January 14th 2047: Titan to Earth mass driver launchers start.
February 4th 2047: The moons of Ross 248 XI are particularly mineral rich, influencing the Imperial Colonization Conference five days later (see separate post)
March 19th 2047: Two more Toronto class ships are finished. New production waits for the construction of command ships with sensor suites.
April 28th 2047: A new jump point found in EZ Aquarii, 1 B km from the discovered point. A few days later TES Outreach transits it to find Ross 780, a red dwarf. It has six planets, two of which are gas giants, and one of which has 32 moons. The second planet is VERY close to being habitable, needing only a little bit more oxygen. The third is also a potential colony site. TES Outreach moves in for a quick scan, but finds nothing. This find does not influence colonization policy, though, because of the extreme distance.
April 30th 2047: New jump point also found in Lalande 21185, 1 B from Sol point. On the other side is the WX Ursae Majoris system, consisting of two red dwarves. The primary has no orbiting bodies, other then the secondary, but fortunately the second star is rather close. It has five planets and an asteroid belt. Only one is not a gas giant and has limited prospects for use.
June 26th 2047: Two colony ships are completed, but will require the development of jump gate construction ships to really be put to use.
September 3rd 2047: Imperial University in Toronto opens a Military Research Department, led by a young professor named Tracy Bellis.
November 2nd 2047: Reports show that unemployement won't be brought under control on Earth. There's simply are not enough resources in Sol to even sustain current levels of manufacturing. Captain Floyd Loffler, the current head of operations at for the general staff and a major advocate for interstellar expansion, formally founds the Industrialist faction, dedicated to finding employment for all citizens.
January 5th 2048: Elections see three factions in Senate, though council still remains the same. The Industrialists lead, surprisingly, though do not manage a majority. No coalition manages to form, leading to something of a deadlock.
Council: 2 Explorers - 3 Militarists - 0 Industrialists - 1 Apolitical
Senate: 756 Explorers - 768 Militarists - 896 Industrialists - 6 Apolitical
January 15th 2048: The four Toronto class ships are taken for a joint shakedown cruise, despite lack of sensors, to practice manuvering and coordination. These will be the first of many exercises.
January 19th 2048: New jump point found in Lalande 21185, oddly forming an equalateral triangle with the Sol and WX Ursae Majoris jump points. It leads to Kapteyn's Star, a red dwarf. It has four planets, one of which is a gas giant with 41 moons, with one being similar to Titan. The second planet is skyrocketed to the top of the list for terraforming, as despite being tidally locked, all it needs is a bit less Oxygen then the previous candidate to be habitable. Interest isn't as great, due to being two jumps from Earth. Unfortunately, the ship must head back to refuel before scanning for life.
February 17th 2048: The design for the Queensland Class Command ships are finally done, though work can't start yet due to a reconfiguration of the shipyard being needed. The need for more range prompts a tanker design, as well. Despite being something of a flagship type design, the ships are even more cramped then any previous design, without so much as a spare bunk available.
Queensland class Command Ship 6,000 tons 550 Crew 837 BP TCS 120 TH 225 EM 0
1875 km/s JR 3-50 Armour 2-29 Shields 0-0 Sensors 10/10/0/0 Damage Control Rating 3 PPV 0
Maint Life 1.91 Years MSP 262 AFR 96% IFR 1.3% 1YR 93 5YR 1391 Max Repair 225 MSP
Raye Jump Engine Mark II Max Ship Size 6000 tons Distance 50k km Squadron Size 3
Raye Thermal Engine Mark I (9) Power 25 Fuel Use 100% Signature 25 Armour 0 Exp 5%
Fuel Capacity 150,000 Litres Range 45.0 billion km (277 days at full power)
Ruz Missile Interdiction Sensor (1) GPS 160 Range 9.6m km Resolution 1
Ruz Spymaster System I (1) GPS 16000 Range 96.0m km Resolution 100
SBTS-01A (1) Sensitivity 10 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 10m km
SBEMS-01A (1) Sensitivity 10 Detect Sig Strength 1000: 10m km
This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes
February 20th 2048: The Senate manages to compromise and comission a second defensive system for the navy, a turret mounted laser system. It will take some time to be ready, though, as it must be developed from scratch. The project is handed to the new department at the Imperial University.
February 27th 2048: The young Tracy Bellis, head of the new turret project, makes amazing breakthroughs after only one week, seriously impressing the Emperor and the nobility. It is not long before she is granted a title herself, Duchess of California, for her work and extensive . Her factional choice is obvious. The estimated completion date for the project is sometime in mid 2050, with a second generation warship being ready by mid 2051.
March 2nd, 2048: Another routine accident claims a high ranking Imperial offical. The Governor of Titan, Frederick Acre, mangles his hand in a piece of equipment. While not fatal, he's forced to return to Earth for treatment. It is doubtful he'll make a return, so Guy Guillet is assigned in his place. He is a friend of Governer Acre and was personally recommended.
March 24th 2048: An improved engine design is finally completed, allowing the start of construction on the TES Rodney, a jump gate builder. Significant delays are later encountered, but a second ship of the class is also set to be built along side the first.
June 3rd 2048: A new jump point is found in Ross 780. On the other side is EQ Pegasi, a binary red dwarf system. While initially skeptical at going four jumps away, the system has FIVE terraforming candidates as well as five other sites for potential bases. Some in the command wish this to switch the colonization focus to the Ross 780 branch. It already has EZ Aquarii with potential colony sites about half way in between. The system isn't given a good sweep yet due to fuel concerns.
July 15th 2048: A third variant of the Discovery Class is designed. It's engines are replaced with the new model and new construction is ordered to investigate several recent prospects more effectively. It is almost twice as fast as its predecessor.
October 1st 2048: With the navy ever expanding, Frederic Skyers is promoted to Rear Admiral in case the force needs to be split. His last position had him in charge of the management of all small craft, such as shuttles. In his new position, he proposes that for future planetary defense, fighter wings be developed and based on terrestrial bodies.
October 5th 2048: A new jump point in Ross 780 leads to Fomalhaut, a blue-white star. It has another good prospect for a colony, and two basing sites. It also isn't swept for now, for fuel reasons.
December 28th 2048: The exploration team in Ross 780 returns home for resupply. After careful decision making, focus will officially shift to that branch of jump points.
January 5th 2049: Elections widen the Industrialist lead. They've taken up colonization as a major cause, too, absorbing many non-Militarists. They still don't have representation on the Council, though.
Council: 2 Explorers - 4 Militarists - 0 Industrialists - 1 Apolitical
Senate: 734 Explorers - 769 Militarists - 953 Industrialists - 25 Apolitical
