PACT NOTES EIGHT

GLOSSARY

Adhocracy: A non-bureaucratic networked organization. A form common in law firms, consulting companies, and research universities, as well as some planetary governments. These organizations and institutions must continually readjust to a changing array of projects, each requiring somewhat different combinations of skills and resources. These organizations depend on many rapidly shifting project teams and much lateral communication among these relatively autonomous, entrepreneurial groups.

Basement Universe: A small, a possible artificially created, universe linked to the old universe by a wormhole. This could be used for living space, computing, or an escape from a decaying universe. Also possibly used for hiding from enemies or destructive phenomena. A mega-engineering feat. The discovery of Critter's Universe, stumbled upon by the trash/explorer Jedidiah Critter in the Kellinger System in 9,998 proved the existence of such galactic objects. "Captain" Critter's stubborn refusal of the Pact to allow investigation of "his" basement universe, and the destruction of every Pact fleet hurled at it using unknown energies by the now-seeming immortal Critter, has stunted all research by the Pact in this area.

Christian Church of the Stars: One of the most important colonizer firms in Pact history, the CCS enabled poor inhabitants of Terra and Granyork to relocate to better worlds at little or no cost. While you didn't have to be a member of the church to emigrate, priority was given to families first and people with significant frontier skills, especially abilities like woodworking and metallurgy. The Churches’ substantial aid in evacuating Granyork bankrupted the organization in late 6,860, after which the CCS defiantly gave its colonizer ships directly to the Granyork Relief Mission to continue its endeavors in spite of creditors demands to do the opposite.

Concentrated Intelligence: An intelligent entity which is spatially concentrated into a single volume, as dense as possible, to reduce communications lag. This arrangement is not as flexible as a distributed intelligence, but probably more efficient. These entities are still being produced today, mainly for the Pact military and research labs.

Battlejumpers: One of the more important Pact technical developments was the fusion room, which powered and moved a warship so effectively that half of a vessels' engines could be removed. This breakthrough made room for a 50% increase in defenses and weaponry aboard Pact warships but with the unfortunate result being that no warship could survive transit with the diminished engine rooms. The Pact Admiralty, which was at the time locked in a life-and-death struggle of the Twentieth Dionii Wave, found it imperative for its warships to continue packing a more powerful punch than their more numerous Dionii counterparts. Senior Technologist Marta MacGavin of Great Ships Corporation had by this time made a new development in warp point engines and they were quickly adapted and placed on "Battlejumpers", a long, spindly new form of warship. Using the new jump engines, Battlejumpers could materialize some distance away from a warp point(random) and deploy its piggy-backed warships into space, then jump back to the relative safety of Pact space using its warp point "funnel" engines. The only drawback to the use of Battlejumpers in combat is their random dispersal around a warp point, often resulting in long-running and unfortunately indecisive battles. Although Battlejumpers have only been tested recently for the first time, their piggy-backed warships seem very effective in battling Dionii forces. There are three different types of Battlejumpers now being produced, with the Type III being the largest vessels ever built by the Pact Navy.

Dakota System: Location of one of the most famous battles during the Age of Ascension, the Dakota System is also the location of Omega’s Sector Depot. Nearly 6,000 years ago the Third Rebel Fleet unwittingly stumbled into range of Admiral Nichii’s Grand Fleet (pro-Secretary faction) and was annihilated to the last warship. Admiral Nichii carried through and bombed Chaparral, the former sector capital, flat.

Distributed Intelligence: An intelligent entity which is distributed over a large volume with no distinct center. This is the opposite strategy of concentrated intelligences. Distributed intelligences have much longer communications lags, but are more flexible in their structure and survive damage to their parts. Mainly left over from ancient wars across Pact space.

Granyork Civil War: Located near the Saipan Combat Region, the megaplanet Granyork had grown in population relentlessly until 5,800 the population had peaked at nearly one trillion human beings. The location of the planet so close to Dionii activity had many in the Pact government worried for there was a time that the incredible GDP of Granyork alone fueled the wars with the Dionii all by itself. In 5,890 a remarkably brutal civil war broke out among the planets' various factions, which ended in a self-inflicted nuclear holocaust. Ecologically devastated and unable to support technological civilization, the Pact of Humanity began the costliest evacuation in its entire history, trying to move billions of its citizens to nearby worlds. This relocation plan fueled a rapid expansion of the six nearby Clusters by adding billions to their local populations but was the most expensive operation ever in the Pact's long history.

Grathi Invasion: Located far outside Known Galaxy, the Grathi, an aggressive alien centipede species, began an unstoppable invasion of Pact space in 6,775. Using some kind of advanced teleporter technology, the Grathi overran three dozen sectors and annihilated nearly 400 billion Pact citizens in an orgy of destruction. This event triggered the virulent backlash against aliens within the Pact of Humanity and the invasion was only stopped when the Grathi fell sick due to some human-borne pathogen. Their near unstoppable technology is to this day still far beyong Pact technology.

Islamic Universalism: The apparently wide-spread belief that all Islamic peoples, regardless of location or political loyalty, follow Allah and his appointed heirs on Earth, including the mandatory five times a day prayer to the ancient city of Mecca. One of the more difficult religions within the Pact of Humanity, Islam has never grown beyond its early beliefs.

Jinx: The Egg Planet. A high-population world located in Grendel Cluster, Jinx has significant drug problems. As a consequence of its one-child policy, many children are indulged by their parents and by two sets of grandparents with money and freedom, both of which can be used to experiment with drugs. The left-leaning Democratic Party on Jinx has never commanded a significant popular following, and it has gained and retained power only through intrigue and coup. As a result, Jinx has had to cope with endemic internal disorder for last forty years and suffering a high inflation and a plummeting GDP as well. Jinx's armed forces are partially corrupted by drug traffickers. Paramilitary forces steadily increasing to fight drug lords. Jinx is a unique egg-shaped world. 

Kangas: A highly xenophobic and militant species, the Kanga Sphere was located in modern day Maui Cluster and were assimilated by the Pact after a very costly and lengthy war. Trantor became a beachhead for Pact naval forces in their quest to overcome the multi-world Kanga empire, but fighting wound down and the Pact finally settled on occupying Kanga worlds and exacting tribute instead of the pre-planned annihilation of the species(minus their homeworld, a typical Pact tactic at the time). As the second half of the Double War ground on, the Pact Navy began using several advanced technologies during this time, including capital missiles and SLRMs. A combination of military discipline, superior technology, and political vision assured that the Pact would prevail.

Kardaschev Type Civilizations: A classification of alien civilizations in relation to their energy usage. Type I civilizations control all available energy on a single planet. Type II civilizations control all available energy in a solar system. Type III civilizations controls all available energy of an entire galaxy. A Type IV civilizations, theoretically, could control all available energy in the entire universe. The Pact of Humanity is somewhere between a Type II and a Type III civilization.

Merchancy: A proprietary, commerce-orientated quasi-government which claims sovereignty over its land and property but not the allegiance of its citizens/clients. Only fifteen recorded planets within Pact space have this type of government.

Navigators, The: The only known race of machines in the Known Galaxy, the Navigators are expert warp point surveyors and pilots. When transiting a WP most organic species are overwhelmed for several seconds by the gravitic disturbances of transit, but Navigators are not affected by such phenomena. Although they are a alien race located deep within Pact Space, they a well respected, in the Pact Navy at least, for their abilities and the Navigators have had a friendly relationship with their Pact overlords for centuries.

Old Earth: Also known as Terra, this planet is the birthplace of mankind and capital of the Pact of Humanity. It is here that most of humanity's significant history has occurred, starting with the massive EMP sneak attack by China on the United States of America in the early 21st century. As the lone superpower standing at the end of the Cold War, the United States aggressively pursued its own agenda across the planet until 2012, when the People's Republic of China(PRC) used three high-level nuclear airbursts in a sneak attack that threw the USA back to a pre-technological era. With only a two-week food supply in its megacities and its distribution network paralyzed, the United States endured massive starvation as the entire globe suffered a economic crash at the sudden removal of the American market. Ten years later the Supreme Russian Union(SRU) had had enough of Chinese invasions and massively attacked the PRC with nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. As Europe declined economically, the Asian powers grew in influence in the post WW III world era. America itself was eventually restored as a major global power during this time but after suffering 160 million population drop due to widespread famine, it was a mere shadow of its former self.

   As Russian, India, and Japan continued to control the planet into the late 2300s as warp points were discovered, and these planetary powers controlled the new interstellar colonization efforts and the eventual formation of the Human League. After two thousand years of continual expansion, fighting broke out on Earth and across the League as corruption and several disruptive grabs for power by fleet Admirals wore down co-operation among League member worlds. The "Ascension Wars" were a bad time for Old Earth, as factional fighting repeatedly broke through Terra's warp point defenses and the planet itself was subjected to brutal bombardment. When Admiral Ellington de Moya finally ended the wars and formed the Pact of Humanity, Earth quickly regained its former glory and was named capital in 4,686. Since that time, Old Earth has overseen the development and expansion of human space from its secure location at the center of the Pact. The High Secretary's residence, the Gold Dome, is located in the ancient city of Zurich. Although repeated nuclear strikes by High Admiral Nemasov damaged the planet recently, Governor Chandler has taken over forcefully and restored order on Old Earth during the continuing crisis. Balloting and political infighting continue within the Senate as to who will be the next High Secretary, with no end in sight.

Ontario System: A critical warp nexus that connects to the planet Hortalez and the economically mired Sind System, Ontario was also the site of the Battle of Two Suns, Admiral Shensak’s command that revolted 33 years ago. His entire task force, including the superdreadnought Redemption, was destroyed in this system by Fleet Admiral Michael MacGhenny. The shock of this rebellion forced the entire Pact to recognize High Secretary MacDonald's anger, and his enemies were leery of getting on the wrong side of it.

Pact Expansion, Early: The early Pact expanded along three different axis’, which had a high density of habitable worlds. Unfortunately for most Old Earth nations, Russian, India, and Japan controlled the early warp technologies, limiting their options. It wasn’t until commercial versions became available that more nations were able to plant  interstellar colonies.

Tolat: Home of a crab-like race, Tolat is also the only known location of dis production site within the Pact. Tolats are incredible engineers, with no one being able to replicate their construction feats. They have also built the Orbital Beanstalk on Midgard and invented the Pacts’ new ‘plasma gun’. Tolats are one of the few races that Pact citizens tolerate, but only because of their fantastic engineering abilities. Tolats can build warships extremely fast compared to other races, and their inventiveness has served the Pact well for centuries. Tolats are very loyal to the Pact, loving engineering above all else. Tolat is a Republic.

Zedean Wars: The first genetically modified humans, Zedeans are a highly aggressive offshoot of Humanity, so much so that when the Sixth Dionii Wave ended, the Zedeans were forcibly relocated to Somerset Cluster, then a lightly populated region of the Pact. The war started in 6,799 when Pact forces began mandatory recruitment from the planet Zede II at the outbreak of the conflict with the xenophobic Kangas. This fighting began what historians call the Double War, as the growing Pact of Humanity fought a desperate and widespread struggle against both the Zedeans and the Kangas. The Zede conflict ended in 7,917 in the Battle of the Congress System as the Pact Central Fleet under Admiral Rittenhill crushed the Zedean Last Fleet. The planet Austeel was colonized as a forward base against the Zedeans during the war and became a major economic powerhouse within the Pact.

TECHNOLOGY

Hyperwave Datalink(Zd): Recently fielded by the newly-formed Trantor Navy, small hyperwave generators are being installed aboard major naval warships in an effort to increase their range and targeting ability. The horrendous cost of a Hyperwave Datalink limits the feasibility of emplacing them on all combat vessels but their outstanding performance in extending datalinks between warships(by 300%) makes them highly desirable by Admirals and ship Captains alike. Zd also allows instantaneous monitoring by Hyperwave Generators(Hd) of the tactical situation of any warship within the same star system as the Hd. Cost 200MCr,  size is 2 hull spaces each, TL10, dev cost 40,000.

Type One Battlejumper: The smallest of the three different Battlejumpers, a Type I can carry a dozen standard Pact destroyers(240hs) through a warp point and dump them rapidly into space. A Type I Battlejumper is 80hs in size and was first deployed several months ago although the exact date is classified. Field use shows that Pact battle fleets are able to overwhelm their Dionii counterparts more easily when engines are removed and more weaponry and defenses are added. Total cost for a Type I Battlejumper is 1,200, dev cost 15,000.

Type Two Battlejumper: A medium-sized transport able to carry several battlecruisers or battleships(300hs) into combat situations and drop them off to fight. A Type II Battlejumper is 100hs in size and have only recently been developed. Total cost for a Type II Battlejumper is 1,800.

Type Three Battlejumper: The largest vessel to ever be constructed by the Pact Navy, a Type III can carry several dreadnoughts or superdreadnoughts(420hs) into the field of battle. A Type III Battlejumper is 170hs in size and have been only recently fielded. Total cost for a Type III Battlejumper is 2,400.

DRONE WARFARE

   Throughout the Pact of Humanity's long and illustrious history it has faced brutal conflicts(Holot Empire) and long-lasting wars(Dionii Waves) which at times has threatened the very existence of the Pact. During these times of trouble, Pact military officials and civilian researchers have desperately tried to field new weapons in order to give the Pact military, especially the Navy, an advantage over its more rabid enemies and that is how the unmanned drone came into being.

   At first, drones were not terribly effective. They were initially fielded during the Dragaerean Conflict, which lasted from 4,990 to 5,013, and were used in the Operation Aphrodite campaign. The main limitation was the inability to launch the "Dragonfly" drones from Pact naval warships nor having the operators to control them. Basically a modified missile housing, the Dragonfly was primarily used for reconnaissance but after a month of use the Pact Navy called it a flop and quit deploying the system.

   During the Second Dionii Wave(6,671-6,682), the Pact started making new drones that were much more effective. The "Firefly" and "Swarm" drones were used fairly extensively during the conflict, including the first warp capable transit into a hostile Dionii-held system. Later on, they were used for other missions including planetary recon, comint and elint, mine detection, and fighter suppression. The first weapon ever deployed aboard a drone took place in 6,680 utilizing a "Firefly" housing and a large nuclear warhead. The PNS Wackenhutt fired the modified drones at a Dionii cruiser outside the Pact ships' normal missile range, destroying the enemy with massed fire before it could come into weapons range. This combat technique was used many times afterwards, saving many Pact ships' and crewmembers lives by using the automated weaponry of drones.

   Drones have also been used for fire support for Pact Navy ships, starting with the "Bumblebee" infodrone in 6,833 at the outbreak of the First Kanga War. Drones were used aggressively in that conflict as frontier commanders were badly understaffed and few capital ships were available during the fighting. Several demoralized Kanga warships actually surrendered to drones during the conflict and drones demonstrated their worth again when new sensors and weapons were added to them late in the conflict.

   Newer drone systems, the "Pioneer" and "Gnat" use stealthy drives and coatings to minimize their signature in space, and while still in the development stage a "Pioneer" drone actually orbited the Goog Homeworld in 8,690, eyeing the planets' defenses without being spotted in return. Hundreds of "Gnat" drones were used during the most recent Resolution Campaign and Admiral Cavalier gave credit to the "Gnat" and its recon ability for success in pushing back the massed Dionii hordes that threatened to overrun the Nemo Combat Region.

   Endurance is a unique capability of drones, which can stay in space gathering data for almost a week. Future drones are on the drawing board, with both the Pact Army and Navy designing and testing combat drones. The Army is planning on fielding the "Recon", a tactical drone used for planetary combat, while the Navy is testing the "Dragoneye", a small drone with tougher penetration abilities including chaff dispensers and other anti-missile defenses. Drones also saw heavy use in the recent Resolution Campaign as well, and were remarkably effective for their size.

   One of the most brutal and brilliant campaigns against the virulent Dionii Hive, the Resolution Campaign was the brainchild of Admiral Frank Cavalier, who later became one of the Pact's most notable Warlords. His ideas for using sustained long-range fighter strikes and powered down superdreadnoughts firing SBMHAWK waves(a very risky tactic) enabled the much smaller Pact fleet to destroy a substantial portion of the 20th Dionii Wave during its initial phases. Another key to victory during the Wave was the stubborn(and incredibly heavy) defenses that Admiral Cavalier also deployed in the Horseye Combat Region. The success of his careful planning left the Pact military only the tasks of reducing several isolated strongholds and generally mopping up in the York Subsector. His non-traditional use of the Medusa-class superdreadnoughts raised eyebrows at Fleet Headquarters, but what mattered was results, and Admiral Cavalier was promoted to commander of the entire Horseye Combat Region. In August of 10,961, faulty intelligence caused Admiral Cavalier and nearly 120 warships to be trapped in a Dionii-occupied system. In the following Battle of Hamimoto, Admiral Cavalier fought off overwhelming odds(ten to one), crushing every fleet and task force the mindless Dionii hordes threw at him. Every capital ship was heavily damaged upon finally reaching a secure warp point but thanks to Admiral Cavalier’s tactical brilliance, every capital ship under his command survived. His superdreadnought, PNS Relentless, was hit hard, and Admiral Cavalier wounded, and for his actions he received the Warlordship.

   Although much credit is given to Admiral Cavalier's unusual tactics during the 20th Dionii Wave, the Pact military itself had been substantially transformed in the last few decades. Since the late 10,800s, improvements in command, control, communications, and intelligence capabilities together with the greater availability and effectiveness of advanced weapons and munitions, has made the Pact military machine far more deadly than previous conflicts with the Dionii. However, Admiral Cavaliers' brilliant tactics should not be underrated. A hard-nosed fighter with respectable people skills, Admiral Cavalier was able to save several inhabited systems from being overrun by the Dionii hordes and enabled the famous "York Line" to hold during the onslaught. Towards the end of the first half of the Wave, the Pact Navy had been fighting hard, even brilliantly(under now Warlord Frank Cavalier's command), who secured several vital Dionii systems during long-running fleet battles. As the fighting began to center around Arrule III, the Dionii never broke and fought hard, although not particularly well, during Resolution's final maneuvers. In the end, the Pact Navy beat back the first, heavy phase of the 20th Dionii Wave and combat commanders are now confident that after the initial brunt has been destroyed, they will overcome any additional light Dionii forces in the following phases of the campaign.

(SEE SECONDARY PAPER FOR DRONE DETAILS)

GAS GIANT SYSTEMS

   A fairly rare interstellar occurrence, Gas Giant Systems are star system with only gas giants in orbit. The main reason for this is that some GG have uneven orbits, which throw the smaller rocky inner planets out of the system but gravitic interference. These systems normally have the follow GG setups:

Inner GG(1-10LM), this is usually a Searing Gas Giant

Middle GG(20-30LM), this is usually a Typical Gas Giant

Outer GG(60-80LM), this is usually a Cool Gas Giant

   Searing Gas Giants are a gas giant in extremely close orbit to it’s parent star, with some gas giants completing a full orbit in a blistering 4 days! These types of gas giants do retain much of their atmosphere even thought they are phenomenally close to it’s star and this is a result of the gas giant’s powerful magnetic fields, which deflect away much of the star’s solar radiation directed at it. Probes have indicated upper cloud layers of this type of GG can achieve temperatures as high as 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Searing gas giants tend to be rather large(.2 to 6 Jupiters) and it is unknown at this time whether these gas giants formed in the traditional outer solar system and then “migrated inward” or were born there. If these strange gas giants did form this close to it’s parent star, then many theories of solar system evolution will have to be discarded.

   Typical Gas Giants are just that, typical. Formed in the outer solar system, representatives of this class include Sol’s Jupiter and Saturn, Tau Ceti’s Kraken, and Dubhe’s Goliath. Typically .3 to 8 Jupiters in size, these titanic worlds are vacuum cleaners for the average solar system; it’s massive gravity well attracts most rogue comets and asteroids, saving the inner rocky planets from a brutal pounding by orbiting debris. Most gas giant’s orbits are almost perfectly circular as any other configuration throws all the rocky planets out of a solar system.

   Cool Gas Giants are typically .4-10 Jupiters in size and can be detected from neighboring solar systems by their interaction with their parent star(doppler shift). These icy gas giants are able to be mined and they tend to have a large halo of moons, some almost planet size.

EVENTS TO WATCH

New Megacorps Arise

   Two new megacorporations have risen into prominence during the fighting of the Pact Civil War. Yukos Megacorp, a company that specializes in military weaponry, and Transneft Megacorp, a large multi-Cluster company which builds warships, are now ranked in the top listing of Megacorps within the Pact.

Daibei Government Collapses Over Gallitep III

   A massive omega world located in Terra Cluster, the Dolist government of Daibei has collapsed after the cabinet resigned en-masse over the final report over Daibei troops involvement in a massacre on the Terra Cluster world Gallitep III. The political and military leadership by Daibei Governor Cen Sun came under harsh criticism by Gallitep's Governor Stevvn Yang, who had asked for help several months ago from the Cluster government.

Pegasus Fighting Civil War

   An important planet in Grendel Cluster, the omega world Pegasus, under the oppression of Governor Kizo Kazumba, is lurching into civil war. The largely powerless National People's Congress in recent months has become highly alarmed and more vocal in airing their worries, reflecting at least some measure of public opinion. The Representatives said they generally disagreed with much of Kazumba's recent State of the Planet speech.

New Superdreadnought Design Fielded

   The new Furious-class superdreadnought TNS Fearsome, was commissioned last week in Harrodd Spacedock in orbit of Trantor, the first Pact warship equipped with the Hypermass Generator. "It is one of the most unique warships' in the fleet today," Rear Admiral Adam Weinberger stated. "The Fearsome's combination of attributes; advanced tactical intelligence, tremendous precision strike, enhanced C4, and great strategic mobility makes it the most advanced warship ever fielded." Apparently other Pact military officials have been denied information on the new Hypermass Generators, to the ire of neighboring naval officers.