The Galaxy Awaits ... Choose Your Path!

[FirstVictor]

To Director Herbert Duling, Chief of the Army and Major General Anton Engelhardt, Acting Chief of the Navy Rear Admiral Mitchell Feeser, Military Brass, SPACE HQ, Lords and Ladies, Aids and Associates,

The mark of fifty years of cooperation within SPACE is an achievement so great and grand, that the words available to me in our language are not sufficient in describing the good that it has brought to humanity.    It is the simple fact that without SPACE, we would not be here.    Alluding to that fact, it is here that I take up the offer to voice an opinion pertaining the future of not only SPACE, but the direction of our entire species.    It is in the words of this letter I was elevated amongst my fellow Officers of Rank to speak on behalf of them, to form one voice for open dialogue.   

We face a dilemma, greatest that we as a species has ever stood before: the question of returning to Epsilon Eridani.    Is it true that delving into this forsaken system is a dangerous undertaking.    We know that should the aliens we found there refrain their passive existence and turn aggressive, it could well mean the end of our existence.    The debatable deference of the outcome whether we should, or should not, return to Epsilon Eridani can only be addressed after a dedicated, and solicitous, reordering of the military.   

It is in this light of thought that I would like to propose, in my own words and on behalf of the other Colonels, Officers of Rank, a fundamental and all-encompassing shift in future military culture, deployment, and doctrine.   

The British Army was described as the most effective military formation in existence in its day.    Its achievements were legendary, honors without number, elevating the British Empire to the highest heights of the world powers for a century and more.    Yet all of these accomplishments would have been without merit were it not for the British Navy, the catalyst and enabler that forged a nigh invincible singular force by transporting and aiding the most mobile military force to that point in history.    The fact that this doctrine became the gold standard for all future military doctrine, for centuries, to be based off of is a testament to the validity and progressiveness of those tactics.   

It is with this understanding that the static deployment of ground based military troops should be declined in favor of a more mobile, rapid striking force that can accompany naval vessels and assist in the direct projection of human interests into Interstellar Space and beyond.   

The creation of a dedicated Marine Force is vital to the continued survival of our species.    Men and Women who are specifically trained for high risk missions entailing the direct capture or elimination of highly defended priority positions is paramount should the need arise to reclaim, or take, a hostile planetoid.    In addition, all military vessels that operate beyond systems deemed secure should have a detachment of marines to both protect their vessel’s boarders, and partake in offensive boarding operations should the need arise.   

This duel mission of projectable offence coupled with rapid defense in depth assures that should we encounter an enemy force, be that they are faster, stronger, tougher, or a combination, we will have more tactics to choose from.    The adage of knowledge is power is a proverb we must remain dedicated to, and with the duel cooperation of Army and Navy, this will allow us the ability to if not destroy an enemy vessel, then to at least capture it, leading to a plethora of knowledge we cannot even begin to imagine.   

Academic study into the Art of War is currently being led by Cedric Wormack, a distinguished scientist that has consulted hundreds of military men and women, including myself, regarding a new military force.    While the formation of a dedicated Assault Infantry Battalion is necessity itself should we ever need to secure and hold an objective in the short term, these forces are too cumbersome.   

Should forward progress pertaining to the objectification, advancement, and final realization of military formations remain the same, we are a decade distant from this proposed vision.    I believe that this does not go far enough, we can do better.    More funding and allocation of resources to the betterment and development of Army forces should be increased.    These increases should be by orders of magnitude, and never hindered until this doctrine is fulfilled.   

I close with a poem written by my great grandfather written following the first successful landing of humans on another world, Apollo 11 and its mission to Luna, and how he viewed why the decisions of today effect the reality of tomorrow,

"We, who are the children of our parent's dreams, go forth to discover what they never could.    New worlds await not us, but new dreams for our children to live.    It is a simple thing living a memory, but to live a dream, that requires great strength and sacrifice.    This is what we are, a conduit, a bridge for the next generation to cross.    We must build their foundation strong, as our parent's did, for that is our purpose, to live on through our actions, our memory, our service.   "

On Behalf of Officers of the Army by the Rank of Colonel, Aids and Associates,
Most Sincerely and Respectfully,
Your Humble Servant and Soldier,
Col.    Ignace Tegair, 62nd Garrison Battalion, Army of SPACE and Defenders of Sol

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

Had an unexpected issue come up during the year but just about to the end of it, should have it up this weekend and then we'll get into the election cycle. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to suspend this project indefinitely.  Other interests are occupying my time and I've not been giving it the effort and time it needs to have a reasonable amount of progress and updates.  I'm going to save all the files and information with the possibility of continuing at some point, but for now it will be on hiatus. 

[MWadwell]

After much thought and consideration, I have decided to suspend this project indefinitely.  Other interests are occupying my time and I've not been giving it the effort and time it needs to have a reasonable amount of progress and updates.  I'm going to save all the files and information with the possibility of continuing at some point, but for now it will be on hiatus. 

Bryan,

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this - it has been a very enjoyable story.

Hopefully, at some point in the future, you will pick up and continue - but until then, I just wanted to say THANKS!

 

[Malikane]

Bryan,

Thanks for all the time and effort you put into this - it has been a very enjoyable story.

Hopefully, at some point in the future, you will pick up and continue - but until then, I just wanted to say THANKS!

 

Seconded.  Thank you for a truly enjoyable experience, and best of luck in all your endeavors!!

[hunter james]

I concur with both of their statements

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

It's been about five months, but I've decided to start this up again.  I spent some quality time with the files to refamiliarize myself.  SPACE went through a systematic organization and computerization upgrade -- which is another(technobabble) way of saying I took the time to some overview deleting of obsolete components, task groups, and ship class designs, and more importantly made a master list of components and affecting technologies so I can get prototypes made in an appropriate timeframe.  Occasionally I've fallen behind before -- it's gradually grown over time and I don't expect it to grow too much more, but there's presently 16 active ship classes utilizing 31 specifically designed systems  derived from 24 distinct technologies.  So yeah, organizing it helped keep things focused a bit. 

Community participation, both in and out of character, has greatly improved this adventure in the past and I'm hopeful it will do so again.   I had stopped at December 1, 2076, so it was a relatively small matter to finish up the rest of the year once all the organizing was done.

2076 ANNUAL REPORT

Mitchell Feeser is appointed Chief of the Navy as expected.  At just 40 years old, he is expected to have a long stay at that position.  His first order of business is to formulate the Navy's official positions ahead of the upcoming election.  The youth movement continued with Hank Rohrer(31) promoted to Rear Admiral to keep the five active admirals.

The first actual act of Feeser as navy chief was to declare several vessels obsolete and order them to be scrapped.  This included both Essex-class survey ships and the GSV Hopeful(grav survey) which were now completely obsolete and haven't been used for anything really in decades, the CS New Beginnings which has never really been needed, the JSC Excelsior(lone remaining member of the Pioneer-class of science vessels), the JS Velociraptor(North Carolina-class commercial jump ship), and the Belknap-class command ship.  Some were well-intentioned attempts at filling needs that never really materialized, others have simply outlived their usefulness.  Additionally, the Perry-class fuel harvesters were slated to be scrapped over the next few years as the new higher-capacity Long Beach ships replaced them. 

On March 12, the first four Long Beach-class harvesters  became operational.  They then took the six-week-plus journey to Titan, and then over to Saturn where they deployed on April 28.   A few days later, the new Phoenix 100L engine was announced to have completed initial testing.  The time pressure led to both a skill increase and medical problems for Dr. Shannon Patteson. 

It was decided to build another of the current Brooklyn '72 class, waiting until current research on the next generation of beam weaponry is complete before updating that design.  The new Nimitz '76 compares as follows to the original:

Size:  10.3kt(26% smaller)
Speed:  2439 km/s(almost identical)
Crew:  273(27% less, a full 100 saved)
Weaponry:  1 CIWS anti-missile battery, 4 Defender Missile launchers(1 launcher fewer; CIWS has 50% greater tracking speed)
Armor:  3 layers High-Density Duranium armor(same protection of more bulky standard duranium armor on the original)
Cost:  1.62m(14% cheaper)
Build Time:  1.9 years(actually a month and a half longer here)

In short, the new Nimitz is smaller, cheaper, can 'see' better, and has less firepower.  The Navy intends to continue the trend of downsizing, preferring multiple modest-capability ships over a few huge ones.  They also saw a definite need for some new prototypes:  A couple more size variations on the Phoenix engine, and a smaller missile magazine. 

On June 20, the final three brigades arrive at Titan, and the crews of their transports will take an extended and much-deserved break now after their long journey.  It is still expected to take another four years, until sometime at the beginning of next decade, before the base there is completed. 

The fall brought another development of major significance:  November 5th it was announced that after over a decade, the longest by far invested in any research project, the new and improved geological sensors were ready.  This is a big step towards being ready for the Fox Plan, possessing the ability to scan from orbit for signs of past alien civilizations on a body.  The next step, probably not ready for a couple years, is finishing the new jump drives. 

Just a couple weeks later, word reached SPACE HQ of problems on the Tennessee-class base on Triton.  It seems that the staid and stale atmosphere of the missile base is not providing all of the amenities the crewmen need and morale is being significantly affected.  Human nature being what it is, they are not robots and diversions are needed.  SPACE has only one real option, a recreational ship being that option and the purpose of the new New York-class Luxury Liner.  It is considered theoretically possible that a semi-permanent population, housed in what in effect would be 'mobile space stations', could potentially be built and transported to remote mining colonies ... but for now that is a mere speculatory conjecture. 

The specs of the new design:

Size:  122.2kt
Crew:  1237
Top Speed:  347 km/s
Range:  23.8b km
Fuel Load:  1m liters
Defenses:  13 CIWS batteries
Cost:  3.56m(21.5 mo.)

They're not small, and they're not cheap.  Essentially floating amusement parks with casinos, entertainment(both wholesome and not), the concept is not expected to be politically popular, but it is considered a necessity.

It is also a problem which will get worse before it gets better, as it will take some time to get any into service.  The Tod & MacGregor is the only shipyard large enough to handle them, and the cost to retool, then eventually retool back to the South Carolina, will not be a small matter.  Try on 3.2 million credits just to get the shipyard ready.  But there is little choice.  If defending outlying colonies is a necessity, then providing those charged with manning the defenses with what is needed to perform their duty efficiently is also a necessity.  The first New York is not expected to be ready until just about the end of the decade(late 2079/early 2080), by which time circumstances on the remote colonies are expected to be rather dire.

The lack of foresight here, esp. on the part of the Navy, could hardly have come at a worse time with the election just weeks away ...

On December 1st, the initial boat of the new Forrestal IIIs heads out to the Lalande 21185 jump point. 

The changes in the Navy definitely headlined 2076.  A new chief began the year in Mitchell Feeser, obsolete ships were scrapped, the first Long-Beach harvesters and Forrestal III upgrade to sensor ships were deployed, and of course two new major designs in the Nimitz '76 missile ship and the New York Luxury Liner.  The new sensors also brought the Fox Plan one step closer to fruition. 


Leadership Personnel

Early January -- A fabulous new candidate in the army corps(Gil Milstead) has been found to possess high-level ability both in political contacts and combat command abilities.  Milstead is also an espionage genius and has some diplomatic skill. 

Late January -- Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Blade commissioned.  136 Fleet Movement Initiative, 10% Fighter Combat, 15% Fighter Ops, 20% Xenology, 20% Logistics.  Mostly useful as a teams specialist, but good enough overall skill that he should be close to receiving a command right away.  Candid, energetic, good motivator, tolerant. 

Early February -- Cmdr. Conor Zavier's crew training is up to 50 which should be enough to take out of the cellar position among Commanders that he's been laminated onto since being promoted to that rank more than a decade ago. 

Mid-February -- Lt. Cmdr. Syrus Cassio is commissioned.  285 Fleet Movement Initiative, 20% Fighter Combat, 10% Survey.  Atheist, Doesn't accept change easily, Wealthy Family, talented musician.  Very respectable initiative would make him useful in a variety of combat roles.  Like Blade, he's almost but not quite good enough for a 'right-away' command. 

Mid-April -- With all the extra attention being drawn to the Phoenix engine, project lead Shannon Patteson takes maximum advantadge, upping to 40% skill.  Meanwhile, Director Duling irrelevantly increases his terraforming skill to an agency-high 30%. 

Late April -- Rear Admiral Hank Rohrer is up to 225 training, putting him on more equal terms with other admirals. 

Early May -- The early returns are that Alberto Eighmy's chances of returning to the Director's Office are improving(45% political reliability). 

Mid-May:  Lt. Cmdr.  Harold Graff(213 Initiative, 50 training, many social interests, distant) is commissioned.  Graff's health is a concern.  His training ability will serve him well if he ever gets a command, which is at best a 50-50 proposition.  The lack of other skills make it a serious question mark. 

Early June -- With the amount of research currently being done in the field, you can never have enough sensors scientists.  The latest is Irma Bartlebaugh, 10% skill, 20% Xenology. 

Late June -- Dr. Mike Minaya of the nigh-irrelevant Biology & Genetics field increases his skills to 40%. 

August 11 -- The last two, at least for now, of the new South Carolina freighters are completed.  One of the interim commanders is Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Blade.

December 1 -- Cmdr. Jay Cin V gets one the new upgraded Forrestal IIIs and heads back out to the Lalande 21185 JP ... and the process continues with many of the others. 

Mid-December -- A couple of mid-level administrators, Weston and Kaczor, have improved their knowledge of factory efficiency.  This might even matter if we had factories anywhere but Earth, or a good reason to build such. 

December 21 -- A notable new administrator has joined the fray, Ronald Waxman.  He has excellent skills in mining and notable secondary abilities in factory production.  Could be a good one in time, but should be at least decent right away. 



Research & Development

** January 19 -- Wayne Sabagh's team completes Meson Focusing 3.  Dr. Sabagh is another of the original members of the research team from SPACE's founding, and he retires now having been a promising energy weapons researcher but never really got much better.  He had a moderately successful career of decreasing importance as time went on. 

Prototyping the new meson cannon will now be led by Mike Minaya. 

** March 4 -- The latest in active sensors is completed(GEI SSS 128, the ship search variant) by Billie Allington's team.  The space will diverted to speeding up completion of the new engine, the only thing that remains to be finalized before the next generation of redesigns are ready. 

** March 8 -- Magazine Feed Systems have been improved to 80% (Harlan Welle). 

** May 3 -- With the completion of the Phoenix 100L engine, a number of changes were made and most of the waiting prototypes received lab space, taking up five of the six available labs.    The final lab went to Allington, who will begin laying the groundwork for the next generation of active sensors, though she will undoubtedly pass that work on to a more experienced scientist once more resources are made available for the project.    These developments upped the number of ongoing studies to a record two dozen. 

** July 18 -- Karabishi Juishao completes the first missile engine, and begins the prototype phase for the standard Defender 76.

** September 16 -- Minh Klausner's team has completed the second new-gen laser. 

** December 9 -- 12cm Microwave Research completed(Eva Vadnais).  Next up is extending laser wavelengths into the ultraviolet spectrum, one lab for now and she'll need another when one becomes available. 

** December 12 -- SPPI NP-35 missile engine prototype finished(Elliot Monks). This allows the final prototype for the slower, higher-payload Defender '76 P missile to be prepared.  For now Dr. Vadnais claims the lab for her laser work, and she'll need a third eventually. 



Earth

Early February -- Construction begins on the Forrestal III sensor boats.  At about three and a half months per Forrestal, replacing the current fleet is expected to take a little over a year with all four slipways at the KSEC Shipyard operating. 

Late May -- The newest naval shipyard begins expansion operations, and is named Permanant. 


Colonial News

December 28 -- Sedna grows again.  There are now 31 mining complexes there.  Still almost 63 years of duranium at current production levels, but that clock continues to tick. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

STATE OF SPACE, 2077

I.  IMPERIAL HOLDINGS

IA.  Populated Colonies

Earth(1.483b, 500 CF, 50 OF, 75 REF, 40 RL, 4 AC, 3 GFT, 5 DSTS, 15.2k MF, 1 SP, 1 SC, 4x Alaska MB)
Mars(54.63m, Tennessee MB)
Luna(49.24m, Tennessee MB)
Titan(17.32m, 1 DSTS)
Mercury(12.64m)
Venus(11.74m)
Io(110k)
Europa(110k)
Ganymede(110k)
Callisto(110k)

The inner-system colonies continue to grow, while there is virtual stagnation in the outer system.  Titan was the only one to grow(by a mere 300k), for a total of just 1.7% growth in the outer system.  Meanwhile the population of Mercury nearly doubled, leapfrogging Venus as now the 4th most-populous colony.  Nearly 9% of humanity, over 146 million of us, now lives somewhere other than earth.  Less than 20 million, or 9% of that 9%, lives in the outer system and nearly all of that small fraction is on Titan.  Meanwhile, shipyard operations has surpassed construction factory work with more than 25 million employed as the #2 TN employer behind research at 40 million. 

IB.  Outposts

Sedna(31 CMC, 16 eff, 8.59 kt)
Triton(63 AM, 26.7 eff, 2.65 kt) -- mercassium(9.0)
Earth(50 SM, 6.3 eff, 546 t)
Reinmuth(33.8 AM, 37 eff, 2.27 kt) -- gallicite(2.2)
Stephan-Oterma(28 AM, 40 eff, 1.94 kt) -- neutronium(0.5), gallicite(7.6)
Halley's Comet(28 AM, 51 eff, 2.25 kt) -- sorium(2.6), gallicite(6.1)
Machholz(27.6 AM, 24 eff, 1.15 kt)
Neujmin(25.8 AM, 34 eff, 1.52 kt)
Titan(25 SM, 6 eff, 378 t)
Faye(25 AM, 41 eff, 1.78 kt) -- uridium(3.7), corundium(5.1)
Comas Sola(25 AM, 36 eff, 1.49 kt) -- sorium(1., boronide(8.0)
Schaumasse(21.8 AM, 36 eff, 1.24 kt)
Crommelin(20.4 AM, 35 eff, 1.12 kt) -- corbomite(1.9)
Borrelly(17.8 AM, 49 eff, 1.37 kt)
Wolf-Harrington(17.8 AM, 50 eff, 1.4 kt) -- corundium(1.4)
Callisto(10 SM, 6 eff, 11 t) --
Van Biesbroeck(10 AM, 55 eff, 865 t)
Prokne(10 AM, 10 eff, 165 t)
Wolf(8 AM, 26 eff, 327 t)
Wild(8 AM, 34 eff, 428 t)

Total Production:  31.49 kt, +9.7%.  A near-reversal over the last four years, buoyed by the mines being sent to Halley's Comet.  It is still just a hair(a mere 150 tons) off the peak back in '69.  Neutronium remains the top concern in the short term, and Stephan-Oterma will run out in months.  Corundium, sorium, and gallicite will all see multiple deposits dry up in the next several years, but it is not expected to place any strain as those are all minerals will plenty in the stockpile -- for now. 

IC.  Mineral Stockpiles & Production

Tier A(rare usage):  Vendarite(56 kt), Corbomite(53 kt), Tritanium(45 kt), Sorium(40 kt)

Tritanium moves into the lowest tier as it's seen very little use of late, and the gradually increasing amount of sorium as well for the same reason. 

Tier B(some usage, but a good stockpile):  Uridium(97 kt), Boronide(44 kt), Gallicite(39 kt), Mercassium(24 kt)

Two significant concerns here are gallicite, which declined slightly, has a number of sources drying up soon, and will see pretty much constant need for use in missiles.  Increasing that amount against a time of war would be preferred, but is not possible right now and that could be a problem.  Mercassium stockpiles shrunk by 3kt and that may well continue also with Triton's contribution shrinking with each passing year.  Vital to the research laboratories, it could well become a bigger priority next time around. 

Tier C(major usage, needs close watching/ under 20 kt):  Duranium(16.4 kt), Corundium(16.1 kt)

A slight 600-ton decline in duranium, which looks to be pretty stable.  Corundium continues to gradually increase and while the number of sources will shrink soon, there's enough to last quite a while and tapping superdistant comet Ikeya-Zang(incoming at 12.5b km) will likely become an option well before it runs out. 

Tier D(major usage, economic growth limiter):  Neutronium(9.25 kt)

Although it is up sharply over the period(+3.32 kt), neutronium is now on the decline again mostly due to the incredibly expensive operations of the larger shipyards.  Continued investment in Halley's Comet to counteract this is expected. 


ID.  Income

Taxes(population):  43.5 m
Taxes(civ. shipping):  5.31 m
Taxes(civ. tourism):  5.09 m
Scrap Sales:  567 k
Taxes(civ. fuel):  153 k

Total:  54.67 m(+28.3%)

Balance:  689 m(+70 m)

Tourism is up sharply, double the numbers this year as compared to four years ago.  Taxes continue to come in increased amounts from the colonies. 

IE.  Expenses

Shipbuilding:  10.37m
Research:  9.42m
Mineral Purchases:  7.50m
Installation Construction:  7.00m
Shipyard Operations:  2.53m
Maintenance Facilities:  544k
GU Maintenance:  464k
GU Training:  250k
PDC Construction:  63k

Total:  38.13m(+33.0%)

Shipyard operations are expected to rise considerably in the next couple of years, and for the second straight cycle expenses have risen faster than income.  Still a profit of better than 15m per year though, so nothing to be concerned about yet. 

II. SHIPYARDS

IIA.  Commercial Yards

Tod & MacGregor(2 slipways, 166 kt capacity)
** Emergency re-tool for the New  York class is underway but less than 9% complete.  March of '78 is the expected timeframe, so it'll be a while. 
P&A Group(4, 80.2 kt)
** Building the second of six planned quartet of Long Beach-class fuel harvesters.  This yard will be busy with the for quite some time, at the end of which fuel concerns could be largely a thing of the past
Estalerios Navais(2, 73.8 kt)
** Expanding capacity for a while to reach at least 125kt so it can be used for the New York or similar size vessels. 
Oregon Shipbuilding(1, 50.7 kt)
** Idle.  Set at a decent size now to be used for a variety of potential things.
Vickers-Armstrong(4, 10 kt)
** Idle.  Used for the Lexington-class shuttles.

IIB.  Naval Yards

Wartsila(1, 17.6 kt)
** Retooling for the Nimitz '76(second-gen missile ship).  Expected to complete around the end of next March. 
Yokohama Dock Co.(1, 15.2 kt)
** Building Brooklyn '72(Beam-armed gunship).  Completion expected in spring of '78.
Baltimore Marine(2, 12.2 kt)
** Idle
KSEC(4, 1 kt)
** Idle.  Used exclusively for the Forrestal sensor ships.

III.  ARMY TRAINING FACILITIES

IIIA.  Earth

** Three active training facilities
** Brigade HQ expected to finish in March.  The other two are idle. 

IV.  INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY

IVA.  Earth

Research Lab(33%) -- June 2077
Naval Shipyard(25%) -- June 2077
Commercial Shipyard(15%) -- February 2077
Mine Conversions(standard to automated, 15%) -- 8-9 annually
Mine Construction(12%) -- 8-9 annually

V.  ACTIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS

** Reduced-Size Missile Launchers(Elyse Buckler) -- January 6 2077
** Composite Armor(Edward Groat) -- Mid-January 2077
** Defender '76 Missile(Karabishi Juishao) -- Mid-February 2077
** Small-size Defender Anti-Ship MIssile Magazine(Garland Sidhom) -- May 2077
** Medium-size Defender Anti-Ship Missile Magazine(Harlan Welle) -- May/June 2077
** Phoenix Engine, 300t variant(Clint Wyche) -- October/November 2077
** Assault Infantry Battalion(Cedrick Wormack) -- Winter/Spring 2078
** Ground Unit Strength(Alphonse Lambeth) -- Spring 2078
** Phoenix Engine, 400t variant(Shannon Patteson) -- Summer 2078
** Reactor Power(Alejandro Ottenson) -- Summer 2078
** MJD 46-4b, Military Jump Drive for use in the Fox Plan(Curtis Gloster) -- Summer/Fall 2078
** Thermal Sensor Strength(Elwood Tousant) -- Fall/Winter 2078
** Turret Tracking Speed(Joe Tycho) -- Winter 2078/79
** Fuel Efficiency(Rosemary Urenda) -- 1Q 2079
** Electronic Hardening(Ross Dodge) -- 1Q 2079
** WT Excalibur 135 Meson Turret(Mike Minaya) -- 3Q 2079
** EM Sensor Strength(Julio Kuchler) -- 3Q/4Q 2079
** Active Grav Sensor Strength(Bessie Wallander) -- Late 2080
** Ultraviolet Lasers(Eva Vadnais) -- 2081/82
** Minimal-power Efficiency Engines(David Gruis) -- Mid-2080s
** Jump Drive Minimal Size Theory(Reynaldo Darrington) -- Late 2080s

21 current projects which is fairly typical for the way things have gone with a peak of 24 about a year ago.  Seven are prototypes though.  The actual amount of general research going on at any one time has not increased that much.  More prototypes, more individually expensive, are needed all the time. 

As an extreme example, a little while back SPACE looked into the requirements for a jump drive capable of propelling one of the South Carolina-class superfreighters.  The prototype phase alone would require billions of manhours.  It was expected to be more costly than advancing general jump drive knowledge, which would allow a cheaper, more efficient drive to be produced, and so the idea was scrapped since we don't need such a drive yet.  But this is the direction in which research is going.  Current expectations are that in a couple decades, we may well be in a situation where more of the development budget is spent on specific application systems than on general advancements. 

VI.  ACTIVE NAVAL ASSETS

VI A.  Military Bases

Alaska(4, 59.45 kt, 1020 crew, major missile base)
Tennessee(2, 13.3 kt, 254 crew, missile base + sensors)
Tennessee(Lt)(2, 12.1 kt, 214 crew, missile base)
PDC Ticonderoga(4, 3.0kt, 16 crew, sensor base)

Total:  12 installations(+50%), 300.6 kt(+104%), 5,080 crew(+101%)

VI B. Combat Ships

MB Nimitz(3, 13.95 kt, 373 crew, 2437 km/s, 1.75m fuel, missile-armed)
GB Brooklyn '72(1, 13.45 kt, 356 crew, 2379 km/s, 1.75 m fuel, beam-armed)

Total:  4 ship, 55.3 kt, 1,475 crew, 7m fuel

Up from just one last time.  Slowly but surely, a ramshackle navy is forming. 

VI C.  Military Non-combat Ships

MV Cleveland(2, 2.1 kt, 30 crew, 2380 km/s, 100k fuel, supply ship)
SB Forrestal IIb(8, 600t, 13 crew, 4k km/s, 50k fuel, sensor buoy)
SB Forrestal III(9, 650t, 14 crew, 3692 km/s, 50k fuel, sensor buoy)
CO Tarawa(2, 6.4 kt, 85 crew, 781 km/s, 250k fuel, supply ship)

Total:  21 ships, 27.65 kt(-17%), 460 crew(-32%), 1.55m fuel(-29%)

The big stories here are the scrapping and deleting of obsolete classes and the transition to the third-gen Forrestals.  Overall this had lead to a smaller, but still a bit more effective MNC branch.  It will shrink a little further once all of the old Forrestals are replaced. 

VI D.  Commercial Vessels

TT Arleigh Burke(4, 17.8 kt, 136 crew, 563 km/s, 350k fuel, brigade troop transport)
FT Fletcher IV(2, 36.9 kt, 162 crew, 813 km/s, 650k fuel, freighter)
FT Fletcher IVb(2, 36.9kt, 162 crew, 813 km/s, 650k fuel, freighter)
FT Fletcher IVc(4, 36.9kt, 162 crew, 813 km/s, 650k fuel, freighter )
TK Iowa(2, 9.8 kt, 53 crew, 1.02k km/s, 6m fuel, fuel tanker)
ST Lexington IIId(27, 2.0 kt, 28 crew, 2500 km/s, 250k fuel, shuttle transport)
FH Long Beach(4, 79.1 kt, 411 crew, 379 km/s, 1.5m fuel, fuel harvester)
FH Perry III(17, 20.1 kt, 123 crew, 498 km/s, 350k fuel, fuel harvester)
TT Portland(2, 4.3 kt, 35 crew, 581 km/s, 60k fuel, troop transport)
FT South Carolina(4, 164.6 kt, 531 crew, 607 km/s, 2.15m fuel, superfreighter)

Total:  68 vessels(+4.6%), 1.77 mt(+95%), 8,631 crew(+55%), 45m liters fuel(+38%)

A few classes went the way of all flesh here, but the Long Beach and South Carolina were added.  The official commercial fleet doesn't have many more ships in it, but it's a lot bigger in size. 

Grand Total:  105 assets(+11%), 2.15 mt(+95%), 15.6k crew(+70%), 53.6m liters fuel(+45%)

The total tonnage of Naval assets nearly doubled in the last four years, and the Long Beach harvesters will ensure that it continues to rise.  Enlisted personnel have quadrupled in the past decade, and there is now more fuel in ships in service than there is in reserve.  A temporary situation. 

Available Crew:  127k(+21%)

VI E.  Fuel Status

Earth -- 10.6m liters
Titan -- 16.0m
Callisto -- 5.2m

Total -- 31.8m liters(-23%).  The first reserve decline in memory, but it's largely due to the amount put into the new massive commercial ships.  This should reverse itself once the Long Beach constructions are finished.     

VII.  ACTIVE ARMY ASSETS

** Brigade HQs(4)
** Construction Brigades(7)
** Mobile Infantry Battalions(10)
** Garrison Battalion(34)

Total Active-Duty Soldiers:  364k(+9%)

** Note:  last report's calculation was wrong, incorrectly listing the number as 380k instead of 333k

The available officer corps remains nearly at full employment. 

VIII.  CIVILIAN SHIPPING CORPORATIONS

Voliva Carrier Company(57 vessels, 4.94m annual income)
Jensrud Transport and Trading(36, 3.13m)
Tolles Transport & Logistics(13, 1.9m)
Everton Shipping & Logistics(3, 430k)
Ouellet Shipping(3, 160k)
Suter Shipping Services(2, 110k)
Presnar Freight(2, 60k)
Clavette Shipping Line(2, 100k)
Abair Shipping(1, --)
Forbus Carrier Ltd(1, --)

Total Vessels:  117(+18%)
Total Civilian Income:  10.83m(+50%)

Competition has never been healthier in the civilian sector.  The 'big two' of Voliva and Jensrud now appear to have a legitimate third wheel in the form of Tolles Transport & Logistics.  Voliva expanded their operations by nearly 50%, yet this was only enough to retain a 45 market share. 

IX.  SPACE LEADERSHIP PROSPECTUS

** Naval Officers:  122 of 165 assigned(73.9%), +1.1%
** Ground Forces Officers:  61 of 67(91.0%), +1.2%
** Civilian Administrators:  28 of 34(82.4%), -10.7%
** Scientists:   21 of 36(58.3%),  -2.3%

Overall:  232 of 302(76.8%), -0.4%

The employment picture here has held steady now for over a decade. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

RETIREMENTS

It is expected that Dr. Edward Groat, 68 and in failing health, who pretty much wrote the book on what we know in Defensive Systems(better armour materials, reduced thermal emissions, etc.) will retire in a couple of weeks when he presents his report on the newest armour upgrade to Composite materials.  There are number of others who are in their early 60s but it will probably be at least five years, another research cycle from now, before any of them need to seriously consider being put out to pasture.

Political administration is a different story this time around.  The list of retirees is significant and distinguished.

** Jarrett Hugh, currently serving as Governor of Venus, was a candidate in the last three directorial elections, with his best finish a distant second to Rakes in 2061.  He served for nearly a half-century on important mining comet outposts early in his career, important colonies later as expansion into the system ramped up, including a couple of tours on Luna.  He's been an important if not household figure in SPACE politics for the past couple of decades, and over time developed a well-rounded skill set that served humanity well.

** Damian Ackley has somewhat of a backwater station as Governor of Jupiter moon Europa, but he's seen better times.  Back in the comet-mining rush of the 50s, he was in charge of Machholz during its heyday when it was the most important of those outposts, served on Van Biesbroeck as well when operations where expanded there, and more recently has been Governor at Venus, Ganymede, and the crucial mining outpost on distant Triton.  He was involved in three elections, finishing third in '45 early in his career, but never developed the management skills required to handle the larger responsibilities of director as SPACE grew.    This meant that his best skills(factory production and population growth) went largely wasted.

** Johnna Villicana will be missed far less.  She was a paper-pushing beauracrat until the last decade, spending one tour on Venus from 65-69 and minor mining outposts the last couple of cycles. 

** Finally, there was the matter of unquestionably the greatest politician SPACE has seen, 5-time director Herbert Duling.  He was expected to seek one more term, but there was a lot of speculation as to whether the 63-year-old would want to go through another four years.  With the recent New York fiasco weighing on his mind as well as the need to turn over the implementation of the Fox Plan to the next generation, he decided to forgo a chance at a sixth term and retire from public life.

Duling led the way during each of the most vital moments in SPACE's development over the first half-century.  The mineral crises in the 30s, the Epsilon Eridani crisis in the 50s, the 50-year celebration and subsequent forming of the basics of the Fox Plan in the 70s -- all were accomplished under his leadership.  It is not an exaggeration to say humanity might well have fallen into anarchy and internal conflict again without him.  Time passes all of us by, no matter how much we wish to ignore or deny our own mortality.  And so it is time now in 2077 for humanity to say a fond farewell to it's greatest statesman, and face an uncertain but brightening future under new leadership.

2077 ELECTION

There are only two people with the skills to approach Duling's political command and wide-ranging abilities.  Alberto Eighmy, director two cycles ago from 69-73, continues to be in poor health and is not an optimal choice.  The second is not a choice as all:  Delois Woznicki continues to be relegated to backwaters as a result of her continued failure to learn how to manage larger-scale concerns.   At 48, it is unexpected that she will ever learn, a waste of impressive talent. 

As a result of all this it was the largest field seen since the early days of SPACE when everybody was thrown into the pool.  What is lacking in great leaders will have to be made up for in an increased number of 'pretty good' administrators.  This despite the fact that the requirements are now higher:  a level 5(out of 6) is required for the position of Director, level 4 for Earth's Governor. 

When all was said and done, Eighmy and the still-energetic India Rakes, both former directors, headed a field of nine candidates.  The best long-shot was current Earth Governor Riley Awad.  Rakes ran one of the best campaigns of her career, and far better than any of the current contenders to pull off a moderate upset over Eighmy.  Full results:

India Rakes -- 20.8%
Alberto Eighmy -- 17.2%
Larry Steckel -- 15.3%
Riley Awad -- 11.0%
James Earl Jones V -- 10.5%
Burt Stonerock -- 8.8%
Russell Salvucci -- 6.5%
Carroll Westcott -- 5.6%
Francesco Alborn -- 4.3%

It was a disappointing showing for Awad. 

POLICY REVIEW

India Rakes most recently occupied the Office of the Director from 61-65;  this is her fourth term.  As she is 60, it will also be her last.  A good way to go out, and it allows her to have an unusually unrestrained approach.  There are not a lot of major issues though, right now it's mostly a waiting game. 

Rakes does implement one notable change.  A new high-powered military thruster is ordered to pave the way for the Caldwell class of shuttles, intended to replace the Lexington and be a smaller, more secure transport for VIPs.  Continued focus on mining and naval shipyards to support the Fox Plan is anticipated on the domestic front.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

CIVILIAN CHARACTER UPDATE

Karabishi Juishao(MK45) -- Set to finish the new third-generation Defender '76 prototype phase in about a month and a half.  At 63 and still in good health, she's likely got one more significant project, maybe two at most, left in her career.

Jedidiah Thone(3) -- Still just a mining colony, but a big upgrade as he moves from Reinmuth to distant Triton, the second-largest mining concern in Sol and the biggest operated by SPACE(civilian-operated Sedna is of course the biggest).   He positioned himself well to take advantadge of the retirees.  In order to advance much further, he'll need to develop the skills to handle larger endeavors. 
Ricardo Bloise(3) -- He remains on Machholz for another tour, a definite disappointment in this political environment. 
Malik Kaine(2) -- After nearly four years in waiting, he has his first appointment!  It's one of the most insignificant mining outposts around, on the comet Van Biesbroeck(10 mines, several minerals but duranium and mercassium are the most important).  Still, the important thing is he now has an opportunity, and a chance to learn skills which could lead to more responsibility in the future. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2077 ANNUAL REPORT

Starting off the year SPACE absorbed a significant but not catastrophic loss, helped by the fact that it was expected.  On January 12th Edward Groat's team finished the new Composite Armour and he announced his retirement.  Engineering analysis indicates that only the combat ships will benefit sufficiently from this new material:  the new missile ship was altered, named the Nimitz '76c, and will be able to carry a third more protection with the compressed material in the same space, at a negligible increase in cost and construction time.  The commercial sector would see only very marginal improvement, not worth the hassle and cost of refits.

Dr. Groat retires having written the book pretty much single-handedly on defensive systems knowledge.  His career spanned almost 50 years, and laid the groundwork for a navy that can have significant capabilities in damage absorption(three progressively better armour materials) and stealth(reduction of thermal signatures of our engines by nearly two-thirds). 

Near the end of the month, a sixth commercial shipyard(Howaldswerke/Deutsch Werft, or simply abbreviated HDW in most settings) was finished.  The most significant part of this was the transfer of factory capacity to increasing automine production.  February saw the latest naval golden child, Emile Jeffcoat, celebrated as he graduated the academy. 

In March a new brigade HQ was finished, ready for transport to Titan when the Alaska base there is finished, and mid-month the first Nimitz '76c began construction at the Wartsila shipyard.  Then in April eight officers were cut loose by the navy and their newest shipyard, Niehuis van den Berg, was put into service.   May brought the lauch of the second quartet of Long Beach second-generation fuel harvesters, and the Army celebrated a new star(Col. Romona Bosh). 

So most of the year went, smoothly with noteworthy happenings on virtually all fronts but nothing to really hang your hat on as big news.  Small, steady progression.  July proved a bit more important, with neutronium running out on Stephan-Oterma(already down 750t this year), and Earth crossing the 1.5b barrier in population.  That's triple what it was 52+ years ago at the founding of space, yet not a quarter of it's peak. 

After a quiet-ish summer, 22-year-old Gil Milstead made headlines as he was promoted to Brigadier General.  Official observers consider him the best officer even at that rank and favorite over Maj. Gen. Wyatt Pittman, presently twice Milstead's age, to take over the Army when Engelhardt retires.  Such things are sterile conjecture at this point though, as that is not expected to happen for several years, and many things can change.  He's off to a fantastic start though. 

In November, things came to a head with the mining operation on Halley's Comet.  Despite the concerted efforts, it's clear that the comet will need to take another 'loop' around the Sun -- in this case requiring 75 years for a full journey -- to extract all of it's mercassium, the most plenteous vital mineral.  With the deployment of the 41st automine at the start of the month, MRD made the estimate that at current rates it would be exhausted around the time it returns in just over 80 years(finishing the current approach and taking one more complete 'loop').  All other minerals will be finished in less than half that time, and the 41 mines makes it the third-largest outpost, tops among comets by a fair margin.  3.3kt combined is the current mining rate, though that will drop significantly in short order with the depletion of small sorium and gallicite deposits. 

For over four years Halley has been the sole target of automine production, leaving the question of what next?   At the moment neutronium is the top concern, but any location that offered that in combination with duranium or mercassium was a top priority for new or expanded operations.   

Neujmin has a lot of neutronium, but duranium will be exhausted there in about a decade.  A little longer, and the neutronium on Faye will be gone, so those options would be of limited use.  Wolf-Harrington was rejected for similar reasons.  Borrelly(18 automines, over 160 years worth of neutronium and mercassium and 50+ of duranium at current extraction rates) proved a much more profitable target.  Others such as Swift-Tuttle and Herschel-Rigolet were too distant, while the very rich neutronium deposits on Reinmuth would yield little else of value ...

Borrelly was the clear choice, and the decision was made to pump up investment there to around the same level as Halley, about 40 automines or a little over double the current level.  This will take only about a couple of years, and should help shore up our biggest needs.  Thankfully Borrelly is never more than about a two-week journey from Earth at it's greatest solar distance of less than 900m km.

Just before Christmas, another naval shipyard and the last expected to be needed for now was finished.  Archaicly and simply named the International, it will add a second slipway, intended also for use in the Fox Plan for small survey/support vessels as was the one completed earlier in the year.   The re-allocation of the factory space  would prove far more newsworthy in some quarters  ....

2077 didn't have any huge developments.  Probably the biggest stories were the development of the Composite Armour, Dr. Groat's subsequent retirement, and the switch in mining expansion from Halley to Borrelly.  But there were developments all across SPACE, from steady expansion of civilian operations in the system, new shipyards coming on-line, new ships and shipyard expansions, key personnel joining the leadership teams in all branches including the replacement in terms of numbers of the administrative retirees, a few new systems being prototyped by the research teams, etc.   The public of course mainly remains focused on the morale oversights on the outsystem bases leading to the exorbitant expenses required for the New York project, as well as all manner of debate, criticism, and demand for more information relating to the Fox Plan.  Director Rakes has said only that the New York is an unfortunate necessity, and that once the new jump drive is ready next year, the Fox Plan will move forward at that point ...


RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

** January 5 -- Elyse Buckler's team completes reduced-size missile launchers(75% size, but double the reload time).  At the moment SPACE does not consider this to be a particularly important development, as present naval doctrine favors multiple launches and more missile capacity per ship over lower capacity and a larger 'alpha strike'.  Buckler, a young and thus far very unimpressive project lead, learned nothing but she'll get another chance with the Defender '76 P high-yield missile prototype.

** January 12 -- Edward Groat's team finishes the new Composite Armour.   This should improve the ability of all our ships to withstand alien weapons down the line, though only military ships will get the treatment:  it's not enough of an improvement to make the commercial ships significantly more efficient.   A new Nimitz, the Nimitz '76c, is recommended with this superior material.  It can carry a four feet of armour instead of the previous three while maintaining exactly the same size.  This change increases the cost by a little over 40m, but that's only about 1.3% on a 1.6b+ warship.  Survivability is worth a lot more than that.

Dr. Billie Allington commandeers one lab for use in the JPS NP-42t, the new thrusters required for the planned miniaturized Caldwell shuttles.  Eva Vadnais finally gets the third lab she's needed for her laser work, and for the third one all of the big projects are in need of a major project lead(all occupied).  Modesto Huch takes one to begin work on a smaller, company-sized troop transport bay.  Such things will hopefully not be needed for decades, and this project may well be suspended before long for many years, but the space should not go to waste. 

** February 15 -- The standard Defender 76 missile prototype is finished and the ordnance factories are fired up again.  Karabishi Juishao's next project is improving reload rates of the missile launchers, and she'll use two labs, one taken from Huch's work on troop transport bays which now is sidelined as anticipated. 

** May 14 -- Garland Sidhom's team finishes HMI 16, the smaller of the new missile magazines.   Huch gets some more time to work on the Small Troop Transport Bays, which he only was able to get about 2% finished earlier in the year.  Within a couple days a new research lab is finished, and another 'make-work' training project is assigned.  This one goes to talented young Eliot Monks(Defensive Systems).  He'll work on improving shield technology.

** June 5 -- Harlan Welle completes HMI 25, the second and larger of the new magazine blueprints.  His next task is improving Magazine Ejection Systems, which will again require only a single laboratory.

** October 25 -- Clint Wyche completes Phoenix 60L, a 300-ton military engine.  He's got enough skill and clout by now to demand investment in a project in his field, the only one of which is improving terraforming(since cloning/genetic mutation are banned).  The 'make-work/training' projects directed by Huchs and Monk are put on hold to free up a total of three labs for Wyche, which will suffice for his current needs. 



EARTH

January 27 -- The latest commercial shipyard, Howaldtswerke /Deutsch Werft, is finished.  It will expand until it gets to a reasonable size, probably at least 40kt or so.  Progress can now be accelerated on the naval shipyard and, of more immediate value, expanding mine production operations.  With a little over a third of Earth's TN factories devoted to that goal, they can now turn out a new one in less than four weeks time. 

March 1 -- A new brigade HQ is finished, which will serve as the command HQ on Titan once the Alaska base is finished there. 

March 15 -- Wartsila is ready for the new Nimitz '76c.  Construction begins and is the first is expected to finish in late 2078.

Late April -- The new naval yard Neihuis and Van Den Berg is finished.  Another yard is begun and Neihuis will add a second slipway.  These are intended for use for the small survey and other utility vessels that will be required by the Fox Plan. 

May 9 -- Second quartet of Long Beach harvesters finished.

Early July -- Population breaks the 1.5b barrier. 

Late December -- The most recent, and for now final, shipyard is finished(the International)


LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

February 15 -- The latest naval prodigy, Lt. Cmdr. Emile Jeffcoat, has graduated the academy.  Very high marks in crew training and notable survey skill to go with it. In the current environment he's better right now than 90% of those who are at Commander rank, it's just a question of how long he waits to get his chance. 

April 12 -- The Navy cuts eight officers. 

Late April -- Long incompetent power & propulsion scientist David Gruis has finally managed to have light dawn on his marble head, and is up to a 15% bonus now.  A long ways to go but at least he's marginally useful. 

Mid-May -- Col. Romona Bosh is commissioned, one to watch as she has considerable talent in commanding ground forces. 

June 3 -- Carl McCloe joins the civilian beauracracy, and he's better than most who have come out of the academy in recent years.  He can manage anything short of the director's post itself and has mostly useless skills, primarily terraforming and diplomacy. 

Late June -- Jerry Bartholf(Power and Propulsion 10%) is our latest researcher.  That's going to be a crucial field for decades, so this arrival is pleasing.

June 28 -- Lt. Cmdr. Emile Jeffcoat has progressed further in his training skill(200), certainly not resting on his laurels.

Mid-July -- Logistics & Ground Combat researcher Alphonse Lambeth, still with most of his career hopefully ahead of him at 36, has improved to a 35% bonus.  When Cedrick Wormack retires, which is expected to happen soon, he'll become the top man in that field.

Late July -- Cmdr. Christopher Blair's Fleet Movement Initiative ups to 290.  This moves him up a couple spots among his fellow officers, but probably too little, too late. 

A couple of key developments in the beauracratic ranks as well.  Mid-level Carol Westcott has made some new friends(20% political reliability) in an effort to force her way higher, and little-known Horacio Hufton, governor of the comet Crommelin, has been forced to retire early due to health concerns.  Carl McCloe is appointed as his emergency, interim replacement.  Fortunately it's close by at the moment, merely a three-day journey to approximately Jupiter orbit.  He officially takes office two months to the day after graduated the Academy -- one could not ask for much better than that.

Mid-August -- Riley Awad increases his Factory Production skill bonus to 30%.  That would have helped while he was Governor of Earth, but now that he's on the moon it doesn't do a whole heaping lot of good.  No factories there, a little late to the party buddy. 

Mid-September -- Col. Gil Milstead, just 22, is promoted to Brigadier General.

Late October -- Gordon Semien joins the civilian corps, and he has a couple of notable skills.  Administratively he could handle the Director's job, and he also has solid abilities in population growth and factory production.  A good man to have around. 

Mid-November -- Douglas Greer joins the growing logjam of low-level scientists in Defensive Systems.

December 14 -- Lambeth strikes again, up to 40% now.  He's on a roll this year!

Mid-December -- Merry Murray joins the civilian beauracracy.  Decent administrator, majoring in wealth creation which is not exactly an area of need as the budgetary reports have always shown. 


COLONIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Early July -- Neutronium supplies have been exhausted on Stephan-Oterma.  With more than a generation's worth of duranium and sorium still on the comet, it's unlikely to see a major draw-down in investment(currently the third-largest comet operation with 28 automines) in the near future.

November 1 -- Automine deployment switched from Halley's Comet to Borrelly.

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

RETIREMENTS

** Rear Admiral Tell Perj Jr., the navy's second-in-command, has decided to step aside at age 59.  He spent 28 years as a Commander, during which he saw action on most classes of ship SPACE has operated, many now obsolete.  Sensor vessels, freighters, geosurvey ships back in the Sol mining rush, fuel harvesters, command ships, the list goes on and on.  It looked for a long time that he would never exceed that rank, but he had a late-career resurgence and spent four years as Logistics Officer for the SSF, the commercial branch of the Navy.  It was a position quite befitting a man of his varied experience.  The last four were spent as the SSF head, under Chief of the Navy Mitchell Feeser. 

The four admirals who remain average less than 40 years of age.  It should be a stable group leading the implementation of the Fox Plan in the years, maybe even decades to come.

** Tell is the only senior commander to leave the military this tour.  Brig. Gen. Christopher Sonders(55) considered retirement but was convinced to stay until the Alaska base on Titan is finished in a couple of years.   A number of junior officers who have failed to distinguish themselves in both branches are culled.  Cmdrs.  Reginald Mapps and Christopher Blair are among them, along with five Lt. Cmdrs. and four army colonels.  Blair was a successful CO at sensor duty and then later at some mid-level bases, but never quite got the breaks he needed to reach Captain and move into upper-level leadership in the service. 

MILITARY CHARACTER UPDATE

** Cmdr. Conor Zavier -- 34th out of 35.  A minor promotion for him at least this time, as he moves from a Burke transport to a decidedly boring post at one of the Cleveland-class maintenance supply ships. 
** Lt. Cmdr. Oled Mrtav -- 26th out of 105.  Still just hanging on as a fuel harvester commander, and he won't be that after mandatory retirement hits following this tour. 
** Cmdr. Daniel Watters -- 27th.  He's getting to know the Van Maanen's Star jump point real well, and his fourth tour out there is about to commence. 
** Cmdr. Jay Cin V -- 22nd.  A third tour at the important Lalande 2118th jump point station.
** Lt. Cmdr. Jessica Sattler -- 14th.  A third harvester tour, she moves up to one of the big Long Beach ships.
** Lt. Cmdr. Bandus Meian -- 59th.  Another tour on shuttle duty.  Serviceable but unimpressive so far.
** Lt. Cmdr. Dirk Blade -- 58th.  Same story as Meian, he heads to shuttle duty after not really making anything of his interim stay on board one of the South Carolina superfreighters.
** Lt. Cmdr. Syrus Cassio -- 67th.  He's got his first command on one of the Lexington shuttles.  Time will tell if he makes anything of the opportunity. 

** Col. Ignace Tegair -- 26th out of 56.  Garrison duty on Earth continues.  There are certainly worse assignments. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2078 ANNUAL REPORT(Part 1)

June Aspinwall, 49, was quickly named the replacement Rear Admiral for Perj.  Her experience and political connections immediately make her the new #2 in the Navy behind Feeser.  This was almostly completely overshadowed by political unrest.  There were loud protestations from some significant minorities about the rapid increase in automine deployment. 

The 'Earth First' crowd, using slogans such as 'No Blood for Mercassium!' and 'No Halley in Our Name' wants more resources devoted to the homeworld -- though devoted to exactly what they've not been long on explaining.  Fiscally conservative and self-appointed watchdog groups demand to know just what exactly SPACE is getting from all the shipyard activity, citing the New York 'boondoggle' and the new, thus-far unused naval yards as evidence that the political class has lost the thread and needs to be booted.  The conservationists have also put in their two cents, usually in the form of long-winded analyses of how off-world mining operations are not giving us the same bang for the buck they used to, and pointing out that SPACE will be in a pretty fix when Sedna starts to exhaust its deposits.  Finally, there are the anti-technologists who constantly question just what exactly humanity has achieved by the TN leap, other than ticking off an alien interstellar empire.  They prefer that we simply withdraw from the galaxy, show the other races we mean them no harm by abandoning the network of outposts in the system and returning to a simple life on Earth.  Generally this is accompanied by blaming the horror of WWIII not on the depravities of human nature, competition among nation-states and international mega-corporations, or overblown misunderstandings between cultures, but on our stubborn and in their opinion breathtakingly arrogant insistence on always seeking advancement whatever the cost. 

Director Rakes is not saying much beyond reminding everyone that there will be more detailed news on the Fox Plan later in the year and pointing out that stockpiles all four key minerals(duranium, neutronium, mercassium, and corundium) are declining over the last couple years is a pretty good argument for expanding operations.  Patience is running thin in some quarters though, and for the first time in decades internal strife is a major concern.  Despite the many voices holding forth in the echo chamber, most just want clear answers and are frustrated with not getting them.

 Three weeks into the year, retooling finished for the New York and fabrication of two hulls began.  This reminder the administration did not need, though it helped that the second Brooklyn '72 was finished on the same day to partially defuse the impact of the first story. 

In February, the decision was made to reduce mine production somewhat and work on expanding ordnance factories to triple their current amount(50 to 150).  This was based on the fact that with multiple active missile bases and a few Nimitzes now 'in the field', producing enough missiles to resupply them takes about a decade at current production rates, which High Command considers to be far too long.  Some termed this decision as reactionary and proof of Director Rakes' weakness, but increasing readiness while at the same time adding five million new high-paying TN jobs over the next several years was an effective counter to that. 

March brought another piece of good news, with the last of the new Forrestal IIIs leaving the space docks.  The previous generation has now been completely replaced.  Soon afterwards, a sudden illness required the hospitalization of Luna Governor Riley Awad, who you may recall was Earth's governor from 73-77.  Doctors say the 54-year-old should return to good health, but will need to be watched closely. 

More good news in April with the return of the first tour from the initial quartet of Long Beach fuel harvesters resulting in well over three million litres being deposited in the Titan fuel tanks.  With good news to trumpet three months straight, some of the impatience was mollified for a time.  The month wasn't done either:  later Billie Allington finished the new thruster and the Caldwell-class VIP shuttle was announced:

Size:  950t
Crew:  14
VIP Capacity:  8
Speed:  2210 km/s
Fuel:  500k
Sensors:  Basic commercials of all types
Armament:  None, depends on stealth
Cost:  150k, a little under six months.

The Lexington is the oldest design presently in service, having been operated in one form or another for 30 years since the late 40s.  The Caldwell will allow for much greater stealth, and therefore more security for the VIPs whose skills are so important to the smooth operation of the agency.

The key factor here is that while it will burn through a lot more fuel, the Caldwell has a thermal signature just a shade over a seventh of the Lexington IIId.  An enemy would have to be practically on top of it or banging away with active gravs to know it was there.  Despite the small size, it is actually 13% more expensive than the current commercial-grade shuttles, but still miniscule in the grand scheme of things.

KSEC is expected to begin production in a couple months.  Replacing the entire 30-vessel complement required will probably take through the end of 2082, give or take, a 3-4 year process. 

After a relatively quiet summer, the silence became an issue again.  Then on August 28, The most important of a record 25 concurrent ongoing projects was announced to have been finished, a bit behind schedule but it's done.  Director India Rakes announced that she would be making a major global address regarding humanity's future that evening ...


RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

** January 5 -- Another laboratory is finished and Modesto Huch's on-and-off work on Small Troop Transport Bays resumes.

** February 12 -- Cedrick Wormack announces plans for the newest army formation, the Assault Infantry Battalion.  As the name implies it an offensive-focused unit.  Essentially the reverse of the Mobile Infantry in capability, it is twice as effective on the attack, half as effective in defense.  This is by far the most effective invasion formation we can field, and as such the AIB is an important development that will be needed eventually, but not anytime soon. 

He'll remain in control of two labs and direct them towards Orbital Habitat Modules.  This is a concept that could eventually replace the function that will be served by the New York luxury liners, and in a more politically acceptable manner.  Space stations could be built and then towed into position at any unihabitable location where SPACE needs a long-term presence.  These would house on site all the essential needs without mobile casinos being required. 

** March 7 -- Alphonse Lambeth announces a new round of general improvements in tactics, equipment, and training for the army.  This is a 14% improvement, so that each soldier now has the combat effectiveness of 16 pre-TN soldiers. 

Eliot Monks and Adolfo Walth resume 'training projects' on improving shield technology.

** April 22nd -- Billie Allington's team has finished the JPS NP-42st, the new max-power, thermally shielded thruster for use in planned Caldwell shuttle which will replace the Lexington.  Alphonse Lambeth gets to work on a battalion-sized CDM(combat drop module, a pod for deploying troops in hot spots where taking a day or two to methodically unload isn't an option.  This is purely another 'something to do' project. 

** June 2nd -- Shannon Patteson's team finishes the 400-ton variant of the Phoenix military engine.  Next up will be beginning a project that will need a lot more investment eventually, improving mining output.  There are other priorities right now, though, and Patteson isn't yet top in the Construction & Production field, so there won't be any more labs diverted at present. 

** August 1 -- Alejandro Otteson completes research on improved reactor output(+20%).  This frees up three lab spaces but also creates a need for two new prototypes.  Otteson takes the larger power plant, Jerry Bartholf gets his first project lead in going after the smaller one, and Billie Allington gets back in the game by doing some preliminary work on improving  fire control tracking speeds. 

** August 24 -- A new lab is ready, and a first lead given to one of the glut of young Logistics & Ground Combat scientists, Stanley Kogut.  His goal is the design of a Maintenance Module, for use in adding maintenance facility capability to a PDC or space station.  It is unclear whether this potential technology will ever be used.   

** August 28 -- The long-awaited new military jump drive has been finished, courtesy of Dr. Curtis Gloster


EARTH

January 20 -- Retooling complete for the New York.  A year and a half will be required, est. late summer of '79.  On the same day, the second Brooklyn '72 is ready.  A third will be built while the latest meson turrets are finalized.

May 28th -- A third group of Long Beach harvesters are launched, a full dozen out of the 24 planned. 


COLONIAL DEVELOPMENTS

February  -- Sedna expands again, 32 complexes now. 

Late February -- Corundium exhausted on Wolf-Harrington.  Neutronium and mercassium will keep the operations there going for decades yet. 

April -- The first full tour of one of the Long Beach harvesting groups is completed, and they dump nearly four million litres into the holding tanks on Titan. 

Early May -- Boronide on Neujmin is exhausted.  This is of very little significance. 


LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

Mid-March -- Meanwhile, Emile Jeffcoat, 13 months out of the academy, is promoted to Commander. 

Mid-April -- Cmdr. Conor Zavier improves his Fleet Movement Initiative to a slightly less pathetic 164. 

Late April -- Jessica Sattler makes a minor improvement in her ineptness in initiative(up to 124). 

Early May -- Errol Igoe, Governor at Sedna, has improved his mining bonus to 20% through his experience at the distant cash cow.  The result is an increase of about 350t of duranium a year, which will help stem the current decline. 

Late June -- Mitchell Feeser has made a few new friends(25% Political Reliability), strengthening his grip on the Navy. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

August 28, 2078
Director India Rakes, live from  Sector Command

'Less than three weeks ago, the twentieth anniversary passed of the fateful, painful, and tragic day when Herbert Duling announced to all of us that the worst had happened in Epsilon Eridani.  It has been a trying two decades.  Deep trauma often lays bare our greatest passions.  As we continue our efforts to honor those who sacrificed there as best we can, and move forward boldly into the future as a species, I am pleased to announce that today humanity has taken a major step forward in that struggle.'

'As most of us well recall, it was four years later that the broad outlines of a strategy to renew our push into the systems surrounding Sol were formulated, named the Fox Doctrine in honor of Herman Fox, one of the many both well known and virtually unknown who perished in the unprovoked alien attack.  While there are some among us who still believe we should not go at all, such an approach dooms us to nothing but isolation and fear for the indefinite future at best, eventual annihilation at worst.  We owe it to our children, grandchildren, and the generations who will come after them to confront the challenge of being a spacefaring people.  We must act courageously and wisely.  There is no quality future that involves shrinking into the shadows.'

'Recently I received word that the work of one our most accomplished scientists, Dr. Curtis Gloster, has been completed.  A new jump drive, significantly smaller than the one the Pioneers used yet able to produce the same magnitude of space-time disruption, has been tested and certified ready.  With this accomplishment, SPACE is finally ready after 16 long years to begin to put feet to our plans.  The Fox Plan now moves from the planning stage to becoming a reality.   I am pleased to be joined by Chief of the Navy Mitchell Feeser, who has served in that position for three years and many more to come.  He is well known to be as talented as any naval officer SPACE has ever known.  Chief Feeser will outline the ships that will conduct the first explorations beyond our system in nearly a quarter-century.''

Chief of the Navy Mitchell Feeser, live from Sector Command

At 43, Feeser is still quite a young man for his position.  Only Ellie Camble stands in SPACE annals as a more respected naval officer.

'What I am about to describe to you has been dubbed Operation Renewal.  Renewal will be the most complicated operation SPACE Command has ever conducted.  Great care and expense has been taken to minimize the danger to the servicemen and servicewomen involved, and to maximize success of the mission.  The objective of Operation Renewal is to conduct detailed surveys of any incompletely mapped star system.  These surveys will include any evidence of alien life past or present, TN mineral deposits, jump point locations to other systems, and where those jump points if any lead to. '

'For this mission, five new ship classes have been designed, and they will recieve support from sixth already in use.  The 850-ton Explorer-class scout will be our first entry into any system without any current human prescence.  The Explorer is the tip of the spear, so to speak, and will jump in, briefly scan the area around the jump point, and then jump back out a few minutes later.  In this manner minimal exposure to danger by the rest of the ships will be achieved.  Slightly larger are two 950-ton vessels.  The Frontier-class gravitational survey vessel will be responsible from surveying all potential jump point locations in a system, and the Prospector-class geological survey vessel will investigate any planets, moons, asteroids, comets, etc. for any mineral deposits and/or signs of alien life.'

'These three types of utility vessels will be housed in one of two new classes of carrier ships, each 10kt in size.  The first is the Gearing Survey Carrier.  The Gearing has over half its size devoted to hangar storage, and can maintain two of each class and their crews.  Secondly, the Baltimore Command Carrier will house one Frontier and one Prospector, and will serve as the nerve center of the flotilla.  It has military-grade passive sensors of the same quality as are stationed on the Nimitz and Brooklyn combat ships, the jump drive required for transit of the larger ships betweens systems, and also quarters and equipment for a command staff to oversee the operation.  Finally, an Iowa fuel tanker equipped for extended deployment time, hereafter known as the Iowa XR variant,  will accompany the carriers to refuel them.  They carry minimal reserves in an effort to maximize hangar space.  This leaves the flotilla composition at 1 Baltimore Command Carrier, 1 Gearing Survey Carrier, 1 Iowa fuel tanker, 2 Explorer jump scouts, 3 Frontier gravitational survey vessels, and 3 Prospector geological survey vessels.  The Baltimore, Gearing, and Iowa XR carry enough supplies for an extended five-year deployment: the Frontier, Explorer, and Prospector have enough for a two-year sortie from their mother carrier ship.'

'To co-ordinate these efforts, an Admiral on board the Baltimore command ship will be in overall command of the mission and all eleven ships, with two captains to assist him with operational and logistical matters.  The flotilla is designed to minimize the chances of detection by hostile forces, and contains minimal defensive and no offensive weapons systems.  Both carriers and,  under most circumstances the tanker as well, will remain at the jump point of entry into the system being surveyed.  Should any hostile act be witnessed, the command carrier will withdraw immediately through the jump.  Any of the utility vessels not in close proximity at that time will be considered missing and presumed lost in action.  In this manner, a catastrophic disaster such as befell us in Epsilon Eridani will be avoided at all costs.'

Director Rakes

'Thank you Admiral Feeser.  I should emphasize that no firm decision has been made on what systems will be prioritized.  This administration is strongly of the opinion that such a determination would yet be premature.  We have committed to building two ESFs, or Exploration & Survey Flotillas such as the admiral just described.  The first is estimated to be operational sometime very close to the 2081 election.  It has been my duty to determine that we will proceed, and how, but the next director will decide where.'

'Thank you for time, and may God always bless our common human journey'. 

ESF TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Baltimore-class Command Carrier

Size:  10kt
Crew:  284 + 48 for docked flight crews
Speed:  600 km/s
Fuel:  750k(7.5 months)
Cost:  1.42m

Gearing-class Survey Carrier

Size:  10kt
Crew:  158 + 148 for docked flight crews
Speed:  600 km/s
Fuel:  750k(7.5 mo.)
Cost:  1.17m

Iowa XR-class Fuel Tanker

Size:  9.7 kt
Crew:  53
Speed:  1050 km/s
Fuel:  6m
Cost:  642k

Frontier-class GravSurvey Vessel

Size:  950t
Crew:  24
Speed:  1263 km/s
Fuel:  250k(over 21 months of constant travel)
Cost:  191k

Prospector-class GeoSurvey Vessel

Size:  950t
Crew:  24
Speed:  1263 km/s
Fuel:  250k(over 21 months of constant travel)
Cost:  251k
 
Explorer-class Jump Scout

Size:  850t
Crew:  18
Speed:  1411 km/s
Fuel:  250k(over 21 months of constant travel)
Cost:  92k

Total per ESF:  11 ships with a combined 37.1 kt size, 675 crew, 9.5m litres of fuel, and at a cost to the treasury of 4.74m.  This of course does not include the time and cost of shipyards dedicated to the production. 

[Bryan Swartz (OP)]

2078 ANNUAL REPORT(Part 2 -- Conclusion)

It is never the case that everyone is happy, and many thought the announcement of Operation Renewal should have come sooner than it did.  It was enough to head off any serious fracturing of the support for SPACE though, and allowed things to move forward in a more typically undisturbed fashion.  The status of that effort: 

Permanant Shipyard(presently at 6.4k) will need to expand to 10kt before work on the Gearing can begun.  Meanwhile the Baltimore Marine is retooling for the Baltimore, coincidentally enough, and the Iowa XR will be built at the Oregon Shipyard.  The smaller vessels should be ready well ahead of those.  It is uncertain which of the bigger ships will be the last to be ready. 

**Author's note:  After next annual report, which will bring us to a year out from the '81 election, a synopsis of the key contenders for the directorship and their positions on the question of 'where' the ESFs should be deployed first will be presented.  The community 'vote' will have some degree of impact on the results if anyone wishes to hold forth. **

September brought a new naval star on the horizon, Nigel Bilski.  He is cut from the same mold as Mitchell Feeser in terms of overall talent, the only other recruit yet seen with that talent level.  He's good at virtually everything, excellent at training, solid political connections ... 'Born to Win' is virtually tattooed on his forehead.  It will be interesting to see how his career develops. 

The next month, the 40th automine departs Earth for the comet Borrelly, meeting the goal that was set for more than doubling operations there.  Since the ramp-up of shipyard activity following the announcement of Operation Renewal over a month ago, the stockpiles have been monitored closely by MRD.  Neutronium levels are holding steady, corundium and mercassium continue to decline gradually, but duranium is fast becoming the biggest concern.  The best option for expansion continues to be Triton, but it hasn't gotten any closer:  Neptune is still 4.5b km away.  Still, there is still 458mt available there, a 500-year supply at current rates.  Getting out there will be far more efficient with the South Carolina superfreighters, and they'll finally have a job now.  One trip per five automines, so they'll only need a few journeys a year.  The current 63 automines on Triton will be cranked up to about 100, and then SPACE will reassess the situation. 

November was the busiest month of the year's final stretch.  In the first few days, an initial quartet of the new Caldwell shuttles were deployed.  A couple weeks later theoretical advances allowing for improved thermal sensors were announced, instigating another shakeup in the current state of assignments, with new commercial and military-grade sensors necessary to take advantadge of the new capabilities.  The SITG ThermoScan 121 will be 16% more powerful and 15% smaller than it's predecessor ... each step marking an improvement in SPACE's efforts to gain an advantadge against our enemies.  Another week, and the first pair of Frontier gravsurvey vessels cleared the docks, the first tangible success to trumpet in the progression of Operation Renewal.  And then in the final days of the month, the first of the Nimitz '76c, sporting the new composite armour, launched from Wartsila Shipyard.  Not a bad set of accomplishments for one month! 

For December, the only real news was the latest top talent on the army side.  Col. Zoe Bean graduates with combat training marks off the scale, and some skill in xenology.  The last one is a curiosity since we have no practical xenology experience as a species, and therefore one wonders how we know she is any good at it.  Regardless, she rates out as the second-best officer in the service straight out of the academy, so this is very good news for our ground forces. 

2078 will certainly be remembered most for the announcement of Operation Renewal and the various activities surrounding it.  Secondarily, the efforts to keep increasing mining output with the ramp-up in automine deployment and the gradually increasing numbers of comet deposits being exhausted over time is also worth noting. 


RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

** August 28 -- Curtis Gloster took over the work on improving mining outputs, requiring three labs, and some of the 'training projects' were shifted around a bit.  By far the best 'odd man out' right now is Garland Sidhom, a decent researcher but unfortunately he's in the nearly-irrelevant Biology & Genetics field, by far the least important of the eight disciplines. 

** September 12 -- The Defender '76 P, the high-damage variant that is also slower and therefore less accurate, is ready to go.  The ordnance factories switch to producing 60% of the P variant and 40% the standard Defender '76 in order to eventually catch up.  The P is also a hair more expensive(about 4,040 credits per instead of 3,870). 

Dr. Elyse Buckler unfortunately learned not a darned thing in the process, and she will be sidelined once again. 

** October 28 -- Jerry Bartholf's team has finished prototyping one of new power-boosted reactors. 

** November 15 -- Elwood Tousant and his team have acheived a breakthrough resulting in the next generation of passive thermal sensor capabilities.  Tousant will handle the military prototype personally, while Irma Bartlebaugh takes the commercial variant and another lab is freed up for one of the rookie scientists. 


LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL

Mid-September -- Oft-derided Delois Woznicki has improved her ability to manage larger-scale endeavors for the first time ... at age 50.  She's still a long way from being eligible for director duty, but there may yet be a small sliver of hope if she improves this more.

Late October -- A couple of key R&D developments, with Harlan Welle(Missiles & Kinetic Weapons) and Bessie Wallander(Sensors & Fire Controls) both hitting the 30% bonus line now.  Meanwhile, Lt. Cmdr. Syrus Cassio's improvement in command skills has resulted in a noticeable Initiative bump to 316. 

Early December -- Col. Zoe Bean joins the army as the latest talent in their ranks


EARTH

November 4 -- The first quartet of Caldwell VIP shuttles are prepped and ready. 

November 23 -- The first two Frontier gravsurvey vessels are ready, making use of recycled electronics from the original Coontz-class ships, long since dismantled.  That was of course the class which originally mapped the seven jumps leading from Sol following the development of jump point theory. 

Late November -- The first Nimitz '76c, clad in the latest composite armour, is prepared. 


COLONIAL DEVELOPMENTS

Late November --  Corbomite(on Crommelin) and sorium(on Halley's Comet) are depleted.

Early December -- Sorium depleted on Comas Sola.  Duranium remains along with two other less significant minerals, but the entirety of the deposits there will be depleted in less than 18 years.