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C# Fiction > Garfunkel's Fiction
Solar Hegemony Redux
Garfunkel:
SOLAR HEGEMONY
It is the year 1946. The greatest conflict in human history, Second World War, has barely ended. Most of the world is picking up the pieces, yet a new conflict, possibly even greater than WW2, is already brewing. The looting of the German scientific establishment had revealed the existence of Trans-Newtonian minerals and their near-magical properties. Luckily, the atomic bombing of Berlin had prevented the Näzis from utilizing these miraculous discoveries to their advantage. Seeing the utter destruction that the American A-Bombs had done to Berlin and Hamburg, the Japanese had surrendered in short order. But now politicians, soldiers and scientists in Moscow and Washington DC were putting their heads together to figure out how to best exploit this new knowledge. The fragile wartime alliance between the two new superpowers was about to fall apart. But could this new Trans-Newtonian science provide a way for the fading Great Powers of yesterday to make a comeback? And could they accelerate the rise of the emerging powers? The battle for the Solar hegemony is about to start!
Off-Topic: show
Conventional start, 1946. Both USA and USSR start with 1 billion population, 6100 wealth, 16 research facilities, 4 GFCC, 1600 conventional industry, and one level of military academy and naval headquarters. As you might have guessed from the brief description, this takes place in an alternate timeline of Earth hence the numbers don't exactly match with reality at the end of WW2. This story uses version 2.5 and will be fighter-centric to begin with. I am using SM mode to give both factions TN-theory in 1946 as otherwise the first few years are just wasted. Similarly, engine generations are locked behind story events. Otherwise, research is normal with LRA on. Difficulty 150%, Terraforming and Survey both half speed. Construction cycle 86,401 seconds.
1946
In March, the US scientists figure out a comprehensive TN-theory thanks to having looted far more material from the Germans than the Soviet had - the Soviet scientists expected their work to last until December. In May, the Soviets opened their first Deep Space Tracking Station, a collection of extremely accurate optical telescopes that could observe near-Earth space but the Americans were not far behind, opening theirs in June. By September, several maintenance facilities had been constructed at Baikonur, the site for the nascent Soviet space program. And finally in December the Soviets cracked the mysteries of TN-theory.
1947
Soviets began the year by figuring out how to make completely sealed tractors, ploughers and diggers so that their crews and machinery would work on freezing desert planets like Mars just as well as on airless rocks like Luna. The Americans discovered the secret of High-Density Duranium armour. In May, the Soviets constructed additional facilities at Baikonur, these were to house the bureaucrats making sure that the CCCP utilized all its resources and roubles to maximum efficiency. Meanwhile, across the oceans, the United States was going through a second industrial revolution, with both manufacturing and resource extraction being upgraded to TN-standards. In August, American science introduced Geological Survey Sensors that could scan a planetoid from low orbit for the presence of any of the eleven TN-minerals.
1948
Americans also solved the mystery of space-worthy construction equipment in January as well as how to refuel spacecraft while they were underway - at least on paper, since there were no spacecraft yet. They also started work on active sensors of sorts, able to make precise measurements of objects in space. In April, Soviet scientists managed to create a working Radioisotope Thermal Generator, which would create sufficient power for any spacecraft. And in July, the descendants of Siberians created a pressurized suit that allowed fine-motor control, in effect allowing soldiers to function almost normally in extreme temperatures.
Thanks for reading! Next update will probably happen next year.
Warer:
Fighter centric noise...FACs are basically oversized fighters when you think about it, just a thought.
nuclearslurpee:
This campaign will be either a triumph of the modern era or a monument to man's hubris in the face of overwhelming micromanagement, either way I am here for it! ;D
Garfunkel:
1949
On 4th June, the Soviet Union triumphantly announced the launch of Vostok-1 , the first human space shuttle. With a crew of nine kosmonauts and commanded by Kapitan tret'yego ranga Anatoliy Denisov, the goal of the Vostok program was first to put a Soviet citizen in space and then on the Moon while simultaneously performing important scientific work.
--- Code: ---Vostok class Geological Survey Shuttle 500 tons 9 Crew 67.3 BP TCS 10 TH 2 EM 0
200 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 HTK 3 Sensors 0/0/0/0.2 DCR 0-0 PPV 0
Maint Life 1.55 Years MSP 8 AFR 20% IFR 0.3% 1YR 4 5YR 57 Max Repair 50 MSP
Kapitan tret'yego ranga Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
Glushko RD-101 (1) Power 2.0 Fuel Use 201.25% Signature 2.00 Explosion 10%
Fuel Capacity 59,800 Litres Range 10.7 billion km (619 days at full power)
Conventional Geological Survey Sensors (1) 0.2 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes
--- End code ---
Thanks to the incredible energy density of Sorium, the Glushko RD-101 rocket engine could propel the shuttle to the Moon in mere 32 minutes despite being made out of conventional materials. Its lifesupport system was rated for whole 30 days, ensuring that it could fully survey Luna for TN-minerals without having to return to restock air, food and other supplies.
Captain Denisov became the first human to step on the surface of Luna, planting the red-and-gold CCCP flag and uttering the historical words: "One small step for man, one giant leap for socialism!" as he did so. Shockwaves reverberated through all countries but especially in Washington DC, where President Truman announced the creation of National Aerospace and Space Administration to coordinate the American effort in space to ensure that the United States would regain the lead. In London, the Labour government came under heavy public pressure to enter the so-called 'space race' as the tabloids were calling it and in Paris, debate raged whether France should focus on propping up its crumbling empire or switch its attention to space as well. What Moscow desperately wanted to keep out of the public eye was the fat that it took Vostok-1 over three months to survey Luna. To ensure this, the shuttle was not allowed to return to Earth. It's nine-man crew, haggard and starving, finally landed at Baikonur on 5th September and were rushed to receive medical care and badly needed haircuts before the inevitable public parades would begin.
In October, Vostok-2 was launched from Baikonur. It was powered by the improved Glushko RD-102 rocket engine, making it 50 km/s faster than its predecessor. Both shuttles flew together back to Luna for further 'scientific research' as Moscow announced it. Captain Evgenia Sorokin, commanding Vostok-2, became the first woman to step on Lunar surface. In November, Moscow announced that Luna held all 11 TN-minerals and that they were all easily accessible albeit in much smaller numbers that on Earth. This seemed to confirm the hypothesis of some planetary scientists that the Moon, larger as it was than most moons in the system, was a fragment of Earth itself and had been formed in a gigantic collision between proto-Earth and some other, unknown planetoid. To cements its reputation, the Soviet Union announced that it would freely share all scientific data it had gathered with the world. American scientists later commented that the data had very obviously been sanitized to ensure that the Soviets would have an advantage for any future mining or colonization projects. Such complaints were labelled as 'degenerate capitalist whining' and promptly ignored by Moscow. Once again, the Vostok shuttles had went beyond the limits of their nominal life-support limits, and once again Moscow carefully kept this a secret. But in Baikonur, the leadership of the Soviet space program acknowledged that the design was incapable of further survey work and would be repurposed.
1950
February brought long-waited relief to the Americans as Mercury One was launched. While the public was told an inspiring story of engineers burning the midnight oil to go beyond the human limits in building this shuttle, the truth was that most of its components had been researched already and it was the creation of NASA that enabled the various military programs to be merged with civilian industries. The result was impressive:
--- Code: ---Mercury class Geological Survey Shuttle 500 tons 10 Crew 116.4 BP TCS 10 TH 4 EM 0
375 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 HTK 2 Sensors 0/0/0/1 DCR 0-0 PPV 0
Maint Life 1.44 Years MSP 14 AFR 20% IFR 0.3% 1YR 7 5YR 111 Max Repair 100 MSP
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Morale Check Required
Rocketdyne C-125/9 Engine F-3 (1) Power 3.8 Fuel Use 287.05% Signature 3.75 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 33,200 Litres Range 4.2 billion km (128 days at full power)
Geological Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Survey Ship for auto-assignment purposes
--- End code ---
Lieutenant-Commander Jarod Blissett from Ohio became the first American to step on Lunar surface after a flight of only 17 minutes thanks to the capable Rocketdyne C-125/9 rocket engine. Furthermore, thanks to its more capable survey sensors, the Americans announced that their survey was completed in mere two weeks. After four days of celebrations back home, the shuttle relaunched, this time at Mars. On 23rd February, the ten astronauts stepped on the Red Planet, finally writing a historical record first for the USA. Only gray cloud on the sky for NASA was that Mars only had Tritanium, Uridium and Gallicite, though all three were present in large quantities.
To further drive home the message of American superiority, on 17th May Mercury One completed the survey of Venus. Due to the hellish conditions on the planet, this time the shuttle did not land. The mission had seriously taxed the life-support capacity of Mercury One. NASA thus decided to build more Mercury shuttles, to ensure faster surveying of other bodies as it was not deemed practical to extend the deployment time. Venus was discovered to be very poor with minerals with only five types present and all at minimal accessibility. Though the amount of Gallicite was massive, over 23 million tons. How humans could ever mine it was a mystery to be solved in the future.
On 25th June, the Soviet created Democratic People's Republic of Korea invaded Republic of Korea, its southern neighbour, announcing that the 'lapdogs of capitalist imperialists' were not democratic enough. Initially, the invasion went swimmingly for them as their Soviet-supplied armaments were an order of magnitude strongers than what the US had left behind in South-Korea. But the rest of the world did not sit idly by. Americans especially rushed troops and equipment over. The biggest impact was made by the brand new B-29L Superfortress, an experimental aircraft that replaced its entire bomb load with an infrared laser. Not only was it incredibly accurate as the bomber/gunner could hit anything he could see the same instant, its destructive power was sufficient to outright destroy any tank, vehicle, artillery piece or a command post it targeted. By end of the year, as more and more B-29Ls arrived in Korea, the Communist North found itself in an impossible situation, capable of moving only light forces and only at night, making it possible for the United Nations forces to regain lost territory and eventually enter North-Korea itself. This led to a massive surge in Soviet aid to the DPRK, including Soviet pilots flying the new MiG-15 jet fighter which posed a grave threat to the American bombers, meaning that more and more American fighters were needed to escort the vulnerable Superfortresses. With more and more Chinese 'volunteers' bolstering the diminished North manpower, the war stagnated as both sides re-evaluated their objectives. Both Moscow and Washington realized that space would be the ultimate high ground once TN-based weaponry matured and the so-far peaceful space programs started to transform into militaristic ones.
But first, there were more peaceful developments. In September, USSR launched the first Progress class shuttlecraft:
--- Code: ---Progress class Shuttlecraft 500 tons 3 Crew 16.9 BP TCS 10 TH 3 EM 0
250 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 HTK 2 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 0-0 PPV 0
Maint Life 3.79 Years MSP 2 AFR 20% IFR 0.3% 1YR 0 5YR 3 Max Repair 5 MSP
Cargo 250
Kapitan tret'yego ranga Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 6 days Morale Check Required
Glushko RD-102 (1) Power 2.5 Fuel Use 351.56% Signature 2.50 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 68,800 Litres Range 7 billion km (326 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Freighter for auto-assignment purposes
--- End code ---
Moscow announced that it was a research support craft but Washington doubted this claim since the two Vostok class shuttles had not done anything since their return from Luna and that inactivity continued.
In November, NASA gained Mercury Two and the two shuttles were sent together to survey their namesake planet, completed by 20th November. In December, the first Ares class transport shuttle was launched:
--- Code: ---Ares class Troop Shuttle 496 tons 3 Crew 20.8 BP TCS 10 TH 4 EM 0
378 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 HTK 2 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 0-0 PPV 0
Maint Life 2.00 Years MSP 2 AFR 20% IFR 0.3% 1YR 1 5YR 10 Max Repair 6 MSP
Troop Capacity 250 tons
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 15 days Morale Check Required
Rocketdyne C-125/9 Engine F-3 (1) Power 3.8 Fuel Use 287.05% Signature 3.75 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 38,200 Litres Range 4.8 billion km (147 days at full power)
This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Troop Transport for auto-assignment purposes
--- End code ---
Though it did not have any troops to carry yet as Pentagon was still debating what form the American Lunar Garrison should take. Also in December, the Soviets launched their sixth Progress shuttlecraft.
nuclearslurpee:
--- Quote from: Garfunkel on January 09, 2024, 08:36:35 AM ---What Moscow desperately wanted to keep out of the public eye was the fat that it took Vostok-1 over three months to survey Luna. To ensure this, the shuttle was not allowed to return to Earth. It's nine-man crew, haggard and starving, finally landed at Baikonur on 5th September and were rushed to receive medical care and badly needed haircuts before the inevitable public parades would begin.
--- End quote ---
Now this is the high-quality Soviet engineering I come here for! :P
--- Quote ---In November, Moscow announced that Luna held all 11 TN-minerals and that they were all easily accessible albeit in much smaller numbers that on Earth. This seemed to confirm the hypothesis of some planetary scientists that the Moon, larger as it was than most moons in the system, was a fragment of Earth itself and had been formed in a gigantic collision between proto-Earth and some other, unknown planetoid.
--- End quote ---
SM, or do I have to hate you eternally for your brilliant dumb luck?
--- Quote ---Lieutenant-Commander Jarod Blissett from Ohio
--- End quote ---
hisssssssss
--- Quote ---
--- Code: ---Progress class Shuttlecraft 500 tons
Cargo 250
--- End code ---
--- End quote ---
The name feels just a tad on the nose...
--- Quote ---In November, NASA gained Mercury Two and the two shuttles were sent together to survey their namesake planet, completed by 20th November.
--- End quote ---
Maybe I missed this, but do two ships working together combine their survey points? I always thought this didn't work that way but maybe I was making an assumption based on how the standing orders work.
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