Starting in 2400 with 1 billion starting population, Improved Nuclear Pulse technology, and a 1.5 billion population NPR on Earth.
Prelude
The Northern Commonwealth
By 2400, the turbulent 21st and 22nd centuries seemed like ancient history. The discovery of TransNewtonian physics brought unprecedented technological progress and the demons of climate change, poverty, and war were banished. Earth's population had stabilized at around 2.5 billion, most living in the glittering arcologies and park-like suburbs of the two main political blocs: The Northern Commonwealth (popularly known as NorCom) and the TransPacific Alliance.
The Northern Commonwealth, with a population of a billion, dominated the Atlantic Ocean. Its nominally democratic government had its capital on the artificial island of Atlantis, and was led by a consul. Parlimins for the upper house of the Commonwealth Parliament were elected, while those for the lower house were selected by computerized sortition based on weighted algorithms.
The defense forces of NorCom were unified under Peacekeeper Command. The six Peacekeeper Brigades were little more than military police armed with light weapons and a few armored vehicles, mainly tasked with intervention in the world's few remaining trouble spots.
The space forces of the Peacekeeper Fleet were also relatively small, although they were believed to have a technological advantage over their TPA counterparts in most areas. In 2400 Tactical Command possessed four Minotaur-class cruisers, eight Achilles-class missile destroyers, eight Antelope-class escorts, two Raven-class watchships, and four Myrmidon weapons platforms.
Minotaur class Missile Cruiser 12,000 tons 280 Crew 1,570.7 BP TCS 240 TH 960 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-46 Shields 0-0 HTK 106 Sensors 24/8/0/0 DCR 8 PPV 45.12
Maint Life 4.21 Years MSP 894 AFR 144% IFR 2.0% 1YR 81 5YR 1,211 Max Repair 120 MSP
Magazine 480 Cryogenic Berths 200
Captain Control Rating 2 BRG AUX
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
General Atomics NP240M (4) Power 960 Fuel Use 78.08% Signature 240 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 760,000 Litres Range 14.6 billion km (42 days at full power)
Twin SAAB-Bofors Gauss Cannon R300-25.00 Turret (4x6) Range 30,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 30,000 km ROF 5
SAAB-Bofors R32-TS16000 (2) Max Range: 32,000 km TS: 16,000 km/s 69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Battery Pack (4) Total Power Output 0 Exp 5%
NovaDyne S4 Missile Launcher (12) Missile Size: 4 Rate of Fire 100
NorTronics FC34-R20 (2) Range 34.7m km Resolution 20
Black Arrow ASM (120) Speed: 25,000 km/s End: 15m Range: 22.5m km WH: 4 Size: 4 TH: 83/50/25
NorTronics AS30-R20 (1) GPS 960 Range 30m km Resolution 20
NorTronics AS6-R1 (1) GPS 16 Range 6.4m km MCR 574.5k km Resolution 1
NorTronics EM1.0-8.0 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
NorTronics TH3.00-24.00 (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 38.7m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Achilles class Missile Destroyer 9,000 tons 205 Crew 1,187.7 BP TCS 180 TH 720 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-38 Shields 0-0 HTK 79 Sensors 24/8/0/0 DCR 5 PPV 31.44
Maint Life 4.48 Years MSP 813 AFR 118% IFR 1.6% 1YR 66 5YR 984 Max Repair 120 MSP
Magazine 320 Cryogenic Berths 200
Captain Control Rating 2 BRG AUX
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
General Atomics NP240M (3) Power 720 Fuel Use 78.08% Signature 240 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 600,000 Litres Range 15.4 billion km (44 days at full power)
Twin SAAB-Bofors Gauss Cannon R300-25.00 Turret (3x6) Range 30,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 30,000 km ROF 5
SAAB-Bofors R32-TS16000 (1) Max Range: 32,000 km TS: 16,000 km/s 69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Battery Pack (5) Total Power Output 0 Exp 5%
NovaDyne S4 Missile Launcher (8) Missile Size: 4 Rate of Fire 100
NorTronics FC34-R20 (2) Range 34.7m km Resolution 20
Black Arrow ASM (80) Speed: 25,000 km/s End: 15m Range: 22.5m km WH: 4 Size: 4 TH: 83/50/25
NorTronics AS30-R20 (1) GPS 960 Range 30m km Resolution 20
NorTronics AS6-R1 (1) GPS 16 Range 6.4m km MCR 574.5k km Resolution 1
NorTronics EM1.0-8.0 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
NorTronics TH3.00-24.00 (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 38.7m km
Missile to hit chances are vs targets moving at 3000 km/s, 5000 km/s and 10,000 km/s
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Antelope class Escort 6,000 tons 143 Crew 827.7 BP TCS 120 TH 480 EM 0
4000 km/s Armour 4-29 Shields 0-0 HTK 47 Sensors 24/8/0/0 DCR 4 PPV 24.48
Maint Life 5.97 Years MSP 864 AFR 72% IFR 1.0% 1YR 42 5YR 623 Max Repair 120 MSP
Cryogenic Berths 200
Commander Control Rating 2 BRG AUX
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Morale Check Required
General Atomics NP240M (2) Power 480 Fuel Use 78.08% Signature 240 Explosion 12%
Fuel Capacity 400,000 Litres Range 15.4 billion km (44 days at full power)
Twin SAAB-Bofors Gauss Cannon R300-25.00 Turret (6x6) Range 30,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 0-0 RM 30,000 km ROF 5
SAAB-Bofors R32-TS16000 (2) Max Range: 32,000 km TS: 16,000 km/s 69 38 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NorTronics AS12-R1 (1) GPS 64 Range 12.8m km MCR 1.1m km Resolution 1
NorTronics AS6-R1 (1) GPS 16 Range 6.4m km MCR 574.5k km Resolution 1
NorTronics EM1.0-8.0 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
NorTronics TH3.00-24.00 (1) Sensitivity 24 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 38.7m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
The underfunded Survey Command had four small Discovery-class survey craft.
Discovery class Geological Survey Vessel 1,000 tons 22 Crew 161.3 BP TCS 20 TH 48 EM 0
2400 km/s Armour 1-8 Shields 0-0 HTK 7 Sensors 8/0/0/1 DCR 1 PPV 0
Maint Life 11.85 Years MSP 180 AFR 8% IFR 0.1% 1YR 2 5YR 35 Max Repair 100 MSP
Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 24 months Morale Check Required
General Atomics NP48M (1) Power 48 Fuel Use 21.82% Signature 48 Explosion 6%
Fuel Capacity 100,000 Litres Range 82.5 billion km (397 days at full power)
Battery Pack (1) Total Power Output 0 Exp 5%
NorTronics TH1.0-8.0 (1) Sensitivity 8 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 22.4m km
Geological Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
Spacelift Command relied on ten Titan-class freighters, two Cyclops-class brigade transports, and the five Ad Astra-class colony ships.
The TransPacific Alliance
Very little was known to NorCom about the interior workings of the secretive TransPacific Alliance, which had long since closed its borders to concentrate on developing a form of "Socialism with TransNewtonian Characteristics."
The TPA was believed to have a population of approximately 1.5 billion, and its space forces dwarfed those of NorCom. Its largest warships massed over 27,000 tons, with the remainder consisting of a bewildering array of types built in large numbers. There was also considerable civilian shipping.
Nothing at all was known about TPA ground forces.
For all the menace implied by hundreds of thousands of tons of duranium, the TPA fleet showed no aggressive action, and a quiet stalemate prevailed in orbit. NorCom Fleet Command had little to do but monitor the strange EM fluctuations of TPA vessels.
In January of 2400, however, everything would change as deep muon scanning revealed structures of unmistakably artificial origin buried beneath the Lunar regolith.