Aurora 4x

Fiction => Aurora => Topic started by: Cripes Amighty on February 15, 2013, 07:44:19 PM

Title: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 15, 2013, 07:44:19 PM

Republic of Earth

Posts and Updates
Post 1 - You're Looking at It
Post 2 - Introducing the Republic of Earth (Prologue)

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http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,5901.msg60301.html#msg60301Post 3 - The Ball Gets Rolling

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http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,5901.msg60454.html#msg60454Post 4 - Hostile Detected!

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http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,5901.msg60664.html#msg60664
Introduction
Hello reader. I’ve been a longtime lurker on this forum and played many different games of Aurora, but I would definitely not consider myself an expert. However, I do think I have a good understanding of what I am doing, and I’ve always wanted to write up an Story/AAR. I love history and politics and science fiction, so there are a few things I’m going to try out with this game that I hope will add a little flair to the game.

Basically, I’ve created a politics scenario with issues and parties. I’ll go into this later with more detail. What I hope to do with this is add some fun to the story telling by having forces within the same race try and fight for power, while still being on the same team. I considered doing a multi-faction start on Earth, but that had been done before, and I knew that I would be no good at handling that. Hopefully this will be something different (and not boring) for the forums to enjoy.

The Political System
To start things off, I am using the base population (somewhere around 750,000,000 million) and multiplying that by 10 to keep numbers more accurate. In this way, earth starts off with about 7. 9 billion people, which is mostly accurate for the year 2025 (China’s “One Child Policy” really started to have an effect).

The population is split into five different classes. This includes Lower class, Lower-Middle class, Middle class, Middle-Upper class, and Upper class. Population percentages start off with the Lower class having the largest percentage and the Upper class having the smallest percentage.

Each class has a different breakdown when it comes to political issues. For example, The Lower class wants more welfare, while the Upper class favors an inactive welfare system. The Middle class wants a smaller military because they prefer to live their lives in comfort, while the Lower-Middle class prefers a larger military, mainly because a large portion of the military draws its manpower from Lower-Middle and Lower class.

How I setup the issues borrows heavily from Victoria II, especially when it comes to parties. The issue table is setup as follows:

Less

More

Economic

Military

Doves

Anti-Military

Pro-Military

Hawks

Market

Free

Interventionist

State Capitalism

Planned

Social

Xenology

Open

Tolerated

Discouraged

Banned

Welfare

Inactive

Low

High

Banned

General Guideline:
Anarchist: 0-3
Liberal: 3-6
Conservative: 6-9
Extremist: 9-12

More or less refers to the size of government. I think we can all agree that more military means more government, along with a planned economy, strict laws on immigration, and universal welfare, and that less of these things would lead to a smaller government.

Really, of these issues, the only sections that will have a direct effect on Aurora will be the military and xenology. If the populace tends to be more in favor of the military, it will expand, or at least stay the same. Otherwise it will be reduced. As of right now, xenology deals with the relationship between Earth and her colonies, although they are quite small and thus this section doesn’t carry much weight. Later on, as the colonies grow, it will gain in importance until there is contact with an alien race. Then, it helps to determine the stance the government will take with extraterrestrials.

Market and welfare won’t have too much of an effect, except by splitting up parties and having different rivalries. If you can think of any other way these could fit into the game play, let me know, and I’ll do my best to carry it out.

And so, without further ado…

Political Parties
Republic Party (3)
Military: Pro-Military (2)
Market: Free (0)
Xenology: Tolerated (1)
Welfare: Inactive (0)

Keep it lean and mean… with guns!

Frontier Party (5)
Military: Hawks (3)
Market: Free (0)
Xenology: Discouraged (2)
Welfare: Inactive (0)

There is a whole lotta space out there. It’s be ours if we just take it.

Centrist Party (7)
Military: Pro-Military (2)
Market: Interventionist (1)
Xenology: Discouraged (2)
Welfare: High (2)

Balance is key to everything.

Commune Party ( 8 )
Military: Anti-Military (1)
Market: Planned (3)
Xenology: Tolerated (1)
Welfare: Universal (3)

Everybody deserves a good life. Especially dem masses.

Imperialist Party (9)
Military: Hawks (3)
Market: State Capitalism (2)
Xenology: Banned (3)
Welfare: Low (1)

Exploit, exploit, exploit!

The following is the setup of the Republic of Earth. For the most part, it is simple, but like any good government it gets nice and convoluted.

Republic of Earth
The Senate of Earth came into power January 1, 2025 and is made up of 100 seats. Senators are elected according to popular vote of the people, based on specific issues. The Senate is changed once every two and a half years, meaning four elections will take place within one decade.
Although all votes are equal, there is a higher position used to preside over the Senate. Five Consuls organize and keep the Senate in order. Determining which party has a Consul seat is as follows:

1st Seat - The party with the most votes from the other parties. All parties are required to vote for one other party that is not themselves. The party with the highest number of these votes gains a Consul seat
2nd Seat - The party with the most votes
3rd Seat - The party with the second most votes
4th Seat - The party with the least number of votes
5th Seat - The previous Senate's party with the most votes

If a problem arises when trying to follow these rules, the issue is put before the entire Senate as a vote. If there is a problem with the 1st Seat, a second vote is held. During this vote, the party is not allowed to vote for either themselves, or the party they previously voted for. This continues until the issue is resolved.

In the case of a three way tie for most votes, if one of the parties already has a seat, then they are excluded from having either the 2nd or the 3rd Seat. Otherwise, it is put as a vote to the entire Senate.

In the case of a two way tie for the 3rd seat, if one of the parties already has another seat, they are disqualified. Otherwise, it is put as a vote to the entire Senate.

In order to pass a vote, more than two-thirds of the body most vote in favor of the motion, meaning that 67 votes are required to pass a bill. If three Consuls vote against a bill, it is considered a veto. However, the bill can still be passed, but it requires more than three-fourths of the Senate vote, meaning it requires 76 votes to pass.

Please feel free to post questions, comments, or concerns. If you think anything can be added to the game, speak up, and I'll do my best to incorporate it! I must warn everyone that my time is limited, and that I have been putting this together in my random points of spare time, so updates may take a while. I hope you enjoy reading it. Further posts will be forthcoming.

Disclaimer: I know how politics can get to be over the internet, especially on forums, and I would just like to state that this is all for fun. I ask that you leave your personal opinions on real-life governments and politics outside of this thread (or forum. This place has a level of decency that is unheard of on the internet). However, opinions about the political parties in this game are more than welcome, and I encourage you to post your thoughts or ideas here! This is especially true, because I am a human being with thoughts and opinions which may or may not come out during this game (although I will do my best to keep them under wraps) which may influence certain outcomes. Please let me know if you feel I am handling a party incorrectly, or if you think elections were not conducted in a proper manner.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 16, 2013, 02:01:42 PM

Prologue
By the year 2015, Earth had become a busy little planet. Only several months before, Trans-Newtonian physics had been developed and by years end, the human race was already feeling the widespread effects of the ground-breaking discovery.

Hostilities still plagued the planet as countries fought over resources, but they were relatively minor. That is, they were minor until June 6, 2017 when the Indian-Pakistani War erupted in the most densely populated area of the planet.

The two countries had been sparring ever since their separation, but the battles had become more extreme the larger their populations got. The Kashmir Region, always a sore subject between the two, became a hot topic once again as the Indian military began deploying troops en masse in an attempt to secure the region once and for all.

The United Nations and the other countries of the world all stated their regular criticisms of what was occurring, but didn’t actually do anything. The battles continued, but the outcome was clear. Indian forces were sweeping the Pakistani forces aside thanks to a concerted effort.

The world finally took notice when Pakistan launched a tactical nuke on Indian military forces pushing their way into Northern Pakistan. There was no immediate retaliation by India, even though it was an attack on their forces. However, the detonation was on Pakistani soil, taking some of the sting out of the attack. The Indian advance was halted, and a temporary cease fire was called even though it was clear that both countries had their fingers hovering over the dreaded launch button.

The United States, the European Union, and the People’s Republic of China stepped in, as the severity of the situation was finally realized. This was the closest the world had come to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis and everyone was scrambling to keep things under control.

The United Nations attempted to step up and take control of the situation, but their limited influence was felt now more than ever. This was even more evident when both of the Prime Ministers from India and Pakistan asked the Secretary-General to step down from his seat and for the United Nations to refrain from interfering in the situation. The same was not said to the other countries involved.

Eventually, the situation was stabilized and peace was declared, but the nations of the Earth realized how close the human race had come to wiping each other out. The United Nations had failed completely and was no longer seen as a viable option for unification.

The Grand Assembly came together on May 8, 2018 as a collection of representatives from every country on earth. Even North Korea sent people. Their goal was to establish a unified Earth government, not only to keep peace, but to organize mankind into something greater.

It took five years of debates, arguments, yelling, agreeing, disagreeing, fighting, ignoring, pleading, laughing, and crying to finally come up with a semblance of government. The Republic of Earth was created and would take precedence over the various governments of Earth that agreed to become part of the new government. There were a few countries that refused to join, but trade embargoes would eventually ensure that every country was brought under the umbrella of the Republic.

What was agreed upon was a limited government directly elected by the population of Earth. Their job was to uphold the Constitution of Earth, an almost word for word copy of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. These broad terms would eventually cause some problems further down the road, but it was generally agreed that these were the best terms for the unification of man.

It was determined that the Republic would be elected and established on January 1, 2025.

January 1, 2025 Election Results

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http://i.imgur.com/ARbcnpN.png(2025 Population Issue Stances)

When the date finally came, there were mixed results. There were many calls of ballot rigging and various voting scams, but for the most part, the election was tame. The results:

Centrist Party – 27. 34% winning them 27 seats. 2nd Consul seat.
Commune Party – 27. 10% winning them 27 seats. 3rd Consul seat.
Imperialist Party – 22. 05% winning them 22 seats. 5th Consul seat.
Republic Party – 12. 81% winning them 13 seats. 1st Consul seat.
Frontier Party – 10. 70% winning them 11 seats. 4th Consul seat.

The 1st Consul seat had a tie with the first election. In the first round, there was a tie between the Frontier Party and the Centrist Party. In the second round, the Republic Party won the seat. The voting was as follows:
Centrist Party – Frontier Party – Republic Party
Commune Party – Centrist Party – Republic Party
Imperialist Party – Centrist Party – Frontier Party
Republic Party – Frontier Party – Centrist Party
Frontier Party – Republic Party – Imperialist Party

Seeing as this was the first election, there was no clear indication of who would take the 5th Consul seat. However, given the unique circumstances, the Senate agreed to grant the 5th Consul seat to the Imperialist Party, as they were the only party to now have a Consul seat. The following election would then give the Centrist Party the 5th Consul seat.

The Centrist Party narrowly took the lead, due to their strong positions for each of the four issues. Those that voted for the Centrist Party pointed to their market strategy and their position on welfare.

The Commune Party won most of their votes due to their stance on the military. More than half of the population is in favor of a smaller military, yet the Commune Party was the only one to promise such a thing. Their stance on welfare helped them as well, although their market stance was the lowest of the five parties.

The Imperialist Party was strong across every category, except for their stance on the military.

The Republic and the Frontier Party floundered somewhat, in large part because they are very similar parties. They share the same stance on the market and on welfare, while their stances on the military and xenology are not far off. It was really the difference in their military stance that gave the Republic two extra seats in the Senate.

State of the Republic – January 1, 2025
Humanity’s space presence was dismal. The entirety of the Sol System had been geologically surveyed by the various nations leading up to 2025, and that data had been compiled under the Republic of Earth. A small terraforming colony on Luna had been established, and had a modest 100,000 people on it, although more and more were being shipped there as time progressed. Along with this, an automated mining colony had been established on Comas Sola, as it had abundant sources of minerals at high access levels. A mass driver had been installed as well to fire the resources back at earth without having to waste fuel.

In terms of ships, there were two. Both of them were Lexington class freighters that had been used to establish both of the colonies. Beyond that, they had sat in Earth’s orbit, as most of the attention had been focused on domestic issues leading up to the January 1st election.

Quote

Lexington Mk. I class Freighter 30,000 tons 56 Crew 273. 9 BP TCS 600 TH 270 EM 0
450 km/s Armour 1-86 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 6 Max Repair 13. 5 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 2
Cargo 25000 Cargo Handling Multiplier 10

90 EP Commercial ID0. 6 (3) Power 90 Fuel Use 2. 22% Signature 90 Exp 3%
Fuel Capacity 300,000 Litres Range 81. 1 billion km (2085 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

However, the technology was not lacking. Even though not much had been done with it, research labs around the world had continued to advance their studies, and blueprints for space-worthy components had been drawn up with the hopes that the RE would finally move forward and push a more space-friendly agenda.

Total Wealth: 45,360

Earth
Population: 7,860,000,000 (remember, this is multiplied by 10)
Research Labs: 30
Construction Factories: 638
Ordnance Factories: 182
Fighter Factories: 91
Fuel Refineries: 304
Automated Mines: 121
Maintenance Facilities: 77
Tracking Stations: 10
Ground Force TF: 6
Naval Academies: 2
Mines: 608
Commercial Spaceport: 5
Mass Driver: 10

Luna
Population: 100,000 (multiplied by 10)
Infrastructure: 1000
Terraforming Installations: 1
Commercial Spaceport: 1
Mass Driver: 2

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Amadeus on February 19, 2013, 04:07:55 PM

Hi Cripes,

Very interesting set up you choosed for this AAR of yours, if anything Aurora whilst being a very deep and complex 4x space game, it lacks in Politics and Economics (Diplomacy could be much more articulated too).

Anyway being myself an old player of Victoria 8) , the first one, (the Paradox game I've loved the most, so far) I really appreciate your approach, it is a refreshing Role-playing which changes from the usual "survey-mine-research-produce-fight" chronicles.

I hope you won't give up...

Now i have one suggestion and ~~one~~ two questions to submit you:

When comes to Economics, a means to differentiates the 5 parties it could be to simulates their ISSUE by the way they interact with Civilian companies.
IIRC there are two (or three) actions that you as a player can or not make:
At early game you can give them Subsides, later on you can give them contracts, finally you can purchase minerals and fuel from them....
So, keeping yours four issues structure, we may have: A) No Subside; B) X% of your actual wealth; C) 2X% actual wealth; D) 4X% actual wealth;
where X = 5%, 10% or whatever you like.
and then: A) No Contracts except in emergency; B) only few and short-term; C) quite common; D) as much as possible;
finally for minerals & fuel: A) No Purchase except in emergency; B) only few and short-term; C) quite common; D) as much as possible;
or you can put it as a % of your Annual Income: A) no more then 5%; B) up to 10% and so on...

The questions is are: how did you simulated the "election" itself, by the old fashioned way of rolling dies maybe ? And how the CLASSES will evolute in your role-playing as there are no POPs in Aurora ? :)

Keep up your writing and
best regards, Amadeus

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 19, 2013, 07:46:45 PM

Quote from: Amadeus link=topic=5901. msg60390#msg60390 date=1361311675

--Awesome Post--

Hey Amadeus,
Glad you're enjoying this! Victoria is probably my favorite Paradox game as well, although I've played more of the 2nd one than the 1st one recently. I do plan to keep working on this, and I already have a few other posts that I'll be posting shortly, but this week has been hectic and I don't have a lot of free time to revise everything. Hopefully this weekend there should be another update.

I really like you're idea about the economics and dealing with Civilian companies. This would actually work a lot better than the Market issues I have setup right now, or perhaps I can mix in your suggestions under this category as is. For example, Free would be against everything, or almost everything (I could see them being in favor of purchasing minerals/fuel in terms of the military), Interventionist wouldn't be opposed to it, Planned all for it, etc. I'll play around with it a bit and see what works out the best.

For elections, I have a setup in Excel that has the classes and their percentages in favor of certain issues (ex. Lower Class was 5% Free , 25% Interventionist, 45% State Capitalism, and 25% Planned for the Market issue in the 2025 election).

I then figure out total population distribution for the issues, and divide them among the parties accordingly. This part is a little weird, because the way I've set it up has each person voting for a different party on each issue, based on their class preference. However, these class preferences do change at random throughout the year, so elections will be the result of a number of random changes over 2 and a half years. At some point I'm going to revise the system, as this is a work in progress.

As for POPs. . . Originally, I had two different POPs for each class (for a total of 10), and I think I'll institute that at some point further down the road. Also, I thought of having an issue that each POP would feel very strongly about. For example, Soldiers would feel very strongly about the military, and would tend to be more militaristic. Therefore, they would probably never vote for a Dove Party and would feel very bad voting for an Anti-Military Party, no matter what their other stances were.

Like I said, this is a work in progress so I'll probably end up changing things as it goes along.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions!

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Amadeus on February 20, 2013, 07:19:56 AM

Hi Cripes,

I'm happy you found some inspiration in the suggestions I've given you, of course you shall adapt them to your goals and style, finally the single most important thing is that you enjoy your game and secondly that you enjoy to write about it.

By the way, take your time, real life is quite hard already so this AAR should be a pleasure for you, not a new burden... ;)

I like your election system so far and I agree that giving a strong ISSUE (and than eventually a secondary one) to each POP "à la Victoria" it's probably the most easy way to deal with election :thumb up:

Maybe as they changes randomly the secondary ISSUE it could be the POP previous strong one (when changed). The rational being that usually people don't change from one point of view to the opposite one in a short span of time ,for instance from pacifist to militarist, except in serious circumstances like wars....

Also I find that a 2 1/2 years time between elections is too little because then you risk to cope with strong change of POLITICS before the previous decisions take effect, for instance: to project, retool a shipyard and build a large ship, like a carrier or a large cruiser, will take much more than this, let's not talk about building and training a small fleet...
Anyway this is up to you to decide, personally I won't go for less then 5 years.

One more suggestion: you can assign to each "Civilian administrators" (you know the ones you put in charge as Planetary or Sector Governor) a preference tag from 1 PARTY and an aversion tag from an other PARTY, then let's the say the Commune Party is the new ruling party when a new Colony is founded then they will put in charge an "administrator" they like as governor and they eventually put down the governors they dislike...or adapt this to your own political scheme if you like this.

And one more: doesn't matter how many POPs you will use, please keep Colony population separated (i.e. give them their own POPs) as they could and sometimes should have different ISSUEs then the Earth ones.

and one more ;D : you could think to a simplified system of "events" which will affect ISSUEs for next election: wars (of course), but also Aliens encounters, trade treaty or alliance with Alien race, new technology which open new possibility for humanity (and opposition to it) like genetic modification, the launch of the first Civilian Company, and so on....use your fantasy ;)

Best regards

PS I will post some more suggestions next time I will be here, just to give you time to digest them, eh eh ;D

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 22, 2013, 05:25:07 PM

Good point about the election length. I am going to scale it back to five years, since 2. 5 is too little. Then it becomes too much of a hassle to constantly post election information.

I find it funny because a lot of these suggestions are something that I've already done as well! Great minds think alike! :D
Each Party has a civilian administrator that is designated as "Party Leader" and all of them are A4 or greater (Earth is currently an A4).
And yes, the populations of different bodies will remain separate. As of right now (the first two years of the game or so), those people on Luna are still able to cast votes, but I picture them as still being Earth population that cycles to Luna for an extended work time period. Something like the International Space Station has now. They aren't permanent residents of Luna, but in a short period of time, colony ships will begin to transfer larger chunks of population to Luna, and the people will become permanent residents (as you'll see in this next update).

This should create some interesting politics as I'm sure some parties while favor colonial voting rights, while other parties will be totally against them. . .

I do like the idea of events, and their consequences. This will be coming up rather shortly. Hopefully, by the next election, I'll be able to incorporate both POPs and events into this writeup so that it will have a more fluid feel.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 22, 2013, 05:30:12 PM

[ooc]OOC: Overall, this is a pretty generic start, or at least it feels that way. However, it does introduce the politics somewhat with all the bill passing, although that won't be as frequent later in the game. I just figured there would be a lot of bill passing at the beginning of a government to set everything up.

If this seems boring, don't worry because things are about to get pretty interesting in the next update. I think this turns into a unique start (at least compared to the stories I've read on this forum). Or maybe I just haven't read enough. . . ;)[/ooc]

1 January 2025
Earnest Kwiatkowski, leader of the Centrist Party, proposes the first bill to the Senate. Their slight lead in the popular vote gave them the opportunity to draft the first bill, and they took full advantage of it. In order to gain favor with the populace as well as the other parties, they devise a piece of legislature that is generally agreeable across party lines.

Earth Investment Act
The Earth Investment Act outlines a budget that focuses on industrial output as well as funding for research in these areas. In general, it is aimed at industrializing those areas of the planet that have been lacking in capital.
•   Construction based around Construction Factories, Mines, Automated Mines, Mass Drivers, and Maintenance Facilities.
•   Grants given to Giovanni Lowy and his team, who specializes in Construction/Production. Research into increasing the mining rate is lined up, with a queue focusing on construction rates, the possibility of constructing asteroid mining modules, as well as sorium harvesters.

The bill is a resounding success, and all parties vote to affirm it.

12 January 2025
Following the introduction and then approval of the Earth Investment Act, Roman Cupelli of the Commune Party takes the initiative and introduces the next bill to the Senate.

Discovery Act
The Discovery Act focuses on the exploration of the solar system. Although all bodies have already been geologically surveyed, research over the past decade has created the Jump Point Theory. Most of the information is too technical, buy many of the Commune Party have been swayed by its arguments, and they push for the Senate to move forward with this idea.
•   Launch four scientific vessels designed to survey the solar system for any gravitational anomalies using newly constructed sensors.
•   If anomalies are found, gives the ships right to transit through the jump points using the prototype jump engine designed by scientists.

The bill passes with 87 votes in favor. The Republic Party votes against the bill on the basis that it is not the government’s position to lead the charge in the discovery of space.

17 January 2025
The first civilian ship is launched by the Wiegel Transport Company. The Republic Party applauds the initiative of the company, since they are still sore about the Discovery Act being passed.

25 January 2025
Designs for the Magellan, the gravitational survey vessel are completed. The ship is designed to be deployed for long periods of time, meaning that fuel efficiency was paramount. 56 crew members will cruise around systems for periods of up to 3 years, attempting to find jump points.

Quote

Magellan Mk. I class Gravsurvey Ship 2,500 tons 56 Crew 228. 3 BP TCS 50 TH 90 EM 0
1800 km/s JR 1-50 Armour 1-16 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/1/0 Damage Control Rating 2 PPV 0
Maint Life 8. 72 Years MSP 148 AFR 19% IFR 0. 3% 1YR 3 5YR 52 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 36 months Spare Berths 0

J2500(1-50) Military Jump Drive Max Ship Size 2500 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 1
90 EP Commercial ID0. 6 (1) Power 90 Fuel Use 2. 22% Signature 90 Exp 3%
Fuel Capacity 30,000 Litres Range 97. 3 billion km (625 days at full power)

Gravitational Survey Sensors (1) 1 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Singapore Shipyards are tasked with producing four of these ships, and work beings immediately. Two ships can be constructed at one time, with the first of them planned to arrive in late July 2025. They are Trinidad and Santiago, after the ships of the Armada de Molucca. The remaining two are planned to arrive early next year.

28 January 2025
Cleveland Curnutt of the Imperialist Party, appalled at the lack of spending on defensive measures, proposes the Earth Protection Bill.

Earth Protection Bill
The Earth Protection Bill calls for the modernization of the Republic of Earth’s Army (REA). At the same time, the bill calls for the construction of several orbital defense platforms to remain in Earth’s orbit at all times. The main argument here is that it would give the Republic some muscle to actually back up their laws without having to worry about being pushed around by smaller nations. The orbital weapons platforms will, hopefully, nullify the nuclear aresenals still held by several countries.
•   Training of four new Assault Battalions.
•   Training of four new Marine Battalions.
•   Consider possibility of downsizing number of Mobile Infantry Battalions.
•   Construction of five Orbital Weapons Platforms. One for each major landmass.

The bill passes with 73 in favor, as the Commune Party voted against it. Their Anti-Military stance forces them to vote against it, seeing as a majority of their votes came from this very stance.

Quote

Chang Cheng Mk. I class Orbital Weapon Platform 10,000 tons 50 Crew 2083. 2 BP TCS 200 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 11-41 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 6 PPV 81. 36
Maint Life 2. 82 Years MSP 807 AFR 129% IFR 1. 8% 1YR 148 5YR 2220 Max Repair 307 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0. 1 months Spare Berths 3

Twin 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (9x2) Range 120,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
Twin 10cm Ultraviolet Laser Turret (2) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
GCFR PB-9 (6) Total Power Output 54 Armour 0 Exp 5%

Close-Eye AS 28-11 (1) GPS 280 Range 30. 8m km Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

The Chicago Shipyards are retooled to construct the Chang Cheng, as it is the largest military shipyard for the Republic. Five are planned, but only three can be constructed at one time. They are North America, Europe, and Asia. Their deployment will cover their respective continents and serve as a deterrent to any further nuclear showdowns between the nations of Earth.

Humanity will have to refrain from nuking each other for two and a half years, as that is estimated date of completion.

23 February 2025
The Republic Party begins voicing concerns that there has been too much spending by the new government. There has been only negative growth due to construction, recruiting, research funding, and subsidies for shipping lines. The Frontier Party mirrors some of the concerns, but not as vocally. That’s all it turns out to be, as neither party introduces a new proposal or offers a course of action.

15 March 2025
Gallup polls show that the Lower-Middle class has become more in favor of the military. Although the reasons are unknown, several so-called experts point to the increase in expenditures for the military and its increase in size.

3 June 2025
Two of the Marine Battalions finish training and two more are added to the academy. Wiegel Transport Company launches the first civilian colony ship, aimed at moving people from Earth to Luna.

15 July 2025
Mary Clovis, leader of the Frontier Party, proposes the Luna Development Act.

Luna Development Act
The Luna Development Act proposes an investment in Earth’s major colony. It is a suitable terraforming candidate, and is a reasonable source of minerals. At the same time, it would serve as a good incentive for civilian shipping companies.
•   Construction of infrastructure on Earth to ship to Luna, in order to sustain a larger population.
•   Construction of nine more terraforming installations, to speed up the terraforming process.

The bill passes with 73 votes in favor, as the Commune Party votes against on the terms that this is too soon a move for the young Republic. They suggest that the Republic’s attention should focus on Earth first, especially because there are a large number of Lower class people in need of help.

The Republic Party reluctantly votes in favor, for two reasons. The first is that it would reduce the costs of maintaining a colony in the long run, meaning that the government won’t have to sustain it forever. The second is that this does provide incentive for a larger civilian fleet, as there will be more opportunity to transfer not only colonists, but cargo as well.

2 August 2025
Trinidad and Santiago are launched from the Singapore Shipyards and are immediately ordered to begin surveying the system for any signs of the theorized jump points. Two more Magellan Mk. Is are laid down and are planned to arrive in February of the next year.

18 August 2025
Gallup Polls shows the Upper class become more adamant about their stance on the market, moving away from State Capitalism and towards the Free market. The major reason appears to be the negative growth over the past eight months, although the negative growth has diminished in size.

7 September 2025
The first gravitational survey reveals that jump points do, in fact, exist. The jump point sits just outside of Saturn’s orbit, but well within the passive sensor range of Earth’s tracking stations. The information is relayed to Earth, by Captain Arlen Capua of Santiago. He requests a chance to test the jump engines that come equipped on the Magellan. After some thought, the okay is given, although the existence of the jump point is kept from the public for the time being.

Captain Capua orders Santiago to approach the jump point.

12 September 2025
At exactly noon, Earth time, Santiago transits through the jump point and reappear in an entirely new star system. The results are both thrilling and disappointing. The system, named Washington, is a binary. However, the two stars are the only bodies in the system. Washington-B lies just over 0. 2 light years away from Washington-A, well beyond the range of any human ship.

Captain Capua orders Santiago back through the jump point to reveal this information back to Earth.

16 October 2025
A small shift favoring no welfare has been reported for the Middle-Upper class. Whether or not this will have any effect on future elections is yet to be determined.

17 December 2025
Another jump point is discovered by Santiago, this one nestled in the asteroid belt. Again, Capua is given the go ahead to transit the jump point.

26 December 2025
The four Assault Battalions are completed on earth, leaving only two more Marine Battalions planned. This brings the total number of Battalions to twenty-six.

Some Senators are questioning the effectiveness of having such a large ground force if the new focus will be in space. They point out that, as of yet, there is no way to transport these ground forces. There only real benefit serves as defense.

Their concerns are heard, but nothing is done about it at this point in time.

27 December 2025
At 9:30 GMT, Santiago transits through the new jump point and discovers a system located in a nebula. The system, named London reveals one lonely planet orbiting the sun. Two moons orbit this planet, meaning there is very little chance of this being a resource rich system.

The planet itself is a possible terraforming target, as it has an atmosphere composed mostly of nitrogen with 0. 07 atmospheres of oxygen. Its gravity is almost 60% of Earth’s, but its surface temperature is 116. 9 degrees Celsius.

3 January 2026
The highest up in the Republic begin debating whether or not to inform the public about the discovery of the new systems. Several argue that there is no real reason to inform the public until something better turns up. At this point in time, only one other planet has been discovered and some worry that the galaxy may be a lot more dead than previously believed.

The opposite side of the argument is that there is no reason the government should withhold the information about the new systems. Eventually, the Consuls come to an arrangement that the Republic will wait until the entire Sol system has been mapped before releasing the information.

6 February 2026
Another civilian company, Santmier Shipping Lines, launches their first freighter. Its first contract is to haul the newly constructed terraforming installations to Luna.

The colony on Luna has been drastically changed in only a year. Her population has jumped up to 5. 3 million, as the civilian transportation lines have gone into overdrive moving colonists from Earth. According to the Luna Development Act, once the terraformers have successfully been transferred, infrastructure and mines will start to be shipped to the colony, as needed.

28 February 2026
San Antonio and Concepcion are completed and sent out into the system to help the other Magellan Mk. I’s with surveying.

1 April 2026
Gallup polls show that the Lower class has become more in favor of the military over the past year. This has caused some consternation with the Commune Party, as they managed to secure most of their votes from their Anti-Military stance. With first the Lower-Middle class and now the Lower class moving away from favoring a smaller military, some believe that the Commune will be losing some seats in the next election. That is, unless there is a reversal of trends.

6 August 2026
The past few months come to be known as “The Boring Summer. ” Nothing of interest happened, which most of the populace came to believe was a good thing. For the first time in centuries, there were no open hostilities on Earth thanks to the increase in military expenditures by the Republic of Earth.

That’s not to say that people stopped hating each other. There was still very real animosity between certain nations that had been enemies for years. It’s just that they weren’t killing each other.

8 September 2026
Commander Cynthia Mitani of San Antonio discovered a third jump point in the Sol system. This jump point is on the same bearing as the Washington jump point, but it is just inside the orbit of Uranus. After reporting the find, she is given the go ahead to transit through the jump point and report her results.

15 September 2026
Commander Bennie Panameno of Trinidad reports that he has found a fourth jump point outside the orbit of Neptune. This is great news for the morale of his crew, as they had been out searching for jump points more than 6 months before San Antonio without any luck. Panameno is given the go ahead to explore the jump point once the RE hears of his find.

17 September 2026
San Antonio transits into another binary system, but this one has greater results. Several smaller bodies orbit the main star, but orbiting the second star are two planets that are good terraforming candidates. One of them has 0. 05 atmospheres of oxygen and is only -5. 4 degrees Celsius meaning all it lacks is more oxygen. The system is called Beijing.

When the Republic Senate is informed, it causes quite a stir. There is now a real possibility that humanity can move out into the stars. The former agreement to wait until the entire system is surveyed falls apart, and the Republic rushes to inform the public of the discoveries. The results are mixed, although most of the people on Earth are excited to hear about the possibility of visiting a new planet.

Commander Mitani and San Antonio are ordered to reenter the Beijing System and move closer to the planet in order to inspect it and gather close-up photos.

20 September 2026
Trinidad transits the fourth jump point and discovers the Brasilia system. This is also a binary system with a decent sized asteroid field and several other bodies that would require intensive terraforming to make them habitable. Nonetheless, it is still a good prospect for expansion.

3 October 2026
The Republic has run into a bit of a problem. Now that there are actually systems worth investing in, it has come to the Consul’s attention that they are unable to determine the mineral composition of the new systems. They had never had a problem with the Sol system, as the various nations had undertaken that project. It had always been assumed that the civilian sector would pick up the job of surveying, but as of yet, that industry is still young and has been focused on the transferring of materials to Luna.

To combat this, Mary Clovis of the Frontier Party proposes the Geological Survey Act.

Geological Survey Act
The Geological Survey Act calls for investment in the ability to survey bodies in different systems in order to determine whether or not they have mineral deposits.
•   Construction of three geological survey vessels, capable of transiting jump points by themselves and being able to remain away from Earth for long periods of time.

The bill passes with the support of all parties. Even the Republic Party votes in favor, as they see the benefit of knowing information about the surrounding systems.

10 October 2026
What scientists and engineers come up with is the Columbus Geosurvey ship.

Quote

Columbus Mk. I class Geosurvey Ship 5,500 tons 59 Crew 430. 5 BP TCS 110 TH 90 EM 0
818 km/s JR 1-25(C) Armour 1-27 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/3 Damage Control Rating 1 PPV 0
MSP 49 Max Repair 100 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months Spare Berths 3

JC5. 5K Commercial Jump Drive Max Ship Size 5500 tons Distance 25k km Squadron Size 1
90 EP Commercial ID0. 6 (1) Power 90 Fuel Use 2. 22% Signature 90 Exp 3%
Fuel Capacity 135,000 Litres Range 199. 0 billion km (2815 days at full power)

Geological Survey Sensors (3) 3 Survey Points Per Hour

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes

This ship is much larger than the gravitational survey ship, mainly because it is planned to have a much longer deployment period. Unlike the gravitational ship, which is classified as a military vessel due to the sensitive information it uncovers, the Columbus is entirely commercial. Two are laid down at the Marinship Corp. Shipyards, and are planned to be launched at the end of next year.

12 October 2026 – 17:30:26
While approaching Beijing-B III, San Antonio is struck nine times by an unknown source. The ship withers under the fire, as it was not designed for combat. The attack is entirely unexpected, as none of the crew had been trained for this possibility. Commander Cynthia Mitani is killed instantly as the bridge is one of the first sections to be struck.

25 out of the 56 crew members manage to make it to life pods before the ship is completely destroyed, but they are only prolonging the inevitable. The planet lies over 3. 6 billion km from the jump point given its orbit, and it took almost an entire month to cover the distance. The life support of the escape pods is only 14 days. The crew will be dead long before anyone on Earth realizes that the San Antonio is late in returning home.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Amadeus on February 23, 2013, 03:59:12 PM

Very, very interesting start indeed, I love it :)

the Bills Proposals and the Polls News add a lot of "atmosphere" to this space opera, no pun intended 8)

Quote

I find it funny because a lot of these suggestions are something that I've already done as well! Great minds think alike! :D

That's a great truth indeed ! ;D
I was going to suggest you to use parties issues to influence your production choices but you did it already...of course.

A few comments:

You could add a few images here and there to break the wall of text, this is a common trait of AARs in Aurora forum (as opposed to the EU, CK, Vicky, HOI ones) which I don't like, with the exception of this new one: http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,5674.msg59705.html#msg59705 (http://aurora2.pentarch.org/index.php/topic,5674.msg59705.html#msg59705) where they are showing some examples of graphs of various kind which you could use too for illustrate Polls, POPs Issues, Parties vote, etc.

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Construction of three geological survey vessels

at first I was wondering how come you didn't have any yet, then I remembered this:

Quote

The entirety of the Sol System had been geologically surveyed by the various nations leading up to 2025

so I guess you space-mastered this one, so what are your minerals stocks ? What about Solar system resources ? How is the Fuel production going ?

Questions, questions ... ;)

Quote

.....The crew will be dead long before anyone on Earth realizes that the San Antonio is late in returning home

Mmmmh good old drama ! Looking for the following acts, you hooked me !

PS: I've cited the Paradox game AARs example, but I don't know whether you know that there is little group of people playing Aurora there and posting AARs too in the OT (off topic) game forum. The main thread talking of this game is Anyone playing Aurora? here http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?533990-Anyone-playing-Aurora (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?533990-Anyone-playing-Aurora)
I discovered this small gem of game thanks to it.
Then there a few games both finished and going on, the latest one is: Aurora III (v 6.21) - The Final Frontier here: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?666468-Aurora-III-%28v-6.21%29-The-Final-Frontier-Hosted-by-Blue-Emu (http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?666468-Aurora-III-%28v-6.21%29-The-Final-Frontier-Hosted-by-Blue-Emu)

If you already know this I beg your pardon, otherwise take a look and maybe you could think about "past + copy" this AARs of yours up there too.

Have a nice day.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 28, 2013, 06:13:25 PM

2 November 2026
A civilian mining colony is established on Venus. Although it is still rather small, it is a start for the civilian sector.

22 November 2026
The gravitational survey of the Sol system is nearly completed, and the gravitational survey ships have been ordered to return to Earth to refuel, resupply, and for shore leave. There are some grumblings among the Republic of Earth Navy (REN) since San Antonio is overdue by almost a week. At most, the ship would have spent three days in orbit of Beijing-B III before returning home.

Concepcion is still well outside Neptune’s orbit and is the closest ship to the Beijing jump point. She is ordered to transit into the system to check in on the status of San Antonio before she can come home for her shore leave and refueling. It will still take some time for Concepcion to arrive at the jump point. Everyone onboard the ship is hoping that San Antonio will show up before they have to make the transit.

Republic Naval Intelligence
17 December 2026
Beijing Incident – ADMIRAL RUSS MCCULLERS’ EYES ONLY
Magellan Mk. I vessel Concepcion transited Jump Point 4 into the Beijing system 16 December 2026 at exactly 09:30:31. Commander Charlie Her is the standing captain on the Concepcion and was manning the bridge at the time of transit.

Upon arriving in the Beijing system, sensors revealed the wreckage of the San Antonio in the orbit of Beijing-B III, the nearly habitable planet in the Beijing system. Scans revealed that the ship’s life pods had been launched, but that their life support systems had failed 27 October 2026.

A distress beacon along with a message was broadcast from the life pods on encrypted RNI channels, alerting all REN ships that enemy forces were present in the system. After several more scans to ensure Concepcion was not being tracked, Commander Charlie Her ordered the ship back into the Sol system in order to report his findings.

Standing orders are for Concepcion to immediately return to Earth under complete silence. She is expressly forbidden to contact any organization outside of the RNI while on her way back to Earth. Her crew will be debriefed by RNI officials as soon as the ship arrives in orbit.

19 December 2026
The Consuls from each party have spent the last two days going over what little information they have. There is general agreement that there is a very real and present danger only one jump away from Earth. The problem comes when they try to decide how to handle the situation.

For now, the populace will remain uninformed, but a new bill will be forced through the Senate in order to prepare for any push made by the enemy forces. There is no military presence in space for the Republic, and the defense platforms are still four months away. Upon their construction, the populace will be informed of the situation.

Defense Emergency Act
The Defense Emergency Act completely changes up the current production schedule and focuses it entirely on military things. Along with this, grants will be shifted from construction research to projects dealing with the military.
•   Design and construction of 10 supplemental beam defense platforms, capable of being constructed on Earth rather than through a shipyard. Temporary protection until the OWP are finished.
•   Design and construction of an unnamed number of Area Defense Cruisers, capable of moving beyond Earth’s orbit. Lasers are required, as they are the most advanced weapons that the Republic has at this point in time.
•   Research focusing on new military technologies. Specifically, missile technology is suggested, as it could provide the ability to strike from a distance.

Quote

Chainmail Mk. I class Beam Defence Base 475 tons 9 Crew 110. 6 BP TCS 9. 5 TH 0 EM 0
1 km/s Armour 4-5 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 3
Maint Life 2. 52 Years MSP 15 AFR 18% IFR 0. 3% 1YR 3 5YR 49 Max Repair 38 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0. 5 months Spare Berths 3

10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser (1) Range 120,000km TS: 4000 km/s Power 3-3 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
10cm Ultraviolet Laser (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 8000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
GCFR PB-4. 5 (1) Total Power Output 4. 5 Armour 0 Exp 5%

Mirco-Eye AS 28-11 (1) GPS 14 Range 1. 5m km Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Quote

Aegis Mk. I class Area Defence Cruiser 8,000 tons 196 Crew 1561. 6 BP TCS 160 TH 480 EM 0
3000 km/s Armour 6-35 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 8 PPV 27. 12
Maint Life 5. 63 Years MSP 976 AFR 64% IFR 0. 9% 1YR 52 5YR 779 Max Repair 307 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 12 months Spare Berths 0

60 EP ID0. 6 (8) Power 60 Fuel Use 57% Signature 60 Exp 10%
Fuel Capacity 905,000 Litres Range 35. 7 billion km (137 days at full power)

Twin 10cm C3 Ultraviolet Laser Turret (3x2) Range 120,000km TS: 16000 km/s Power 6-6 RM 4 ROF 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1
Twin 10cm Ultraviolet Laser Turret (1) Max Range: 256,000 km TS: 16000 km/s 96 92 88 84 80 77 73 69 65 61
GCFR PB-9 (2) Total Power Output 18 Armour 0 Exp 5%

Close-Eye AS 28-11 (1) GPS 280 Range 30. 8m km Resolution 1

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

28 December 2026 – 13:30:31
The tracking stations located on Earth detect a transit from the Beijing system. Records are checked, and it is confirmed that this is no human ship, as Concepcion is the only ship relatively close to the jump point. The mainly nonexistent REN is put on high alert, and all civilian ships are given a warning to return to Earth, although they are not told why. Concepcion has just passed the Washington jump point and is ordered to immediately halt, as it is most likely being followed.

After several seconds, it is determined that the alien ship can move at a speed of 4020 km/s, well outpacing any REN ship. Its course is roughly equal to that of the Concepcion, meaning it was on a course for Earth, and orders are given for the ship to jump into the Washington system in an attempt to divert the incoming hostile.

Panic begins to break out on Earth amongst the Consuls, as they are informed by Admiral Russ McCullers that only two Chainmail Mk. Is have been completed out of a planned 15.

1 January 2027 – 11:35:35
Concepcion makes the transit into the Washington system and waits on the opposite side. The enemy ship has not yet reached the jump point.

2 January 2027 – 9:00:00
By this time, it is clear that the enemy ship is not going to chase Concepcion as it moves past the Washington jump point. Although there is some uncertainty, all signs seem to show that the ship is on a direct course for Earth.

5 January 2027
The ship halts just outside the asteroid belt. This stuns all experts, although several opinions are offered. The military seems to believe that Earth has escaped detection, and that the alien was in fact following the Concepcion, but because the geosurvey ship jumped into Washington, the alien ship has stopped.

Another possibility, not necessarily endorsed by the military, is that the aliens may be attempting to contact humanity, or make peace. There is the small chance that there was a misunderstanding in Beijing. Attempts at communication are launched, although the transmissions are sent through a proxy satellite in deep space to keep Earth hidden on the off chance that the military officials are right.

However, everyone knows that any reasonably intelligent alien force would recognize Earth as a relatively tame place suitable for life.

9 January 2027
After four days, the enemy ship begins moving again, although its course has been altered. It appears to be heading towards Venus, although this is little consolation, as Venus is almost at its closest point to Earth. Only three Chainmail Mk. Is have been constructed, and their effectiveness in battle is questionable at best.

10 January 2027
The enemy ship, now designated as “Alpha,” again halts, this time inside of the asteroid field.

4 February 2027
The Alpha has been putting around in the asteroid field, as if unsure of what to do. Communication attempts have failed time and again, and the scientists are beginning to think that the chance to talk with these aliens will prove impossible.

Research has continued full steam into new military techs, specifically those dealing with missiles. The military has come to the conclusion that being able to strike the enemy from a far enough distance could be the key to victory, and thus funding has been poured into the relevant missile technologies.

18 February 2027
Everyone who knows about the alien presence in the Sol system has been on the edge of their seat for the past month, and yet the ship has made no move towards Earth. In fact, it has stayed in the same place, moving closer and further away from the inner system while the RE has continued to attempt establishing contact with the vessel.

In the meantime, Earth’s industry has gone into overtime researching and constructing things necessary to provide defense. Four Chainmail Mk. Is have been completed while the regular industry has been converted to producing ship components that can then be assembled in the shipyards.

Along with this, designs for a new missile, and a fighter-bomber to carry this missile have been completed, and work has begun on building a stockpile of these weapons. Once the fifth Chainmail Mk. I is completed, the remaining ten will be halted in order to build a flight of Panthers armed with Katanas.

Quote

'Panther' F-4A class Fighter-bomber 263 tons 3 Crew 60. 4 BP TCS 5. 25 TH 36 EM 0
6857 km/s Armour 1-3 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 1. 35
Maint Life 8. 94 Years MSP 14 AFR 5% IFR 0. 1% 1YR 0 5YR 5 Max Repair 28 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0. 5 months Spare Berths 3
Magazine 9

18 EP ID0. 6 (2) Power 18 Fuel Use 163. 69% Signature 18 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 10,000 Litres Range 4. 2 billion km (7 days at full power)

Size 3 Box Launcher (3) Missile Size 3 Hangar Reload 22. 5 minutes MF Reload 3. 7 hours
Katana ASM Fire Control (1) Range 92. 4m km Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Quote

‘Katana’ ASM-1
Missile Size: 3 MSP (0. 15 HS) Warhead: 4 Armour: 0 Manoeuvre Rating: 10
Speed: 25200 km/s Engine Endurance: 47 minutes Range: 70. 9m km
Cost Per Missile: 1. 945
Chance to Hit: 1k km/s 252% 3k km/s 80% 5k km/s 50. 4% 10k km/s 25. 2%
Materials Required: 1x Tritanium 0. 945x Gallicite Fuel x250

To complement the Panther’s, a dedicated fighter-scout has been designed in order to provide an active sensor required for missile-lock.

Quote

'Hawk-Eye' E-5A class Fighter-Scout 445 tons 15 Crew 178. 8 BP TCS 8. 9 TH 36 EM 0
4044 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 Sensors 1/1/0/0 Damage Control Rating 0 PPV 0
Maint Life 11. 5 Years MSP 126 AFR 3% IFR 0% 1YR 2 5YR 26 Max Repair 140 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 1 months Spare Berths 0

18 EP ID0. 6 (2) Power 18 Fuel Use 163. 69% Signature 18 Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 25,000 Litres Range 6. 2 billion km (17 days at full power)

Hawk-Eye AS 28-11 (1) GPS 14000 Range 154. 0m km Resolution 100

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

4 April 2027
The three Chang Cheng Mk. Is North America, Europe, and Asia are completed and put on high alert. Although the Republic and humanity are clearly not out of harm’s way just yet, the presence of the giant orbital weapons platforms does serve to ease some of tension for those with knowledge of the situation.

True to their word, the Consul holds a press meeting that becomes the largest televised event in human history. Earnest Kwiatkowski of the Centrist Party makes the announcement.

“People of Earth. At some point around the 12th of October, Earth-time, the Republic of Earth Navy vessel San Antonio was attacked and destroyed by an unknown force while attempting to acquire information about the habitable planet in the Beijing system. Our thoughts and prayers go out to brave crew members that served on the ship, as well as their families.

As Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself. While our circumstances may be different, this still holds true — even more so in our situation. Measures have been taken and are currently being carried out to combat this menace. The absolute worst thing that could happen right now is to cave into our fears and fall apart. Humanity must present a united front or it might risk face dire consequences.

The human race is capable of great things, and it will continue to be capable of great things. ”

Immediately following the address, a number of cities report riots, although not in the numbers predicted. Police forces are quick to respond, keeping any damage done to a minimum.

There are a number of critics that attack Kwiatkowski for his brief speech and lack of information. At the same time, a number of supporters seem to believe that the brevity was a thing of brilliance. Overall results are mixed, but one thing becomes evident. The polls show a drastic shift in stances on the military as the population becomes more in favor of the actions undertaken by the Republic.

Code: [Select]

http://i.imgur.com/qPdr2uj.png(2027 Population Issue Stances)

The interesting thing to note is that there was no mention of the enemy vessel that has been sitting inside the asteroid belt for the past four months. Its capabilities remain unknown, along with its intentions. Any attempts at making contact with the vessel have ended in failure.

4 July 2027 – 17:36
Immediately upon completing the first ‘Hawk-Eye’ E-5A, it is given orders to approach the Alpha contact and remain at a distance of 100 million km, seeing as the tonnage of the vessel is unknown. However, it does have a thermal signature of 2303, well beyond any of the Republic ships currently in service.

The five constructed Panthers are given orders to follow the Hawk-Eye. Together the ships move off at half of their speed, just above 2000 km/s, as they are unsure of the contacts passive sensor ability. It will take several days for the strike-craft to cover the distance at this speed.

6 July 2027 – 22:38
The Hawk-Eye has taken up position 100m km from the target, although its active sensor remains inactive. The Panther strike force separates and continues toward the target. Their standing orders are to follow the contact at 50m km. These orders are given because the contact has shown no sign that it knows the Panthers are on approach. By closing the distance, it cuts down on the time it will take for the missiles to reach their target, as well as giving the contact less time to react.

7 July 2027 – 04:38:10
RNI - Radio Log of Panther Strike Group

[04:38:10 Panther 001] Panther 001 to Hawk-Eye. Strike force is in position and awaiting your light. Over.

[04:38:17 Hawk-Eye] Copy that, Panther 001. Turning on light. Over.

[04:38:20 Hawk-Eye] Light is on, repeat light is on! Do you have the feed? Over.

[04:38:25 Panther 001] Roger that, we have the feed. Reading a target of… 28,650 tons? Is that right?

[04:38:33 Hawk-Eye] Target is indeed 28,650 tons. Over.

[04:38:38 Panther 001] Panther 001 to strike force. Acquire missile lock on designated target, but do not fire until my mark! Understood? Over.

*Series of clicks affirming orders from Panther 002 through Panther 004*

[04:38:41 Hawk-Eye] Hawk-Eye to strike force. Active sensor emissions detected from contact. She knows we’re here. Get those missiles out as soon as possible. Over.

[04:38:49 Panther 001] Understood. Over.

[04:38:56 Panther 001] All Panthers are missile locked. Tally ho!

*All 15 missiles are launched from strike force*

[04:39:00 Panther 001] All missiles have been launched. Repeat, all missiles have been launched. Maintain distance of 50m km until missiles have struck target. Over.

*What follows are 32 minutes and 56 seconds of silence as the missiles cover the distance*

[05:11:56 Hawk-Eye] Nuclear detonations detected! Panther strike force, pull back and return to Earth to refuel and reload. Over.

[05:12:06 Panther 001] Understood. Pulling back. Over and out.

*Hawk-Eye reported 7 missile hits on the Alpha out of the 15 launched. 1 missile was intercepted by point blank defense fire while the remainder missed their target. This was well below the 66% chance to hit. However, there were no signs of internal damage, as the contact remained in position the duration of the attack and continued to do so after Hawk-Eye turned off its active sensors. The scout remained in position, as she had a longer deployment period. She would wait while the Panther’s refueled and rearmed for another strike*

7 July 2027 – 17:02:15
Nine salvoes of 12 missiles each are detected heading towards Earth. The Earth Defense Force, consisting of the three Chang Cheng Mk. Is and five Chainmail Mk. Is immediately goes to battle stations and turn on their active sensors. The closest contact is over 9. 6m km away, but they are closing at a speed of 10,600 km/s. This is still slower than the Katana ASM-1, which travels at 25,200 km/s.

Eight minutes later, the number of salvoes increases to 21. The EDF will have its work cut out for them.

These appearances catch almost everyone off guard, as it destroys the hypothesis that the alien vessel didn’t know about Earth. This then raises the question of what “Alpha” was doing for the past seven months sitting in the asteroid field. It had the capability to strike all along, but refrained from doing so for unknown reasons.

Some people in the military question whether it is humanity that has started this conflict, as it appears that the alien ship is only firing in self-defense. While some officers might be thinking this, nothing is said as it appears that humanity could be facing extinction. The missing information is what actually happened in Beijing with San Antonio.

7 July 2027 – 17:17:26
The crews of the Orbital Weapons Platforms struggle to get their weapons activated and ready. Literally seconds before impact, North America fires her weapons and destroys the entire first salvo of enemy missiles. A small ring of cheers is heard sporadically throughout the platforms, but it is short lived. There are still 20 more salvoes to contend with.

The second salvo is intercepted as well. The civilian ships in orbit around Earth begin to break away, finally following orders that were issued as soon as the incoming missiles were first detected.

All of the remaining salvoes were intercepted by North America alone. When the last missile was destroyed the crews of all the vessels let out a cheer and there was general celebration before order was finally restored by the commanding officers. But there was reason to be happy. The Chang Cheng Mk. Is had done their job, and they had done their job well.

On Earth, the populace went about their daily lives, not knowing that nuclear devastation had threatened them and the human civilization.

22:46:10
The Panther strike force reaches Earth and reloads their ordinance with orders to turn around immediately and head back to the Alpha target. However, over the past five hours, “Alpha” has set a course for Earth, moving at 4020 km/s and is now roughly 400m km away by the time the strike force is ready to go. Hawk-Eye continued to maintain a separation of 100m km, its engines just barely faster than the enemy contact.

8 July 2027 – 8:31:10
Hawk-Eye activates her active sensor as the Panthers hold the distance open, this time at 60m km. There is a problem, though, as they realize the enemy has ECM which reduces the Panther’s lock on range to 55m km. They didn’t have to worry about this last time, because they had been set at 50m km away. The five fighter-bombers are order to close to 55m km, and then open fire. All the while, the Hawk-Eye keeps the active sensor on while “Alpha” continues to head for Earth.

It takes 25 precious seconds for the Panthers to launch their missiles in unison. 15 more Katanas streak across space towards “Alpha. ” Seven more hits are scored on the enemy vessel, although three are destroyed by point blank defenses this time. The strike force immediately turns around and heads for Earth once again in order to reload.

At this point in time, “Alpha” has been struck by 14 Katana missiles, each with warheads of size four. There is no sign that the enemy has been weakened, or even fazed by these strikes.

9 July 2027 – 01:28:26
Because there are no dedicated hangars to service the Panthers, the reloading process takes much, much longer than it would otherwise. So by the time the Panthers are ready to launch their third salvo, “Alpha” has closed the distance between itself and Earth to only 16m km. 15 more missiles are launched after only 15 seconds this time, and the Panthers immediately begin the lengthy reloading process, although by the time they are finished, “Alpha” will be upon them.

Hawk-Eye has maintained its distance, and is now well beyond Earth. Her active sensor remains on, but it is clear that “Alpha” is heading towards Earth and the active sensor emissions of the Chang Cheng Mk. Is.

Soon, the orbital weapons platforms may have to enter the fray again.

01:38:00
Ten hits are scored on “Alpha” by the missiles, with only one being intercepted. While the lower interception rate may point to damage on the ship, many are doubtful. If the Chang Cheng Mk. Is have 11 layers of armor, it would not be hard to imagine that this 28,000 ton behemoth has the same or more.

02:34:00
“Alpha” has just crossed within Luna’s orbit, still on a direct course for Earth. Her range is 380k km and closing. The crews that had just been celebrating the victory against the missiles are now nervous as they are unsure of the “Alpha’s” close range abilities.

02:35:05
The orbital weapons platforms open fire as “Alpha” is only 118k km away. However, this is the extreme range of the 10cm lasers, and there are more misses than hits. Six lasers pockmark the hull of the “Alpha” as she continues to close.

At 98k km, the platforms fire again, scoring six hits. There are no signs the enemy contact is slowing down.

At 78k km, ten more hits are scored.

At 58k km, 34 points of damage are dealt as “Alpha” enters a more effective range of the 10cm lasers.

At 38k km, 42 points of damage are dealt.

At 18k km, 54 points of damage are dealt, as the lasers begin to penetrate deeper and deeper into the ship’s armor belt. Still, there are no signs that any of this has actually damaged the ship internally.

At 2:35:35, on the 9th of July, the alien ship, codenamed “Alpha,” rams into North America completely obliterating both of the ships. North America’s armor, although extensive, is no match for the 28,600 ton juggernaut that slams into the orbital weapons platform at over 4000 km/s.

Luckily, given the time of day and the position of the Earth, most of the debris shoots off into space. A spectacular display of light brightens the night sky for people in the Americas. A giant secondary explosion followed by a lesser one and then an even smaller one add to the light show for those people lucky enough to be outside at 9:30 PM EST. In the moments following the explosions, videos from Brazil to Canada explode all over the internet, denying the government any chance at being able to cover up what has happened.

12:00:00
Earnest Kwiatkowski informs the public of the situation, stating that an alien ship had been detected transiting from Beijing into Sol, and that it had done so over seven months ago. There is general outrage at this announcement, mainly over the fact that the public was kept in the dark on the issue.

Kwiatkowski then informs the public that the enemy ship attempted to destroy the orbital weapons platforms from long range, but that the Earth Defense Force served its purpose and was able to destroy every incoming missile. The alien ship, sensing its inability to effectively cause damage to the stations, then proceeded to ram the station in a reckless manner. This course of action caught the EDF unawares and it was unable to stop the destruction of North America. 36 of the 50 crew managed to make it to the life pods before its destruction.

There is a general smegstorm of public dismay following the announcement. While some recognize that the REN has managed to hold off an alien force, many more are angry that the aliens were even able to get close enough to Earth to threaten humanity.

Along with this, everyone seems to be mad that the Republic has seen fit to withhold certain information from the public. The major argument that crops up across the different countries is the fact that there is no longer any real need for secrecy. All of humanity is now on the same team fighting against aliens. Beyond the initial consideration that Earth may descend into chaos after the announcement of first contact, there is reason to withhold information from this point forward.

This stirs up some sentiment in the Senate, especially with the Commune and Republic party members. For the military officers, there is still a strong belief that the public doesn’t need to know everything. In the back of their minds, civilians don’t truly grasp the situation at hand.

For now, the situation remains the same, as the Republic gears up its military and better prepares itself for whatever danger lies in Beijing and beyond.

[ooc]OOC: Wow, this one took me by surprise. Full disclosure, when I saw the enemy ship transit into Sol, I started to panic. For a moment, I thought I was about to have to reset the game so the story wouldn't end three updates in and look like a giant fool to the Aurora community. The only Fast OB that I did was to get two of the Chainmails into orbit over Earth, even though I seriously doubted they would be able to do anything besides attract a missile salvo or two if it came to that.

When the ship just started to hover around in the asteroid field, I was at a loss as to what it was doing. I got even more confused when, upon being attacked, the ship immediately launched its magazine directly at Earth, when it could have done this long before I had the OWPs constructed.

I am happy with how it turned out though, cause I think it's making a good story. Plenty more to come! I just have to revise a lot of it before posting it. [/ooc]

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on February 28, 2013, 06:37:07 PM

Quote from: Amadeus link=topic=5901. msg60479#msg60479 date=1361656752

You could add a few images here and there to break the wall of text. . .

Last time I actually tried to upload some images but imgur was down. Also, I think there is some sort of block for 'new' members (below a certain post limit) that doesn't allow me to post links or things like that for fear of bots. So right now, I can't actually post the pictures into my posts because the forum changes the words and such to breakup links.

Quote from: Amadeus link=topic=5901. msg60479#msg60479 date=1361656752

so I guess you space-mastered this one, so what are your minerals stocks ? What about Solar system resources ? How is the Fuel production going ?

Hopefully, I'll be able to get detailed pictures up in the near future that will be able to cover all of these questions. As of right now, there are no serious problems with either minerals or fuel. Saturn and Uranus have sorium totaling 15 million at access 0. 5 which will provide a decent source of fuel when times get tougher.

Quote from: Amadeus link=topic=5901. msg60479#msg60479 date=1361656752

PS: I've cited the Paradox game AARs example, but I don't know whether you know that there is little group of people playing Aurora there and posting AARs too in the OT (off topic) game forum. The main thread talking of this game is Anyone playing Aurora? here hxxp: forum. paradoxplaza. com/forum/showthread. php?533990-Anyone-playing-Aurora
I discovered this small gem of game thanks to it.
Then there a few games both finished and going on, the latest one is: Aurora III (v 6. 21) - The Final Frontier here: hxxp: forum. paradoxplaza. com/forum/showthread. php?666468-Aurora-III-%28v-6. 21%29-The-Final-Frontier-Hosted-by-Blue-Emu

If you already know this I beg your pardon, otherwise take a look and maybe you could think about "past + copy" this AARs of yours up there too.

Have a nice day.

I've browsed those forums every once and a while, but that never caught my eye. Thank you for the link! I'll consider posting this story somewhere else if it continues well on into the future. As the way things are going, I'm enjoying writing this so it should have my attention for some time. ;D

EDIT: If you look in that last quote of yours, you'll see that your links have been x'ed out and such.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: TheDeadlyShoe on February 28, 2013, 07:28:45 PM

Interesting behavior on the part of the enemy ship. I suppose it's lucky precursor missile design is broken atm. :D

That many missiles would have been a trial alright.

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Cripes Amighty on March 01, 2013, 09:25:16 PM

Quote from: TheDeadlyShoe link=topic=5901. msg60672#msg60672 date=1362101325

Interesting behavior on the part of the enemy ship. I suppose it's lucky precursor missile design is broken atm. :D

That many missiles would have been a trial alright.

I count myself very lucky! How are the missiles broken, by the way? They were quite slow, clocking in at just about 10k km/s making them very easy targets for the lasers. Is that what you are referring to?

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: TheDeadlyShoe on March 01, 2013, 09:29:57 PM

yes, they have very slow engines but enormous warheads

Title: Re: Republic of Earth
Post by: Amadeus on March 11, 2013, 10:12:20 AM

Hello there,

I apologize I forgot to comment before, when I first read it I was to much tired to do it .... :-[

Nice drama and surprising events going on, or coming through actually ! Hope to read your next chapter sometime in the near future.

Are you going to guard the Beijing JP with some kind of armoured beam monitor and minefields or just relying on a large missile fleet ?
Given the huge amount of punishment the "Alpha" class ship was able to endure, you will require quite 3-4 times the fire power just for being safe to deal with one of them. If more Alpha ships comes through then ..... brrrrrr :o

About missiles, Steve wrote ( in his current AAR iirc ) he is going to fix them in the next 6.30 patch, so don't wait to much with your systems exploration & expansion, you could regret it ;D

About links, you're right, of course, anti-spam rules rule here !

PS: see you there waiting you here. 8)

Best regards