The Galaxy Awaits ... Choose Your Path!

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

STATE OF SPACE, 2065

I.  IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

IA.  Populated Colonies

Earth(1.149b, 400 CF, 137 CI, 50 OF, 10 FF, 75 REF, 25 RL, 3 AC, 5 DSTS, 13.8k MF, 1 SP, SC)
Luna(34.55m)
Mars(32.06m)
Titan(16.56m, 1 DSTS)
Venus(4.49m)
Mercury(less than 5k)

40 years old and still growing strong.  Earth has added 90 million, with noticeable growth everywhere except for Mercury.  Venus has exploded, adding more than four million to a population of less than 200,000 just four years ago.  Titan was expected to grow more, but saw under 1.5 million added due to slow infrastructure shipments, even with the investment of a deep-space tracking station.  Total human population has reached about 1.24 billion, about a 9% increase. 

There are still vestiges of pre-TN economic concerns hanging around.  At the current rate it will take at least a decade to convert all of the remaining conventional industry. 

IB.  Outposts

Earth(49 SM, 137 CI, 9.1 eff, 1.03 kt) -- 5.1 y of mercassium, 7.1 y of duranium.  Maintaining at around 50 mines until our homeworld is bare, which right now would take almost half a millenium(tritanium)
Titan(25 SM, 6 eff, 207t)
Sedna(20 CMC, 16 eff, 5.38 kt)
Triton(63 AM, 30 eff, 2.95 kt)
Stephan-Oterma(28 AM, 40 eff, 1.48 kt)
Machholz(27.6 AM, 39 eff, 1.42 kt)
Comas Sola(25 AM, 50 eff, 1.5 kt) -- gallicite(5.1 y)
Schaumasse(21.8 AM, 36 eff, 1.13 kt)
Crommelin(20.4 AM, 52 eff, 1.34 kt) -- boronide(8.0), gallicite(9.
Borrelly(15.8 AM, 58 eff, 1.15 kt) -- sorium(0.1)
Wolf-Harrington(13.8 AM, 60 eff, 994t) -- vendarite(0.9)
Reinmuth(11.8 AM, 37 eff, 550t)
Neujmin(10.8 AM, 49 eff, 761t) -- corundium(1.6)
Faye(10 AM, 48 eff, 664t)
Prokne(10 AM, 10 eff, 138t)
Van Biesbroeck(10 AM, 55 eff, 660t)
Wolf(5 AM, 26 eff, 156t)
Wild(5 AM, 34 eff, 204t)

Total Production:  21.71 kt, an impressive 17.5% increase in annual yield!  Some of the larger comets actually saw significant drops with top administrators suffering medical setbacks, but continued civilian investment in Sedna, expansion of operations on Triton and several smaller outposts, and new mining operations on the comets Wolf and Wild were able to dwarf those losses. 

The recent exhaustion of corundium on a number of bodies(with Neujmin set to join them) is only a minor concern, as Earth's stockpile continues to grow. 

IC.  Mineral Stockpiles & Production

Tier A & B materials continue to be in a high state of flux due to the fickle nature of shifting economic priorities. 

Tier A:  Uridiuim(59 kt), Vendarite(38 kt), Gallicite(35 kt), Tritanium(32 kt), and Corbomite(28 kt)

Gallicite should have an asterisk here.  Quite a bit was used in the defender missiles, but the stockpile still grew and that's the only major usage with none planned in the next year or so. 

Tier B:  Mercassium(27 kt), Boronide(25 kt).  Mercassium declined for the first time, raising a bit of a red flag.  Boronide is being used more with the increase in shipbuilding, as it is required for fuel tank technology.  However, should a shortfall ever occur, Venus has 21mt of the stuff, and it can be virtually picked up off the surface there. 

Tier C:  Sorium(16.7kt),  Corundium(7.42 kt).  Sorium is quite safe at the moment, with planetside refineries no longer consuming it the stockpile is rising quickly.  Corundium is less certain, and will be watched fairly closely the next few years.   

Tier D:   Duranium(5.87 kt) has fluctuated up and down, with more investment still needed to indulge in constant full-capacity shipbuilding.  Neutronium(3.75 kt) has nearly stabilized but has largely ground shipyard expansion operations to a halt.  No non-essential goals are proceeding while more resources are found. 

MRD requested an analysis of all known sources of neutronium to ensure our situation is sustainable.  Approximately 375kt exist in reasonably high-accessible and good concentration sources in Sol.  One of the moons in Epsilon Eridani has almost three times that much by itself ... but it might as well be on a black hole for all the good that information does us.  The present situation is sustainable for perhaps as long as close to a century, but not indefinitely. 

ID.  Income

Taxes(population):  29.4 m
Taxes(civ. shipping):  4.45 m
Taxes(civ. fuel):  65 k

Total:  33.91m(+9.8%).   All sectors saw modest increases. 

Balance:  499m(+50m) 

IE.  Expenses

Research:  5.86m
Installation Construction:  5.82m
Mineral Purchases:  5.03m
Shipbuilding:  4.05m
Shipyard Operations:  1.11m
GU Training:  201k
GU Maintenance:  168k
Maintenance Facilities:  77.3k

Total:  22.32m(+33.9%)

Shipbuilding and training of ground units both more than tripled, and continued growth is expected as the military ramp-up will only intensify.  In a decade or two, finances may yet become a real issue. 

II. SHIPYARDS

IIA.  Commercial Yards

Tod & MacGregor(2 slipways, 58.1 kt capacity)
** Refitting to Fletcher IV(x2), February 2065
Estalerios Navais(2, 23.2 kt)
** Retooling for the new Arleigh Burke troop transports(brigade), late summer 2065
P&A Group(4, 36.7 kt)
** Expanding in preparation for larger harvesters, target of 50-60kt.  Still a number of years out
** Building 4x Perry III harvesters, March 2065
Vickers-Armstrong(4, 10 kt)
** Building Lexington IIIb(1), late January 2065
Oregon Shipbuildilng(1, 10 kt)
** Refitting to Portland II(1), February 2065

IIB.  Naval Yards

Wartsila(1, 10 kt)
** Idle
Baltimore Marine(2, 3.64 kt)
** Refit to Forrestal IIb(1), January 8 2065
Yokohama Dock Co.(1, 1 kt)
** Idle

III.  ARMY TRAINING FACILITIES

IIIA.  Earth

** Two active training facilities
** Brigade HQ(April 2065)
** Brigade HQ(Early 2066)

IV.  INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

IVA.  Earth

Research Lab(33%) -- January 2065
Mine Conversions(standard to automated, 22%) -- 10-11 per year
Naval Shipyard(14%) -- Early 2067
Mass Driver(14%) -- 1/4 left, January 25, 2065
Maintenance Facilities(14%) -- 6 in the queue, October 2065
Mine Conversions(conventional industry to standard, 3%) -- 10+ per year

V.  ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

** GEI MSS 140 -- active grav missile search sensor(Bessie Wallander) -- March 2065
** Beam Fire Control Range - 16k(Delmar Ytuarte) -- April 2065
** Mining Production(Deacon Palmer) -- Q2/Q3 2065
** Thermal Reduction -- 50% Emissions(Edward Groat) -- Q3 2065
** GEI SSS 200m -- active grav search sensor(Billie Allington) -- Q4 2065
** Construction Brigade(Brandon Grimmett) -- Early 2066
** Implosion Fission Warhead(Rosa Suda) -- Early 2066
** 10% Reactor Power Boost(Rosemary Urenda) -- Late 2066
** Salvage Module(Cedrick Workmack) -- Late 2066/Early 2067
** 12cm Laser(Eva Vadnais) -- Late 2066/Early 2067
** Thermal Sensor Sensitivity(Julio Kuchler) -- Mid-2067
** Genome Sequence Research(Clint Wyche) -- Late 2067/Early 2068
** Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor(Santo Makar) -- Early 2068
** Increased Missile Agility(Karabishi Juishao) -- Mid-Late 2068
** Visible Light Laser Wavelength(Wayne Sabagh) -- Late 2068

There have been consistently 15-16 ongoing projects at any one time the last few years, as increasing costs per project have eaten up the laboratories that have been produced to enter the system.  The majority of projects now require two, and a single lab has become the exception rather than the rule. 

Most, but not all of the initial combat system prototyping has been completed.  It is still an ongoing process as systems are becoming obsolete very quickly, at times before they are even ready!  This is slowing down already, and will continue to do so as the cost of improvement continues to rise.  For the most part, it is simply a function of how 'behind' SPACE was and is in terms of combat technology. 

VI.  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 III(2, 36.4 kt, 106 crew, 515 km/s, 700k fuel, freighter)
FT Fletcher IV(2, 36.9 kt, 162 crew, 813 km/s, 650k fuel, freighter)
SB Forrestal II(11, 650t, 15 crew, 3.69k km/s, 50k fuel, sensor buoy)
SB Forrestal IIb(3, 600t, 13 crew, 4k km/s, 50k fuel, sensor buoy)
TK Iowa(2, 9.8 kt, 53 crew, 1.02k km/s, 6m fuel, fuel tanker)
ST Lexington III(17, 1.8 kt, 26 crew, 1.39k km/s, 60k fuel, transport shuttle)
ST Lexington IIIb(6, 1.8 kt, 28 crew, 2.78k 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 III(17, 20.1 kt, 123 crew, 498 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)

* A beauracratic oversight led to more powerful engines and the same amount of fuel.  A further modification, the IIIc, increases to 250k with somewhat reduced speed for the endurance.

Total:  73 vessels(+55%), 770 kt(+44%), 4.62k crew(+63%), 27.1m liters fuel(+151%). 
Available Crew:  85.7k(+8.9%)

Fuel Reserves -- 37.8m liters total(+2.4%)

The navy continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  The two Iowa tankers can carry more fuel than the entire fleet combined four years ago held.  This makes it easy to see why the economy became stressed to keep up the last couple of years. 

VII.  ACTIVE ARMY ASSETS

** Mobile Infantry Battalion(6)
** Garrison Battalion(17)

Total Active-Duty Soldiers:  115k(-66%)

The army has fully made the leap to TN tech, and the shrinking is over.  Once the troops on Earth are fully organized into brigades, significant growth in the force is expected. 

VIII.  CIVILIAN SHIPPING CORPORATIONS

Voliva Carrier Company(37 vessels, 3.48m annual income)
Jensrud Transport and Trading(17, 700k)
Everton Shipping & Logistics(2, 80k)
Presnar Freight(3, 100k)
Clavette Shipping Line(3, 90k)
Abair Shipping(1, --)
Forbus Carrier Ltd(1, --)
Tolles Transport & Logistics(3, 70k)
Ouellet Shipping(2, 120k)

Total Vessels:  72(+7.5%)
Total Civilian Income:  4.64m(+6.9%)

Voliva now has a near-complete monopoly.  Abair & Folbus have ceased operations and all of the other competitors have shrunk while Voliva Carrier Co. showed a near-50% increase in their take, to a 75% market share in 2064.  For the first time, there are more SPACE vessels(73) than civilian(72) in Sol space. 

IX.  SPACE LEADERSHIP PROSPECTUS

** Naval Officers:  81 of 92 assigned(88.0%), +22%
** Ground Forces Officers:  29 of 41(70.7%), +13%
** Civilian Administrators:  22 of 27(81.5%), +1%
** Scientists:   15 of 31(48.4%), --

Overall:  147 of 191(76.9%), +14%

31 of 40 new positions added were in the navy, and it continues to be difficult to find enough civilian administrators as well.  The scientific establishment, meanwhile, has for the most part more talent than it can use.  It remains to be seen whether the recent increase in recruitment efforts will be enough to fill all needed positions. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2065 ELECTION

There was a record turnout this year, for multiple good reasons.  It was historic, with the inauguration of Sector Command.  It was predicted to be the closest race in SPACE history for other reasons as well.  The slight favorite was ailing Herbert Duling(51) due to his incomparable range of experience and unmatched political skill.  His health and the mining expertise of incumbent India Rakes(48), combined with the fact that she'd managed not to make any major mistakes last term, gave her about a 40-45% chance of staying in power according to most handicappers. 

And then there were the usual disappointments.  Delois Woznicki hasn't yet learned the management skill to run Earth, much less the whole system, and Alberto Eighmy will be on the ballot, but his health is even rose than Duling's.  The always-solid Jarrett Hugh is probably the third choice, followed by mining savant Larry Steckel, newcomer to the ballot Riley Awad, and Sonny Dean who unfortunately never learned the political part of politics.  Seven in all on the ballot, but really it's between Duling and Rakes with Hugh having a puncher's chance if they both embarassed themselves. 

The also-rans were the ones to embarass themselves.  Dean and Awad didn't even really put forth a serious effort.  Steckel made some headway with his focus on mining, but was considered too weak in other areas, and Eighmy's health continued to be his achilles heel.  A series of gaffes ensured Hugh would not challenge the expected leaders. 

So it was down to Duling and Rakes, and first the first time anyone can remember, Duling was out-campaigned by a smart, aggressive incumbent.  It came down to less than a million and a half votes, but Duling was defeated in the directorial election for the first time in his career, 30.1 to 28.8%.  The rest of the contenders: 

Larry Steckel -- 11.5%
Alberto Eighmy -- 10.2%
Jarrett Hugh -- 10.1%
Sonny Dean -- 5.1%
Riley Awad -- 4.2%

Most notable here was a strong showing by Larry Steckel in placing third.

** This is the first upset I've had, albeit a mild one, and made this election a lot of fun to do. 

POLICY REVIEW

Rakes had campaigned on a mining focus with a number of industrial priorities having been wrapped on Earth the last few years -- spaceport, sector command, shipyards, academies, etc.  This was an emphasis in her re-inauguration speech.  The share of the industrial sector devoted to economic investment would rise from 25% to 40% or more, with as many mines produced as could be without overrunning corundium resources.  New mines would be split evenly between development of corundium deposits and develoopment of neutronium/duranium.  Research would continue to constitute a third as the onward march of science was the only way to combat the alien threat in the long-term.

The one sticking point was the 2% Initiative, which has become controversial again as some as proposing reinstatement in the face of the fact that expenses are growing four times as fast as income over the past decade.  As tempting as the idea was, it's an issue that has bitten India Rakes in the past, and she could not afford to be seen as doing anything that could take away from investment in military defenses.

The director also announced that construction would begin immediately on a new class of installation, the Ticonderoga-class plantary defence centre.  The Ticonderoga would be deployed on remote outposts or very small, not strategically essential colonies.  Housing a single garrison battalion, commercial-grade sensors, and a single CIWS battery, it was little more than a visible, physical reminder of SPACE's commitment and authority.  Only 16 MPs would be required for each facility, weighing just under 3kt.   Far larger and more robust facilities are planned for Earth, core colonies, and major mining outposts, with more details promised on those within two years.  There were many quarters viewing this announcement as a political move to appease the growing dissatisfaction with the lack of concrete military assets in place, and efforts here will be closely watched.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2065 ANNUAL REPORT

As planned, it was a year filled with a return to expanding mining operations.  Wolf-Harrington was chosen as the first place to invest mines, as corundium and neutronium are both found there.  With Comas Sola and Machholz both set to run out of corundium in the next decade however, it was desired to not have a third comet run out that soon so within the first quarter focus switched to Faye for further development.  Distant comets Herschel-Rigollet and Swift-Tuttle also have both minerals available but are over 7b km away, ruling them out when a closer source was available. 

On March 4, such concerns were interrupted for a somewhat surprising state funeral.  Sonny Dean, Governor of Venus died of natural causes.  He was 55, and had a long, very respectable administrative career.  He was never charismatic enough to make serious inroads in any directorial election, though he appeared on the ballot in several due to a wide range of skills. 

Later in the month, another objective was complete as Harvester Task Group 6 was completed and underway for Saturn, clearing the P&A Group Shipyard on March 29.  The next day, the first Brigade Headquarters was ready for operation, with Major General Sterling Silvers the obvious choice for the job. 

April brought more health problems for Rear Admiral Kendall Muratore.  Sources inside the Navy indicate the 54-year-old veteran may be 'asked to retire' when the current tour is up at the end of the year. 

The mining focus returned in May with the first of two expansions of civilian operations on Sedna.  Then in early June, Deacon Palmer produced a report on improved mining production techniques.  Combined with effect of much better high-level supervision of urgent issues due to the formation of Sector Command, production of existing mines has increased considerably this year.  By August, neutronium levels were creeping back up, though corundium was only just keeping pace with the increased demand of nearly two automines a month coming out of the 180 factories devoted to the task.  Director Rakes held the line of any changes to the current spending profile, as reaching the long-established 'safe zone' of at least 5kt would help in terms of a strategic reserve and promoting public confidence. 

Virtually every  month having something to say this year, September chimed in with initial production of the first two Arleigh Burke(simply Burke hereafter) class of brigade-capacity troop transports initialized at the ENDM Shipyard.  Deployment is expected in the early months of 2067. 

By the middle of November, Faye had reached the target goal of 25 mines, becoming one of the larger mining outposts from virtually nothing less than two years ago.  The Ministry of Resource Development prioritized moving Neujmin and Reinmuth up to at least that level(25-30, the comfortable range for a major comet-based outpost).  Those two are the largest good-yield neutronium sources in the system at over 80kt each, and have 11-12 mines at the moment so production should at least be doubled.  It is believed that will be a sufficient amount to allow shipyard operations to resume on a larger scale.   Incidentally, at about the same time, support personnel for the massive research laboratories passed construction workers for the #1 industrial concern on Earth for the first time(both at about 26m each).  Shipyards operations are #3, just over half at about 13.9m employed. 

That increased neutronium will not come a moment too soon.  With a couple of finished prototype tests being presented in early December, the navy was down to just one more project, expected next year.  At that point, construction of major military assets, both planet-based and ships for a combat fleet, will be ready to begin. 

SPACE promised major mining investment and delivered on that promise.  Meanwhile, four of the new bare-bones Ticonderoga PDCs were finshed as well and await transport and assembly.  A new remilitarized age is on the horizon, and even the most optimistic human cannot claim to know for certain where that will lead ...

Commissioned Officers

Early February -- Karl Mattey(24) becomes the youngest Brigadier General to be promoted since the formation of SPACE. 

Mid-March -- Jedediah Thone, GU Construction Speed to 10%.  Meanwhile, only a single army colonel is dismissed after no military officers were fired last year.  It's all hands on deck with expanding opportunities and need for qualified personnel. 

Late June -- Jedediah Thone GU Construction Speed up to 15%.  I'm not sure why he's working so hard on that this year -- there aren't a lot of ground forces being built on his asteroid(Prokne).   

Late August -- Cpt. Ali Mandujano's brown-nosing skills reach new heights(45%).  Or depths, depending on your perspective. 

Early September -- New civil servant Ricardo Bloise graduates the academy. 
Administration:  3
Bonuses:   20% Shipbuilding, 10% political reliability/mining/logistics, 5% Factory production/population growth. 
Personality:  Talented musician.
Outlook:  Good enough to be a little below average right away, better than most are coming out of the academies.  It's over three years till the next election in '69, so unless somebody else retires or croaks, that's when he'll get his first assignment. 

Colonial Developments

Mid-February -- Sorium on Borrelly has been exhausted, but this is not a cause for concern with the refineries on Earth being shut down.

Early August -- Vendarite deposits have been exhausted on Wolf-Harrington. 

Late August -- Sedna expands again to 22 complexes.

Earth

Mid-February -- Two more freighters finish the refit process, with half of the eight in the navy now upgraded.   

March 6 -- The latest run of mass drivers is completed. 

July 3 -- Both Portlands(troop transports) have finished refitting. 

October 7 -- A second brigade HQ is finished on Earth.   A third is in training, and three is considered enough for current forces.  Additonal garrison battalions, for use on colonies and outposts, is now the top priority again. 

Research & Development

** March 28 -- GEI MSS 140, the new active-grav missile search sensor, is completed(Bessie Wallander).  She'll turn her attention to the SITG ThermoScan 102, a fairly massive 850-ton thermal sensor suite intended for passive military-grade detections. 

** April 24 -- A report extending the range of beam fire controls to 16k km has been filed(Delmar Ytuarte).  Elwood Tousant begins work on the final military-grade sensor, the SITG Emdar-30 for use in passive EM-based detection scans. 

** June 8 -- Deacon Palmer finishes work on improved mining efficiency. Improving Shipyard Operations is Palmer's next goal.

** August 1 -- Dr. Edward Groat's team has come back with a considerable breakthrough, noting a 50% reduction in thermal emissions is now possible.  He wants to take the concepts still further, and is given permission given the importance of the field to our future reconaissance efforts.  He'll need another lab down the road, as two won't be enough to get what is our most expensive project to date -- six million credits the required expenditure -- done.   

** August 18 -- A research lab is finished and added to the Thermal Emissions Reduction team. 

** December  5 -- Billie Allington's team completes the trial of the GEI SSS 200m, the primary  military anti-ship active sensor system.  This leaves only the passive sensors before the navy is ready to begin building major military installations and ships.  Harlan Welle takes one lab to put a new CIWS system incorporating the latest fire controls through its paces, and the other is devoted to larger meson cannons(12 cm focal size), under the direction of Wayne Sabagh. 

** December 9 -- Courtesy of Elwood Tousant's team, passive EM sensors are now available.  The thermals are expected by early summer of next year at the latest.  Tousant will need more assistance down the road on this, but he gets started on the next round of fire control speed improvements(3k km/s). 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

** It should be noted here, as I forgot to put it in the 2065 report, that there were a number of solid-to-good naval recruits who came into the system last year, bypassing a lot of veterans.  None of them were in Gullo/Feeser genius-level category, but one was very good and several moved well up the Lt. Cmdr. chain immediately. 

RETIREMENTS

As anticipated, it was mutually agreed for Rear Admiral Kendall Muratore to accept early retirement.  It's only five years early, and best for all concerned given his failing health of late.  The 55-year-old Muratore is a veteran of more than 30 years active service, making Commander rank within just over a year.  He spent almost an entire decade as CO of one of the original Fletcher-class freighters before making Captain in 2051.  After a brief stint at Public Affairs, he led Fighter Ops(no, there weren't any, stop interrupting the story).  His health began to trouble him shortly after his promotion to Rear Admiral in '62.  He's served the navy well, and retires with honor and distinction worthy of that service.

** Cmdr. Miquel Rater -- Assigned to lead the top geology survey team less than 18 months after his graduation, Miquel's most lasting legacy is undoubtedly his 12+ plus years of service during the inital period of surveying in Sol.  It was about halfway through this period that he was promoted to Commander, but he lacked the skills or political connections to make it any further up the command chain.  Rater spent most of his CO assignments on board freighters, with brief stints aboard shuttles and the last couple of years on one of the Forrestal sensor buoys.  His retirement will be temporarily delayed until he can catch a shuttle back to Earth. 

Leota Schnepel(55) is promoted to be the new second Rear Admiral, leaving a spot open for Shad Gullo at Captain. It took him just two years, two months, and three days -- just about as fast as it is possible to climb.  However, he's at the bottom of the heap now among Captains, and unless he shows more initiative than he has so far to improve his natural skills, he won't be going any further anytime soon. 

Commissioned Officers Update

Cmdr. Christopher Blair -- 6th out of 23.  Blair will spend at least one more tour on board his Forrestal post at the always-vital Epsilon Eridani jump point.  It has become less tense in recent years, with a decade nearing since the destruction of the Hyperion.
Cmdr. Conor Zavier -- 23rd.  Several others have been promoted to Commander since Zavier, and all have surpassed him.  He'll remain on board one of the harvesters at Saturn for another tour. 
Lt. Cmdr. Jay Cin IV -- 52nd out of 68.  Nothing but shuttle commands in his future as far as the eye can see, unless something breaks. 
Lt. Cmdr. Oled Mrtav -- 18th.  Another tour on board the Ute is forthcoming. 

Jedidiah Thone(2) -- After tours on Reinmuth on Faye, he's back to Prokne for a few years. 
Ricardo Bloise(3) -- Awaiting his first opportunity. 

Karabishi Juishao(MK 20) -- Needs to distinguish herself soon if she hopes to join the elite.  Her current project on Missile Agility is a great opportunity, but it hasn't happened yet.  Juishao is 52 and still in excellent health, so it seems likely she's got a lot of work yet ahead of her before she's done. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Ack -- due to a miscalculation on my part ... specifically, forgetting to account for Harvester Group 6 ... Oled Mrtav will not be remaining on the Ute for another tour.  Rather, he will be getting a small promotion to one of the harvesters. 

[Cripes Amighty]

Woo!

[Sematary]

My character is so useless its not even worth continuing to point out his worthlessness.

[Mel Vixen]

Well you can always give your chars some RP if Bryan allows, i really enjoyed playing Herman fox and making up some locations. Just give your people some dayjobs, newsquibs on the radio etc.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Another possibility, if you want you can do early retirement and have a new character added.  Depends on how truly disgusted you are with him

[Sematary]

I will go with early retirement and I will give some RP to the next guy that I get.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

No problem there.  Just post in the sign-up thread whenever the urge descends, and include anything specific you want(what level talent, etc.).  No point in maintaining a char. you aren't interested in . 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2066 ANNUAL REPORT(truncated)

A rather large bit of administrative news from the Navy to start off the year served the purpose of satisfying the public that SPACE continues to be serious about combat directives and preparing the way administratively for that orientation.  The Navy was split from a unified command into two distinct task forces for the first time.  Ellie Camble, the more senior of the two Rear Admirals, heads up the new Sol Defense Fleet(SDF), while Leota Schnepel takes command of the Sol Support Flotilla(SSF).  As of now, the SDF consists only of the Forrestal II-class sensor vessels, but it will be growing soon.  

During the disbursement of naval officers, there were a growing number of valid complaints.  It seems the officers didn't appreciate crowding in some cases a dozen or more into the cramped room of a single crewman.  And so, in the never-ending list of overlooked necessities, the Lexington has been redesigned again to the 3d which contains six spare rooms.  If more than six VIPs need to be transported, additional shuttles will be sent.  Hopefully they'll be ready by next tour ...

In late January, ballistic technology specialist Rosa Suda increased to a 65% skill bonus, the largest yet seen.  Dr. Suda has not yet reached her 30th birthday, and yet is now considered the most brilliant scientist in post-war annals of SPACE.  This fact pretty much ensures that missile technology will be a notable priority for the forseeable future.  

A month later, the Ute and Venus completed their refits, leaving only two more freighters to complete the process.  And March saw the sudden and surprising investment of colonization efforts on Mercury.  For nearly a decade less than 5,000 have eked out an existence there, a number that was multiplied several times over in weeks.  Later in the month, specifications for Construction Brigades capable of setting up needed facilities on worlds with a factory were completed.  Such things were certainly noteworthy, but really only minor preludes to what happened a couple of monhts later.

On May 3, the final system needed for space-based combat clicked into place with Dr. Bessie Wallander's trials of military-grade passive thermal sensors.  The culmination of nearly eight years of effort since Herbert Duling's historic global speech on the heels of the Epsilon Eridani crisis, this announcement meant that SPACE was finally ready to build its first generation of combat facilities and ships, taking war-making capability into space and putting some teeth into human naval operations.  

Research & Development

** February 20 -- Dr. Suda wraps up work on the Implosion Fission Warhead, prompting calls in the navy for a new missile to take advantadge of the additional explosive yield.   It is eventually decided to hold off until Karabishi Juishao's work on missile agility, though it is nearly three years off yet, is completed before crafting a new generation.  

Suda decides to pursue improving launcher reload rates.  

** March 26 -- Construction Brigade plans have been finalized(Dr. Brandon Grimmett).  With the Burke transports already in production, the first Brigade enters training immediately.  The Army always overestimates the required time, but has the first one finishing sometime in fall of 2067.  Grimmett next applies himself to Hangar Decks, an improved version of Boat Bays for servicing small vessels on a ship.

** May 3 -- Thermal sensors are completed(Bessie Wallander).  Planetary sensor strength is her next objective, which will require a third lab once one becomes available.  

Commissioned Officers

Late April -- Some most welcome news as top electronics researcher Julio Kuchler marginally improves to 45% expertise.    

[Jacen]

So what kind of naval ships are we going for at first?

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

That's what the next update is about . 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

SPACE SOL DEFENSE INITIATIVES

SDI(Sol Defense Initiatives) is SPACE's #1 strategic objective.  As such, the primary focus of the industrial sector will be shifted to construction of new missile bases for planetary defense.  A 'ground-up' prioritization will be followed, with defensive capabilities on Earth and the colonies considered more important than projecting power into space, which is a secondary goal. 

PLANETARY-DEFENSE CENTERS

Ticonderoga-class Outpost

As previously discussed, the Ticonderoga is the most basic level of defense.  These are to be deployed in two instances:  any colony with less than 10 million population and no strategic value(i.e. Mercury), or a mining outpost that does not have considerable quantities of a vital mineral resource and is for that reason not considered a long-term necessity. 

Mercury along with most of the mining outposts in Sol will receive Ticonderoga Outposts.

** Barracks for a single Garrison battalion
** Commercial-quality sensor suite.
** Minimal official presence.
** 2.95 kt, 16 crew, 87.5k cost

Tennessee-class Missile Base

Deployment of a Tennessee-class facility represents a larger investment in colonies of significant population with no strategic value other than their populations(Luna, Mars) and/or major mining outposts(Sedna, for example).  There are two versions of the Tennessee, with the Tennessee Light used in situations such as Luna where passive sensors are not necessary due to coverage by deep space tracking stations on Earth.  They should be strong enough to deter a 'recon in force' but not a major attack. 

** Barracks for two Garrision Battalions
** Military-grade passive sensors(except for the Lt variant)
** Military-grade active sensors
** Five Missile Lauchers(Defender), six volleys each
** 7 feet of duranium armor(upgrade from the basic 5 for the Ticonderoga)
** Two CIWS batteries for a(very) basic element of defense
** The Tennessee Lt. is 12.1 kt with 214 crew and a cost of 951k;  The standard Tennessee is 13.3 kt, 254 crew, and 1.1m credits cost. 

Alaska-class Missile Base

The Alaska is intended for major planetary defense.  Initially, only Earth and Titan, SPACE's most strategically important activity centers, will receive this level of investment.

** Barracks for a full combat brigade
** Military-grade passive sensors(two of each for redundancy)
** Military-grade active sensors(again, two of each)
** 25 Defender Missile Launchers(18 volleys each)
** 14 feet of duranium armor
** 18 CIWS batteries for defense
** 60.7 kt, 1030 crew, 5.2 million.  An Alaska installation is a major investment, more than 5 times the price of the Pioneer, previously our most expensive endeavor, and 70% larger than a Fletcher IV freighter.

Because of the previously-discussed issues that make energy-based weaponry  totally ineffective(at least for now) against known enemy capabilities, missile-based ships will be the backbone of the initial combat navy.  The major combat doctrine issue to be resolved is whether to make each ship self-sufficient and able to operate independently if needed, or to have a number of ships rely on dedicated sensor ships painting targets for them.  The latter would be far preferable given the current required size of active sensor suites, but our inability to defend against enemy  missile attacks in any meaningful way pushed it out of mind.  Two ship designs were thrown together with this in mind:  the Nimitz-class missile boat and the Brooklyn-class beam ship.  The Nimitz will carry Defender missile launchers, similar to the Tennessee missile base, and the Brooklyn meson and laser turrets. 

Their primary purposes are two-fold:  first, a public demonstration that SPACE is making progress towards a real combat navy, and secondly, the ability to test, as much as is possible, various logistical and combat necessities.  There will be a considerable amount of 'wasted' resources in the sense that current sensor electronics components are already obsolete(equally effective and 30% smaller versions are already possiblke), but it remains a top SPACE priority to get assets into service, however inefficient they may be.  Final specs on the Brooklyn and Nimitz await only the testing phase of the new 200-ton Phoenix engine, the primary military-grade propulsion system that is awaiting lab space to be developed.  Fuel efficiency has been tossed to the wind(125% power modifier) in an effort to get the most speed that can reasonably be achieved.

It is expected to be quite some time(probably decades) before an equilibrium is reached wherein the initial waves of research advancements slows down to the point where our ability to build things can catch up with it and a modicum of stability can be established.