns.

(https://i.imgur.com/IeV0Geo.png)
The venerable Dolphin-Type destroyers can add more entries onto their scorecards. They remain the Human ship class that has seen the most action.

Zhēnjùn has the expected supply of Qian interceptors (11 839) and some ruins of unknown extent. Exploration of the planet and it's resources will begin shortly. The XenoOps ground army will remain in place for the moment, securing this newest posession of the PRL until its worth can be ascertained. As for the missiles, the PRL rents a Japanese munitions transport to move them home. The payment is a cut of the haul.

During the campaign a PRL explorer discovers that Fùguó (the Rich Frontier) and Quanzhou, previously thought to be on opposite sides of the empire, turned out to be much closer to another than expected. A new connection is found between the systems just behind Quanzhou and Fùguó respectively, putting some 25b km between the two colonies. That is about the distance from Sol to Quanzhou itself, or about half the distance from Sol to Fùguó. An interstellar empire not economically and geographically centered on Sol is becoming increasingly viable.

(https://i.imgur.com/zkk3Qw8.png)
Quanzhou is one of the big diagonal lines. The map is getting real unwieldy, especially if you like to have systems aligned to a grid and want to keep it consistent between six empires. I'm increasingly favoring just leaving it a mess of cross-connections instead of wasting hours rearranging it.

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Other happenings in 2151-2152:

The INL (Interstellar League) has to decide what to do with the two Terran raiders it captured last year. Disassembling them for study is an option. They contain modern military-grade hardware of the Terrans, but the actual amount of components to analyze is low due to the small size of the ships. As the vessels are - again - modern, it is instead decided that the long-ranged raiders will be repaired, refurbished and integrated into the INL patrol command. And so the INL navy, already composed of an eclectic variety of vessels from different sources, grows by two more ships of foreign origin.

2152 Order of Battle of the INL forces: (https://i.imgur.com/DiejxmS.png) (138kt total)

• NAV Interstellar Navy:
  
  • Attack Destroyers:
    
    • 2x 10kt - DD Salient, Reduit: Esperanza class, 6250 km/s - The last and most modern warships constructed by the old Argentine government. Kinetic armament. (https://i.imgur.com/NZ5cCom.png)
    • 1x 12kt - DD Hibiki: Tama F class, 5208 km/s - Particle beam armed destroyer bought from Japan (https://i.imgur.com/xCSpFcf.png)
  • Fast Escorts:
    
    • 3x 10kt - DD Paladin, Vigilant, Guardian: Dorado 3 class, 5000 km/s - Argentine point-defense destroyers, often compared to the EU Adana class (https://i.imgur.com/NZ5cCom.png)
    • 1x 8kt - ES Isparta: Adana D class, 5250 km/s - Ion-engined generation of the European Adana escort destroyer design (https://i.imgur.com/bPGQDui.png)
  • Slow Escorts:
    
    • 4x 8kt - ES Ceyhan, Karabük, Kastamonu, Tekirdag: Adana C class, 4250 km/s - European INPE-era escort destroyers (https://i.imgur.com/bPGQDui.png)
  • System Defense Craft:
    
    • 20x 500t - FAC System Defense Craft 1-20: 10260 km/s - 10 external launch pods each, built to make us of old EU Cerberus D missile stocks (https://i.imgur.com/DiejxmS.png)/(https://i.imgur.com/bPGQDui.png)
• PTL Patrol Command:
  
  • Patrol Ships:
    
    • 2x 10kt - PV San Rafael, Tablada City: San Rafael Class, 6600 km/s - Modern attack destroyers with longer endurance, sensors and probe launchers. First major ship type built on Taíno, the capital of the INL. Magneto-Plasma drives. (https://i.imgur.com/DiejxmS.png)
  • Raiders:
    
    • 2x 3kt - RD Cerberus, Garmr: Hellhound C class, 7042 km/s - Fast and decently long-ranged attack frigates captured from Terran raiders. (https://i.imgur.com/dUwDCeY.png)

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Callisto finishes a naval expansion and now operates 12 Thrust Block units, with each having a missile module and a plasma module standing by. Depending on the mission parameters, the Thrust Block will dock with an appropriate mission module and carry it into battle, forming a modular warship. While this is impressive, the small Callistoan state has to budget its expenses and other projects were shelved to be able to afford this one. To rectify this situation the Callistoan Regime has negotiated a trade deal with the Martian Consortium. Mars will get 2k tons of Gallicite in exchange for 20k wealth. Gallicite is in short supply in all other Human polities, but the fortunes of war and colonization have blessed the small state with a surplus production. This much wealth is about 1.3 years of economic output for Callisto, but only half of Mars' yearly surplus.

(https://i.imgur.com/Z8kmo5z.png)
17k Gallicite in the bank, and not enough wealth to use it.

The regime can afford giving away this much Gallicite, and may trade more in the future if a need arises. Even with increased consumption afforded by the wealth injection, Gallicite extraction will remain significantly above consumption. Long-term mining prospects look good, especially as this year explorers from Callisto have found yet another uninhabited and near-habitable planet with all minerals, including 0.9 Gallicite some 12b km behind the Novokuzneck colony.

Mars will use the minerals to supply its enlarged navy, whereas Callisto is looking to start a new program. One of the challenges facing the Callistoans is the problem of strategic mobility between Sol and Callisto and their Novokuzneck colony (27b away), and eventually beyond to Smolensk (another 7b). Large alien fleets have been observed in the region and the Callistoan navy has been built with a massed strike doctrine in mind, making spread-out assignments to cover all colonies difficult. Half-hearted strikes from a handful of ships stationed here and there are not likely to win battles. Callistoan ships are also built for speed, not endurance. While support ships exist to enable operation in remote systems like Smolensk, they are slow to move and those operations are logistically involved. Fuel itself is plentiful. Therefore, in order to allow the fast thrust blocks to travel between colonies in weeks instead of months (due to the need to bring along a slow tanker), a series of deep-space refueling stations is planned, positioned in hopefully secret locations a little ways off the main trade routes. As the range of a loaded Thrust Block is 6b km, that means five refueling posts between Sol and Novokuzneck. The stations themselves can be restocked after the fact by existing tankers, and could also hold caches of ammunition and supply. For now, a dozen small refueling stations will be built and towed to each refueling point, each holding enough fuel to top up a thrust block twice. That way, all thrust blocks can be refueled simultaneously instead of needing to wait turns, further speeding up their journey between colonies.

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Japanese shipbuilding has completed it's cruiser-sized dropship, the Meiya, and is transitioning to the next and final phase needed to fulfill the current naval plan. For that, the final shipyard that built the Meiya is now being transferred from Earth to the Neo-Kobe colony in Grand Bourg, along with the remainder of trans-newtonian manufacturing that remained in Japan. That makes them the last human nation to move their core industry away from Earth, leaving the Terran Primacy the only power with industry on Earth. The Japanese were always reluctant to take this step, as it has been associated with social upheaval and identified as catalyst for the transformation that happened to all other nation states that once set out to the Race to the Stars. Yet with renewed war with Callisto likely, they can not deny the need to keep their critical industry secure by moving it out of the vulnerable inner Sol system and out of the immediate strike range of missiles from Callisto. And away from the bigger neighbors of the Terran and the Lunar governments as well.

The next step is the construction of 3-5 additional interceptor missile escorts. Orthodox doctrine demands an iteration upon the previous generation of escort, the ion-engined Yayoi B (see 2130 ship designs thread (http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php?topic=12025.0)) of which three are still in service. Doctrine also demands that the existing ships be refitted with new engines to keep the whole fleet at high combat speed. But that doctrine was established around an attempt to kite hostile ships with beam-armed combatants by outranging and outspeeding them, which is not the battlefield reality facing the Japanese navy today anymore, and most importantly there simply is no spare Gallicite to afford those upgrades. Expansion of PD capacity to absorb Callistoan missile strikes is the primary need at the moment, ship speed and beam engagements are secondary. Alternatives to the orthodox design are considered, with lowered speeds, increased interceptor counts and improved electronics. The Japanese missile electronics are not particularly advanced, and can't make use of the full range of the Qian interceptor, of which a sufficiently large supply has recently been procured from the PRL. So a purchase of a new system there and it's integration into the design and fleet is being discussed. This all happens in the shadow of the fact that the Hanabusa destroyer yard on Neo-Kobe is already prepared to construct updated Yayoi C destroyers of the orthodox type. Factions argue, with many admirals favoring a break from tradition in favor of current need. A counterposition in favor of adherence to existing doctrine is being supported by designers, theorists and politicians, which are groups that also include some retired admiralty.

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Yayoi C class Destroyer Escort      12 000 tons       266 Crew       1 783.1 BP       TCS 240    TH 1 600    EM 2 130
6666 km/s      Armour 4-46       Shields 71-532       HTK 105      Sensors 6/3/0/0      DCR 3      PPV 25
Maint Life 1.38 Years     MSP 325    AFR 329%    IFR 4.6%    1YR 185    5YR 2 782    Max Repair 111 MSP
Magazine 581   
Kaigun-Chūsa    Control Rating 1   BRG   
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months    Morale Check Required   

MP Plasma Drive (10)    Power 1600    Fuel Use 70.0%    Signature 160    Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 531 000 Litres    Range 11.4 billion km (19 days at full power)
Rutherford Field Generator Delta71 A (1)     Recharge Time 532 seconds (0.1 per second)

Defender Start Ramp (25)     Missile Size: 1    Rate of Fire 10
Modegi Shuriken Guidance System (5)     Range 10.9m km    Resolution 1
Qian Interceptor (581)    Speed: 72 200 km/s    End: 0.5m     Range: 2m km    WH: 1    Size: 1    TH: 240/144/72

Modegi Perimeter Electronics System (1)     GPS 60     Range 10.7m km    MCR 963.4k km    Resolution 1
Modegi Electromagnetic Analyzer (1)     Sensitivity 3     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  13.7m km
Matsuhita Electric Thermic Detector B (1)     Sensitivity 6     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  19.4m 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
In the end and in true democratic fashion a compromise is reached whereby the new ships will be constructed with modern doctrinal speed, able to keep up with the remaining two attack destroyers. In return simultaneous launch capacity will be expanded from 20 to 25 by reducing armor mass and removing the secondary armament of microwave projectors, a step that has also been taken with the newest generation of attack destroyers. The resulting design is close enough to the orthodox model that the Hanabusa yard can still start construction right away.