PACT NOTES 4
PACT ERRATA
Pact Area: A vast region of space, the Pact of Humanity covers nearly 12,000 stellar systems, but only inhabits around 4,000 of those systems. Overall population within the Pact is estimated at 10-12 trillion inhabitants, with Trantor alone comprising one trillion, or 10%, of that total. Relations with adjacent alien powers starts at poor and goes downhill from there, with actual fighting between the Dionii Hive and Pact of Humanity taking place on a routine basis. Although this is the year is 10,967, the Pact has been around for nearly 6,000 years. It takes nearly two years to cross the Pact, from one end to another, using warp point technology. From Terra to the Frontier takes nearly a year.
Sacking a Planet: Sacking a planet can be done using PCF troops. It does not destroy a planet permanently, just wipes out planetary production for six months afterwards. You must capture a world with PCFs and sack the planet(takes two weeks), which produces x3 GPV! You must control the world for this to work(ie no surviving enemy PCFs). Of course the planetary population does not sit idely by while the troops ransack the planet, they automatically go into revolt. You must keep at least 100 PCFs for every 500PU on the planet to maintain control and finish sacking the world, if not you lose all GPV.
Battlejumpers: For thousands of years the Pact Navy has utilized military and civilian inertia-less drive systems although several other races had used unique drives(ie Mqdrekkor blink drives). However, since the outbreak of the Civil War military engineers and commercial interests have been hard at work, developing new weaponry to hold back the night. Senior Technologist Marta McGavin of Great Ships Corp has invented what theorists are calling “Battlejumpers”, which utilize a fantastic new drive field that bypasses traditional warp point defenses. The ability to ‘jump’ into a system up to 150 tacHexes away from a warp point challenges system defenders and allows greater tonnage to enter a system than ever before. Battlejumpers could well revolutionize WP travel between the worlds of the Pact, as well as giving the Pact Navy an edge in interstellar warfare.
PACT HISTORY
Pikean Civil War: Once a famous vacation world, the Pike System experienced a self-inflicted nuclear conflagration nearly forty years ago, killing nearly sixty billion people, including the last High Secretary, Ulric MacBannock. This event not only shocked the entire Pact at the ferocity of the fighting, incredible death count, and the loss of one of the Pact’s most loved leaders, but it also catapulted Devin MacDonald to the Golden Dome on Terra. Also killed was Garret Rhoe, then the head of the Kona Tatsu. This event destabilized the Pact for several months until the voting for the new High Secretary was concluded. The KT is still looking for the people who overrode the planetary defense net and started the nuclear firestorm which devastated all three planets.
Revolt of the Admirals: A disruptive event following the signing of the New Washington Naval Treaty between the Pact and the Holot Empire, several Pact Navy Admiral’s revolted against the treaty’s stipulations, mainly the scrapping of vital Navy carriers. Fighting in several systems took place but was crushed with the use of several Warlord fleets and the Kona Tatsu. The main perpetrator, Admiral Yanid ba Salaam was assassinated onboard his command superdreadnought, PNS Sulimain, in the Ontario System. Other significant Admirals who rebelled include, Yelena Bonner, Lev Penomarev, Sergei Yushenkov, Igor Yakovenko, and Carlos de la Rua. Warlord Uel Wellington was commended for his operations against ba Salaam and gained the High Admiralship, a first for the Pact Navy.
Holot Wars: A difficult series of wars that the Pact fought against the bear-like Holot race, in nearly every campaign the Pact of Humanity had superior numbers, but the Holot’s far superior technology easily balanced the odds. Although the Holot Empire has only 1,500 inhabited worlds, it withstood the continual assaults of the Pact Navy. A aggressive species, the Holots have started nearly every Regional War, mainly over disputed territory. Alien races are welcome in Holot space, generating a third column within the Pact that the Kona Tatsu have ruthlessly tried to stamp out.
Dis Technology: Dis warheads, the bane of modern warfare, was banned eighty years ago at the Third Disarmament Conference between the Pact of Humanity and the Holot Empire. Dis is a devastating substance, the culmination of centuries of nanotech development and military research. The substance is composed off trillions of disassembling nanobots, microscopic in size and destructive in action. Dis dissolves organic materials, anything organic including human flesh with incredible rapidity. When a warship is hit with a dis warhead, the nanobots go to work immediately, disassembling the ship in minutes into a grayish goo. Dis achieves its greatest horror when used against planetary targets, dissolving everything on the planet’s surface; cities, oceans, and people. Quarantines must be maintained around dis-enveloped worlds, otherwise it spreads rapidly like a cancer across the star lanes. Since over 800 billion people have been killed and 33 worlds rendered uninhabitable, all stellar nations have permanently banned dis technology. Rumors of secluded warheads within the Pact for strategic deterrence have never been substantiated.
KONA TATSU RULES: PART 3
Holding the vast Pact of Humanity together is a phenomenal task, and that was the reason the Kona Tatsu were created. Their tools are pressure, blackmail, lies, and secrecy. One of their primary weapons in information control, which is vital in a modern society. Their ability to incite dissension/rebellion on any planet makes controlling those planets difficult at best. Blackmailing the enemy with revealing his horrible secrets, proof of his atrocities, real or imagined, are also a favorite tool of the KT. Unbelievably, the Kona Tatsu have been thrown completely off guard by the civil war currently raging within the Pact of Humanity.
Here are some additional rules covering internal politics:
Add 22.02.03.8 ASSASSINATION is the attempt to remove a noted figure in another empire. It must be directed against a specific figure, by name(if they’re given one) and by the system that individual is in(ie the Admiral commanding the 4th fleet in the Rojas System). If the individual is not in the system, the chance is 1/10th normal. If the attempt is made against a name and position(Governor Carson of the Rojas System), and the person filling the position is different, chance against the position is 1/10th. No attempt to assassinate the leading character of another faction(that is you cannot kill someone’s main character). How the information on the individual and system is gathered is of no note, but precise data is necessary to have much chance of success.
22.02.2(add as last sentence, paragraph one): Only the Kona Tatsu may use this form of espionage.
22.02.05(amend second sentence, paragraph one, to read): The SM notes all funds allocated to offensive espionage against a particular empire or NPR, halves the amount the empire conducting the espionage is not Kona Tatsu-controlled, and subtracts from that value any funds allocated to counter espionage.
WARLORD OF THE WEEK
Warlord of the Pact Craig Labuda is a tall, lanky middle aged(49) man who hails from the Reformation Group, the planet Samuel to be exact. He initially began his long career in the Pact Army nearly three decades ago as a doctor, but was commissioned into the Pact Navy after the latest Dionii conflict heated up. He made his first cruise in the old War Maiden, one of the Pact’s older dreadnought warships and wrote the famous “On War and New Tactics”, the widely acclaimed treatise of the Seventeenth Dionii Conflict. A well-known family man(five children), Admiral Labuda’s career suffered because of this but his ability to fight in the Combat Regions of the Pact gained him substantial attention from his commanding officers. When a high-ranking official complained to the High Secretary that Admiral Labuda was racking up a large body count among his own personnel and asked for his dismissal, the High Secretary replied, “I cannot spare the man, he fights.” He fought gallantly in the Keyhole Campaign and after the Battle of Noffington he became immensely popular, in large part because of his comradeship and the understanding of the ordinary serviceman. He became responsible for the supply and maintenance of all the vessels engaged in the Quest Campaign and was finally given command of his own superdreadnought, PNS Christ the Conqueror. He proposed a new design for superdreadnoughts, the Texas-class, which was eventually laid down in Terradock and his eventual succession to the Warlordship was only a matter of time as his fame for heroism and risk taking won battle after battle. He and his wife and their children have relocated to Marshall’s World in the Rehovat Cluster, a region known for its Jewish émigrés.
ALIENS
Neitzcheans are one of the most dangerous after-effects of the Pact Civil War, and are discussed here in this forum at length. A unnamed genetic engineer working over twenty years ago traveled across several Clusters, maliciously tampering with tens of thousands of embryos in government crèches. No one knows what his agenda was or what he planned but his handiwork has been revealed with shocking clarity. His “offspring” are genetically engineered supersoldiers that are hyper-aggressive, and they show no remorse when killing other human beings. Although little is know about “Neitzche”, he did take credit for sowing seeds of destruction within the Pact in a Golden newsprint six years ago after the first Neitzcheans had achieved adulthood and began reacting violently to Pact society. Neitzcheans themselves seek each other out and have founded deadly interstellar warbands that have begun to ravage several populate Clusters. The psychology of these killing machines is interesting; self survival comes first, then mating, and finally destruction at any level. They are cold-blooded killers, mowing down men, women, and children with no compassion or remorse. Neitzcheans seek to breed constantly and their genes are always dominant, thus when a Neitzchean that breeds with a ‘normal’ human will always produce a Neitzchean child. They are also diabolic tacticians, with a IQ well over 200, although this sometimes produces severe mental instability, including megalomania and other anti-social behaviors. Neitzcheans are so fantastically aggressive that ramming techniques and simultaneous warp point transits are common tactics for their race. Neitzcheans look exactly like humans and have invented a “gunboat” for their fleets. With the demise of the Pact federal leadership and its governmental organs in chaos, Neitzcheans continue to raid Clusters and worlds at whim.
The Dionii are a devastating hive mind race that has plagued the Pact of Humaity for nearly four thousand years. Their unique technology, high-population worlds, and genocidal tactics have withstood the Pact Navy’s best efforts to eliminate them. This race of man-sized intelligent insects seek to learn all Pact knowledge, especially orbital beanstalks, plasma guns, and fighter weapon technology. Unfortunately, they loathe humans and humanoids(as well as all animal life), using them for slaves, playthings, food, and experimentation. The Dionii’s cruelty is nearly as legendary as the Laowan Tyranny’s. These are devastatingly ruthless, methodical creatures that engage in the conflicts of war as a way of life.
The Dionii are actually composed of four species of insects, combing to create a powerful warlike society bent on expansion and intergalactic dominance of all other life. The four insect species are the victors of a great interracial conflict, in which they proved to be the strongest of their peoples. As with all Dionii battles, there was no place for the weak: thus all other species(some 37 intelligent species) were annihilated. Total genocide.
The four victorious types are: the Drone, Warrior Beetle, Scout, and Vanguard. All Dionii possess some type of natural body armor(exoskeleton) in addition to any artificial armor or protection them might employ. Compounded with their super physical endurance, strength, speed, and predatory instincts, they are some of the deadliest creatures in the galaxy. Their natural vision is also superior to most animals, being sensitive to ultraviolet and infrared spectrum as well as normal color vision. Dionii communicate with each other using an elaborate code of clicks and whines. These are transmitted into the super and subsonic and has a typical unenhanced range of one kilometer. Fortunately, the Dionii are devoid of any form of psionics.
One of the most intriguing aspects of the Dionii race is their unique technology. Their ability to re-arm fighters three times faster than their enemies has helped them remarkably on the battlefield, as well as their outstanding abilities as dogfighters. Dionii Vanguard are the galaxy’s best fighter pilots, with the Pact’s geneered pilots coming in at a close second. In fact, it was the Dionii’s unequivocal dominance in the fighter area which pushed the Pact into engineering its own enhanced fighter pilots. Also, their ability to remain cloaked when passing through a warp point is a unheard of technology, which has so far eluded Pact scientist ability to re-create it.
Automated Re-Arming: Carriers only, no space, doubles cost of all V. Fighters and other small craft can land, re-arm, and launch in two turns(as opposed to six) thanks to using an assembly line-like process utilizing hundreds of Dionii workers. While in this line, all fighter datalinks are reset to allow for strikegroups.
Warp Cloak(?w): Can cloak a unti 45hs or smaller during warp point transit. Acts as ?3 in cloak mode, regular detection rules apply. And acts as standard cloak(again just like ?3) at other times. Can provide fire control confusion(like ?) but at only -2, no jam is possible. If used in conjunction with another ECM suite, only the best applies. Two hull spaces in size, 200MCr, 40,000 to develop(Dionii tech only).
OMEGA WORLDS
Urbanos, one of the most heavily populated worlds of the Pact, has been colonized over seven thousand years, producing what is called a megaworld(a planet with a population over 100 billion). The planet’s exact population is unknown, but it is estimated that nearly 250 billion people live on Urbanos, which is a world-continent(the opposite of most planets, which are usually world-oceans). Little agriculture is produced on Urbanos, which relies heavily on ten nearby agroworlds for its ravenous food needs. Urbanos is a multi-level megacity as well, covering virtually the entire planet in steel and plastic. It was also the site of the ancient Grathi Invasion, and the destruction of that fleet by Admiral Wellington is a well-documented piece of Pact history. Urbanos is the Cluster government headquarters and also the location of the famed Barwaurst R&D Center, which has developed the new Heavy Laser Strip weapon, only now being deployed on Cluster warships. Several prominent Pact citizens are from Urbanos, including former High Admiral Nori Astogora, who won the Battle of the Congress System. Also Laquita Clayton, founder of the Clayton movement, was from Urabanos, and famed holostar Rica Bru, acclaimed author Bok Bothe, and pripyat Nereyda Alvarez, guru of the Onesider movement.
TECHNOLOGY
Access Port(a): Necessary to transport troops and material to Troop Landing Pods, these ports can also dock other small craft in an emergency, excluding fighters. Two hull spaces, 5MCr, 300 to develop. TL5
ADM Bay[ADBAY]: Widespread conflict with the Holot Empire forced the Pact Navy into development areas not normally associated with conservative shipbuilding, one result being the ADM Bay. Actually called a ‘battery’, this system is a missile bay that holds six ADM missiles. ADM usually cannot be fired from any shipboard launcher but Pact ADMs have been downsized, and the large bay(eight hull spaces) allows the Pact to conduct devastating anti-engine strikes from lowly destroyers! Looks like this [ADBAY]. Eight hull spaces in size, 50MCr(+ missiles), 2,000 to develop. TL9
Batteries[weapons]: In the past, a warships weapons were evenly spaces throughout a vessel to minimize battle damage and sustain combat for as long as possible, however the Pact Navy has found a way to maximize firepower and maintain survivability. The result was the so-called “battery”. Developed less than six months ago, the Pact Navy first fielded the ‘battery’ on destroyers equipped with scaled down anti-drive missiles, creating in a lethal weapons platform. Batteries are powerful clusters of weapons located side by side and using joint energy systems and targeting sensors, resulting in a decrease in weapon size(-1 hs). Batteries can only mount four weapons(or less) per battery and look like this [L L L L]. Batteries cost 50MCr extra to mount. Dev cost: 9,000. TL9
Battlescreens, Advanced(Sc1): Development of ‘hard screen technology’ by the militant Horune race challenged the Rishatha Imperium in developing countermeasures to this unique shield system. 3 hs = 10 pts of screen. Once overwhelmed, it stays down for 20 tactical turns. The difference between a ‘hard screen’ and regular shields is screens must be overwhelmed in one salvo, or it does no damage. Also, when a ‘hard screen’ is ‘up’, you cannot fire out through it. Sc1 costs 180 MCr per 3hs system. Development costs 20,000 MCr. Sc do not work against P or Hyper Missiles. Important note: Shields cannot be up when screens are up. The P system CAN shoot out of Screened warships. A ship with Screens up CANNOT launch or recover fighters, bombers, or other small craft. Point defense also CANNOT fire out. Screens can be combined, but above 100hs they become unstable. 1 Sc per 30 hull space of ship. Two Sc per hull space of SS, Base, or AF. TL9
Blink Drive: A drive used by the Mqdrekkor, the Blink drive was unique in the Known Universe as a jump drive system that could ‘micro-jump’ several times within a warp points location, but only within a warp point locale. It operated similarly to the Jc drive in that it appeared up to 150 hexes away from a WP however, this system could be used to rapidly maneuver around a warp point using its micro-jumping capability. This system has been observed by the Pact Navy but never duplicated outside of a Pact military lab. Cost: Restricted, dev cost: Restricted.
Carrier Bases(BSVx): While most races were able to utilize small fighter craft, many high-grav races were not able to use them and the Carrier Base was invented to take the place of carrier warships. These Bases are able to deploy LACs and other small craft, as well as fighters. A static platform, BSV's were mostly seen at warp points, defending important systems from attack. The BSV's pay normal prices for fighter systems, and triple costs for offensive systems(because they were not built/formed for them).
TYPE SIZE TL COST
BSV0 N/A 0 0
BSV1 15-25 2 4.5
BSV2 26-50 4 5
BSV3 51-85 6 5.5
BSV4 86-120 7 6
BSV5 121-180 8 7.5
BSV6 181-250 9 9
BSV7 251-375 10 10
Bases developed by Kencyr and Michael S.
Cargo Hold-Small(Hs): 1 MCr, ½ hs, developed with H. Ships larger than DD must have a regular hold, as their maintenance needs are much higher.
Cybernetic Interface(CI4): A fantastic product of pressurized R&D within the Pact Navy, the CI4 system is a computer system light-years ahead of any other foreign power in Known Space. Mainly a software system with virtual retinal display headsets, the CI4 system has the following abilities:
A: +1 to damage control roles and +1 to hit mines(all types).
B: +1 to strike in beam combat and +1 to shoot down plasma gun fire.
C: +1 to all point defense systems and +10% to alien commo roles.
Cost: 150MCr, dev cost: 20,000. TL9. Zero hull spaces. Only the Luren have been able to invent this technology.
Damage Control Room One(DCC): One of the most serious aspects of warfare is battle damage, and the Pact of Humanity came up with a clever way to fix such damage during the Fourth Regional Holot War, by developing the DCC. One hull space in size, the DCC gives +1 to all damage control roles, TL5, 5,000 to develop. 35MCr each.
Damage Control Room Two(DCC2): Not to be outwitted by their Pact allies, the Kittani built the more advanced DCC late in the war, and fielded it on all their Novagun Battleships. The DCC2 repairs one system every 5 turns, TL7, two hull spaces, 7,000 to develop. 45 MCr each.
Heavy Laser Strip(Lst): A vastly destructive weapons system, the Urbanos Cluster has developed this unique weapons system to counter the large superdreadnought contingent of the Terra Cluster. As usual, all laser weapons fire through shields, doing damage directly to a ships armor. This system is 3 hull spaces in size and does five points of laser damage(uses L range). Lstrips can also be used in anti-fighter fire(five one point bursts per combat turn), TL9. Cost: 80MCr, dev cost: 30,000.
Interdiction Field(InF): A last ditch defensive system, Interdiction Fields are actually focused directional energy fields deformed out of a ship’s Drive Field. Projected into the path of an oncoming wave of missiles, InF have a 30% chance of knocking out any class of missile. This system only works against incoming missiles, beam weapons hit normally. Five hull spaces in size. Mqdrekkor only! Mqdrekkor do not use other types of point defense. Cost: Restricted, Dev: Restricted.
Kinetic Cannon(Kn): A large planetary weapon, Kcannon are a K weapon, but upsized to use in planetary atmosphere. They are the only K-series weapons system available in this game. Although the Pact has never built PDCs, heavily populated planets do have dozens of Kcannon launchers to defend themselves with. It has the same damage as Kc, half the range, and costs 300 per launcher, TL9. Remember, these are grapefruit-sized balls of tungsten traveling at nearly the speed of light, making it impossible for point defense to stop them. They do not need to be mounted in PDC(can be stand alone) and costs 30,000 to develop.
Metalstorm Point Defense System(Pm): A low-tech point defense system firing millions of rounds per minute, the metalstorm system was a fantastic tech device that enabled the Mqdrekkor to withstand the Pact’s invasion sleets for decades. This system unfortunately could only be fired twice per combat turn, reload takes 20 turns. The key to Metalstorm’s design is an all-electric firing system-no firing pin, no explosive primer, no mechanical ammunition-feeding mechanism is needed to send a wall of projectiles on its way. The electronic system uses just propellant and projectiles packed top of each other in canister-shape firing tubes. It was primarily used against an enemy fleet’s initial XO-wave. One hull space in size, it was the smallest point defense system ever invented. Cost: Restricted, dev cost: Restricted.
Mini-Magazine(Mgm): 1/2 Hs, 8MCr, 80 stowage points, 1,200 dev
Micro-Tractor Beam(Tm): This system is designated Tm and cost 20MCr. This system can tow crippled ships(if 1/3rd smaller), missiles pods, cargo, nova bombs, and Battlepods. Max 1 tac hex, 800 dev
Nova Bomb(NvB): A large anti-planet weapon, Nova Bombs are the first true planetbusters developed by the Pact Navy. They have been used extensively in the Dionii Conflicts, with only ten weapons used to sterilize an entire planet. Nova Bombs are only used to destroy planets, and have no effect against orbiting craft, SS, or bases, etc. Loaded in a modified large boat bay(one per boat bay). The reactants only operate within atmosphere and do not detonate in vacuum. These are antimatter weapons in the gigatons, and cost 1,000MCr each. Dev cost: 25,000. TL9.
Planetary Defense Missiles(PDM): A new high-tech version of a old system, these planet-based missiles have high-powered antimatter warheads installed, making them formidable anti-ship weapons. Each missile is over 80 feet long(cannot be mounted on ships) and must be built on an inhabited planet (needs routine maintenance-1MCr each per month, add to missile fund). Each PDM is expensive (20MCr per silo-based missile, 40 for each road/rail based missile, and 60 for each sub based missile). When a planet is orbited by a ship or small craft at 5 tactical hexes or less, they have a 60% chance of spotting a silo-based PDM, 30% chance for road/rail, and 0% for subs. Once the initial missile and system is bought, replacement missiles cost 10MCr. To build a PDM takes 2 hull spaces, they do 15 points of damage, and cost 1000 to develop. PDMs have a range of 13 tactical hexes, are a TL9 system, and are -3 to be hit.
Planetary Courier Drones(cdp): The massive invasion of the Argus Republic by the Goog Abhorrence saw the fielding of the Planetary Courier Drone. Wiped out in swaths, the Argus fleet was unable to maintain communications with all parts of the empire and the early destruction of the ICN net within Argus space at the beginning of the invasion only worsened it’s communication gaps. Each cdp has a speed of 16(5.67 days and 2 StMP) and are PDC based only. They also have improved anti-tampering(0% chance rather than 2% for traditional CD). They are paid through the missile fund(4MC each). One hull space in size in PDC, 2,000 to develop, TL4.
Proton Torpoedoes(Pt): A strange beam/missile system developed and used by the alien Dionii race, proton torpedoes are a devastating rapid-fire system(x3 per combat phase) that has a shorter range than standard missiles. Pt cannot be shot down by point defense as they are a type of beam weapon, with homing capabilities like a missile. Pt are a ball of energy, not a missile(ie there is no missile housing or warhead or modifiers). Each proton torpedo does 3 points of damage and their launchers are only 3 hull spaces in size. TL5. Cost: Restricted, dev cost: Restricted.
Sleds1 and 2: Both are available, at the normal tech level.
Small Military Sensors(Xrm): 70Mcr, operates as Xr, 2000 dev
Troop Landing Pods(TPod): Troop Landing Pods were created by the Pact Navy nearly 3,000 years ago during the Third Dionii Conflict and are standard tech items within the service to this day. TPods are extremely large landing craft specially designed to land PCFs from orbiting assault transports. TPods deploy from a mothership via a Access Port and can land on an enemy planet even if the defender’s PDCs are still operating. These pods are equipped with rudimentary ECM and chaff(-2 to be hit), armored, have limited point defense capability, and can use evasive maneuvers(-1 to be hit). TPods carry up to ten combat-ready PCFs and only have 24 hours of life support. They are destroyed as XO racks are(see rule). Ten hull space sin size, 45MCr cost, 3,5000 dev. TL5
STANDARD HYPERWAVE
This is the stand-alone hyperwave generator in orbit around Cluster capitals. The following SSD is a standard design:
S0x20 Acx30 ZH(BbS)(CIC)QQDD(Mor)DDD(Xrm) Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Wa Mg M8(Hd) (Cs3) ? Lh Cost: 4,711
EVENTS TO WATCH
The central government in Maui Cluster has been wracked by sectarian fighting and alien subversion, so much so that central government control has collapsed. The Kanga Sphere is currently battling with Maui’s Central Fleet at Goth Beg, and it is still unknown whether the Maui government headed by the corporation Hortalez et Cie, will prevail. Over thirteen billion deaths have been reported as a result of the vicious sector-wide fighting and Trantor has made threatening noises at the border, preparing to grab the important agroworlds of Maui Cluster should the Hortalez government fall.
A bizarre lifeform has appeared in Topflight Cluster in the form of an aggressive techno-organic race bent on spreading its influence everywhere. Although several independant worlds have formed coalitions to fend off Builder, attacks, only the Chatapoultec Alliance based near the massive Deathsgate Warp Nexus appears to have the military strength to hold off the Builders for long.
Foremost among Clusters, Terra has begun mobilizing its vast fleet of superdreadnoughts. Positioned at the center of the Pact, Terra Cluster is also the location of Home Fleet and Terradock, and one of the largest Depots within the Pact. Although it will take some time before these superdreadnoughts are capable of offensive action, their strength appears to be able to crush any opposition.
Although Barletta Clusters infamous leader Senator Nofzinger was perceived within the Pact as being at best a mercurial crackpot and at worst a dangerous sponsor of inter-Cluster succession, he had managed to convince 53 other Senator’s that his big idea-the Oraganization of Pact Unity(OPU)-was worth supporting, until his assassination last week in Barletta’s capital. The Kona Tatsu were thought responsible for his death, but like all KT operations, no sign was left of the perpetrator.