G.Y. 17 – 23 (T.Y. 2242-2248)
In the year 2242, the Alliance got its first rude shock, immediately after the 3rd Galactic Council meeting, in which a bill had been proposed that would enable the weaker developing races to receive help in the form of funding from the more powerful civilizations…especially the Arceans. The bill failed to pass, because of the huge political clout enjoyed by the Arcean Empire (the largest and most powerful race in the known galaxy) and the fact that nobody else other than the Terrans supported it.
Right after this, the Arceans demanded a tribute (though couched in more diplomatic terms), which the Alliance was in no position to refuse. This was followed a few years later by the Torians too demanding tribute.
For the first time, Alliance leaders realised the danger they were faced with – a rapidly bludgeoning territory and dozens of newly colonised planets…and not a single ship to offer protection from the threat of alien invasion. The fact that most of the habitable planets in the galaxy had already been occupied and that all other races had already built up powerful fleets had only led to a rising of tensions.
At this time the T.A.S. Enterprise, which had been thrown halfway across the galaxy while exploring a wormhole in the Hilnor system, near the northeastern edge of Alliance controlled space, and which was making its way back across Arcean space, stumbled across a Drengin scout ship in the northern part of the galaxy. As expected, the Drengin were less than receptive to the Alliance greetings and even threatened dire consequences if the Alliance did not give into their demands. Alliance President Alan Bradley noting that since currently the Alliance had cordial relations with most of the other races in the known universe, with the sole exception of the Drengin…and their empire was located too far away to be considered an immediate threat, refused these demands. This led to the deterioration of relations with the Drengin, but they were too busy with other matters to react.
In response, the government hurried up the process of industrializing the Alliance’s planets and a series of military Battle Stations (called the Omega Grid) were set up in the Eastern, Northern and Southern Colonization Zones, and also in the central Sol sector. In addition, a number of Trading Stations were also built along the main trade routes in the Sol, Cygni and Odin sectors.
More Research bases were built on the planets too, to increase the rate of technology development. For the first time, Alliance scientists started concentrating their studies on the development of military technologies. The primary focus was on missile technology, as Allied Intelligence had shown that although the ships of other races were well protected against either beam or kinetic weapons, none of them had any defence against missiles. However, beam technology was also studied, to provide an alternative in case the other races started developing counter-measures.
In 2244, Polaron Initiatives Ltd., one of the Alliance’s most well known shipbuilding companies submitted its design for the Archer class – a Heavy Fighter class missile warship. More than 450 ft long and with a crew of 15, the Archer could operate at extended ranges (thanks to it’s newly developed Support Power modules) and its new Crytech Impulse Drive Mark III gave it the ability to reach operational speeds of up to LH 3 (Light Years per Hour). The Archer was armed with a twin Stinger IV fusion missile launcher, developed by Aratech Ltd., thus giving it good firepower for its small size. Its hull was also specially designed to give it the same durability as a Heavy Fighter of other races. It was just what Alliance Command needed…a small, tough, cheap, easy to produce and maintain warship, that had good range and speed and was well armed enough to act as a deterrent to the Alliance’s neighbours. On 21st July 2244, Polaron delivered the first Archer class ship – the T.A.S. Archer to Starfleet Command.
Alliance Command also realised that while the Archer would give Starfleet a temporary respite, what was needed for long-term protection was a bigger ship. In the beginning, Alliance scientists considered putting weapons on one of the Colony or Trading ship hulls. These massive ships could carry staggering firepower and enough Support modules to travel virtually anywhere in the galaxy. But their hulls were very weak and would prove to be flammable deathtraps when facing smaller, but tougher enemy warships.
Alliance scientists went back to the drawing board and after almost 2 years of frustrating research came up with the Avenger Cruiser – a warship based on the legendary and proven T.A.S. Enterprise hull. The first true Alliance capital ship, the Avenger was more than 900 ft long, had a crew of 30 and was armed with two Stinger IV twin launchers. Having the same speed and a longer range than the Archer, the Avenger was indeed a formidable warship and this design was immediately approved and put into production. Orion Industries rolled out the first Avenger class ship – the T.A.S. Avenger on 12th April 2246.
What saved the Alliance was that its production technology was fairly advanced (specially after years of technology transfers with other races and a sustained research effort). In addition, the discovery of treasure troves of valuable ores on a number of planets, as well as a fully operational Precursor mine on Oredtes III helped keep production levels at very high levels indeed. This factor, along with the large number of planets owned by the Alliance allowed it to rapidly build up a Star Navy from scratch, in slightly more than a year. Experts surmised that this rapid expansion was the only thing, along with, to some extent, the construction of the Omega Defence Grid, which prevented any of the other races from invading Alliance territories during this critical vulnerable period.
The first Alliance Troopship, the T.A.S. Stormrider, a massive 3,000 ft long ship, which could carry an entire Planetary Army (consisting of 1000 Divisions of 10,000 troops each, along with their supporting vehicles, armour and equipment) and could attain speeds of LH 3, was commissioned in 2247.
Several shipyards switched production to these mammoth ships, to give the Alliance a credible counter-offensive option. New technologies also allowed these ships to be armed with weapons that could bombard enemy planets with mini meteorites and explosive kinetic weapons, wreaking havoc and destruction on defending alien armies. Methods of using gravitic forces from space to generate massive tidal waves to cause destruction and a chain of strategically positioned communication satellites to effectively spread propaganda and upload viruses to jam electronic systems were also studied.
Also, Terran Marines, equipped with the best weapons and armour that money could buy and trained in the famous Tir Quan Military Academy on Earth were considered, despite their relatively small size, as one of the galaxy’s most proficient combat troops.
In the year 2242, the Alliance got its first rude shock, immediately after the 3rd Galactic Council meeting, in which a bill had been proposed that would enable the weaker developing races to receive help in the form of funding from the more powerful civilizations…especially the Arceans. The bill failed to pass, because of the huge political clout enjoyed by the Arcean Empire (the largest and most powerful race in the known galaxy) and the fact that nobody else other than the Terrans supported it.
Right after this, the Arceans demanded a tribute (though couched in more diplomatic terms), which the Alliance was in no position to refuse. This was followed a few years later by the Torians too demanding tribute.
For the first time, Alliance leaders realised the danger they were faced with – a rapidly bludgeoning territory and dozens of newly colonised planets…and not a single ship to offer protection from the threat of alien invasion. The fact that most of the habitable planets in the galaxy had already been occupied and that all other races had already built up powerful fleets had only led to a rising of tensions.
At this time the T.A.S. Enterprise, which had been thrown halfway across the galaxy while exploring a wormhole in the Hilnor system, near the northeastern edge of Alliance controlled space, and which was making its way back across Arcean space, stumbled across a Drengin scout ship in the northern part of the galaxy. As expected, the Drengin were less than receptive to the Alliance greetings and even threatened dire consequences if the Alliance did not give into their demands. Alliance President Alan Bradley noting that since currently the Alliance had cordial relations with most of the other races in the known universe, with the sole exception of the Drengin…and their empire was located too far away to be considered an immediate threat, refused these demands. This led to the deterioration of relations with the Drengin, but they were too busy with other matters to react.
In response, the government hurried up the process of industrializing the Alliance’s planets and a series of military Battle Stations (called the Omega Grid) were set up in the Eastern, Northern and Southern Colonization Zones, and also in the central Sol sector. In addition, a number of Trading Stations were also built along the main trade routes in the Sol, Cygni and Odin sectors.
More Research bases were built on the planets too, to increase the rate of technology development. For the first time, Alliance scientists started concentrating their studies on the development of military technologies. The primary focus was on missile technology, as Allied Intelligence had shown that although the ships of other races were well protected against either beam or kinetic weapons, none of them had any defence against missiles. However, beam technology was also studied, to provide an alternative in case the other races started developing counter-measures.
In 2244, Polaron Initiatives Ltd., one of the Alliance’s most well known shipbuilding companies submitted its design for the Archer class – a Heavy Fighter class missile warship. More than 450 ft long and with a crew of 15, the Archer could operate at extended ranges (thanks to it’s newly developed Support Power modules) and its new Crytech Impulse Drive Mark III gave it the ability to reach operational speeds of up to LH 3 (Light Years per Hour). The Archer was armed with a twin Stinger IV fusion missile launcher, developed by Aratech Ltd., thus giving it good firepower for its small size. Its hull was also specially designed to give it the same durability as a Heavy Fighter of other races. It was just what Alliance Command needed…a small, tough, cheap, easy to produce and maintain warship, that had good range and speed and was well armed enough to act as a deterrent to the Alliance’s neighbours. On 21st July 2244, Polaron delivered the first Archer class ship – the T.A.S. Archer to Starfleet Command.
Alliance Command also realised that while the Archer would give Starfleet a temporary respite, what was needed for long-term protection was a bigger ship. In the beginning, Alliance scientists considered putting weapons on one of the Colony or Trading ship hulls. These massive ships could carry staggering firepower and enough Support modules to travel virtually anywhere in the galaxy. But their hulls were very weak and would prove to be flammable deathtraps when facing smaller, but tougher enemy warships.
Alliance scientists went back to the drawing board and after almost 2 years of frustrating research came up with the Avenger Cruiser – a warship based on the legendary and proven T.A.S. Enterprise hull. The first true Alliance capital ship, the Avenger was more than 900 ft long, had a crew of 30 and was armed with two Stinger IV twin launchers. Having the same speed and a longer range than the Archer, the Avenger was indeed a formidable warship and this design was immediately approved and put into production. Orion Industries rolled out the first Avenger class ship – the T.A.S. Avenger on 12th April 2246.
What saved the Alliance was that its production technology was fairly advanced (specially after years of technology transfers with other races and a sustained research effort). In addition, the discovery of treasure troves of valuable ores on a number of planets, as well as a fully operational Precursor mine on Oredtes III helped keep production levels at very high levels indeed. This factor, along with the large number of planets owned by the Alliance allowed it to rapidly build up a Star Navy from scratch, in slightly more than a year. Experts surmised that this rapid expansion was the only thing, along with, to some extent, the construction of the Omega Defence Grid, which prevented any of the other races from invading Alliance territories during this critical vulnerable period.The first Alliance Troopship, the T.A.S. Stormrider, a massive 3,000 ft long ship, which could carry an entire Planetary Army (consisting of 1000 Divisions of 10,000 troops each, along with their supporting vehicles, armour and equipment) and could attain speeds of LH 3, was commissioned in 2247.
Several shipyards switched production to these mammoth ships, to give the Alliance a credible counter-offensive option. New technologies also allowed these ships to be armed with weapons that could bombard enemy planets with mini meteorites and explosive kinetic weapons, wreaking havoc and destruction on defending alien armies. Methods of using gravitic forces from space to generate massive tidal waves to cause destruction and a chain of strategically positioned communication satellites to effectively spread propaganda and upload viruses to jam electronic systems were also studied.
Also, Terran Marines, equipped with the best weapons and armour that money could buy and trained in the famous Tir Quan Military Academy on Earth were considered, despite their relatively small size, as one of the galaxy’s most proficient combat troops.
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