Yes, but two scientifically literate species can't go flying around on the same spaceships for a hundred years or so, with members of one species having to head back home to spawn come hell or high water every seven years, without someone noticing and inquiring. And while the Vulcans are certainly tight-lipped about Pon Farr, there are limits.
I'll cheerfully blame any inconsistencies here on the Temporal Cold War.
We should stick the next UP yard in Honiani space. They're the coreward minifederation already and it would be a nice staging ground for coreward expansion. Hell, they could even help design the Galaxy class up there since they're all about big ships. They're a bit out there but the logistic route's probably going to go through Rigel up to their homeworld anyway so it won't be that bad.
Also, as 40k expies they should have a Ring of Iron fleetyard
30 light years was just chosen as something that would give a few days warning for any known craft to pass through.
It really would not be nice if the first warning a ship yard had of hostilities starting was a hostile fleet dropping out of warp in phaser range.
As I don't know where any of the peer powers around us have their ship yards, I have no idea if they have a similar, lesser or greater distance barrier.
30 light years was just chosen as something that would give a few days warning for any known craft to pass through.
It really would not be nice if the first warning a ship yard had of hostilities starting was a hostile fleet dropping out of warp in phaser range.
As I don't know where any of the peer powers around us have their ship yards, I have no idea if they have a similar, lesser or greater distance barrier.
Most of them are relatively safe. There are shipbuilding facilities close to borders, but not large ones that compose a significant fraction of their available capacity (and UP is as far as we know unique in just how much of shipbuilding capacity it holds comparatively). The Cardassians may be the only ones who are actively violating this rule, mainly because Cardassia Prime is very close to the border and would fall well within the 30 light-year zone if not for Bajor.
While on paper I really like the idea in practice it's a terrible one. The only place in Honiani space that we could realistically put a Mega Shipyard would be Okatha which is all of 10LY from the border with Harmony. In any sort of war Okatha is already a prime target for raiding since it would be a Member homeworld and cause serious PR issues. It's telling that in the Tactical Report we did on Harmony Okatha was just one step away from their territory:
Stages: Horizon- Homeworld of the Harmony of Horizon
Starfoam - A minor colony world, mostly Horizonite in population, but also a fortified outpost sitting between Horizon and Mist
Mist - A major Horizon world Becarra - A major world and shipyard site for the Honiani, and key step on the approach to Okatha
--> Canun - A major Honiani world that occupies an awkward position for both attack and defence - a potential other option to a Becarra assault
Okatha - Homeworld of the Honiani
Sepoca - A minor colony of the Honiani
Apultha - Mining colony of the Honiani
Ucuta - A major world and shipyard site of the Honiani
Phennic - A mining colony of the Honiani
--> 2 Curacao VII - A Federation Mining Colony
Mongond - A mining colony of the Rigellians
--> Cronulla VI - A Federation Research colony
Laudon - A major world of the Rigellians
Rigel VIII - Homeworld of the Rigellians
Welleck IV - A major Rigellian World
-> Abadan - A major Rigellian World
Joburg IV - A major UESPA world, protected by an outpost, a shipyard site
Tobias' Rest - A minor colony
Subiaco - A UESPA Mining colony
Sol - Central political and industrial hub of the Federation
So while Okatha wouldn't be likely to be immediately overrun in the event of a war, they'd have to hit either Becarra or Canun first, it's close enough that I'd expect crippling levels of raiding from day one.
We already took the "build an outpost for every Federation installation in the HBZ" option back in the 2320 Snakepit. Honiani worlds themselves would have to wait until they're actually members, though I note that Nix's map says Okatha is protected by a starbase and Becarra by an Outpost.
For the massive telescope and other megaprogects that will benefit the Federation as a whole....
Perhaps breaking the PP cost into stages ie Telescope I 25 PP, Telescope II 25 PP etc Allowing it to be broken up into managable buys.
The risk that others in the Federation could degrade Star Fleets access by burning their own PP in support of megaprojects could lead to a "Having only bought Telescope I while the Orion megacorps threw support at it means SF only gets the roll once a year
So while Okatha wouldn't be likely to be immediately overrun in the event of a war, they'd have to hit either Becarra or Canun first, it's close enough that I'd expect crippling levels of raiding from day one.
This is especially an issue given the way the Harmony of Horizon appears to play with its "corvette/tender" paradigm. I wouldn't be at all surprised of one of the options in their toolbox turns out to be a deep strike raiding strategy where they try to outflank a traditional quasilinear front and severely weaken it with "carrier raids."
That, plus the Harmony fleet is so big that if they do well in the opening phase of a war, they might well bash multiple systems deep into our territory before we could even fully mobilize a counteroffensive. The same is also true of the Cardassians to a somewhat lesser (IMO) degree.
That, plus the Harmony fleet is so big that if they do well in the opening phase of a war, they might well bash multiple systems deep into our territory before we could even fully mobilize a counteroffensive.
To be fair the Horizon kinda have to push multiple systems deep into our territory. If you look at that tactical assessment they are heavily exposed. On the Honiani front they only have two systems between our space and Horizon, one of which is a major colony and so would really hurt to lose. On the Tauni front they also only have two systems between our space and Horizon but both of those are major colonies.
So while all the races in the HBZ are heavily exposed to Horizon attacks that doesn't matter too much since all of the core Federation territory and infrastructure is secured behind the entire HBZ. From the Honiani front it is eight systems until you hit a major colony outside the HBZ and from the Tauni front it's five systems until you head Betazed. The Horizon doesn't have that advantage since pretty much their entire empire is within 30LY of the border and a lot of their core worlds seem to lie right along it.
I don't disagree, and I'm certainly not morally faulting any Harmony commander who thinks they need a secure buffer zone to be able to handle us in wartime.
Thing is, we're under no obligation to make it easy for them, or to dangle extra-big rewards in front of their noses for pursuing this strategy. Since we DO have a major advantage of strategic depth compared to the Harmony, we might as well exploit that advantage for all it's worth by NOT putting any potentially Federation-crippling targets close enough to the border for them to reach readily.
Both names are listed on the map because they have both been used in story posts. The same for Oriolis III / Kharhazad. I can't use a slash on the map because I'm already using that for multiple worlds in the same system like Romulus/Remus and Arqeniou/Larcasis. I don't otherwise use line breaks for multi-word planet names. Should I just remove the system based names? Or perhaps put them in parentheses?
For the massive telescope and other megaprogects that will benefit the Federation as a whole....
Perhaps breaking the PP cost into stages ie Telescope I 25 PP, Telescope II 25 PP etc Allowing it to be broken up into managable buys.
The risk that others in the Federation could degrade Star Fleets access by burning their own PP in support of megaprojects could lead to a "Having only bought Telescope I while the Orion megacorps threw support at it means SF only gets the roll once a year
I think that would require further expansion of the game to include and track PP earned by, and used by, other entities operating at the Federation level.
I do like the idea of amortizing the PP cost of megaprojects on a year-by-year basis. The flip side is, when dealing with a really major project, you may not be able to convince the politicians to support it a little at a time. A telescope array may not work if you only build half of it, which correspondingly means it's very difficult to convince anyone to build half of it in the first place. While construction itself may stretch out over years, the conversations where you sit down and expend the political capital it takes to get the job done probably can't be taking that long to resolve.
My proposed Yrillia yards are perfectly positioned according to these maps. The only problem is of course the missing 1000 points of diplo stuff until they can join.
Though working through that would also clean up that ugly reverse L shape we are stretched in...
I wonder if we need to be worried about the Harmony doing some stuff with them. They are in a spot where a bunch of hired pirates could make a defense of Honiani really awkward. The only difference between them and the Licori is that the Harmony diplomats would have a longer travel.
Well, just as I had withdrawn all prospector craft and research cruisers to Delzarr, and was preparing to issue the order to engineering and colony ships, down comes the order to stand to and cease patrolling spinward of the H-G Plane, as well as remove non-essential personnel from 24 and 26 Enio outposts. At least was easily complied with - those crews have been on ready-to-launch skeleton crews since Klurg first turned to Carduk and said, "Wanna argue about it?"
For the time being, a two LY wide buffer zone exists on either side of the H-G plane, with no Ashalla Pact, and no Federation non-auxiliary starships permitted to enter. This plane kinks inward across the Garden subsector, between Enio and Opal. I'm told this won't be the final disposition of forces, but all of that is a political matter. I could argue it all day, but who would listen? We have received warning from Spinward Theatre Command that we'll have forty-eight hours to be on the move out of the Enio subsector once word comes down. The only ship forward is the Reformation, which arrived carrying a delegation led by Councillor Xom Bim Cherr - my very own Councillor, a delightful man who could argue a stone to pebbles when he has a mind to. They have been carrying on a summit at 45 Gabriel, at the newly refurbished outpost. The Reformation's captain was a Commander during the recent imbroglio, so I instructed her to be sure to mention how much cleaner the place looks than her last visit.
[CoS NB: From what I'm told, we'll be able to provide our input into the final shape of the treaty during the Intelligence Steering Committee. ##Classified 2-BBB## The word around the traps is that Jime Okaar feels a sense of responsibility for the several thousand officers and crew who have been lost in the GBZ since the Treaty of Celos, so I don't think we can scupper the deal even if we want to.##]
In truth, it looked like the Cardassians were preparing a push into the GBZ again, but it was able to be handled at the Theatre and Sector level. A reinforcing squadron consisting of the Valaia, plus an additional Anacail and Mielab, and a Centaur-B replacement for Anatraia, arrived before any push could get underway. Combined with a temporary deployment of the Unity and three Stingers, it took a lot of the starch out of the Cardassian admirals. The Enlightenment, Stalwart, and Exter also made short term visits.
The end result is a state of masterful inactivity. I've had to cast my memories all the way back to my time as an Ensign on the Shenandoah to remember how that is supposed to work, since I'm afraid Ops has never let me have an idle moment since.
Sincerely,
Rear Admiral Gorac Crogan
Sector Command, Gabriel Border Zone
-
========================
Ongoing Projects
Starfleet Engineering Team - Gathering listening post components, deploying to Dorsata
Starfleet Colony Team - Returning to Collie
Gorc Belth Colonial Engineers - Assembling Starbase at Collie - ETC 2321.Q2
[Starbase Complete]
[Completed 21 Dorsata Listening Post - 1 of 4 required for Free Intel Report chance]
Amarkian Engineering Team - Building 3 Miele VI BR Mine - ETC 2321.Q4
Amarkian Colony Team - Building 3 Miele VI BR Mine - ETC 2321.Q4
Apiata Workerbee Team - Deploying to 21 Dorsata
Apiata Colony Team - Deploying to 21 Dorsata
-Apiata Task Force- Defending Apruzza (33 Dorsata)
-- Pollizazza Team detached to 2 Dorsata
Caitian Engineering Half-Team - Building 23 Firefly IV Mine - ETC 2321.Q4
Caitian Colony Team - Building 23 Firefly IV Mine - ETC 2321.Q4
Caitian Task Force - Defending 23 Firefly
[23 Firefly XI Outpost complete]
UESPA Engineering Team - Building Outpost - 5 Firefly XIII-1 - COMPLETE
UESPA Colony Team - Holding
Prospecting
Key: (This Quarter / Last Quarter / Next Quarter) - Results of Last Quarter
Starfleet:
USS Nicholas Barton, NCC-632, Prospector (- / - / -) - Delzarr
USS Somak, NCC-635, Prospector (- / - / - ) - Delzarr
Starfleet Intelligence Estimates courtesy of SS Appleseed
Cardassian Exploration of Enio subsector (2g) - 100% complete
Cardassian Exploration of Gabriel Cluster Core (2h) - 100% complete
Cardassian Exploration of Gabriel Cluster Rim (1h) - 100% complete
[Known to have at least 1 Starbase in operation at 67 Gabriel]
Dylaarian Exploration of Dayan subsector (4h) - 100% complete
Dylaarian Exploration of Opal subsector (4g) - 100% complete
Konen Exploration of Indigo subsector (3h) - 100% complete
Starfleet Intelligence Signals Intercept Addendum
[SFI NB: Classified 1-A]
We have mostly cracked the new generation of Ashalla Pact cryptography now. As of yet, we have prevented openly exploiting this information and we believe the Cardassians are not yet aware of this capability.
Known Systems of Interest
Colonised:
Collie (Starfleet) - Starbase, Outpost, Logistics Hub, Mines, 2 Repair Bay
19 Dorsata II (Starfleet) - 10sr/yr mine site, small interest
41 Miele IV (Starfleet)
Sguirri (Apinae) - Outpost, Logistics Hub, Mines
Tal Hanar (20 Miele) (Amarkia) - Outpost, Logistics Hub, Mines, 1 Repair Bay
10 Miele II-3 (Amarkia) Class M moon, 10br & 15sr/yr, 2 planets with ancient ruins
Apruzza III [33 Dorsata] (Apiata), 20sr/yr mine site
Apruzza IX [33 Dorsata] (Apiata), 30sr/yr mine site
2 Dorsata (Apiata) - 2x25br/yr mine
10 Miele V (Amarkia), 15br, 15sr mine site
29 Baker V (Starfleet), 10 (20) sr/yr mine
29 Baker II (Starfleet), 15br/yr mine, minor colony potential
23 Firefly XI (Caitian), Class M, 40br/yr, 25sr/yr - Outpost - Major Colony potential
23 Firefly XII, (Caitian), Class L, 25sr/yr - Major Colony potential
5 Firefly X, (UESPA), Class M, 30sr/yr - Major Colony potential
5 Firefly XIII-1, (UESPA), Class C, - Outpost - 10sr/yr
Claimed:
(Starfleet) 41 Miele II, Class L habitable planet, 41 Miele IV Class C frozen rock with 25br/yr mine potential
(Amarkia) 3 Miele VI, 35br/yr mine
(Caitian) 23 Firefly IV - 10sr/yr mine
(Caitian) 23 Firefly X - 10sr/yr mine
Unclaimed:
11 Dorsata - 25br/yr mine and 15br/yr mine available
31 Miele V-3 - 5rp/yr research colony site, difficult terrain, minor interest
38 Miele VII - Research Colony site
21 Dorsata IV - Asteroid Belt, 35br/yr mine site
30 Dorsata VI - 35br/yr mine site on 30 Dorsata VI (Class K colony option on 30 Dorsata III)
42 Miele V - Class M 10br & 10sr/yr
27 Firefly III - 35br/yr mine
1 Firefly V-1, moon with research sites (Ancient Ruins)
Ariel V-8, 15 br/yr
========================
The Gabriel Sector
Starfleet Status: Normal (Can travel 1 Sq Length per 2 Weeks)
Starfleet Status within GBZ: High Alert (Can travel 1 Sq Length per Week)
Federation Status: Normal
UESPA: Normal
VHC: Normal
TSF: Normal
AG: Normal
Amarkia: Raised Alert
Caitian: Normal
Apiata: High Alert
Indoria: Raised Alert
Orion: Normal
Rigel: Normal
BDF: Normal
Caldonia: Normal
Risa: Normal
Gaen: Normal
Sydraxia: Normal
STO: Normal
Honiani: Normal
Tauni: Normal
Ked Paddah: Normal
Laio: Normal
Ashidi: Normal
Sector Command Staff
Sector Commander: Rear Admiral Gorac Crogan
Task Force 1: Commodore
Task Force 2: Commodore
Task Force 6: Commodore
Auxiliary: Commodore
Apiata TF: High Queen Pelmazzi
Amarki TF: Admiral Senai Nebriec
Caitian TF: Admirall N'shrr Anara
FBS Embedded Reporter -
FNN Embedded Reporter -
High Comb Times Embedded Reporter -
Rear Admiral Gorac Crogan
Current Posting: Commander, Gabriel Border Zone
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: High
Politics: High
High Queen Pelmazzi
Current Posting: Commander, Apiata Gabriel Fleet
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: High
Politics: Medium
Admiral Senai Nebriec
Current Posting: Commander, Amarkian Gabriel Fleet
Rule-Abiding: High
Aggression: Medium
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy:Medium
Politics: Low
Admiral N'shrr Anara
Current Posting: Commander, Task Force Gabriel, Caitian Grand Fleet / Task Force 7, Gabriel Border Zone
Rule-Abiding: Medium
Aggression: Low
Nerve: Medium
Diplomacy: Medium
Politics: High
Sector Details
Roughly encompasses area from 4h to 1e, with outcroppings, with space above and below this plane
~15 Squares worth, each of which contains a few dozen stars, of which a quarter will have planets and other items of interest
Each power is accessing the sector from a different direction. Your staff will be attempting to surge out, claim, then retain space. Keeping a safe route for logistics for stations and nascent colonies will be important.
To start with, your commanders will have Starfleet assets and Starfleet auxiliaries. They will begin to ask for other resources, and you will be empowered by Acts of Council to pick and choose who you use to contribute.
Current Sector Policy Settings
Green Light = Fully Allowed, Red Light = Fully Denied, Yellow Light = Proceed on Own Recognizance
----
Apiata Fleet & Auxiliary GBZ Access - Green Light
Amarki Fleet & Auxiliary GBZ Access - Green Light
UESPA Fleet & Auxiliary GBZ Access - Green Light
Caitian Grand Fleet & Auxiliary GBZ Access - Green Light
All Member World - Fleet Unit GBZ Access - Red Light
All Member World - Auxiliary GBZ Access - Red Light
Expansion - Green Light
Infrastructure Building - Yellow Light
Mining Colony Building - Yellow Light
Civilian Colony Building - Red Light
-> Exceptions:
Civilian Colony Building (Miele Subsector) - Yellow Light
Assault on Entry Worlds - Yellow Light
Assault on Link to Entry Worlds - Red Light
Attack Opposing Auxiliary Shipping - Yellow Light
Engineering Ships = Build and Repair Facilities
Hospital Ships = Allow responses to medical distress calls without tying down your Excelsiors
Freighter/Cargo Ships = Supply
Prospectors = Required to prepare for Colony creation
Colony Ship = Required to deliver colonists
Passenger = Required for evacuations, and major colonies
Civilian = Can be set for a number of tasks.
Logistics Example Requirements:
1 Sm per four Auxiliaries deployed
1 Sm per two Escort assigned
1 Sm per Cruiser assigned
2 Sm per Explorer assigned
1 Sm, 1 Blk per Station
2 Sm, 2 Blk per Outpost
5 Sm, 5 Blk per Starbase
Colony: Varies
Starfleet Sector Infrastructure supporting GBZ
"Critical" - One of very few (or even only one) of its given type of infrastructure within Starfleet's control, the loss of which will cause major loss of function
"Key" - Important assets, the loss of which will impair functions for Starfleet
Unified Hives of the Apiata
3 Light Queenships
6 Stingers
2 Foragers
6 Bumblebees
4 Worker Bees
Indorian Congress
-
Rigel
-
Honiani
-
Member World Sector Infrastructure in GBZ
UE = United Earth
V = Vulcan High Command
A = Andorian Empire
T = Tellarite State Forces
M = Amarkian Confederacy
B = Betazoid Noble Houses
F = Caitians Grand Fleet
R = Rigel Defence Forces
P = Unified Hives of the Apiata
I = Indorian Congress
For the time being, a two LY wide buffer zone exists on either side of the H-G plane, with no Ashalla Pact, and no Federation non-auxiliary starships permitted to enter. This plane kinks inward across the Garden subsector, between Enio and Opal.
