April 12, 1989/26 BBY
Earth, Sol System
Edwards Air Force Base, California
When one imagines an alien civilization revealing itself to Earth, you would expect the whole world to change overnight. With everyone recognizing how small their place in the universe was, with many seeking to join as one to explore the infinity of the stars.
Except that wasn't what ended up happening at all.
Earth's nations carried on with their conflicts and disagreements. The Cold War continued, simply with the knowledge that forces were at play that were beyond the East and West's control. Contingencies were drawn up, and both conventional and nuclear forces were continually improved and escalated in size.
One such area of improvement was located at Edwards Air Force Base, known for being a popular testing site for new aerial equipment and tactics. The former of which was the focus of test pilot Ryan 'Wiper' Stark as he walked around a white and red aircraft.
"She ready for her first-time up Paul?" he asked.
Said technician came out from underneath the wing he was testing for faults. "Yep, she's all good to go. Be sure not run the antigrav systems into the dirt will ya. This is a flight test, not an air show," Paul replied.
Said craft Ryan was to take for its first flight test was the SF-4 Viper. A joint project between Lockheed Martin and the Incom Corporation, this space capable fighter was to bring Earth's militaries up to the Republic standards.
When it was ready to be deployed it would that is. Right now, it needed to prove that it could fly at all.
Ryan climbed into the cockpit and began flipping switches and turning dials. Slowly the wine of the engines and the subtle humming of the anti-gravity systems began to rise. Raising off the ground, the Viper began to slowly taxi down the runway to the takeoff point.
"Control this is Viper 1, request clearance for takeoff," he asked the air traffic controller.
"Viper 1, you are clear for takeoff. Be advised that Viper 2 will join you in t-minus two minutes, and Cypher flight will follow in t-minus 10 minutes".
"Copy that".
Ryan angles the fighter slightly up from its hovering position and pushes the throttle forward. The Viper quickly shot down the runway and into the sky. Within a little over two minutes, he was over 30,000 feet in the sky.
Less than thirty seconds later, another Viper pulled up alongside his right wing.
"Handles well doesn't it Captain," the pilot, Lieutenant Steve 'Campbell' Royalty asked.
"Indeed Lieutenant, however we need to put her through her paces," he replied.
"On your lead sir".
Over the next several hours, they pushed the SF-4 through every maneuver they could think of.
Split S's, barrel rolls, snap rolls, Immelmann turns, wing overs. You name it, they most likely tried it.
After landing for refueling and taking off again in short order, they again gain altitude.
However, basic maneuvers were one thing. How would the Viper fair against the most modern of the terrestrial fighters the United States had at its disposal?
"Viper Flight, this is Cypher 1. Ready to begin combat trials. Confirm readiness, over?"
Cypher Flight, comprised of a pair of F-15C's, were to be the Vipers' opponents for this trial by metaphorical fire. As the best fighter currently in the USAF's arsenal, they would prove whether the Viper could keep up in the world of air-to-air combat. As a referee for the exercise, a F-4 Phantom would stay in relative close proximity to the flights, and call out kills as the occurred.
"Cypher One, this is Viper One. Readiness for combat trails confirmed, over," Ryan responded back into the comms. Say what he would about this so-called "Galactic Republic", but their communications were some of the most advanced he'd ever seen, even faster than the nascent Internet!
"Solid copy, Viper One. Cypher One, out."
With that, the twin Eagles cut comms, signaling the beginning of the exercise.
Ryan immediately switched his brain on to "combat mode", scanning the skies and periodically checking his sensors.
Immediately, the radar lock warning system blared, indicating that the Eagles had gotten the drop on them from beyond visual range.
"Campbell go evasive! Break their lock!"
"Roger, Viper 2 defending!"
The two immediately broke off formation and began maneuvering to break the radar-guided AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles fired by the Eagles. Unlike its predecessor, the AIM-7M Sparrow, the prototype AIM-120 did not have to be manually guided in by the attacking aircraft instead having its own internal radar, making it one of the deadliest missiles currently in any Terran air force's arsenal.
Ryan gritted his teeth. Try and dodge as he like, he simply could not shake the missile tailing him. That left him only one option.
"Viper One defending! Deploying chaff!"
"Viper Two defending!" Campbell also said. Ryan noted the frustration in his voice. He didn't blame him for it, however. The newest BVR missiles were most likely going to be extremely annoying for anyone dealing with them.
Ryan refocused himself and quickly pushed a button marked in plain English "chaff". Within seconds, two panels on either side of the fighter opened and deployed small, sparkling blue balls of heated plasma. The new electro-chaff designed by Incom specifically for use by the Viper worked perfectly. The active radar and infrared sensors on the missiles picked balls of electromagnetic energy up, and soon enough two missiles broke the locks off the two vipers and exploded when they made contact with the chaff, spraying purple paint harmlessly in the air.
Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, even if it was only a temporary victory. His mood soured when he remembered that the Vipers did not carry any sort of external mounting for the missiles required to engage the Eagles at that distance. All they had were guns and some rather poor visibility due to the rather large fuselage and poor cockpit design.
The radar indicated a warning look again, but instead of it being from missiles, it was from the two Eagles coming up from behind them fast.
"Viper Two!" he yelled into the comms, "looks like we're going to have to do this close-in, over!"
"Acknowledged, One! Let's show them what we can do!"
The two Vipers then went into a steep dive, weaving in and out in a classic "Thatch Weave Maneuver", hearkening back to the days of the Second World War, when Japanese and American fighters had tangoed in a dance of death over the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
Try as they might, though, they could simply not shake the Eagles off their tails. They tried to be agile, the F-15s would make a tighter turn. They tried accelerating, the Eagle pilots caught right up to them, and whereas the Viper pilots had to rely only on their sensors, the Eagles had the distinct advantage of all-round visibility thanks to their distinctive frameless bubble canopies.
As the Eagles closed in on them, Ryan realized too late just how outmatched the Viper prototype was in the air. This was a craft designed first and foremost for space superiority fights, but in atmosphere? It was, in a word, inadequate against the tried-and-true platforms that had been constantly perfected over the last century in the many wars Terrans have fought.
Cypher One got Campbell first, spraying him with simulated rounds fired from the Eagle's onboard chain gun.
"That s a kill Viper 2" the referee said over the joint comm network.
"Fuck I'm out! Good luck Wiper!"
Two against one, and they're about to box me in. Fuckin' perfect.
Ryan pulled into a hard turn, the internal dampeners doing their magical work in making sure that he did not feel the many Gs pulling on the craft, let alone passing out from them. He soon lined up one of the Eagle's in his sights, the onboard computer indicating he had a lock, and just as he was about to shoot…
A triplet of electronic thuds sounded in his headset, and the computer indicated to him that the other Eagle had scored a hit on him.
"Your dead Viper 1".
"Damn it!" Ryan yelled.
The Viper had performed far below expectations. The Eagles had utterly annihilated them.
"You'll get us next time Viper 1" Cypher 1 said as the Eagles pulled up alongside the thoroughly defeated SF-4s.
"With all due respect Cypher 1, screw you" Ryan replied. Laughter was his only reply.
After landing back on the airfield, all four pilots would give their debriefs on the exercise. The Viper's deficiencies would be addressed, including limits in maneuverability, acceleration, and lack of a heavy missile load. However, these weaknesses would require the heavy redesign of the airframe, its internal systems and all the related technologies related.
In short, the SF-4 Viper MK. II would not be ready for quite some time.
However, air power wasn't the only thing the nations of Earth were attempting to improve with assistance from beyond the system.
January 25, 1990/25 BBY
Long Beach Naval Shipyard, California
Shortly after the Treaty of New York had been finalized and signed, the United States Navy had decided to order a single frigate type vessel from Rendili StarDrive as a prototype for a potential future Starfleet.
However, they did not simply order an already existing design already in production, but rather commissioned a new design that would be able to be built and maintained on Earth itself after the construction of the prototype.
That prototype was what now lay in front of James Shackoff, a naval doctrine advisor sent to assist the Earth nations in their new space-based efforts.
"She is certainly something, isn't she Mr. Shackoff" a voice said from behind him. As he turned, he saw that the one speaking to him was a rather short dark-skinned man.
"Indeed Captain Proctor, she will provide a good starting point. However, I have several questions regarding the technology used in her" he replied.
"Ask away sir".
Shackoff began to walk around the vessel's underside, its light gray plating making it stand out even more against the light tan of the drydock. He noted the dark red stripes across the hull before turning back to Proctor. "Do you know why it is that your government decided to arm her with coil-guns instead of turbolasers?" he asked. "Such a thing has not been common in thousands of years if I am not mistaken".
Shackoff was correct. Turbolasers had been standard anti-ship weapons since prior to the Jedi Civil War several thousand years ago. Only sparingly had more kinetic weapons been installed on ships, notably by the Mandalorians during the Mandalorian Wars.
"You are correct Mr. Shackoff, however we wanted weaponry that can be maintained by the resources we can find in this solar system. Unfortunately, none of our gas giants contain tibania gas in their atmospheres. So, we decided to work with what is already proven. That if you hit something hard enough with a rock, it will break" Proctor replied.
Shackoff considered this thought process, but then remembered something he'd been briefed on prior to his arrival at Earth one week earlier.
"Correct me if I am mistaken, but has the United States not ordered a pair of Dreadnaught-class cruisers?" he asked. "Would that not interfere with that design philosophy?".
"I… supposed you are correct. My knowledge on the procurement of the cruisers is far beyond me. However, I believe we have gotten off topic." Proctor said.
"Of course, my apologies. Let us continue to review the ship".
The duo then made their way into the interior of the ship, encountering various dock workers doing their various tasks.
"How many men are expected to crew her exactly?" Shackoff asked.
"Roughly 400, give or take a few dozen".
"More than one of your terrestrial cruisers" he noted.
"The newer ones, yes. However, given that she's nearly two-thirds as wide as a carrier, yet much shorter, I'd call that an improvement. Lack of aviation facilities also helps" Proctor replied.
"Better than the original Dreadnaught-class. 8,000 men for a simple heavy cruiser. It was ridiculous," Shackoff stated with both bewilderment and frustration.
"Yes, I suppose that would be slightly overkill" Proctor replied.
Understatement of the century that was.
"How much longer will she spend in dock before trials commence? I am eager to test the crew" Shackoff asked.
"It's estimated that it'll take at least another seven months before the ship is ready for her combat trials," Proctor replied. "This is all completely new technology for us and given our conventional naval forces should be sufficient should anything happen; I wouldn't try to rush her down the line. The USS Iowa suffered through that problem; it nearly caused an explosion in her turret.
He shuddered. "Luckily the crew managed to discover the faults before the worst could happen. I believe she should be heading into dry dock for an overhaul within a few months. Given that experience, the brass doesn't want to push it, especially with our first starship".
"An understandable decision. Let's hope that we won't be forced to accelerate it. I have heard of some disputes going on in…. I believe you call it the 'Persian Gulf'?" Shackoff asked.
"Yeah, Iraq has been saying Kuwait's been cross-drilling. Doubt it though, probably just trying to get them to forgive the debt Iraq owes them for assistance during the Iran-Iraq war," Proctor replied. "Nothing will probably come of it, but you never know with that part of the world. Seems to be a major war every five years or so down there" he continued with exasperation.
"Then let's hope nothing comes of it. May you escort me to the reactor station?" Shackoff requests.
The two then continued to familiarize Shackoff with the ship he would use to train the first generation of Terran void-sailors.
April 8, 1990/25 BBY
Ingalls Shipbuilding Yards
Ingalls Shipbuilding was one of the biggest upcoming shipyards in the United States. Having pumped out nearly twenty cruisers and thirty destroyers in the past fifteen years, it was of no surprise that the yard would be selected to play a part in the reactivation of the USS Iowa back in 1984. It was with this in mind that the yard was again selected to give the lead ship of the last class of American battleships her long overdue overhaul.
Given how she was commissioned with many of her systems unfit for high stress combat, due to attempting to keep on schedule with a planned NATO exercise, this was unsurprising. However, many mandatory safety inspections had been skipped as well. As such, when a fuse nearly prematurely detonated a shell inside her turret, alongside known issues with powder bag manufacturing, it was decided to give her a full overhaul to bring her up standards instead of completely decommissioning her.
She wasn't the only World War II-era ship at the yard today either. USS Guam was in the dock next over undergoing a smaller refit of her own. The Alaska-class cruiser, alongside her two completed sisters, had been spared the torch only by the lack of use on their hulls. This made them useful for later reactivation, though this would only happen upon the commencement of the 600-ship navy program.
This would lead to a similar yet smaller refit to the much larger Iowa's. Leading to the United States possessing a total of six heavy gunned capital ships. These vessels could only be matched by a pair of others.
The HMS Vanguard of the Royal Navy… and the flagship of the Japanese Self Defense Forces, the JS Yamato.
None of this however, crossed the mind of one Captain Reily Scruk. The former captain of the Sriko, now Terran advisor was impressed by the ship's artillery, though wondered why the United States and several other nations would elect to recommission these aging vessels. Why do so when there were dozens of missile toting warships whose range outreached those guns by a magnitude of several factors? At the end of the day, it wasn't something she shouldn't concern herself about, she supposed.
"Captain Scruk?" a voice called from behind her. She turned to see a high-ranking dock worker standing just a short distance away. She quickly made her way over.
"The Mr. Ryder will see you now" he said.
She quickly thanked the worker and made her way away from the window which gave her a view of the shipyard.
She made her way through the corridors until she reached the impromptu office of one Evan Ryder, the supervisor of the dock which currently held the Iowa.
She quickly knocked on the door, hearing a "Come in" from the other side. Opening it, she found the man in question looking over some diagrams of the Iowa, Guam… and what looked to be a starship of some kind, judging by the lack of an aquatic design and the engine nacelles on its aft end.
He quickly looks up upon her entry. "Ah Ms. Scruk, thank you for coming" he says as rises and moves to shake Scruk's hand. She obliges, giving him a firm handshake.
"Your welcome Mr. Ryder, may I ask what you wished to see me about?" she asked. "Yes well, I recently received these blueprints, and given your task of preparing this yard for eventually being able to construct starships, I wished you to take a look them" he said.
At her look, he quickly continued.
"No, these aren't classified. They're basic deck layout, armor distribution, armament configuration, and power generation specs. Nothing that can't be accessed via the public domain, provided you know where to look".
He chuckles. "Just ask Tom Clancy" he says.
Despite having no idea who that was Reily simply nodded as if getting the joke. She looked at this new design.
Over 180 meters long and 20 meters wide, she wasn't exactly a small ship. Looking at the listed armaments, she noted three coil-guns (where would those come from?), twelve missile pods filled with 28 missiles each, complemented by several point defense guns and missile systems. All in all, a very potent vessel, especially for what was labeled as a simple frigate.
There was just one problem.
"This is the ship you are expected to build, isn't it?"
"It is indeed. Now you see the dilemma that we are faced with. The size doesn't matter, we've built bigger, it's the systems that need to be installed for the ship to work that's the problem. We just don't have the experience in the construction or operation of fusion reactors, repulsor engines, and the dozens of other systems needed to get her to work!" Ryder exclaimed.
He was correct of course. The only shipyards that could currently build nuclear reactors were Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics. Whilst Ingalls was owned by the same parent company as Newport News, Huntington Ingalls Industries, she lacked the same facilities needed to handle the construction of the nuclear reactors.
However, all this didn't matter anyway as what powered the new frigate was a fusion reactor, not a fission one. Fission worked via the controlled splitting of an atom hence the name. Fusion worked by combining the atomic nuclei to create a heavier nucleus, which in turn released energy.
The problem was that nobody on Earth had managed to crack the process to where it enabled fusion to give enough stable power for a reactor that didn't lose most of the usable energy in the process.
Nobody on Earth, that is.
"I think I can help solve that problem" Reily said.
"How?" Ryder asked. "Unless you have a degree in nuclear science, and A LOT of free time on your hands, I don't see how you can help".
Reily simply smirked.
"I may not have a degree, but what I do have are connections. More specifically I have connections with Rendili StarDrive. The same company that your government recently purchased two heavy cruisers from if I'm not mistaken" she said. "Rendili also has a passion of extending a helping hand to smaller corporations, especially to those on recently colonized worlds, even if that doesn't exactly apply to this one, including the manufacturing and maintenance of both fusion reactors and repulsor lift generators."
"Of course, they will ask for something in return" she finishes.
Ryder just stood there speechless for a moment. "I'll… have to throw the idea by my superiors to see what they think but… I damn well hope they go with it. It would save us a lot of time and resources, not to mention a lot of all night'ers for me" he says chuckling.
"Let's hope they take it then. Mind handing me the diagram please?" she asks.
Ryder hands her the diagram and Reily takes a good look at the project name for the first time, having only glanced at it before.
PROJECT: GLADIATOR.