The Galaxy Awaits ... Choose Your Path!

[Mel Vixen]

Great speech Mr. Fox, although I'm surprised a bit that you met your end with such peace.  Unfortunately nobody got to hear it, as there is no 'camera' or advanced communications equipment in the lifepods, only automated beacons.  

Private camcorder

[GenJeFT]

Couple of questions.

Jedidiah Thone(1) -- Back on Reinmuth after an important if minor role in the Epsilon Eridani crisis. 

What did he do? I looked back and could not find him mentioned.

Also, could we make a family? Like lets say Jedidiah is married and has some kids coming of age old enough to serve or something.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

He was an official observer, on the Excelsior IIRC.  Chosen because of his personality, the whole risk-taker thing. 

As to the other idea, I'm making another thread for comments on that. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2059 ANNUAL REPORT

Call it the calm after the storm.  2059 was a pretty quiet year, for which most everyone was very thankful.  The 'excitement' of '58 is not generally preferred by sane people. 

The army goes with experience, promoting 48-year-old Joann Altschuler as it's most recent brigadier general to fill the vacancy, while it was decided they could make do with six generals and so a seventh was not needed. 

The year's biggest news was the deployment of the first Forrestals, as the first one takes up station at the Epsilon Eridani jump point on April 27th.  A second is added later, and a third is en route to the Lalande point by the end of the year. 

Meanwhile, the first sensors are deployed on a pair of shuttles in March, and 2059 sees most of the shuttles refit and the harvesters less than a month away from finishing their run of refits.  The freighters will take much longer, and the Tod & MacGregor begins the long process of adding a second slipway to speed up the process, but that will take over two years to finish. 

The private sector continues to do our work for us, placing four more mining complexes on Sedna for a total now of 15.  That's over 1.6kt, somewhere in the range of a quarter of our duranium supply, from that rock alone.  Almost 4 million credits a year now goes to that worthy investment.  At this rate, it will soon be the top line item in our annual budget. 

Automines continue to be shipped out to Triton, which is now in the low 40s.  The mineral crisis, which lasted over two decades, can be decisively declared to be over.  Shipyards are now free to make whatever expansion/construction is deemed necessary, Earth's industrial capacity is expanding(and would expand faster were it not for the need to pour resources immediately into laboratories, deep space scanners, new shipyards, etc.).  SPACE has reached a clear transition, much more economically viable now and sustainably so for decades, probably centuries, but the alien threat has taken center stage.

The expected weapons review and implications of it is now on everyone's minds, expected about a month into the new year ...

Commissioned Officers

Mid-January -- The meteoric Mitchell Feeser is now promoted to Commander, and immediately tapped by HQ as their top captain candidate despite his relative lack of experience.  It's possible he could skip any kind of military ship command entirely. 

Daniel Watters is commissioned
Fleet Movement Initiative:  121
Xenology:  25%
Espionage:  10%
Personality:  Courageous, delegates easily, optimistic, subjective
Outlook:  Other than having the 'right stuff' personality-wise, he's one of the worst recruits in a long time.  We lack the technology to make his Xenology bonus useful.  A generation or two from now he'd probably be very valuable in that way.  At this moment, there isn't much hope for him. 

Early March -- Five naval officers are dismissed. 

Late September -- Olad Mrtav commissioned.
Fleet Movement Initiative:  317
Bonuses:  Survey/Fighter Combat/Communications 10% each, 25 Crew Training
Personality:  doesn't accept change easily(wrong profession for that, buddy!)
Outlook:  Olad has enough skill that he's currently next in line for a command.  A natural career path will have someone of his modest ability probably making Commander eventually -- if he applies himself. 

Research & Development

June 11 -- Research rate increased(Deacon Palmer).  The more efficient storage equipment and techniques immediately accelerate every project ongoing, as well as freeing up the two laboratories that were being used by Palmer's team.  He'll take over work on improving the construction rate of our factories(previously led by Shannon Patteson and a third finished).  Elsewhere, Joe Tycho gets back in the game with resumption of his work on improving turret tracking speed after nearly a year's hiatus, and Elwood Tousant starts a project focused on improving EM sensors. 

Earth

Early August --  Freighter refits begin.  New research lab built, Dr. Edward Groat gets to work on reducing thermal emissions from engines. 

Early December -- The third Forrestal is completed and heads to the Lalande 21185 jump point, with Olad Mrtav in command. 

Mid-December -- Duranium on Machholz has been exhausted.  From time to time various minerals have dried up, but this is a significant development as it is the main reason for the 27+ mines on the rock.  There are still significant deposits of neutronium and corundium there, as well as mercassium and sorium, so for now no diverting of mines will occur. 

[Cripes Amighty]

Early December -- The third Forrestal is completed and heads to the Lalande 21185 jump point, with Olad Mrtav in command. 

Yes! Got me a lucky one. Are ship designs posted anywhere? I thought I remember reading about it earlier, but a quick search didn't turn up anything. Also, does Mrtav have knowledge about the classified wrecks in Lalande 21185 or is that above his clearance?

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

No, he doesn't know about that.  As far as ship designs, I haven't posted the actual design details but there's a summary every four years in the SoS report. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Update -- I'm writing up new SPACE policies based on the weapons review, and it's taking a lot longer than I thought it would.  That's partly due to RL interruptions and partly due to thinking through more different options than I expected.  I should have that up early next week and then get through the rest of 2060. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

STRATEGIC REVIEW

On January 6, the Nuclear Pulse Engine was completed(Dr. Sanko Makar), and revealed to result in a 60% power increase over a similar nuclear thermal engine.  On the 28th, Particle Beam research was finished([/b]Eva Vadnais[/b]), paving the way for a strategic review of SPACE's current military stance, readiness, etc.  The primary mission remains the defense of Sol, with secondary objectives given as gathering more intel on the alien(s) and expanding human presence beyond our home system. 

TECHNOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT

There is precious little information available on the aliens, but there were  a number of pieces of information gleaned in Epsilon Eridani:  they utilize ships capable of at least 6.5k km/s, and missiles capable of 15-30k km/s, and have vastly superior sensor systems.  It must be stressed at this point that they may have other vessels/weapons systems far different in capability than these, but we can only operate on the basis of the information that we have. 

There are a number of good arguments in favor of energy weapons rather than kinetic.  Firstly, the top two weapons scientists are both in the energy field:  Ignacio Bavaro and Eva Vadnais, though a number of decent if lesser minds are developing in kinetic weaponry.  Secondly, they are re-usable:  there's no ammuntion to worry about building.  Third and finally, they make for the best jump point defence as closer ranges are their forte, espescially due to higher rates of fire. 

The most obvious form of defense would be to field a weapons system capable of shooting down their missiles.  This is impossible with any kind of energy-based system, due to the fact that the best tracking speed we can muster is capable for our fire control systems is 5k km/s, or at best a third of their velocity.  In an offensive role, beam weapons would be limited by our completely inadequate propulsion technology:  namely, that we would have to occupy well over half a ship's volume with nothing but engines to even match the speed of the enemy ships.  Unless we build such ships which would have very little space for the weapons systems themselves, there would be no way to prevent the aliens from simply firing their missiles at us from out of range, then retreating to load more, and so on with impunity.  That is, unless they were guarding some crucial objective that they didn't want to retreat from, but in this case we are the most obviously the ones on the defensive.

Missile-based systems don't fare much better:  our best anti-missile projections are that we would have, at best, a 6% chance at a successful intercept.  It is, however, the only option that currently holds out any hope of destroying enemy ships.  A reasonably sized anti-ship missile could presently be designed with a projected 20-25% hit rate against ships of the speed the aliens were observed traveling at. 

GROUND FORCES

It is expected that the lion's share of protection responsibilities will lie with the Navy, and that the army will still be called upon largely in a police role as is presently their sole duty.  However, as soon as better offensive capabilities are discovered, more units will be trained up for the goal of occupying strategic objectives by force should the need arise.  At present, maintenance of ground forces consumes less than 0.4% of annual income, so the cost is hardly a concern at this point and being ready for all contingencies is certainly desirable.   

NAVAL FORCES

The time has come for the SPACE Navy to essentially split into two branches:  a commercial branch and a combat branch.  The decision is made to design military ships relying on  both energy and missile-based variants for a number of reasons.  One is to get used to the various components required, how much space they will require, etc.  Given the technological gap, our current weaponry is expected to have little to no effect on the enemy in a serious confrontation, and yet the political situation clearly demands action.  Building multiple types of ships gives more flexibility and basically punts a number of decisions down the road. 

NAVAL DOCTRINE

Given our present near-complete inability to defend against the aliens known attack abilities, present thought favors a high number of small vessels in the hopes that those not initially targeted by an enemy fleet will be able to fire and damage the enemy before coming under fire themselves.  There will not be anything in the way of centralized command or sensor vessels, as the enemy would likely destroy these quickly crippling the fleet.  Rather, each ship will be expected to operate on its own.  This is far from an optimal solution, but the only one presenting itself.  This also means a carrier-based fleet is for now out of the question, as a carrier would simply be an easy target for alien missiles. 

ENERGY-BASED WEAPONS

It is still desired to utilize SPACE's natural talents and develop a focus on energy weapons over time.  But that still leaves the question of which energy weapons?  The conclusion of analysts is that there is no way to insulate ourselves against the possibility of not choosing the 'optimal' system(s) -- it all depends on what enemies field and trying to research them all can only result in mastering none.  Further, early projections by the scientific community indicate a specialized, layered approach to ship weaponry and defense is far more likely to be effective and flexible than a one-size-fits-all philosophy focused on just one weapons system. 

The laser is an obvious choice, with as good of a damage-to-power ratio as any weapons system available.  Only the plasma carronade is equal in this, and it is larger and much more costly.  Range is a virtual non-issue at the moment as all of the systems far out-range our fire control capabilities. 

The meson cannon fits by far the best among the energy-based weapons prototypes as a point defense type of weapon.  Meson particles ignore shields and armor, and the cannon has minimal power requirements like the laser, though with minimal damage and half the range. 

Thie size and cost of the particle beam rules it out as a serious option, as does the plasma carronade. 

One final option deserves special mention -- microwave.  The high-powered microwave is designed to deplete enemy shields and damage electronic systems, essentially blinding them but not destroying them.  The most obvious use to this would be as a first step to capturing enemy ships, something we will definitely want to do sometime down the road as part of our attempts to learn more about them. 

MISSILES & KINETIC WEAPONS

It seems a certain amount of diversification will be necessary.  Since missiles are basically a combat requirement for us right now, a modest amount of research will be invested in making them better, at least until we can 'catch up' to the aliens, if we can, in other areas.  A second reason is the CIWS, which has been deemed necessary for commercial vessels for political reasons. As it utilizes gauss cannon technology, that will also need to have a certain amount of research dedicated towards it. 

MILITARY GOALS

** Finishing up the deployment of Forrestals at all jump points with a reserve and a new class to serve as a 'carrier' to ferry them around Sol as needed.
** Research will focus on propulsion and sensors/fire controls first, particle beams and meson cannons second, with a modest investment also in advancing missile technology/gauss(for CIWS) and general advancement/economic improvements, etc. 
** Refitting of all vessels except the Perry harvesters(which don't need speed as much) to take advantadge of the newer, more powerful engines as well as CIWS.  The # of CIWS will vary based on the size of the ship, but all vessels including commercial will get at least one as SPACE is committed to at least the appearance of protection of its personnel.  It is the only weapons system that has been declassified enough to permit mounting it on commercial vessels. 
** Design and construction of planetary missile bases, primarily for the purpose of pacifying the public.
** Design and construction of two classes of military ships, as small as practicable:  one based on missiles and another emphasizing beam weapons.  Particle beams will be used for long-range, anti-ship duty and meson cannons for short-range, anti-missile duty. 
** New/expanded shipyards as deemed necessary to meet and stay ahead of current needs. 
** For political reasons, further interstellar exploration comes last.  However, it is presently the navy's top priority internally.  It has been decided to name the effort the Fox Plan, an homage to Herman Fox who pioneered(ahead of his time to the point of impracticality) the idea of sending small, expendable ships in first as explorers.  There will be more detail on the Fox Plan as the time for it approaches. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2060 Annual Report

It was another quiet year, as various research projects took center stage.  The first order of business was to get a new line of commercial engines going, the WP NP-100 as it was designated(WP standing for WawaPincus, the manufacturer).  Also our first weapons systems, manufactured by the KKC(Kimmel-Kiewit Corporation), which will be the CIWS I.  All further refits were put on hold, since there's not much point in doing it twice ...

On March 15th, the first Forrestal arrived on station at the Lalande 21185 jump point.  All of the jumps leading to systems known to have alien presence are now being monitored for incoming threats.  Around the same time, orders went out on Earth to queue up an additional 25 conversions of CI to CF, which when finished will leave us with an even 400 factories. 

April brought the completion of the Baltimore-Marine Shipyard, the second naval facility.  Also, the 50th automine is on its way to Triton.  After reviewing the situation, it has been decided to keep investing there at least until the freighter refits with newer, faster engines have been completed.   

Noteworthy advances also were reached in August(Mobile Infantry Battalion, the first offensive combat unit under the TN revolution) and December(Improved Command & Control, allowing the construction of Sector Commands).  The facilities required will take some time to build, and resources were allocated to let the completion coincide with the 2065 election.  Mobile Infantry is twice as effective in defense as in attack, but they are still far superior to traditional armour formations in attack capabilities. 

Commissioned Officers

March -- James Earl Jones V improves Shipbuilding up to 40%.   

Mid-April -- James Earl Jones V increases mining to 10%, a surprising resurgence for him after years of not really going anywhere.

Early July -- Joe Tycho's admin rating increases to 6. 

Early August -- The first medical problem in memory has surfaced for the seemingly invincible Herbert Duling.  He's not eligible for re-election anyway, but if this illness proves serious he may find himself relegated to a fairly minor post. 

Mid-August -- 32-year-old Rey Hoel is the latest General to be promoted.

Late November -- Tell Perj Jr. increases Fleet Movement Initiative to 306.

Early December -- Joe Tycho 's Pol. Rel. up to 10%. 

Earth

MId-April -- Another Forrestal is completed and heads to the Lalande jump point.  There are still 16 needed but they are put on hold pending research space for new thrusters to be designed. 

Late September -- Earth has now depleted Uridium deposits.   

November 11 -- Research lab finished(21 now).  Eva Vadnais gets to work on increasing the recharge rate of our capacitors. 

Research & Development

** May 23 -- KKC CIWS I prototype completed(Dr. Rosa Suda).  Though it is completely defensive in nature, this marks the first human space-based weapons system.  The space is diverted to the JPS NP-24, a new manuevering thruster for the Forrestal sensor buoys.  Vadnais takes the project due to a lack of qualified propulsion scientists. 

** July 17 -- JPS NP-24 research completed(Dr. Eva Vadnais) and construction begins on updated Forrestal-b buoys.  The freighter engine, WP NP-200, will be developed next.  Everett Snuggs gets the call on that one, expected to take a year and a half. 

** Late July --  Dr. Rosa Suda has improved her expertise in M&K to 40%, a marked increase in our ability to research in that field.

** Late August -- Sensors & Fire Control gets a boost as Dr. Bessie Wallanders's expertise is now up to 25%.

** September 23 -- Rosemary Urenda's team completes the prototype of the WP NP-100, our primary commercial engine(for non-freighters).  This allows the redesign of the harvesters and shuttles to proceed, though the shuttles will have to wait to begin the process until after the coming election as they are otherwhise occupied at the moment. 

** October 5 -- Thermal Sensor Sensitivity(Dr. Julio Kuchler) is increased.  He'll next work on the most vital matter of increasing the tracking speed of our fire control systems. 

** Early November -- Kuchler, our top sensors scientist, is now up to 40%.  We have a reasonably good scientist in all key fields now. 

** December 8 -- After finishing Improved Command & Control research, Dr. Cedrick Wormack moves on doing similar work for the Army, researching Brigade Headquarters which allows for a proper command structure a level above battalion commands. 

Civilian Activities

Late July -- Jensrud gets in the fuel business, launching their first harvester.

Late August -- Sedna expands again, 16 complexes now. 

Mid-November -- Sedna up to 17 complexes. 

[GenJeFT]

Wow, its not dead Yay!

[Rolepgeek]

Wonderful. My character is now useless, due to Rosa Suda.

Greeeeaaat.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Not useless ... but certainly less useful .

Wow, its not dead Smiley Yay!

Shh ... keep it down

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

STATE OF SPACE, 2061

I.  IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

IA.  Populated Colonies

Earth(1.059b, 394 CF, 191 CI, 50 OF, 10 FF, 75 REF, 21 RL, 2 AC, 4 DSTS, 11k MF)
Luna(30.5m)
Mars(25.81m)
Titan(15.11m)
Venus(190k)
Mercury(less than 5k)

Due largely to changes in colonization policy, Luna has actually shrunk by over 5 million, but the other colonies have grown dramatically.  Non-essential(in a strategic sense) locations such as Luna and Mars are now used as a source for colonists once they reach the 25m threshold, leaving only natural growth to increase their size.  Total human population is now at 1.13b souls, a increase of over 10% in the past four years that has been concentrated on Earth as one might logically expect.  With the 2% Initiative dead for the time being at least, it is likely that Earth and Titan will be the largest sources of continued growth. 

IB.  Outposts

Earth(73 SM, 181 CI, 9.6 eff, 1.178 kt) -- 7.6 y of mercassium, 9.3 y of duranium, though those dates continue to increase slightly with mine conversion
Titan(25 SM, 6 eff, 234t)
Sedna(17 CMC, 16 eff., 3.264 kt)
Triton(50 AM, 30 eff, 1.89 kt)
Stephan-Oterma(28 AM, 40 eff, 1.88 kt)
Machholz(27.6 AM, 39 eff, 1.81 kt)
Comas Sola(25 AM, 58 eff, 1.914 kt) -- neutronium(1 y)
Schaumasse(21.8 AM, 36 eff, 942 t)
Crommelin(20.4 AM, 59 eff, 1.734 kt) -- corundium(3.3 y)
Wolf-Harrington(13.8 AM, 60 eff, 1.14 kt)
Prokne(10 AM, 10 eff, 132 t)
Van Biesbroeck(10 AM, 55 eff, 660 t)
Neujmin(9.8 AM, 49 eff, 635t) -- corundium(5.9 y)
Borrelly(9.8 AM, 58 eff, 682t) -- sorium(5.1 y)
Faye(4 AM, 48 eff, 266t)
Reinmuth(1.8 AM, 47 eff, 115t) -- duranium(4 y)

Total Production:  18.48 kt, an increase of 10.8%.  The continued expansion of Sedna is of course the main factor here. 

Currently under consideration is the possibility of relocating mines from Comas Sola to Wolf-Harrington or Faye when the neutronium runs out there, but the comet still has corundium, sorium, and duranium, so it is far too valuable to consider abandoning.  Whatever is decided, it will be a minor point as there are many other active sources.

IC.  Mineral Stockpiles & Production

Continued expansion and diversification of the economy has led to reclassification of some minerals.  It is possible, perhaps even probable,  that in the future we will reach the point where Tier A materials no longer exist. 

Tier A:  Gallicite(34 kt), Vendarite(33 kt), Tritanium(28 kt), Boronide(23 kt), and Corbomite(22 kt)

Tier B:  Uridium(51 kt) and Mercassium(28 kt).  Uridium is still highly plentiful and likely to remain so, but coming under considerable use now both industrially(spaceport, military academies, the ongoing work on the sector command) and in the navy(extensively used in the fabrication of the various sensors). 

Tier C:  Sorium(13.3 kt) and Corundium(5.76 kt).  Production continues to outpace usage for both, but neither is at a 'safe' level either. 

Tier D:   Duranium and Neutronium are both holding pretty steady at 6 kt, with ample production to support operations at the expanded factory sector and the ever-increasing demands of shipyard tasks.  Further economic expansion will soon be halted as their supply is once again the limiting factor. 

ID.  Income

Taxes(population):  26.7 m
Taxes(civ. shipping):  4.17 m
Taxes(civ. fuel):  35 k

Total:  30.87m(+26.1%).  The resurgence in civilian shipping has played no small part in this increase, accounting for well over half of it. 
Balance:  449.2m.  Almost 15 years of present income in the bank.  Money is not a problem for SPACE. 

IE.  Expenses

Research:  4.81m
Installation Construction:  4.77m
Mineral Purchases:  3.86m
Shipyard Operations:  1.59m
Shipbuilding:  1.31m
GU Maintenance:  113k
Fighter Production:  89k
Maintenance Facilities:  72.5k
GU Training:  35.9k

Total:  16.67m(+51.3%)

Research is now the #1 item on the budget(by a hair), which given present circumstances would seem entirely appropriate. 

The growth due to diversification and greater mineral resources sheds light on the fact that while money is not an issue now, it could well become one.  Spending has reached more than half of income(54%) for the first time and that share is expected to continue to grow.  Some voices are concerned with the amount of money being shelled out to Sedna, and our reliance on it(23% of the budget and growing).  However, there is really no choice, as the obvious fact of the matter is that we can't replace the level of production that we are getting from Sedna any other way.  We have the money, so we might as well use it. 

II. SHIPYARDS

IIA.  Commercial Yards

Tod & MacGregor(1 slipway, 41.8 kt capacity)
** Adding another slipway, March 2062
Estalerios Navais(1, 23.2 kt)
** Adding another slipway, November 2061
P&A Group(4, 21.4 kt)
** Retooling for the Perry III-class fuel harvesters, January 2 2061(tomorrow )
** Building 3x Perry II harvesters, February 2061
Vickers-Armstrong(3, 10 kt)
** Adding another slipway, February 2061

IIB.  Naval Yards

Wartsila(1, 10 kt)
Baltimore Marine(1, 1.82 kt)
** Capacity expansion, current target is 5 kt

III.  INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

IIIA.  Earth

Research Lab(34%) -- January 2062
Mine Conversions(standard to automated, 15%) -- 26 queued, May 2065
Sector Command(10%) -- Winter 2064
Factory Conversions(10%) -- March 12 2061
Deep Space Tracking Stations(6%) -- July 2061
Ground Force Training Facility(5%) -- Spring/Summer 2063
Naval Shipyard(4%) -- Early 2070
Commercial Shipyard(4%) -- Mid 2068
Military Academy(4%) -- Early 2067
Spaceport(4%) -- December 2062
Maintenance Facilities(4%) -- 20 in the queue, 2073

Forrestal-b -- 19 left, Mid-2067

IV.  ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

** SPPI NP-396M(first missile engine)(Rosemary Urenda) -- Late March/Early April 2061
** Turret Tracking Speed(Joe Tycho) -- Mid-late August 2061
** Improved Construction Rate(Deacon Palmer) -- Late November 2061
** Laser Miniaturization, 25% Size Reduction(Ignacio Bavaro) -- November/December 2061
** Terraforming Module(Clint Wyche) -- November/December 2061
** WP NP-200(next-gen freighter engine, Everette Snuggs) -- January 2062
** Reduced Thermal Emissions(Edward Groat) -- June 2062
** Active Grav Sensor Strength(Delmar Ytuarte) -- August 2062
** Emergency Cryogenic Transport Module(Brandon Grimmett) -- Winter/Spring 2063
** Planetary Sensor Strength(Bessie Wallander) -- Spring 2063
** EM Sensor Sensitivity(Elwood Tousant) -- Summer 2063
** Brigade HQ(Cedrick Wormack) -- Winter 2063/2064
** Beam Fire Control Tracking Speed(Julio Kuchler) -- Winter 2063/2064
** Maximum Engine Power(Santo Makar) -- Late 2064
** Capacitor Recharge Rate(Eva Vadnais) -- Late 2066

The next generation of ships has many more components which need to be prototyped, and this will be the focus of the new administration's research efforts. 

V.  ACTIVE NAVAL ASSETS

CC Belknap(1, 2 kt, 50 crew, 1250 km/s, 60k fuel, command ship)
GSV Coontz(1, 2.25 kt, 32 crew, 1377 km/s, 130k fuel, gravitational survey)
GEV Essex II-x(2, 2.2 kt, 35 crew, 1135 km/s, 60k fuel, geological survey)
FT Fletcher II-xe(4, 36.2 kt, 100 crew, 518 km/s, 700k fuel, freighter)
FT Fletcher IId(2, 34.7 kt, 100 crew, 540 km/s, 700k fuel, freighter)
FT Fletcher III(1, 36.4 kt, 106 crew, 515 km/s, 700k fuel, freighter)
Forrestal(4, 0.3 kt, 10 crew, 347 km/s, 5k fuel, sensor buoy)
Forrestal-b(1, 0.3 kt, 10 crew, 347 km/s, 5k fuel, sensor buoy)
ST Lexington IId(4, 1.6 kt, 20 crew, 1562 km/s, 60k fuel, transport shuttle)
ST Lexington III(10, 1.8 kt, 26 crew, 1388 km/s, 60k fuel, transport shuttle)
JS North Carolina(1, 19.2 kt, 133 crew, 520 km/s, 250k fuel, large jump ship)
FH Perry II(10, 19.2 kt, 104 crew, 261 km/s, 350k fuel, fuel harvester)
JSC Pioneer(1, 10 kt, 240 crew, 1000 km/s, 600k fuel, jump scout)
TT Portland(2, 4.3 kt, 35 crew, 581 km/s, 60k fuel, troop transport)
CS Spruance-b(1, 20 kt, 110 crew, 501 km/s, 250k fuel, colony ship)

Total:  47 vessels(+67.8%), 535 kt(+29.4%), 2.84k crew(+35.2%), 10.8m liters fuel(+25.4%). 
Available Crew:  78.7k(+9.46%)
Fuel -- 36.9m liters, 3.5m on Titan. 

Most of the growth in the past four years came in the small Forrestal and Lexington classes, though a number of Perry harvesters were also built.  Still, by any measure the Navy continues to expand at a rapid pace, and now has 11 distinct ship classes(excluding different versions of the same base class), more than double what were present a decade ago and several times the number of ships that were in service then.  Crew continues to be a complete non-issue, and fuel reserves continue to slowly expand despite the increased demand, partly because most of the ships are usually idle. 

VI.  ACTIVE ARMY ASSETS

** Low-Tech Armour Division(5)
** Garrison Battalion(18)

Total Active-Duty Soldiers:  340k(-56.4%)

Leaner but more effective, the army will soon have moved fully into the TN era.

VII.  CIVILIAN SHIPPING CORPORATIONS

Voliva Carrier Company(34 vessels, 2.34m annual income)
Jensrud Transport and Trading(18, 990k)
Everton Shipping & Logistics(4, 240k)
Presnar Freight(4, 240k)
Abair Shipping(1, 80k)
Forbus Carrier Ltd(1, 80k)
Tolles Transport & Logistics(3, 210k)
Ouellet Shipping(2, 160k)

Total Vessels:  67(+21.8%)

The recession is indeed over, but nothing has changed the dominance of Voliva.  With Jensrud getting into the fuel harvesting business lately, they seem the only firm capable of mounting any real challenge, and they have a lot of work to do.  Although the gap is closing, there are still more civilian than official vessels operating in Sol space.

VIII.  SPACE LEADERSHIP PROSPECTUS

** Naval Officers:  50 of 76 assigned(65.8%), +20%
** Ground Forces Officers:  22 of 38(57.9%), -5.7%
** Civilian Administrators:  20 of 25(80%), +10.8%
** Scientists:   15 of 31(48.4%), -8.7%

Overall:  107 of 170(62.9%), +7.6%

Times are good overall, mostly because of the growth in the Navy.  For the second four-year period in a row, 19 new positions were created overall and nearly 2 of 3 professional leaders has a job, with prospects remaining strong except for the scientist corps which is crowded and highly-competitive(good for SPACE in the short-term, but not good for developing new talented minds). 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Will do.  FYI there is a sign-up thread which is the best place to post those types of requests.  I will also need a name, unless you wish me to use whatever one the game comes up with.

2061 ELECTION

The 10th in the annals of space, this year's contest was historic in that it would be the last one held prior to the completion of Sector Command, at which point the director of SPACE and governor of Earth offices would be split.  It was also notable because of those who aren't on the ballot.  Aside from Herbert Duling(ineligible), there is also 32-year-old phenom Delois Woznicki who unfortunately excels highly in smaller settlements but hasn't yet learned the required skills to translate her abilities to qualify for as large a responsibility as Earth.  Ditto for the much older Damian Ackley. 

Combining those absences with the failing health of Alberto Eighmy, the other top potential challenger, and it was expected that India Rakes would have an easy campaign, taking over the directorship much as she did when Duling had to abdicate a dozen years ago.  There were five names on the ballot, but she had an overwhelming advantadge over each of them.  As one might expect, very little effort was put forward by most of the candidates.  The only one who took it seriously at all was ultimate long-shot Sonny Dean, but he didn't have the backing to make a credible run having barely made the ballot to begin with.  Less money was spent on this campaign than any other in SPACE's history by a long shot, to the delight of much of the public.  Rakes returns for another term easily, as expected:

India Rakes -- 29.1%
Jarrett Hugh -- 20.4%
Alberto Eighmy -- 17.3%
Sonny Dean -- 17.2%
Larry Steckel -- 16.0%

Rather more concerning is the fact that none of those with the talent to succeed Duling, Rakes et al have managed to put the whole package together thus far in their early careers.  When that pair retires in around 15 years, hopefully the picture will have changed. 

POLICY REVIEW

SPACE has a long list of projects that are just going to take time, mostly revolving around getting a combat fleet up and operational and the continual march of technology.  There isn't much for Rakes to really do there other than manage the situation, and no major changes are expected.  In reality, her political future will likely be determined more by what happens with Duling's health than anything she does in the next four years. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

RETIRING OFFICERS

** Cpt. Mitchell Aull -- Intelligence Officer at Fleet HQ for the past 34 years!, since 2027(before there even was a Fleet)
** Cmdr. Judson Carlberg -- Almost 27 years experience as a commander, seeing time on almost every major ship class
** Cmdr. Chauncey Macewen -- Almost 12 years on geology survey, the last 13 split mostly between shuttles and freighters.  Steady but unimpressive officer.

No retirements are anticipated in the next few years in the other fields. 

CHARACTER UPDATES

Cmdr. Christopher Blair -- 12th out of 15.  Another tour at the Saturn harvesting fleet is expected.
Lt. Cmdr. Conor Zavier -- 11th out of 53.  Could see a promotion to something other than a Lexington shuttle, but that has not yet been determined.
Lt. Cmdr. Jay Cin IV -- 44th.  Not going anywhere yet.
Lt. Cmdr. Daniel Watters -- 50th.  Pretty much useless. 
Lt. Cmdr. Oled Mrtav -- 25th.  He'll be relieved on board the Forrestal and sent back to a shuttle command soon. 

Jedidiah Thone(1) -- Leaving Reinmuth, he gets the slightest of promotions to be governor of the comet Faye. 

Karabishi Juishao(MK 20) -- Currently unassigned, the 47-year-old researcher is the second-ranking missile scientist and is expected to see only sporadic activity.