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The Federation of Mars

9 (37.5%)

The Outer Systems Republic

15 (62.5%)

Total Members Voted: 23

[Hanzoku]

I've been going back through the information. The Federation trying to claim Dione would indicate a need for Vendarite or Corundium on their part. Vendarite sounds unlikely, as according to the wiki it's mostly used for fighters, hangers and fighter factories. Corundium, however, is needed for energy weapons, and a serious lack of it will make it troublesome for them to expand their fleet.

Of the 11 known TN minerals, we currently make use of 9 of them. These are:

• Duranium, used everywhere
• Sorium, our fuel source
• Neutronium, used in our railguns
• Boronide, used in power systems and capacitors
• Uridium, used in sensors and fire control systems
• Corundium, used in building energy weapons such as our meson cannons.
• Mercassium, used in building research facilities and life support systems
• Vendarite, used in building fighters, factories and fighter bases.
• Gallicite, used in all sorts of engine construction

The two currently unused minerals are:

• Corbomite, with theoretical applications in some form of energy shielding, stealth applications, and electronic warfare
• Tritanium, only useful in preparing nuclear warheads. A forbidden technological line, this mineral is effectively worthless and need not be pursued.

Including our four claims of 52 Europa, Psyche, Wolf-Harrington and Macholz, our minable stockpiles of minerals are roughly:

• Duranium - 964,134 tons
• Neutronium - 173,730 tons
• Corbomite - 106,650 tons
• Tritanium - 315,575 tons
• Boronide - 186,712 tons
• Mercassium - 170,884 tons
• Vendarite - 437,271 tons
• Sorium - 428,775 tons
• Uridium - 192,950 tons
• Corundium - 906,630 tons
• Gallicite - 143,943 tons

To address a few points:

- I think we should allow the minerals from the civilian mining complex to go into the economy. We have no shortage of the minerals they produce, and the extra income earned from taxes and greater civilian spending would help more.

- I agree that we should claim Pallas next, and suggest Kalypso as our following claim. Doing so gives us an asteroid claim in roughly each cardinal direction. Our next claim should be the comet Neujmin, mostly to deny its Corundium reserves to the Federation.

This leads to my next proposal:

Pallas, Kalypso, 52 Europa and Psyche should be developed as stopover stations for our FAC. This doesn't have to be anything fancy to begin with, merely establishing a fuel dump on each of these asteroids would allow our FAC flotillas to transit from the Jovian colonies to the Saturn colony without needing carrier support by stopping off at a refueling station midway to replenish their fuel supplies. Since these asteroids are roughly in the galactic north, east, south and west, it should ensure that the two subsystems are never truly out of range of each other.

- I agree we should place a second DSTS on Wolf-Harrington. We can pack up an already established DSTS to expedite this before the comet crosses into Federation space and replace the DSTS.

- I suggest building the following design on all inhabited colonies:

Code: (Sky Watcher) [Select]

Sky Watcher class Sensor Outpost    355 tons     15 Crew     99.8 BP      TCS 7.1  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 5-4     Sensors 1/80     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 2   

Thales Orbital Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 3200     Range 55.7m km    Resolution 40


This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 1 sections
It's basic, it's simple, and its purpose is to run its active sensor at all times, ensuring that no Federation ship can approach within 55 million kilometers of a civilian colony without providing warning, allowing our fleet to come to action stations.

- Finally, I think we should begin building up our ground forces. Each inhabited colony should have a defensive brigade on hand for security purposes.

[Azzuro]

As an addendum, Tritanium isn't completely useless, as it's used in the production of new Construction Factories at 30 tons per installation. The Republic has more than enough Tritanium for its foreseeable needs on Machholz, though.

Also, when you say 'inhabited colonies', the only inhabited colonies that the Republic has right now are the five core worlds. There aren't any colonists on Tempel-Tuttle in the ingame representation, nor on any of our other claims so far. And one DE or carrier could easily switch on its active sensor at Callisto to cover the Jovian system, so only Titan would need this Sensor Outpost. Fleets would also have to be stationed at the individual asteroids colonies to be useful if you are talking about putting sensor outposts there, as it takes one day five hours for a gunboat at max speed to cross from Callisto to 52 Europa (the nearest asteroid colony). The ansible may allow instantaneous transmission, but our forces most certainly can't move instantly, requiring us to predeploy in order to effectively make use of the early warning.

All of the Republic's inhabited worlds have some ground unit or other on them already, as seen in the second post, but I could start making garrison battalions for each of them.

Anyone want to second Hanzoku's ideas?

[Karlito]

More importantly than energy weapons, corundium is used to construct mines (being 50% of the cost). It's certainly possible the Federation is running into corundium shortages, it happens in my single player games quite often.

We'll need some construction brigades to start putting together PDCs on asteroids, and we don't even have them researched yet. Nor do we have tanker vessels though one of the freighters could be used as a stopgap.

As for the civilian mining complex, the limiting factor in expansion isn't how many minerals we have in the ground, but how fast we can extract them. I believe we were running a slight duranium deficit, so paying for the minerals helps keep our industry running at 100%. As for whether it's worth the cost... could we see the racial wealth screen Azzuro?

[Happerry]

I support sticking a second DSTS on Wolf-Harrington by moving on of our current ones over there and then replacing it, as well as sticking a Sky Watcher on Titan.

Also, I would like to join this game as a scientist. And speaking of scientists, how is our research going?

[Azzuro]

Karlito:



This is the empire income and expenditure since Jan 1st 2100 (so about half a year). Note that the income is overstated by 20000 which is the scenario's starting wealth. The Republic is currently running at slight deficit of approx 500 per half-year, which the mineral purchases is only a small part of, but that could change since we've only been purchasing minerals for one month out of the previous six.

Happerry:



You are the Power and Propulsion specialist formerly known as Caridad Mondragon Betancourt. You have a great PP bonus which is the second most important field, but your administration rating of 1 means you can only apply it to 5 labs.



We are currently researching 25cm railguns, finished by next year February and you are researching Jump Point Theory, to be finished at the end of next year.

If no one speaks against, I'll do Hanzoku's plans as far as possible during the next update.

[Karlito]

Hmmm yeah, that's a pretty substantial deficit already. I now agree with the decision to stop buying the civilian minerals.

[Happerry]

By my count we have five labs not being used. I'm not an Aurora buff, so is their a reason they aren't being used? Or do we just not have enough scientists? Or, come to think of it, do we just not want to pay the bills?

[Hanzoku]

Research Labs:

We should have 20 labs, as far as I know, which are split 15 and 5 on the current projects.

Ground Forces:

My thinking here is to build up ground units now in case we need them later. I'd prefer training Mobile Infantry over Garrison forces if we ever need to use them for offensive operations. This would give us forces we could safely draw on, for tasks ranging from occupying installations or (in the future), providing guards for excavation sites.

Sensor Installations:

The thing with having the carriers run their sensor is that there comes the possibility that all carriers are otherwise occupied - in transit or on missions. I agree that the early warning radius isn't the best - I'd prefer a size 50 radar installation, but researching that would be a 8000 RP project. That said, the installation is tiny enough that building it is a very small project, and any early warning allows the possibility of a diplomatic compromise (even if pointing out the probability of mutually assured destruction) to be reached with the Federation before they're in orbit and bombarding the population of the targeted planet.

[Azzuro]

((Yeah, the Republic has only 20 labs which are all in use. The 25 in 15/25 means that Chhaya Pothuval is only managing 15 out of the personal maximum of 25 labs possible via his Admin Rating 5, not that the Republic has 25 labs available.))

Ny Enhet, Ganymede - 19th June 2100

After a long address by CEO Hanzoku on the current state of the Republic and where it should go next, Congress votes to cease the purchase of minerals from Tempel-Tuttle, on the basis that only Duranium is currently needed by industry, and the cost is too high to justify the purchase. Instead, the government will allow Xingjin Extraction to sell its minerals on the open market to the highest bidder and collect a flat sales tax instead, for an estimated tax revenue of 250 million credits a year.

To ensure that the economy does not fall behind in the mining industries, plans are made to claim the asteroid Pallas, which has been analysed to have the best return of mineral output per automine owing to its multiple types of high-accessibility TNEs. A group of four freighters is dispatched to claim Pallas with automines, Federation inspectors in tow.

On Callisto, approval is immediately given by Navy brass to strip the Callisto Deep Space Monitor Array for transfer to Wolf-Harrington. Fleet Intelligence is eager to complete the Wolf-Harrington 'observatory' before the comet passes into Federation space, whereupon the Federation will gain the right to inspect freighters bound for it. In the interim, passive sensor coverage of the Jovian system will be reduced until replacement arrays are built in two weeks' time.

CEO Hanzoku also proposes a sensor outpost that is essentially a subterranean complex for the Thales Orbital Active Search Sensor already in use by Ganymede Military Shipworks. The Sky Watcher-class sensor outpost will allow the Navy to keep an active sensor scan in a 55 milion km radius of space around it without necessarily giving away the position of its ships by using their active sensors. Two are currently planned, one on Ganymede and one for Titan, to be prefabricated and assembled on site.

Code: [Select]

Sky Watcher class Sensor Outpost    355 tons     15 Crew     99.8 BP      TCS 7.1  TH 0  EM 0
Armour 5-4     Sensors 1/80     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 0
Intended Deployment Time: 3 months    Spare Berths 2   

Thales Orbital Active Search Sensor (1)     GPS 3200     Range 55.7m km    Resolution 40


This design is classed as a Planetary Defence Centre and can be pre-fabricated in 1 sections
Separately, the Republic Army begins training to raise two new battalions of mobile infantry in its training grounds on Ganymede. The 29th and 30th Battalions Mobile Infantry are expected to be combat-ready in exactly one year, in June 2101.

Abroad RVS Andes, Outside Saturn Orbit - 21st June 2100, 12:37 UTC

A large deposit of Boronide is found on the comet Brooks, outside the orbit of Saturn. Less notable deposits are found on Halley's Comet nearby.

Code: (Brooks) [Select]

Boronide 62 442 (0.9) Gallicite 7 556 (0.6)

Code: (Halley's Comet) [Select]

Vendarite 21 316 (0.7) Uridium 1 370 (0.6)
Euboea Apex, Io - 22nd June 2100




In what is seen as a move encouraged by Tuesday's legislation allowing Xingjin Extraction to sell to the highest bidder, Plutus Mining, an Io-based mining conglomerate, also announces the establishment of a civilian mining colony on Philomela, an asteroid in the Main Belt currently close to Jupiter. The mining complex is the same as that on Tempel-Tuttle in nearly all aspects, with the same quantity of mines and including a small garrison and monitor array for security.



Philomela has deposits of Duranium, Vendarite and Uridium at high accessibility. The mineral stockpiles on Ganymede are showing an increase in Vendarite and a slight decrease in Uridium, which is attributed to the current construction of sensor arrays and the Sky Watcher sensor outposts. As Republic economists predict the consumption of Uridium will fall sharply after current production finishes, the government decides to tax the mineral output of Philomela rather than buy it for now. Market analysts suggest Plutus Mining has deliberately chosen to colonise an asteroid rich in less-essential TNEs to favour this decision, while others point out that the extremely near location of Philomela might have been the deciding factor.

The Federation embassy, after verifying the claim, issues its notice of acknowledgement. However, in the capital of Aubernia, Federation citizens are outraged that the Republic has once again bypassed the Hartley Convention's restrictions with another civilian mining colony, and there is widespread dissatisfaction with the Ceres Accord as a whole.



Meanwhile on Wolf-Harrington, the sensor staff reports that the Federation colony of Ariadne has just passed into the range a destroyer could be detected, and none were found. It is still possible, however, that ships could be idling their drives at Ariadne, in which case they would not be detectable until they began moving. In their analysis so far, most Federation shipping - their freighters and colony ships - have been making regular trips to Aurelia and occasionally Astraea from Mars. It appears the Federation is investing its colonisation efforts into building up populations on the two asteroids.

Pallas Station - 27th June 2100




Republic freighters unload four automines onto the asteroid Pallas in the Southern Main Belt, claiming it for the Republic. Federation inspectors verify the claim under the Hartley Convention and the embassy issues its notice of acknowledgement. Diplomatic staff are quick to add that as Pallas is a governmental claim, the Republic cannot make further governmental claims until the Federation makes one more claim too.

The news release meets lacklustre response in Aubernia, where Federation citizens are tired of hearing of the Republic's claims. In the background, a constant effort by the Federation government to incentivise migrations to Aurelia and Astraea is ongoing.

On Callisto, the Amirani 003 picks up the disassembled sensor arrays for transport to Wolf-Harrington, along with more staff to man the observatory.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 1st July 2100

Production of replacement sensor arrays for the Callisto Deep Space Monitor Array completes, awaiting the return of freighters to be shipped over to Callisto. Work turns toward making two Sky Watcher-class Sensor Outposts, one in situ on Ganymede and one prefabricated for Titan.

Abroad RVS Andes, Outside Saturn Orbit - 2nd July 2100, 13:37 UTC

TNE deposits are found on the two comets Herschel-Rigollet and Stephan-Oterma.

Code: (Herschel-Rigollet) [Select]

Tritanium 41 568 (0.9) Vendarite 4 007 (0.8)

Code: (Stephan-Oterma) [Select]

Boronide 21 233 (0.8)
Wolf-Harrington Observatory - 3rd July 2100



The additional sensor arrays are installed, doubling the observatory's range. Currently, the outer edge of the range should allow the detection of destroyers moving just inside Mars orbit, but none are detected yet. On Callisto, the newly produced arrays are also installed, bringing passive sensor coverage of the Jovian system back up to normal.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 6th July 2100

Construction of the first sensor outpost completes, and production of the second begins. There is now active sensor coverage of the Jovian system, and Sky Watcher Ganymede confirms there are no hostile vessels of 2000 tons or greater within its 55 million km range.

Abroad RVS Andes, Outside Saturn Orbit - 10nd July 2100, 10:37 UTC

Substantial deposits of Duranium and Neutronium are discovered on the comet Faye.

Code: (Faye) [Select]

Duranium 30 456 (1) Neutronium 25 744 (0.5)
52 Europa - 12th July 2100



The Republic's five freighters each drop off a substantial portion of their fuel tanks onto 52 Europa. This is part of the Republic Void Navy's Waystation Initiative, to provide refuelling stops that allow gunboat flotillas to transit from Jupiter to Saturn in opposition without the need of a carrier. The cache of 600,000 litres of HiSor fuel on 52 Europa is sufficient to refuel an attack squadron of five Achilles-class gunboats six times over, also opening up the possibility for the upcoming Perseus-class raiders to be based within the Main Belt.

Back on Ganymede, production of the second Sky Watcher in prefabricated parts is completed, and awaiting the freighters to transfer it to Titan.



Sensor staff on both Callisto and Wolf-Harrington alert the government that Federation freighters are heading past the Jupiter trojans. They note that the only likely target is the comet Neujmin, indicating that the Federation will claim it soon.

Aubernia, Mars - 16th July 2100

As expected, the Federation government informs the Republic embassy of its official claim to the comet Neujmin, currently outbound beyond the orbit of Jupiter. In their tour of the facilities, Republic inspectors note the presence of a mass driver to send minerals back to the inner system, something which the Republic colonies of Pallas, Psyche, Wolf-Harrington and Machholz still lack. The monitor arrays on Callisto and Wolf-Harrington are unable to resolve the Federation freighters at this range, while the Titan Listening Array is on the other side of the sun.

The news is well-received by the Federation public, as the government emphasises the Federation's first comet colonisation and its furthest one yet (the Tempel-Tuttle colony is humanity's furthest, just outside Saturn orbit). Navy officers note with apprehension that the Federation now has territory beyond Jupiter.

((I decided to skip purchasing minerals from Philomela to continue with the update, though you guys can reverse that decision if you wish. Now that the Federation has claimed Neujmin, do you guys want to colonise Kalypso immediately, or wait for a bit first?))

[Karlito]

My feeling is that we should complete the planned two asteroid colonizations as soon as allowed by the terms of the Ceres Accords, and then relax the pace of colonization.

[Azzuro]

Aubernia, Mars - 17th July 2100



The very next day after claiming Neujmin, Federation networks are ablaze with the news that Cthon Corp, a Martian mining company, has set up the Federation's first civilian mining colony on the comet Tempel 1. The Federation government informs the Republic embassy of its claim under the Hartley convention, and inspectors are dispatched to verify it. They report that the Tempel 1 colony is indeed corporate-owned, and although they were not allowed to roam freely through the complex, suspect that it is only about half the size of the Republic's own CMCs on Tempel-Tuttle and Philomela.



Tempel 1 is a comet that is currently outbound from Sol, extremely close to Mars itself at this point in time. It will pass within a moderate distance from 52 Europa, though its path will be well clear of the area around Jupiter and Saturn.

Abroad RVS Andes, Uranus Orbit - 29th July 2100, 17:22 UTC

The RVS Andes reaches Uranus, currently in opposition to Jupiter on its orbit around Sol. Once again, traces of gaseous Sorium are discovered in the gas giant's atmosphere, though in much lower concentrations and overall masses than the Sorium in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn.

Code: (Uranus) [Select]

Sorium 178 920 (0.4)
Shangdu, Titan - 30th July 2100



Republic freighters drop off parts for a Sky Watcher station on Titan, along with construction factories to assist Titan industry in assembling it. The excavation and installation of Sky Watcher Titan is estimated to complete in mid September. In the interim, Republic freighters are directed to drop off automated mines on the asteroid Kalypso to claim it, embarking on a two-week voyage back to Io.

Aubernia, Mars - 4th August 2100



The Republic embassy on Aubernia is once again informed of a new civilian mining colony established on the comet Faye, again by Cthon Corp. Approval of Cthon Corp runs high amongst Federation citizens, who generally see it as a way to match the civilian mining sector of the Republic and regain the Federation's prestige in the field of colonisation.



Surprisingly, inspectors to verify the Federation's claim are not called from the embassy, but instead from the supervisors of the Pallas colony. The comet Faye has just passed Pallas, and at this moment is 16 million kilometres to the south-southwest. They verify the Federation claim, and add that the Faye mining complexes appear to be on par with the Republic's own civilian mines on Philomela and Tempel-Tuttle.

((Sorry for the short update, need to go out. Longer update will come tonight!))

[Azzuro]

Abroad RVS Andes, Uranus Orbit - 7th August 2100, 19:52 UTC

Insignificant TNE deposits are found on Caliban, a moon of Uranus.

Code: (Caliban) [Select]

Duranium 200 (1) Tritanium 121 (1)
Epigeus City, Ganymede - 9th August 2100



Shapash Shipbuilding, the orbital yard responsible for producing Marius-class destroyer escorts, completes a 1000-ton expansion of its slipway capacities. It begins work on adding an extra slipway, such that 3 DEs can be built at once. Currently, only one ship, the RVS William Pickering, is under construction there.

On Aubernia, embassy staff report that the Federation government has recently undertaken a series of roundabout legislative changes regarding the internal movement of colonists between Federation worlds; the effect has been to stop the civilian colony ships from transferring homesteaders to Mercury without government approval. A not-insignificant percentage of pioneers are not deterred, instead booking passage on numerous small craft to venture to Mercury regardless.

Euboea Apex, Io - 12th August 2100

The group of 5 Republic freighters finally complete their two-week transit from Titan, reaching Io and preparing to load the 5 automated mines for shipment to the asteroid Kalypso, in order to claim it for the Federation.

Kalypso Station - 16th August 2100



Five automated mines are landed on the asteroid Kalypso, and Federation inspectors verify the Republic's claim as legitimate. The balance of colonies is now 6 to 5 with the Republic in the lead. Additionally, 600 thousand litres of HiSor fuel are also unloaded into an inconspicuous depot within the complex, as part of the Waystation Initiative to create refuelling stations around the Main Belt for the gunboats.


Only asteroids with minerals shown, blue circled are asteroids with colonies, darker blue are the passive sensor ranges for str 195

With the claiming of Kalypso, the Republic now nominally has colonies in all cardinal directions around the Main Belt: 52 Europa in the north-northwest, Psyche in the east-northeast, Pallas in the south-southwest, and Kalypso in the west. In contrast, the Federation's colonies have all been to the east, notably in the cluster of Aurelia-Astraea-Klotho and nearby Ariadne, with the comet colony Neujmin being the sole exception.

Republic freighters are tasked to continue with the RVN's Waystation Initiative, setting up fuel dumps on Pallas and Psyche. Analysts suggest that for maximum coverage, the asteroids Euphrosyne or Chicago could be colonised to fill in the gap between Psyche and Pallas.

Aubernia, Mars - 19th August 2100




It is announced that Cthon Corp has once again expanded its offworld mining operations, this time laying claim to the asteroid Johanna, in the northeastern portion of the Main Belt near Psyche. Republic inspectors dispatched to the asteroid report that the claim is legal, and that the scale of the mining complexes seems to be closer to the smaller ones on Tempel 1 rather than those on Faye.

Wolf-Harrington Observatory - 25th August 2100, 00:07 UTC



Automated alerts quickly raise the attention of sensor staff on Wolf-Harrington, as a pair of Federation ship contacts of the Jaguar-class are detected. The Jaguar-class is Fleet Intelligence's designation for the cruiser class of CA Hubris, seen briefly during the Klotho Crisis. Crucially, it appears that its speed of 1950 kps then was not its top speed, as these two ships are observed to be travelling at 2088 kps. They appear to be on a heading from Mars to the Aurelia-Astraea-Klotho region of the Main Belt.



At 08:07, an additional pair of Kingfisher-class contacts are detected following the two Jaguar-class cruisers. The Kingfisher-class destroyer was seen at the Ceres Summit in the form of DD Hatsuyuki, but these two are travelling at a lowered speed to accompany the cruisers.

The two destroyers pass out of the Observatory's sensor range in six hours, and the cruisers in another six.

Psyche Station - 26th August 2100

The group of Republic freighters reach Psyche Station and unload a combined 600 thousand litres of HiSor fuel there. They will travel back to Ganymede to refuel before making their last fuel drop-off at Pallas.

Wolf-Harrington Observatory - 28th August 2100, 08:53 UTC



Two more Jaguar-class cruisers are observed returning from the Aurelia-Astraea area toward Mars. One of these is positively identified as the FNS Hubris, while the other is of the same class but was not seen at the Klotho Crisis. Fleet Intelligence officers suggest that this, and the previous contacts on the 25th, are a rotation of Federation taskgroups guarding the Aurelia-Astraea-Klotho region.

Notably, after both contacts have passed within range, no Kingfisher-class destroyers are detected in this returning group. This could indicate the Federation deciding to devote more forces to the AKA region.

Ny Enhet, Ganymede - 9th September 2100



GOVERNMENT INTERLINKS - BREAKING NEWS - This release is Delta Confidential, only for internal circulation!

Ny Enhet, Ganymede - Hours after the launch of the first Persus-class raiders earlier today, serious shortcomings were discovered in the passive sensor suites of the newest class of gunboats. An unnamed Navy officer who was aboard for the shakedown cruise of the five raiders shared that the passive sensors manufactured by Fuller-Hunter Design Systems, the OSR/ADR-02 and OSR/AQR-03, were underpowered and in fact redundant compared to the basic navigational sensors present on all void vessels.

Allegations of corruption and cronyism in the highest level of the military procurement and shipbuilding departments have been made, and Ganymede Military Shipworks, the recently-formed state-owned company that controls the orbital shipyards, has been in the centre of it all. Top executives were unavailable for comment, as were top Navy officials. There are sporadic reports that the senior executives of Fuller-Hunter Design Systems have been taken into custody, although public spokespersons have yet to announce any action against them.

If the sensors are in fact redundant, it is not only the new Persus-class that is affected, the seven built R-1 Falcon-class fighters also utilise the same sensor suite, and will have to be involved in a possible overhaul if the Navy deems it necessary.



((Okay, so I just realised the two EM and Thermal Sensors designed were sensor strength 1, but all ships already have strength 1 sensors included 'free of charge'/free of mass, so they are in fact redundant.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

Persus class Raider    1 000 tons     33 Crew     171.4 BP      TCS 20  TH 96  EM 0
4800 km/s     Armour 3-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 5.1 Years     MSP 54    AFR 16%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 3    5YR 52    Max Repair 48 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months    Spare Berths 0   

Siemens AG 96 EP Gunboat Nuclear Pulse Engine (1)    Power 96    Fuel Use 177.47%    Signature 96    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 40 000 Litres    Range 4.1 billion km   (9 days at full power)

Price Systems 100mm 'Kineti-kill' Railgun (1x4)    Range 30 000km     TS: 4800 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 3    ROF 5        1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BAE Avionics Mod 98 Gunboat Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 96 000 km   TS: 5250 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Chapman Thrust 45 Ton PBR-3.1 Power System (1)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%

Thales Orbital  Gunboat Target Acquistion Sensor (1)     GPS 64     Range 1.1m km    Resolution 40
Fuller-Hunter OSR/AQR-03 Thermal Bloom Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  1m km
Fuller-Hunter OSR/ADR-02 Electromagnetic Sensor (1)     Sensitivity 1.1     Detect Sig Strength 1000:  1.1m km

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes


However, as each sensor only occupies 0.1 Hull Space, the improvements on performance are negligible if they are taken out, I.E. the tonnage, speed, crew requirements etc. don't change. Only the build cost goes down slightly and uses 2 less tons of Uridium per vessel if taken out. In fact the revised design is close enough that the shipyards can continue making it without specifically retooling.

So do you guys want to change the design of the Persus-class and Falcon-class to remove the redundant sensors? And if so, do you guys want to refit the already built ones, or just continue building new ones?))

[Hanzoku]

((Oh, really? That's entirely my bad, I didn't think that Aurora gave any free sensor capability at all. I say build the sensor free versions, as that reflects the RP the best.))

[Happerry]

No need to refit unless something's wrong, but yah, build the new sensor free versions from now on.

[Azzuro]

Ny Enhet, Ganymede - 10th September 2100

A scandal erupts at Fuller-Hunter Design Systems, after the Republic Void Navy accuses the company of selling it redundant equipment. Much of the case details are classified beyond public view, but what little of it is on record is sufficient to tank the company's share prices. Its competitors in the passive sensor manufacturing industry, Raymarine Electronics and Marconi Electronics, see a corresponding upswing in their valuations.

Perhaps the best outcome of this event was the headline: FULLER-HUNTER DESIGNED SCANDALS.

Behind the scenes, the RVN introduces new designs for the Persus-class raider and the Falcon-class fighter. The five gunboats of Raider Squadron Alpha stationed at Callisto will not be overhauled as it is judged uneconomical to do so, as are the seven already-built fighters and the eighth in construction.

Spoiler: Updated Designs (click to show/hide)

Code: [Select]

Persus-M class Raider    1 000 tons     33 Crew     169.4 BP      TCS 20  TH 96  EM 0
4800 km/s     Armour 3-8     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 4.83 Years     MSP 53    AFR 16%    IFR 0.2%    1YR 4    5YR 56    Max Repair 48 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 9 months    Spare Berths 0   

Siemens AG 96 EP Gunboat Nuclear Pulse Engine (1)    Power 96    Fuel Use 177.47%    Signature 96    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 40 000 Litres    Range 4.1 billion km   (9 days at full power)

Price Systems 100mm 'Kineti-kill' Railgun (1x4)    Range 30 000km     TS: 4800 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 3    ROF 5        1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
BAE Avionics Mod 98 Gunboat Fire Control (1)    Max Range: 96 000 km   TS: 5250 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Chapman Thrust 45 Ton PBR-3.1 Power System (1)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%

Thales Orbital  Gunboat Target Acquistion Sensor (1)     GPS 64     Range 1.1m km    Resolution 40

This design is classed as a Military Vessel for maintenance purposes

Code: [Select]

R-1 'Falcon'-M class Fighter    480 tons     4 Crew     71.5 BP      TCS 9.59  TH 48  EM 0
5005 km/s     Armour 1-5     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 0     PPV 3
Maint Life 6.52 Years     MSP 23    AFR 7%    IFR 0.1%    1YR 1    5YR 14    Max Repair 24 MSP
Intended Deployment Time: 0.1 months    Spare Berths 0   

Chapman Thrust 200 Ton NPE-48 High Performance Fighter Engine (1)    Power 48    Fuel Use 185.18%    Signature 48    Exp 15%
Fuel Capacity 5 000 Litres    Range 1.0 billion km   (56 hours at full power)

Price Systems 100mm 'Kineti-kill' Railgun (1x4)    Range 30 000km     TS: 5005 km/s     Power 3-3     RM 3    ROF 5        1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fuller-Hunter OSR/APG-04 Mark LX-48K Targeting System (1)    Max Range: 96 000 km   TS: 6000 km/s     90 79 69 58 48 38 27 17 6 0
Chapman Thrust 45 Ton PBR-3.1 Power System (1)     Total Power Output 3.1    Armour 0    Exp 12%

Fuller-Hunter OSR/APS-01 Active Search Lidar (1)     GPS 15     Range 520k km    Resolution 9

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and maintenance purposes

Construction at Menhit Manufactory begins with the laying down of spines for five new raiders, to form Raider Squadron Beta.



Pallas Station - 11th September 2100

The Republic freighter group drops off 600 thousand litres of HiSor fuel on Pallas Station, completing the RVN's Waystation Initiative. Analysts suggest that perhaps Raider Squadron Alpha could be stationed at one of the four asteroids, as a forward deployment should war become imminent. Diplomats point out that relations between the Federation and Republic have warmed significantly after the Ceres Accords, at least compared to the earlier half of the year.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 13th September 2100

The eighth Falcon-class fighter finishes construction and is sent to RNB Tapperhet; future production will be of the modified R-1 which foregoes the redundant passive sensors.

On Europa, Scientist Chhaya Pothuval improves his Administration Rating to 6.

Aboard RVS Andes, Kuiper Belt - 15th September 2100

A miniscule deposit of Uridium is discovered on the trans-Neptunian object 2004 EW95, five point nine billion kilometres from the Sun. For reference, the current distance between Jupiter and Saturn is only 1.85 billion kilometres, which takes thirteen days for a freighter to cross.

Code: (2004 EW95) [Select]

Uridium 900 (1)
Shangdu, Titan - 28th September 2100



The assembly process completes and Sky Watcher Titan goes operational, reporting that there are no ships within 55 million km of the Saturnian system. Republic freighters prepare to undertake the two-week voyage to retrieve the construction factories involved in its assembly from Titan.

Meanwhile, the comet Wolf-Harrington and Fleet Intelligence's observatory on it crosses Mars orbit. So far no new Federation ship classes have been sighted apart from the detections in August, but Fleet Intelligence remains hopeful that new intel can be gathered as the comet moves further into the inner system. The latest reports are only of Federation freighters plying between the AKA region and Mars, and it appears the Federation is focusing upon building up its current holdings before claiming another asteroid.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 9th October 2100

Cassini Voidworks completes the addition of a slipway to the orbital complex. The civilian-rated shipyard now has two slipways capable of building a 16,000 ton ship each. Currently, the RVS Boösaule, an additional Andes-class geological survey vessel, is under construction and expected to complete within the month.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 15th October 2100

A slipway is also added to Menhit Manufactory, the FAC shipyard, though the decision is made not to add an extra Persus-class to the batch under construction as the RVN has initially ordered only 10 of the raiders.

New Rome, Europa - 20th October 2100



In the course of his investigations into a novel branch of Trans-Newtonian Theory, Scientist Happerry improves his understanding of the underlying physics, furthering his ability to research power and propulsion systems.

Wolf-Harrington Observatory - 23rd October 2100



As the latest convoy of Federation freighters departs from Mars orbit, Wolf-Harrington Observatory reports an extra two Hellas-class freighters not previously seen before. Since these ships do not broadcast their civilian transponders, they are government owned. It appears the Federation is seriously building up its void shipping capabilities to bolster its colonisation effort.

Epigeus City, Ganymede - 27th October 2100



The geological survey vessel RVS Boösaule is launched. It will be sent to survey the rest of the bodies in the outer system and begin the survey of the Kuiper belt on the opposite side to the current location of RVS Andes. Given the speed of survey efforts so far, Congress is reconsidering the need to build a third Andes-class survey vessel.


Geosurvey progress in Sol as of end October. White circled bodies have been surveyed, green are those with TNE deposits. The Andes is not shown, at the end of the trail of surveyed bodies in the south of the Kuiper Belt.

((I need a decision on whether or not to build the RVS Himalaya as previously ordered. As it stands the survey of Sol could be completed before the Himalaya is launched in about ten more months.

Also, do you guys want to leave Raider Squadron Alpha at Callisto, or send it out to one of the four Main Belt asteroids with a fuel dump? Those four are 52 Europa, Psyche, Pallas and Kalypso.))