2150
2150 - The Moon's population reaches 50 million living in 12 cities, each named after one of the Apollo astronauts to walk on The Moon. Further expansion of the population is thought to be unsafe. However, Mars' population is just 10 million, but rapidly expanding. For the first time, The Earth's population stabilises at 12 billion. It is expected to begin to fall over the next few years. The Interplanetary Commission is dissolved to make way for The Planetary Alliance. This new body is to have direct control over all inter-planetary issues such as defence, trade and exploration through an elected council. Members of the council will be elected by their home 'states'. These 'states' include Earth, The Moon & Mars as well as representatives from colonies in the Jupiter & Saturn systems, the Asteroid Belt and the larger orbital cites around Earth and The Moon which have been given independent status. The council will meet in one of three purpose built chambers on Earth, The Moon and Mars for two terms each year, before moving to the next of the three chambers. The Earth-Moon system is declared a demilitarised zone. Earth, The Moon & Mars set up their own planetary police forces to patrol and enforce law in their space. These forces are the only legal weapon carriers within one million km of Earth. All existing off-planet military bodies, including Earth Fleet and Sheppard Fleet, are to be merged into a single entity under the direct control of the Planetary Alliance Council. The Planetary Alliance Fleet Headquarters are to be located in a purpose built station in Martian Orbit. The PAF also plans to have docks and construction yards around Jupiter and Venus. The Venus station will be the first manned station around the planet.
2155 - The Planetary Alliance Survey & Exploration Service ,or SES, sends several probes to the Uranus, Neptune & Pluto systems. This is the first time for nearly 200 years that a man made object has been sent to these planets. A probe is also launched to search for the Oort cloud, a possible rich source of resources.
2160 - The PAF reaches its full operating force of 152 front line ships. The fleet includes 3 cruisers, 8 destroyers, 12 frigates and 30 escorts. The rest of the craft are various intelligence craft, planetary assault craft and armoured troop carriers. The three naval dockyards, VenDock, MarDock and JupDock, which had been responsible for building all 152 purpose built craft, now set about building the rest of the support craft and the 2000 or so fighter/interceptors required.
2175 - Continued industrialisation and technicalisation begins to put a strain on resources. The average age of space stations has reduced from 10 years to 4 in just five years. The number of private spacecraft has quadrupled in that time. More & more people live off-Earth. It is a return to the initial off-Earth rush of 70 years ago, except on a far grander scale. Industries begin to look to expand into the as yet untouched Uranus & Neptune systems. Existing propulsion technology is limiting Man's colonisation of the Solar System to as far as Saturn. Although a ship can at present travel from Earth to Saturn in as little as 10 weeks, this is the maximum range of craft with such powerful engines. Slower craft can make journeys ten times as far, but travel at speeds twenty times as slow. This makes regular travel to planets beyond Saturn impossible. LPI, which has expanded hugely in the last 25 years, decides to opt for automated solutions. It sends an advance party of technicians and construction specialists to Uranus. Their task is to use existing data from the probes sent to the planet 15 years previously to find sites for several automated industrial complexes for mining a processing of material. Their journey to the Uranus system will take 5 years. They will spend most of it in induced comas.
2176 - LPI dispatch the first of the automated industrial complexes to Uranus. By the time it arrives, the advance party should have prepared a site for it and should be able to guide the complex in and install it.
2179 - The crew of the LPI ship, due to be resuscitated in time to supervise the firing of the ship's retro engines, fail to be woken by the onboard systems. Specialists at the LPI mission base attempt to sort out the problem. They conclude that the crew's only hope is to be returned home. It will take the ship 2 years to reach a point where it can be met by a medical team in a conventional ship. First, the LPI craft must make a tricky slingshot manoeuvre around Uranus. As the craft passes behind the planet, contact is lost. The ship never returns from the far side.
2180 - The PAF unveils a new ship, the Fast Attack Destroyer. Incorporating many new features, including a new engine design, it is the first ship in the refurbishment of the fleet which will see the PAF increase to nearly 400 front line ships. The first two out of dock are The New Jersey and The New York. These twins each have the fire power of an old cruiser, whilst having the engine capability to cross the solar system in 6 months. The ships are to embark together on a shake down cruise which will see them pass through the Uranus and Neptune systems, the first manned ships to do so. A team from LPI will be among the crew in an attempt to discover the fate of the LPI ship lost the year before.
2181 - Early in the year, battle group Beta Delta, comprising The New Jersey & The New York, sets out for Uranus. Upon entering the system, the group is contacted by an unknown source and directed to return home. The ships are warned that any further encroachment will be met with deadly force. The source is identified as coming from a station orbiting close to Oberon, one of Uranus' moons. Both ships come to all stop but do not reverse course. After six hours they are ordered to leave the system within a further six hours. Whilst consulting with PAF HQ the decision is taken to hold position because the risk to the ships is assessed as minimal. After seven hours, New Jersey detects 3 ships emerging from behind Uranus and approaching the group at great speed. Each ship is about a third the size of the destroyers. The ships show no sign of slowing as they approach the New Jersey and The New York, and fail to respond to hails. The attack comes from nearly 20 000 miles. The ships break formation, two aiming for The New York and the remaining ship heading for The New Jersey. They open fire simultaneously with high intensity lasers and some kind of extremely high velocity particle weapon. Both destroyers are overwhelmed immediately despite the initial attack lasting just 10 seconds. The New Jersey lights her engines at full power and dives towards Uranus, returning her foe's fire with a meaningless barrage of missiles which only have a range of 5000 km. However, her captain hopes they may screen the ship's flight. The New York is not so fortunate. The initial onslaught from the two enemy ships cripples many of her systems and leaves her with minimum power. The two predators do not slow as they approach The New York, closing the final 20 000 km in just 60 seconds. As The New Jersey flees, her crew watch as the two ships pass the New York. As they pull away, they open fire again with an even more intense barrage than the first attack. Five seconds later The New York is engulfed in a huge explosion as her fuel and oxygen supplies ignite. The New Jersey, accelerating towards Uranus and quickly exceeding her recommended maximum acceleration, vainly attempts to evade her pursuer. Her captain, in a daring manoeuvre, waits until the last minute before pulling The New Jersey out of her dive. She passes the planet and accelerates away into deep space. The enemy craft had closed to just 10 000 km before beginning to fall back. The enemy ship has one more barrage for The New Jersey before breaking of the chase.
The final attack on The New Jersey destroys the main computer. Although her engines stay at full power, the crew has no control of the ship. It takes several days for the back up system to be installed and calibrated. During this time The New Jersey has no contact with PAF HQ. When all her essential systems are running and guidance is returned, The New Jersey is able to report the events that have taken place and set course for base. Because of the loss of The New York, and the destruction of The New Jersey's computer, PAF has very little data to work with. Several surveillance probes are launched to provide more details. Questions are raised as to why the SES probes had not picked up any activity in the Uranus system. When technicians re-analyse the SES probes' data, they discover that all had suffered similar transmission interruptions before resuming. The resumed data is found to contain subtle masking which presumably is intended to hide what ever is in the Uranus system. The data masking is found to always be of locations on the far side of Uranus and several of her moons, making it impossible to observe them from any of the colonised systems. The assessment of the situation brings up two possibilities. Firstly, that the inhabitants of the Uranus system are of alien origin, or secondly that they are the original Pioneer/CC group who fled Jupiter 45 years ago. No return to Uranus is planned as The New Jersey is the only ship capable of making the journey in anything under 10 years.
2182 - A new phase of militarisation starts to counter the new threat. The PAF is set to swell to 1000 front line ships. Fleets will be deployed to The Saturn, Jupiter, Mars and Venus systems. The Earth-Moon system will remain demilitarised, but a fleet will be stationed around the system. An intricate system of surveillance satellites and probes will be used to keep watch over the entire inner core of the Solar System. Because of the alignment of the planets currently, Mars is the nearest to Uranus and so is the most heavily fortified.
2185 - A worrying increase in the amount of 'pirate activity' through out the outer-rim of PA territory begins to put a strain on the flow of resources to the inner core. Rumours begin to surface that the culprits are members of an Alien race who have colonised the Neptune system and were responsible for attacking the PAF craft. Military patrols are stepped up in the worst affected regions to try to combat this activity. Several incidents are recorded in which unidentified craft approach convoys, but quickly retreat when military ships move to intercept. The PAF refuse to comment on any of the rumours.
2187 - The pirate activity is reduced to virtually nil. Military escorts are relaxed slightly, but kept at a much higher level than before the incidence began. A huge explosion tears through Cooper City on Mars. Over 60% of the city's atmosphere is lost through a hole in the central geo-dome. An estimated 15 000 people are killed out right. Many thousands more suffer long term affects from the sudden drop in pressure and loss of oxygen. The cause is identified as a ruptured coolant pipe which runs between the inner and outer shield walls. It appears to be a mystery as to why it ruptured. It had been inspected just 10 days before. Investigations continue.
2189 - A cargo ship, The Saturn Star, carrying 3 million tonnes of ore from Titan suffers a malfunction and plummets into Saturn's dense atmosphere. The ship is also carrying a full installation crew who had just been relieved after a 2 year tour. All 1500 men and women are killed as the ship burns up. The captain manages to eject the ship's computer log, which is quickly recovered by accident investigators. They can find no cause for the malfunction, and request the help of military specialists. After a week, the military take over the investigation completely.
2192 - The PAF, Earth & Mars Planetary Police raid orbital facilities belonging to Orion Industries, a huge off-world conglomerate. Several of the raids result in the use of weapons and there is a short chase in Mars orbit as an OI craft attempts to escape. The PAF reveal that the action was a direct result of their investigations into the Saturn Star disaster. The entire board of OI is arrested, along with nearly 2000 of OI's employees. The trial is postponed until a specially built court can be constructed. The authorities refuse to divulge the full extent of OI's crimes. Over the next few months several other raids take place at locations scattered across the solar system. There appears to be no common theme to these actions. The Authorities say that they are continuing with their investigations. PA military are placed on full alert.
2193 - The OI trials start at the specially constructed court house on Mars. It is expected that the members of the OI board will be the first to be tried. However, the first person in the dock is Carl Hubbard, supposedly an ordinary employee. He is being tried as a spy, and accused of nearly 20 000 counts of murder. Over the next weeks, an incredible tale of espionage and intrigue is exposed. Hubbard is accused of being the head of an undercover operations unit controlled by OI. This unit was responsible for many acts of terrorism including the Saturn Star and the explosion in Cooper City. The full extent of OI's dealings is revealed. OI secretly owned hundreds off companies ranging from food and energy production to classified military work. Much of their terrorist activities was intended to cripple rival businesses. Although Hubbard, the OI board and hundreds of other OI employees are convicted, the owners of OI remain a mystery.
2195 - The Orion Industries Trial concludes. Those convicted are shipped to various penitentiary facilities across the PA. Hubbard and several others of the terrorists are to be housed in a specially constructed high security facility orbiting Venus. Its proximity to VenDock make it a veritable fortress.
2196 - VenDock detect a small fleet of craft entering Planetary alliance space from 90 degrees below the ecliptic plane. VenDock immediately dispatches craft to intercept. The incoming fleet divides into two. The larger part heads towards Vendock whilst the smaller heads towards the penitentiary. The 4th fleet, usually stationed at VenDock, is out on an exercise, and so PAF forces are severely depleted. The 25 craft heading towards VenDock are met by 30 defensive craft. The hostiles open fire at a range of 15 000 km with a furious barrage. 15 of these craft slow to engage the defenders whilst the remaining 10 accelerate past towards VenDock. VenDock dispatches a further 20 craft to deal with this threat. Meanwhile, 5 intruders approach the penitentiary and dock. A gun-battle ensues as the facility is boarded.
Although they outnumber the hostile forces, the PAF ships appear to be outgunned. The original battle moves back towards VenDock where another battle has erupted. As PAF ships begin to take losses, they fall back to take up defensive positions around the huge naval facility. Their feint works as the hostiles are drawn in. At 5000 km, huge batteries concealed on the facilities structure open up. In just over 60 seconds 7 of the attackers are destroyed and 5 more appear crippled. The remaining ships flee towards their counter-parts at the penitentiary. 15 PAF ships give chase, and are able to catch the hostiles as they reach the penitentiary. This time the battle goes with the PAF ships. They are able to overwhelm their adversaries easily. Only two of the original 25 ships escape into deep space.
The repercussions of this incident are immediate. The PAF was apparently expecting such an attack. The 4th and 6th fleets, supposedly on a joint exercise, were standing by to respond, and now do so. The 4th fleet, at its full operational strength of 450 craft, penetrates the Uranus system. Simultaneously the 6th fleet, consisting 550 ships, moves into the Neptune system. Both meet heavy opposition, but appear to be in the ascendancy. Their hit and run attacks last just 20 minutes as both fleets tear through the Uranus and Neptune systems at flank speed. Upon leaving the systems, the fleets take up positions between the core and their respective targets. Analysis of the operation shows that the combined fleets destroyed 79 hostile craft for a loss of just 8. The operation also provided valuable intelligence data upon the enemy. The PAF reveal that the 'Alien' presence encountered in the Uranus system 15 years previously are in fact the original Pioneer colony. The colony now consists of thousands of installations across the Uranus & Neptune systems. The colony has an estimated population of 150 million.
The PAF have known about their presence since the original contact, but have taken their time to react. By appearing ignorant, the PAF have been able to secretly install intelligence operatives and equipment inside the Colony, and have also learned much of their advanced technology. The Authorities reveal that Orion Industries were owned by the Colony which was using OI as a way to run terrorist and espionage activities. The Colony had tried to re-capture Hubbard, one of their key operatives. The PAF had learned of this plan and had used it as a spur to launch an attack against the Colony. During the failed rescue attempt Hubbard was killed.
The Planetary Alliance sends The Pioneer Colony a message requesting a 'dialogue'. There is no response.
2199 - The PAF suffers devastating losses from an unprovoked surprise attack from the Pioneer Colony. The PC had gathered asteroids from the far depths of the solar system and manoeuvred them into positions far above the elliptical plane. They had then attached huge thrusters to them which had accelerated the asteroids to tremendous velocities before falling away, leaving the projectiles on collision courses with many of the PAF's most important facilities. The PC had used non-ferrous, dark asteroids which are virtually unidentifiable except from extreme close quarters. Because each asteroid had to be 'fired' at its target months before the attack, this method of attack is very unreliable. As a result the PC had targeted each of the installations with dozens of these rocks. Just a single strike from one of these ten tonne rocks travelling at thousands of kilometres a second would be sufficient to destroy anything but the most sturdy structure. Many of the targeted facilities took multiple hits. Fleet docks around Mars, Saturn and Jupiter are destroyed. Worst hit is the new 6th fleet dock that had been constructed in high Lunar orbit - the only military presence which had been allowed within the Earth-Moon demilitarised zone. The entire 6th fleet had been in dock and many of the ships are destroyed. There are, however, lucky escapes. Many of the PAF's most crucial R&D and production facilities are located in the Asteroid Belt. The chaotic movement of this region of space made accurately targeting these facilities virtually impossible. Also, the 6th fleet was the only major ship group to be in dock at the time.
The PC follows this body blow with savage attacks upon the three picket fleets guarding the system core from the enemy. Although the 2nd, 3rd and 5th fleets hold out, largely due to superior numbers, all three suffer almost crippling losses. It is only because of immediate relief by the 1st and 4th fleets that the PAF is able to hold the PC forces at bay. After the initial, frenzied attack, the PC retreats and starts a protracted campaign of hit-and-run and ambush against the outer colonies - Saturn & Jupiter. Whilst Planetary alliance technology clearly has the advantage in firepower and ship strength, the Pioneer Colony ships are far superior in manoeuvrability and velocity. PAF losses start to mount with little to show for the struggle.
HOST ©2000 Martin Assirati
Created on ... July 04, 2000