Alliance Solar Survey Unit Magellan
January 1, 2010
Juanita Lunning shook her head as she stared at the large display mounted on the forward bridge bulkhead. This was a historic moment and she knew she was lucky to get any post on the ship, much less as the helmsman. The Magellan was operational at last, and about to begin the monumental survey of the solar system. The survey that would tell them if there were trans-Newtonian (TN) minerals on any other bodies in the solar system, knowledge that was vital to the survival of her country, and indeed, the entire world.
Even better, this was the first real try-out for the new engines based on TN tech. Just last year it would have taken old-style spaceships days to reach the moon, and years to get to Mars and back. Now, with the new Ion drives from Rolls Royce, their projected travel time to the moon was literally seconds and they were going to be able to travel to Mars in a matter of hours. The new tech had opened up to the solar system to humanity, and Pickering was still stunned that he was getting in at the beginning. Pickering?s attention was drawn back to reality by the sound of the captain?s voice.
?All stations report on readiness to initiate drives!? Everyone knew that Commodore Luchini was asking this more for the cameras than for any real reason, as they had been preparing for this moment for the last month. One by one the bridge stations announced their readiness until it was Lunning?s turn.
?Helm is ready, Sir! The course is plotted and all systems show ready to execute.?
One by one the rest of the stations reported their readiness, and then, suddenly, the time was upon them. Commodore Luchini looked around one more time, then signaled to the Communications Officer. ?Lieutenant Mundy, signal our readiness to depart to the National Defense Orbital Command Center and request a departure window.?
?Yes, Sir.? Mundy turned to his board and began speaking in a low voice. Once again, Lunning knew that this was more for the numerous cameras hovering about the bridge than because of any real need. The need to put on a good show for the folks back home had been made clear to them all, over and over again. Given the money spent on the Magellan, and indeed on the entire space program, the people back home had a right to expect something for their money, and this was a historic moment.
?Sir, Orbit Control reports an unscheduled departure!? Everyone on the bridge turned in shock to stare at the bridge plot. In an age where missiles reached their target in seconds, nothing unscheduled happened close to Earth. Ever. But there it was, for everyone to see. Accelerating away from the Reich Orbital Yards was the icon for the new Reich exploration ship, the Berne. Lunning felt her mouth drop open, then quickly got herself under control, glancing at the Commodore. What she saw there shook her, as she saw the naked fury on the Commodore?s face. The Commodore quickly got himself under control, but Lunning knew what she had seen. The Commodore was furious that the Reich had yet again stolen the limelight from the Alliance. Lunning realized what must have happened. Both sides took care to make sure movements close to Earth were scheduled in advance, and she knew for a fact that the Magellan?s planned movement had been disclosed to the Reich to avoid an incident. The Reich had known exactly when the Magellan would leave, and had scheduled their exploration ship to depart first, trying to steal the Alliance?s thunder. It got worse when they realized what their sensors were reporting. ?Sir, the Berne has accelerated to 3,386 kps!?
Commodore Luchini shook his head, his face like stone. The Berne was just like their ship, a conversion from a pre-TN technology survey ship the Reich had been building in response to the Alliance?s Magellan. For it to be that much faster than the Alliance?s ship was, well, beyond disturbing. The Alliance military ships under construction in the yards were reputed to be faster, but no one knew for sure. After a second, though, Luchini?s face broke into a smile. ?Nothing to worry about, people. We could get a rock up to light speed if we strapped enough engines to it. Let?s get back to business. Lieutenant Mundy, do we have clearance from Orbit Control to depart??
Mundy shook his head, then turned back to his board. ?Yes, Sir, we do. Departure authorized on course alpha at 1800 hours.
There was silence for a second, and Lunning turned to look at the Commodore. What she saw caused a grin to spread across her face. She knew that look. After a second the Commodore spoke. ?Helm, recalculate course, new destination, Mercury! We?ll show the Germans what?s what! Let them go to the moon if they want, we?ll be the first new-tech ship to go to another planet! Communications, transmit our new course to orbit control.?
?Sir, yes Sir!? Lunning turned back to her board and punched in the new destination. In a few seconds the ship?s comp had completed calculations had displayed the new course. Lunning reviewed it and accepted the change, then turned back to the Commodore. ?Commodore, the new course is laid in. Departure is on course alpha, with a radical turn beyond the moon?s orbit. ETA to Mercury is twenty-one hours, forty-two minutes. The proposed course has been transferred to Communications.?
?Very well. Prepare to depart as soon as Orbit Control acknowledges.? Everyone turned back to their boards. It took several minutes for the response to come back, minutes that passed while they watched the Berne arrive at the moon and begin what was obviously a survey sweep over the lunar surface.
Finally Orbit Control responded, and Lt. Mundy put it up on the overhead speakers. ?Your course is approved, Magellan, and good luck!? Lunning?s eyebrows went up as he recognized Vice Admiral Baldassano?s voice. The Fleet Commander herself!
?Helm, all ahead full!? Commodore Luchini?s eyes gleamed, and sitting there, at the focus of the bridge, he appeared every inch the leader of the expedition. A man that the crew would follow anywhere. Commander Lunning drank it in, paying attention to every detail, knowing that one day she would be in the same position.
As the helm officer, Lunning knew that ?all ahead full?, in this case, didn?t really mean ?full speed?. Fleet command had put out a general order limiting all ships to 80% of their nominal top speed, in order to keep the Alliance Fleet?s true capabilities a secret. Commodore Luchini wasn?t about to say that, not in front of cameras that would be broadcasting throughout the Alliance, though. Lunning hit the ?execute? button on his console and then looked up to see the stars on the main monitor blur as the ship immediately accelerated to 2,181 kps. Mankind?s first expedition to another planet using TN technology was underway!
All across the far-flung Alliance, and throughout the Reich, there were celebrations as the governments publicized the adventures of their exploration ships. Newspapers and online news outlets published pictures of the Magellan and the Berne over every major planet in the solar system, and most of the moons as well, updating them daily. The Magellan?s survey of the solar system lasted for months, while that of the Berne lasted slightly longer. By the end of the expedition, Commodore Luchini, who had managed to be in most of the vid clips sent back to the homeworld, was a hero in the eyes of the public, as were most of his officers and even some of the more memorable crew members.
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Alliance Weapons Research & Development Division
Proposal 2010-19B
Advanced Anti-spacecraft missile, code name: Valkyrie
The current missile generation, the Thor, is merely an upgrade of the old Minuteman II ICBM to include Trans-Newtonian technology. This upgrade has created a missile system capable of striking terrestrial targets in a matter of seconds, compared to twenty to thirty minutes for the pre-TN tech missiles, and much greater payload capability, however, the Thor is barely capable of targeting orbital targets and will not be a credible deterrent to hostile mobile space craft utilizing TN technology. Therefore, a design proposal for a new anti-spacecraft missile was authorized and has now been finalized. The specifications are as follows:
Size: 10
Warhead: 10
Speed: 15,600 kps
Endurance: 48 minutes
Range: 45 million km?s
Agility Rating: 17
Armor: 1
One hundred Valkyrie class missiles have been authorized for immediate construction, once the final development and engineering work is completed. These missiles will be deployed to the existing missile bases in North and South America.
The deployment of Valkyrie missiles will necessitate an upgrade of the existing missile targeting systems in the National Defense Centers, as the older Thor tracking systems were designed for acquiring planetary targets only.
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Washington Post
?New Naval Academy Opens!?
The Western Alliance Space Force has announced the completion of its brand new Officer?s Academy in Quito, Ecuador. The new Academy doubles the WASF?s training capacity and is seen as a visible sign of the commitment of the government to the exploration of the solar system.
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October 1, 2010
Washington Post
?New Colony to be opened on Mars!?
The Alliance Council announced today that it will begin accepting applications for a new colony to be formed on Mars in November, once the new colony transport has been launched. The new colony will be established in the southern hemisphere, well away from the scientific and military colony in the northern areas. To handle the applications, the Council has announced the formation of a new department of the Alliance Government, the Bureau of Colonization.
The announcement has been met with great excitement, and BuCol has already been overwhelmed with applications.
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November 6, 2010
Excerpt from the ABC Nightly News
Interview with the Alliance President?s Press Secretary
?No, we do not view this event with alarm. The Indians are our friends and have gone out of their way to maintain good relations with us. The President is happy that they have launched an exploration ship, and has issued orders to the Space Force to do everything in their power to assist the Indians, should they need it.?
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November 20, 2010
Alliance Orbital Yards (Thames Ironworks Orbital Yards 1 & 2)
Cheering broke out as the two new spaceships broke free of their moorings and hovered just off of the station. The ships, the Halsey and the Spruance, were the Alliance?s newest, and only, warships. Sleek and deadly looking, they were shaped like long, tapered cylinders. Each mounted a large, lethal looking turret with dual lasers on the top and bottom, and on the centerline was an even larger laser mount.
Those among the crowd who were knowledgeable enough could pick out the shield generators mounted in various places across the hull, along with sensors and other equipment related to life support. The Alliance warship was only lightly armored, but in exchange it was heavily shielded, and the generators covered much of the surface area of the ship.
In two or three weeks the Reich would launch its own warships, but for now the Alliance had the advantage. The new squadron, under its commanding officer Captain Jude Langenfield, a somewhat controversial choice, was ordered to Mars on a diplomatic mission to show the flag and, just incidentally, intercept a certain Indian survey ship that was working its way towards Mars even then.
November 28, 2010
?This is the Alliance Warship Spruance, Captain Langenfield commanding. You will immediately halt where you are and turn back or be fired upon.?
Captain Langenfield narrowed his eyes as the Indian ship continued to approach. He frowned and punched a command into his console. After a few seconds the display changed to show their current position in respect to Mars. The oncoming Indian ship was just over 10 million kilometers from Mars, while his squadron was positioned midway in between Mars and the Indian ship. The Indians didn?t appear to be impressed with his warning. The barbaric idiots.
?Very well, if those ignorant savages want to push this, we?ll give them what they want. Raise shields and charge the weapons and transmit and order to the Halsey to do the same. And open a channel to the Indians.? In a second the channel was open. ?This is Captain Langenfield. Approach no closer than ten million kilometers from Mars. The Alliance Council has announced a ten million kilometer exclusion zone around Mars, and we are authorized to use deadly force to enforce the zone. This is your last warning. Langenfield out!?
The bridge went quiet as the other officers began readying the ship for battle. Langenfield stared at the main bridge display as the Indian ship approached the exclusion zone, which was marked on the display by a large red line. He was fairly sure that the Indians were too stupid to realize the danger they were in, and he was actually looking forward to teaching them a lesson about who was in charge out here. He could swat their rickety ship out of the sky, and there wasn?t a damned thing that their government could do about it, aside from launching nukes at Alliance cities, which they wouldn?t do because the Alliance had even more nukes aimed at their cities. Right now the Alliance was the only government with warships in the solar system, and he could do as he wished.
The icon representing the Indian ship came to a halt just short of the exclusion zone, much to Langenfield?s disappointment. After a second the bridge viewer lit with a message from the other ship. ?This is Rear Admiral Singh of the Republican survey ship Trinkat. I must protest this outrageous behavior! The Alliance government has not discussed this ?exclusion zone? with my government, and I doubt its legality!?
Captain Langenfield shifted in his chair and nodded to his communications officer. ?Admiral Singh, you can protest its legality all you want, as long as you don?t violate it.? Langenfield?s mouth twisted into an unpleasant sneer. ?If you do violate it, you will regret it. Briefly. End of discussion.?
The Indian ship spent the next several minutes attempting to regain communications, but the Alliance ships refused all attempts. Finally the Indian ship turned away and set out for Jupiter, leaving Mars, and the Alliance ships, behind.
The Spruance and the Halsey stayed for several days, before setting out on a training exercise that took them across the inner system. Their course took them quite close to a number of interesting things, including quite close to Venus.
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Presidential Briefing Session, December 31, 2010
One by one the Ministers had gone over their areas of interest, trumpeting their achievements or voicing their concerns as the case may be. The current President had their briefings every Monday, however, as this was the end of the year and very nearly the beginning of a new year, this briefing traditionally tended to focus on longer term problems, goals, or achievements.
The Minister for the Treasury had just finished his rather glowing report about the broad outlines of the Alliance?s economy. Now it was Nora Murdock?s turn. As the newly appointed Minister for the Bureau of Colonization, she had the least to report, but also, in some ways, had the most hopeful and favorable report. As everyone turned towards her she nodded to the President. ?I know my department is new, and we?ve only been around for a few months, but I do have a lot to report. As of today, the population of Mars is now nearly five hundred thousand colonists, as compared to its former high of barely 50,000 scientists, soldiers, and engineers. Thanks to the new TN drives we anticipate increasing this number many times over during the next year. In fact, I think it is time that we begin looking at the way we want the new colony to develop. The new colonists are eager to begin productive work once they have settled in, and with the automated construction equipment busily putting together the infrastructure sent from Earth they can begin nearly immediately. I have several proposed development plans here?? she reached for her controller to bring up the plans on the room?s wall-mounted display, but before she could the Minister for the Treasury interrupted.
??Excuse me, Minister, but I think that this has already been decided by this Council, especially in light of the survey report. Mars has vast deposits of trans-Newtonian minerals, and there are many mining corporations within the Alliance who are even now gearing up to exploit those resources. Anything but full and complete exploitation of those resources would be folly.? Minister Garcia-Uribe settled back into his chair with a concerned expression on his face.
Before Minister Murdock could say anything Roberta Vales, Minister for the Interior, spoke. ?Excuse me, Jorge, but you aren?t talking about just exploiting those resources, but the colonists as well. Your rich friends will get even richer on the back of those people who are trying to get a fresh start on Mars! And if you get your way they?ll be met by the same exploitation there that they were fleeing from here!?
There were groans around the table as Roberta ramped up her arguments. But before she could really launch herself the President intervened. ?Roberta, you have your concerns, and I don?t think anyone here would argue that you don?t have a point, but really, we should let Minister Murdock finish her report. After all, nothing has been decided yet.?
?Thank you Mr. President.? Minister Murdock glanced at Minister Vales, who was reluctantly settling back into her chair, then back at her notes. She would have to think about this carefully. Minister Murdock obviously had little support among the other Ministers but she was well connected politically, and rumor had it that she was the U.S. President?s chosen representative on the Alliance Council of Ministers. ?At any rate, there are a large number of colonists on Mars that are ready to begin working on whatever we decide to make our priority. At the current rate of population transfer I anticipate that by the end of 2011 we will have approximately four million colonists on Mars.? There were stunned looks around the room as the others took this in. They all knew the benefits of TN technology; perhaps better than anyone else in the Alliance, but still, being presented with the benefits in such a concrete way was just stunning. It took twenty years of painstaking effort to transfer fifty thousand humans to Mars, and now, in just a month, they had increased the population of Mars by ten times that and it looked like they were going to be able to do much more than that in the near future. Enjoying the looks, Minister Murdock settled back in her chair, signaling that her presentation was over.
The President shook his head. ?That?s very encouraging, Nora. Very encouraging. Now how about your report, Dolores??
?Thank you Mr. President.? She rose and gestured to Fleet Admiral Douglass McMann, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. ?Admiral McMann will present the first portion of the report, which deals with our fleet and that of the other nations. Admiral??
?Thank you, Minister Galvan. Ministers.? Tall, spare, white-haired and every inch the patrician, Fleet Admiral McMann was widely respected throughout the Alliance. ?Ladies and gentlemen, as you know our first two warships, the Halsey and the Spruance, are operational and are currently conducting exercises in the inner system. In addition, our first cruiser, the Lexington will launch in a matter of hours. Together with the Spruance and the Halsey, they will form the Alliance 1st Space Battle Group. These ships have the operational range to strike at targets in the Oort Cloud and return.?
Minister Garcia-Uribe grimaced. ?What about the Germans, Admiral? What are they doing??
Admiral McMann took the question in stride. After all, it was the obvious question. ?The Reich recently launched two ships, both of which were substantially smaller than our Admiral class destroyers at approximately 3,600 tons, compared to 4,500 tons for our ships. Long-range telescopic examination of the ships as they launched revealed little. They had no obvious turrets and very little else in the way of obvious external features. Our analysts currently believe that the Reich ships are armed with missiles, which would be in keeping with the Reich?s general lead in that branch of technology. In addition, the Reich yards are working on a larger, cruiser class ship believed to be similar in capabilities to our City class cruisers. The launch date on that ship is uncertain.?
Minister Garcia-Uribe grimaced again. ?Can your fleet handle the Germans if it should come to that?? The other Ministers, along with the President, watched the exchange with interest.
Carefully controlling his face, Admiral McMann shook his head. ?Minister, the Western Alliance Space Force can handle any enemy, the Reich included. When the Lexington launches, the WASF will be the pre-eminent military force in space.?
?Until the Germans launch their cruiser.?
?Even then.?
Defense Minister Galvan shook her head. ?Jorge, lets let Admiral McMann continue with his presentation. Admiral McMann, I believe you were going to move on to the other nations??
?Yes Minister.? Admiral McMann inclined his head to the Defense Minister in thanks, then continued. ?Both the Japanese and the Russians have recently launched a single ship. In both cases the ships appear to be freighters. Both nations have a large ship under construction, as well as several smaller, probably civilian, ships. Naval Intelligence has identified the large ships as cruiser class vessels, of approximately the same tonnage as the Lexington. Orbital surveillance has managed to confirm that both ships are more than halfway complete, and will likely launch in a matter of months. As for the Confederation and the Indian Republic, each has a single shipyard with a single slipway. Both are working on a single ship, neither of which appears to be a military unit.?
?Very well, thank you Admiral.? Minister Galvan stood to take the Admiral?s place. ?Now that the Admiral has brought us up to date on the military situation, I want to talk about Mars.? Seeing the Minister for Colonization?s glance, she held up her hand. ?The military situation on Mars, Minister. I?m sure you all know this, but I?m going to tell you again anyway. What I?m going to say is classified at the highest level. This cannot be discussed with anyone not already cleared for this information, which at this point are the people in this room. Nearly everyone else cleared for this is on Mars, where we can control their communications.? She looked around and got nods from each of the Ministers before continuing. ?As you all know, most of the personnel that we sent to Mars over the last two decades were sent there to explore the ruins the First Mars Expedition to Cydonia found in 1986. Indeed, the trans-Newtonian technology which has made the Ministry of Colonization and the Space Force possible was found on Mars. What you don?t know is that two months ago the survey teams broke through into an entirely new area deep beneath Cydonia. This new area is much better preserved than the ruins found to date. In fact, some of the installations they?ve found appear to be functional.?
?What? Functional, how is that possible?? Minister Vales wore the same confused look that they all did. She was just the first to speak what they were all thinking. ?I thought those ruins were tens of thousands of years old, maybe older. How can anything be operational after all that time??
?We?re not completely sure. The best guesses of the teams conducting the survey is a combination of automated repair systems, durable construction techniques that we have yet to understand, and the use of something they are calling ?stasis fields? on critical equipment. In any case, the teams have already recovered installations recognizable as a deep space tracking station and a sorium fuel refinery. Even better, the survey teams estimate that there may be as many as several hundred installations buried beneath Cydonia.?
?My god! Mr. President, this gives us an opportunity! We can industrialize Mars without shipping anything from Earth!? Minister Murdock?s thoughts were spinning with the import of the news.
?Now wait a minute, Minister! We haven?t decided to industrialize Mars at all! We?ve got to??
Before he could get going, the President interrupted Minister Garcia-Uribe. ?Wait, both of you! Before we get into any debates about what we are going to do on Mars, let?s figure out what we?ve got there. Minister, any sign of any more advanced technology that the Martians might have left lying around??
?No, Sir. At least not yet. Of slightly more concern is what the Reich is finding on Venus. We know, through various sources, that the Reich has found ruins similar to ours on Venus, and that they independently discovered TN tech after our discovery on Mars pointed the way. What we don?t know is if they found a similar cache of intact installations in their ruins. If they haven?t, our find could give us a decisive advantage in the near future.?
?Yes, thank you Dolores. Now I think we need to move on. Ministers Garcia-Uribe and Murdock, I think we need to schedule a meeting to discuss the future of the Mars Colony. Why don?t you attend as well, Dolores, since this may affect your mandate on Mars. In any case??
The meeting went on, with Minister Vales giving her report on education and social welfare concerns throughout the Alliance, but all of their thoughts were on Mars and what had been found there.
That's it for now. More to follow. As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcomed and encouraged, and non-constructive criticism will be targeted from orbit.
