Author Topic: Campaign Updates  (Read 47882 times)

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Offline Kurt (OP)

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Cold War: Months 146-150
« Reply #150 on: February 23, 2021, 09:11:03 AM »
Month 146
Human Territories:
The Tomsk Union government agrees to bankroll the Tlatelolco’s R&D efforts, and loan them a significant amount of money to keep their research efforts moving forward. 

In the Wunderland Association, Governor Whitmore loses her re-election bid to a New Dawn challenger. 

The Tomsk Union completes the emplacement of their communications network, linking their colonized systems together and greatly reducing the amount of time it takes messages to travel between the systems.  In addition, the Union’s first battlecruiser is launched.  Construction on an additional BC is started in the orbital yards, bringing the number under construction up to three. 

D’Bringi Alliance
The Torqual buy six Imperial Favor class heavy cruisers from the D’Bringi Keepers.  The cruisers, stationed with the Mintek Blockade group, will remain in the Phyriseq system after they are turned over to the Torqual and will form the backbone of their blockade force. 

The Rehorish start construction on eleven battlecruisers.  This is part of their ambitious program to replace their heavy cruiser force with battlecruisers. 

Independents
The Bjering 1st Survey Group, consisting of three heavy survey cruisers and a destroyer-small-craft-carrier, jumps back to the Surtr system to cover the colonization ships, which have finished unloading their colonists and are hurriedly heading back towards the home system.  The colonists are much relieved to see the warships entering the inner system.  Beta Fleet, consisting of two battlecruisers, four corvettes and two scout-corvettes, is dispatched from the home system to garrison the Surtr system. 

Communication efforts are ongoing between the D’Bringi and the Bjering, and the Bjering and the alien race located in the Outgard system. 

Month 147
D’Bringi Alliance
With the successful sale and hand-over of the older Keeper heavy cruisers, the clans are encouraged to begin construction on battlecruisers for their fleets.  They plan to eventually replace their older heavy cruisers with battlecruisers, and intend to sell their heavy cruisers to the associate members of the Alliance as the battlecruisers become available.  The B’Regest, alone, of the clans doesn’t plan to follow this model, and instead has appropriated the Keeper Doofsnark design (CVS) and has begun construction on several of these carriers to supplement their fleet.   

As the first step of this process, three Knucklepuff class heavy cruisers are sold to the Doraz, to reinforce their Blockade squadron.  This class, as a medium ranged missile combatant, has long been in disfavor with the clans and they are glad to be getting rid of them in exchange for mega-credits that can be spent on shiny new battlecruisers. 

The T’Pau Syndicate begins its long-anticipated refit of its fleet to HT-6 standards.  The T’Pau fleet, which served valiantly in the war with the humans, has not seen a refit since the nation was conquered by the D’Bringi.  As the current fleet is outfitted largely to HT-3 standards, this will result in a vast improvement in survivability and combat effectiveness. 

The Chirq Cooperative reaches HT-1, with D’Bringi assistance.  They immediately begin R&D on essential systems, with some D’Bringi economic assistance.  This assistance is paid for, in part, from proceeds of the sale of the heavy cruisers to the Doraz.   

The B’Regest probe force jumps into the Juath system on Day 25.  The six corvette-carrier scouts were dispatched to probe the habitable planet found in the system by explorers several months ago.  The probe force detaches one of its scouts to watch their entrance point, while the other five proceed into the system. 

Six hours later the probe force’s sensors detected a small population on the habitable planet, and the force came to a halt.  After spending some time analyzing the planetary transmissions, it became clear that the probe force had found a Mintek colony.  The force immediately turned back to the warp point.  Once they arrived, the commander ordered the group to shut-down their drive fields and go dark, all except one which was to jump back to the next system and report back through the comms network. 

Independents
Bjering Consolidate
The Bjering finally establish full communications with the aliens discovered in the Outgard system.  The aliens call themselves the Bedu Republic.  They are humanoid, and superficially appear similar to humans, although a small human delegation from the Tomsk Union that accompanied the contact fleet has stated privately to the Bjering that the Bedu are remarkably ugly to human perception.  To the Bjering, who are also humanoid, both the humans and the Bedu look equally odd. 

The Bjering begin by offering the Bedu a trade alliance, however, the Bedu, who appear to be a cautious people, decline the offer.  Negotiations continue. 

Beta Fleet arrives in the Surtr system to find the two Bjering colonies in place and no alien ships.  The fleet settles in over the main colony in the system and sets up patrols to watch for any anomalies. 

Humanity
The Colonial Union and the Titov Free State successfully complete negotiations on the status of the Free State and its access to the colonies surrounding it.  The Colonial Union’s Foreign Ministry, which had been against any changes to the treaty that created the Free State, has changed its stance as it came under the control of the New Dawn Party, and now supports the idea.  The New Dawn Party’s stance on this issue is largely related to improving the relationship between the Union and the Free State, as the New Dawn Party has the ultimate ambition of reuniting humanity, and, as the first step towards that goal, wants to improve its relations with all of the human governments. 

The D’Bringi Alliance also agrees to this change in the status of the Titov colony, as it won’t materially change the overall situation, or their status as a buffer state.  Indeed, this will improve their utility, as it will strengthen their economy and their military capability, but no to the point where they could become a threat or rival in any reasonable amount of time. 

The new agreement gives the Titov Free State control of the surrounding systems, including the colonies located in those systems, with the wholehearted agreement of those colonies.  The loss of income from the two colonies transferred to the Free State is negligible as far as the Colonial Union is concerned, but their economic output is a welcome addition to the Free State’s economy. 

Month 148
Independents
Mintek System
First Strategos Neeron bowed before the Chancellor and the Minister for Equity and Inclusion, then took the offered seat in the Chancellor’s office.   

They spoke of inconsequential things for a time, as was the custom, and then the Chancellor decided to get down to business.  “How go the preparations, First Strategos?” 

First Strategos Neeron felt tense.  The Chancellor and the Minister for ME&I had supported him after his disastrous offensive into D’Bringi space, and with their support he had survived the aftermath.  He would not survive another such disaster.  “The Fleet is restored.  In addition, the new carrier strike group is filled out, and operational, with the latest ships launched from the yards.”

“So, in your opinion, we are ready for Operation Odysseus?”

Neeron took a deep breath.  They would not react well to weasel words, or half-hearted statements.  They wanted his opinion, but they wanted him to commit to either a negative or affirmative stance.  “We are ready.”  The other two nodded, but before they could speak, he held up his hand.  “However, I continue to be concerned about our defenses here in the home system.  Three of our nine defensive bases at the warp point to the Phyriseq system are being refitted, and three of the remaining are still the older design.  I would propose that while the 1st Fast Attack Group and the 1st Carrier Strike Group are out of the system, the Assault Group be deployed to the warp point to reinforce the defenses there.”

The Chancellor and the Chief Minister paused and looked at each other, before Minister Turval nodded.  “Strategos, will you not need the Assault Group for Operation Odysseus?”

“With the addition of the Carrier Strike Group, I believe that our forces will be more than strong enough to deal with any eventuality.  And we must protect the home system!  The three bases now refitting won’t be complete for three to four months.  In the meantime, the Assault Group will more than make up for their absence.”

“Very well, Operation Odysseus is approved.”  Chancellor Durkhon settled back into his chair.  “You will take the fleet to the Rhodes system and establish contact with the natives there.  Your fleet will remain in a defensive stance, unless the aliens make any aggressive moves, is that understood?”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

Minister Turval leaned forward and gestured, and a young Mintek entered from the other room. “My Chief Advocate will be accompanying you.  It will be her job, and hers alone, to determine the method that we will take to introduce this race to the truth.  If she decides that the aliens will actively resist our attempts to enlighten them, then it will be upon you, and your fleet, to open the way for our enlightenment to move forward.”

Chancellor Durkon nodded.  “The Council has met, and the Grand Senate agrees.  This new race is to be enlightened.  If they are willing to see the truth, then the enlightenment will be allowed to move forward at its own pace.  If not, then we will bring them to the truth, regardless of the cost to our people.  It is our duty.”

Neeron stood to attention.  “Understood!”  He turned to leave, as the Chancellor and the Minister resumed their conversation about the planned return to D’Bringi space, which had been delayed due to the discovery of the new race. 

The Fleet set out that afternoon for the frontier.  The 1st Carrier Group consisted of six light carriers, a strike carrier, and an escort carrier, with a total of one hundred and seventy-four fighters and six armed pinnaces.  The carriers were escorted by three destroyers.  The 1st Fast Attack Group consisted of six battlecruisers and nine destroyers, along with Neeron’s command battlecruiser.  They would arrive next month. 

D’Bringi Alliance
The Rehorish now have twenty-one battlecruisers under construction in their home system yards, in varying stages of completion.  Where the D’Bringi have been talking about upgrading their strike force to battlecruisers, the Rehorish have acted.  It will be three months before the first new BC launches, and then several more will launch every month after that. 

On the frontier, a D’Bringi survey ship jumped into a newly discovered system, finding itself just 84 light minutes from the system primary.  Worse, the system had a type T planet located on the edge of long-range scanner range of the warp point.  The scout didn’t have long-range scanners itself, and couldn’t tell whether the planet was inhabited or not.  Following protocol, the scout jumped back out of the system without probing further.  A message was generated and sent back to the comm network, informing the clans about the discovery.  On the planet, the locals had detected the ship entering the system.  The detection caused a great amount of excitement.  After all, what race advanced enough to travel the stars would be so regressive as to be hostile?

The message confirming the discovery of a Mintek colony from the B’Regest probe force arrives on D’Bringi Prime early in the month.  Messages are immediately sent to the other races in the alliance, and the Alliance Grand Council is scheduled to meet next month to determine the strategy going forward. 

The efforts to establish communications with the Bjering finally bear fruit this month, and full comms are established.  The D’Bringi immediately offer a trade agreement, which the Bjering agree to.  The D’Bringi are overjoyed, while the Bjering are cautious.  They know the history between the D’Bringi Alliance and humanity, and view the D’Bringi as conquerors and the Rehorish as liars. 

Humanity
The Enlightened Union of the Tlatelolco launches a shipyard complex into orbit over their home planet.  They will not be able to start construction on new ships for some time yet, as they are still researching vital systems like life support, but it is a big step forward for the Tlatelolco. 

The Consolidated Earth States are forced to mothball more of their defenses in order to reduce their maintenance overhead, so that they can hope to meet the cost of the ongoing emigration from Earth. 

Month 149
D’Bringi Alliance
The D’Bringi sell three more capital missile armed heavy cruisers to the Torqual Benignity.  In addition, two medium range missile equipped heavy cruisers are sold to the T’Pau. 

Independents
The Bjering reach HT-8 and begin research into several new systems, including fighters, immediately. 

The Titov Free State’s exploration group begins probing warp points in the Magnitogorsk system, adjacent to their home system.  The warp points had been discovered by Russian explorers some time ago, but had never been probed.  The three warp points lead to a starless nexus, an orange star system with no habitable planets, and a system with a type T planet.  The explorers determine almost immediately that the planet is a human colony in the Wunderland Association. 

Humanity
The Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association announce their plans to amalgamate in six months. 

Month 149, Day 1, D’Bringi Alliance Supreme Council
The Supreme Council consisted of three voting members, a D’Bringi, a Rehorish, and a T’Pau, and four ‘observers’ from the minor races within the Alliance.  The observers could speak, give testimony or advance proposals, but the three voting members were the ones that made the decisions.  In theory, the three voting members were equal, but some were more equal than others.  The D’Bringi viewed themselves as the founder and senior race of the Alliance, and had the largest fleet, and thus their opinion carried much weight within the Council.  The Rehorish, with the second largest fleet and the largest economy, also viewed themselves as a senior member of the Alliance, and generally viewed themselves as superior to the other races.  Thus, they viewed themselves as the natural leaders of the Alliance.  The T’Pau, as the newest voting member of the Alliance, and the weakest of the three voting members, tended to take a secondary role, acting as a tie breaker in disputes between the two more senior races.  The T’Pau tended to side with the D’Bringi most of the time, as the D’Bringi were their patrons within the Alliance, but this loyalty was not absolute, and over time the T’Pau had been taking more of an independent stance, advocating for exploration, economic expansion, and a more peaceful approach to bringing new races into the Alliance. 

Now, the three voting members of the Council met to discuss the news that a Mintek colony world had been discovered.  The non-voting members were not invited.  They would attend a later meeting, where the decisions made here were discussed.  At that time, they would be given a chance to provide input, but for now the three primary members would make the decisions amongst themselves.   A briefer from Clan B’Regest had been admitted to bring them up to speed.  Seeing that the Council was ready, the B’Regest officer activated a control, and a warp map sprang up over the Council’s table, showing the relevant warp route from D’Bringi Prime to the Mintek colony. 

“As you can see, the newly discovered Mintek colony is eight jumps from the D’Bringi home system, seven from the T’Pau, and eight from the Rehorish home system.  Our entry point into the Mintek system is through a closed warp point located one hundred and eight light minutes from the system primary, well outside of detection range from the Mintek colony.  Our ships never came within detection range of the colony, and we detected no Mintek ships in the system, so we believe that the Mintek do not know of our presence.”

The Rehorish representative leaned forward, her exoskeleton rustling drily.  “How sure are you that you were not detected?”

“Our confidence is high.  However, it is always possible that the exploration ship that probed the system first was detected, if the Mintek had a long-range scanner equipped ship in the system, however, our probe force detected no such ships, and surely if the Mintek had detected our survey ship, they would have sent a large force to the system to secure it against intrusion.”

The Rehorish representative shook her head.  “So, you do not know.”

The B’Regest officer gestured assent.  “We cannot be certain, of course.  We have stationed one of our scouts in the system to watch for Mintek activity, and so far, they have detected nothing.”  After waiting a few seconds for the representatives to ask further questions, the officer continued.  “Several days ago, our scout detected a drive field entered the system just thirty-six light minutes in-system from their location at our entry point.  The drive field immediately headed in-system towards the colony.  We believe this to be a freighter dropping off supplies and picking up raw material for shipment back to the central worlds of the Mintek Empire.  We do not believe that the Mintek would have allowed us to detect that ship if they were aware of our presence.”

The three Council members looked at each for a few seconds before the Rehorish representative nodded.  “Thank you.  Do you have any other information for us?”

The B’Regest officer stood to attention.  “Not at this time.”

The D’Bringi representative, the Clan Chief of the T’Chau, waived at the officer.  “You may go.”

The three leaders watched as the officer left, and then turned to each other.  The D’Bringi spoke first.  “The Clans wish to attack.  Immediately.”

The Rehorish leader made a sound that was the equivalent of a very dramatic human sigh.  “Of course, they do.  Shocking.”

The T’Pau sat silently, biding his time. 

After a few seconds the D’Bringi leader stood.  “I must admit, this is not a particularly good time for an attack.  However, the target stands undefended.  A squadron of cruisers and a small ground attack force would be sufficient to take it.”  He paused, and the Rehorish moved to answer, but before she could Burning Blade continued.  “I know.  What next?  The Mintek will respond and we will have to draw in forces from our other commitments, which we cannot currently afford to do.”

The Rehorish, mollified, signaled agreement by dipping her antennae.  “We have a massive force of modern battlecruisers under construction.  They will be worked up and ready for action within six months.  By that time our border defenses will be in place and we will be able to withdraw ships from those locations to bolster any attack force.”

The D’Bringi Clan Chief turned to the T’Pau representative.  “And what do the T’Pau think on this matter?”

The T’Pau shifted uncomfortably, its leathery skin rustling against the ceremonial robe it wore to the meetings.  “The T’Pau would also support waiting.  Our fleet is currently undergoing refits, the result of which will be a much more powerful force.”

The D’Bringi looked at his fellow leaders, inwardly pleased.  His fellow clan leaders were dead set on an immediate attack, and he had been unable to shift them off of that determination.  Now, though, with the Council behind him, they would be unable to act without overturning the Alliance, something even they would be hesitant to do.  There would be a price for him to pay, as the other clan chiefs would no doubt believe he had manipulated the Council into supporting his wishes, but still, the outcome had been worth it.  To attack now would-be suicide.  “So be it.  We will wait.”

Month 149, Day 5, Mintek Universal Union
Ten days ago, the Mintek fleet jumped into the Sparta system, a colonized border system three jumps from the home system.   The fleet is now approaching a warp point in the outer system which leads to a system containing a newly discovered race.  For now, the system has been designated as the Rhodes system, until they can learn what the new race calls itself and its system.  The fleet comes to a halt at the warp point and two ships, a long-range scanner equipped escort carrier and the Strike Group flagship, a light carrier, jump through to the other system. 

The two ships materialize in the target system, just forty-eight light minutes from the system primary.  The system is a binary star system.  The primary is a yellow star with six planets, while the secondary star is a small red dwarf, with five planets and a distant asteroid belt.  A habitable type T planet orbits the primary, and the two Mintek ships materialized just thirty-six light seconds from the inhabited planet, well within its detection range. 

Once in the new system, the CVL comes to a halt on the warp point while the CVE proceeds towards the inhabited planet.  The Mintek flagship’s sensors detect numerous drive fields surrounding the inhabited planet, as well as a scattering of drive fields all through the primary star system.  Shortly after their entry into the system, a group of drive fields leaves the planet and heads for their location.  Shortly thereafter the Mintek begin receiving transmissions from the planet.  Strategos Neeron orders the CVE to come to a halt when it is six light minutes from the warp point, and they wait for the locals to come to them.   Friendship messages are sent back to the locals in the meantime, assuring them that the Mintek mean them no harm. 

One day later the local force arrives at the Mintek CVE’s location.  The local force consists of three battlecruisers, six destroyers, and six corvettes.  Neeron is encouraged.  The force is respectable, but not overwhelming.  The locals settle in fifteen light seconds from the Mintek CVE and the two races begin exchanging first contact messages. 

Month 150
Humanity
The flow of emigrants from Earth continues unabated.  The three states receiving the emigrants have pushed the flow of people farther and farther out, to distribute the population increases more evenly and to build up their frontier colonies.  This has had the effect of boosting the cost of transporting the colonists, which the newly burgeoning economies of the colonial states can absorb.  Unfortunately, the faltering economy of the home system cannot absorb these costs.  Five months ago, the CES was able to pay the portion of the transportation costs that had been forced on them by the colonial governments only by liquidating most of their industrial holdings.  The last five months have not been enough time to recover their position, and the debt that is facing them is overwhelming.  There is no way the CES can possibly pay off their portion of the cost of transporting the emigrants, even if all remaining investments were liquidated, and all of their government owned freighters were sold.  The CES government appeals to the colonial governments for aide and relief.  The Tomsk Union, which had been uncomfortable with the ultimatum given to the CES five months ago, immediately agrees to pay the entire share of the cost associated with shipping the emigrants headed its way, relieving the CES of a third of its burden.  The Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association play hardball, though.  Both hold fast on their demand that the CES pay its share, and threaten naval blockade should they fail to do so. 

The CES, faced with this threat, suffers a political crisis.  There is no way they could possibly pay the outstanding debt.  Even if their entire portfolio of industrial investments was liquidated, it would only raise enough to pay approximately 40% of the debt.  A proposal was made to sell the existing fleet of government colony transports, which, if purchased for full value would raise enough to make up the difference, however, the Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association indicated that they would not allow such a deal to go forward, for the good of the CES.  After all, if they sold their transports, which provided nearly a quarter of the government’s income, how could they possibly pay the next colonization cost instalment five months from now?

The CES is thrown into political chaos.  They cannot allow the flow of emigrants to stop, if they do Earth’s fragile environment will collapse and hundreds of millions will die.  That is when the Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association step in with a proposal.  They will agree to relieve the CES of the burden of paying for the flow of emigrants, however, the CES will have to agree to end emigrant shipments to the Tomsk Union and to open negotiations with the Colonial Union with the eventual goal of joining the Union. 

The CES has little choice, and its leaders know it.  The Colonial Union controls the CES’s routes to all of the other human states, and should the United Colonial Defense Force support the Union’s blockade of the home system, the CES would have no choice but to join the Colonial Union or they would collapse within a matter of months.  The CES’s government was unwilling to take the chance of collapse, and so agreed to all of the Colonial Union’s demands.  The two governments will begin working towards amalgamation. 

Month 150
D’Bringi Alliance
The D’Bringi reach HT-8 this month.  Massive amounts of resources are diverted from colonization and other projects to fund R&D on new systems.  The D’Bringi also levy fees from the Torqual to cover some the expenses, in exchange for continued R&D assistance. 

The D’Bringi probe force arrives in the Rhoeng system, on the frontier, this month.  The system has three habitable planets, divided between the primary and secondary systems, and the D’Bringi entry point into the system, a closed warp point, is located just outside of detection range of the single type T planet orbiting the system primary.  The D’Bringi scout ship’s sensors immediately detect a very large population on the type T planet, and along with numerous drive field contacts moving between the various moons and asteroids of the system.  The scout, following SOP, drops its drive field and sends a CD back to the rest of the probe force. 

This news, when it reaches the Alliance Council, stimulates an intense debate between the Rehorish and the D’Bringi representatives.  In the past, the Rehorish have acquiesced to the D’Bringi habit of conquering every new race they meet, although they had exerted themselves to convince the D’Bringi to develop the conquered races as allies, rather than installing a perpetual occupation.  Now, though, the Rehorish representative pushes the D’Bringi to take an alternative route.  Instead of sending a fleet to conquer the new race, the Rehorish representative pushes the D’Bringi to establish peaceful contact, and to use diplomacy to entice the new race into the Alliance, instead of force.  The T’Pau remain neutral in the debate, leaving the Rehorish and D’Bringi to debate the issue.  However, the T’Pau have advocated for peaceful contact with alien races in the past, and their feelings in the matter are fairly clear.  The D’Bringi representative is unwilling to change their standard operating procedure so much, but is willing to talk about it with their race’s strongest ally, so further discussions are scheduled. 

Independents
The Bjering make another attempt to convince the Bedu to sign a treaty with them.  In response, the Bedu demand that the Bjering leave their system and not return.  The Bedu make it clear they wish no further contact with the Bjering and demand that their ships depart immediately.  The Bjering are disappointed, but Gamma Admiral sees little alternative other than withdrawing.  The contact ship turns to depart, followed closely by the Bedu contact force.  The Bedu will follow the Bjering ship all the way to the warp point, and are close enough to observe the Bjering ship jump out, although they weren’t quite close enough to completely localize the closed warp point that the Bjering ship used to leave the system. 

The Mintek force under Strategos Neeron establishes full communications with the local race.  The locals call themselves the Alowan Triumvirate.  The Alowan are tall, spindly bipeds with grey skin and heads with tentacles dangling from the front.  A human would say that their heads appear distinctly squid-like.  The Alowan are friendly, and welcome contact with their new neighbors.  Strategos Neeron pushes immediately for the Alowan to sign a trade and military treaty, and the Alowan refuse, perhaps put off by Neeron’s rush to form close ties between the two races.
 
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Offline Kurt (OP)

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Cold War: Major Race Overview, Month 150
« Reply #151 on: February 24, 2021, 06:25:48 PM »
Races of the Cold War Campaign (As of Month 150)

First, a note for those not familiar with Starfire.  I will give populations in both actual population numbers, and in PU’s (population units).  Population units are how Starfire calculates a population’s income, and are not a direct one-to-one representation of people.  There are several different sizes of populations, ranging from outpost, colony, settlement, small, medium, large, and very large.  For the outposts, colonies, and settlements, a population unit equals approximately 50,000 people, however, for the larger populations the PU’s represent a larger and larger number of people.  For example, one PU for a very large population represents 22.5 million people.  Therefore, a home world might have a population of 40 billion, and generates far more wealth than a settlement with just 7 million people, but it doesn’t generate 5,300 times the income that the settlement produces, as its population would suggest.  That’s because the maximum PU’s on a very large world is 3,200, which is just over 21 times as large. 

In any case, I give the actual population numbers just because I thought it would be interesting.  The real measure of a race’s productivity is in its PU’s, and that’s where the comparison should be made. 

Major Races
Human
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 54
Total Population Units (PU): 16,512
Total Population: 1,880,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 43
Tech Level: 6
Humanity originates on the planet Earth, in the Solar System.  The Humans on Earth were divided into at least three separate groups, the USSR, the Coalition, and the neutral nations, however, the situation was inherently unstable and two nuclear wars effectively destroyed the two major nations and severely damaged the planetary environment. 

Currently, Humanity is broken up into several major and minor governments, the largest of which represent the colonies of the former USSR and the Coalition.  The Colonial Union, Tomsk Union, Wunderland Association, the Titov Free State, and Consolidated Earth States currently govern over the various branches of Humanity.  The Colonial Union is moving towards amalgamating the Wunderland Association and the Consolidated Earth States, and both of its two largest political parties has as one of their core tenets the necessity of uniting Humanity under one government, although the parties differ on how this is to be accomplished.  Unification may prove difficult, as treaties with the D’Bringi Alliance prevent the Colonial Union from increasing its control over the Titov Free State, and the Tomsk Union has moved away from the Colonial Union politically, largely because of the Colonial Union’s increasingly strident anti-alien sentiments. 

The governments of the Colonial Union and the Tomsk Union share many characteristics.  In the aftermath of the destruction of their parent governments on Earth, the two colonial governments have eschewed arguments about ideology and focused more squarely on survival in a hostile universe.  Both governments consider themselves a confederation of colonial governments, with the central government holding some power, but with the bulk of the real power in the nations residing in the planetary governments.  Under this system the planetary governors hold significant executive powers, and the central government has limited authority to intervene in internal matters.  In the Tomsk Union, which is smaller and more homogenous, there is a significant amount of uniformity across the colonies, with all of the constituent colonies ruled by elected leaders with planetary legislatures leavening the power of the elected leaders.  In the Colonial Union there is a far wider variation, with some colonies being ruled by former military officers with an iron fist, or corporate strongmen, to the inner colonies which are cosmopolitan and democratic.  This wide variation within the Colonial Union has led to calls within the Grand Senate for a centralization of power within the Senate, to give the central government the power to remedy excesses and abuses by some of the colonial governments.  It is not clear how the Senate would grant this power to itself under the current system, as the independence of the member colonies is clearly established, as the central colonies that founded the Union did not want the new national government meddling within their colonies at the behest of their neighbors. 

Given the current political climate across the Human territories, it is unlikely the Colonial Union will be able to continue peacefully absorbing the other human governments after the upcoming amalgamations of the CES and the Wunderland Association.   What the Colonial Union’s course will be after the amalgamations remains to be seen. 

The Tomsk Union is in a close relationship with the Bjering Consolidate (Partnership), and the two races have discussed the possibility of joining together in a union or alliance, although neither race has committed to that at the current time.  The Tomsk Union has also become the primary protector of the United D’Bringi Soviets (UDS), the D’Bringi miners liberated by the USSR during the war.  The UDS was relocated to Tomsk territory after the fall of Earth, and the Colonial Union recently handed off responsibility for the UDS to the Tomsk government.  The Colonial Union also has contact with the Rehorish Stellar Dominion (member of the D’Bringi Alliance), with which it has a non-intercourse relationship.  All contact with the Rehorish is through the Titov Free State, the buffer state set up between the Colonial Union and the Rehorish empire.  Finally, the Colonial Union has treaties with the Tlatelolco, in the Wunderland Association, and a non-interference agreement with the Tarek, in the Sligo system.  The Union’s relationship with the Tlatelolco has cooled over the last year, as the Colonial Union became more xenophobic, but the Tlatelolco maintain cordial relations with several factions in the Colonial Senate.  The Wunderland Association has formed a trade relationship with the Bjering after that race found a direct route into Association territory.  Although the Association has been growing increasingly anti-alien, its constituent governments overruled the central government’s reluctance to deal with the Bjering, largely because of pressure from the various corporations involved in interstellar trade throughout the Association.   

D’Bringi
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 9
Total Population Units (PU): 4,674
Total Population: 14,400,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 14
Tech Level: 8
The D’Bringi are lizard-like beings that evolved on a hot, dry ST type planet.  The D’Bringi Home System is a binary system with five gas giants, four uninhabitable rocky planets, eighteen moons, and an asteroid belt along with their home planet.  The D’Bringi Clans were nomadic in origin, although they have long since become city dwellers, and the Clans were and are very warlike.  This warlike nature ultimately allowed them to unify their planet prior to the development of the drive field. 

D’Bringi society is organized around clans rather than cities or nations.  Clans are central to almost all areas of D’Bringi society.  Only a relatively small number of D’Bringi, less than 10%, are clan-less, and these people are considered the lowest of the low and beneath honor.  The bulk of D’Bringi, perhaps 50-60%, belong to the small to medium sized clans that run most of D’Bringi society.  The remainder belong to the three major ruling clans and their associated and allied clans. 

The D’Bringi are ruled by a Clan Council that has representatives from the three largest and most powerful clans, along with the leader of the Keepers.  In theory this Council is all-powerful, however, in reality the various clans are left to rule themselves and their members as they wish, with little or no interference from the other, more powerful clans, as long as they don’t interfere with the major clans too much.  Most of internal and external clan relations are governed by a complex set of traditions that allow the clans to work together with a minimum of friction to reach the goals set by the Clan Council. 

Much of the D’Bringi world-view was formed by their interactions with the more advanced nations that surrounded them before and during their conquest of their home planet.  The D’Bringi clans had the advantage of a warlike nature and a nomadic mindset, but the surrounding nations were almost all more advanced in terms of technology and industry.  The D’Bringi were able to conquer their neighbors and become the rulers of the entire race through cunning and an ability to pit their adversaries against each other, along with ability to utilize technology stolen from or otherwise acquired from their enemies.  When the D’Bringi began expanding beyond their own system, they continued this mindset of conquering their opponents and then incorporating them within their own nation, first with the T’Pau, and then with the other, smaller races that they met as they expanded.  This approach failed with the Humans, and the D’Bringi Council decided upon a different approach with the Rehorish, who were considered too powerful to conquer at the time they were found. 

Prior to the intervention of the Rehorish, and their experiences with the T’Pau, the D’Bringi Clans planned to conquer every race they met, occupy them and divert their wealth and resources to support the D’Bringi nation.  No thought was given to the end game with such races, as the clans were focused on amassing as much wealth and power as they could gather.  The war with the Humans strained the D’Bringi Expanses to the maximum, increasing their reliance on the T’Pau for military support, and on the other conquered races for economic support, and revealed the overall weakness of the D’Bringi system.  By permanently relegating the subject races to a limited role within their empire, the D’Bringi were crippling a significant part of their economy.  After the Mintek tried to subvert several of their subject species, and the T’Pau fleet’s valiant performance in action against the Mintek, the Clan Council realized that their approach had been myopic and short-sighted.  Since then, the D’Bringi have taken the role of mentor to these other races.  Under this system, the new races are brought into the D’Bringi Expanses by force, but after a short period of occupation where their government is reordered to be more amenable to inclusion within the D’Bringi interstellar empire, they are released from direct control and bound to the D’Bringi Expanses by a web of treaties, along with the clear expectation that they will continue to act in the best interest of the Alliance as a whole, rather than their own limited self-interest.   To date this has worked well, however, the Rehorish are now pushing for the D’Bringi to begin trying to incorporate new races into their empire through peaceful measures first, before resorting to military action.  The D’Bringi have been willing to at least talk to the Rehorish about this, as the other changes have resulted in vast improvements in the overall strength of the D’Bringi Expanses and the D’Bringi Alliance overall. 

The D’Bringi Alliance was created by the D’Bringi and the Rehorish to coordinate their actions against the humans during the war, and to bring all of the races they had contacted within the same governmental umbrella.  The Grand Alliance Council controls all inter-race relations and can dictate terms to member governments, although that tends to be one-way, with the D’Bringi and Rehorish dictating terms to the other member governments.  Enlarging the Grand Council by adding a T’Pau member was viewed by most Rehorish as a method of diluting Rehorish power and influence within the Alliance Council, however, the Rehorish ended up supporting the elevation of the T’Pau any as they feared breaking the Alliance in a time when they had several external enemies. 

T’Pau had gained such respect by their steadfast actions during the war against the Mintek that the D’Bringi found themselves fully in support of elevating the T’Pau, and with Rehorish support it was a foregone conclusion.  Since their elevation, the T’Pau have been very careful to vote mostly in lockstep with the D’Bringi, ensuring that their patrons have no reason to doubt their loyalty. 

For the D’Bringi, the Alliance is a way to ensure that they continue to have influence beyond what their population and economy would otherwise allow.  The D’Bringi have long been the least populous of the three main Alliance races, largely because of their preference for type “ST” worlds.  Just recently the T’Pau became the second most productive race within the Alliance, after the Rehorish.  In fact, the D’Bringi’s largest advantages are their higher tech level, and the fact that all of the other races in the Alliance are bound to them, rather than the Rehorish.  The exploration that the D’Bringi have done since their discovery of the drive field has taught them that worlds suitable for their colonization are much less common than the type “T” worlds that most other races are suited for, putting them at a significant disadvantage.  Indeed, the increasing advantage that the Rehorish had over the D’Bringi in terms of their rapidly expanding economy was the primary reason that the D’Bringi granted their loyal allies the T’Pau rights to survey and colonize type T worlds through the D’Bringi Expanses.  The Rehorish had long been pushing for permission to exploit those worlds, which had largely remained fallow and unexploited during D’Bringi expansion.  D’Bringi resistance to this proposal by the Rehorish was growing increasingly troublesome in their relationship with the other primary race of the Alliance, but the D’Bringi government could easily foresee a time when they were reduced to a minor race within the Alliance, particularly if they gave the already rapidly growing Rehorish access to so many type T planets.  Thus, granting the T’Pau access to those planets solved several problems for the D’Bringi at once. 

Rehorish
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 28
Total Population Units (PU): 10,218
Total Population: 40,520,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 17
Tech Level: 7
The Rehorish are bipedal, and generally larger than D’Bringi, who average approximately the same height as humans.  Bipedal is where their similarities with most of the other races ends, as the Rehorish are insect-like, with a carapace that extends from the back of their heads down their backs.  Their heads are comparatively small and set forward on their upper chest, and contain only their sensory organs, with their brain being located directly under their shell in the middle of their back.   They have two eyes and two antennae in their heads with a small mouth hidden at the bottom of their head.  They have two thickly muscled arms and two equally muscled legs, and a number of smaller grasping appendages down their sides.  For all of their different appearance, the Rehorish bear their young live and form family groupings more or less similar to those of the D’Bringi and the humans. 

Like the D’Bringi, the Rehorish government was originally formed by an alliance of the major clans that ruled the bulk of Rehorish Prime prior to the discovery of the drive field.  Unlike the D’Bringi, the Rehorish have long evolved past the direct involvement of clans in their government, with the remaining clans being more of social organizations than anything else.  The current Rehorish government is a form of democratic constitutional monarchy, with the clan elders and Patriarchs and Matriarchs in theory wielding considerable power, but in actuality this power is severely limited due to tradition and practice. 

The Rehorish have been in space for a considerable amount of time, and long-ago established colonies throughout their system, but had missed the existence of warp points until a D’Bringi ship arrived in their system and established contact.  The Rehorish are somewhat arrogant, and consider themselves to be the senior race in the Alliance, generally justifying that belief by pointing out how long they have been in space compared to the other races, and by how long their current form of government has existed compared with the much younger governments of the other races.  The Rehorish have gone to lengths to moderate this arrogance when dealing with the other races, as they recognize that this attitude can be counterproductive, and that they need to the other races and the Alliance given the dangerous nature of the galaxy.  They have not been entirely successful in hiding this attribute, though, and most of the other races in the Alliance consider them stuck up and difficult to deal with, although they are also considered valuable allies and brave fighters.  The junior races of the Alliance also appreciate the Rehorish for advocating for a more moderate approach from the D’Bringi towards the incorporation and participation of the younger races, and are willing to overlook their stuffiness because of that. 

T’Pau
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 15
Total Population Units (PU): 6,115
Total Population: 28,190,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 9
Tech Level: 6
The T’Pau are bipedal and generally humanoid in appearance.  They are generally taller and skinnier than most humans, or D’Bringi for that matter, and are hairless and covered with thick, leathery skin.  The T’Pau have an elongated head, with boney spikes protruding from the backs of their heads, and a spikey ridge running down their backs. 

The T’Pau government is called the Syndicate, and it is a loose confederation of nations and city-states on their home planet.  The member states have a number of governmental types, ranging from absolute democracy to totalitarian dictatorships, but the overall format of the planetary government is a republic, with representatives to the interplanetary legislature selected from the various member states, and the leadership of the Council of Ministers selected by the legislature from its members. 

The T’Pau home system is located adjacent to the D’Bringi home system, and they were conquered by the D’Bringi after the D’Bringi discovered warp point travel, becoming the first race to be incorporated within the D’Bringi Expanses.  The T’Pau were granted a limited form of independence prior to the second phase of the war between the D’Bringi Alliance and Humanity, but were very much considered a junior and subordinate member of the Alliance by the D’Bringi until the war with the Mintek started.  The T’Pau had resigned themselves to being subjects of the D’Bringi, and their government had collectively come to the decision that they would strive to show the D’Bringi that they would be good and loyal members of their Alliance, in the hopes that this show of loyalty would better their position.  The performance of the T’Pau fleet in the battles with the Mintek so impressed the warlike D’Bringi that when the Rehorish suggested a new model for the newer races within the Alliance, granting them increased independence and a say in how things were run, the D’Bringi readily agreed to elevating the T’Pau. 

Currently the T’Pau are one of three voting members of the Alliance, along with the Rehorish and the D’Bringi.  D’Bringi military occupation of the T’Pau system has ended, and all D’Bringi ‘advisors’ have been withdrawn.  The D’Bringi still retain unlimited rights of transit through the T’Pau system, as it is their only link to their colonies and allies, but the T’Pau have been granted control of their own system in all other respects.  In addition, the T’Pau have been granted colonization and exploration rights throughout the D’Bringi Expanses, which has allowed them to vastly expand their empire and improve their economy to the point that they are now the second most productive species within the Alliance. 

Bjering
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 8
Total Population Units (PU): 5,141
Total Population: 24,840,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 7
Tech Level: 8
The Bjering are a bipedal humanoid race, with light green skin and average height.  The Bjering tend to be accepting of other races, and are very militaristic.  Some time before being contacted by the USSR, the central Bjering government, which had always been somewhat weak and chaotic, and dominated by special interests, corporations, and regional governments, collapsed and was replaced by a group of military leaders that took control of the remaining organs of government by dint of their control of the Bjering fleet.  The rule of the Bjering admirals has lasted longer than anyone could have predicted, largely because of their decision to remain out of local issues, allowing corporations, local governments, and special interests to resolve their differences on their own, as long as their actions didn’t threaten the entire race or the fleet.  To outsiders the Bjering system appears chaotic, however, in spite of the apparent chaos, the system as a whole appears to be stable, at least so far.

The Bjering prefer peaceful relations with their neighbors, and prefer military alliances over trade, although they are not above engaging in trade as a way to support their fleet.  For the last several months the Bjering have been exploring the possibility of joining their system together with the Tomsk Union, but while both sides seem to be willing to at least explore the possibility, it remains to be seen if two races so different in their approaches to governance can combine into one system. 

The Bjering remain independent of entangling alliances with the two main powers in known space, the D’Bringi Alliance and the growing Colonial Union.  They have agreed to a trade relationship with the Wunderland Association, and have recently reluctantly agreed to trade with the D’Bringi.  This is in spite of their preferred approach to dealing with other races of binding them with military agreements.  The Bjering have taken this cautious approach because they don’t trust the D’Bringi, who they view as oath-breakers, and because the increasing xenophobia of the Colonial Union/Wunderland Association is troubling. 

Mintek
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 17
Total Population Units (PU): 8,481
Total Population: 53,050,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 11
Tech Level: 8
The Mintek are bipedal humanoids so similar to humans that he D’Bringi at first believed that they had discovered a branch of humanity when they first discovered the Mintek.  There are many internal physiological differences, but the primary visual difference between a Mintek and a Human is the hard shell that covers the back of a Mintek’s head.  The Mintek are ruled by a strong, centralized federal government.  Most of the government’s leaders and members are selected from graduates of certain approved training schools that emphasize efficiency and technical competency, and the overall government can be considered a meritocracy.

The Mintek home system contains three habitable planets.  One is the home planet for the Mintek race itself, but the Mintek Universal Union contains two additional races.  The second race is the Beoratal, who evolved on the second planet of the binary system’s secondary star (the Mintek evolved on the third planet in the same system).  The Beoratal are smaller than the average Mintek, although they tend to mass more as their bodies are longer.  The Beoratal have six legs, an exoskeleton, and would appear to a human as similar to a large, albeit misshapen, grasshopper.  Early relations between the Beoratal and the Mintek were troubled, and ultimately resulted in the conquest and incorporation of the Beoratal into the Mintek Universal Union shortly after the Mintek discovered the drive field.  By the time the D’Bringi discovered the Mintek the Beoratal had been completely incorporated within the Universal Union, and in all ways were considered part of the Mintek race.  The third race within the Union are the D’Bringi that were enlightened prior to the time when D’Bringi belligerence brought an end to peaceful contact between the two races.  There are just under three million D’Bringi living and prospering on the third planet in the primary star system in the Mintek binary system, and although they have not achieved the level of integration that the Beoratal have, they are on track to become productive and happy members of the Union in the future. 

The Mintek view themselves as cosmopolitan and advanced, and open and accepting of other races.  If asked, they would point to the status of the Beoratal within their society as evidence of their accepting nature, and indeed, by law the Beoratal are considered equal in every way.  In fact, although they are treated with equal respect and allowed much self-rule, the Beoratal are considered very much secondary members of the Union.  While in theory the Beoratal can serve in the military, the vast bulk of the Union’s military is composed of Mintek, with no Beoratal achieving a higher rank than lieutenant in the survey corps.  In spite of the fact that all governmental positions are in theory open to all, no governmental functionaries or leaders above the local level are Beoratal.  For the most part the Mintek are blind to this disparity, believing to their core that their society is open to the participation of all.  If confronted with this disparity the average Mintek will disagree, and the other persists, they will graciously accept the statements of anyone who made such claims, and then report them to the Ministry for Equality and Inclusion for re-education.   On the surface the Mintek appear to be societally advanced, open and accepting people, however, their unwavering belief system makes them difficult neighbors. 

The Mintek are bound together by a deep and total belief in the One Universal God.  The Universal Faith has, over the centuries since its adoption, evolved away from an actual belief in a superior being and into a set of all-encompassing beliefs that touch upon everything the Mintek do, from day-to-day chores to the overarching actions of their interstellar government.  The Mintek firmly believe that they have found the ‘right’ way to live, and that every member of every other race must be enlightened and brought to this same belief.  Indeed, the Mintek believe that it is their responsibility to the other races to bring the tenants of their belief to the other races, as without those beliefs the other races will be doomed to live in unhappiness and isolation, unfulfilled and living pointless existences.

Part 2 will contain the minor races 
 
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Cold War: Minor Race Overview, Month 150
« Reply #152 on: February 25, 2021, 08:49:49 AM »
Races of the Cold War Campaign, as of Turn 150
Part 2

Minor Races
Alowan
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 3,562
Total Population: 25,640,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 7
The Alowan were discovered by the Mintek, who recently initiated first contact.  The Alowan are bipedal and vaguely humanoid, although they vary significantly from the norm.  The Alowan are grey in color, and to a human would appear to be squid-like, with tentacles dangling from the front of their faces.  Their arms and legs both terminate in bundles of tentacles for grasping and holding things. 

The Alowan government is led by a powerful dictator who serves for a single twenty-year term, after which they are replaced by the next dictator chosen by a general election.  The Alowan aren’t particularly militaristic, and are accepting of outsiders. 

Bedu
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 3,255
Total Population: 27,370,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 8
The Bedu are bipedal humanoids, short in stature and with vaguely frog-like features.  The Bedu Republic is led by a military dictatorship, which seized control of the government during a relatively recent crisis and has managed to maintain in control.  The Bedu emphasis on military and military related issues should have made them a natural ally of the Bjering, who discovered them, however, the relationship between the two races has been fraught would misunderstandings and difficulties, leading the Bedu to distrust their neighbors. 

Bir
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 412
Total Population: 50,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: -1
The Bir are fearsome in appearance, possessing a centaur-like body with four large legs, an upthrust abdomen with multiple arms, some of which end in vicious stabbing implements, and a fearsome head with a large, fang-filled mouth with four grasping appendages surrounding it, suitable for holding prey while the Bir rips off chunks.  In addition, the Bir are covered in tough chitin and possess large vestigial wings that, while they do not allow the Bir to fly, do add significantly to its dangerous appearance.  For all of this, the Bir are not warlike in any way, and, before their discovery by the D’Bringi, had never engaged in anything close to war or warlike behavior, and indeed had no standing military.  The Bir government is more of a contemplative association devoted to the study of issues important to the Bir than anything that anyone else would consider a government, but that is changing now that the Bir have been incorporated into the D’Bringi Alliance.  The D’Bringi occupation began a reorganization of Bir society along more efficient lines, and this reorganization has continued now that the occupation has been lifted. 

Chirq
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 580
Total Population: 20,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 1
While in appearance the Chirq are completely different than the Bir, they are similar in that individually they have an awesome and fearsome appearance.  They are also similar in that they are centauroids, with four legs attached to their thorax, an upthrust body with four arms, two of which end in sharp stabbing appendages, and a fearsome head with multiple compound eyes.  For all of that the Chirq share the Bir’s aversion to violence.  As a people the Chirq are peaceful and non-violent, and did not maintain a standing military prior to being discovered by the D’Bringi.  Their original government was small and ineffective, existing mostly as a debating society to occupy those who enjoyed arguing with their neighbors.  Since their conquest, much like the Bir, Chirq society has been reordered along more productive lines and D’Bringi efforts to uplift them are ongoing. 

Doraz
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 5
Total Population Units (PU): 2,462
Total Population: 4,010,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 4
Tech Level: 5
The Doraz were discovered and conquered by the D’Bringi early in their expansion, while their war with the Humans was in a lull.  The Doraz are small, slug-like beings who have embraced technological enhancement as a way to give them advantages that nature neglected to give them through evolution.  The average Doraz has been enhanced in multiple ways, usually ranging from implants to exoskeletons and attached weaponry. 

The Doraz government at the time of contact with the D’Bringi was a military anarchy, however, this government was wiped away by the D’Bringi conquest and then the subsequent occupation.   Since their release by the D’Bringi, the Doraz have been ruled by a military dictatorship, which was organized by their occupiers to rule the nation during the occupation, and which has since survived their release.  Recently, a new leader has risen to control the state, and has proclaimed himself Rygel the First, Dominar of Doraz. 

Tarek
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 1,896
Total Population: 2,580,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 3
The Tarek were discovered by the human Coalition early in their expansion into interstellar space.  The Tarek were HT-0 at the time of discovery, which launched a debate in the Coalition Senate as to the status of the Tarek and whether and how first contact should be made.  In the meantime, the Coalition corporation that discovered the system initiated the colonization of the system’s second habitable planet immediately, out of fear that the Coalition Senate would issue a ban on colonization in the system, costing the corporation billions of credits.  The colonization effort caused significant upset in the Senate, and directly led to a law that banned colonization of planets in systems that contained an intelligent race.  This law was too late for the Tarek system, where the Wunderland colony was already established.  The Coalition’s colonization of Wunderland deeply offended the Tarek, who considered all of the planets in their system their property, and tainted all future contact between the two races. 

The Tarek are large crab-like beings, with hard chitinous outer shells and large pincers, along with numerous legs and grasping arms positioned around their bodies.  The Tarek government is an Imperial Monarchy, with the ruling family being considered just one step short of deities.  The day-to-day affairs of the empire are governed by the Emperor’s Prime Minister, who in reality wields the actual power in the society.  Tarek society is bound by tradition and honor, and the Tarek in general are intolerant of outsiders, stubborn, and very militaristic. 

The Tarek lost a war with the Wunderlanders after the United Colonial Defense Fleet intervened and destroyed their fleet and orbital defenses and shipyards.  The Tarek were forced to admit defeat and agree to the demilitarization of space beyond their atmosphere, limiting their defenses to PDC’s.  The Tarek have stuck to this agreement and have not launched any warships or orbital defenses, but have maintained several PDC’s which they have taken pains to modernize as their technology improved. 

Tlatelolco
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 489
Total Population: 120,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 1
The Tlatelolco are large, underground dwelling beings with a fearsome appearance, looking much like legendary dragons without wings, as one human explorer described them.  The Tlatelolco were discovered by the Coalition several jumps from the Sligo system.  In spite of their fearsome appearance, the Tlatelolco were much more friendly than the Tarek, and they benefitted from the newly passed law in the Coalition that prohibited colonization of systems with an intelligent race, meaning that the relationship between the Tlatelolco and the Coalition were uncomplicated by land-grabs or corporate incursions.  The Tlatelolco were at a low-tech level when discovered, and the Coalition, and now the Colonial Union, have invested considerable sums of money in assisting them in raising their technology.   With the change in attitudes within the Colonial Union, the Tlatelolco have been cultivating the Tomsk Union, however, they are located deep within the Colonial Union and have no direct access to the Tomsk Union. 

Torqual
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 5
Total Population Units (PU): 4,223
Total Population: 20,870,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 4
Tech Level: 3
The Torqual are bipedal humanoids, hairless, with grey skin, elongated ears compared to humans, and tend to be heavily muscled.  The Torqual were discovered and conquered by the D’Bringi in between the two active phases of their war with the Humans.  The Torqual are distinctly not militaristic, and like several other races encountered by the D’Bringi, had no real organized military before their discovery.  The Torqual are philosophical in nature and their government prior to conquest was literally a debating society.  As with the Doraz, the D’Bringi went to some lengths to re-order their society and government during the occupation, and since their release the Torqual have possessed a clan-based government that is familiar to the D’Bringi. 

Zir
Populated Planets (over settlement size): 1
Total Population Units (PU): 4,247
Total Population: 27,950,000,000
Inhabited Systems: 1
Tech Level: 5
The Zir were just recently discovered by the D’Bringi, and debate now rages within the Alliance Council over the method the Alliance should take to contact the new race.  Unlike many of the other races discovered by the D’Bringi, the Zir are non-humanoid in appearance.  The Zir possess a large, vaguely cylindrical, upright body with four legs positioned equilaterally around the lower edges.  The Zir’s ‘head’ is reminiscent of a mushroom cap, and they have a large, gaping mouth on the ‘front’ of their body.   The Zir have no obvious eyes or other sensory receptors, although they must exist.  Little is yet known about the Zir. 
 
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Cold War: Months 151 to 155
« Reply #153 on: February 28, 2021, 11:52:27 AM »
Month 151
Humanity
The Wunderland Association launches its first home-built battlecruiser. 

D’Bringi Alliance
The Torqual Benignity reaches HT-4 with D’Bringi assistance.   

The Alliance Council reaches agreement.  Orders are sent to the D’Bringi probe group to establish contact with the newly discovered alien race, and to attempt to establish communications.  A negotiating team made up of representatives from the Alliance races will be sent to take over negotiations when full communications are reached.  The probe force complies, and contact with the new race is established shortly thereafter.   Initial contact attempts go well. 

In the Rehorish Stellar Dominion, the Dominion External Intelligence Service has warned the Admiralty that the D’Bringi have fielded a new type of combat system called the fighter, which appears to be some sort of high-performance small craft.  The details are not clear, nor is the level of effectiveness of the new system, however, whatever its effectiveness the Rehorish have no counter to this new technology.  The fact that the D’Bringi have not provided any information on the new system is concerning, however, given the divisions within the D’Bringi Expanses the Admiralty’s top admirals believe that it is at least possible that the D’Bringi are divided in their opinion on the new weapons system themselves.  In any case a secret project is set up to bring together everything the Dominion can find out about the new system, and to develop a counter, should it be necessary.   

Month 152
The D’Bringi Alliance
The Rehorish launch nine new battlecruisers, bringing their fleet total up to six long-range and six short-ranged battlecruisers.  To offset the expense of maintaining the new ships, the Rehorish sell six heavy cruisers to the T’Pau and six to the Torqual. 

Month 153
D’Bringi Alliance
The D’Bringi launch four new battlecruisers for the K’Rorin and T’Chau clan fleets. 

The Rehorish complete R&D on data-linked point defense and pinnaces.  The development of the new point defense system leads to the redesign of most of the Fleet’s ships, however, the Admiralty decides against another major refit.  Instead, all new construction will be of the new designs.  In addition, a new corvette sized pinnace carrier is designed, and construction on the prototype will start this month.  These new ships will join the survey fleets and the main fleets as warp point probe ships.  The Pinnace Carrier will be able carry four pinnaces to aide in warp point probes. 

In addition, the Rehorish Stellar Dominion begins a secret research project.  The Dominion’s project to study the D’Bringi clan’s new technology, the fighter, has determined that the new technology, should it be employed effectively, could revolutionize warfare.  The project gives several recommendations to the Admiralty.  The first recommendation is the development of a small craft to counter the D’Bringi fighters.  While the Rehorish do not currently have the technology to match the D’Bringi fighters, they can build a crude copy that should be able to at least blunt any attack launched by an enemy’s fighters.  The second recommendation is the development of escort ships for capital ships.  The project determined that these escort ships should mount copious amounts of point defense, which currently appears to be the best ship-based weapon to combat the fighters.  The Admiralty decides to implement both recommendations.  Although the D’Bringi are not considered a threat at the current time, if the D’Bringi have developed the new technology, it is always possible that someone else has as well.  R&D is started on an anti-fighter small craft, and a new escort destroyer class is designed and construction is started on the prototype. 

The D’Bringi contact team working to establish communications with the strange aliens discovered beyond the Snaw system reach full communications this month.  Eagerly, the D’Bringi negotiators offer the aliens, who call themselves the Zir Contemplative Union, associate membership within the Alliance (trade & military treaty). 

The Zir appear to be large ambulatory mushrooms with no discernable eyes and a large gaping mouth.  As strange as the Zir appear, they are even stranger to talk with.  While full communications have been established, the Zir are sometimes hard to understand.  Much of their interest seems to be focused on theory, whether it is theoretical physics or politics doesn’t seem to matter much.  Any conversation with a Zir is likely to devolve into lengthy and circuitous discussions of arcane theories of existence, or something of a similar sort.  In spite of this, or perhaps because of this, the Zir are for the most part friendly and appear to be eager to establish a diplomatic relationship with their new interstellar friends.  The Zir Union almost immediately agrees to join the D’Bringi Alliance, albeit after a somewhat lengthy discussion of the merits of cooperation over aggression in the perfect universe.  The D’Bringi contact team theorizes that the Zir have agreed to an alliance with the D’Bringi because they know they are not particularly practical or ready for the galactic stage. 

Independents
The Mintek negotiation team under Strategos Neeron offers a trade and military alliance to the Alowan Triumvirate for a second time, only to be rebuffed again.  Neeron is at the end of his patience, but cannot act on his own without clear provocation.  Therefore, he dispatches a message back to the home planet requesting guidance.  The response arrives quickly through the communications network.  Neeron is to wait one more month then offer a trade treaty to the Alowan.  If they refuse, then he may launch a campaign to liberate the Alowan people so that they may be led to the truth. 

Month 154
Humanity
The Enlightened Union of the Tlatelolco reaches HT-2, and requests assistance from the Colonial Union to develop the various systems that have become available at that tech level.  The Colonial Union, which has been growing more and more xenophobic, turns down this request.  The Tlatelolco then turn to the Tomsk Union, which agrees to fund the Tlatelolco’s research.  This causes as stir in the Colonial Union’s Senate, and within the Foreign Ministry.  The New Dawn Party is divided on this matter, as they wish better relationships with the other human governments, but are against giving aliens better technology, or assisting them in developing it. 

On the Wunderland Association’s frontier, a survey ship probing a newly discovered warp point in a starless nexus discovers a system with an intelligent race residing on an ST planet in the primary system.  Following SOP the scout ship withdraws without contacting the natives.  When the news reaches the capital, the Governor decides to defer contact and declares the system, and the warp link leading to it, a red zone.  The Colonial Union agrees with this approach, as the Colonial Union’s Senate recently decided that the Union would not voluntarily establish contact with any newly discovered race, in order to minimize the threat those races might present to the human race. 

On Wunderland, construction is started on a new, very secret project.  The naval construction project is classified at the highest level, and is the result of cooperation between the Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association.  The United Kingdom class super-dreadnoughts are massive missile platforms, intended to pound alien fleets into scrap.  The SD’s huge hull will take quite a bit of time to prototype, but when it launches it will become a visible representation of humanity’s commitment to its defense, and the superiority of humanity’s technology and industry. 

D’Bringi Alliance
The Rehorish launch twelve new battlecruisers.  To offset the cost of maintaining the new ships, they sell six heavy cruisers to the Torqual, and mothball nine other heavy cruisers.   

Independents
The Mintek negotiators under Strategos Neeron offer a trade treaty to the Alowan Triumvirate.  The Alowan team, which had sent what it thought were clear warnings to the Mintek to give them time to consider the offers that had been made to date, flat out refuses to the consider the new offer and orders the Mintek to leave their system.   

Strategos Neeron compliantly orders his contact ship to leave the system.  They are followed to the warp point by a squadron of Alowan ships which then observe them jumping out.  Five minutes later Mintek ships begin jumping into the system.  The leading ships were the Fast Attack Group’s battlecruisers, followed by its escorting destroyers. 

The Fast Attack Group began pushing the Alowan squadron away from the warp point while the Mintek Carrier Strike Group jumped into the system.  Once the two groups were assembled, they pursued the Alowan corvette squadron towards their home planet.  The Alowan fleet waited in orbit over their home planet, under the guns of their four large orbital forts, while the Mintek force approached.  The Alowan fleet consisted of nine battlecruisers, eighteen destroyers, and twelve corvettes. 

The Mintek fleet approaching the planet consisted of seven battlecruisers, twelve destroyers, six light carriers, one strike carrier, and one escort carrier.  In total, the carrier strike group carried one hundred and seventy-four fighters and six armed pinnaces. 

Finally, as the Mintek reached one light minute from the planet, their forces came to a halt.  Once halted, the Mintek fleet sent a message towards the planet.  The message was from Minister Turval, addressed to the Alowan people. 

“This message is for every Alowan.  The Mintek people are not your enemies.  We want nothing but good for each and every one of you, but your government has selfishly and foolishly decided to keep the truth from you.  We come to you in all good will, bearing nothing but the truth of the universe, and after we promised to share that truth with you your government refused to allow us to give their own citizens access to the enlightenment that we possess and are willing to share with you.  It has been our bitter experience in the past that unbelievers will go to any length to keep the truth from their own citizens, and therefore we cannot allow your government to continue to deceive you.  The Mintek government has sent the fleet that is now before your planet to protect the Alowan citizens from their own government, which is lying to you and has threatened the holy bearers of the truth.  I plead with you to remove your leaders who refuse to see the truth, and who have refused to allow the truth to be shared with you.  Your lives and your futures are in your hands.  Do not let your corrupt government continue to keep you in darkness.  Join us in the light of the truth!  Our fleet will hold in its current position for one day, to give you time to convince your government to see the light, and to come to the truth.  Please, for all of our sakes, do the right thing!”

Unfortunately, the Alowan fleet wasn’t willing to wait for the Alowan citizens to come to a decision, even if they were so inclined.  The Alowan admiral could see that his fleet out-massed the Mintek fleet, if barely, and so the Alowan fleet charged out of orbit towards the waiting Mintek fleet.  The Alowan admiral had calculated that even if his fleet lost this battle against the Mintek, the remaining ships could retreat under the weapons of their orbital bases and at that point the Mintek would have to retreat, as they almost certainly wouldn’t have enough strength remaining to challenge the forts and the remnants of their fleet. 

The Mintek fleet didn’t move, but it did launch its fighters, all twenty-nine squadrons.  The small fighters raced away from the Mintek fleet towards the oncoming Alowan fleet.  Interestingly, the Alowan fleet didn’t hesitate and continued their headlong rush towards the Mintek fleet. 

For the next nine minutes the Alowan fleet rushed towards the Mintek fleet, closing to thirty-three light seconds from the Mintek force.  During that same time the Mintek fighter force closed to two-point-five light seconds of the Mintek force. 

On board the command battlecruiser, the Mintek admiral was staring at the plot in shock.  “How many small-craft?”

“Sir, sensors indicate that there are one hundred and seventy-four closing on our position!”

The Alowan admiral thought furiously.  The telemetry feed from the home planet had shown that small craft were headed towards the fleet, but the home planet’s sensors hadn’t been able to give them hard numbers, and their own sensors were too myopic to see the small craft until they had closed to five light seconds.  He had assumed that the alien small craft were a scout force, but there was no way that anyone would send out that many small craft as a scout force.  Indeed, there was no sane reason he could see for anyone to carry that many small craft, period.  That large a number had to have eaten significantly in to the number of weapons the Mintek fleet could carry.  There was only one possibility.  They had to be rammers.  “All ships are to begin engine modulation!  Point defense teams prepare to engage the small craft!  Beam weapons are to target the small craft as well!”

The Alowan fleet slammed to a halt as the alien small craft closed to a half a light second.  Alowan point defense fire began reaching out towards the alien small craft at that point, along with numerous beam weapons.  Twenty-four alien small craft died in the barrage, leaving one hundred and fifty to attack the Alowan force. 

The Alowan admiral, recognizing the danger to his capital ships, ordered his battlecruisers to divert some of their engine power and move forwards, towards the oncoming small craft, allowing the destroyers and corvettes to cover the bigger capital ship’s blind spots.  Sure enough, the alien small craft raced past the battlecruisers and then executed a sharp turn, ending in the big cruiser’s blind spots.  The crews on board the entire Alowan fleet held their collective breath as they waited for the small craft to begin ramming the battle cruisers, but instead the alien small craft began ripple firing small missiles at point blank range.  The missiles slammed into the hapless targets, each with the impact of a capital missile, causing heavy damage to the targeted battlecruiser and slowing it to a fraction of its former speed.  Frantically, the destroyers positioned behind the battlecruisers began firing at the alien small craft, but each destroyer only had two point-defense emplacements capable of engaging the alien small craft.  They managed to destroy thirteen more fighters, but in the meantime the alien small craft continued to pump their short-range missiles into the big Alowan ships, crippling six more of the big battlecruisers.  The Alowan corvettes joined in, destroying four more fighters, while the alien small craft crippled the two remaining intact battlecruisers. 

In seconds the Alowan force was devastated.  The battlecruiser group was crippled and reduced to about one sixth of its original speed, and while the destroyers and corvettes were intact and capable of full speed, they now had to make the decision between continuing their charge or remaining with their crippled battlecruisers to protect them from the alien small craft.  The alien small craft force split, with the small craft that had expended their weaponry moving off, while the remaining small craft maneuvered to get within the blind spots of the Alowan ships.  The remaining alien small craft ignored the battlecruisers.  For the most part the Alowan ships managed to maintain firing arcs on at least some of the alien small craft, and the battle continued. 

When the alien small craft broke away, they left without fifty-eight of their fellow small craft, lost attacking the Alowan ships.  No Alowan ships were destroyed in the attack, but all nine battlecruisers and ten of their destroyers were crippled in the attack. 

The alien small craft raced away, back towards their fleet.  The Mintek fleet began moving forward, towards the crippled Alowan fleet, at the same time.  The Alowan admiral, seeing no other alternatives, ordered the eight intact destroyers and the twelve remaining corvettes to race back towards the planet, leaving the crippled battlecruisers and destroyers behind.  The mass of crippled ships turned back towards the planet as well, but their progress towards the coverage of the orbital bases was painfully slow. 

Four and a half minutes later the Alowan destroyer and corvette force was just under ten light seconds from their home planet, while the Mintek fleet had closed to forty-six and a half light seconds of the planet.  The Mintek small craft group merged with the main fleet, which came to a stop to recover them, and then the Mintek fleet continued on towards the limping cripples. 

Eight minutes later the Mintek force had closed to four-point-five light seconds of the crippled Alowan ships.  At that time Strategos Neeron issued a demand for the cripples to surrender.  There was no reply, but after a few seconds several of the Alowan ships begin spitting out life pods, while others drop their drive fields.  The ships that launched life pods self-destructed shortly thereafter, while the others waited placidly for the Mintek to approach.  Only two of the crippled battlecruisers self-destructed, leaving the rest to be boarded by Mintek seizure crews. 

With the crippled force under control, the Mintek fleet set out for the planet again, leaving behind three destroyers to watch over their prizes.  It took just two and a half minutes for the Mintek fleet to close to just outside of capital missile range of the planet.  Once there, Strategos Neeron broadcast a plea for the defenders to surrender and halt the bloodshed.  The plea was sincere, but it fell on deaf ears.   After waiting for five minutes, Strategos Neeron ordered the fleet to begin the assault.  The fleet’s carriers launched their fighters, and after assembling the nineteen squadrons set out for the planet.  They were accompanied for this assault by six armed pinnaces launched from the light carriers. 

For the next ninety seconds the Mintek fighters and armed pinnaces closed on the planet and its defenders, while the main fleet waited and the defenders watched and prepared.  Finally, with the fighters closing to the enemy’s weapon range, the main Mintek force lunged forward into capital missile range.  The Mintek battlecruisers began launching salvoes of capital missiles at two of the very large bases orbiting the planet, forcing the bases to keep their point defense on missile defense duties, instead of firing them at the incoming fighters.  The Mintek battlecruisers were only firing three capital missiles each, and the bases put out an immense amount of datalinked point defense fire, but two missiles of the eighteen that were launched slipped through the base’s defense.  Surprisingly, the two targeted bases, each of which was substantially larger than a superdreadnought, lost its shields after a single capital missile hit.  For now, the defenders were silent, indicating they did not mount capital missiles, which would have been able to respond to the battlecruiser’s missiles, or lasers, which were the only weapons that could reach the incoming fighters, which were just over a light second out. 

The Mintek fighters raced to point blank range, as the Mintek fleet came to a halt at six-point-five light seconds range and continued to bombard the bases at long range.  The bases, which were the fighter’s main targets, had no blind-spots, and thus the fighters were forced to plunge directly towards them and attack, heedless of the defensive fire.  The Alowan base commanders had come to a decision, and targeted the fighters with their point defense batteries, trusting in their EDM’s to defend the big stations from the small missile salvoes from the Mintek ships.  One of the two-unit base datagroups lashed out with a truly massive number of point defense emplacements and force beams, killing ten Mintek fighters before they could fire, but in response the lead fighter group salvoed its close attack rockets and savaged the third base, knocking it out of its datagroup and cutting deep into the big construct.  The fourth, intact, base opened fire with its point defense and force beams, destroying nine more fighters in a prodigious display of defensive fire, but the other fighters continued lining up to launch their rockets into the motionless defenders.   The destroyers and corvettes, which were positioned to support the bases, began firing at the fighters as well, killing thirteen more fighters before they could launch their ordnance.  They couldn’t stop the fighters from crippling the remaining bases with rocket after rocket fired into the mammoth orbital defense centers.  The big orbital shipyard then joined in, firing on the attacking fighters with six point-defense emplacements, killing three more fighters.  The Mintek battlecruisers continued to launch their capital missiles, killing one of the crippled bases and further damaging another.  Finally, the six Mintek armed pinnaces swept in, pairing up to unleash barrages of rockets against three Alowan destroyers, seriously damaging all three. 

With three of the bases crippled and one destroyed, the fighters that still had their close attack missiles turned on the Alowan destroyers and corvettes, while the forty-two that had launched their ordnance raced away towards the main Mintek fleet.  The remaining fighters tore apart the destroyers, leaving all eight heavily damaged and limping, while losing seven more of their number to the corvettes.  The Mintek battlecruisers concentrated their fire on an Alowan corvette, wiping out its shields and armor.   

The fighters, having expended their munitions, raced away towards the Mintek fleet to rearm, leaving the Alowan forts burning wrecks, along with the remnants of their destroyer force drifting aimlessly amongst the burning bases as they tried to regain control of their damaged ships in the aftermath of the fighter attack.  The Mintek lost forty-three fighters in the assault, reducing their fighter force to seventy-two.  The Alowan were left with only eleven intact corvettes, along with eight crippled destroyers and three heavily damaged bases.  The Mintek battlecruisers moved out of range as the fighters ran back to the fleet. 

It took five minutes for the fighters to return and to rearm them, then they launched again.  With the ultimate result of the next fighter strike clear, Strategos Neeron once again sent a message to the defenders, literally pleading with them to end the bloodshed.  Perhaps it was the conviction in his voice, his obvious concern for not only the Mintek lives that would be lost but also the Alowan lives, or maybe it was just the cold, hard reality of the situation that got to the Alowan commanders.  In any case, one by one the remaining ships and bases began dropping their drive fields.  Three destroyers and seven of the corvettes scuttled themselves rather than be captured, but the rest waited to be boarded. 

With the battle over and control of the system in his hands, Strategos Neeron ordered a message be sent back to the warp point to the picket ship stationed there, to be transferred back to the home planet.  The system was secure, the troops that were assembling on Mintek Prime could be dispatched. 

For Strategos Neeron, this was a huge victory, and a vindication of his career after the disastrous attack into D’Bringi Alliance territory. His attack force defeated a similarly sized fleet, and captured three BS5’s, seven battlecruisers, fifteen destroyers, seven corvettes, and a large orbital shipyard complex.  Most of them were damaged, of course, and several would likely be scuttled as they were too damaged to be worthwhile repairing and converting to Mintek use, but still, it was an immense victory, and his fleet suffered no ship losses of its own.  They did lose over a hundred fighters, more than half of their strength, but still, the fighters could be easily replaced, and relatively cheaply compared to purchasing and building new ships. 

Evaluation of the captured fleet revealed that in fact four of the captured destroyers would be scuttled in place, because they were little more than hulks.  The remainder of the captured fleet would be scheduled for repair and conversion, as soon as the mobile shipyards completed their current assignment and could be relocated to the Alowan system.  The invasion force would arrive at the end of the month, and operations could begin early next month. 

The after-action report by Strategos Neeron and his staff recommended several changes be made to the Mintek fleet, to accommodate future carrier operations.  First, the long debate about the utility of the G-5 class battlecruiser was over.  Their salvo size was too small to successfully divert the enemy’s attention from attacking fighters, therefore, their mixed armaments should be converted to heavy missile armaments, only, so that they could effectively support carrier attacks.  In addition, Strategos Neeron strongly recommend the admiralty consider an escort destroyer design, to escort their capital ships and defend against enemy fighter attacks.  Also, Strategos Neeron recommended several fighter base stations be constructed in orbit over the home world, both to defend the planet and to act as a reservoir of fighters to rapidly replenish losses in mobile units, rather than having to wait for the shipyards to construct replacement fighters.  Finally, Strategos Neeron strongly recommended that the admiralty revisit the decision about how much munitions to stock on the fleet’s carriers for future operations.  His smaller carriers were down to one or two reloads, and this was unacceptable for long-term operations.  The report also included recommendations for future tactics to be utilized when attacking enemy ships as bases, but these were minor refinements on their existing strategy. 

Month 155
Independents
Mintek Universal Union
The Mintek invasion force landed late last month, and, faced with Mintek control of the orbitals and a massive army landing, the Alowan government agreed to surrender.  The Alowan military was forced to remove the “Great Leader” in order to implement the surrender, but rather than face a long losing fight against the invaders they acted decisively, decapitating the Great Leader’s government and turning her and her family over the Mintek as part of the surrender process. 

With the former leader in custody, and the Alowan military laying down their arms, the Mintek occupation force spread out across the planet, securing control of critical infrastructure and the larger cities.  Mintek and D’Bringi pilgrims went along with them, to begin the process of educating the Alowan with the truth. 

Humanity
The exodus from Earth continues.  The wave of emigrants is still being shared between the Colonial Union, the Wunderland Association, and the Tomsk Union, at least for now.  The expense of transporting and establishing these people on increasingly distant colonies is increasing, but it also helps to boost colonial production. 

The Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association complete their amalgamation efforts. 

D’Bringi Alliance
The Alliance Council decides it is time to take the war to the Mintek.  The Alliance races are ordered to provide warships for the fleet that will assemble in the D’Bringi frontier system of Breshy.  The attack date is tentatively set for three months from now. 

The D’Bringi begin by sending automated weapons and AW control ships to the frontier system, to defend their entry point into Mintek space.  A D’Bringi survey group is diverted to the Breshy system as well, to support the assault fleet.  Finally, the clans dispatch a fleet from the home system to form the core of the assault force.  The clan fleet consists of five strike carriers, along with seven smaller carrier-scouts, from the B’Regest, three battlecruisers from K’Rorin and T’Chau, each, and a squadron of capital missile armed battlecruisers from the Keepers, along with several carrier-scouts.  All told the fleet carried one hundred and seventy-four fighters.   By Alliance order the Blockade Force in the Phyriseq system was to be left at full strength. 

The Doraz Contingency dispatched three heavy cruisers to the Breshy system as their contribution. 

The Rehorish Stellar Dominion sends nine battlecruisers, three light cruisers, three destroyers, four corvette-scouts, and a pinnace carrier. 

The Torqual Benignity sends nine heavy cruisers. 

The T’Pau Syndicate sends nine heavy cruisers and three light cruisers.  The T’Pau are the only Alliance race to withdraw some of their ships for the expedition from their Blockade Force.  The Alliance approved this move as the Syndicate had most of their active warships stationed in the Phyriseq system. 

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Cold War: Month 155 Update
« Reply #154 on: March 03, 2021, 09:25:24 AM »
Turn 155 Update
Humanity
Colonial Union
The Colonial Union absorbed the Wunderland Association in month 155.  In truth, the amalgamation was more of a merger of two equals than anything else, as the Wunderland Association had a larger economy but smaller military than the Colonial Union.  This union has created a powerful human colonial state covering the bulk of the old colonial territories of the Coalition and USSR, and beyond. 

The Colonial Union has three centers of power, the colony of New Plymouth in Epsilon Eridani, the colony of New Moscow in Sigma Draconis, and the colony of Wunderland in Sligo.  The highest population is the colony of New Moscow, with just over 105 million inhabitants, followed closely by Wunderland with 104 million.  Currently, the colony of New Plymouth is the capital of the Colonial Union.  This decision was made immediately after the destruction of the Coalition and the USSR, and was made primarily because it was in a defensible position, had shipyards, and was not directly threatened by the D’Bringi, as Sigma Draconis was.  There is talk within the CU Senate of having the capital rotate between the three systems, now that fortifications have been built in the Sigma Draconis system. 

The Colonial Union, now that it has merged with the Wunderland Association, is preparing the way to bring the CES into the Union as well.  The CEs government has agreed to this in principle, and a formal offer will be made next month.  Beyond that, the CU has been attempting to improve its relationship with the Titov Free State as well as the Tomsk Union, with an eye towards eventual reunification.  Currently, reunifying with either seems unlikely, because of treaty obligations relating to the Titov Free State, and as the Tomsk Union has rejected most of the advances made by the CU Senate, and tensions have actually increased over Tomsk assistance to the Tlatelolco.  In fact, now that the Wunderland Association has joined the Colonial Union, the Union is re-evaluating its policies towards the alien races it is in contact with at the current time.  The Union has a non-Intercourse agreement with the D’Bringi Alliance, and has relations at varying levels with the Bjering, the Tlatelolco, the Tarek (in Sligo), and the D’Bringi refugees in the Tomsk Union.  In addition, the Wunderland Association, shortly before the merger, discovered yet another alien race on its frontier.  The Governor of Wunderland made the decision to avoid contact with those aliens, in line with the expressed position of the Wunderland Legislature towards contact with alien races. 

The Colonial Union is at HT-7, and has made progress towards reaching HT-8.  Most of the United Colonial Defense Force is equipped to HT-6 levels.  Fleet Command is planning on a refit program to upgrade its capital ships, and its fortresses, in the near future. 

Total Income (all sources): 33,266 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 1xBB, 21xBC, 6xCA, 19xDD, 1xDDC, 1xDD(AW), 12xFGS, 4xCT, 2xCT(AW), 20xES, 47xEXS, 73xEXX
Total Fortifications: 3xBS3, 60xBS0
Mothballs: 2xBC, 17xCA, 12xCL, 27xCLA, 4xDD, 1xDD(AW), 14xCT, 3xCT(AW), 37xES, 3xBS3, 4xBS0
Construction: 3xBS3, 120xMinefield, 3xBC, 1xFT4, 1xSD

Consolidated Earth States
The CES is consumed with planning for their eventual incorporation into the Colonial Union.  Although the decision to join the CU was not totally voluntary, the bulk of the population is resigned to the merger as necessary for the continued health of Earth, as a way of ensuring the constant flow of emigrants from the planet to keep the population stable and avoid environmental collapse.  A minority of the population is actively in favor of the merger, as it will give them access to an interstellar community, and they hope that active involvement in interstellar affairs will allow them to avoid the stagnation that they fear is creeping into the CES.  The hard-core isolationists opposed the merger, unsuccessfully, and have now set their sights on influencing the politics of the Colonial Union, as they have had to accept the merger as a done deal.

Total Income (all sources): 6,227 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 3xCA
Total Fortifications: 1xAsteroid Fort, 3xBS0, 6xPDC(Anti-Missile)
Mothballs: 1xPDC(offensive), 1xAsteroid Fort, 6xBS3, 3xBS1, 6xBS0, 1xDD(AW)
Construction: 11xFT6

Note: I have moved the Tomsk Union to the Independents section, as they are more closely aligned with the Bjering.   

D’Bringi Alliance
D’Bringi
The D’Bringi clans are celebrating the peaceful incorporation of the Zir Union into the Alliance as an associate member, and with this obstacle cleared they are gearing up for a renewal of the war against the Mintek.  Ten months ago, D’Bringi survey units discovered a Mintek colony system on the frontier, but action was delayed while the Alliance’s fleets were rebuilt and fortified.  Now, there is great excitement throughout the D’Bringi Expanses as the Clans go to war once again.

The D’Bringi and Rehorish empires are both building battlecruisers to replace their older heavy cruisers, but neither can afford to support both their existing heavy cruiser fleets and their newly built battlecruisers.  Therefore, the Alliance Council worked out a deal between the two senior members of the Alliance and the newer races, whereby the Rehorish and the D’Bringi would sell their excess heavy cruisers to the newer races.  This plan has been a great success, allowing the newer races to field larger fleets than they would otherwise been able to build on their own in such a short amount of time, and giving the D’Bringi and Rehorish access to additional funds to fuel their building programs. 

The D’Bringi B’Regest Clan has eschewed the battlecruiser construction program, instead opting for building strike carriers and carrier-scouts.  To prove the utility of their carrier program, the B’Regest have volunteered to have their corvette-carriers escort the exploration fleets, and have replaced several heavy cruiser picket groups throughout the Alliance, allowing forces to be concentrated.  The Keepers have adopted a hybrid strategy, with their fleet built around capital missile armed battlecruisers supported by smaller carriers. 

Total Income (all sources): 21,991 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 13xBC, 14xCA, 3xCA(AW), 6xCAV, 5xCVS, 2xDDV, 6xCVE, 2xCT, 22xCTV, 7xCT(AW), 50xEX, 423xF0
Fortifications: 6xBS3, 14xBS0, 2xAF(CV), 54xF0
Mothballs: 3xBS3
Construction: 6xBC, 3xCVS, 72xF0
Prefab Assembly: 3xBS0

Rehorish Stellar Dominion
The Rehorish engaged in a large-scale building program to replace their heavy cruisers with battlecruisers.  Under normal conditions they would have mothballed the bulk of their heavy cruiser force to balance their maintenance load, but eventually agreed to sell at least some of their heavy cruisers to the junior Alliance members to offset their costs.  Their construction program has lately been focused on increasing the number of exploration ships for the survey fleets, a new program to equip the fleet with escort destroyers, and fleet support vessels equipped with pinnaces to probe potentially hostile warp points. 

Once peaceful relations were established with the Zir, the Rehorish agreed to the D’Bringi demand to open a new offensive against the Mintek, and have provide the bulk of their home fleet to fill out the Attack Fleet being assembled in the D’Bringi frontier. 

The Rehorish government has been wrestling with an uncomfortable truth for some time.  The Rehorish consider themselves the senior member of the Alliance, and the most mature and responsible race therein.  In particular, they regard the D’Bringi as useful allies, but immature and impulsive.  The Rehorish almost consider themselves as a parent, guiding the impulsive D’Bringi and the lessor races through minefields and potential disasters, constantly providing a helping hand and usually being ignored.  The Rehorish, of course, know that the D’Bringi resent their superiority, but cannot help their reaction to the situation as they perceive it.  Indeed, the Rehorish Dominion has by far the largest economy in the Alliance, and thus they feel they should naturally be considered the senior member.  However, this is not the case.  In reality, the D’Bringi are considered by most to be the founding member of the Alliance, and the senior member.  This is because it was the D’Bringi that discovered not only the Rehorish, but indeed all of the other members in the Alliance as well.  It was the D’Bringi that brought the benefits of interstellar society to the member races, and it is to the D’Bringi that most of the races in the Alliance owe their primary loyalty.  And so, despite the fact that the Rehorish have the largest economy and most powerful fleet, their economy and fleet is outweighed by the combined economies of the other races, all of which owe their loyalty to the D’Bringi. 

This has been a long-standing situation, and for some time the Rehorish government has been attempting to “guide” the more junior races towards a more productive relationship with each other and the Alliance that would not only benefit them, but also would naturally result in the Rehorish being recognized as the natural leaders of the Alliance.  This effort has largely backfired.  The Rehorish had counted on the natural resentment of the junior races for the D’Bringi and the way they forcibly incorporated them into the Alliance, hoping and believing that the resentment would lead those races to move into the Rehorish sphere of influence and away from the D’Bringi.  Not only hasn’t this happened, but instead the exact opposite has happened.  Prior to first contact, most of the junior races had peaceful and contemplative governments that had largely stagnated within their own systems.  Those governments were swept away by the D’Bringi conquests, which were largely bloodless, beyond their existing military, of course.  The D’Bringi never used massed bombardment, or reprisals against civilian targets, and although there surely was some lingering resentment, most of the junior races have come to recognize that the galaxy is a dangerous place, and that by putting together the Alliance the D’Bringi have given them a greater assurance of safety than they would have had on their own. 

All of this has led to the current situation.  The Rehorish government has resisted D’Bringi attempts to bring their two nations closer together, as they wanted to establish their dominance over the Alliance first, before incorporating the D’Bringi Clans into the Dominion, rather than the other way around.  In frustration, the D’Bringi then turned to the T’Pau, granting them access to the large number of type T planets throughout their Expanses that were useless to the D’Bringi.  This dramatically increased the T’Pau Syndicate’s economic strength, and deepened their ties to the D’Bringi.  In addition, the D’Bringi began a program of assisting R&D efforts of the other races in the Alliance, as a way to improve their respective militaries and thus improve the strength of the Alliance as a whole.  In spite of pushing the D’Bringi to be more assistive to the other races in the Alliance, the Rehorish were caught by surprise when the D’Bringi began this program, and this has caused the current debate within the Rehorish government.  The D’Bringi have proposed a closer union among the races of the Alliance, and their assistance with R&D for the other races is part of this program.  The D’Bringi intend to bring the other races up to their tech level, and then merge them into a greater Alliance, with common militaries and governmental/clan institutions.  While the Rehorish currently have the second highest technology level in the Alliance, after the D’Bringi, some of the other races are rapidly approaching the same level, with the T’Pau leading the way.  In fact, the other races are improving their technology more rapidly than the Rehorish, because they have access to D’Bringi assistance.  If the D’Bringi begin merging the other races into a monolithic Alliance, the Rehorish will become a backwater, left behind.  And, if the Rehorish then chose to join the merged races, they will do so at a disadvantage.  Therefore, the Rehorish government is debating the wisdom of accepting D’Bringi technical assistance in improving their technology, and then merging with the D’Bringi, even if it is not on the terms that they would like.  At least that way the Rehorish would be in at the ground floor, and able to influence anything that happened after that from the inside.  The debate continues, and there is a sizeable faction that favors leaving the Alliance completely, however, the situation as it stands is so clearly untenable, and the way forward is so clear, that there is little doubt about the outcome of the debate at this point. 

Total Income (all sources): 36,955 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 24xBC, 6xCA, 18xCL, 36xDD, 4xFG(AW), 3xCT, 3xCT(Munition), 79xCTX, 1xCT(pinnace carrier)
Fortifications: 9xBS3, 30xBS1
Mothballs: 9xCA, 18xCL, 15xDD
Construction: 6xDDE, 5xCTX, 5xCT(Pinnace Carrier), 30xCutter, 20xPinnace, 4xPrefab BS1, 120xMinefields
Refit: 5xBS3

T’Pau Syndicate
The T’Pau have prospered within the Alliance, and are considered the right hand of the D’Bringi.  The T’Pau have assumed full control over the defenses of their system, and the D’Bringi no longer station ships in the home system to monitor the activities of the T’Pau.  Indeed, in one month the T’Pau nation’s first BS3 defense base will be launched, and once it is towed to the warp point that leads to the closed warp point in human territory, the D’Bringi will withdraw their automated weapons control ships and the T’Pau will assume responsibility for the defenses there.  The T’Pau currently have six warp point defense bases under construction, and have deployed large numbers of mines and laser buoys to the warp point to bolster the defenses there.  The Alliance still does not know if the humans have localized the closed warp point on their territories, as they implied during the peace negotiations, but the Alliance feels strongly that the warp point should be defended, and as it is located in the T’Pau home system, they agree. 

In addition to the defense bases, the T’Pau shipyards have been focused on constructing additional survey ships to fill out a second survey fleet.  The entire T’Pau fleet has been refitted to HT-6 standards, and new construction on warships has slowed as the fleet has absorbed eight surplus heavy cruisers from the Rehorish and D’Bringi fleets. 

Total Income (all sources): 20,795 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 17xCA, 12xCL, 6xCTX, 40xEX
Construction: 6xBS3, 10xEX, 55xMine field, 75xLaser Buoy, 1xCA, 1xMobile Shipyard

Torqual Benignity
The Torqual have recently undergone a governmental change, which was perhaps inevitable given the fact that their former government wasn’t really a government at all, but more a debating society, and their government since their conquest by the D’Bringi was a ramshackle affair put together more to ensure the continuation of public services and the flow of resources more than anything else.  A movement that started in the universities under the guidance of well-meaning professors took off, bolstered by young, idealistic students, and rapidly swept the planet, coopting the military and governmental offices, such as they were.  Along the way the idealistic proponents of the movement were replaced by harder-edged patriots who changed the movement into a force that was able to take over the entire nation in a matter of months.  The new government has reaffirmed its loyalty to the Alliance, and is busy instituting controls on all sorts of public issues that no Torqual government has in the past.  The new government would be very familiar to students of Russian history.  Many supporters of the old ways have been rounded up and sent to re-education centers, and the new government is in firm control. 

Native built Torqual ships are equipped to HT-4 standards, while the imported heavy cruisers are mostly equipped to HT-6 levels. 

Total Income (all sources): 12,528 MCr’s
Fleet Strength: 21xCA, 7xCL, 3xCTX, 22xEX
Fortifications: 3xBS2
Construction: 4xFT6, 5xCL

Doraz Contingency
Unlike the Torqual, the Doraz government weathered their conquest and incorporation into the Alliance mostly intact, but then they had a more stable government with stronger institutions than the Torqual, so this isn’t surprising.  The Doraz fleet is equipped to HT-5 standards, except for three heavy cruisers, which were purchased from the D’Bringi. 

Total Income (all sources):
Fleet Strength: 9xCA, 5xFGX
Fortifications: 3xBS3
Mothballs: 11xDD, 23xCT
Construction: 5xFGX, 16xCutter
Reactivate from Mothballs: 3xDD

Bir Meritocracy
The Bir are currently at Industrial-1 level of technology, and are working diligently on increasing their technology with D’Bringi assistance.  The Bir have no off-world populations or installations, as of yet, and are dependent on the D’Bringi for system defense.  Currently, because of the renewal of the war against the Mintek, the D’Bringi have withdrawn all ships except for a single heavy cruiser from the system. 

The D’Bringi watched the dissolution of the Torqual government, such as it was, with alarm.  As the new government has reaffirmed its allegiance to the Alliance the situation is being monitored, but no other action is being taken at this time.  Still, the Torqual situation had the potential for spinning out of control, and as a result the D’Bringi are taking a closer look at the results of their invasions on the other member races.  While most seem to have weathered the upheavals without too much trouble, the D’Bringi have become concerned about the Bir, as they possessed a government similar to that of the Torqual, mostly in its complete lack of effectiveness.  Much like on Torqual Prime, the D’Bringi occupation forces set up an interim government to ensure the continuation of services and the flow of resources.  That interim government failed on Torqual Prime, and so the D’Bringi are watching the Bir more carefully.  D’Bringi teams have been sent in to help the Bir establish stronger civic institutions, and a more stable government, perhaps modeled on that of the D’Bringi. 

Total Income (all sources): 480 MCr’s

Chirq Cooperative
The Chirq are currently at HT-1, and are busily developing the various systems available at that tech level.  The Chirq do not yet have off-world populations or infrastructure, but will soon become capable of colonization and orbital construction.  Much like the Bir and the Torqual, the Chirq had a government known more for its inability to get anything done more than anything else.  That government was swept away in the D’Bringi conquest, and replaced by a loose organization of city-states.  In the time since the conquest, the Chirq have fallen back on older institutions, and have elected a hereditary king, and reinstituted an aristocracy, which has rapidly established control of the planet in the name of the Alliance. 

Total Income (all sources): 1,370 MCr’s

Zir Contemplative Union
The Zir are truly alien in appearance, and are peaceful and contemplative in nature.  The Zir were unsure of the wisdom of joining the Alliance, fearing the obvious warlike nature of the Alliance members, but were persuaded by the information provided by the D’Bringi about the numerous hostile races that inhabited the galaxy.  Due to the peaceful nature of the Zir the D’Bringi made no attempt to persuade them to join the current offensive against the Mintek, but are making a concerted effort to get them to join the Blockade force in the Phyriseq system.  The Zir are ideologically and philosophically against wars of aggression, and are unlikely to support any Alliance war that they view to be unjustified. 

The Zir are HT-5, and have accepted D’Bringi tech assistance to raise their technology level.  The D’Bringi were unimpressed with the Zir fleet, which consists of large numbers of destroyers, frigates, and corvettes.  Most of these ships seem to be equipped with small numbers of rapid firing missile launchers that would be incapable of overloading almost any ship’s point defense.  The Zir seem to be psychologically fixated on fielding large swarms of ships, as examination of their history has revealed, and so the D’Bringi are working on advising the Zir on developing a more coherent swarm philosophy that will make their fleet more effective. 

Total Income (all sources): 9,807 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 18xDD, 24xFG, 9xFGX, 41xCT
Fortifications: 6xBS4
Mothballs: 3xBS4, 52xDD, 11xFGX, 77xFG, 89xCT
Construction: 1xCTSX

Independents
Bjering Consolidate
The Bjering Consolidate recently achieved HT-8, and is working on developing the systems available at that level.  In particular the Bjering are focusing on fighters and fighter tech, and have begun construction on an escort carrier prototype, which is equipped with holds in place of the fighter bays, which are still being developed.  The first unit of the new CVE class will be launched in three months, by which time the Consolidate government hopes that the fighter bays will be available so that the new CVE can be refitted. 

The Bjering were disappointed in the reaction of the Bedu Republic to their political overtures, and plan on building defenses at the warp point that links the two nations against the possibility that the Bedu are planning to launch an attack at some point.  It will take some time to shift construction resources to the frontier, though, so nothing has been done as of yet. 

The Consolidate government has been in talks with the Tomsk Union about creating a multi-racial federation, and the talks have proceeded well.  If the talks continue as they have, the two races will formalize the agreement in several months and begin the hard work of joining their two nations together. 

Total Income (all sources): 23,462 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 11xBC, 8xDD, 5xDD(AW), 20xCT, 10xCTS
Fortifications: 12xBS4, 6xBS2
Mothballs: 7xBC, 2xCA, 28xDD, 54xCT
Under Construction: 1xCVE, 4xDDSX, 1xCTSX
Reactivate from Mothballs: 4xBC
Assemble from Prefab: 7xBS2

Tomsk Union
The Tomsk Union is absorbed by the talks with the Bjering about the formation of a multi-species federation.  There is great excitement throughout the Union for this idea, and its few opponents are politically powerless to oppose the project. 

Total Income (all sources): 17,943 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 4xBC, 9xDD, 1xFGS, 2xCT(AW), 25xEX
Fortifications: 3xSSA(battleship sized armed shipyards)
Mothballs: 16xES
Under Construction: 1xSSA, 2xBC
Refit: 1xBC, 1FG, 1xDD

Titov Free State
The Titov Free State is enjoying its new-found access to the systems around it by exploring and colonizing as rapidly as it can.  The Free State now consists of four colonies in three systems rated at “small” populations, while the Titov colony itself is consider “medium”. 

Total Income (all sources): 7,001 MCr’s
Total Fleet Strength: 4xDD, 14xEX
Fortifications: 3xBS2
Construction: 1xBS2
Refits: 2xDD

Mintek Universal Union
The Mintek are focused on integrating the Alowan Triumvirate into the Union.  The Alowan government, which refused to allow the Mintek to introduce their people to the truth, was based on false principles and exploiting their own people, and had to be removed.  The Alowan people appear to have accepted this change, although Mintek ground troops are still working to establish complete control of the planet. 

The Mintek military will recover from the minor losses suffered during the liberation of the Alowan relatively quickly, as their losses were limited to easily replaceable fighters.  However, integrating the lessons learned during the short war with the Alowan government will take longer to effect, and will be ongoing for some time. 

Total Income (all sources): 27,115 MCr’s
Fleet Strength: 6xSD, 7xBC, 1xCA, 12xCLX, 6xCVL, 1xCVS, 1xCVE, 13xDD, 4xDD(AW), 72xF0, 6xArmed Pinnace
Fortifications: 6xBS5, 1xAstF, 30xF0, 3xArmed Pinnace
Mothballs: 17xBC, 6xCLX, 39xDD
Construction: 1xAstF, 1xCV, 2xSD, 1xDD(Fighter support ship), 132xF0, 3xArmed Pinnace
Refits: 3xBS5
Captured Ships (damaged): 1xSS(SY), 3xBS5, 7xBC, 11xDD, 7xCT
 
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Cold War: Months 156-157
« Reply #155 on: March 13, 2021, 12:16:40 PM »
Month 156
Colonial Union
In the aftermath of the union between the Colonial Union and the Wunderland Association, the new enlarged Colonial Union focuses on consolidating its new territory, expanding the interstellar communications network, and realigning the fleet.  The Wunderlanders resist relocating any part of their fleet out of Sligo, on the grounds that the Tarek continue to be a threat and must be countered.  This becomes a debate in the Senate, and evolves into the larger question of the Union’s relationship with alien races.  The debate is still raging by the end of the month. 

The Colonial Union announces that the Consolidated Earth States will join the Union in six months. 

The D’Bringi Alliance
Alliance fleets continue to head towards the Breshy system, on the D’Bringi frontier.  The Rehorish government, concerned about the new conflict with the Mintek, and the dispatch of so much of their fleet so far away, begins bringing ships out of mothballs to create a new reserve at the home planet. 

The T’Pau begin construction on a proto-type battlecruiser.  The D’Bringi, who were brought in to consult on the design, pressured the T’Pau to simply use their Clan Leader class battlecruiser design, however, the T’Pau felt strongly that this new class should be a purely T’Pau design.  In the end, the T’Pau design bureau took the easiest route forward and merely took the existing design for the Patton class heavy cruiser and added a new section in the middle, resulting in a battlecruiser-sized Patton class heavy cruiser.  Work on the new ship began this month. 

Independents
Bjering survey ships probing newly discovered warp points in a frontier system discover a D’Bringi colony world on the far side of one of the new warp points.  In addition, the ship probing one of the other warp points in the same frontier system discovers that the warp point in the frontier system links back to a closed warp point in the Hymir system.  In fact, this is the closed warp point in the Hymir system that the D’Bringi have been using to trade with the Bjering. 

The two probe ships report back and a report is sent back to the home world, recommending that the entire chain beyond the Hymir system be abandoned, as it was possible that the systems beyond Hymir had interpenetrated with D’Bringi space.  Continuing to survey and exploit those systems would almost certainly lead to potential conflict with the D’Bringi, and would produce a difficult defense situation. 

At the same time as the 1st Survey Group was probing the new warp points in the Ginnunggap system, the 2nd Survey Group was probing two new warp points found in the Slepnir system.  The first led to a system with three type T planets, a fantastic find the survey commander named the Runes system.  The second led to a system colonized by the Tomsk Union.  There was some concern that the Tomsk Union had already claimed the Runes system, as the Tomsk government confirmed that they had probed the Slepnir system, but fortunately the Tomsk had not progressed past the Slepnir system and had not found the Runes system.  There is great excitement among the command staff of the survey group, as three new type T planets in one system is an incredible find. 

Once word from the two survey groups arrives back on Bjering Prime, difficult decisions must be made.  The fact that the trade route through the closed warp point in the Hymir system is now known is encouraging, btu the likely D’Bringi presence throughout that cluster of stars is not welcome.  The easiest course of action would be to abandon all systems outwards from Hymir, and establish a defensive bastion there, however, the discovery of a Tomsk Union system downstream from Hymir, and the presence of the valuable Runes system, made this impractical.  Therefore, the Admiral’s Council decided to relocate Delta Fleet, which was currently stationed in the Hymir system, to the Sjofn system, as a picket to guard against D’Bringi incursions.  The fact that the warp line to Sjofn to Ginnunggap ended in a closed warp point in the Ginnunggap system meant that likely the D’Bringi had not discovered the Sjofn system, or the systems beyond it.  The colonization of the planets in the Runes system could then begin. 

The Tomsk Union begins R&D on HT-7, with Bjering assistance. 

The Mintek ground force on Alowan Prime is having a difficult time achieving full control of the planet, in spite of the Alowan surrender.  At the start of the month the ground force commander requests reinforcements, which arrive by the end of the month, increasing his forces by two thirds. 

Month 157, Day 10, T’Pau survey group #1
The T’Pau survey group had completed its survey of the Gallery system last month.  The four habitable planets of the system were surveyed and ready for colonization, so the group set out for its next target, the Virtue system.  To reach this system, which was known to contain two type T planets, the group had to retrace its steps through the Brooloo system.  They jumped into the Virtue system on the 10th and immediately spread out to begin surveying the system for warp points.  The three Wasp class planetary survey corvettes with the group set out for the inner system, where they would release their swarm of small craft to begin the survey of the planets in the system.  The corvettes closed to forty eight light minutes from the planet before their sensors registered the population on the planet.  At that point their receivers picked up transmissions that made it clear that the population was humans.  The corvettes turned and ran towards the outer system, signaling their fellow survey ships their news.  The entire survey group withdrew, and the news that a human colony planet had been found was sent back through the D’Bringi communications network.  Interestingly, the planet had been unoccupied when the survey group discovered it three months ago, which indicated that the humans had just recently begun colonizing the system.  The second habitable planet was still unoccupied. 

The settlers in the Colonial Union’s Managua system sent out a hurried report of unknown drive fields probing the system, and asked for UCDF presence to protect them. 

Month 157, Day 18
The Titov Free State’s survey group had completed its survey of the Saratov system, and was probing the two new warp points in the system when they discovered that one of the two new systems belonged to the Tomsk Union.  The warp point in the Tomsk colony system was closed, and it was located far out in the outer system, so the Titov survey ship was able to withdraw without incident, and without being detected.  The rulers of the Free State were firm believers in placing monetary value on almost anything, and for the location of a closed warp point into another race’s territory, certain races would pay top credit.  Indeed, it was possible that the Free State could sell the location of the closed warp point to the Tomsk Union, as they would likely pay well to know a possible route of invasion. 
 

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Cold War: Colonial Union, Months 157-158
« Reply #156 on: March 22, 2021, 08:55:24 AM »
Month 157
Colonial Union, Day 1
Senator Holbrooke, ND-Wunderland, looked around the chamber, taking a dramatic pause.  Seeing his fellow senators were at least paying attention, he nodded.  “We cannot allow this situation to continue!  It is intolerable!  The Tarek have proven themselves hostile to humanity time and time again.  Indeed, Tarek broadcast programs recorded last week by the Navy show that they continue to demonize us on a daily basis.  They are not our friends, and we cannot trust them.  Oh, yes, they are acting all meek and subdued now, but for how long?  What happens if the D’Bringi attack again?  We did nothing to provoke their original attack against us, and their close allies stabbed us in the back when we needed them the most.  We cannot trust them to uphold their end of the peace treaty, so we must be strong.   And we cannot be strong if we have the Tarek at our backs, just waiting for us to withdraw our fleet from Sligo!  How long will they wait to stab us in the back?  They are like all of the other aliens out there, untrustworthy and dangerous!  The D’Bringi and the Rehorish have proven that we cannot trust the alien races, they are bloodthirsty and perfidious!  The Alien Control Act is a necessity!  We must have control within our own territory, or we will be open to invasion from the outside!  Before we can deal with the threats outside of our borders, we must deal with the threats and potential weaknesses inside our borders!  I urge you to pass the Alien Control Act!” 

Senator Holbrooke took his seat as the chamber echoed to the muffled words of his colleagues as they discussed his speech.  Of course, they knew as well as he did that the speech wasn’t for them, it was for the public.  And they all knew how the public felt about the Alien Control Act.  The recent marches through the major cities of the Colonial Union, organized by the New Dawn Party, had made the public’s feelings very clear.  The measure’s passage was a foregone conclusion. 

Day 15
Admiral Ruston walked into the Colonial President’s office, stood to attention and saluted. 

The President waved him towards a seat.  “Yes, yes, for god’s sake, have a seat admiral!”

Admiral Ruston dropped the salute and walked stiffly over to the offered chair and sat, perched on the edge of the seat. 

Seeing the Admiral’s demeanor, the President sighed.  “Okay.  We might as well jump to the chase.  yesterday the Alien Control Act passed in the Senate.  I will sign it this afternoon, and It will become law.  My staff are preparing your orders.  You are to assemble a fleet of suitable size and strength, and proceed to the Sligo system.  Once there you will order the Tarek to surrender to Colonial control.  If they do not surrender and allow the ground troops that are now assembling to land and take control of their planet, you are to eliminate their defenses and facilitate the landing of the troops.  Once the Tarek planet and its colonies are under control, you are to take the fleet to the Redwing system and implement the requirements of the Alien Control Act there as well.  Is this understood?”

Admiral Ruston remained silent for a short period; his face expressionless as he looked at the President.  Finally, he spoke.  “Ma’am, you understand that the Tarek defenses are based on their planet?  Exactly as our defenses were on Earth.  If they do not surrender then ‘eliminating their defenses’ will involve a planetary bombardment that will kill thousands, potentially millions of civilians.”

“Tarek civilians.”  Her tone was flat and uninflected.  It was monstrous, but stated as fact, without heat or emotion. 

Admiral Ruston leaned forward, his composure slipping a bit.  “Tarek or human, they are thinking, living beings.  We cannot, I will not order a bombardment with no provocation.  By all reports the Tarek have followed the letter of our agreement.”

“For now, admiral.  For now.  But for how long?”  The President started to say more, but then reconsidered and stopped.  “You know the arguments as well as I do.  I know you’ve been following the news.  I won’t restate the arguments here.  Either you will follow your orders, or you won’t.  What will it be?”

Admiral Ruston stared at the President for a few seconds longer, then shook his head.  He stood.  “I cannot follow orders I believe to be immoral.”

“Very well, I will expect your resignation within…” 

Before the President could finish her sentence, Admiral Ruston reached into his tunic and withdrew an envelope which he placed on her desk.  Without any further conversation, former Admiral Ruston left the President’s office. 

The Alien Control Act was signed into law that afternoon.  Orders were issued shortly thereafter to begin assembling a fleet.  Several other officers resigned as well, but for the most part, if Ruston had planned this as a general walk-out it failed.   The political leadership was actually disappointed, as they had hoped to clear the decks of Ruston’s loyalists and those who still clung to the old ways.  A new day was dawning in the Colonial Union. 

Month 158, Day 20, Colonial Union, Sligo System
The United Colonial Defense Force’s (UCDF) 1st Battle Squadron arrived over Wunderland on this date.  The squadron had grown to include the Colonial Union’s only battleship, six battlecruisers, three heavy cruisers, six destroyers, and three scouts of various types.  Once at Wunderland the 1st Battle Squadron was joined by the UCDF’s Sligo Squadron, which consisted of six battlecruisers, three destroyers, four corvettes, twenty escorts, and five scouts.  The combined force then set out for Tarek Prime.  The ground invasion force which had followed the 1st Battle Squadron into the system followed behind the combined force. 

Several hours later the combined squadrons approached the Tarek home planet.  Rear Admiral Carstairs, commanding officer of the 1st Battle Squadron, turned to Lt. General Rogov.  “General, we are in position.  You may make your announcement.”

General Rogov moved into the designated camera’s view area and looked to the comms officer, who nodded.  He straightened his tunic, then began.  “I am Lieutenant General Rogov, Colonial Army.  Under the authority of the Colonial Senate, and by the authorization of the Alien Control Act, I now demand that all active defenses on your planet stand down and allow my troops to land.  My forces will assume control of all critical sites on your planet, and we will take responsibility for the defense of your planet from this time forward.  If you do not submit, this fleet will eliminate your defenses and my troops will land anyway.  The resulting civilian casualties will be regrettable, but will be your responsibility.  From this time forward the Tarek will be a protectorate under Colonial administration.”

General Rogov stepped back and the recording cut out.  He turned to the comms officer.  “Translate it and send it immediately.”  With that, he turned and walked back to his staff, who were waiting on the far side of the command deck. 

Admiral Carstairs watched the General go, carefully keeping the sneer she felt from her face.  She knew what the general was up to.  He had insisted on being on her command deck for this, instead of on his landing command ship, and he had insisted on being the one to communicate with the Tarek.  He was determined that any glory or credit for this venture would be associated with his name, and his name only.  If his announcement pushed the Tarek into futile resistance, then that would be her problem, and the civilian casualties that resulted when her fleet bombarded the Tarek PDC’s on the surface of their world would be on her and the fleet, not him.  Either way, once his troops were on the ground, he would be able to take credit for pacifying the Tarek, leaving the fleet to hold the bag for mass murder. 

She turned and walked over to the central plot, wishing that Admiral Ruston was still around to take this burden from her.  She had thought about resigning when he left, but in a private conversation he had told her, and others, that it would be better for everyone if they stayed at their posts and kept to the old traditions as much as they could.  If they all left, there would be no one to carry on.  She had agreed then, but now that she was staring at the potential bombardment of an inhabited planetary surface, she wasn’t sure she could go through with it.  The Tarek didn’t have capital missiles, there was nothing their PDC’s could do to her fleet.  There was no way they could win, or even survive, but the Tarek were not known for their reasonableness.  She looked over to the general, who was laughing and talking with his staff as if he hadn’t a care in the world.  The Colonial Army was a new organization, and its officer corps was overrun by New Dawn Party members who had more political connections than military training.  General Rogov was a prime example.  He wasn’t really a bad guy, just very ambitious, and he knew far less about military matters than he thought he did.  Fortunately, she had met his colonels, and they seemed a solid bunch, drawn mostly from the old Russian and Coalition armies, and most with combat experience. 

The Admiral’s thoughts were interrupted by her intelligence officer.  “Ma’am, orbital surveillance shows the crews are leaving the Tarek PDC’s!”

Even as the intel officer made his announcement, the comms officer hunched over her console, then turned towards the Admiral.  “Admiral, the Tarek have surrendered.  They will meet with our representatives at a landing area outside their capital city.”

Admiral Carstairs opened her mouth to reply, but before she could say anything, General Rogov interjected.  “That’s excellent!  See, admiral, I told you they would fold.  Nothing can stand against good, old, human fortitude and determination!”  He turned back to his staff, who were all obediently nodding. 

“Very well, General, I’ll arrange transport back to your command ship.  I’m sure you want to begin landing operations immediately.”  That would also incidentally get him off of her battleship before she shot him, the annoying twit. 

The combined squadrons waited for the Tarek to completely evacuate the two active PDC’s on the planet’s surface, and then they cautiously moved into range of the planet.  Under the cover of the fleet’s missiles, and escorted by the smaller ships in the fleet, the ground force transports began their landing.  Two transports were diverted to land at the PDC’s sites, to confirm the Tarek evacuation and take possession of the PDC’s before the Tarek changed their minds.  A third, containing General Rogov’s command element, landed near the Tarek capital and began disgorging its troops.  Once the area was secure, General Rogov and his command team left the transport and were escorted to the Tarek delegation, which was waiting at their designated meet site. 

General Rogov apparently wasn’t completely stupid, because he declined to meet the Tarek at their designated site.  Instead, his force set up camp a short distance away from their landing site, and broadcast an invitation to the Tarek to meet them there. 

Approximately an hour after they landed, the Tarek delegation approached the meet site.  Admiral Carstairs watched from orbit, as General Rogov had clearly not wanted her anywhere near him during this portion of the landing.  The Tarek arrived in massive air-cushion vehicles which landed outside the meeting site’s perimeter.  A trio of Tarek debarked, and Admiral Carstairs was stunned at their size and fearsome appearance.  She had seen vids, of course, nearly everyone had, but seeing them like this was different.  The Tarek had been described as crab-like, but that really didn’t do them justice.  Superficially they did look like large crabs, however, up close it was clear that that description didn’t capture the reality of the situation.  Each of the Tarek facing General Rogov’s party were very large, perhaps five meters across. Their bodies were suspended from four massive legs that looked more like a spider’s than a crab’s legs, and they all had a pair of very large, very powerful looking claws in front.  All three were covered in slabbed armor composed of some sort of alloy.  The armor covered most of their bodies and looked very thick.  All of the armor, and their large size, meant that the Tarek moved slowly, but when they moved, they gave the impression that nothing would stop them.  The trio moved forward towards the waiting human group, then came to a stop several Tarek body-lengths from the General and his guards.  In spite of herself, Admiral Carstairs sympathized with the General and his men, who all looked close to panicked at the close approach of the heavily armored aliens. 

After a few seconds the lead Tarek took a half-step forward and began rumbling.  The Tarek’s speech was translated for the humans by their headsets.  “I am Grand General Alorx, commander under the Emperor of the defenses of Tarek Prime.  I formally surrender to you.  We will submit to your rule.  Understand, though, that we do this solely because of the force of your fleet, which we cannot answer.  Your unjust actions here today will be remembered by the Tarek for all of time.”  General Alorx gestured with one of his massive claws to the Tarek standing to his left.  “This is Grand Vizier Hentak.  He will be your intermediary with the Empire from now on.” 

While General Rogov watched, Grand Vizier Hentak moved forward and General Alorx and the other Tarek shuffled back a few steps.  Grand Vizier Hentak turned back to General Alorx, turning his back on the humans.  General Alrox and the other Tarek stopped a few steps back and stiffened.  General Rogov opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak something began happening to the two Tarek furthest away from the humans.  Although they had stiffened into immobility, they began quivering.  Not knowing what was going on, General Rogov and his party began moving back from the tableau.  After a few seconds, brilliant light began streaming out from the joints in the two Tarek’s armored shells, and a high-pitched scream began sounding from the two rigid Tarek.  At first Admiral Carstairs thought the two Tarek were screaming, but she quickly realized no being could squeal in quite that manner.  Instead, when one of the bridge crew zoomed in on the figure of General Alorx, she could see that the screaming was caused by high-pressure steam escaping from the joints in the general’s armor. 

By now General Rogov and his guards had retreated to their armored transports, which had started their engines and were preparing to leave.  After a few seconds, though, the brilliant streamers of light escaping from the armored shells of the general and his companion died away, as did the steam,a dn the armored husks seemed to crumple a bit, although they remained standing.  With whatever it was complete, the Grand Vizier simply turned back towards the humans and waited.  For several minutes the human party waited in their armored vehicles, with their turret mounted guns and launchers scanning for enemies, before finally General Rogov and his party emerged once again.  The Grand Vizier began speaking as they approached.  “The general has made his apology to the Emperor for his failure to defend this planet.  As will other military officers who have failed.”  The Grand Vizier turned and gestured to the now-empty armored shells.  “In the Empire, there is a penalty for failing in your duty to the Emperor.”

“I…”  General Rogov stopped and swallowed, his face pale, then rallied, no doubt remembering that millions would be watching his performance.  “I understand.  That was regrettable, but you must understand, the Colonial Union has an overriding interest in securing our borders, and part of that responsibility is ensuring that the Tarek never pose a threat to humanity.  I am here to ensure the safety of the Colonial Union, and our citizens.”

The Grand Vizier gestured with his claw, back towards the two empty shells.  “May you have more success than General Alorx.  I am ready to begin coordination with your forces.” 

Admiral Carstairs’ attention was diverted when her intel officer approached her station.  “Ma’am, orbital surveillance shows Tarek leaving every identified military base on the planet.”

Admiral Carstairs perked up.  “Are they armed?”  Was this the beginning of a counter-attack, or an attempt to hide their military amongst their civilians? 

“Orbital surveillance wouldn’t be able to detect personal weapons, but we don’t show any heavy weapons or obviously armed vehicles leaving the bases.”

“Okay.  Is the intel being shared with General Rogov’s team?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Very well.”

General Rogov and his team worked with the Grand Vizier, who facilitated the landings and communicated the human’s requirements to his government.  Soon, human transports were landing all over the world.  They uniformly discovered military bases empty of personnel, but packed with weaponry, all of which was secured.  Control was rapidly established over the planet. 

While this was going on, there was little for the 1st Battle Squadron to do while they floated overhead in orbit.  So, Admiral Carstairs used this time to plan the next stage of the operation, the takeover of Tlatelolco Prime.  Although General Rogov was in charge of the landings for that planet as well, he had delegated responsibility for establishing control of that planet to one of his subordinates, which gave overall control of the operation in the Tlatelolco system to Admiral Carstairs.  She was fairly certain that Rogov had planned it this way because, unlike the Tarek, the Tlatelolco had long been friendly with first the Coalition and now the Colonial Union, and, also unlike the Tarek, had some support within the Senate.  While their supporters hadn’t managed to get them exempted from the Alien Control Act, they had managed to get limitations placed on the fleet and army sent to take control of their planet.  Admiral Carstairs was specifically prohibited from bombarding their planet, which shouldn’t be a problem as they had no real defenses or military.  It was possible they wouldn’t meekly accept conquest, and if they didn’t it would get controversial very quickly.  Rogov clearly didn’t want any of that controversy sticking to him, so he had opted to stay on Tarek Prime, using the justification that the Tarek were clearly a bigger threat to justify his decision.
 

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Cold War: Colonial Union Months 159-165
« Reply #157 on: March 24, 2021, 08:59:56 AM »
Month 159, Colonial Union
The United Colonial Defense Fleet’s 1st Battle Group left the Sligo system on the 5th.  The UCDF’s flagship, the battleship Kara, had been left behind, along with all six of the battle group’s battlecruisers.  The Kara and the battlecruisers had gone into the Sligo yards for refits, and were replaced by six brand new battlecruisers built in the Sligo yards.

Without fanfare, the force transited into the Redwing system and set out for the lone habitable planet in the system.  The Tlatelolco knew they were coming, as they had been warned by their supporters within the Colonial Senate that the fleet was en route.  That could have been considered treason, but for the fact that the Tlatelolco had no defenses, and no one expected them to resist the landings.  Admiral Carstairs sent the Tlatelolco a message informing them of her fleet’s ETA and requested an immediate meeting with their leaders.  A message returned promptly, agreeing to her request. 

On the 10th the fleet arrived over Tlatelolco Prime.  The Tlatelolco had advanced greatly thanks to their association with humanity.  Over the course of their relationship with humanity they had gone from coal-burning trains to space flight and the colonization of their system with drive-field equipped transports.  In addition, they had two shipyards in orbit over their planet, and were planning on building a survey fleet, once their colonization of their home system was complete.  And now all of that was about to change. 

Admiral Carstairs met with the representative from the Tlatelolco government aboard their orbital shipyard.  She would have preferred to meet on board her flagship, but they had no accommodations large enough for a Tlatelolco’s great bulk, so the space station, with its living area designed to accommodate both races, was the logical choice.  The meeting took place in a room designed for both races, a large conference room on one side, appropriate for humans, and a large open area on the other side for Tlatelolco, separated by a think glass partition.  While the Tlatelolco could survive in an Earth-like environment, and humans could survive unprotected on Tlatelolco Prime, neither would enjoy the experience.  The separate environments ensured that both could interact in comfort. 

Admiral Carstairs entered the meeting room with her marine guards.  Several marines positioned themselves outside, while a quartet entered and swept the room before taking up position against the wall.  The marines were in full power armor, and with their heavy linear accelerator rifles would be sufficient to protect her from a whole squad of Tlatelolco, in spite of their massive bulk. 

“Admiral.  I think I know what you are going to tell me.”

Admiral Carstairs stepped forward, towards the partition, and peered through, trying to make out the Tlatelolco on the far side.  It was dark there, as the Tlatelolco were primarily sub-surface dwellers.  Suddenly the shadows shifted and a massive head came into view, shifting first one way and then the other to take in the tiny human.  Admiral Carstairs was prepared for it, and knew what the Tlatelolco looked like, but still, the sudden appearance of the fearsome being caused her to take a startled step back.  The marines along the outer wall stepped forward, bringing their weapons up, but Admiral Carstairs gestured for them to return to their positions, and she stepped forward.  The Tlatelolco appeared exactly as a demon from the old legends would have, immense and pitch black, with gaping teeth filled jaws and blazing eyes.  In spite of their appearance, the Tlatelolco were about as peaceful as it was possible to be, with most being avowed pacifists.  There were no records of any Tlatelolco ever hurting a human, ever, even accidentally.  “Representative Tliex, I am honored by your presence.”

The big Tlatelolco uttered something that suspiciously sounded like a chuckle.  “As if we had a choice.”

Admiral Carstairs sighed.  She had known going into this that it wouldn’t be easy, and she couldn’t blame the Tlatelolco representative for not making it any easier.  “Very well.  I am here to serve your government notice that the Colonial Senate has declared the Tlatelolco system a protectorate of the Colonial Union, and that from this date forward the Tlatelolco government will be required to cede control of certain functions, like defense and foreign relations, to the Colonial Union.  In addition, the Colonial Union, under the Alien Control Act, will land troops on Tlatelolco Prime to ensure the cooperation of the Tlatelolco government and people with the Colonial Union’s protectorate.  A Colonial official will be appointed by the Senate to act as an interlocutor between your people and the Colonial Union.  This individual will be responsible for meeting your needs under the Act, as well as ensuring your compliance with the requirements of the protectorate.  A full text of the Act, as well as the requirements of the protectorate, will be transmitted to your government as soon as you signal your readiness to receive them.”

There was silence for a few seconds that stretched out as the two representatives watched each other.  Finally, Tliex spoke.  “We will comply.  As you knew before you came here.  We have no military.  We do not fight others, or ourselves.  You will find our compliance grudging and limited, though.”

Admiral Carstairs knew that the last part covered a multitude of possibilities, but that wasn’t her concern.  “As long as I have your compliance, that is all I care about.  Our troops will begin landing immediately.”  She turned and walked out, leaving the Tlatelolco representative behind. 

Shortly thereafter the human troops began landing across the planet, taking control of critical infrastructure and just generally making a nuisance of themselves, as far as the Tlatelolco were concerned.   

Month 160
The exodus from Earth continues, but now, with the Colonial Union in the last phases of merging with the Consolidated Earth States, the flow of emigrants is now controlled completely by the Union.  With the breakdown in relations with the Tomsk Union, this now means that the entire flow of emigrants will be absorbed by the Union.  The Colonial Senate had developed an intricate plan to ship the colonists to seven different planets throughout the Union, as part of a plan to boost the ongoing colonization efforts of the Union government.  Prior to this wave of emigrants from Earth there were only four systems that could support colonization efforts from their populations, and this wave of emigrants was seen by the Union as a way to boost that number and to create colonization-supporting populations closer to the leading edge of expansion, which would then reduce colonization costs.  Unfortunately, this plan was too ambitious, and the Colonial Senate had not properly anticipated the costs, which proved to be overwhelming.  Even with the help of the Consolidated Earth States, the cost of shipping these emigrants five to seven jumps from Earth, sometimes to planets with environments rated ‘harsh’, proved to be startlingly high.  The CU government managed to fund these efforts by a large-scale sell-off of industrial investments, however, a different solution will have to be found for the next wave of emigrants.  The current plan is now seen as unsupportable. 

Month 161
The appearance of a Rehorish scout ship in the former USSR’s territories is alarming to the Colonial government and to the United Colonial Defense Fleet.  The relief is palpable after the Rehorish freely reveal that they found the Norilsk system through the already-known warp link to the Swaziland system, an uninteresting system that had been probed by the Union’s exploration service, but not surveyed.   When the Rehorish suggest that the Swaziland system be declared off-limits to both races as a buffer between the two states, the Colonial Union readily agrees.  The UCDF’s relief is short-lived, though.  The strategic situation presented by the new link to the Rehorish Dominion presents a complication and a new commitment that the fleet will be hard pressed to meet. 

First, the fleet will have to dispatch ships to patrol the Norilsk colony system, to ensure that the Rehorish don’t encroach on the colony system.  Second, fixed defenses will have to be built to deter, delay, or stop any attack launched by the Rehorish or their allies.  And this at a time when the UCDF is already having to divert mobile construction resources to begin constructing defenses in the Managua colony system, where unknown drive fields probed the system several months ago. 

Month 162
The Colonial Union amalgamates the Consolidated Earth States. 

There are parades and holidays across the Colonial Union celebrating the reunification of the colonies with the home world.  The parties last for days as the population celebrates, and there is a general feeling that humanity is at long last on the path to recovery.  The CU government announces an ambitious new military expansion plan that will initially focus on fortifying the core worlds of the Union, securing the Union’s shipyards and primary population centers.  This plan will start by reactivating much of the defensive network that was mothballed after the Last War on Earth, and by deploying extensive sensor buoys across important systems to detect intruders if a potentially hostile race discovers a closed warp point into the core areas. 

A CU survey group operating in the former Wunderland Association’s territory discovers a system containing colonies belonging to one of the D’Bringi subject races.  The warp point leading into the system is an open warp point, and will be easily detected by the T’Pau, if they have not already probed it.  Therefore, following SOP, the survey group commander sends word back to the capital and then establishes contact with the T’Pau.  As with the recent contact with the Rehorish, the negotiations go well and both sides agree to declare the Laramie system a buffer area and off-limits to both races. 

Month 165
The migration from Earth continues.  The Coalition has been spending large sums of money in improving its infrastructure and defenses, and cannot afford to ship the emigrants across large numbers of systems to the smaller colonies, so the emigrants are relocated to the colony of New Moscow in the Sigma Draconis system.  One jump from Earth, the trip is short and the costs are reduced significantly.  Still, the program is costly and the Coalition legislature is examining alternatives to reduce the need to ship so many people off of Earth. 
 

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Cold War: D'Bringi Alliance Months 157-161
« Reply #158 on: March 26, 2021, 08:32:52 AM »
Month 157, Day 30
The Alliance Armada was assembled.  The Armada consisted of ships from five different races, and was as large as the fleets assembled during the war with the humans. 

Total Strength: 18xBC, 21xCA, 6xCL, 5xCVS, 4xDD, 2xDDV, 6xCT, 13xCTV, 210xF0, 12xPin
Support: 7XFT(MS), 45xEX, 6xCT, 3xCTV, 18xF0, 9xPin

Note: The Rehorish intend to shift their mobile shipyards to support the offensive, however, they are finishing up their current build orders and will not be available for some time.  This mobilization has brought the D’Bringi to the realization that they have an issue with supporting their forward carrier fleets.  Their repair ships are built around machine ship units, which can efficiently repair starships in less space than would be required for larger shipyard types.  Unfortunately, the machine ships cannot manufacture items, only repair or assemble them.  Therefore, the D’Bringi were feverishly working to build fighter replenishment ships that would carry crated fighters that could be assembled by the repair ships, if replacement fighters were needed. 
   
Month 158, Day 1, D’Bringi Expanses
The time set for the invasion to begin came, and the transits into Mintek space began.  First went a pair of Rehorish pinnaces, to ensure that space on the far side of the warp point was clear.  The warp point on the other side was an undetectable closed warp point, so it should be clear, but with a fleet this size nothing was being left to chance.  After the pinnaces returned with confirmation that it was safe, ships began jumping through.  The first through were the D’Bringi corvette-carriers, so that they could fan out and secure the area around the warp point.  Next came the capital units of the fleets, the battlecruisers and heavy cruisers, followed by the smaller ships.  Finally, once all of the combat units were through, the D’Bringi and Rehorish survey units jumped through to the Mintek colony system. 

After taking a short time to get organized, a group of six D’Bringi corvette-carrier scouts set out for the inner system and the Mintek colony there, to probe the area and determine if the troops could be sent in.  Next, Rehorish destroyer and corvette scouts, along with more D’Bringi corvette-carriers, spread out across the system, looking for potential threats.  Finally, the two survey groups spread out across the system, surveying for warp points. 

Eighteen hours after the Allied fleet arrived in the system, the Mintek colony detected the D’Bringi corvettes headed in-system.  The colony administrator immediately sent a message to the comm network buoys at the warp point that led back to the home system, with a warning.  The system was known to have two warp points, and both were covered by comms and sensor buoys, so the unknown ships hadn’t entered through the known warp points, meaning there was at least one closed warp point in the system.  Periodic updates were sent after the initial warning, as new information became available. 

The warning from the colony took thirty-eight hours to reach the home planet, which was located three jumps away.  The report was alarming, particularly in light of the fact that the bulk of the fleet was located four jumps away in the Alowan home system, putting it seven jumps from the Delphi colony system, the site of the incursion.  Mintek Fleet Command issued a recall order to the fleet, giving Strategos Neeron discretion to detach enough ships to patrol the Alowan system and ensure their continued compliance.  Also, a group of carriers that had returned to the home system after the battle with the Alowan to have their fighter complements replenished were ordered to depart immediately for the Delphi system.  By that time, it had become clear from the continued reports from the Delphi system that a major incursion was underway as additional ships had been detected fanning out across the system.  Fleet Command dispatched orders to the Delphi colony to destroy all information relating to the location of the warp points in the system and to prepare for occupation. 

Mintek Fleet Command also dispatched an override command to the comm network buoys at the warp point in the Delphi system that connected with the rest of the empire.  When the sensor buoy at the warp point detected the first alien ship approaching the warp point, the buoy was to send a contact report to the associated comm buoy, which would then send the message back through the comms network, and then both buoys would self-destruct.  The warp point that led back to Mintek space was closed, and its presence must be kept secret at all costs. 

Finally, Fleet Command sent a message to the survey group located in the next system out from the affected system.  The survey group was to hide in the outer system and conserve its resources until it could be relieved.  Under no circumstances was it to return to the Delphi system.  The survey group, upon receiving the message, moved away from the warp point back to Delphi and shut down their drive fields.  They were surveying a starless nexus, and there literally was nothing there to be found, including other warp points.  It was a dead end.   

One of the last messages out of the Delphi system identified the attackers as D’Bringi.  At least now the Mintek knew who was attacking them. 

By the time the warning reached Mintek Prime, the D’Bringi scout group had reached the inner system and verified that no Mintek ships were present.  The report was sent back to the fleet waiting by the warp point, and in response transports carrying the ground invasion element were sent into the system, escorted by a force of heavy cruisers and lighter ships.  A large ground force had been assembled in the D’Bringi colony of Breshy in the adjacent system, but only a small part of the force was dispatched to the Mintek colony, as it only had a small population.  The rest was retained for future operations. 

The D’Bringi invasion force completely overwhelmed the colony, as intended.  The Mintek fought hard, but their colonial troops had been stationed at the colony to protect against hostile flora and fauna, and the occasional recidivist, not a hostile invasion.  By the end of the month the colony’s defenses had fallen and D’Bringi troops were moving to consolidate their hold on the planet.  In the rest of the system, the main fleet sat watchfully at the closed warp point back to D’Bringi space, while the two survey groups worked to find the system’s other warp points.  Their survey efforts would be complete early next month. 

Month 159, Day 7, Mintek Delphi colony system
The Rehorish and D’Bringi survey ships completed their survey of the Mintek colony system, and discovered one additional warp point.  The new warp point was thirty-six light minutes in-system from their entry point, on a direct line towards the system primary.  Initially this was taken as confirmation of the warp point that the probe force had observed a Mintek freighter using to enter and exit the system, however, careful examination of the records of that event showed that the presumed Mintek freighter had entered and left the system at a point twenty-four light minutes in-system of their entry point, a full twelve light minutes from the newly discovered warp point.  This clearly indicated that the Mintek had at least one closed warp point into the system, and that their survey efforts would not find it.  If true, this was a devastating blow to their offensive.  In any case, the new warp point had to be probed. The scout-carriers escorting the D’Bringi survey group were dispatched to the new warp point, along with force of T’Pau heavy and light cruisers were sent to support them.  The probe would be carried out by pinnaces from the Rehorish pinnace carriers deployed to support the fleet. 

Month 159, Day 10, Mintek Delphi colony system
The combined squadron was drawn up in front of the newly discovered warp point.  Three D’Bringi corvette-carriers hung back, away from the warp point, with their fighters deployed forward, surrounding the warp point.  The six T’Pau heavy cruisers were closer in, at effective weapons range of the warp point, screened by their light cruisers.  Finally, two Rehorish pinnace-carrier corvettes hung back with the D’Bringi carriers, while their eight pinnaces closed on the warp point.  Behind all of the war ships waited the D’Bringi and Rehorish survey groups. 

Without hesitating, the eight pinnaces disappeared through the warp point.  A few minutes later they returned and reported that the far side was clear.  The D’Bringi corvette-carriers went through first, followed by the survey groups.  The remaining ships set up in defensive positions in the Mintek colony system. 

Month 159, Day 30, Mintek Delphi colony system
The D’Bringi troops were in control of the Mintek colony, and had searched for any information on local warp point layout, but had found nothing.  This left the D’Bringi Alliance in a difficult position.  They were in control of the colony system, but the Mintek had a closed warp point into the system, and could attack at any time.  If they withdrew their fleet, anything they left to secure the system would almost certainly be overwhelmed, and could reveal the route back to their own territory.  Leaving the fleet in place wasn’t a good alternative either, as that would tie down significant forces in an insignificant colony system indefinitely, to no good purpose.  The only other alternative was to withdraw, but that was politically unpalatable.  The Alliance Council was left to debate the issue, with no good alternatives available. 

Within the Mintek territories, the Mintek fleet was redeploying.  Chancellor Durkhon and his advisors had come to a decision.  The colony in Delphi was to be sacrificed, at least for now.  Rather than being sent to face the assembled fleet of the D’Bringi and their subjects, the Mintek fleet would be diverted to a new location, to attack a Rehorish colony that had been discovered some time ago.  The D’Bringi would be wasting their time attacking a useless colony, while the Mintek fleet would do an end run and attack into their ally’s territory. 

Month 160, Day 5, Mintek Delphi Colony System
The orders had come down from the Alliance Council.  The decision had been made.  The Mintek system was a dead end, and indefensible.  Therefore, transports were being sent to relocate the Mintek colonists to a suitable planet within the D’Bringi Expanses.  Once the transports had evacuated the planet, the system would be abandoned.  Scouts would continue to watch for Mintek activity, but no other activity would be allowed in the system. 

Transports began arriving almost immediately, and a suitable planet had been discovered four jumps away, but the project was large enough that it would take two months for the entire population to be moved. 

By Day 15 it was confirmed that the starless nexus adjacent to the Mintek colony system had no other warp points.  This was truly a dead end, and without knowing the location of the closed warp point into Mintek space, they would not be able to advance.  The survey fleets withdrew back to the main fleet and then from there back to D’Bringi space. 

Month 161, Day 15, Mintek Delphi Colony System
The last D’Bringi colony transport left the system, bound for the Saray system four jumps away.  The Mintek colonists were being transferred to this newly discovered, vacant world which was perfect for their use.  Once there the Alliance would be able to study them, and hopefully determine if they could be “de-programmed” from their apparent need to proselytize their beliefs to anyone that would listen. 

The Mintek colony system was now empty of Alliance ships, with the exception of a group of D’Bringi scout-carriers, left behind to watch for Mintek activity.  Sensor buoys were being sent from the inner systems to be posted around the general area where the warp point to the rest of Mintek space was suspected to be located.  The rest of the attack fleet was withdrawing back towards the interior, to the Chruqua Nexus, where it would join the new Rapid Response Fleet that was being assembled by the Alliance in that system. 
 
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Cold War: Month 161 to 163, Mintek Attack
« Reply #159 on: March 31, 2021, 09:33:58 AM »
Month 161
A Rehorish survey group, having completed its survey of the 1-3 OR system, probed the three new warp points they had discovered.  Two led to systems with habitable planets.  Disappointingly, one of the two systems had Colonial Union colonies in it.  The warp point the Rehorish scout ship used to enter the system was a distant one, located in the outer system, and they were fairly sure that the probe ship had not been detected before it detected the human population.  The survey group sent a message back to the home world asking for direction. 

After some consideration, the Rehorish government decided to reveal their presence in the system to the Colonial Union.  They were required to do so by the peace treaty they had signed with the humans, however, that would not have convinced them to reveal themselves normally.  Finding a hidden route into a potential enemy’s rear area was nearly priceless, and normally the Rehorish would not give up such an advantage willingly.  However, in this case, the government decided that building a little good will with the humans might be a good idea.  Especially as the warp links to the human colony system were not closed, and so if the humans surveyed their colony system, which was likely on the forefront of their colonial expansion, they would inevitably find the Rehorish Dominion’s nearby Sapporo system.  Better to be upfront with the humans and come to an agreement on system ownership in the area, before a human survey ship blundered into Rehorish territory. 

The contact with the humans went well, possibly because the Rehorish ship announced itself before being detected, and was a small frigate class vessel, so unlikely to be a threat.  The Rehorish commander explained the situation, and proposed that the adjacent system, known to the Rehorish as 1-3 OR, would be considered by both races a neutral zone, and off limits.  After consulting with their central authority, the humans agreed. 

Later in the same month, a Torqual survey group completes its survey and probes the newly discovered warp points.  Like the Rehorish the Torqual discover a human-colonized system.  This system, though, was found through a closed warp point, which means that the humans won’t be able to find the way back to Torqual territory on their own.  The Torqual survey ship withdrew without being detected, and the information was sent back to their home planet. 

Month 162, Rehorish Dominion
The Kure system is a Rehorish colony system two jumps from their home system, on the border with the human Titov Free State.  The Rehorish had spent the last several years fortifying the system to deter or delay human aggression, and the system now boasted eighteen destroyer-sized bases clustered around the warp point to the Titov Free State, backed up by a contingent of three light cruisers supported by nine smaller warships.  In addition, the Rehorish had deployed a minefield around the warp point to the Titov Free State, along with one hundred and sixty-five laser buoys.  The warp point to Titov, and all of its defenses, was located in the outer system, three hundred and twelve light minutes from the primary, at approximately the three o’clock position, if you were looking down at the system and the orbital plane.  The warp point that led back to Rehorish Prime was also in the outer system, three hundred and forty-eight light minutes from the system primary, at the five o’clock position.  This warp point was unguarded, although communications and sensor buoys had been stationed there to keep watch on the area. 

At 0500 hours on the 1st day of the month, a Mintek fleet jumped into the system through a closed warp point located two hundred and sixteen light minutes from the primary, in the one o’clock position.  Their entry went undetected, as their entry point was far from anything else in the system.  The first to enter were the battlecruisers of the Fast Attack Group, followed quickly by the Carrier Strike Group.  Finally, the warships were followed by a survey group, which immediately spread out to begin surveying the system.  The Fast Attack Group set out for the inner system and the colony known to be located there, while the Carrier Strike Group settled in around their entry warp point in defensive positions. 

Four days later the Mintek battlecruisers were detected by the Rehorish colony in the inner system.  The colonial governor immediately sent messages to the unknown drive fields demanding ID’s.  In addition, she sent messages to the communication network buoy at the warp point back to the home system, warning of the incursion, and a warning and plea for help to the defenses at the warp point to the Titov system. 

It took just over six hours for the warnings to reach the Kure Squadron at the warp point to the Titov Free State.  Sho-sa Ito, commanding the Kure Squadron, immediately ordered his squadron to intercept the intruders, leaving behind his three corvettes to serve as pickets and couriers for the warp point defenses.  It would take nine days to reach the inner system from their currently location, so there was no time to be lost.  His three light cruisers and six destroyers set out within the hour.  Behind them, the bases and ships left at the warp point dropped their drive fields, essentially becoming undetectable at any range over one light minute. 

Month 162, Day 6, 0100 hours
The warning from the Kure system arrived at Fleet HQ and caused emergency warnings to be sent out across the system and the entire Stellar Dominion, as well as to the Alliance.  Fleet HQ immediately began assembling a relief fleet for the system from what it had available, and requested assistance from the Alliance. 

Five hours later the hastily assembled relief fleet left Rehorish Prime.  The fleet consisted of three battlecruisers, three heavy cruisers, eight brand new destroyer escorts, a standard scout-destroyer, six corvette sized small craft carriers carrying sixty new anti-fighter small craft, and three corvette-scouts.  They would arrive in the Kure system in fifteen days. 

Month 162, Day 6, 0500 hours
The Rehorish corvette-scouts left behind at the warp point detected a drive field at seventy-two light minute’s range, coming from approximately 11 o’clock position.  At first, they thought that it was headed towards the warp point they were guarding, but then it became clear that it was a group of survey ships or scouts spreading out across the system.  Dai-I Sato, commanding the defenses, sent a warning to Cho-sa Ito and settled in to wait and see what the alien ships would do. 

Cho-sa Ito’s force received the warning twenty-four minutes later, and out of caution, Cho-sa Ito ordered his squadron to shut down their drives and go silent.   The Kure Squadron and the warp point defenses sat silently and watched the alien ships approach. 

Month 162, Day 7, 0500 hours
The Mintek Fast Attack Force settles in just a light minute from the Rehorish colony.  Once they were in position, Strategos Neeron sent a message to the Rehorish requesting that they surrender and appealing to the common people of the colony to prevail upon their leadership and do the right thing for everyone’s sake.  The message is similar to the ones that Neeron sent to the Alowan, prior to the battles there that toppled their government and started their path to enlightenment. 

The Rehorish governor immediately forwarded on the message to the warp point defenses in the outer system, along with the communications buoy at the other warp point.  The information that the Mintek had found their colony was critical, as was the fact that the force sent to their colony consisted of seven battlecruisers.  The governor pointedly did not respond to the Mintek message.  The message was received by the Rehorish population as well, but it caused little stir.  The Rehorish knew who they were, and they knew that the Mintek were enemies. 

Month 162, Day 7, 0600 hours
The warning from the Rehorish about an alien incursion began arriving on Alliance home worlds on this date.  The Alliance Council on D’Bringi Prime met at 1200 hours and authorized the Rapid Response Fleet, which was stationed in the Chruqua Nexus, to go to alert and begin relocating to a position closer to the Kure system.  The situation in Kure was of significant concern.  Not only was the system just two jumps from the Rehorish home world, it was adjacent to the Titov Free State.  Should the aliens now in the Kure system make common cause with the Humans, it could be disastrous for the Alliance.   The Titov Free State had access to two different routes into the Rehorish Dominion, through Kure and through Sapporo, and worse, there was another route from the Free State into the D’Bringi Expanses, which after three jumps would exit in the Phyriseq system.  Alliance intelligence had penetrated the Free State’s astrographic database and confirmed that while they knew about the red giant system, they had never surveyed it, and had no idea of the presence of the Phyriseq system beyond one of its warp points.  Indeed, the Rehorish navy’s scouts had watched for months as Titov freighters transited through the red giant system on their way to and from somewhere.  Eventually, the Free State would decide to survey the red giant system, and at that point the Rehorish and the Alliance would have to decide what to do about it before the humans found the vital Phyriseq system.    The Rapid Response Fleet, consisting of ships from every Alliance race with navies, except the Zir, set its course for the Kure system.

Rapid Response Fleet:12xBC, 21xCA, 3xCAV, 3xCVS, 6xCL, 4xDD, 3xCTS, 3xCT(Pin), 3xCTV, 114xF0, 12xPinnace

Month 162, Day 7, 1100 hours, Kure System
The message from the governor of the colony arrived at the Rehorish warp point defenses and the Kure squadron within thirty minutes or so of each other.  Cho-sa Ito, who had been planning an ambush attack on the nearest alien survey ship, immediately changed his plans and renewed his orders to his combat group to remain drive-field down.  The fact that the intruders were the Mintek changed the game, and ambushing a survey ship to gather information on the invaders was no longer a good idea. 

The information arrived at the communications buoy thirty minutes later and was relayed out of the system. 

Month 162, Day 8, 0030 hours, Rehorish Prime
The news that the invaders were the Mintek reached the Rehorish home world on this date.  The reaction was immediate.  Orders were dispatched immediately to the Home Fleet.  They were ordered to proceed to the Kure system, but not to enter the system until a response had been worked out with the Alliance Rapid Response force that was already proceeding towards the system.  The message was also forwarded on to the various home worlds of the Alliance races.  By the end of the day all of the home worlds had received the message, and the D’Bringi had decided to dispatch reinforcements from their home world to bolster the Rapid Response Fleet.  These reinforcements consisted of two battlecruisers, a heavy cruiser, and three strike carriers with seventy-two fighters. 

Month 162, Day 9, 0600 hours, Kure System
The Mintek survey ships had been out of sensor range for over an hour when Cho-sa Ito ordered his squadron to head back to the warp point and the defenses there.  Once they arrived, they dropped their drive fields and went dark.  After a short time, Cho-sa Ito’s flagship launched a courier drone through the warp point to the Titov system.  A short time later another courier drone appeared on the warp point, and Cho-sa Ito’s flagship activated its drives and jumped out to the Titov system.  They might need to withdraw through the Titov system, and the Free State would have to know before it became critical. 

Month 162, Day 21, 0600 hours, Kure system
A single scout-destroyer popped into the Kure system from the adjacent Rehorish system.  The destroyer sat on the warp point for a brief period to allow its sensors to reset, and then sent a courier drone back to the Kawasaki system and the Rehorish fleet waiting there.  Tai-sa Kato, commanding the relief group, was relieved that the warp point was clear, but disappointed his orders precluded entering the system and engaging the Mintek forces roaming the system.  He strongly felt that the correct course of action was to enter the system immediately and move to relieve the force holding on the warp point to the Titov Free State.  That force, combined with his own, would be a powerful group and would be capable of engaging, or distracting, any Mintek force.  He had been disappointed in his desire to come to grips with the enemy, though.  Fleet HQ felt that the known Mintek forces, seven battlecruisers and an unknown number of survey ships, was close enough to his fleet strength that he should remain at the warp point until reinforcements arrived.  After all, he only had three battlecruisers and three heavy cruisers, along with fourteen brand new, untried, anti-small craft ships.   He had to admit that he wished he had a normal escort force of light cruisers and destroyers for his capital ships, because if the Mintek didn’t have fighters his anti-fighter ships were next to useless.  His requests to enter the Kure system had been denied, though, as heavy reinforcements were coming up behind him, and Fleet HQ wanted the Kawasaki system, which was adjacent to the home system, secured.  And so, he would remain here.  The Alliance reinforcements wouldn’t arrive until the end of next month.  That was a long time to wait, and the Mintek almost certainly were going to learn where the warp points in the system were located long before then. 

Month 162, Day 30, Kure System
The Mintek survey group finished its rough survey, discovering the locations of two additional warp points.  By this time, Strategos Neeron had shuffled his deployments slightly.  A single escort carrier had arrived from the carrier group at the warp point, to act as a picket over the planet and watch for Rehorish reinforcements.  This would free up the Fast Attack Group to deploy elsewhere in the system without leaving the colony unwatched.  Frustratingly, the colony refused to answer any of his calls to surrender, or even to talk about the situation.  He was unwilling to commit troops to this system until he controlled the warp points, so the colony would have to wait for now. 

Strategos Neeron and his staff studied the situation now that two additional warp points had been found.  If the system was viewed from the top down, as if one were looking down at the orbital plane, their hidden entry point was located in the mid-outer system, at the 12 o’clock position.  Both of the new warp points were located about as far out as warp points could be found, one at three hundred and twelve light minutes, and the other at three hundred and forty-eight light minutes.  The first new warp point was located at approximately the two o’clock position, while the second new warp point was located at the five o’clock position.  After some consideration, Neeron came to a decision. 

First, Strategos Neeron ordered the survey group to split.  A pair of survey cruisers were ordered to cautiously approach the second new warp point, located at the five o’clock position, while the other four survey cruisers were rendezvous with his Fast Attack Group, which would be moving towards the first new warp point from the inner system.  The two survey cruisers detailed to the second new warp point were not to approach closer than one light minute, but were to take station there and observe the warp point and the surrounding area.   Neeron called forward the Carrier Strike Group as well, to support his probe of the first new warp point. 

Month 163, Day 3, 0600 hours, Kure System, Rehorish Stellar Dominion
A single Rehorish scout destroyer had been left in the Kure system at the warp point to the Kawasaki system by Tai-sa Kato to watch for the approach of Mintek ships.  The Rehorish ship sat with its drive field down, and thus should remain undetectable unless the Mintek ships closed to fifteen light seconds or closer.  For the last day the scout-destroyer had observed a drive field contact approaching the warp point.  The destroyer’s commander had dispatched a courier drone back to the Kawasaki system when the drive field had first appeared, and the Mintek ships were still far enough away that the CD’s drive field wouldn’t be seen.  Now, though, with the Mintek ship(s) approaching one light minute, any CD the destroyer launched, or which entered the system through the warp point, would be observed, so the DD’s commander, following his orders, merely observed the approach.  If the Mintek ships continued to close to a range at which they would detect his ship, his orders were to wait until just before being detected to jump out.  That didn’t turn out to be the case, though, as the two Mintek ships settled in approximately one light minute from the warp point and shut off their drive fields.  The Rehorish destroyer knew there were two Mintek ships, and where they were, but could not report back to the fleet standing by on the far side of the warp point without revealing its position.  The ship’s commander had strict orders against that, so the picket destroyer waited and watched. 

Month 163, Day 9, 1800 hours, Kure System, Rehorish Stellar Dominion
The Mintek Fleet, now reassembled, approached the first newly discovered warp point, stopping at six light seconds to evaluate the situation.  The Mintek fleet consisted of seven battlecruisers, the eight carriers of the Carrier Strike Group, and four light cruisers from the survey group.  They could detect eighteen drive fields sitting on the warp point, but were not yet close enough to determine their size or class.  Still, the Rehorish or their D’Bringi allies were here, and that was a start. 

Strategos Neeron gestured for his comm officer to begin recording, and turned to the camera.  “I am Strategos Neeron of the Mintek Universal Union.  I now call upon you to surrender, for the good of your souls and ours, or I will remove you from this system by force.  I do not wish to do this, and I plead with you now to consider the consequences of your actions.  Do not make me do this thing.  I give you five minutes to respond before the attack commences.”

The five minutes passed without answer, and exactly on the five-minute mark the Mintek fleet began advancing.  Fifteen minutes later the fleet had advanced to fifteen light seconds from the warp point, and suddenly twelve new drive fields appeared on the warp point.  Based on the drive field strengths, the Rehorish force appeared to be composed of three light cruisers, six destroyers, three corvettes, and eighteen destroyer-sized bases.  If Strategos Neeron’s force had been composed of standard warships, this would be a significant fight, but it wasn’t, and so it wouldn’t.  At Neeron’s order, his carrier group launched two hundred and four fighters and seven armed pinnaces.  Eighteen fighters remained behind to guard the carriers, along with the seven armed-pinnaces, while the remaining one hundred and eighty-six fighters advanced on the Rehorish ships along with the Mintek battlecrusiers. 

The Rehorish force watched as the Mintek battlecruisers and fighters advanced, until they reached ten light seconds, at which time the Rehorish ships began transiting out of the system, leaving behind the bases. 

A single destroyer remained behind, broadcasting a message in the D’Bringi and Rehorish languages.  The destroyer identified itself as belonging to something called the Titov Free State and a race called humanity, and further stated that the far side of the warp point was human territory, and would be defended against incursions.  The message further stated that the Titov Free State wanted good relations with the Mintek, and would be open to establishing communications once the current unpleasantness was resolved.  With the message delivered, the destroyer jumped out, leaving the Mintek fleet facing the eighteen bases. 

The Mintek fighters advanced on the bases, and, when they reached two and a half light seconds from the bases, the Mintek battlecruisers advanced into missile range and began firing on the bases, splitting their capital missile fire between six bases as the fighters raced closer.  Only one of the battlecruisers managed to penetrate the active defenses of a base with two of its three missiles, knocking the base’s shields down.  The six battlecruisers did successfully divert the six bases from using their point defense in anti-fighter mode, though.  The remaining twelve bases opened fire on the advancing fighter force when it reached a half-light-second’s range, but missed the small fighters completely.  The Rehorish base’s point defense fire seemed sluggish and unfocused to the Mintek pilots as they closed on the bases, and so, encouraged, they raced ahead to grapple with the defenses. 

The fighters plunged to point blank range and began ravaging the bases.  The bases focused all of their point defense fire on the incoming fighters, correctly identifying them as a greater threat, and also began firing plasma guns at the small attackers.  Twelve fighters were caught in the plasma blasts or point defense fire, but the remainder dismantled the bases, destroying every one of them. 

With the defenses neutralized, Strategos Neeron ordered his fleet to turn towards the second warp point, leaving behind four survey cruisers to watch the warp point.  He left orders for the survey commander to establish contact with the humans on the far side of the warp point and begin the process of learning their language.  In particular, he wanted the survey commander to determine the exact nature of the relationship between the two governments, and what the ‘Titov Free State’ had done with the Rehorish ships that had retreated into their territory. 

Meanwhile, in the Novosibirsk system, several minutes ago…
Sho-sa Ito shook his head to clear it after the transit, peering around the command deck to try to ascertain the status of his ship and squadron.  After a few seconds he had recovered enough to croak out a demand for information, and his bridge stations began responding, confirming that all was well with his light cruiser. 

One minute later his formation was drawn up a light second from the warp point, and Ito’s main bridge viewer was showing a human in the black uniform of the Free State’s Protective Force.  “Welcome to Novosibirsk, Sho-sa Ito.  As agreed, your ships will proceed immediately to the warp point to your Sapporo system, where they will transit out upon arrival.  One of my patrol ships will accompany you.  Safe journeys.”  The screen flickered out. 

Sho-sa Ito turned to the plot and saw that a Free State patrol ship had moved in front of his formation and was moving away, towards the warp point to the Sapporo system.  Sho-sa Ito issued orders for his squadron to follow the patrol ship and settled into his station, wondering how much his government had promised to the Free State to secure the rights for his force to cross their system.  The Free State was irritating, but it knew its position.  Its continued existence was contingent on the good will of the human’s Colonial Union, and his government.  Should the Titov choose a side, or even favor one too openly over the other, the situation would destabilize quickly.  He knew that the Free State had charged ruinous rates to pick up the deactivated Rehorish mines and automated weapons that had been emplaced around the warp point and transport them to the Sapporo system.  He had been outraged by how much they wanted for the service, many multiples of how much it would cost for a Rehorish freighter to do the job, but of course they merely pointed out that he didn’t have any Rehorish freighters handy, and being cut off from the home world was unlikely to be able to come up with any freighters soon.  They had charged even more for his force to cross the system, but that had been handled by the diplomatic staff on Titov itself. 

The Kure Defense Force set out across the Novosibirsk system, bound for the Sapporo border system, where they would reinforce the border force located there. 

Back in the Kure system, with the Mintek Fleet, three hours later…
The combined force was now headed for the second warp point, having left several survey cruisers behind to watch the warp point they had just cleared and to establish comms with the humans.  In addition, Strategos Neeron ordered the survey ships to carefully check the wreckage of the Rehorish bases.  Their behavior during the battle had been odd, sluggish even, and a check of the battle scans had showed that none of the bases had ejected life pods during the battle. 

The report from the survey ships had just arrived.  There were no organic remains to be found in the wreck of the Rehorish bases, which meant that the Rehorish had evacuated the bases prior to the battle, leaving them to attrit his fighters while the crews and ships that had defended the warp point escaped.  It seemed that the Rehorish were concerned about their crews, which, in Neeron’s view was sensible and civilized, unlike the D’Bringi, who tended to be reckless and squander their personnel.  It was something to be remembered for the future. 

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Cold War: Months 163-165 D'Bringi Counterattack
« Reply #160 on: April 05, 2021, 08:15:30 AM »
Month 163, Day 21, 1800 hours, Kure system
Strategos Neeron’s fleet powered down just over seventy-two light minutes from the second newly discovered warp point, just beyond the distance at which his long-range sensors could detect a drive field on the warp point, or, conversely, the range at which a ship on the warp point could detect his fleet.  At the pre-arranged time, the two survey cruisers sitting a light minute from the warp point activated their drives and began closing on the warp point.  A short time later, as the two survey cruisers crossed the seven-point-five light second line from the warp point, a Rehorish ship sitting drive-field down on the warp point activated its drives and plunged into the warp point, leaving the system.  The two cruisers were able to identify the ship as a destroyer. 

With the presence of the enemy now being confirmed on the far side of the warp point, Strategos Neeron pondered the situation.  There were several possibilities.  Either the Rehorish were weak, in which case they would retreat if he pressed forward, or possibly they would defend at the warp point, in the hopes that the advantages of such a position would offset their relative weakness.  If they were strong, then possibly they hoped to draw him into a vulnerable position and then attack, or they hoped he would attack through the warp point and be destroyed, opening the route back to the Union.  Currently he had no way of knowing whether they were weak or strong, although he suspected that they could not match his force, yet.  Should the D’Bringi Alliance be given enough time, they likely could gather a large force to oppose them, but given what they had learned about the size of the Alliance, he considered it unlikely they had a large force assembled yet.  Possibly next month, but not yet. 

The fact that he had been forced to leave the Assault Group in the home system to bolster the warp point defenses to the enemy’s Phyriseq system meant that he had no real assault capabilities.  His carriers were too fragile to risk in an assault, and his battlecruisers were his only real combatants.  That would change, now that the defenses in the home system were firming up, and the construction ships in the Alowan system were making headway converting the captured ships to useable warships for the Mintek Navy, but for now his meager force was all that stood between the barbarians and the faithful of the Union.  Finally, after spending much time considering the problem, he ordered his fleet into a defensive position outside of weapons range of the warp point.  They would depend on their fighters to cover the warp point against attack, rotating squadrons through guard duty to make sure that the pilots had down time and their fighters could be serviced.  That would blunt an enemy attack and leave the fleet in a position to retreat if necessary. 

Month 163, Day 25, 1200 hours, Kawasaki System, Rehorish Stellar Dominion
The Alliance Rapid Response Force arrived at the warp point to the Kure system and joined with Tai-sa Ito’s force, and began deploying in defensive positions around the warp point.  The area around the warp point was a hive of activity, with battlecruisers patrolling at their weapon’s most effective ranges, and swarms of fighters sitting right on the warp point.  A group of heavy cruisers, light cruisers, destroyers and corvettes were sitting just off of the warp point, prepared to enter it on command. 

Alliance Rapid Response Force (CO: Cho-sho Banzan)
Rehorish Component (Cho-sho Banzan): 12xBC, 3xCA, 3xCL, 9xDDE, 4xDDS, 9xCT(SCC), 7xCT, 1xCT(mun), 6xAst, 12xPin, 60xAFSC
D’Bringi Component (Clan Chief Skull Splitter): 12xBC, 6xCAV, 8xCVS, 2xDDV, 12xCTV, 1xMSY, 1xFT1(FS), 306 xF0, 100xF0(crated)
Doraz Component (Warleader Grogan): 3xCA
Torqual (Comrade Rear Admiral Falson): 9xCA
T’Pau (Kommandant-General Talix): 9xCA, 3xCL

With the fleet ready for action, twelve pinnaces left their carriers and plunged into the warp point.  They materialized on the far side of the warp point in the midst of a swarm of Mintek fighters.  The fighters were caught by surprise, and the pinnaces were small and their jump flares were correspondingly hard to detect.  One of the defending Mintek squadrons detected the pinnaces as they wheeled about to return through the warp point, but they were armed with close attack missiles and so didn’t attack the small craft as they returned to the warp point and jumped out. 

The pinnaces returned to the Kawasaki system and immediately reported their findings.  The news that the Mintek had fighters, and had forward deployed them, was unnerving.  The Rehorish, who had recently made a large investment in anti-fighter systems, now felt justified, while the D’Bringi, who had either counted on their fighters to make a decisive difference or believed they were a useless distraction, now had to face the fact that their enemies had them as well.   The other races were unnerved by the use of new tech by the Mintek, and the revelation that the D’Bringi had this tech as well, but had not told them about it prior to this encounter. 

In any case, the fleet commanders put aside recriminations, for now, and focused on the problem at hand.  The Mintek were on the far side of the warp point and must be dislodged before they could fortify their position.  The assault was postponed, to give the Mintek time to stand down, as by this time the Mintek had had over five minutes to get their crews to their stations and their fighters launched. 

Month 163, Day 26, Kawasaki system, Rehorish Stellar Dominion
The attack began suddenly, as all warp point assaults do.  One second the warp point was clear of enemies, and then suddenly enemy ships began blinking into existence one by one.  The assault was led by six big Rehorish battlecruisers.  The Rehorish battlecruisers entered the system in a line and moved away from the warp point as quickly as they could.  The six Mintek fighter squadrons that were on combat patrol on the warp point split up, with each taking up station directly behind one of the battlecruisers and making their attack runs.  Even as the fighters began launching their close attack missiles, the battlecruisers began firing at the fighters in front of them with every weapon they had, trying to destroy or distract the fighters from their deadly mission. 

The first fighter squadron to fire targeted the lead battlecruiser and hit with eleven out of its twelve close attack missiles.  The resultant fireball stripped away the battlecruiser’s armor and shields, but left it otherwise intact.  The third battlecruiser then opened fire with all of its weapons on the fighters lining up behind the second battlecruiser, firing seven force beams, five plasma guns, and four point-defense emplacements at the fighters.  The battlecruiser’s systems were still addled from the warp transit, but their crews were the elite of the Rehorish Navy, and they did their jobs even though they were struggling to recover.  Three fighters from the group lining up behind the second battlecruiser went up in fireballs, but even as they went up in flames other fighters were launching their close attack missiles into the battlecruisers in front of them.  In seconds it was all over.  All told eleven fighters had been destroyed by the desperate defensive fire, but all six battlecruisers had suffered damage.  Only one still had shields, and another was leaking streamers of atmosphere as it moved away from the warp point, while the other four had varying amounts of armor left after the onslaught. 

The now-empty fighter squadrons raced away from the warp point at top speed, pursued by the damaged battlecruisers, while the second wave entered the system behind them.  The Rehorish battlecruisers’ sensors had now recovered, and they could see the Mintek carriers and battlecruisers sitting a light minute from the warp point.  The second wave consisted of six Rehorish escort destroyers specifically designed to engage fighters, accompanied by six D’Bringi corvette-carriers.  Twelve Rehorish pinnaces escorted the ships of the second wave, intended to distract any fighters remaining on the warp point.  Clan Chief Skull Splitter was aboard the first corvette-carrier through the warp point, and as soon as he saw the Mintek fighters retreating he ordered his carriers to hold their fighters aboard until further notice.  There was no sense in letting the Mintek know that they had fighters, when there was no way his fighters could catch the retreating Mintek fighters.  Better to retain the surprise.  The Rehorish battlecruisers got off one last parting shot against the retreating fighters, and although it was at extreme range, the battlecruiser’s elite crews managed to kill fifteen fighters.  Out of the thirty-six fighters that had opposed the assault, only ten remained to return to their carriers. 

Aboard his command ship, Strategos Neeron had watched the events at the warp point with intense interest.  Based on the damage reports from the fighters, five of the six battlecruisers that led the assault had lost most or all of their armor and would require shipyard-repairs before becoming combat-ready again, as they were equipped with short-ranged weapons and would depend on their armor to protect them while they closed with and engaged their enemies.  Based on his knowledge of the Rehorish, they valued their highly capable crews and would not risk them unnecessarily, which meant that the battlecruisers could be considered mission-kills as they would be out of action for several months at least.  He considered the sacrifice of twenty-six fighters to mission-kill five enemy battlecruisers a success, but as he watched the size of the enemy fleet on the warp point grew and grew.  In the ten minutes since the attack started the number of drive fields on the warp point had grown to over one hundred. 

Strategos Neeron began pacing across the command deck, lost in thought.  The concentration of enemy ships was a tempting target.  His fighter strength was somewhat reduced, but even so, once the fighters left from the warp point guard returned, he could launch a strike of over one hundred and sixty fighters, and even if he lost them all they would surely do significant damage to the enemy fleet.  A fleet that size had to be a significant percentage of the D’Bringi Alliance’s entire military strength, and inflicting a serious defeat on them here would give him the freedom to exploit the breakthrough he had made into Rehorish territory.  On the other hand, the Rehorish battlecruisers which had assaulted the warp point had shown no confusion or hesitation in the face of his guard squadrons’ attack at the warp point.  Unlike the Alowan, who had faltered in the face of the unknown technology, and had failed to react properly, the Rehorish had stalwartly attacked the fighters, and then pursued them once they had emptied their racks and were running for home.  As if they knew exactly what the fighters were capable of, and had developed doctrines to deal with them.  And if that was true, then it was almost certain that at the very least the D’Bringi Alliance had developed ships and fleet engagement doctrines to respond to fighter attacks, and, further, it was almost certain that they themselves had fighters.  And if the D’Bringi Alliance fleet that outnumbered his fleet by seven to one had fighters, then they likely outnumbered his fighters as well, putting him in a very precarious position.  His fighters were his fleet’s only viable defense against enemy fighters, and if he expended them in a fruitless attack against a superior force of enemy fighters, then he faced total defeat at the hands of the enemy, if they could catch his fleet before he retreated. 

Strategos Neeron turned to the plot and called up a strategic map of the area surrounding the Kure System.  The system’s position within the D’Bringi Alliance was unknown, but within the Mintek Empire it was only three jumps from the Home System.  And while it was true that their entry point into the Kure system was through a closed warp point, if his ships were destroyed or captured here, there existed the significant possibility that the Alliance would capture astrogation data that would reveal the location of the closed warp point, which would be disastrous. 

Coming to a decision, Strategos Neeron ordered the fleet to retreat to the warp point at full cruising speed.  He would make a decision on whether to launch a fighter assault on the Alliance fleet before reaching the warp point, based on the actions of the Alliance fleet as they pursued.  Further, he dispatched orders for the light survey cruisers of the 2nd Survey Fleet, which were dispersed around the system watching for D’Bringi Alliance ships sneaking around the system beyond the view of his main fleet, to withdraw to their entry point.  Finally, he ordered one strike carrier and two light carriers from the strike group to retreat at full military speed to the exit point from the system.  This ran the risk of burning out their drives, but the carriers’ fighters had been disbursed throughout the group’s other carriers and they currently only had four fighters aboard between the three of them, meaning they could contribute little to the coming battle.  They would join with the survey fleet and retreat from the system, if all went well. 

The D’Bringi Alliance fleet behind them set out in pursuit, racing ahead at full military speed for a few minutes to reach a light minute’s distance from the retreating Mintek force, and then slowing down to merely match their speed as they ran across the system.  The Alliance fleet must have observed the Mintek carriers racing away at full speed, but they let them go, content to shadow the main force. 

Month 163, Day 27, Kure System, Mintek Fleet
The Mintek fleet had been running across the system for nearly twenty-four hours.  Strategos Neeron was on the command ship’s bridge when the computer chimed, indicating a significant change in the situation.  Twenty-eight corvettes had broken away from the fleet behind and were approaching at full speed.  Neeron watched as the command computer calculated the relative velocities and then displayed projections.  It was as he had expected.  In seventeen and a half minutes the Alliance corvettes would reach fifteen light seconds from his fleet.  That distance was critical.  If the Alliance wanted to observe his exit from the system and pinpoint the closed warp-point they had used to enter it, then they’d need to be within fifteen light seconds when his ships started transiting out.  Otherwise, they’d only know the general location of the closed warp point and wouldn’t be able to use it until they observed a ship entering their system through it. 

When the retreat began, he had wondered if the Alliance fleet would accelerate to full speed and try to force his fleet to fight or be attritted away one by one as they ran at full military power ahead of their pursuers.  As he had suspected, though, the Alliance commanders didn’t want to force him to fight, they wanted him to retreat to the warp point, so they could pinpoint it and advance into Mintek territory.  And he could not allow that to happen.  There were only two systems between the Kure system and the home system, and both of those warp points were open and easily discoverable even without observing ships transiting.  Fortunately, neither of those systems were inhabited, so losing them would cost the Mintek little, but allowing the Alliance to obtain another route to the home system would ultimately prove to be disastrous.  While the home system’s defenses were strong, if they were divided between too many warp-points they would inevitably become too weak to hold back a determined attacker that could concentrate his force against one of the warp point’s defenses. 

So, he could not, under any circumstances, reveal the location of the warp point back to Mintek space.  The approaching corvettes would make that impossible, if he allowed them to remain within sensor distance of the fleet.  Of course, he had the means to deal with the corvettes, and it appeared that the Alliance did not know that.  So, he would let them approach. 

Twenty minutes later…
The Alliance corvettes had approached to fifteen light seconds and then settled into position just close enough to observe the Mintek ships transiting through a closed warp point.  Neeron was tempted to launch a fighter strike against the corvettes now, to either destroy or push them away, but it was too soon.  He would be revealing his capabilities before he had to, and, as the corvettes were as fast as a fully loaded fighter, they would be able to avoid the strike if they wished.  Merely pushing them away from his fleet wouldn’t be enough, because as soon as his fighters landed, they would rush back to their observation posts, unscathed and undaunted, while he would have revealed the strength of his remaining fighter force.  A resolution would have to wait until they neared the warp point out of the system.

Month 164, Day 12, 0800 hours, Kure System, Mintek Attack Fleet
Strategos Neeron had ordered the ships of the 2nd Survey Fleet to jump out some time ago, to avoid being detected by the approaching Alliance fleet.  They now picketed the far side of the warp point, guarding against intrusion by the Alliance, for all of the good that would do if the Alliance found the warp point, the location of which was approaching quickly. 

Neeron decided it was time.  He ordered his carriers to begin launching their fighters.   Within a minute there were one hundred and sixty-two fighters in space.  Once assembled the fighters turned back towards the corvette force and accelerated away at full speed.    Neeron watched their progress with interest.  The Alliance corvettes were as fast as his fully loaded fighters, so they could avoid this attack, but in doing so they would be pushed beyond the range at which they could observe his fleet using the warp point, thus allowing them to escape. 

Ninety seconds later the fighters were approaching the Alliance corvette force.  When the Mintek fighter force reached three light seconds from the Alliance corvettes, the Alliance force suddenly began launching small craft.  The Mintek fleet was too far away, and the Mintek fighters were too myopic, to determine the exact numbers or type of small craft being launched, but it was clear that the Alliance force was launching something, probably its own fighters, to counter the approaching Mintek fighters.  Neeron had suspected that the enemy possessed fighters, so this was not a surprise, and he had prepared his fighter commanders for the possibility.  The Mintek fleet transmitted a warning to the Mintek fighters, which then adjusted their approach.  They did not want to tangle with the corvettes while engaging their fighters. 

After dancing around each other for thirty seconds, the two groups of small craft plunged together in an orgy of destruction.  One hundred and sixty-two Mintek fighters faced seventy-two D’Bringi fighters and sixty Rehorish anti-fighter small craft (AFSC).    The Alliance fighters were armed with fighter guns which were specifically designed to engage enemy fighters by firing shells that exploded into clouds of flechettes designed to penetrate the small craft’s drive field and shred their thin hulls.  Unfortunately, the Rehorish weren’t capable of building fighters, so they had to settle for the anti-fighter small craft, a modified assault shuttle equipped with a proto-type fighter gun.  Unlike the D’Bringi and Mintek fighters, which were datalinked together into squadrons of six, the AFSC’s were only able to datalink together into groups of three, which would put them at a disadvantage.  They were the best the Rehorish could do, though.  The Mintek fighters were armed with fighter close attack missiles for an anti-shipping strike against the Alliance corvettes.  These missiles were devastating in large numbers against large ships, but also worked extremely well against enemy fighters at point blank range, which this was. 

The two groups of small craft slammed together and space was marked by massive explosions as close attack missiles and fighter power plants began exploding throughout the volume of the battle area.  When the Mintek fighters expended their ordnance, they raced away from the scene of the battle, leaving a devastated Alliance force behind.  The Alliance fighters and AFSC had managed to kill forty-three Mintek fighters, but in exchange they lost over eighty percent of their force.  Sixty-one D’Bringi fighters and forty-three Rehorish AFSC were lost in seconds, leaving just eleven fighters and seventeen AFSC to pursue the now-empty Mintek fighters.  The Mintek fighters, with their empty racks, were faster than their pursuers, but just barely.  The vengeful D’Bringi fighters and Rehorish AFSX destroyed eleven more Mintek fighters before they pulled outside of weapons range as they headed back to their carriers to rearm.  The Alliance small craft returned to the corvette force and settled into protective positions around the corvettes. 

It took five minutes for the Mintek fighters to return to their carriers, and three minutes for them to land and rearm, and then they were in space again, and headed back towards the Alliance force.   By this time the main Alliance fleet had accelerated to full military speed and was closing on their corvette force, but it would take them thirty minutes to close and join with their detached force.  The main fleet had also launched its fighters, two hundred and thirty-four of them, but it would take them eighteen minutes to reach to the corvettes.  There was no way either of them could intervene before the Mintek fighters reached the corvettes.   

This time it would be one hundred and eight Mintek fighters against twenty-eight Alliance fighters and AFSC’s.  For Dai-I Sato, the Rehorish commander of the corvette force, the results of the coming fighter battle were clear, the Mintek would overwhelm the Alliance’s remaining fighters and AFSC’s and then go on to destroy or cripple his small corvettes, which had little in the way of armor or shields.  In fact, only about a third of his corvettes even had point defense and were never intended to be anywhere near a battle.  Staying to fight the approaching Mintek fighters would be insanity.  Therefore, when the Mintek fighters reached three light minutes range, he ordered his force to retreat.  They would try to out-maneuver the Mintek fighters and maintain observation range of the Mintek fleet, but it wouldn’t be easy with the Mintek fighters doing their best to push them away.   

As soon as the corvettes turned away and began running from the oncoming Mintek fighters, the Mintek carriers and battlecruisers turned thirty degrees to the right and accelerated to full military speed.  In response the Alliance corvette force split in two, with each half curving away from the other and coming around back towards the Mintek force, while simultaneously trying to keep the Mintek fighters at a distance.  In the end the Alliance failed.  The Alliance corvettes just couldn’t keep the Mintek fighters at a safe distance while also keeping the Mintek fleet within fifteen light seconds, and they were steadily pushed away, opening the range.  The Mintek ships were able to open the range to eighteen light seconds and then slipped through the hidden warp point, leaving the system and their fighters behind.  With the disappearance of the Mintek fleet, the Alliance corvettes now had no purpose in playing tag with the Mintek fighters, and turned away, back towards their approaching fighter strike wing, now ten minutes out and closing.   

The Mintek fighter force, abandoned by their carriers, had nowhere to go, and so turned and pursued the retreating corvette force.  The corvettes, though, were as fast as the laden fighters, and easily maintained the range between the two forces as they ran.  The main Alliance fighter force continued on towards the corvettes, while the main Alliance fleet had already turned away and was running at its best speed from the Mintek fighters. 

The chase lasted for almost forty minutes, but finally the Mintek fighter force was closing to point blank range of the Alliance fleet.  The Alliance corvettes and their escorting fighters had joined up with the main fleet a short time ago, and now the D’Bringi fighters turned back towards the Mintek fighters and the two groups of small craft raced together one and a half light seconds from the fleet.  One hundred and eight Mintek fighters met two hundred and thirty-eight D’Bringi fighters in a furball of destruction just short of the fleet.  The Mintek fighters fought valiantly, but the numbers were against them.  When the explosions cleared fifty-four D’Bringi fighters had been destroyed, but the entire Mintek fighter force had been destroyed. 

The Rehorish had regained control of their system, but they only had a rough idea of the location of the closed warp point the Mintek had used to enter the system, meaning that the system remained under threat.  Over all, the D’Bringi Alliance had won a victory here, destroying most of the Mintek fighter force and forcing their fleet out of the system.  But strategically, in spite of the victory the Alliance remained vulnerable, with a potential route to the home system of one of the primary members under threat. 

The Alliance Fleet dispatched scouts to probe the system, and a small force to the inner system to make contact with the Rehorish colony there.  The bulk of the fleet remained in place to watch the region where the Mintek force had disappeared, while the empty carriers retired to the warp point to the Kawasaki system to meet up with their support elements.  Back at the warp point to the Kawasaki system, the machine shop ship that had followed the fleet was busily prepping fighters that had been transported to the system on a D’Bringi freighter in crated form.  The fleet support freighter had cargo holds to carry the crated fighters, and crew quarters to house the replacement crews.  The presence of these ships would mean that the carriers that had depleted their strike wings could replenish them here, rather than having to make the long trip back to the home system’s shipyards. 

In the Mintek system of Ephesos, adjacent to the Rehorish Kure system, Strategos Neeron stared at the icons of his ships as they surrounded the warp point, waiting to see if their escape was successful or not.  Prior to the offensive, Mintek construction ships had built a single large asteroid fort to guard the warp point.  The fort mounted ten capital missile launchers and several short-ranged plasma guns, as well as thirty fighters and three armed pinnaces.  Its presence was a welcome bastion in the current situation, but if the Alliance had managed to discover the location of the warp point, it wouldn’t be enough to stop them. 

 

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Cold War: Month 165, Post Battle Conferences
« Reply #161 on: April 06, 2021, 10:43:13 AM »
Turn 165, Mintek Prime
Chancellor Durkhon was pacing across the length of his office when Minister Turval entered.  Seeing his old friend was agitated, Minister Turval went directly to the office’s refreshment cabinet and prepared a soothing sae’cha tea for the Chancellor.  Behind him the Chancellor continued pacing, staring out the windows that covered one entire side of the office, ignoring the Minister behind him.  Finally, when the tea was ready, the Minister took two cups and sat them on the low table that sat in front of a comfortable couch that faced the window.  When the Chancellor continued pacing, Minister Turval sat and said, “I’ll just sit here and enjoy my tea, while you fret and moan over our reverses.”

The Chancellor wheeled angrily, but when he saw his oldest friend merely sitting on the couch, enjoying a cup of their favorite tea, the anger drained out of him and he shrugged.  “You know me well.”

“I too was angered by the failure of the fleet, and the obstinacy of the D’Bringi and their dupes, but we have a duty to the faithful to look to the future with clear eyes.”

Chancellor Durkhon stood for a second, as if searching for the anger that had consumed him just recently, then sat and picked up his cup, inhaling the soothing scent of the tea.  “What are we to do?  Two defeats in six months?  Neeron lost his entire fighter force, and almost revealed the path to our home while barely extracting his fleet from the jaws of the enemy!” 

Minister Durkhon let the Chancellor speak, allowing him to get his anger and fear out. 

“We have lost an entire system to the enemy!  The Delphi colony is beyond our control, and with it the 1st Survey Group.  And now our big advantage, the new technology that was supposed to give us an insurmountable advantage over the infidels, has been revealed to be a mirage!  The D’Bringi have fighters as well!  And an extremely large fleet.  What are we to do?”

Minister Turval looked at the Chancellor quizzically.  “What are we to do?  You know the answer as well as I.  We must continue serving the faithful to the best of our ability.  And we must ensure that those around us continue to do so as well.”  Before the Chancellor could say anything, Minister Turval continued.  “It is true that the Delphi colony is lost to us, but the enemy will find that controlling that colony will be troublesome.  The faithful were strong on Delphi, and will preach the faith to the unbelievers at every opportunity, even as the D’Bringi try to exploit them.  And Strategos Neeron’s recent experience in the Kure system was enlightening, even if ultimately a failure.  We now know that the D’Bringi have fighters, and in significant numbers.  However, there are indications that their subject races do not have fighter technology.  After all, the Rehorish deployed crude anti-fighter small craft, which were obviously the best counter to our fighters that they could devise.  They performed poorly, and unless present in very large numbers should not be considered a threat.  This is encouraging, particularly in light of our recent development of the advanced fighter, the F1.  Once our fleet is equipped with this new fighter design, our fighter wings will have a significant advantage over those of the D’Bringi.  Even greater advancements are under development as well, the sum total of which will greatly increase our fleet’s power.  And with the resources provided by the ongoing enlightenment of the Alowan, we will be able to dramatically expand our navy.  The next time we meet the Alliance, it will be on much more even terms.”

Chancellor Durkhon was silent for a moment, considering the situation.  Finally, he nodded.  “You are right, as usual.  We have avoided disaster, barely, and thus will live to fight another day.  Still, there is the matter of Strategos Neeron.  The Chamber of Representatives has demanded he be imprisoned for dereliction of duty to the faithful.  I am speaking with their leaders this afternoon.”

Minister Turval grimaced.  “It is true that Neeron failed, twice.  However, in both cases, at Delphi and Kure, he avoided disaster and kept the routes to the home system secret.  And, think on this.  Strategos Neeron is our only commander to have used fighters in battle, once successfully against the Alowan.  Perhaps he could be demoted and transferred to the training academy, where he could provide a useful example of penitence and service.”

Chancellor Durkhon studied his friend for a few seconds, pondering the proposal.  “You’re probably right.  It would be a shame to lose that experience.  Still, the Representatives will require convincing.  They are determined to make Neeron an example of the dangers of failing the faithful.”

“The Chamber is concerned with the threat of the D’Bringi and their subjects.  Perhaps if you agreed to one of their projects.  I know they have been pressing on the sensor network proposal.  Perhaps if you agreed to their sensor network proposal, they would be willing to work with us to salvage Neeron.”

“Their proposal is a good one, but it will require vast amounts of money.  We face a massive building project, and when the new technology is ready will have to refit the fleet, which will be expensive.”

“Yes, but the new tech won’t be ready for several months.  If we use the resources provided by the Alowan, and make the sensor network a priority, we can have it largely in place before the new tech is ready for deployment.”

Chancellor Durkhon stood.  “Very well, it is decided.  Will you support me with the Representatives?”

Minister Turval stood as well.  “I cannot take a public position on this, as you know, Chancellor.  However, I would be willing to speak with the undecided Representatives privately, if you wished.  The Ministry feels strongly that Neeron’s experience should be retained against future need.”

The two walked out together.   

Month 165, D’Bringi Prime
Clan Chief Skull Splitter entered the Alliance Council chamber through the side doors set aside for witnesses and observers.  The chamber itself was a medium sized room, with high ceilings and a raised dais on one side, and a gallery with desks for non-voting representatives on the other side.  The raised dais had three desks, one for each of the senior members of the Alliance.  Skull Splitter was used to being there, on the dais, rather than here, in the witness and presentation area.  When the time had come to pick a representative to sit in the D’Bringi chair on the Alliance Council, the three senior D’Bringi clan chiefs had been unable to decide whom they could trust with the power and responsibility of such a position. Many suggestions had been made, from giving it to the Keeper Cleric, who as the leader of the Keepers was supposed to be free of political and clan bias, to choosing a younger son or daughter of one of the clan chiefs.  In the end the clan chiefs had decided to rotate the position between the three of them, to prevent any one Clan head from gaining too much power and influence.  So far it had worked, but it was an unsatisfactory decision for many reasons.  They were still trying to come up with a compromise that everyone could live with, but for now the current system continued. 

In any case, Skull Splitter was here now to testify as to the battles in the Kure system and the efficacy of the new fighters, and he was followed into the room by the Rehorish Admiral that had commanded the combined force, Cho-sho Banzan.  Banzan wasn’t giving the presentation, because the Council wanted a report on the effectiveness of the new fighters, and the fighters had been deployed by Skull Splitter’s force, not the Rehorish fleet.  This should be interesting, as Clan Chief T’Qek was sitting in the D’Bringi chair right now, and as the chief proponent of the fighter corps in the D’Bringi fleet, she was going to be very critical of anything negative that Skull Splitter, who was known as a traditionalist, had to say about the fighters. 

The chamber quieted as Skull Splitter and Cho-sho Banzan entered the room.  To Skull Splitter’s right was the raised dais, with Clan Chief T’Qek sitting at the center desk on the raised dais, the Rehorish representative on her right and the T’Pau representative on her left.  Each of the senior representatives had several assistants in attendance, either sitting at the desk with them or standing off to the rear.  To Skull Splitter’s left were the smaller desks for the non-voting representatives, the Doraz, the Torqual, and the Zir.  And sitting at the back were the Chirq and the Bir, who as low-tech races had only a single person present to observe the proceedings. 

Representative T’Qek took the lead.  “Clan Chief Skull Splitter, what is your report?”

“Esteemed representatives, as you know, Alliance forces have successfully reclaimed the Rehorish Kure system from the Mintek.  Four battles took place in the Kure system during the campaign, and all four involved fighters on either one side or both.  The First Battle of Kure took place on Day 9, Month 163, and resulted in the loss of our entire fortification network on the warp point to the Titov Free State, eighteen cruiser sized bases, to an attack by one hundred and eighty-six fighters supported by six Mintek battlecruisers.  Following orders from Cho-sho Banzan, the Rehorish commander of the defenses evacuated his personnel from the bases and retreated with his mobile force into the Free State’s territory.  The bases were left under control of their computers, which were capable enough to engage the attacking fighters, albeit not well.  Prior arrangements had already been made with the Free State to allow this force to retreat to the Sapporo system.  The fate of the bases was confirmed by the Combined Fleet after the withdrawal of the Mintek.  All eighteen bases were destroyed in action against the Mintek.  It is unknown how many fighters they destroyed; however, estimates are low given the fact that the bases were left under control of their computers and were operating at reduced efficiency.” 

“The Second Battle of Kure occurred on Month 163, Day 26, when the Combined Fleet forced entry into the Kure system from the Kawasaki system.  The battle was over within sixty seconds of the first ship entering the system.  The first assault wave was composed of six Rehorish beam-armed Zuikaku II class battlecruisers, while the Mintek warp point guard force was made up of thirty-six fighters.  All of the battlecruisers lost their shields, four of the six battlecruisers suffered minor to significant armor damage, and one battlecruiser lost all of its passive defenses and suffered minor interior damage.  In return the battlecruisers managed to destroy twenty-six of the Mintek fighters.” 

“The Third Battle of Kure took place on Month 164, Day 12, and was the first battle in which only small craft fought.  The Mintek deployed one hundred and sixty-two fighters, while the Combined Fleet’s Pursuit Group deployed seventy-two fighters and sixty Rehorish anti-fighter small craft (AFSC).  The Mintek fighters were armed with close assault missiles, while the D’Bringi fighters were armed with fighter-guns.  The battle took approximately one minute, and resulted in the near destruction of the Combined Fleet Pursuit Group’s small craft.  In exchange for the destruction of fifty-four Mintek fighters, the Combined Fleet lost sixty-one fighters and forty-three AFSC.”

The Forth, and last, Battle of Kure took place immediately after the third battle, after the Mintek fighters landed on their carriers and rearmed.  The Mintek launched their fighters, now one hundred and eight strong, against the Pursuit Group, in an attempt to push them out of sensor range of the Mintek force.  This attempt was successful.  The Mintek fighters outnumbered the small craft remaining to the Probe Group by nearly four to one, and only a few of the Probe Group’s corvettes mounted weapons capable of engaging the Mintek Fighters.  Dai-I Sato wisely chose to withdraw, avoiding the certain destruction of the Pursuit Group.  The Mintek commander then abandoned his fighters and retreated through a closed warp point, beyond the range at which the Pursuit Group could localize the position of the warp point.  The Mintek fighters, with no other alternative, followed the Pursuit Group back to the Combined Fleet, where they were met by the Combined Fleet’s entire fighter force of two hundred and thirty-eight fighters.  All one hundred and eight Mintek fighters were destroyed, in exchange for the loss of fifty-four D’Bringi fighters.”

“All told, the Alliance lost eighteen bases, forty-three AFSC, and one hundred and fifteen fighters, and five battlecruisers suffered damage that will have to be repaired in a shipyard.  In exchange, the Mintek are known to have lost one hundred and eighty-eight fighters.”  Skull Splitter now paused and looked around the room.  The Representatives had all been provided with hard copies of his report and a detailed analysis of the actions in Kure, but in spite of this it appeared that they were hanging on his every word, and the room was deathly silent.  Well, mostly silent, except for the weird wheezing that emanated from the Zir representative and seemed to be associated with whatever method they used to breathe.  After gathering his thoughts, he continued.

“Several things stand out about the battles in the Kure system.  First, and perhaps most importantly, at no time did the two opposing fleets come within weapon’s range of each other, at least to our knowledge.  All four battles involved the new small craft, and two of the four battles involved small craft only.  The Combined Fleet out-massed the Mintek force by four to one, although our estimates are somewhat approximate as the number of ships in the Mintek fleet changed somewhat during the various battles.  For instance, several light cruiser-sized ships were present with the Mintek fleet at several points in the battles for the system, and the Mintek commander detached several carriers at one point, presumably because they had expended their fighters.  In any case, the Alliance force present in the system greatly out-massed the enemy force, and should have been able to dominate the situation, but in the aftermath of the campaign to retake the Kure system I have come to the conclusion that a mere comparison of mass differentials is no longer the correct way to assess combat potential, if indeed it ever was.”  He paused and looked around the room, noting that Clan Chief T’Qek was leaning forward and peering at him intently.  He knew what she was wondering, given his public stance on the new fighters prior to this campaign.  He had already had his staff reassure her in on this matter, but the D’Bringi clan chiefs were no strangers to intrigue and betrayal, and she had to be wondering where he was going to go with his presentation. 

“It is clear any comparison of combat potential must also take into account the small craft strength of both sides, as well as the mass-differential and the weapon’s loadouts of the opposing ships.  This has always obviously been true, however, with the advent of the fighter, we must realize that the differential between small craft strength is now, perhaps, the most important comparison we can make.”  There was a stir around the room as the representatives took this new fact in.  Of all of the Alliance races, only the D’Bringi had deployed fighters.  This was, perhaps, fitting as the senior founding race of the Alliance, however, given the ongoing war with the Mintek, and the potential of war with the humans, this fact had suddenly become critical.  “I am not saying that our ships are helpless without fighters.  For example, in the First Battle of Kure, between the Rehorish battlecruisers and the fighters of the Mintek guard force, the Rehorish battlecruisers acquitted themselves well and destroyed the majority of the enemy fighters that had attacked them.  The damage suffered by five of the six battlecruisers pulled them out of the later battles for repairs, however, the damage was light and will be easily repaired, and at a much lower cost than the fighters destroyed during that battle.  However, had the Mintek concentrated their fire on two of the battlecruisers, instead of spreading it between all six, they could easily have destroyed those two battlecruisers, costing the Rehorish much more to replace those ships than the cost of replacing even the entire Mintek warp point guard force, if the battlecruisers had managed to somehow destroy all of them.”

Representative T’Qek looked uncomfortable, and like she wanted to interrupt, however, chamber protocol allowed invited witnesses the freedom to make their presentation without interruption.  Her concerns abated, somewhat, when Skull Splitter continued.  “That battle, however, was the only battle where capital ships were involved.  The following two battles took place entirely between fighters, and had the Combined Fleet lacked fighters the Mintek would have been able to attack the Alliance forces, multiple times, from beyond their own range to respond.  Indeed, if it had been the case that our forces had no fighter coverage, the Mintek would have been able to engage our forces as they wished, without ever risking their own ships.  While I do not believe that they could have destroyed the Combined Fleet in its entirety, they certainly could have inflicted losses to which we could not have responded.  Indeed, even with our fighters, if they had fighter superiority, they could have launched such attacks until our fighters were reduced to impotence, then attacked the fleet with their remaining fighter force, again causing losses we could not respond to because our ships never came within range of their ships.  As it was, our fleet had fighter superiority, barely, however, we cannot depend on that being true in the future.  Based on their fleet composition in the Kure system, it appears that the Mintek have transitioned away from capital ships as their primary combatants in favor of carriers with their embarked fighters.  If this is in fact true, then in the future any Mintek fleet encountered will have, as a percentage of its hulls, a proportionately higher percentage of carriers than a comparable Alliance fleet, as only the D’Bringi have fighter technology, and our deployment strategy is to utilize the fighters as support for our primary combatants, beam armed capital ships. Indeed, largely because of resistance from certain conservative elements within our society, our deployment plans for carriers mirrors our deployment of missile-armed capital ships.  These units are considered secondary support units, required only to help the primary combatants get within range of the enemy and pound them into scrap in a decisive short-ranged battle.  This deployment strategy can no longer be considered a valid approach.”  Again, there was a stir around the room as the representatives looked at each other.  Skull Splitter had left unsaid any criticism of the D’Bringi race’s decision to keep fighter tech to itself, but the statement was there, hanging, unsaid but obvious to everyone. 

Skull-Splitter waited for the buzz that had gone around the room die down, then continued.  “There are numerous other conclusions contained within the report, which was developed by Cho-sho Banzan’s staff with the assistance of the other command groups within the Combined Fleet.  However, the items I have brought to your attention today are what I believe are the most important and pressing lessons learned during the battles to retake the Kure system.”  Skull Splitter took a step back, as Cho-sho Banzan took a step forward.  “I am complete agreement with this report, and Clan Chief Skull Splitter’s conclusions.”

The room was silent for a few seconds, then the T’Pau representative, who was acting as the Council Chairman this month, rose.  “Are there any questions for the witnesses?”  The representatives looked at each other, but no one spoke.  After a few seconds, the T’Pau turned towards the two admirals.  “You are dismissed, subject to recall, with our thanks.”

The two fleet commanders turned to leave, and once they were out and the doors shut behind them, the room erupted in conversation as the representatives turned to their closest neighbors and began discussing the report and its implications.  The Chairperson let the discussion go on for a while, but then rapped on her desk to get everyone’s attention.  “If you will all give us your attention, the honorable representative from the Rehorish Stellar Dominion has indicated that he wishes to address the Council.”

The Rehorish representative stood and faced the other representatives.  “At this time, the Stellar Dominion would like to announce that, with the assistance of the D’Bringi, we have recently made breakthroughs in technological development that had allowed us to begin development of fighters and their associated systems.  We hope to have a working proto-type in service within the next six months.” 

This announcement caused a stir through the room, and all eyes turned to the D’Bringi representative.  After ensuring that the Rehorish representative was finished, T’Qek stood.  “I know that there have been whispers that we have withheld the new technology for some nefarious reason, particularly since the start of the recent campaign.  We find this troublesome, given the fact that we are providing technological support to every member of the Alliance, without charge.  However, perhaps we should have been more open with you all about our most recent technological developments, and our decision-making related to those developments.  First, as I am sure you are all aware, the use of the newly developed fighter technology by my race has not been without disagreement.  There have been many detractors, including, significantly, one of the witnesses that just spoke in front of the Council.  In spite of this, at my request, my government looked into the possibility of providing this technology to each of you, much as we have provided technological assistance in the past.  However, we decided after studying the issue, that it was not feasible to transfer this technology at this time.  For the Bir, the Chirq, and the Torqual, their technological base isn’t sophisticated enough to allow them to develop the technology associated with fighters, even if we give them the information and basic research.  And for the rest, the T’Pau, the Doraz, and the Rehorish, we decided that the cost would be prohibitive, and that the interests of the Alliance were best served by their continued development of basic technologies.  For instance, the cost of developing the fighter technology alone would be more than a year’s income for the Doraz, even if they spent nothing on anything else during that time.  Bringing basic R&D, colonization, and ship building to a complete halt for that amount of time is obviously a non-starter.  However, we realize now that we should have been more open with our decision-making process, and invited comment from the other Alliance races.  For this reason, we have concurred with the Rehorish that all conclusions based on the recent battles will be shared with all races.  Determining methods to counter enemy fighters, without depending on fighters of our own, will be one of our primary areas of interest as we examine the data from the battle, and we will ensure that the data, along with our conclusions, will be made to all Alliance races.”

This caused more conversations within the chamber, many of which went on for hours as the various representatives spoke with each other about the information that had been presented that day.  The general consensus was that the Alliance was doing well, and that a potential disaster had been averted. 
 
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Cold War: Colonial Union Overview, Month 165
« Reply #162 on: April 11, 2021, 10:34:11 PM »
Month 165 Update
Colonial Union

Total Income (all sources): 49,902 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 26.9%

The Colonial Union has been focusing its resources on uniting the colonies in its territory by establishing communications networks, patrols, sensor networks, and defenses in the appropriate areas, as well as increasing its shipyard capacity.  This effort has absorbed most of its income over the last ten months.  The CU has several new tech systems under development, including datalinked point defense, improved tractor beams, and pinnaces.  Once these systems, particularly the datalinked point defense, are complete, the United Colonial Defense Fleet (UCDF) plans to implement a massive and wide-ranging modernization and standardization program to completely revamp the UCDF into a homogenous force.  This project will likely take at least the next ten months to complete, between R&D and the massive round of refits this will require. 

The reunification with the home system, and the, mostly, bloodless effort to bring the alien races under the control of the government, have been extremely popular with the people and have caused a surge in support for the government and the New Dawn Party.  Even the complaints of the Tlatelolco have done little to dampen the spirits of the citizens of the Union.  With the reunification mostly complete, and the Colonial Union undergoing a nearly unprecedented economic expansion, the government has turned outwards, looking towards expanding the Union.  Although the government’s expansion plans are peaceful, the CU government is mindful of the past and believes that a large, powerful navy is the best guarantor of peace.  Therefore, the UCDF, in addition to its modernization plans, will be expanded as much as possible over the next ten months while still allowing for colonization to continue. 

The CU Senate has grown concerned over the deteriorating relationship with the Tomsk Union and has formed a committee to determine the causes and propose possible solutions.  There are many within the CU government who fear that the colonists in the Tomsk Union have fallen under the sway of the alien Bjering, about whom little is known.  Indeed, there have been near constant rumors that the Bjering have infiltrated the Tomsk government and are subverting the Tomsk society with the aim of absorbing the unaware colonists of the Tomsk Union into their empire.  The Senate has promised to look into all of these allegations and issue a comprehensive report in the near future. 

The Colonial Union government has recently learned that the D’Bringi Alliance is at war with another race known only as the Mintek, after a Rehorish battle group was forced to retreat into Titov territory by Mintek forces.  Although the Fleet Intelligence Directorate has been unable to learn much about the Mintek or their war with the D’Bringi Alliance from the Free State, this information is encouraging as it means that the D’Bringi and their allies will be preoccupied for the near future and will be unlikely to start any trouble with the Colonial Union. 

Fleet Deployments
Fortifications, Epsilon Eridani
3xBS3, 9xBS0

Fortifications, Kirov System (Border with Free State)
3xBS3, 24xBS0, 2xEXS, 2xCT(AW)

Fortifications, Sigma Draconis (bordering systems with closed WP’s to D’Bringi space)
21xBS0, 1xDD(AW)

Fortifications, Sligo System
3xBS3, 9xBS0

Fortifications, Sol
2xAF, 3xBS3, 1xDD(AW), 3xBS0, 2xEXS

Mobile Shipyards, Sigma Draconis
13xMSY

Mothballs, Sligo
4xPDC, 6xES

Mothballs, Epsilon Eridani
17xCA, 7xCL, 1xDD, 1xDD(AW), 8xCT, 3xCT(AW), 1xBS0, 23xES

Mothballs, Sol
1xPDC, 2xBS3, 27xCL, 14xES

Planetary Defense, Earth
6xPDC(AM), 3xBS1, 6xBS0

UCDF Squadron #1, Epsilon Eridani
2xBC, 3xDD, 1xFGS, 1xEXS

UCDF Squadron #2, Sigma Draconis
6xBC, 1xDDC, 1xFGS, 5xEXS

UCDF Squadron #3, Sligo
1xBB, 10xBC, 3xDD, 4xCT, 14xES, 5xEXS

UCDF Squadron #4, Sol
3xCA, 1xFGS

UCDF Squadron #5, Rehorish/Free State Border (Kirov)
3xBC, 3xCA, 3xDD, 4xFGS, 5xEXS

UCDF Squadron #7, Redwing (Tlatelolco Guard)
3xDd, 2xFGS

UCDF Squadron #9, Managua (Unknown Contact Guard)
2xFGS, 6xCT, 1xEXS

UCDF Squadron #10, Norilsk (Rehorish Border Guard)
3xDD, 2xFGS, 6xES, 3xEX

UCDF 1st Battle Squadron, Sligo
6xBC, 3xCA, 3xDD, 1xFGS

1st Survey Group, SN-091
25xEXX, 3xEXS

2nd Survey Group, Justin
15xEXX, 3xEXS

3rd Survey Group, Orphicon
25xEXX, 3xEXS

Under Construction
1xSD, 2xBB, 6xCA, 6xBS3, 6xBS2, 1xSS(SY), 199xDSB-Xr

Reactivating from Mothballs
2xBS3
 
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Cold War: D'Bringi Alliance Update, Month 165
« Reply #163 on: April 14, 2021, 07:42:04 AM »
D’Bringi Alliance Update, Month 165

D’Bringi Expanses
Total Income (all sources): 26,236 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 63.5%

The D’Bringi clans are enthused to finally be able to come to grips with the Mintek, but the discovery that their enemy has fighters has given the clan leadership pause, as has the performance of the fighters in the recent battles in the Kure system.  All in all, the D’Bringi are disappointed that they have not been able to exploit their successes in the Kure and Juath systems, but relieved that they defeated the Mintek in both cases.  Clan Chief Skull Splitter, who led the D’Bringi forces in both systems, is particularly glad that it appears that the D’Bringi will have time to evaluate their performance in the battles in Kure and reshape their navy if necessary. 

The D’Bringi have considered transferring fighter technology information to the other races in the Alliance, however, studies have shown that the cost will be prohibitive, and with the Rehorish announcing that they have reached a tech level that will let them develop the fighter tech on their own, there is only one other race in the Alliance likely to benefit from the tech, the T’Pau.  The D’Bringi had secretly approached the T’Pau prior to the start of the fighting in the Kure system with the tech, however, the T’Pau had declined to make the massive expenditures that would be needed to develop the tech at this time.  In lieu of developing fighters on their own, most of the other races in the Alliance are paying great attention to the studies of the fighting in Kure, and will likely begin work on their own counters to fighters, such as escort ships with heavy point defense suites, or even developing and deploying their own AFSC’s, as the Rehorish did. 

The D’Bringi and the Rehorish are concerned about the fact that the Mintek had apparently probed the Kure system prior to their invasion, and so are planning on deploying sensor networks to, at the very least, critical systems.  They have both already recommended to the other Alliance races that they do the same. 

Fleet Deployments
Automated Warfare Unit, Breshy (Mintek Border, closed warp point): 1xCA(AW), 2xCT(Mine), 53x Mine, 200xDSB-L
Automated Warfare Unit, Home Reserve: 2xCT(Mine)
Automated Warfare Unit, Jerothal (Colonial Union Border, closed warp point): 1xCA(AW), 1xCT(mine), 240xMine
Automated Warfare Unit, Phyriseq (Mintek Border): 1xCA(AW), 2xCT(mine), 825xMine, 80x DSB-L
Keeper Border Patrol, Chropol (Bjering): 3xCTV, 18xF0
Clan Fleet, B’Regest (Home): 1xCAV, 2xCT, 6xF0
Clan Fleet, K’Rorin (Home): 1xBC
Clan Fleet, T’Chau (Home): 1xBC, 1xCA
Blockade Fleet, Phyriseq (Mintek): 3xBC, 3xCAV, 9xCA, 6xCVE, 108xF0
B’Regest Guard Group, Bir Home System: 3xCTV, 18xF0
Keeper Guard Group, Chirq Home System: 3xCTV, 18xF0
Keeper Home Fleet, Home System: 1xCVS, 24xF0
Keeper Repair Fleet: 7xMSY
Keeper Watch Fleet, Juath (Mintek): 3xCTV, 18xF0
Mothballs, Home system: 3xBS3
Orbital Defense, D’Bringi Prime: 2xAF, 1xBS0, 78xF0, 1xApin
1st Alliance Fleet, Kure System: 14xBC, 3xCAV, 1xCA, 11xCVS, 2xDDV, 12xCTV, 301xF0 (ships from all clans, and the keepers)
1st Alliance Fleet, Support Group, Kure System: 1xMSY, 1xFT1, 100xCrated F0
Fighter Support Group, Reserve (home system): 4xFT1, 24xCrated F0
1st Survey Fleet, Schach: 25xEXX, 3xB’Regest CTV, 18xF0, 50xCutter
2nd Survey Fleet, Tyny: 25xEXX, 3xB’Regest CTV, 18xF0, 50xCutter
Warp Point Fortifications, Breshy (Mintek Border, closed WP): 5xBS0, 30xF0
Warp Point Fortifications, Home System: 1xAF, 6xBS3, 240xMine, 20xDSB-L
Warp Point Fortifications, Phyriseq System (Mintek): 16xBS0

Under Construction
6xBC, 2xCT(Munitions), 96xF0

Rehorish Stellar Dominion
Total Income (all sources): 41,829 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 59.8%

With the defeat of the Mintek in the Kure system, the Rehorish government is moving forward on development of the fighter technology that recently became available.  This is a large relief for the Navy, as the anti-fighter small craft they had deployed to support their fleet performed poorly in battle, and without the assistance of the D’Bringi fighters the Mintek would have wiped all of the Rehorish small craft out and been able to attack their fleet.  Cho-sho Banzan has reported that AFSC would have to be present in much larger numbers to successfully challenge enemy fighters, and he would need at least twice as many AFSC compared to attacking fighters to feel confident in the ability of the AFSC to defend the fleet.  This would entail a massive and expensive building program to deploy enough hulls to carry the AFSC into battle, but now, with fighters under development, this will no longer be necessary.  For now, new fleet construction will be curtailed while the new tech is developed. 

The Rehorish Navy is developing defensive plans for the Kure system, now that the Mintek have retreated.  The Mintek’s entry warp point remains undetected, which means that they present a continuing threat to the system’s 24,000,000 inhabitants.  The region around the suspected location of the closed warp point the Mintek used to enter the system is currently picketed by the 1st Alliance Fleet, and DSB-Xr’s are being sent to take their place next month.  This means that should the Mintek return, the location of the warp point will be pinpointed, allowing the Alliance to attack into Mintek space once the Kure system is under the control of the Alliance.  However, as the warp point location is currently unknown, no defenses can be mounted there, meaning that the Mintek can enter the system at will.  The Alliance does not want to tie down a major fleet guarding one system, though, so the Navy is developing plans to defend the system.  These plans are complicated by the fact that in the modern day, the defenses will have to be planned around fighters, or the defenses will merely become targets once the Mintek are in the system.  For now, the Navy is planning on establishing defenses at the warp point to Kure in the Kawasaki system, which would be able to bottle up any Mintek assault until response forces could arrive.  This plan is understandably unpopular with the Rehorish citizens living in the Kure system. 

Fleet Deployments
Damaged and depleted Units, Home System: 5xBC, 5xCT(AFSC), 7xAFSC
Border Defenses, Phyriseq WP #5 (Titov Free State): 8xBS2
Border Defenses, Sapporo WP #1: 11xBS1, 1xFG(AW), 365xDSB-L, 100xMF
Blockade Force, Phyriseq: 12xBc, 3xCA, 9xDD, 1xCT(Munitions)
Border Patrol Force, Kure (Kawasaki System, returning to the Kure System): 3xCL, 6xDD, 3xCT
Border Patrol Force, Phyriseq (WP #5, to Titov Free State): 3xCA, 6xDD
Border Patrol Force, Sapporo (Titov Free State): 6xCL, 6xDD, 1xCT(munitions)
1st Alliance Fleet, Kure System: 7xBC, 3xCA, 3xCL, 13xDD, 3xCT(Pin), 1xCT(AFSC), 7xCT, 1xCT(munitions), 12xPin, 10xAFSC
Home Fleet, Home System: 9xBC, 9xCL, 8xDD, 2xFG(AW), 2xCT(Pin)
Mothballs, Home system: 3xCA, 12xCL, 9xDD
Orbital Defense Network, Home System (Over Rehorish Prime): 1xAF, 5xBS3, 1xBS1, 26xAFSC, 2xPin
Repair Group, Phyriseq System: 3xCL, 3xDd, 5xMSY, 5xMS
Survey Fleet #1, Miyazakiy: 1xCT(Pin), 25xCTX, 40xCutter, 9xPin
Survey Fleet #2, Nagoya: 1xCT(Pin), 25xCTX, 40xCutter, 9xPin
Survey Fleet #3, SN-910: 1xCT(Pin), 25xCTX, 40xCutter, 9xPin

Home System WP Defense
Note: The home system has seven warp points.  The Rehorish have emplaced a BS3 and two BS1’s at each warp point, supported by 60 minefields at each warp point.  The BS3’s in orbit over the home planet are a reserve for the warp point defenses, and can be relocated to any warp point. 

Under Construction
9xDD, 3xCT(AFSC)

Under Refit (All shown above)
9xCL, 2xDD

Torqual Benignity
Total Income (all sources): 14,839 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 40.5%

The new communist government of the Torqual has changed the name of the nation to the Communes of Torqual, and is perhaps the most reluctant of the Alliance’s races.  The Torqual fleet units assigned to the 1st Alliance Fleet did not engage in combat during the recent campaign, which was not unusual given the fighter-centric nature of the combat that did take place; however, the fleet’s commander consistently placed his fleet at the rear of the main fleet whenever given the opportunity, something noted by the three major Alliance races.  The D’Bringi ambassador has raised this issue with the Torqual government and has been given assurances that the Torqual fleet is a full participant in the Alliance and will support the 1st Alliance Fleet to the full extent of its abilities.  The D’Bringi have found these assurances somewhat lacking, given the new government’s stated intention to reduce its out-system commitments to the Alliance in the near future, when the current emergency is resolved. 

Fleet Deployments
Home Fleet, Home system: 12xCL
Phyriseq Blockade Force: 12xCA
1st Alliance Fleet, Kure System: 9xCA
Home System Defenses, Orbiting Home planet: 3xBS2
Survey Fleet: 3xCTX, 22xEXX, 80xCutter

Under Construction
6xBS2, 3xCA, 1xDD(AW)

Doraz Contingency
Total Income (all sources): 8,582 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 22.9%

The Doraz, unlike the Torqual, are much more willing participants in the Alliance, and are working diligently to increase their contribution to the Alliance’s fleets.  Indeed, the rulers of the Doraz, a military junta, have used the lure of adventure and conquest offered by the Alliance to motivate their people to devote even more effort and resources towards the Doraz military. 

Fleet Deployments:
1st Alliance Fleet, Kure: 3xCA
Home Fleet, Home System: 9xDD, 6xCT
Mothballs, Home system: 2xDD , 17xCT
Phyriseq Blockade Group, Phyriseq: 6xCA
Home System Defenses, Over Home Planet: 3xBS3
Survey Fleet, Scythe: 10xFGX, 50xCutter

Under Construction
6xCA

T’Pau Syndicate
Total Income (all sources): 25,750 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 32.8%

The T’Pau have reached HT-7, with D’Bringi assistance, and are rapidly developing critical systems available at that level.  The T’Pau declined the transfer of fighter tech from the D’Bringi, due to the expense of developing something that much more advanced than their general tech level, and instead are pushing forward with anti-fighter technology that they can more reasonably develop, such as AFSC and capital point defense.  The T’Pau have tentative plans to transform their light cruisers into anti-fighter cruisers, with heavy point defense suites, perhaps supported by AFSC’s carried by fleet ships. 

Once the new technology now being researched is ready for deployment, the T’Pau plan a complete redesign of their fleet, including ships purchased from the Rehorish and the D’Bringi, to create a more coherent fleet design and strategy.  This will take some time, though, as much of the new technology is still being developed. 

Fleet Deployments
Phyriseq Blockade Fleet, Phyriseq: 9xCA, 6xCL
Home Fleet, Home System: 3xCA, 6xCL, 9xCTS
1st Alliance Fleet: 9xCa, 3xCL
Survey Fleet One, Snaw System: 3xCTX, 22xEXX, 36xCutter
Survey Fleet Two, Bluem System: 3xCTX, 22xEXX, 36xCutter
Home System WP Defense, WP #3 (to Colonial Union space): 6xBS3, 300xDSB-L, 540xMine

Under Construction:
1xBC, 1xBS4, 3xCA

Bir Meritocracy
Total Income (All Sources): 492 MCr’s
The Bir are approaching IND-1 tech level, with D’Bringi help. 

Chirq Cooperative
Total Income (all sources): 1789 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 7.5%
The Chirq have reached HT-2 and are developing systems available at that level.  To date, the Chirq have built two orbital shipyards and a small exploration fleet. 

Zir Contemplative Union
Total Income (all sources): 12,505 MCr’s

The Zir are the most reluctant of the D’Bringi allies.  The Zir are not particularly warlike, and have been uneasy with their alliance with the more warlike races of the D’Bringi Alliance.  In spite of this, the Alliance has been seen as a boon for the Zir, not only because it brought knowledge of interstellar travel, but because the Zir are convinced that the races in the local galactic area is warlike, and so, to be safe, they must be allied with other warlike races. 

The Zir have mothballed a significant portion of their fleet, to free up resources for colonial expansion and R&D. 

Total Fleet Strength: 6xDD, 9xFG, 12xFGX, 12xCT, 3xCTX
Fortifications: 6xBS4
Mothballs: 3xBS4, 64xDD, 8xFGX, 92xFG, 122xCT
 
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Cold War: Independent Update, Month 165
« Reply #164 on: April 16, 2021, 08:27:52 AM »
Month 165, Independent Update

Mintek Universal Union
Total Income (all sources): 35,312 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 56.3%

The Mintek Union has had one great victory over the last ten months, over the Alowan, but two defeats against the D’Bringi Alliance.  The two defeats have caused the Mintek government to begin a re-evaluation of its military deployments and its strategies for dealing with the D’Bringi Alliance. 

The incorporation of the Alowan race into the Union was a tremendous victory for the Union, increasing its income by a net 8,000 MCr’s per month.  In addition, the fleet captured 1,540 hull spaces worth of ships and bases, and a shipyard with thirteen slipways.  Work is underway converting the captured ships and bases, and the shipyard, for Mintek use.  To date, five battlecruisers and four destroyers have been repaired and converted to Mintek use.  The battlecruisers are en route to the home system to be refitted to the latest technology, while the destroyers have been assigned to the Alowan patrol group, which ensures that any retrogressive Alowan citizens who might remain aligned with the old government keep their heads down and avoid open conflict.  Currently, the mobile shipyard group is concentrating its efforts on converting the orbital shipyard station to Mintek use.  This project will be completed at the end of Month 167, at which time the mobile shipyards will be reassigned and the remaining repair, conversion, and refitting for the captured units will be completed by the Alowan orbital shipyards. 

The recent reverses at the hands of the D’Bringi Alliance means that the Universal Union has lost all three engagements it has had with the D’Bringi and their subject races.  The first loss was at Phyriseq, costing the Union many ships and crews, the second loss was of the entire Delphi colony, where the Union decided to not respond to avoid giving away the location of the closed warp point which led back to the home system, and the most recent loss was the failure of the offensive into the Kure system.  The failure of the Kure offensive was dismaying and concerning, as the Union had counted on its new carrier force to overwhelm the more numerous fleets of the D’Bringi Alliance, but the Alliance had fielded its own carriers and the Mintek fleet was forced to retreat with heavy losses amongst its fighter corps.  It was encouraging, though, that the Mintek fleet lost no ships in the battles in the Kure system, and inflicted significant damage on Rehorish defenses and ships, as well as destroying a number of D’Bringi fighters. 

Strategos Neeron, after his defeat in the Kure System, has been relieved of fleet command and reassigned to the Fleet Training Facility in the capital city, where he will be teaching strategy and tactics to officer candidates while being observed and rehabilitated by the Ministry for Mental Hygiene. Fleet command has been given to Strategos Brammer, who has been recalled from retirement.  Brammer is a highly respected officer who was granted early retirement at his request, as a reward for his long and faithful service. 

While the loss of the entire fighter complement of the 1st Carrier Strike Group is tragic and concerning, the missing fighters will be replaced by the latest Mintek fighter technology, the F1.  The F1 is an improvement over the proto-type F0’s in nearly every way.  It is faster unloaded, carries 50% more weaponry, has twice the endurance and range, and much better built-in scanner technology.  The F1’s should be a surprise to the D’Bringi the next time they are encountered, although Strategos Brammer has made it clear that the Union cannot rely on its perception of its technological superiority, given the unexpected possession of fighters by the D’Bringi.  Brammer and his staff are hard at work developing new strategies for engaging the D’Bringi in the future, and several proposals have already been suggested.  For example, Strategos Brammer has requested that mobile shipyards and freighters carrying crated fighters accompany all Carrier Strike Groups, so that their fighter complements can be replenished in the field after engagements, instead of requiring the carriers to return to the home system shipyards.  In addition, Brammer has requested that Warp Point Denial Squadrons (WPDS) be formed and accompany all squadrons engaging in offensives in the future.  These WPDS’s would consist of freighters carrying automated weapons and control ships for those automated weapons.  These squadrons would follow behind the main fleets and either secure the warp points back to Mintek space behind them, or newly discovered warp points in the systems they are entering.  Strategos Brammer has pointed out that had a WPDS unit been assigned to the main fleet at the time of the engagements in the Kure system, they would have been able to either deter or further damage any Alliance offensive to retake the system.  These recommendations are under consideration. 

It may be some time before Strategos Brammer’s suggestions are acted upon.  The bulk of the Unions economic strength is currently focused on replacing the fleet’s fighter losses, and preparing for a massive refit program to incorporate technology now being developed.  The new technology includes composite armor, which is lighter and stronger than previous types of armor, improved fighter weaponry, improved targeting systems, a new type of missile that is longer ranged than capital missiles but has no penetration-aids, and, perhaps most importantly, anti-matter warheads which can be fitted to almost every missile weapon currently in use, doubling their explosive strength.  These new systems promise to revolutionize the fleet’s ability to wage war against the enemies of the faith, and will be incorporated into every ship currently in service as soon as possible. 

In the meantime, while the new technology is rushed into production, the Mintek government has decided that a massive sensor network will be deployed in every inhabited system in the Union.  Older and more established systems will receive a network that will cover the entire system and be capable of detecting any ships that enter the system through a previously unknown warp point, although the network will not be capable of determining the location of the warp point itself.  Newer colony systems will receive a network that will cover the inner system and should be capable of detecting alien ships performing a probe of the system, or if they exit a warp point in the inner system.  The government has decided upon this course of action after the loss of the Delphi colony system, and the sensor networks will begin being emplaced next month. 

Current Deployments:
Converted Alowan Ships (en route to the home system): 5xBC
Captured Alowan ships and bases (Alowan Home system, awaiting repair and conversion): 1xSS(13xSY), 3xBS5, 2xBC, 7xDD, 7xCT

Fortifications (Ephesos-adjacent to Kure): 1xAF, 30xF0, 3xApin
Fortifications (Over Mintek Prime): 1xAF, 30xF0, 3xApin
1st Assault Group (Home System): 6xSD, 1xCAA, 3xDD
1st Carrier Strike Group (Home System): 1xCV, 6xCVL, 1xCVS, 4xF0, 7xApin
2nd Carrier Strike Group (Ephesos system): 3xCVL, 3xDD, 1xCVE, 84xF0, 3xApin
Alowan Garrison Group (Alowan Prime): 12xDD
Fast Attack Group (Ephesos): 7xBC
Reserve Fleet (Mintek Prime): 2xSD, 1xDD, 1xFighter Replenishment Ship, 12xF0, 200xCrated F0
Home System WP Defense, Drakensberg WP: 1xDD(AWCS), 60xMF
Home System WP Defense, Gobabis WP: 1xDD(AWCS), 60xMF
Home System WP Defense, Lichtenburg WP: 1xDD(AWCS), 60xMF
Home System WP Defense, Phyriseq WP: 1xAF, 9xBS5, 1xDD(AWCS), 30xF0, 3xApin, 355xMF, 50xIDEW-E
Mothball Fleet: 17xBC, 6xCLX, 37xDD
Mobile Shipyard Squadron (Alowan Prime): 10xMSY
1st Survey Fleet (Cut off beyond Delphi, presumed lost): 6xCLX, 24xCutter, 36xF0, 6xApin
2nd Survey Fleet (surveying Megara system): 6xCLX, 24xCutter, 36xF0, 6xApin

Under Construction: 2xCV, 19xCVE, 2xMSY, 84xF0, 2xApin, 320xDSB-Xr

Refitting (these ships are listed in fleets and squadrons above): 2xAlowan BC, 1xAlowan SS(SY)



Bjering Alliance

Bjering Consolidate:
Total Income (all sources): 25,627 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 48.2%

The Bjering Consolidate is enjoying a period of peace and prosperity.  It currently enjoys a close relationship with the human Tomsk Union, and a trade relationship with the Colonial Union, although that relationship has been strained since the seizure of the Tarek and Tlatelolco home planets by the Colonial Union.  There is a strong movement to cut off all contact with the Colonial Union, although the current mindset is that the trade relationship at least allows the Bjering Consolidate to monitor events in the Colonial Union going forward. 

Plans are being made to join together with the Tomsk Union once the humans have been brought up to the Bjering technological level, although this will take some time as the Tomsk Union is two full tech levels behind the Consolidate. 

Fleet Deployments
Alpha Squadron (Home System): 3xBC, 1xCVS, 3xDD, 1xCVE, 2xCTS, 6xCT, 30xF0
Beta Squadron (Surtr System): 3xBc, 1xCVE, 2xCTS, 4xCT, 12xF0
Delta Squadron (Hymir System): 3xBc, 3xDD, 2xCTS, 6xCT, 12xF0
Epsilon Squadron (Home System): 3xBC, 1xCVE, 2xCTS, 6xCT, 12xF0
Gamma Squadron (Gunnar System): 3xBC, 1xCVE, 2xCTS, 6xCT, 12xF0
Fortifications, Hymir system: 12xBS2, 288xF0
Fortifications, Bjering Prime (home planet orbital): 6xBS4, 5xDD(AWCS)
Fortifications, Bjering Secundus (1st home system colony): 6xBS4, 1xBS2, 24xF0
Mothballs: 3xBC, 28xDD, 45xCT
Repair Group (Ymir): 10xMachineshop Ships
1st Survey Fleet (Freyr): 4xCAX, 3xDDSX, 1xCTSX, 30xCutter, 3xAssault Shuttle
2nd Survey Fleet (Ve): 4xCAX, 3xDDSX, 1xCTSX, 30xCutter, 6xAssault Shuttle

Under Construction: 1xML, 1xMobile Shipyard

Refitting (Already listed above): 3xBC

Tomsk Union:
Total Income (All Sources): 19,915 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 22.7%

The Tomsk Union has focused its economy on increasing the size of its fleet and expanding its colonial sphere.  To this end, the Union has deployed three survey fleets, although the third is not completely assembled as of yet.  The Union’s shipbuilding projects have lagged due to the few shipyards that the Union has available to it, and so a significant portion of its construction capacity has been diverted to building new shipyards.  The project to increase the number of shipyards available has lagged due to the Union’s decision to build armed space station-based shipyards, to increase the defenses available over the home planet.  Each current station contains one shipyard and weapons and defenses comparable to a Colonial Union battleship.  This decision has meant that the defenses over the Tomsk colony are substantial, however, the orbital stations take much longer to build and are more expensive.  The Union government has decided to switch to unarmed shipyard stations in the future, after the sixth armed station is completed. 

The Tomsk Union’s relationship with the Colonial Union has degraded significantly over the last year, primarily due to the Colonial Union’s seizure of the Tarek and particularly the Tlatelolco’s home worlds.  The Tlatelolco were held in high regard by the people of the Tomsk Union, and the Tlatelolco diplomatic delegation sent to the Union by its home world has requested political asylum since the surrender of their system to the Colonial Union.  The Union government was quick to grant the request, and has officially protested the Colonial Union’s actions in this matter. 

The Tomsk Union’s government, in Month 165, decided to break off relations with the Colonial Union completely, ending the profitable trade relationship that had existed between the two states since the fall of Earth.  This was a very popular decision, given the deep anger of the people over the Colonial Union’s treatment of the Tlatelolco, however, the Union government decided to take this step out of fear of the Colonial Union’s next steps.  The Colonial Union’s ruling New Dawn Party has as one of its core beliefs the imperative that humanity must be reunited, and now that the Colonial Union has amalgamated the Earthly governments, and taken control of the aliens residing within the Colonial Union, the Tomsk Union fears that the Colonial Union will turn its attention its way in the near future.

To defend against this possibility, the Union government has requested that the Bjering deploy one of their fleets to the Tomsk system as soon as possible, to establish a forward defense and establish a deterrent against Colonial Union aggression.  In addition, the Union’s construction resources will be diverted to increase the defenses at the warp point to the Colonial Union in the Tomsk system, and to fortify the warp point that leads to the Titov Free State, which could be used by the Colonial Union should they convince the Free State to let them transit their ships through the Free State’s territory. 

Fleet Deployments
Home Fleet (Tomsk System): 6xBC, 9xDD
Mobile Shipyard Group (Tomsk System): 7xMSY
Mothballs (Tomsk System): 16xES
Orbital Shipyard Complex (Tomsk Colony): 5xSSA(SY)
Survey Fleet #1 (Novokuzneck): 5xFGX, 13xEX, 26xCutter
Survey Fleet #2 (Perm): 5xFGX, 13xEX, 26xCutter
Survey Fleet #3 (Vladimir): 1xFGX, 4xEX, 8xCutter
Warp Point Guard (Tomsk System, WP to Colonial Union): 2xCT(DSBC)

Under Construction: 3xCL, 2xFGX, 1xSSA(SY)

Titov Free State
Total Income (all sources): 7,183 MCr’s
Fleet Maintenance Percentage: 42.2%

The Titov Free State has undergone a large scale internal political transformation in the last ten months.  Originally, the Free State was set up via the peace treaty between the D’Bringi Alliance and the Coalition and USSR navies at the end of the war.  The Free State was intended to be a buffer between humanity and the D’Bringi Alliance, and nothing more.  Certainly, the signatories gave little thought to the form that the Titov colony’s government would take going forward, being more concerned with verification of each other’s naval deployments and maintaining influence within the new state.  At its start the Free State consisted of exactly one population, the former Soviet colony of Titov, bolstered by refugees from Earth who arrived over the months after the formation of the new state.  The ad hoc formation of the new state actually left several former Soviet colonies cut off beyond the Novosibirsk system, and the human states had to negotiate difficult treaties with both the new Free State and the Alliance to ensure that they could maintain contact with those colonies.  Over time, the outlying colonies found they had more in common with the Free State than the newer, more reactionary governments forming in humanity’s inner systems, and ultimately the colonies in the Jaroslavl, Saratov, Magnitogorsk, and Ivanovo systems all sent representatives to the Colonial Union Senate requesting that they be allowed to join the Free State.  The fledgling Colonial Union agreed to this transfer, given the fairly small numbers of people this represented and their distance from the power centers of the human states.  While the populations transferred to the Free State were negligible from the Colonial Union’s point of view, they greatly boosted the Free State’s economy and outlook. 

The new populations caused the Free State considerable trouble, though.  The Free State was an outgrowth of the Titov colony’s original government, which was typical for most Soviet colonies of the time.  Most Soviet colonies were considered to be primarily resource extraction centers, feeding needed resources back to the homeland where they would be used for the good of the state (as defined by the leadership).  The USSR recognized the need for local rule on these colonies, given their distance from the home planet, and encouraged the development of limited local rule, with strictly limited internal authority to solve purely local problems.  These restrictions led to the development of fairly independent local governors with decided libertarian views, somewhat similar to old western towns in the US, or in the Russian far east in the old days.  These colonial governments had no interest in challenging the central government, which maintained overwhelming force in the form of the fleet and the army, but also had no interest in enforcing strict rule on their own colonies, and limited themselves to ensuring that the quotas for the home planet were met when and where necessary.  The Titov colony’s government was an example of this form of limited, libertarian government, which merely expanded into the power vacuum created when they were abandoned by the inner colonies.  This government was, perforce, focused purely on the needs and goals of the Titov colony, and so when the other colonies were brought into the fold it quickly became clear that the existing government framework would not work for the newly unified colonies.  In a series of high-level meetings over the last ten months the governments of the colonies met to discuss the situation, and ultimately decided on a new government structure for the Free State that ensured that all of the colonies had adequate representation, and moved the focus of the government from the Titov colony to the entire nation.  The new state will be called the Confederated Free States, or CFS.  The new state will have an elected head of state, selected from the national legislature by a vote of the sitting legislative representatives.  Every member planet will be represented in the legislature based on population, with the smallest and newest colonies receiving a minimum representation of one.  The member systems retain near complete sovereignty within their own systems, and have much say on new policies and the use of the CFS’s fleet. 

The CFS, situated as it is between the two largest states in the known universe, knows that it cannot hope to match the militaries of those states, and so is focused on creating a small, professional military force that would at least give either of those states a pause before they considered attacking and overwhelming the small nation.  Currently, though, the CFS is focused on exploration and expansion through colonization, and the CFS is working on fielding three survey groups to find new worlds for their expanding population. 

Fleet Deployments
Patrol Fleet, Novosibirsk (capital): 6xDD
Mothballs, Novosibirsk: 4xESX
Survey Fleet #1, Leningrad: 16xESX, 60xCutter
Survey Fleet #2, Rostov-na-Donu: 16xESX, 60xCutter
Survey Fleet #3, Novosibirsk: 4xESX, 24xCutter
Novosibirsk WP Defense, WP to Kirov (Colonial Union): 3xBS2, 60xMines
Novosibirsk WP Defense, WP to Kure (Rehorish): 7xBS2, 60xMines
Novosibirsk WP Defense, WP to Sapporo: 1xBS2, 60xMines

Under Construction: 1xCA, 3xEXS, 12xCutter

*Note: The Novosibirsk system has eight warp points, but only the three above have defenses. 
 
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