The Chronicle of the GUNs

[Aajowa (OP)]

In Aurora, much like life, the worst ones always get reelected. Conventional, tiny military freighters. What's not to love?
March 03 2100 -
Re-elected to the chagrin of over 40% of the voters, the triumphant Administrator Koziol watched the system-wide shipping map with a smile. Above him, he could see five ships of the Koziol class above Earth in overhaul after their colonization efforts of the last few years. Staggered in several smaller groups, six more continued their Martian journey laden with mining equipment and infrastructure. Alone, one final Koziol transited the void between Earth and Luna to establish the first Lunar colony. Largely, these efforts were a success. One besmirching error on his ventures however was the lack of humans transiting this void. The minor recession of the late 90's had damaged Union research effort as funds were diverted to more pressing concerns. The newly-named Napoleon class would not be ferrying colonists for some time yet, it seemed. With the global financial recovery well underway, it was now feasible to continue research on the matter.

Undesired, yet increasingly expected, was a small blip representing the Discovery hovering over Earth. Though scheduled to be in the Oort cloud now, the beleaguered first true ship of the Union was increasingly showing its' age at over two decades in the most brutal solar conditions. With eight years to go before decommissioning the UNEC 0003 - Discovery, time was running out to decide whether to moor it permanently to UNEC Shipyard 01 and continue maintaining it indefinitely or to have it scuttled like the old Lloyd class platforms. Ever looking for ways to dismantle the recently-deceased Evie Lloyd's legacy, Administrator Koziol would likely make the announcement to preserve or scuttle in a few days at her state-sponsored funeral.

April 21 2100 -
Discovered, then lost, then rediscovered and relost again and again over the better part of the 19th through to 20th centuries, a lonely rock coasted silently through orbit towards its' host star. 27P once again continued its twenty-eight year elliptical transit of the solar system as it had since time immemorial. Often forgotten or lost by astronomers due to its' distance and difficulty to spot, the elusive Crommelin remained a small, lonely speck within a mostly uncaring system. In all its' life, it had had only one visitor, and even the memory of that was fading.

Unique of all its' countless transits, this time it would not depart the inner system alone. In response to growing critique of Earths' blindness amidst the solar system, it had been determined that a small, experimental listening-post would be placed on the wanderer. The sole of its' kind for the time being, the otherwise diminutive Crommelin would bear a crown of radars, satellite dishes, and detectors until the end of time.

Justifying the cost of this faraway listening outpost would be the establishment of autonomous mines on the mineral-rich comet. Working tirelessly while the Crommelin was outside reach of Earths' growing freighter fleets, the mines would be emptied of their products as their host approached perihelion. During this particular transit however, there would only be a decade or so for the Crommelin to be developed before it slipped back out of range of the Koziels

The Administrator determined that hypothetically, many more of these listening posts could be constructed on-world and shipped in pieces to bodies all across the Solar System. Discouraged yet still not illegal, non-Union interplanetary travel had continued since the 1960s, and for security the Union would need far greater surveillance of all non-GUN movement. Stating that these developments would aid with understanding potentially-dangerous asteroids, Koziel secured the support he needed to begin the expensive Crommelin deployment.

Using the next few decades' data from these listening posts however, Koziel was also quite eager to hypothesize possible armament of the asteroid belt. With traffic and resource control in-system becoming gradually less-then-hypothetical, it was sure to one day become a point of contention between the many independent nations and those under the Union. Eventually, arming the main bodies between the inner and outer systems could prove advantageous to security on Earth, as would controlling the main thoroughfare to the outer-system. Administrator Koziel decided to preempt this, and began diverting a portion of the unions' once again dwindling funds towards weapons research.

September 12 2101
Inspecting one of the to-scale prototype accelerator arrays of the magnetic accelerator program, Bundi Martin was aghast. Incorrectly-fitted coils, wildly inefficient muzzles, and an ungodly mound of untamed wiring. Administrator Koziol would be here within the week to check up on progress and he would surely have his head for the disarray of the program.

Word around was that there would be small, technical research positions available off-world once colonised, and some of these were speculated to be less-than-voluntary. Hyperventilating, Bundi Martin rushed to his office alone. Some hours later, he would be found dead of natural causes. Considering it a likely heart attack, the advice was to shutter the program until a specialist of the area could be found to reorganize the program. Academy Commandant Kapuku Makaya had seen a rich crop of graduates in recent years, but under her guidance gUNI had failed to produce even a single kinetic-weapons expert since the late Dr. Martin.

Endeavoring to fill the gap, Administrator Koziol instead offered the flexible-if-grim Doctor Ramiro Leote a position: Restructure the mag-accelerator program and retrain from sensors to weapons development, or act as head surveillance operator on-site at the under-construction Crommelin listening post. According to the Administrator, a tenure of some years alone on the six-kilometre rock would surely aid understanding of the intricacies of operating such an endeavor, perhaps even being critical to the success of the program.

With his choice begrudgingly made, Dr. Leote would remain on Earth and swore to himself there might just be an accident in the lab, should the Administrator ever decide to view progress in person.

November 21 2101 -
With the solar system survey approximately 74% complete, the six ships of the Discovery class plied the Oort Cloud as best they could searching for trans-newtonian ghosts. In the farthest reaches of Solar space, one hundred fifty six men and women of the Union searched for the rarest of minerals, each occasionally delving further than any human had ever been from the comforting light of the Sun. With this though, finally came the unfortunate reality that their small ships were never designed to reach the clouds' outermost bodies.

Moving to address this, the engineers of the Union released designs for a new Outreach class fuel tanker, to escort the fabled survey sisters to the outer regions. Enraging Administrator Koziol, these unprompted designs offered much critique of his recent exploration fleet expansions. By altering their designs somewhat, a new model of Discovery would have had the easy ability to reach the outer regions - but by keeping them as they were, the ships Administrator Koziol built were obsolete from the start.

Conceding defeat, Administrator Koziol tasked the grand shipyard of the UNCC to begin construction of seemingly the last two Koziol class freighters. Assuming the designs held up to scrutiny in the meanwhile, retooling for construction of two test tankers would begin in early 2102. The fleets of the Exploration Command would be reshuffled to two multi-ship exploratory fleets, and if this proved a success Administrator Koziol considered whether the new tanker inclusions could allow even the short-ranged Koziol freighters to reach the outer system, finally silencing their and his critics.

March 31 2103 -
Infuriated, Administrator Koziol asked one last time if Dr. Brod had mis-communicated. Almost as if by magic, the troublemaker had announced he had cracked the specifications of safe colonial transport not even one week after the hulls of the two new Outreach tankers had been laid. Demanding six months of shipbuilding apiece, the new tankers were now the sole obstacle to his achievement of putting mankind on Mars and Luna both. At this rate, it would be mid-decade that the first colonists would put foot on the foundations the Koziol's had so carefully been delivering.

Silently promising to himself that the good Doctor would be becoming quite acquainted with his transport module, Administrator Koziol demanded that Dr. Brod send detail of his new modules to the Unions' rogue engineers. Having already developed the Outreach in their spare time, they clearly needed more to do. Re-configuring their original designs for the Napoleon colony ship, they ought be able to deliver a half-sized ship suitable for construction from the dormant UNEC shipyard. Hating himself for utilizing Administrator Lloyd's legacy project, he bade the Doctor goodbye, and returned to the challenge at hand: trying to write a convincing speech insisting allowing forced labour was a good thing when used in healthy, regulated moderation.

May 15 2103 -
Across the night sky, the people of Earth were treated to a sight they had not seen for some years now. Flickering to life, the luminous shipyard of Administrator Lloyd once again caught the eyes of those below. Within the day, it would begin construction of the long-awaited Napoleon class colony ships. Announced a month earlier, the reduced-capacity ships would soon begin moving eager volunteers to land for the first time on humanities' most convenient destination; Luna.

Around July, Two hundred newly-minted Armstrongs would descend for the first time to the far side. A decades-old concession to avoid visual pollution from Earth, the base would receive several thousand colonists to test its' strength before numbers would begin to rise again exponentially at decades-end. Disappointed, the thousands of trained colonists hosting delayed Martian dreams would have to wait yet another year yet to submit their terrestrial resignations and begin preparing themselves for statis and transport.

Secretly relieved though were the few Earth scientists, administrators, and advisors that had found no friend in Administrator Koziol, the smiling fiend. With dissent hidden behind their graciousness, his plans for the future had caused no few troubles amongst those who served humanity.



June 19 2103 -
Approaching one of the terminals at Earths' predominant spaceport, the small 'Napoleon' ship passed concourses, mile-long walkways, and dozens upon dozens of the small connection ports that allowed folk and freight alike to travel the globe in minutes. Reaching the loading area of Bay 12 heh, the Napoleon docked to receive its' "cargo".

Fitting both and neither definitions of folk and freight, the two hundred comatose individuals were ready to be packed in to the hundreds of strange storage life-supporting devices that the ship had been built to carry. Ranging in size from underweight to even the largest adult, they would be virtually guaranteed to survive the trip. The only individuals not present in this first voyage were children - It would be some years yet before the travel administration ended the ban on minors transiting, once the long-term effects proved to be safe.

Having met the fleets' two freighters and with the "cargo" aboard, the Napoleon departed without incident, ready to deposit its' sleeping beauties at 'Lunar Base'. Halfway among the rows of sleepers was Administrator Markus Zimmermann. Only starting his career, he had voluntarily taken control of the Lunar colony at the behest of Administrator Koziol, unknowing that he was marked as N.R.E, 'Never Return to Earth'. If the colony were to fail, he would be 'accidentally' left behind as Koziol's scapegoat. By the time any rescue could be launched, he and his truths would be frozen and forgotten in the frigid Lunar dust beyond the view of Earth.


Whistling, Lieutenant Commander Adelina Dinescu began the first-ever manned journey to the Moon.

December 7 2103 -

Some months later, Administrator Markus shuffled through the crowded halls of Lunar Base, meaning to reach one of the colonies' many life support domes. Integral to the sprawling site, they each supported the air, heat, and power of the colony. Though the average colonist did not know, the nodes were one and all stretched well beyond capacity. Having been rebuked by Administrator Koziol when requesting international assistance, the denizens of Luna Base would have to wait some months yet for additional deliveries of vital life-supporting infrastructure. Meeting with one of the head technicians responsible fo life-support, Markus heard that Koziol had dumped thousands upon thousands of colonists more than the base could support. Receiving word from the technician that it would take over a half-million tonnes of dedicated support nodes delivered to reach any sort of equilibrium, Markus sent word to close down the welcoming center. Koziol seemed desperate to bolster the colonies' numbers to prove himself a capable administrator, but it was no longer feasible to indulge him if it risked the lives of thousands of people now uncomfortably breathing in the hot, moist, barely-recycled air.

On Earth, hundreds of individuals received notice of cancelled flights while thousands more were advised of substantial, unknown delays. From his seat of power, Administrator Koziol swore against the renegade Lunar leader, and began drafting funds for ship-borne military transit modules. Years yet in the making, they would require substantial deviation from the civilian transport in order to keep these security personnel fighting-fit after arrival.



A recurrent divided-by-zero error forced me to reload a save, and I didn't notice I hadn't reattached the two freighters to the Napoleons' group. As a result, not enough infrastructure made it to the colony by years-end when the task group was supposed to swap for Mars. Whoops! If unrest reaches zero, Luna (or any other colony) will declare their independence from the Union

Sensing sentiments were turning against his efforts, Administrator Koziol decreed that upon return from Mars, six additional freighters would begin depositing the much-needed life-support and other forms of infrastructure to the renegade Markus Zimmermann. Though out-of-sight of Earth, colonial growing pains were far from out of the minds of the people who now openly protested both his decisions and leadership. He would need to re-establish control over both the colony and the Earth.

December 21 2103 -
Far from the civil unrest of the oldest two colonies was the UNCC 0018 - Napier. The Napier was another Napoleon-class colony ship, currently in orbit of Mars. With its' shuttles now ferrying two hundred of the first Martian colonists down to the future capital of Elysium, the Napier had suddenly found itself one of the only ships still traversing the Martian distance. After a day-long sojourn while ensuring the colonists did not come to unintended harm, the Napier would then begin its fourty day journey back to an Earth that was far less peaceful than when last departed. Beaming back an offer to Earth to pick up Lunar colonists willing to travel to Mars instead, the Napier received back a negative response. Luna would, for all intents and purposes, be on its' own until its infrastructural issues were fixed.

December 27 2103 -
On December 27, something quite peculiar happened. More specifically, a while prior something quite regular stopped happening, and today this was finally noticed. A small beep heard periodically in a disused sub-basement of one of Earths' many data relay centers had stopped. Untended for years now since a spate of retirements in the '90s, there was nobody who worked on site that even remembered what the small chirpy irritant even did, much less noticed its' silence. On the 27th of December, a keen astrology buff who's Grandfather once worked at that site called up requesting any sort of update of the beeping. Finding silence in the old and dusty room, that prompt instigated a brief flurry of activity at the old satellite survey array as workers hurriedly searched for anyone still-living who could inform them how to work the machine, as it used a decades out-of-date programming language and an entirely obsolete user interface.

Kelly Mae (Born as Khaleesi Mae, but she'd changed her name years ago when the reference became lame) was an octogenarian, a former worker at the array, and the solution to this long-forgotten problem. Briefly, she brought herself out of retirement to whack the machine three times as had always been done (citing 'percussive maintenance') and pulled out the small and dusty 'keyboard', a relic that had often been used before the age of touchscreens.

To the mounting excitement of Kelly and staff, the screen displayed...Nothing. After a lifetime of surveillance, four of the eight final Flynn geo-survey satellites had drawn the simple conclusion that Saturn was giant ball of hydrogen and helium. Save for some interesting isotopes and the occasional molecule-of-interest in its' rings, Saturn was entirely...uninteresting. Grumpy as old women tended to be when drawn out of retirement, she instructed them on how to use the decrepit machine down the hall that had also fallen silent.  In this case, the silence was because at a Christmas party some decades earlier, a can of 'Schweppsi' had been spilt on it and nobody could find a replacement buzzer. With all agreeing that the noise had been intolerable, the decision was made to continue observing the silent and dusty machine, and to not search for the well-buried box of buzzer components.

Millions of miles away, the four now-ancient Flynns continued their survey of Jupiter, not programmed to be aware that they were the last of their kind.

September 1 2104 -
Unrest on Luna continued to rise, as the sole terrestrial satellite continued suffering Administrator Koziol's negligence. With an equalibrium almost reached, communications channels between Koziol and Himmermann reopened, and the decision was reached to resume passenger transfer between Earth and the Unions' rebellious colony at years end. Having been the subject of controversy across the globe, the growing pains of Luna had sparked conversation about colonial rights not seen now for centuries. Extraterrestrial territories would be granted higher comparative rights, and taxes paid to the union would continue to be deferred for some years after the territory gained self-sufficiency.

Unknown by the overwhelmed Administrator Koziol was that six hundred people within the Lunar Base had been quietly redistributed to Mars by the Napier over the last year, while Earth>Mars passenger transit had been halted. Quietly, these people began distributing dissent amongst the colonists of Elysium, and the potential for a non-Earth-centrist model of Humanity.

Unknown by the beleaguered Markus Himmermann of Luna or Konrad Oelsner of Mars, was that Administrator Koziol's electromagnetic accelerator program was nearing completion, and that upon finishing all funding would be diverted to military cargo transfer. With the potential for 'peacekeeping' warships and off-world peace corps, Administrator Koziol would not allow insubordination amongst the colonies like had begun on Luna under that dangerous rogue, Zimmermann.

24 February 2108 -
Approaching a bleak rock far from home, the first Exploratory Corps of the Union heard word from Earth. After scanning the large, 140 kilometre wide body, the Corps would return to Earth as they had so many times earlier. Ordered back rather than returning of their own violition, this was to be an entirely different homecoming. After substantial backlash to early plans to scrap the sister ships, the Discovery, Adventure, and Innovation would be presently retired on Earth after their thirty-year service. Decommissioned, the three sister ships would be used as orbital museums to the history of mid-century space flight, and had been spared disassembly. Administrator Koziol, responding to existing unrest seeded by his misfiring Lunar colonization, had yielded to tens of millions of signatures petitioning to save the iconic relic ships and decreed they would be maintained for all time.

In begrudging recognition to their service, the Administrator announced this final asteroid to be surveyed -formerly the '1996 TR66'- would be renamed the 'Discovery', and that three replacements - The 'UNEC 0011 - Dutiful', 'UNEC 0012 - Assiduous', and 'UNEC 0013 - Diligence' would be commissioned prior to decades-end. Seeming to forget the controversy of building Discovery-class ships that were currently obsolete, the Administrator found himself once again being questioned in regards to competence.

December 23 2108 -
Dr Ramiro Leote was a gifted man in regards to communication and sensors. Brilliant, by some accounts. In contrast, Dr. Leote was neither gifted, nor brilliant, nor frankly even adequate in kinetic research. Having been forced to make the swap many years earlier however, re-qualification was beginning to suit him. With the project having indirectly killed his predecessor, Dr. Leote had to admit he was pleased with himself for developing ship-mounted magnetic accelerators. Theoretically able to launch projectiles with great accuracy, the accelerators would enable the research of accurate, long-ranged railgun weaponry. With the threat of deployment to the colonies still in the air, Dr. Leote sent the classified information to the Administrator. Administrator Koziol would undoubtedly wish to begin utilizing the new technology immediately. Dr Leote still wished to utilize the technology on the Administrator, but for now he settled for a promotion and a nice glass of champagne.

December 24 2108 -
Administrator Koziol was delighted at his early Christmas present. Cancelling the paid time off of some thousand-odd research staff, he ordered the immediate design of a suite of sensors to enable both noticing and targeting of in-space objects. With miniaturized versions of the deep-space tracking facilities now on Outpost Crommelin and Outpost Herculina, the redesigned systems would allow these weapons to identify, target, and hit objects up to ten-thousand kilometers away.

His head awash with ideas, such as a shipyard to the scale of UNCC Shipyard 01, Administrator Koziol signed off on the creation of a new naval branch and its' primary shipyard. Though the UNEC and UNCC built ships for one another interchangeably, it would be necessary for the new Security Command to maintain secrecy of practice and design, and they would build for themselves exclusively.

Lying as he tended to, Administrator Koziol barely managed to overturn all resolutions disallowing the mounting of space-based weaponry. Under the guise of 'asteroid defense', both a single and dual-barrel railgun design would be generated for use on both naval vessels and Earth-based sites. Though the non-Union nations of Earth would have little to fear from meteor impacts now; a silent chorus began to grow, wondering if the greater threat was indeed the soon-to-be-militarized overreach of Koziol himself.

[Aajowa (OP)]

I got wildly distracted while playing, and overshot by seven years with most of the decade written/played as Administrator Koziol. Uhh, oops! He'll have to win two coin flips next decade if he's to remain, to account for winning this one through a certain shadow council's negligence

April 02 2112
Research head Banou Ansary, while developing the Ansary Large-Object Search Sensor, was found dead at approximately 10:28 on Saturday evening, April 2 2112. Though by all accounts it appears to have been the result of an accidental discharge of the sensors' high-capacity microwaves, the Janitor who discovered the grizzly scene was reported as noting open doors and a lab in disarray. This was not entirely out-of-character for Dr. Ansary, though the sheer state of the lab caused...discussion.

With sentiment against space-militarization and the controversial sensor reaching a feverish pitch, there was no shortage of speculation as to whether the 'accident' was true or covering up the act of a hostile foreign power. Less discussed however, were private reports that Banou Ansary had threatened to migrate to one of the many nations that did not recognize or submit to Union jurisdiction, or audio recordings from within the lab that included a conversation at approximately 6:56 that evening between Dr. Ansaray and an unknown individual.



November 5 2112
Almost oblivious to mass-protest, Administrator Koziol decided to release a heavily-redacted version of the 3-Gigawatt nuclear reactor to be used in Union warships. Built as bog-standard, the reactor would be the heart of all future vessels for the time being. Critics continued to point out that transferring parts and fuel for the vessels risked a nuclear catastrophe every big as devastating as Chernobyl, Fukushima, or Chicago. With the dynamicism of orbital mechanics and the variability of launch sites, advocates would continue to argue that a single accident anywhere could have the same impact as a dirty bomb, irradiating unpredictable and vast tracts.

With support from the the same right-wing that had him re-elected, Administrator Koziol disregarded the concerns of anti-nuclear and environmental advocates and began terrestrial construction of several of the mammoth mobile reactors. While each one would eventually find itself in the core of a naval spaceship, presently with the classified and secretive 'UNSC Shipyard 01' still under construction, it was simply a step to ensure faster construction once the orders to build could be given.

Febuary 18 2117 -
Unexpectedly, the Floyd satellites finally completed their mammoth task. So frequently forgotten, the slow survey came to an end with a blip; Jupiter, tempestuous as ever, had yielded an almost humerously small amount of trans-newtonian Sorium gas. Similar in volume to Earth's now-dwindling reserves, the Jovian supply of Sorium was well-dwarfed by those within the mantle of Mars. Currently suitable only as a scientific curiosity, Jupiter would be best served as a stopover point between Earth and the Jovian moons of Europa, Ganymede, Io, and Callisto. Administrator Koziol had determined that once naval dominance over the other terrestrial nations was achieved, it would be feasible to 'stretch', allowing Union expansion to those four faraway bodies. Remembering the difficulties of subordinating the rowdy Lunar and Martian colonies, Administrator Koziol determined that keeping status quo would be most achievable by first achieving a firm militaristic dominance.

At almost the same time on the polar opposite of the Solar system, fuel within the exploratory tanker the 'Outreach' burst its' refuelling line. Capable of spilling 5/6ths of the yearly output of an entire fuel refinery every hour, the decision was made to shut every safety valve until the line could be replaced in its' entirety. Without a spare, the Outreach had to depart the three shorter-ranged Discovery-classes under its' care. Lamenting its' four-month unscheduled return trip, the Outreach broadcasted a seemingly-innocuous, yet dangerous question: "What if we had facilities out here, in deep space?".

April 24 2117
Administrator Koziol was present for the grand opening of the first 'Asteroid Interception Site' alongside regional GUN-member nation representatives, and two non-member state representatives. Promising it to be the very future of terrestrial security, Administrator Koziol smiled and lied to the delegates as easily as a toddler cries and smegs its' pants. The GUN had made multiple concessions in order to avert the risk of a multinational arms-race, and had even co-opted funding for the ambitious, globe-spanning project. With consent of the territories covered by the GUN anti-meteor umbrella, the Union had finally been able to open the first of the thirteen systems that would 'protect' the world. While seemingly pliant in agreeing to the demands of site defense, quantity, and shot capacity, the Administrator had ensured placement of the sites solely to benefit the Union in the event of war. With the ability to take up to twelve anti-satellite shots per site per minute, the so-called 'Meteor Umbrella' ensured any nation to directly conflict with Union interests would be sent back to pre-orbital technology. While the grand terrestrial armies and navies of the Unions' member nations would keep the sites secure, the GUN's perogative would continue to be elimination of national competitors within space - thus ensuring its' continuing relevance, budget, and supremacy.

With full understanding of its' implications, Administrator Koziol flashed one last congenial smile towards the delegates and press, and snipped the ribbon.

April 30 2118 -
Just before midday on Sunday the 30th of April, tens of millions of people across multiple timezones were resting, attending Church, and running their household errands. With a general peace across the globe, there were little reports to become alarmed about and fewer economic woes than ever before.

Hundreds of miles above the generally-tranquil terrestrial scene however, the combined admiralty of all three naval branches stood waiting in one small cordoned room. With most of the yard classified and inaccessible, even the shipwrights were unable to access vast quadrants of the site without proper authorization granted in triplicate and identification cards with correct authorization. Seemingly late, Administrator Koziol was to soon announce the grand opening of 'UNSC Shipyard 01'. Without viewing ports or vision of anything at all, it would only require the shortest of ceremonies before being deemed ready to begin production of up to four Nelson-class escorts.

Grappling with one of the four airtight blast-doors that would allow him out of the highly-secretive central section, Administrator Koziol's ID card would not allow him out. For all intents and purposes, Koziol was imprisoned. Unable to contact assistance, the highest-civil servant on Earth was trapped, late, and needing to pee. Almost a hundred meters away through many sound-proof and well-armored rooms, the delegates continued waiting for the unpopular and missing Administrator.

Watching from one of the sites' many CCTV displays, the head shipwright of the facility and one of his guards laughed. Neither was able to open the doors, and neither was willing to call one of the few people on-site with power to free their guest. Well-acquainted with the security operations of the site, both of them knew better not to wander away from their respective jurisdictions.

The better part of an hour later, Admiral Dario Hume-Li'ito decided to fill the void and address the crowd. As highest-ranking member of the GUN's naval forces, he briefly christened the site before dismissing the group. Several minutes later, an irritable Administrator Koziol entered the room and found it vacant. Almost relieved, he began heading towards the nearest sanitary station and toilet before swearing - finding those doors too to be locked.

August 09 2118 -
Unwilling to attend, Administrator Koziol watched from hundreds of miles below as two twin warships, the first of the Union, began departing the shipyard. Both of the Nelson class, the escort-class vessels and many more would attach themselves to the ever-growing fleets of freighters to provide support and vision as they traversed the Martian distance.

Knowing there was quite literally nothing to see at the christening given the shipyards' intense secrecy, Administrator Koziol was content to sit and watch the 'spectacle' from the comfort of Earth. Lunar and Martian ideals of independence would surely begin to decrease with his watchful guards now on constant patrol, whilst reports from Indonesia regarding progress with military transport modules were by all accounts positive.

Speculation regarding the necessity of warships within the Union continued, amplified all the further by Union disregard of nuclear non-proliferation treaties in mounting these new, militarized reactors on their ships. With the leaking of several classified documents regarding some of the general specifications, it was quickly apparent that these were military ships ill-suited to accompany a freighter fleet, being four times as fast and an entirely different range and deployment. Amidst disgruntled Union nations and non-Union members alike worried talk began, wondering if the Union had in fact designed a commerce raider.



Smiling alone in his office, Administrator Koziol continued to watch the fanfare.

February 25 2119 -
With now a full half-dozen warships on either on patrol or in close following of freighter groups, Administrator Koziol made an unexpected announcement. Following recent discontent due to the growing armada of extraordinarily huge, two-thousand-tonne warships, research would be diverted somewhat to producing more reasonably sized ships of only a few hundred tonnes.

Though most agreed this was a step towards disarmament, Administrator Koziol sent word to the heads of the UNSC, that production of the Nelson class would not slow or cease, and that the eventual requisite production would be drawn from elsewhere.

March 12 2119 -
Well-advertised was the celebration of the opening of the third slipway of UNCC Shipyard 01. Able now to produce up to six-thousand tonne of freighter hulls, it was considered to be a sign of Administrator Koziol's committal to civilian pursuits. Relieved, many leaders of the world called on him to continue his beneficial trend towards peaceful cooperation.

Less advertised and indeed entirely devoid of announcement, was the creation of another slipway for the Security Commands' primary shipyard. With capacity unknown to the public, the shipyard would continue to construct warships at an ever-greater rate away from prying eyes.

December 23 2119 -
In the grandest scandal of Union history, Administrator Koziol was impeached for under grounds of a 'breach of public trust' under Section 3 Subsection 4 of article 17 of the supranational organisations' constitution. The intensely-divisive former Administrator Koziol would be disqualified from running for office on Earth and would consider himself intensely lucky should he avoid imprisonment.

In the ensuing re-election, the three most suitable candidates were the well-known Lunar Base governor and extraterrestrial rights advocate Markus Zimmermann, the relatively unknown yet politically-connected Christopher Gardiner, and the famous former-president of the combined  Ukrainian-Romanian superstate, Alik Tereshchenko.

While Administrator Zimmermann was well-regarded for his handling of initial trans-planetary tension upon Lunas' foundation, his open ambition for Luna to join the Union as a voting state was considered quite divisive, with many thinking that the thirty-thousand-strong population should not receive the same legislative rights as the established multi-million-strong nations of Earth. Recently revealed - the rescue mission of the Napier and his steady, even-handed rule had painted him as an egalitarian humanist.



Christopher Gardiner was considered by most to be the underdog of the election. With many drawing parallels to first Administrator Evie Lloyd, Gardiner's professionalism and boundless enthusiasm saw him compared to the well-loved Lloyd, while contrasting as a polar opposite of the now-disgraced Administrator Koziol. Without administrative experience however, convincing the hundred-odd electors of the GUN to gamble the next decade on him was considered a risk.



Campaigning from the far-away Herculina Outpost, former President Alik Tereshchenko had come to his position due to a now-famous series of events after rebels in Romania-Ukraine ousted his democratically-elected government. With these rebels funded by a non-GUN member state, the far-away Tereshchenko gained the attention of electors who had previously voted for Koziol by promising the same military dominance Koziol had been, without the drawbacks that he himself presented.

With promise of funding and returning Romania-Ukraine to democracy by way of force, Tereschchenko seemed every bit the fierce-but-fair militarist he was years ago, while fighting his famed tri-fronted war. Blind in both eyes and in ailing health, the so-called 'Last Lion of Odesa' promised leadership of substantial character, if not unflinching sternness.



Koziol won the first flip, so I guess this decade did end up being legitimate. Lost the second one and so i'll make a poll for who gets voted in as Administrator. First or most votes wins, depending on if anyone's around between now and next decade.

[El Pip]

At least Koziol got some sort of comeuppance, even if it wasn't quite what he deserved.

On the matter of the election, after careful consideration I realise I cannot in good conscience vote for either of the vegetarians so it has to be the blind warmonger.

[Aajowa (OP)]

Please vote in whichever election is currently running. It helps democratize the playthrough and could well be GUN fun!

I realise I cannot in good conscience vote for either of the vegetarians so it has to be the blind warmonger.

I won't lie that made me snort a little. Though I wish Tereshchenko had won, Chris had the only vote when I started playing and won by default. Though that ended up being fortuitous, because there's currently a tie at 1/1/1 and Tereshchenko has died twice in this playthrough, but thanks to the magic of errors and reloading, continues to endure through some sort of vile necromantic magicks.


January 16 - 2120
Christopher Gardiner accepted his new position with a gracious, friendly grin. To the surprise of betting men and women the world across, the one hundred thirty two electors of the GUN had selected him and him alone to rule Earth. With Tereshchenko's ailing health and Zimmermann's contentious political opinions, Administrator Gardiner ended up being the only palatable choice, and won by a reasonable-if-underwhelming margin. Promising a better and more peaceful existence, Administrator Gardiner hoped to rebuke the militaristic trend the GUN had taken of late, much to the relief of the independent nations of Earth. Unexpectedly for new-administrator Gardiner, all Administrator logs dated from 2103 onward were entirely missing. Prints, documents, and data-drives all appeared to have been wiped in the final days of the last administration. Blindly then, Administrator Gardiner began the task of rebuilding the picture of current events.

It appeared that GUN finances were not so healthy as Koziel had reported, that funds were being diverted at an alarming rate to military research, and that the Unions' patrol ships had been ordered on loose, undocumented errands. Though their logs were clear of any useful information, the stray warships had been reported to have been seen at outposts Crommelin and Herculina, pinged by Martian sensors while unaccompanied, and most alarmingly had been sighted (though unreliably) by the dated, conventional sensors of several nations' colony ships. Making note to request the full flight data from Naval High Command, Administrator Gardiner would see to it that the record gaps were filled; with refined sorium in such scarce supply, why had these fuel guzzling warships been making such wasteful flights?

Almost four hundred thousand kilometres away, the tension was almost palpable. Being home to over forty thousand of the most adventurous men and women, Lunar Base was not a colony short of opinions, arguments, or bullheadedness. In one thing however, all were now unified. Across drinking modules and across living quarters in every quadrant of Lunar Base, discussion was raging that Luna and its' inhabitants hadn't a voice in Administrator Gardiners' election. This was not made so abrasive by Markus Zimmermann being so thoroughly outvoted. This was not made so enraging by the ailing Tereshschenko failing to mention the rising gap in living standards between Martians, Terrans, or Lunarians. Luna was now home to native-born children, and in every corner of Lunar Base it was universally enraging that denizens of Lunar Base could not democratically ensure their children's' future would be bright.

Not one to let tyranny on Earth remain unchallenged, Markus Zimmermann moved through the corridors of Lunar Base, consoling his constituents and enforcing that loyalty to him - and only him - could provide these newborns the future their parents now so desperately desired.

May 26 2112 -
Far from the political tensions of Earth, Exploration Corps 01 was continuing to delve amidst the bodies of the cold, dark Outer System. Or more accurately, was currently scheduled to be doing so. Once again, the cantankerous refueling system of the groups' Outreach-class tanker had forced an early return for repair and resupply. Long considered a post for the witless, the ship in question was crewed only by its' skeleton staff as Union naval officers worked aboard more valuable vessels. Aboard the beleaguered 'Ostrich', things were now taking a turn for the worse.

Never truly designed for long-range space exploration, the Outreach class was quickly proving itself a temperamental and ill-suited company to its' three Discovery wards. Many months past what could be considered a 'normal' deployment length, the crew of the Ostrich were feeling the effects of short supplies and cramped quarters. With tensions high aboard the ship, few if any could pass up the opportunity for some Zero-G mischief. Long a staple of the Union Navy, gambling while in deep space was one of the few ways the crew could relax so many billions of kilometers from home or entertainment. With the entire third shift now onboard for the entertainment, one of the two full-sized crew quarters was sequestered for the evening to allow the pursuit in relative comfort. With time from home growing and no shortage of ill-temper, it had finally come to be that a small winning, a moderate rebuke, and a large argument caused the first open brawl in space.

Brawling as intensely as possible in micro-gravity, the floating crewmembers kicked and punched as if sparring in a dream. Unable to harm each other in any meaningful way, the reckless shuffle upended a tray of jello shots they had all been 'drinking', with it and other objects now floating through the scene. With a spark, a single open jello shot flew at leisurely speed in to a wall-mounted computer terminal. Adsorbed by the sensitive equipment and finding any small opening to fill, the errant beverage-turned-threat shorted the entire section the crew was in. With an almost-instant deprivation of heat and oxygen, the brawl, winnings, and quarters were all quickly abandoned as the crew huddled in to the remaining functional areas of the ship.

Barely within the orbit of Neptune and with billions of kilometres travel yet, there were now numerous alarms puncturing the silence. Adjacent, the three Discovery ships urgently discussed what to do while so far from Earth. The fleet commander for the group, Lt Commander Kokk, had learnt the subject and protocol numerous times while studying at gUNI yet was hesitant to act. Developed by former Administrator Koziel, protocol stated no ship was to be left abandoned for fear of being discovered and reverse-engineered by Terrestrial powers. Under the advice of Admiral Dario Hume-Li'ol and other high-ranking naval personnel however, Administrator Gardiner had amended this to allow for abandonment in case of life-or-death emergency, or stranding while offworld.

Knowing that this was potentially the most dangerous return trip to Earth since Apollo 13, and knowing that word would soon reach Earth of his hesitance, Lt. Commander Kokk issued orders to evacuate the ship, before life support systems shut off, or the rapidly-degrading circuitry of the ship destroyed it. With a rough approximation of orderly evacuation, the thirty-one crew of the Ostrich entered and departed the lifepods, with the drunkards that had doomed the ship and its' valuable fuel wondering whether perhaps the risky gauntlet home would have been worth it.

In the days that followed, Administrator Gardiner acknowledged that the rowdiness of the crew was in part due to a lack of proper officership aboard. With such dutiful individuals in scarce supply, the decision was made to open a secondary campus of gUNI, allowing a doubling of officer intake. Combined with re-posting officers upon the decommissioning of several Discovery and Koziel ships, the roster would regain some level of sufficiency around the time new campus opened, predicted to be in mid-2126.





First ship destruction of the Union. It would've been better if it hadn't been lost to RNG and my own poor mission planning. Whoops! Outreaches get the exploration guys out to the Oort, but they just don't have the longevity to stay there with them.

August 30 2122 -
Lunar Leader Markus Zimmermann seethed. Though he had meant no ill-will towards the denizens of Earth, several potentially-inflammatory online posts he'd made had begun to circulate around media outlets around the Solar system. After twenty-odd years of serving the Lunar people, pressure mounted for him to resign his position due to posts suggesting Luna secede from the Union, and operate independently. The self-righteous Terra-rists (as they were known amongst the more contentious Lunarians) continued to try and claim his scalp, but not one person left on Luna disagreed with him. The conventional Earth-centric method existence was destined to end, and word leaking from settlements surrounding Elysium Mons suggested this sentiment was fairly universal amidst the colonies. While governing the sprawling Lunar Base, Markus continued posting. Posting on the Lunar network (itself a carbon-copy of the terrestrial internet), he was outside the jurisdiction of Earths' wireless domains, and continued to agitate uncontrolled.

Watching the spectacle from under house arrest, former Administrator Koziol had little to do but laugh. Drinking was always an option, and it was paired quite well with these particular broadcasts. He had shaken off most of the allegations that had ended his career, but it was the discovery of damning records of his scheme to scapegoat and essentially murder Zimmermann that had seen him declared guilty. To see Zimmermann on the brink of a self-imposed career collapse was nothing short of uplifting.

Also watching the spectacle was the victor of their electoral stoush, Administrator Gardiner. Extending the olive branch, Christopher requisitioned several million tonne of valuable infrastructure to grant to Lunar Base. Though the Lunarians continued to agitate as was becoming their culture, they remained entirely dependent on Earth. Controversy continued over their taking of terrestrial handouts while critiquing the planet as a whole. With almost fifty thousand Union citizens living on Luna, the shadow of their original shaky colonization and the political reality of their small population continued to cause tension. Though granting Luna its' own representative in Union affairs was far from feasible, this latest donation would surely soothe its' rowdy denizens, and convince them of Earths' continuing support.

September 04 2122 -
In the death-knells of the Outreach class, problems continued to manifest. The 'Outreach', first and namesake ship of the class, was sixty two days from Earth when it suffered a similar issue as the 'Ostrich'. Having been recalled earlier due to mission completion, the crew quarters aboard the tanker came in to harm around the asteroid belt due to a minor collision involving itself and a glaringly phallic-shaped rock. Having seen the scalding the crew of the Ostrich had received, and being comparatively close to the safety of Earth, the Outreach decided to continue its' course despite the moderately-sized and humorously-shaped hole in its' side. Again lacking a commanding officer to reprimand for the ships' poor navigation, the powers-that-be of the Exploration Command petitioned a further expansion of gUNI, which was prompty rejected for cost considerations and the lack of finely-tuned sensors on the Outreach - it couldn't dodge what it couldn't see, regardless of who was at the helm.

November 13 2122 -
Orbiting Earth after almost two months of travel with few relevant supplies, the gallant crew of the Outreach managed to successfully repair the hole in their ship, and internal damage to their accommodation and life support systems. To the minor celebration of all aboard, the crew of the Outreach would be rewarded with a small badge of recognition for their ingenious and potentially life-saving fix. The badge given for 'Meritorious repair work' was both a source of pride and shame. Pride, because of its' uniqueness and potentially life-saving nature. Shame, because it depicted a stylized picture of the hole they patched, which was indeed quite brazenly phallic.

I'm getting a lot of errors and a few fleets that think they're in overhaul despite being closer to Venus than Earth. I'm going to SM them back to Earth and change some task groups around. Maybe delete and respawn the ships if that doesn't work. Just a note for if anything goes wrong.
https://i.imgur.com/308xZ9O.png


May 8 2123 -
Approaching Earths' spaceport at a brisk 150km/s, the beleaguered ships of Exploration Corps 01 had good cause for relief. Lacking their grand tanker, the one-kiloton vessels were far more diminutive a taskgroup than they had been at their departure, but were no less welcome. Departing the vessels for their long-awaited leave, the crews separated in two. One group of several dozen were to be debriefed and released, the other far-smaller group was to be debriefed and detained. Though punishment would be lacking, the cohort responsible for destroying the Ostrich would most likely be stripped of rank and benefits. Though initial talk of heavy fines and punishment were considered at the outset of problems, the argument that they were in some sort of solar 'international waters', during their rest time, and not breaking any Union laws won, and no sort of civil or criminal punishment was be sought.

With only five-to-six years left of service, the Curiosity, Revelation, and Endeavour began overhaul for their final expedition to the outer-reaches of the solar system. With scarce supply of fuel for tankers following the demise of the Ostrich, the fleet would eventually be well-provisioned for its' final trip, and would likely be scuttled by decades-end.


July 27 2124 -
With the final tests of a new batch of satellite dishes and listening arrays, a new task for the well-fatigued Koziel freighters began. Having resisted calls to change the name of the ship class from the disgraced former administrator, three Koziels would detach from Earth>Mars transit to move several more of these constructions to the asteroid belt. With civilian and national traffic growing by the year, the listening posts of the inner system were becoming increasingly important for traffic and freighter management. Despite growing controversy over Union interference in national traffic, it remained imperative that the ears of the Republic continued to grow. One day, knowing the whereabouts of a stranded or crippled civilian ship could prevent loss of life, and under Administrator Gardiner, the controversy and expense of the program was considered acceptable.

March 05 2126 -
Several months ahead of schedule, Administrator Gardiner stood in front of a sizable crowd of well-dressed individuals. With a short speech he addressed the eager cohort, impressing upon them both the nobility and danger of their path. In short order, they would begin graduating this new campus of gUNI, and would soon become the leaders and executives of the Union. Though the ceremony was due to occur some months after in the Southern Hemispheres' Winter, the eventual time of opening saw him in a blazing heat wearing heavy academic robes bestowed upon him by the University Chancellor. Sweating under the oppressive sun, Administrator Gardiner was soon relieved to find the promised refreshments and light lunch provided. Barely fitting in to several lecture halls used for the day, a grazing herd of several thousand officers, academics, and students made their way through the better part of a tonne of assorted multicultural drinks and snacks.

On a platter amidst the tables and revelry, one lone half of a devilled egg-salad sandwich sat unattended, until finally taken by an unassuming but well-dressed young lady. Standing against a wall so as to avoid the crowding, she was bumped by an equally well-dressed man and lost her prized half-sandwich. Though everyone was pleased to begin study at the campus, every person to sit in that particular lecture hall would eventually note a peculiar stink within the left half of the room towards a low air vent within the wall. Though no trace of sandwich was ever found, the conditioner unit would blow a distinctly unpleasant smell through the hall each time the room was in use, much to the chagrin of students and lecturers both.


March 14 2127 -
Doctor Sigge Berlund had begun working on the ill-tempered fuel injector system for the 'Myo-Htun' chemical thruster years ago as a pet project, as a recent graduate of gUNI's doctoral program. Having identified several areas of potential on existing thruster designs, he began to theorize potential ways to utilize exotic trans-newtonian exhaust to decrease fuel consumption. With the retirement of Doctor ####m Ayasha in October 2126, Administrator Gardiner hand-selected Doctor Berlund to continue Ayasha's thruster-development project. Five months later, Sigge announced his successful attempt to utilize Sorium exhaust as a catalyst for conventional hydrocarbon fuel. By designing a thruster that could effectively utilize this diluted fuel, an expected 10% fuel use reduction could be achieved - and with potential to decrease further fuel usage with future research. Impressed by both the report and suggestion, Administrator Gardiner provided Doctor Berlund a fully-staffed research lab to continue his valuable propulsion studies.

By this point i've found in an old post of Steve that the error has something to do with unloading installations. I've narrowed it down to one of Colonization Corps 2,3,5, or 6. Further testing is required. After the four overhaul i'll merge them all in to a new large task group now that the planets' maintenance facilities can handle a larger influx of shipping. As long as the new large groups don't all come in at once, it should be fine. Followup that seems to have done the trick. If anyone gets an error 2786, try rejiggering your groups.

June 20 2129 -

Aboard Earths' fabled spaceport was a lone old man. No taller than five foot six now, age had shrunk him considerably - he had both claim and pictures 'proving' his formerly six-foot self. Undampened by his considerable age, he was as effervescent as ever while giving his combined farewell-slash-retirement speech. Former-Admiral Dario Hume-Li'ol was here both to end his service career, and to catch his personally-chartered flight to Mars. With substantial arthritis, the lower gravity would do him well in retirement while the sparsely-inhabited red world had long been his chosen retirement place. Among the assorted luggage of the well-travelled man were the ashes of his wife of several decades and two ornately-carved rings. Having not left Earth now in some decades, the realities of orbit began to set in once again as his aging joints were relieved of their haunting pressure. With only minor gravity in the rotating passenger terminals he felt twenty again, and bade his former fellows farewell


If you check 2110's log, I have mistakenly called him Dario Hume-Li'ito twice. He is Hume-Li'ol, having hyphenated his name with Konjit Li'ols earlier. I didn't expect him to have such a good career after returning to Earth, but he ended up somehow the highest-ranking Union naval commander. I retired him because he's entered 'very poor' health and i'd like to RP him having a good retirement.


Once again, Christopher Gardiner began ramping up his campaign for election. Incumbent Administrators were quite often re-elected in Union history, and he was somewhat convinced of his ability to woo the GUN's electors. With a modest platform of industrial expansion, he believed himself a palatable option. Still the least 'spicy' option, the incumbent Gardiner marketed himself as the safest option amongst a motley assortment of controversial or untested candidates.



On Luna, the long-maligned Markus Zimmermann also began his campaign. With almost a decade of activist work since last election, he hoped he could sway more of the electors this decade than the previous. With calls for his resignation ongoing, he was a fervently-debated choice due to his Extraterrestrial rights campaigns and a platform for substantial social progress. Though wildly supported offworld from both Union and small non-union colonies, his lack of support amidst the electors of the GUN continued to hurt his chances.



Blind yet fierce as ever, the octogenarian Alik Tereshchenko called in all favors from the electors, and asked them to finally allow him to secure global geopolitics and Union assets. With a platform much the same as last election of recovering departed Union states and militarising the Solar system for Union gain, many who rebuked him last decade as unfeasibly militaristic were coming to see his side, as the jostling competition amongst nations for land and resources off-world expanded exponentially.



Finally, a latecomer to the election was part-time civil-servant Donna Spada. With a modest career in modelling, she had managed to kickstart a substantial political campaign using her social media following. Every bit as popular as the late administrator Lloyd, the woman was considered largely a joke until demolishing each of her opponents in one of the pre-election debates. Now considered seriously, the would-be administrator campaigned on a platform of extraterrestrial expansion, building automated mining colonies offworld, and cutting red tape to remove many of the limits on non-Union colony growth. Hinting at the necessity of pragmatic military adventurism to keep non-Union nations under control, she had even managed to win over several of Tereshchenko's hardline supporters.


The poll should be on top. Thanks for reading again!

[ZimRathbone]

Gimme the warmongering Lich please...vote (1) for 'Honest' Alik!

[Aajowa (OP)]

Gimme the warmongering Lich please...vote (1) for 'Honest' Alik!

Ask and ye shall receive. This'll be a violent long decade I think. A fun one to RP, by all means though.

[El Pip]

I won't lie that made me snort a little. Though I wish Tereshchenko had won, Chris had the only vote when I started playing and won by default. Though that ended up being fortuitous, because there's currently a tie at 1/1/1 and Tereshchenko has died twice in this playthrough, but thanks to the magic of errors and reloading, continues to endure through some sort of vile necromantic magicks.

He cannot die as he must achieve his destiny - to win an election and lead the planet to glory. Or bloody disaster. But either way it had better be exciting.

Blindly then, Administrator Gardiner began the task of rebuilding the picture of current events.

Gardiner modelling his leadership style on Tereshchenko, this is a promising start.

Lunar Leader Markus Zimmermann seethed. Though he had meant no ill-will towards the denizens of Earth, several potentially-inflammatory online posts he'd made had begun to circulate around media outlets around the Solar system.

He means no ill-will, he just hates Earth and all it stands for. Baffling that people are upset by this reasonable stance.

Having resisted calls to change the name of the ship class from the disgraced former administrator, three Koziels would detach from Earth>Mars transit to move several more of these constructions to the asteroid belt.

Disappointing, should definitely have renamed them. Or had them fitted with illegal weapons and sold them to the most corrupt politicians possible, it's what Koziel would have wanted.

Administrator Gardiner was soon relieved to find the promised refreshments and light lunch provided.

A rare sign of civilisation - light refreshments being served. I approve.


I missed the vote, but it appears that justice prevailed and Tereshchenko won. So that's alight.

[Aajowa (OP)]

I had to cut out a good chunk of post. It'll be unedited from Febuary 14 2135. Sorry this chapter took so long! Originally I was delayed by an error that forced me to replay and rewrite, then current events made a post themed around subjugating Ukraine feel a little...off.

With three votes (two for Tereshchenko, one for Spada), our dear lich shall usher in his new dark age. If he dies mid-decade, Spada will take over.

January 13 2130 -
Alik Tereshchenko stood grinning amidst the clutter and dust of Outpost Herculina. Having announced his victory, Union electors had voted overwhelmingly in favor of his appointment to Administrator. With his team already on-site on Earth, he would soon give his speech to the Union to reconfirm the priorities of his administration. Knowing full-well that the broadcast would be received and dissected by all nations of Earth, declaration of a full-scale military reshuffle would be poorly received at best, and wildly threatening at worst. At over eighty however he had to act fast to achieve his goal of liberating homeland within his lifetime - it would be necessary to rectify military deficits as soon as possible.

His address would therefore consist of a carrot and a stick. On the one hand, he would take a page out of candidate Spadas' playbook and liberalize independent colonial ventures. Granting this decades-long request would ensure he was not considered particularly totalitarian, while potentially securing the Union a new source of capital and mining goods. On the other, his empowerment of the Union military would ensure terrestrial stability for the Union, despite long-rising global tensions. Commentators across the globe would note that during its' existence the GUN like the defunct EU had never needed a true standing army - Member states under the Union had long held universal articles of defense, and creation of a standing army could only signify intent of military adventurism.

Using the two to offset one another, deposed Ukrainian president-turned-Administrator Alik Tereshchenko hoped his arguments of balance would ensure that the Romania-Ukraine regime would not receive assistance over his tenure. With only a few non-Union states supporting it, direct GUN intervention could come by decades end if only they could prepare properly.


Hundreds of millions of kilometers away, Premier Sergiu Mihalcea saw the threat, and arranged for immediate re-militarization of the state-run economy. The people of Romania-Ukraine had duly rejected the Grand Unions' tyranny, and left through force. The insipid peace corps of the Union had withdrawn decades prior, allowing the people of the combined state to determine their own fate outside extranational jurisdiction. The old puppet Tereshchenko still acted on behalf of globalists and not his homeland, and finally was being used as a pawn to 'liberate' the free states. Premier Mihalcea would not have it, and neither would his people.


Our beloved GUN, a summary;


The treacherous dual-republic of Romania-Ukraine, a summary;



January 17 2132 -
Alik Tereshchenko had settled in well to his new life as Administrator. With tensions continuing as a result of his desire to rebel-held regions in Eastern Europe, he considered himself quite lucky to be out of the share market. Every press release he made sent the market to a tumble or frenzy, and every move he made was carefully dissected by a legion of would-be political experts. A thousand people coming up with two thousand motives for his actions was both humorous and wildly irritating. Knowing full-well that this would agitate both the tyrant of his homeland and the gawking masses, Administrator Tereshchenko released the news that several new ground force infantry prototypes had finished development, and would soon be trained within the facilities that had until recently been training Union peacekeepers.


As expected, the politically-minded went immediately to a state of furor. Unexpectedly, global share markets rose. Apparently, the commercially-minded had adjusted their appetite on  conventional and poorly-equipped peacekeepers, and revitalizing the military with 'Union Guards' evidently reduced the risk on market investments. Alik requested market data be sent to him in real time for the next fortnight, in order to gauge the enduring financial reaction. No need to request political updates, as they were far more intrusive and seeped in regardless of how hard he tried to ignore them.



January 18 2132 -
Enraged, Premier Mihalcea responded to this new military transgression with releases of his own. The numerous 'Infantrie Brigada' of the Peoples Republic would be bolstered. Doubled, even. Though securing nuclear arms from his nations supporters had proven impossible thus far, requests were made to every supportive non-Union nation for conventional and trans-Newtonian armament. It appeared the imperialistic Union would not allow the people of Eastern Europe any respite. Additionally ordering the establishment of several vehicular divisions to counter the Unions' aggressive weapons development, the Premier would not allow a mote of Union control over his homeland.

October 21 2132 -
Amidst fanfare, a representative of the Tereshchenko government attended the Unions' first guard graduation ceremony. Recently refitted, the brigade was smaller than anticipated, containing a modest fifteen hundred dedicated men and women, and their supporting vehicles. By dawn the day after, the grounds would be cleared for the induction of the next cohort, with several armored vehicle companies to follow afterwards. With sanctions mounting on the growing Eastern Bloc powers and with international tensions on the rise after Administrator Tereshchenko's military readjustments, few if any doubted those incoming cadets would not see action.

Thousands of miles away, Administrator Alik attended a ceremony celebrating the opening of the first non-union mining colony. Though he could not see them jostling, a dozen foreign leaders were held at bay by his security as they approached, each attempting to flatter him with flowery words and insubstantial platitudes in hopes of softening him up to granting further solar mineral rights.

Members in attendance noted to themselves the significance of the dual-ceremonies. Here, Tereshchenko himself continued to attempt appeasing Union and Non-Union nations alike with promises of continued peace and cooperation. In parallel however, were several thousand graduating military personnel, each swearing to defend the Union against the very nations that Tereshchenko was attempting to ingratiate. Circling above it all, ships of the UNSC continued monitoring the situation in ever greater numbers. Working only amidst their own naval hierarchy, the aging yet well-armed ships were poised to strike with just a moments notice, should the need ever arise.



November 20 2132 -
Roaring to life amidst a spectacle, the twenty brand-new vehicles of the 'Ninth Vehicular Company' began maneuvering before a small crowd of delegates. Though technically the first of its' kind, an old misinformation strategy was employed to infer a larger force number. With four supply-laden helicopters performing deft aerial acrobatics above, the sight was a well-choreographed if poorly-attended spectacle. Showcasing far more advanced equipment than the recent graduate ceremony and with no families present, the ceremony was over in short order before the next cohort of trainees began activity less than twenty-four hours later.

Not fooled by the spectacle, Premier Mihalcea dismissed the events as more sabre-rattling, to boost GUN morale. The troops of his free nation were more numerous than all the Union combined, and were not spread out worldwide on alleged 'Peace-keeping' operations.  Against the new Union vehicles would be the well-armored Main-line tanks, produced by the dozen in central Romania. With vehicles more numerous and better armored, the Union wouldn't stand a chance if they tried to bring Romania-Ukraine back in to compliance.

September 03 2133 -
After three years of fostering small independent Solar ventures, Administrator Alik virtually officiated the opening of a Canadian-run mining colony. Having dozens of 'control' stations throughout the solar system, the Canadian government had been granted first-of-its-kind mineral rights to Comas Sola. Now the largest non-union colony in the Solar System, the mining facilities on the distant comet would generate almost two-thousand tonnes of valuable material per annum. Using private contractors, the materials would be shipped to Earth at Canadian discretion  - the single largest concession yet granted to a single nation. Though hardliners rejected any notion of extra-national or private commercial development, Tereshchenko recognized that seeming pliant and cooperative undermined arguments coming out of the burgeoning Eastern Bloc and freed Union-directed industry to produce and deliver more valuable forms of infrastructure.



October 07 2134 -
Quite early on a Thursday morning, Tereshchenko was doing two things. Firstly, he was being read reports of the completion of a massive mining district in New Caledonia, and secondly he was learning of the release of a new cohort of mobile artillery platforms. Several years in the making, he was somewhat elated to hear a recording of their celebratory first firings. Alik was known for his fierce appetite for risk, but he wondered if he would even need to risk utilizing the platforms - the news was that the Bloc was in dire financial straits, and would either become unable to grow their military, or collapse entirely. With a history of unstable Eastern-European coalitions, the feedback was positive for the Union. Signing off on the new postings for the artillery pieces, Tereshchenko reaffirmed five more companies of them and permitted a recently-commissioned research lab to join Doctor Hei's work in power and propulsion.



December 25 2134 -
Christmas day 2134 across the world saw two things:
First, the delivery of presents across the globe. Despite the downward trend of most organised religions during the 21st century, Christmas maintained its' longstanding tradition of a unifying period of goodwill. Secondly and in stark defiance of that goodwill, the troops of Romania-Ukraine preempted Union aggression, and began an overwhelming assault to the surprise of pundits and strategists alike. Blocked by heavy snowfall and with the Northern plains bogged by substantial melt and runoff, Ukraine was well-defended from the North, while the West were almost impassable, and bristling with fortified infantry and artillery.

In response to Tereshchenkos' warmongering, and in recognition that the Union appeared to be in some sort of waiting game for the Bloc to crack, Premier Mihalcea had used the security-lax festive period to bring war to Union forces across Eastern Europe.

PRRU
Moving to capture agrarian Moldova from the North and East, Ukrainian forces came across little resistance and saw surrender in less than a day. Pictures of the disheveled Moldovan president signing the peace accord in bloodied casual wear would circulate the world by days end, and would generate great unrest despite arguments of the signing being invalid, made under duress. Concurrently, mobile divisions stationed in Southern Romania began a rapid transit over the Danube, taking the only border bridge. With the now-poorly-named Friendship Bridge under Romanian control and with few-if-any passable ways to attack the aggressor states, independent forces began movement towards Bulgaria, and afterwards the crucial waterway bisecting Turkey.

GUN
[Edited out some sections like the one here, because writing about towns being levelled and sieged while they're now actually being bombarded and sieged seems shoddy]

At the behest of Admiral Tsukamoto Montaro, the UNSC began requesting targets from the ground-based OTS spotters. The twenty warships of the UNSC struggled to find isolated targets to strike without hitting city centers themselves. With consideration for the citizens beneath, the Union would not burden itself with a twenty-second century repeat of the bombing of Dresden. Determining not to raise dangerous and radioactive dust from their exotic weaponry, they would wait until the situation beneath was either improved or desperate enough to warrant such actions.


This is where I found out the OTS spotters have light personal weapons rather than FFD. I believe this must have happened when I redesigned them in a rush after errors forced a reload. On a quick test, indiscriminate barrages caused a civilian:combatant casualty ratio of about 12000:1, so the now-useless UNSC will be sitting this one out until a small group of newly-designed spotters are recruited.

Tereshchenko, formerly convinced of Serbian support, was stunned to discover the borders would be closed to Union personnel. Determining that maintaining neutrality would best protect Serbia, the only relatively-undefended path towards Romania would remain closed to GUN and PRRU both. Beginning a far-harder journey, the recently-stationed Union Guard Brigades began their 1055km transit to the Sofian battleground. There the battle would be quickly joined.


On a near-universal day of rest for billions across the world, boiling tensions had resulted in the deaths of over twenty-five thousand people. Men women and children who had been celebrating the end of an uneventful year at morning were now bloodied or dead at evening, presents unopened and the wrecks of their homes and livelihoods now scarring the unexpected battlefield.



December 26 2034 -

[Another cut section. Damn Russians]

With the death toll mounting and the holiday season brought to an horrific end, Tereshchenko signed for immediate refurbishment and expansion of Union ground force training facilities. Though it wouldn't be operational until late 2136, there was not one mote of dissent regarding this priority despite its' immense economic disruption.

In a wide belt from Debresen to Burgas, scenes native to any war began to appear. With roads clogged with newly-created refugees and with the death toll rising by thousands an hour, there were few within the Union that were not either transfixed to hourly news broadcasts, or discussing the worst political and humanitarian crisis in over a century.



December 27 2134 -
From his seat of power in Kyiv, Premier Mihalcea viewed the progress of his invasion. In defeating Union forces in Europe, he would be able to secure his nation against the ousted Tereshchenko and his imperialist ilk. Long dreamt by his party, proving secession from the Union was possible by force would strike a hard blow against the GUN - similar to the secession of the United States from Britain several centuries earlier. Like the old British Empire, the lingering implicit threat of violence would ensure that the Union provided its' remaining members with a path to peaceful independence.

If only his countrymen didn't have to shed blood to make them see that.

Shocked by the Boxing Day massacres in Chișinău, Mihalcea ordered a single-days grace for the residents of Moldova. After collecting and disposing of the dead, Premier Mihalcea instructed non-combatants to leave the city, and head through a new humanitarian corridor to Poland. Though the trek to Poland in wintertime would be harsh, it would prevent further 'misunderstandings' with newly-appointed Ukrainian law enforcement.


[Another cut section]


December 28 2134
With Union troops in withdrawal from Sofia to nearby Pernik, and with heavy street fighting across the Bulgarian capital, PRRU Mitralors' began moving to position. Similar to the suppression of protestors in Chișinău, violent crackdowns on the civilian population broke most of the unprepared civilian resistance. With fighting at a temporary standstill in Hungary and Bulgaria, Tereschchenko's goal of a direct invasion of Kiev was in peril. Instead of moving South as expected, the vehicular divisions focused instead on encircling Sofia, seeming instead to protect the city from counterattack. With most of the Bulgarian cabinet missing or dead, it appeared that the mostly-Romanian brigades were hunting for leadership to secure a peace treaty.

From behind a wall, Mayór Petar Savu addressed the mounds of sandbags and wire fortifying the Largo, home to the Bulgarian administration. Nestled within its' many layers were the local citizenry - stubborn defenders that were preventing him from securing a Bulgarian peace. Forbidden from razing the complex to the ground and without a Bulgarian translator, his crude gesturing was insufficient to move them. Estimating them to have little in the way of food or supplies, a small-scale siege of the administrative center would suffice. With Savu's own fortifications beginning to take shape surrounding the center square and adjacent streets, if the President or her cabinet had survived thus far, they and their guards would soon be forced out.



December 29 2134
Though global-scale conflict had not at this point broken out, targeted terrorist attacks on GUN assets globally had increased in the preceding twenty-four hours. Making global news, an entire shift of several thousand Venderite miners were killed in Brazil when dissenting locals stormed the unguarded civilian complex. Looting what they could, charges were placed to collapse the deep shafts and destroy the complex entirely. The valuable complex was destroyed in less than twenty minutes, by rainforest conservation extremists that had found themselves long-ignored.

In secret, Administrator Tereshchenko had discussed former Administrator Koziol's fate. Though he had disgraced his office, all his actions thus-far had been solely to safeguard against this exact eventuality. Vindicated, Koziol would be pardoned and his house arrest withdrawn. With this news instantly leaking towards Zimmermann and his sympathizers, an inflammatory Lunar request to explain was received and rejected by Tereshchenko. Though discussions regarding the possibility of a Lunar rebellion had begun, there was simply no way for the colony to survive on its' own, and such an event was presently the least of the Administrators' concern.


[I deleted the rest of the post related to the war, because it was mostly focused on levelling Kyiv, Odessa, Mariupol, and settlements downstream of Kyiv all the way to the mouth of the Dneiper, half for story and half to explain the inexplicably high civilian death toll]



Febuary 14 2135 -

As agreed, the Christmas-Day war came to end at midnight, Valentines Day 2135. Signing upon the peace two days earlier was the bruised Premier Mihalcea, forced to sign a peace under similar circumstances to the Moldovan president eight weeks earlier. Despite its' estimated 3.6 billion dollar weekly damage bill, the war had calmed in its latest days. Cut off from fuel and ammunition, the stalling of the PRRU's main offensive had proven catastrophic and prevented damage to the extent seen in the first phase of the war.

The Valentines Armistice of 2135 would not see the PRRU rejoin the Grand Union of Nations. Over the course of three months the conjoined territories of Ukraine and Romania would be forcibly separated from one another, democratic governments reinstated, and both nation states would rejoin the Union as member states. Knowing that his homeland was again returned from nationalistic extremists, Tereshchenko determined that he would step down at decades-end to retire in his hometown, Odessa.

With peace signed, it would only be a matter of time before other entities within the GUN and without sought to violently force development of their own interests, and Administrator Tereshchenko endeavored to find likeminded people to address the security deficits that had allowed the PRRU the confidence to openly attack the Union, and initially overwhelm Union defenses.


Records of casualties over almost 8 weeks. Total GUN losses: 20676. Total PRRU losses: 25124. Total civilian losses: 312000.




March 16 2135 -
Addressing the Hall of Representatives were three men of great power. Administrator Alik Tereshchenko, Admiral Tsukamoto Montaro, and General Boris Heckel represented the highest ranking members of the administration, navy, and army. The three were to convince the Union at large that the best course would be a substantial expansion of the Unions' army and navy. Former Union leaders had assumed compliance of extra-national and extraterrestrial governments. Despite Lunar Administrator Zimmermann's protests, so far Union relations had been largely been peaceful. Independent attacks on Union assets in addition to the recent outright European war had shown that compliance had to be assured - through overwhelming military capability.


Following the full adoption of the Romanian and Ukranian peace treaties and with rebuilding efforts in Eastern Europe fully underway, the Union was losing in excess of a third of a billion dollars a month. It would be necessary to rectify this, and then immediately adopt the first true Union standing army, with additional developments in transporting these troops to the colonies. Increasing military strength and power projection outside the domains of Earth would ensure that the imprisoned war criminal Mihalcea was the last to threaten the goals of humanity and the Union.



November 13 2136 -
Attending the graduation ceremony in person, General Heckel watched the newest expansion of the Union military with great interest. The First Union Defence group was comprised of eight demountable surface-to-orbit railgun sites, alongside some eight hundred infantry and two dozen spotters and mobile artillery to protect them. Spreading several dozen of these sites around the globe would ensure no nation would be able to maintain local space superiority in future, as well as enforce Union presence on nearly every corner of the Earth.

With a planned two hundred thousand military personnel being trained by the end of the century, the Union would soon have a standing army comparable in size and greater in strength than even its' largest member states. With few updates to make regarding ship-based troop transportation, this ceremony was the best military update General Heckel would see for a good while yet.

Settled after the initial ceremony and knowing full well that this first group would be one of dozens, Heckel enjoyed his light refreshments - It was quite warm for the season, and the day would be quite long indeed.



March 14 2138 -
At his colleagues request, the far-away Admiral Montaro made plans to meet with Administrator Tereshchenko. Updates from the Union research divisions assured Tereshchenko that new micro-reactors would soon be available for the long-awaited 500 tonne escort ships. Delayed for years by environmental activists and nuclear safety concerns, arguments for ship-mountable nuclear reactors on surface-capable ships had finally won, and a prototype was almost ready.

Estimating the final adjustments would be finalized between April and June 2140, the first ships would begin construction within thirty months. Agreeing that the new 'Montaro'-class escort ships would suffice for extra-planetary protection, there would be a decline in production of the the far larger 'Nelson' class, with the signing of production contracts to fall for the first time in history.



Febuary 14 2139 -
Four years on from the Valentines Armistice and its' associated treaties, the Premier of Ukraine and the President of Romania gave a dual address to the Hall of Representatives. The post-war period had seen a great economic boon, with the books of the Union balanced to deliver a small monthly surplus, and damage from the Christmas war now considered almost entirely rectified. Scars still existed in riparian zones adjacent to the Dneiper river, but the deepest craters had become welcome wetland habitat, and were considered acceptable reminders of the war. Hearing this speech of peace and reconciliation were non-member states, all believing that these subjugated nations were no longer acting upon their own interest and were opinion-less protectorates, nothing more.

Expansion of the armies had been ongoing, and there were now a half-dozen new military bases; one in each continent and with more being trained. The free nations of Earth were growing stifled while adjacent to what they each believed to be an Empire in all but name. Above it all, the shipyards of the UNSC were churning out warships, while renovation of the sites that used to construct and launch the Lloyd-class geosurvey launch platforms would see them soon launching multitudes of warships allegedly to "Protect Union Shipping". Without access to the materials or sciences the Union had, these conventional nations could do little but watch the disparity between the GUN and themselves grow with increasing contempt.



The Electors of the Union had another year to decide who would steer the Union for the next decade, and there were several candidates considered likely to take the position. After such a dramatic decade, there was no shortage of candidates taking up a multitude of positions and offering to solve a plethora of problems they considered of utmost importance.

Remember you're an elector! The poll should be on top of the page from posting til I start next decade.


1. Markus Zimmermann.
The first was as always, Markus Zimmermann. One of the first Union Administrators, Zimmermann had spent decades addressing the need for a Lunar and Martian voting presence within the Hall of Representatives. Alongside campaigns for extraterrestrial rights, he had a longstanding reputation of being a competent if contrarian leader. Attracting the votes of the farthest-left electors, Zimmermann had either continued either drive the Union to be its' best, or sat stubbornly as a thorn in its' side - Depending on who you asked.



The arguments against him ranged from that suffraging less than a hundred thousand colonists would effectively disenfranchise billions of Earth-dwellers by diluting their voting rights - as well as that he was an extremist, a weak-stomached vegetarian and quite possibly a communist, though the latter allegation was yet unproven.



2. Donna Spada.
Appealing to the more moderate-left electors was Donna Spada making her second election appearance. Ever charismatic, Mrs. Spada had endeared herself during the Christmas war by leading relief efforts and charity drives. Passionate and friendly, she advocated for a trend towards keeping military strength and international cooperation high, while setting groundwork for eventual extraterrestrial rights without prematurely granting elector status. Ever known for her cheery and flexible nature, Donna Spada was considered a genuinely cooperative leader, moreso than any of the other candidates.



Detractors considered her to be an inexperienced and ineffective leader - Having not acted as an administrator for Earth or its' growing list of colonies, it would be difficult to gauge her effectiveness on the job. Against this argument was that she mirrored Evie Lloyd in passion and starting experience. With tiredness of the Unions' established path growing, Administrator Spada's open-mindedness would make peace a likely possibility.


3. Topi Manninen.
Having gone viral online for looking perpetually miserable, the Finnish candidate Topi Manninen had secured Nordic support of his current campaign following his tenure at Parliament House in Helsinki. The internet had become enamoured by his gloomy and depressing personality and looks - much like was common for grumpy or sad-looking cats during the 21st century. Though former Minister Manninen had enjoyed his time as a Finnish minister, he had never understood the internets' obsession with him and stereotypical of most Finns largely desired a life of service out of the spotlight.



Campaigning for modest yet effective Union expenditure, most centerists considered Mister Manninen to be an ideal and proven if mundane leader. The internet had already began trending petitions regarding the miser becoming Administrator of Earth, with his endearing similarity to Eeyore continued to bolster his otherwise inexplicable popularity.


4. Christopher Gardiner.
Having moved towards a slight nationalistic tendency over the last decade, Gardiner was the the third of three repeat candidates and the only of the three to have formerly been an Administrator of Earth. Manning the Aten deep space tracking station, Gardiner had watched the war from afar and determined that the best way to continue peace was through increasing Union strength. Unknowingly Gardiner had become an ideological clone of Tereshchenko, and attracted the same voter base that had seen the outgoing Administrator elected in the first place.



Popular during his tenure in the 20's, his existing supporters would vote for him without much argument, while his detractors discussed whether his previous inaction had caused the conditions leading to the Christmas war.

5. Aja Upadhya.
The candidate most appealing to conservative-leaning electors of the Union was Aja Upadhya. Migrating to the US as an adult, Aja was raised in a somewhat strict, traditional Indian household that saw her valuing both traditional ideology and the delicate environment with equal parts. Having been selected as Administrator of the US-lead civilian mining complex on Halley's Comet, Aja loved nature, tradition, and astronomy to the utmost.



Administrator Upadhya resists the notion of foreign influence and would see the Union not only strengthened militarily, but would go so far as to ensure the colonies of Earth remain just that - colonies, nothing more. Non-union mining colonies would be heavily taxed and Union dominion over international affairs would be paramount. Her strong-armed stance made her an extremely attractive candidate to those who felt Union weakness caused the Christmas war, especially amongst the European nations who had lost so much during the PRRU invasion.





And finally, a farewell to the outbound Tereshchenko, the luckiest (evillest?) leader to grace my gameplay - I've never had someone so old and so injured come back so many times from the dead. I'm starting to think all the error-related reloads are due to him and his magic. I'd RP his retirement ceremony, but honestly the lich probably just crumbled to dust.

[Aajowa (OP)]

With Gardiner winning 2-1 versus Zimmermann, let's continue down the fun only military path. Assuming GUNs name has something to do with our obsession with railguns might be an overreach but the correlation sure
seems suspicious. Because it was an ~eight month break between starting that last chapter and finishing it, here's a quick summary of the game and nation:

GAME characteristics

RACE characteristics



January 01 2140 -
Celebrations throughout the world erupted to mark the centennial anniversary of the founding of the Grand Union of Nations. From its' earliest timezone in New Zealand all the way to the West Coast of the Americas, the following 24 hours would be marked by fireworks at a scale not seen since the 2100 New Years Eve, before conventional fireworks were restricted Jan 2nd 2100 for environmental concerns. Waving this for one night, the skies across the world lit up in sequence, to no lack of annoyance by Earths' tracking stations and active sensors, each system firmly believing the world was under bombardment or some unknown cataclysm.

These alarms were ignored in favour of champagne and wine, and whilst the world partied the diligent operators of the Unions' many space tracking stations...also partied, but under a veneer of legitimacy granted by the constant resetting of the alarm systems. Administrator Tereshchenko celebrated also, enjoying the revelry despite not being able to see the fireworks. By all accounts, this celebration just-prior to the second inauguration of Chris Gardiner was a wonderful sendoff and he was content to listen to it all.


January 14 2140 -
Administrator Zimmermann paused from his duties to view the inauguration of Christopher Gardiner. Their diametrically-opposed ideologies had seen the electors induct Gardiner over Zimmermann for the second time in just a few decades, an understandable preference given Zimmermann's platform was based upon perpetual dilution of Terrestrial voting rights as the number of colonies continued to grow. In comparison, Lunar Base had not expanded much in the last decade - Supplies of crucial infrastructure had been interrupted during military tensions and the outbreak of the Christmas war, and then shipping efforts had largely been directed by former Administrator Tereshchenko to continue creating new tracking stations on major asteroids, worlds, and moons deemed of interest.

Sending a terse yet polite message to the new incumbent, Administrator Zimmermann suggested a meeting soon; the first visit of a sitting Union Administrator to the Lunar colonies. This would be an attempt to ambush the leader and coerce out of him ten new Koziol-class freighters in addition to beginning the first steps towards a Lunar spaceport. This would be all but laughed at, but made the idea of a few new freighters seem quite reasonable in comparison. The ever-larger number of destinations for ship freight had seen fewer and fewer visitors to Luna in recent years, and this 'Colonization Corps 04' would be dedicated solely to Earth-to-Luna infrastructure and colonist transport, if only he could convince the new Administrator to work with the colonies rather than focus on Earth.

Having seen and done this all before Administrator Gardiner continued preparing to take the reins of the GUN, glad that the spectacle had overtaken controversy regarding the name of the recently-laid UNCC 0041 - 'Romania' and the UNSC 0025 - 'Horlivka'. This next decade would surely not see UNSC ships used for anything other than protecting cargo preventing piracy and of course rescuing stranded spacefarers - and for this he was grateful. During the series of pre-inaugural briefings however, he had noticed a peculiarity in that there were two as-yet unconfirmed ship prototypes that had apparently been worked quite far along in their designs. Briefly noting the size and armament of the designs, Gardiner endeavored to follow up on these mysterious
submissions - they were the first he'd yet heard of them, and by the looks of things were very much almost ready to produce.

April 09 2140 -
Amidst no shortage of press, Administrator Gardiner stood in front of the crowd to shake hands with Administrator Zimmermann to finish off his whirlwind Lunar conference. With Lunar Base having no dedicated conference room, the crowd of dozens found themselves in a cleared warehouse in one of the capillary residence hubs. With a substantial part of the growing city established underground, the sealed lava tubes and caves under the surface were a naturally warm area of around 17 degrees Celsius. With effort, a fragile yet breathable atmosphere had been established by sealing the craters and caverns that served as their entrance. This made for a branching linear city of tens of thousands. Though few could fit in the warehouse,  hundreds were waiting in the cavernous corridors watching via screens and waiting for their glimpse of the Head of the Union; the only Administrator save for Zimmermann to ever poll positively among the Lunarians.

Now as the first sitting Union Administrator to leave Earth and having defied detractors who had called it a needless flight risk, Gardiner had led the meeting in an unexpected direction to what Zimmermann had planned. The wily Lunar leader had determined to strong arm Gardiner in to creating a dedicated colonization corps with a sacrificial goal of establishing a Lunar spaceport. Giving up the latter would secure the former - or so he thought.

Rather, Gardiner  thought it a splendid idea. A new Colonization corps would be established, in order to deliver several hundred pre-fabricated modules to orbit of Luna. This automatic cargo handling station would allow a new class of freighter to traverse established Union colonies; one with 50% greater cargo capacity in exchange for lacking shuttle bays. At this point, the Lunar colony and eventually even Mars would each receive a direct freight corps to continue sending uninterrupted infrastructure to each. Though the lava tubes had proven habitable with only moderate modifications, it was still a substantial undertaking to continue growing Lunar Base and that infrastructure was sorely needed.

Stunned at the compliance of Administrator Gardiner, Markus Zimmermann could do nothing but grin - He had achieved what he considered to be a major concession from the Union government, and officiated the closing ceremony with barely concealed glee.

April 29 2140 -
Good news came to Gardiner after months of talks with former-Administrator Tereshchenko. After years of research, scientist Pak Hei finally unveiled the first full-scale model of the new 1 Gigawatt ship-mounted nuclear reactor. A far smaller version of the existing 3GW primary nuclear reactors, the eighty tonne module would allow for a sufficient supply of energy to power the new generation of reasonably-sized UNSC ships. Gardiner had come to realize that the 2000 tonne Nelson class warships were far too large for escort duties, and had brought Tereshchenko's vision to life of a reasonably-sized 500 tonne escort capable of travelling from the surface of Earth to the colonies as necessary at an incredible 300km per second. In tandem to these would be the new 'Lion' class defence platforms. A team of seven would operate the 180 tonne machines from a stable orbit, allowing Earth to be protected from both unrest and piracy even if all warships were on duty elsewhere.

Acting as a second line of defense alongside the numerous surface-to-orbit installations of the Union Army, this would ensure adequate balance of power between the army and navy. Administrator Gardiner had noted with caution the eagerness of the Admiralty and Generals, and was worried that the intentions of both were more towards their own career advancement rather than the advancement of humanity as a whole. Though he largely trusted the intentions of Montaro and Heckel, it was impossible to say if their successors and subordinates would remain similarly dependable, and thus preventing any future possibility of a coup would require neither to have a major advantage over the other.

The ground-based STO weapons of the army had the advantage in range, size, and fortification and thus the naval weaponries would have to compete by measure of quantity. Administrator Gardiner contacted ground-based manufacturers across the Americas and Asia contracting the construction of ten Lion platforms and a half-dozen Montaro escorts. Above these factories, UNSC Shipyard 01 continued spitting out new Nelson escorts to replace the older warships.


March 12 2141 -
March 12th was to be an extremely busy day for Administrator Gardiner. First, he was re-establishing the commitment the Union had towards commercial and civilian pursuits by  unveiling the UNCC's new slipway; the fourth possessed by the Colonial Command. Secondly, he was to preside over the launching ceremony of three new sister ships; the England, the China, and the Carthage. These were entirely ordinary Koziol-class freighters and would normally be launched by any upstanding available officer. In this case they were also the first freighters of Commercial Corps 04, and to help unify the colonies it would be advantageous to preside at their Christening.

Then and with far less fanfare, he would also attend the opening ceremony of the UNSC's fourth slipway. Now able to produce sixteen Nelson escorts a year if needed, it was already responsible for the bulk of the Unions' military. With the first of the ordered Lion class delivered and with the frame of the Montaro now complete, these Nelsons would patrol the shipping routes of the Solar system, in addition to posting in orbit above the colonies colonies and escorting Union freighters. There was now no contest over the military control of Earth or the solar system.

Finally at days end, he would attend the departure of Colonization Corps 02 on their first journey to Mercury to found Outpost Mercury. This would be the third major Union colony, and would likely have an eventual Union population of well over three million. The outpost would straddle the craters of the Northern polar regions in order to make use of its' ice deposits and more survivable polar temperature. With no names yet chosen for the new outpost, the Gardiner Administration decreed that the public ought decide.

Please suggest a name! I haven't come up with anything other than Vulcan, Brightside, or Twilight. The first two being ironic given that the areas in question are typically <-100C and the last isn't 'optimistic' enough.


September 15 2141 -
The long-serving Martian Administrator Konrad Oelsner retired from public service after decades spent guiding the colony to its' present state. The colony of fifty thousand bade him farewell as he left the seat of power on Elysium to Mansur Zivian. Administrator Zivian had long-ago left his wealthy family and good name, determined to prove himself amidst the blossoming colonies. Finding colonial life far more difficult than expected, he struggled to get by for years during economic disruptions during and after the Christmas war and was far too stubborn to call it quits.

Doubling down, he had befriended the hardworking Oelsner and began a life of public service. Befriending the powerful amidst the colony, he was considered the most popular candidate and likely the best and was sworn in with little fanfare. Despite the substantial delay in telecommunications between worlds, his very first message as Administrator was to remind the family
he had left behind that he had made it despite their doubts.

The following messages were more congenial, offering assistance and good faith to the administrators of Earth and Luna and assistance to the growing other Union colonies wherever feasible.



September 20 2141 -
A century prior, the foundations of general relativity were somewhat shaken by 'exotic matter', the eleven so-far discovered materials that defied Newtonian physics as they were understood at the time.
Bridging the gap between the rules and exceptions required hundreds of questions and thousands of thories and through this, Neo-Physics was born. A student of this hypothetical school Sigge Berlund had continued on the lifes work of a half-dozen of the worlds brightest neophysicists using substantial Union funding. Shocking the world on September 20th, his first draft of the 'Berlund General Model' was released for peer review.

Raising both questions and cortisol amidst scientists the world across, part of the new model suggested delicately balanced bridge-points far from the gravity well of stellar objects containing trans-newtonian matter. These points were hypothesized to be where the unpredictable forces of the stellar objects' exotic matter overpowered the force of its' gravity, towards the tapering edge of its' gravity well.

Hypothetically, these 'breach points' would exist adjacent to other breach points in other stellar systems despite their immense distance in spacetime. Sigge Berlund suggested that this distance could be crossed in an instant with a sufficiently complex mechanism to control those fluctuations and transfer mass along that plane. Though no such mechanism existed and the field was entirely theoretical, there was uproar of having to learn a new model amidst recent graduates of gUNI.

Addressing the response and the academic furor in public a few days later, Sigge specified that these points might also exist outside the orbit of Saturn all the way to to Oort cloud, though it was impossible to determine where they might be ahead of time if they existed at all. Sigge also happened to suggest that similar intra-system travel points existed between gas giants presuming those bodies also contained any traces of exotic matter.
At this point however the conference devolved into a borderline brawl and no suggestion of proper academic behavior or light refreshments could assuage either side.

I've just realized Tereshchenko's still here as of July 07 2142. I swear I retired him and i'm getting scared. I'm retiring him, saving, calling an exorcist, and saving again.


May 15 2143 -
The two dozen men and women of the First Colonial Guard Platoon were sworn in months ahead of schedule, in order to introduce them at a brief military parade surrounding a Martian History exhibition in the arid deserts of Nevada, USA.
Showcasing geology, old Earth cultural beliefs regarding Mars and extraterrestrial life, and the planets' contemporary colonization; the exhibition was considered a wild success despite the scorching heat. With a heatwave reaching 48C/120F most outside activities were brief and sweaty affairs. The display of microbial fossils discovered in the sediment around Jezero lake were particularly contentious, due to raucous interruptions by those religious adherents that refused to believe their authenticity. All in all however, the day was well-received and widely televised.

Those men and women would find themselves transported via new Trojan class transports to Mars later that year; the first Grand Union land-based military presence to reach another world.

Febuary 10 2144 -
Receiving the news of its' completion Christopher Gardiner determined that the newest research lab in New Zealand ought be assigned to Pak Hei; who had shown herself a fierce advocate of the Berlund General Model. Her preliminary assessments had convinced the Administrator that she might just be able to 'crack' one of the more pressing engineering issues regarding interstellar travel, and he had no qualms in doubling her staffing for the duration of his tenure as top Union servant.

If she could continue producing these fascinating hypotheses and experiments he might just be able to convince the bean counters to allocate her yet another research center, scheduled for opening late 2149. The new model had finally after several years stopped causing academic uproar and increasing funding towards training and answering its' issues no longer caused mass protest and strikes - though possibly because the previous generation of unconvinced Neophysicists had by now already resigned in protest.

Recent distribution of the colonial guards to Mars and Luna had for the most part quieted the colonies, and Chris noted to himself the striking calmness of the Union. He wondered briefly whether this was a soon-ended calm or whether he could rely on this trend to continue. Disregarding it in either case as a blessing, he continued the very busy and very important work of reorganizing the knickknacks on his desk.


April 25 2144 -
Almost in spite of this universal state of calm, trouble began to hit Colonization Corps 03 as it passed through the asteroid belt scarce few months later in the way of concurrent shortages of fuel and repair supplies.

Leuitenant Commander Femke de Gelder of the freighter 'Ukraine' called to the rest of Colonization Corps 03 in horror. Months earlier, he had disembarked on Titan alongside some of the task forces other officers and crew in order to partake in some traditional Titan Gambling. Outside the jurisdiction of tax and law offices it was not illegal to gamble on a wide range of things, and he had assigned his second officer to oversee activities during his shore leave.

With that second officer taking the opportunity to also gamble outside of Union jurisdiction with the other crew members aboard, his ship had missed refueling from the taskgroups' assigned tanker. With the fuel now long-since distributed through the one-way valves to the other ships of the small armada of freighters, there was no way the Ukraine would be able to return to Earth - and there wasn't enough fuel in the tanker to allow him to rectify this. An emergency message was broadcast then to the only other Outreach still in service; the aging 'UNCC 0019 - Oshkosh'. With it in orbit of Earth, the Ukraine was now stranded.

Concurrent to this, the shuttle bay door of the 'Chile' was struck at a piercing angle by an asteroid fragment approximately six by six inches across, and almost twelve inches long. Despite its' low speed its' size gave it the power to pierce through the shuttle bay and embed within one of the small shuttles' engines. Having used most maintenance supplies on-route, the crew lacked anything to fix the hole or shuttle and sealed the bay. Once back at Earth, the taskgroup would be firmly reprimanded for their disciplinary issues with the ships overhauled completely and repaired.

By some stroke of luck, the stranding of the Ukraine happened only 53 million kilometers away from the 'Dario 1'; the first ever asteroid to be proved to contain trans-Newtonian materials by the well-regarded Admiral Dario Hume Li'ito. Christopher Gardiner was somewhat happy even despite the incredible failures of the crews. The stranded ship would wait on Dario 1 for rescue by the Oshkosh whilst freighters would deliver communications supplies to the rock. Outpost Dario would become the latest tracking station commissioned within the asteroid belt, and this disaster need not be considered a failure on behalf of the Union but rather a daring rescue of a stricken vessel towards a monument of humanities' progress.



May 21 2144 -
Maybe Chris Gardiners' optimism was a little hasty. After assigning substantial funding to scientist Pak Hei, she had decided to retire. Not only that, she released well-circulated articles that the idea of interstellar travel was impossible. Whatever she called a 'Jump Drive Efficiency 4' was science fiction and would remain so; at least according to her. He could sympathise regarding her three months of effort in such a difficult field, but was disgusted by the method of her resignation. The first he had heard of it was a news telecast showcasing a 'GUN Academic Scandal!' and wildly inaccurate posts about funding misappropriations.

Salvaging the controversy as best he could, Administrator Gardiner instructed her assistants to continue their work under a new scientist. Caroline Kastrup called it a promising field, but after Pak Heis withering remarks about her own field, hopes for interstellar travel were greatly diminished.

July 26 2145 -
Disheartened by his detractors, Sigge Berlund retired from government service aged 62. Despite his new theoretical models holding up against academic scrutiny, the backlash following Pak Hei's denouncement had taken their toll, and the further study of applications of his theory towards interstellar travel would have be be undertaken by someone else. Though he still believed in his model and theory, the burnout had been taking its' toll and he would do what he could from the sidelines to maintain that it wasn't all just 'quack pseudoscience' as the tabloids were claiming.

Attempting to salvage his reputation as a scientific visionary, Administrator Gardiner assigned all available academic bandwidth towards Caroline Kastrups' theories. With just a single advancement in applying Berlunds' General Theory, confidence would be restored in the Gardiner Administrations' priorities. The faith in the Union that had seemed to coalesce during the prior few years was beginning to evaporate with this continued scientific rebellion and Gardiner needed at least one substantial win during the second half of his tenure in order to convince the Electors' he was worth keeping around for another decade. Two of Sigges labs would go to Kastrup, while the other would go to the quiet and conscientious Thavong Navaratna as she continued Sigges work.

October 10 2145 -
Goodness, we're running out of P&P scientists at this rate!

And with the frustrations of masses accusing the Gardiner Administration now firmly directed at Ms. Navaratna, the usually quiet and academically-inclined 61 year old decided to follow in both her predecessors' steps and withdraw from the field of Neo-physics. With near-constant protests outside the academy regarding what was considered a widespread misappropriation of funding, Christopher Gardiner did what any reasonable leader is likely to do in such a scenario:

He doubled-down.

Thidar Kay Win signed several contracts in order to secure directorship of the Malaysian Institute of Higher Research. Firstly he would continue the research of Berlund-Navaratna regarding the feasibility of interstellar travel. Secondly he would travel only with approved security contractors in order to reduce the risk of protest-related disruption. Finally he would be forbidden from resigning for a period of no less than three years on pain of heavy financial penalty.

At this point Gardiner wondered if it would not be better to follow the not-so-subtle suggestions of the academic version of an angry mob, and forget about interstellar travel. There was functionally infinite resources within the Solar system. He always had the tendency to be a bit too enthusiastic however, and the notion of backing down did not agree with him. Conceding that the issue would likely make or break his career, he began looking at the source of inflammation surrounding these scholars.

It was a shock to him to see that just one woman was quite possibly the origin of his adversaries. A fixture of gUNI and older than many of its' campuses sat the tiny yet fierce Kapuku Makaya. Heading the primary university of the Union, the academy commandant held an outdated and shockingly conventional view on theoretical neophysics. Having been the second-ever appointed academy commandant and holding tremendous sway within the academic world, he endeavored to meet her and if possible, to convince her that this path would prove fruitful if followed.

Best case scenario, she might reconsider arguing that the Berlund General Theory was fantasy. Worst case scenario, the centenarian would double-down as he had, and publicly admonish his academic expenditures. Despite her small stature she was considered a giant within the field, and winning her over would surely stop the tide of resignations and malcontent within Union research centers.


The ancient commandant of gUNI

September 21 2147 -
After years of concern and nearly running out of time before scientist Win could withdraw from their position, Administrator Gardiner had some fantastic news. With the begrudging assistance of Academy Commandant Makaya, Sigge Berlund, and no shortage of union science funding there was now hard evidence supporting the Berlund General Theory. A working experiment had managed to send half of a micro-gram of sorium out of a sealed vacuum to an unknown destination. Measuring the entire closed system confirmed that the substance was indeed no longer present and had indeed 'teleported' to an unknown location.  The results were perfectly replicable, and it had shown sorium would play the greatest role in interstellar travel in future.

The destination was completely uncontrolled, though it was theorized to be within 50,000kms of a breach-point of one of Earths' closest stellar neighbors. If it could be reproduced and controlled at a macro scale, Win suggested it would be possible to send larger and more complex objects through using a similar process.

Despite objections to the legitimacy of the experiment and no shortage of controversy, the results were immediately published to the world as the next domino to fall in the Unions' interstellar ambitions. Amidst wide-spread published doubt regarding the experiment, the swelling price of Sorium on the open market proved that at least the financial and resource markets believed in the legitimacy of the the Gardiner Administrations claims.


December 17 2149 -
Little had changed in the prior two years. With hard evidence applying Berlunds' General Theory the leakage of scientists had largely stopped, whilst the expansion of humanity amidst the Solar system had become almost routine. Several names had begun to take shape regarding the name of Outpost Mercury, but nothing had yet transpired. With an election looming the ever-contentious Lunarians were once again stirring about voting rights, but even their complaints seemed quite tame against recent decades. All in all, the Gardiner Administration approached the end of its' second term in a positive yet lukewarm condition. There had been achievements across the board, but nothing particular stood out compared to the characters of previous administrations. There were no major outstanding issues coming out of this tepid decade - just the ever present droning of international shipping rights and colonial voting. Pundits noted that this was in
effect the most uneventful election in living memory.

Campaigning still at the opening ceremony of the latest gUNI campus, Chris Gardiner implored the electors present that this rate of progress would only continue as his administration maintained the course. Doubt began to grow though, given the 72 year olds' seemingly ailing health and the contracting Union budget - These military and research strides had come at great cost, and there was no certainty of their continued financial feasibility.


Let me know your names for Lunar Base and Outpost Mercury!

Candidate 1: Chris Gardiner

A two-time Union Administrator, Gardiner has shown aptitude for running the GUN, even though his administration has grown stale as far as the public believes

Candidate 2: Markus Zimmermann

The only candidate to have a fourty year history of campaigning against the very electors he needs to rise to power, Markus Zimmermann

Candidate 3: Elora Wolfenfield

A politically-inclined psychopath. Elora Wolfenfield. There's not really much to say other than who in their right mind would vote for her?

Candidate 4: Aja Upadhya

A conservative and traditional graduate, the second-highest administrator in the Union besides Gardiner.




The power cut forcing a reset last time I tried. You'll never guess who's still around.

[El Pip]

A politically-inclined psychopath. Elora Wolfenfield. There's not really much to say other than who in their right mind would vote for her?

After such a fate tempting description I obviously had to vote for her.

Though I am mildly annoyed that the greatest candidate has been cruelly denied a chance to stand, win and then blindly lead the GUNs to yet more glory. Consider this a write in vote for Tereshchenko, the candidate they literally cannot kill.

[hostergaard]

Hmm, I wish there was a moderate colonial rights advocate, that could set up a path for colonies to have full membership, here is how I suggest setting it up:



First, new colonies with low pops and you can simply say that they vote trough their nation of origin or closest nation until a time they can vote elsewhere.


The decide what number of people a colony need to be a full nation, I usually go with 25 million which is when a colony flip automatically to be a source of colonist, but maybe a smaller number is more appropriate, like 5 or 1 million given the low pop game this is. But for the purpose of this post lets say a full colony is 25 million and then you can change all numbers suggest accordingly.

After that create a colonial seat (s) that represent all colonies that are large enough to be considered their own entitites and not vote trough their parent nation but too small to have their own seat due to vote dilution. Say, 1 million to 25 millions. This seat represent a nation worth, should there be enough small colonies with population exceeding that, in my example 25 million, so 50 million spread over several colonies then there would be two seats. Typically, in the future these seats would be grouped per system, or cluster of systems if the population is too low in system.


Secondly, consider either or both (a) make the leader (president?) of GUN a direct vote. Then there is no vote dilution, all get equal say. And (b) make GUN bicameral. Have a senate that works like described above, each colony/nation sends a senator. Or maybe three who then vote among them to determine their colony stance and single vote. Each colony decide for themselves who they send.

Then we have the House, that works by representative voting system like Ranked-choice voting or something, just so long as its not first past the goalpoast voting. This way there can be heaps of political parties who collects votes on whatever body and every person have an equal vote.

I would suggest then that the goverment work that legislature is created in the House and voted on, and then send to the senate, who vote to either accept or reject it back to the house with recommendations. If both accept it it then becomes law. Or maybe both the house and senate can suggest, vote and send it to the other. Just as long they both agree.

If the leader is not direct vote I suggest the House elect them.

Just my thoughts,  you go wherever your story takes you Aajowa, enjoying this so far!


Think I will vote for the Lunar dude just to see what happens, don't like him really, would preferred someone more moderate but maybe something interesting will happen



 

[Aajowa (OP)]

Right, that's two votes for the communist colonial rights advocate, one for foul centrist scum, and one vote split 50/50 between the Anti-Lloyd and the literal undead. Democracy is alive as ever. I'd still like suggestions for names for Mercury and Luna's outposts - Their people demand both name recognition and infrastructure and I'll be damned if those greedy commies are going to get two things at once!



And thanks Hostergaard - I like the sound of population-based voting rights. I need 100x the infrastructure per million pop compared to standard and given my ship and industry constraints I reckon five hundred thousand would work great. Else by my calculations it'd take centuries to move the infrastructure required, with trade good infrastructure developing on Luna/Mars still at the standard rate now being worth 0.01x what it normally would be (The requirement is 10000 infrastructure per CC per million; 20000 per million for Luna for example, where a standard [italic]Koziol[/spoiler] can only carry 0.4 infrastructure apiece). I largely forgot how the electoral system worked during the break, so its' nice that Zimmermann got through to allow for the system to be rejiggered. As of 2159, Tereshchenko is still alive and kicking at 110 years of age.







A brief summation of the Unions' cabinet/congress under the Zimmermann Model
The Grand Union is formed by member states much like the EU as an additional level of government, though leaning more towards US-style federalization. In doing so member states maintain their own sovereignty on Earth but cede mineral rights to all TN materials, pay Union dues, supply Union labor via visa programs, and abide by the OST of 1967 and subsequent agreements. Enforcing this, the Union maintains rights to inspect both construction and operation of member state sites and shipping as part of substantial material and industrial control systems. These sites and ships are not considered important, and are not tracked on screen. Over time, ratified Union legislation can empower the government or curtail its' abilities. With over a century of negotiations and legislation, it's inevitable that the purpose and activities of the GUN has expanded beyond its' origins which I believe was closer to an empowered ASEAN/UN than this blended EU/US frankengovernment.

While originally each member state controlled one elector chosen by their nation in order to represent its' interests, the age of Zimmermann brings forth grand changes more suitable for this Grand Union. The hundred-odd electors of the Union will now become a horde of thousands of bureaucrats, each representative position created and filled to represent the interests of a million of their underlying nations' citizens. These people are still known as Electors, and hold a position similar to a congressperson or minister. This body of electors is called the Cabinet. Where terrestrial nations exist in deficiency of this population, they will keep their one current elector. It is up to the member nation to determine the method of their electors' accession. It stands to reason that most democracies will elect those officials as an additional level of government, while more authoritarian governments will assign these positions from a top-down approach.

Where extraterrestrial colonies exist at a population under fifty thousand, colonists are entitled to vote for electors of their country of origin assuming that country allows. 50000 seems to be the hard-coded minimum population capacity. The only populated body to be within this threshold currently is Mercury, with a population of several thousand.

From fifty to five hundred thousand, colonies are considered to be territories under the Union and these colonists begin to gain voting rights independent of their home nations. colonists are able to vote for members of a voting block focusing solely on colonial affairs. This coalition for colonial affairs will represent all minor colonies, with the number of electors being based on the aggregate population of all colonies represented. Currently the coalition for colonial affairs has a single member rounded up from 180000 colonists, working equally for Martian and Lunar voters.

At over five hundred thousand (The equivalent of fifty million in a standard game) the colony accedes to a State under the Union and receives its' first elector, and continues to receive an additional electors for each half-million colonists. This gives Luna 17 electors at its' highest census, Mars 78, and Mercury 7. Venus would get over 200, but given its' high CC won't likely ever be colonized given my TF speed is 0.01. Finally, the moons of Jupiter and Saturn have a combined elector count through dedicated electors or the bloc of well under 100. In real life i'd imagine this would be cause for contention given that the voting power of an extraterrestrial citizen is effectively double that of a citizen on Earth, though the argument could be made that this discrepancy prevents a more unified terrestrial majority silencing many disparate colonies by always voting for a leader favoring Earth over all else. Think the US Electoral college being founded to reduce metropolitan tyranny. It doesn't stop it, but certainly does a great deal to mitigate its' impact and curtail its' growth.

Member states may sell or lease land near strategically important or urbanized areas in order to bring projects and Union investment. This land is used to house static units as well as all constructed installations on Earth. Away from Earth this land is owned and developed solely by the Union assuming no electors offer development complaints - such as building on the Earth-locked side of the Moon. These developments are manned by member nation citizens, or Union colonists when off-world.

Exemptions to Union TN material controls may be made with governments to form the civilian mining complexes, but control over these joint ventures is ultimately retained by the GUN.
Extraterrestrial colonization may be undertaken by these nations with permission from the Union, but are not heavily controlled - with nations maintaining their own territorial sovereignty. Again, they do not exist in-game Mining rights are offered to companies and nations for materials found on the periodic table, though the logistics and development of these deposits are left solely to the purchaser. Lord i'd love it if normal elements, alloys, and/or isotopes were included in-game; but for now this is just flavor because they're assumed to exist under the notice of the player.




January 05 2150 -
Markus Zimmermann stood unsteadily while addressing the electors of the Union. While his advisors had strongly recommended against giving an address at the Hall of Representatives, after decades of campaigning he needed to affirm both to the Union and himself that his mindset was cooperative with the denizens of Earth - and what better way to introduce himself as the new Head Administrator of Earth than to do so in person. Hidden under his suit, a sturdy frame prevented him from buckling under a weight approximately five times over what he had grown accustomed to over decades spent at Lunar Base. In full spite of his frailty, Administrator Zimmermann addressed the crowd and televised audience across the world promising both trans-planetary cooperation and a rejuvenation of Union democracy.

Whereas traditionally the Administrator of Earth had become the 'Head Administrator' by proxy, the position would now be separated from the role. Where they could be filled by one person, it would no longer be a guarantee. Zimmermann would gratefully return to administrate Luna, with a combined Terrestrial and Lunar entourage administrating the Union. Meanwhile, the electors would find the number of their positions based off of population rather than by equal right between nations. Though this caused no short uproar amidst smaller states, a slim majority of nations stood to gain and the idea was ratified within months.

Wondering how he had ever considered this a comfortable world to live on; the maladjusted Prime Administrator finished his speech, enjoyed some well deserved refreshments, and waddled clankily away to lie down feeling as if he weighed a tonne.

November 10 2150 -
In the lead up to Prime Administrator Zimmermann's election, the Union delegated funding and manufacturing capacity to allow for even more reliable secure communications between Luna and Earth. Spanning this distance was now a steady stream of data for both civilian and government pursuits. Beginning 2:35am (GMT), a lance of data began streaming towards Luna from Earth - Though the bulk of it was unintelligibly complex modelling, it was best summed up as a breakthrough in Thidar Kay Win's jump drive technology.

Previous prototypes could only jump microscopic objects using vast energy reserves with machines many orders of magnitude larger, Kay Win's breakthrough allowed a prototype capable of sending four times its' mass using only a modest power supply. Theorizing that a 250 tonne version of the engine could hypothetically transmit entire starships, the broadcast was peppered by excited proclamations and requests for funding and tests. By days end, Win had secured the support of all eight Union-funded labs, and expected she could finally answer the final questions preventing FTL travel to new solar systems by decades' end.


January 20 2153 -
Union economists were in dismay. After years of submitted complaints, expositions, and addresses their prophesied worst-case scenario had occurred. The combination of an exponential demand for Duranium with an insufficient and somewhat linear supply had depleted Union supplies of the super-valuable mineral. Talks of a 'functionally-infinite supply' died instantly as the Union released its' first press releases - The Earth was presently in a significant Duranium shortage.

Following market shock, Zimmermann himself was forced to reiterate that the Union was not in danger of losing its' space-faring status. Announcing austerity measures out of "an abundance of caution", the production of maintenance supplies would be ceased for the time being, in addition to redirecting the Colonization Corps. Temporarily, they would cease shipping autonomous mining complexes to the colonies, and would instead divert effort towards moving communications arrays and the infrastructure these growing colonies so desperately required. In the meanwhile, these advanced mining complexes would be installed on Earth to operate for some years.

Amidst the ranks of the enraged were the many thousand of manufacturers who had in effect lost their incomes. Resulting from this, Zimmermann's growing legacy as Administrator would struggle to re-balance from this mass stand-down where he had only three years ago promised to work with the best interests of Earth in mind.

April 11 2153 -
Sluggishly departing from the one of Earths' three primary shipyards, the sister ships of the England II and the Peru began movement to rendezvous with Colonization Corps 02. With the new directive of expanding the Unions' eyes and ears amidst  the asteroid belt, the Corps had been beleaguered by maintenance shortages and construction delays and would graciously accept the newcomers. For a while, it was not likely that UNCC Shipyard 01 would see any more of these titanic 2 Kiloton ships constructed.


November 09 2153 -
Having taken over Win's research, Caroline Kastrup was thrilled to announce her breakthrough - It was now possible to send large-scale objects through these non-Newtonian tunnels with relatively little impact. Hypothetically it would require a full reboot of system power and a substantial re-calibration of any onboard sensors upon arrival but for the most part it was theoretically a safe and effective method of travel. The 'Berlund-Hei-Win-Kastrup et al' method of interstellar travel would be realized once the new 'Win-Kastrup' prototypes were fully developed. Adjusting for this, there were two final questions to ask; How to find these hypothetical breach points between stars, and how best to design a ship that was dedicated over 25% to its' Inter-system engines, once crew space and armor were considered.

Resolving to answer these final questions by decades' end, the Administration continued diverting research efforts towards developing gravitational anomaly sensors. Scientist Deborah Hartwick had made convincing arguments in her controversial thesis regarding re-configuring the active sensors used by UNSC ships, which had been mothballed for some years while funding was secured.



January 08 2155 -
Administrator Zimmermann had elected against returning to Earth for his yearly address. With his health continuing to decline he took the advice of his medical team to avoid interplanetary travel in favor of making his address in the comfortable gravity well of Luna Atrophying as a combination of both poor physical management and age, he had begun to lose the ability to stand of his own accord, and was now largely bound to wheelchairs and exoskeletal walking aides. Soothing the concerns of nations who had born the brunt of his austerity measured earlier, Zimmermann announced the resumption of supply production that had been ceased years earlier.

In addition, a substantial expansion of UNEC Shipyard 01 would see Exploration High Command receive both an additional slipway, and a doubling in construction capacity. The month of December 2154 had been uncharacteristically warm on Earth both in terms of climate and in terms of market conditions. Months of speculative investment had been building in the latter half of the year, which had begun cresting even higher than the all-time highs of '52. Despite this existing inflation of value, the days end would see a full eight percent uptick in the share market, due solely to market interpretations of the announcement.

The yearly address had been long bet on to be favorable despite health concerns surrounding the beleaguered Octogenarian, but besides his announcement of government expenditure on space travel it was the investment in UNEC Shipyard 01 that saw unexpected and vehement excitement. Questions raged as pundits and enthusiasts alike speculated what new ship design could possibly require a ship of such grand size of 2000 tonnes; the limit of human engineering.
Not even focused towards the size, why would Exploration High Command require such a large ship and in such numbers? The most enthused of the watchers began speculating that perhaps decades of Union research towards interstellar travel were close to bearing fruit - Amplifying this, online articles and video blogs system-wide began asking whether it was possible that the dawn of a new Space Age was beginning.


May 20 2158 -
In secrecy, the academics of the Union began a flustered debate. It had been speculated since the release of the Berlund General Model that interstellar travel was possible. This was still theoretical in its' entirety, but no longer considered a cause for laughter, more a scientific capstone to be reached for and achieved. Since more developed hypotheses began forming, most neophysicists had adopted the 'Berlund-Hei-Win-Kastrup et al' model as the primary method through which humans were likely  to reach the stars. An almost fundamental part of this method was discovery of gravitational fluctuations, able to be utilized by massive and hypothetical interstellar engines.

Originally these engines would have to be be in the order of trillions of tonnes using more energy than the Sun for each jump, but several iterations had began to suggest more reasonably-sized engines particularly since Pak Hei Win had began its' study in earnest, albeit with scarce Union funding. The only thing preventing the prototyping of such an engine was there was no evidence these fluctuations existed - and preceding this issue was that no tool yet known could confirm, measure, or discover their existence.

As the result of Doctor Hartwick's efforts, a new Gravitational Survey Sensor was unveiled in the early morning and revealed in high secret to these debating Union academics. In spite of having convinced the Administration some years earlier that a breakthrough was imminent, there were still several substantial issues with the creation of any truly trans-stellar craft. First would be fitting a ship with this quarter-kilotonne sensor suite, and the second would be configuring an engine capable of delivering the ship through one of these anomalies if it were to find one. The technology was there in pieces, but time was becoming quickly scarce before funding was diverted away.

Amidst the squawking gathered crowd were two scientists in horrified agreement; Humanity was soon to become an interstellar species, which by all accounts proved any life outside the Solar system could also have that capacity - with an unknowable intent and unmanageable threat. Humanity had at large been thrusting themselves onward towards the stars but had not fully committed to recognizing the risk. Breaking the silence between them, Ramiro Leote and Huang Xiu Guo (the Unions preeminent kinetic researchers) determined that they must begin convincing a select and powerful few that a new generation of warships and military technologies were required to ensure the survival of Humanity in a potentially hostile galaxy. If necessary, these powerful few would have to "alter" the democratic model the GUN had long held dear should the universe prove...unwelcoming.


February 28 2159 -
Announced to the world, the laying down of the twin ships the Kastrup and the Win heralded the dawn of the second space age. The culmination of the works of millions of citizens and the supply of trillions over decades, these two ships would seek out the subtle anomalies that would see Sol linked to unknowable star systems. Caroline Kastrup herself made news during the celebration albeit for all the wrong reasons - The ceremony was somewhat soured after an unsober Kastrup mentioned that though the technology was proven at a small scale in labs, there was no true way to know if these full-scale designs worked or even if Sol possessed these travel points. She gave it a "Good 50/50" that interstellar travel was even possible from Sol before succumbing to the refreshments provided.


The 'Kastrup' class- The largest and most...effective ship class ever built.


Military freighters? Ten year long gravsurvey ships going 75km/s? This playthrough produces only BEAUTY. I'm aware there's too much fuel but those conditional <50% orders keep stranding my small and short range ships, this hopefully should let them get back even after factoring in orbital periods.


Pundits were still on-board with the notion that interstellar travel was possible, though tension would only grow in the following months until the ships were to set sail. It was understandable that Kastrup began to find herself new though often unhealthy coping mechanisms given the pressure of knowing your life's work was about to be either verified or destroyed. Amidst the watchers was a small yet growing faction within the Union cabinet who believed quietly that the endeavor was a mistake. Leaving the cradle is a necessary part of life, but to do so without support is to enter the grave. All it would take to delay talk of searching for other systems and planets was a single major error, or a deterrent.

Bombarding the email systems of Caroline Kastrup were the usual scientific inquiries, but a recent and persistent point of contact and stress was an anonymous mailer detailing themselves as a representative of the Restraint faction - One that was desperate to prevent her invention and ideas from being utilized due to a sense of extreme danger. Initially disregarded, Doctor Kastrup had began to listen to their concerns with greater interest and had begun to wonder if her lifes' work was in fact a threat to humanity.


September 16 2159 -
With surprisingly little fanfare, the twin ships now forming Exploratory Corps 01 departed UNEC Shipyard 01. Constrained excitement was felt amidst optimistic observers, but updated modeling from some of the most respected scientists of the Union had downgraded the chance of a G2-V type star like Sol having the necessary characteristics to form these bridges, and had even recommended scrapping the mission for the foreseeable future due to cost-versus-benefit concerns. With Sorium and starship fuel both low, these vast trans-Jovian survey missions were both so far and sparse that allegedly they could not be reasonably justified with the new figures.

Original estimates had originally said there were between zero and thirty points outside the orbit of Jupiter where a transit point could be and this was not likely to have changed, but now the odds of there being even one valid bridge were factored to almost zero. In spite of these adjusted, last-minute figures, Administrator Zimmermann elected to maintain the course, much to the chagrin of those surrounding him who feared what such an exploration may bring.

Fortunately for those unaware of the dissent, the Kastrup class had a range over double that of any operational vessel save for the Outreach tankers, and could therefore reach all thirty potential transit points, including the outer eleven which had long been outside Humanities easy reach. With weeks to go til his next election, Zimmermann begged whatever passed for a God for the new ships to find something -ANYTHING, that would validate his expenditures on these ships and the science behind them. Silently surrounding him, Administrators and scientists alike prayed to whatever idols they could fetch that something -ANYTHING, would prevent either of the sister ships from completing their nascent mission.

Amidst the prayers and curses, Exploration Corps 01 began the many-month journey to its' first survey location.



Election candidates!

Candidate 1 - The miserable Manninen

Tophi Manninen is a man well known and in fact solely known for his pessimism. Originally of a sullen and quiet disposition, he has recently been recruited to the dissenting group of leaders known for wanting to keep humanity within the influence of Sol alone. The Restraint faction had influenced Tophi early on in its' gestation, and he was now firmly of the mind that the greater universe would have to wait until well after the Solar system was fully developed, and such exploration and expansion was made fully necessary.

Candidate 2 - The up-and-coming Reyna

A newcomer to Union politics, Administrator Jacob Reyna had been diligently watching Outpost Reinmuth in the asteroid belt for years. Invited as a touring Administrator to address a function in early '54, Jacob had accidentally impressed the newly-reformed cabinet with his long service history, diligence, and focus. While rubbing shoulders with the newly-installed elite, Reyna had stolen not only a pocket full of snacks during the long function but the hearts of the electors who now discussed his installation. With few opinions regarding extra-solar expansion, likely a Reynan Administration would continue the search for new systems whilst not scaling the search further once discovered, content with what has already been achieved

Candidate 3 - The incumbent Zimmermann

Well known advocate Markus Zimmermann had seen the entirety of human space colonization to this point and was eager beyond measure to see it reach its' next stage under his leadership. Having succeeded in revamping the electoral system towards equality, his next and only goal is to see humans expand as far as possible through an empty cosmos. Though age, atrophy and a recent minor stroke have taken his ability to walk unassisted he still wishes to guide mankind further into the future, and the recently deceased still living former Administrator Tereshchenko was testament to determination being a far greater force than disability.

Candidate 4 - The extrovert Hernan

Arnaldo Hernan is a newcomer to politics - Intensely friendly whilst maintaining a level of methodical professionalism. Hernan had failed in his election attempt in his homeland yet had managed to secure candidacy for the entire Union through sheer force of personality. Popular amidst European electors and those in South America, his thick accent and well-spoken words are quick to soften those who oppose him. Welcoming positive change and with a true scientists mind, Hernan embraces the Second Space Age, and firmly believes that should FTL travel be in reach of humanity it is the duty of the Union to embrace it.

Candidate 5 - Luis Brandao

Luis was a French academic student who quickly became aware of his distaste of humanity. Starting as an urge to get away from urban centers, Luis became increasingly malcontent with the notion of being near anyone at all. It was Luis' dream job then when an Administrator vacancy opened up at Comas Sola Outpost; a listening station in one of the farthest corners of the colonized solar system. Whereas most would consider him the antithesis of an ideal politician, his exposure to the Restraint faction and their ideals while so isolated had a profound effect on him, and ever since he had endeavored to put aside his distaste for people and gain political power to prevent humanity from spreading at all

[El Pip]

Obviously I'm voting Tereshchenko and not just to spite the weak and pitiful fool Zimmerman. Humanity needs an unstoppable force of nature to drive it's expansion, who better than a leader who literally refuses to die?

If forced to vote for an actual real candidate then it is probably Reyna. Not because I think he is any good, just because he is the least terrible.

Luis was a French academic student who quickly became aware of his distaste of humanity.

What Luis has done there is confuse 'humanity' with 'the French', they are very different things.

On a more cheerful note, as you say the ship designs from GUN are a sight to behold. I admire your patience in persisting through with such incredible ships.

[TheTalkingMeowth]

Also writing in Tereshchenko.

Presumably Zimmerman is enlightened enough to have instituted ranked choice voting, so my vote should then pass to Zimmerman. The man knows what he's doing, and age seems to have mellowed the rabble-rouser.

[nuclearslurpee]

Also voting for Tereshchenko, because I haven't even read this yet and am woefully ill-informed yet want to have an opinion anyways, and I am told this is how democracy works. Also I am extremely susceptible to peer pressure.

(I have bookmarked this to actually read though.)