The Scrapyard

by DeafeningEcho

When I write it's common for me to trash chapters that have already been partially or fully written. this scrap yard is so you can all see my forever incomplete work or those I have abandoned. They are mostly not edited so expect lots of errors.

27. Fleet of the Alliance 1-1

This informative is brough to you by the Illium History Association in collaboration with the Alliance Public Awareness Office (APAO): APOA public statement on the Alliance Fleet 2157

Formation of the Alliance Navy and Milatary Buildup

When humanity first discovered the Mars Ruins in 2148, its fleet was divided over dozens of spaceborn navies. By 2149, the Systems Alliance Navy had taken over the entire responsibility for the defense of the Human race from spaceborn threats within and without.

The discovery of the Mars Ruins changed things for humanity, not only did it bring inprecadented technological growth, it also brough a unifying fear to humanity, fear of an alien threat. The decades before the discovery were an era of peace, cooaperation, and growth for humanity. There was very little fighting and mankind had begun to think of itself more as one people than a thousand disparate ones, an effect of over a century of internet conection and inproved translation technology starting to form a more unified culture within humanity. While not all was good, it was currently a golden age compared to most of human history.

These factors meant that when the Alliance was first proposed in the months following the discovery, it was not as farfetched as it would have been in centuries past. The greater sense of unity within humanity and an overwhelming fear of the unknown came together to make the Alliance a reality.

The second the Alliance was formed, work began on the creation of unified fleet to protect humanity, a goes that is easier said then done. Dozens of different classes were in operation by the fleets of humanity, now all under the Alliance. The Alliance also had to deal with the personnel of the newly dissolved navies, each working under different and commonly contradictory rules and procedures.

The first problem was both helped and exasperated by the fact that every warship built before 2148 was made obsolete by the new technologies gained from the Ruins, meaning the Alliance basically had to rebuild the fleet from scratch. To do this, in 2150 the Alliance began a massive building program meant to bring the Alliance fleet to a strength of over 800 warships by the year _.

Corvette:

Space is incomprehensible vast, our galaxy alone hold hundreds of bullions of stars. In order to explore such a great expanse, the Alliance needed a low cost, rapidly produced exploration ships. This requirement is fulfilled by the Corvette. Minimally crewed, less than a dozen personnel per ship, low cost, a Corvette being a fraction of the cost of a Frigate, and able to be produced quickly, only taking two or three month to go from keel laying to commissioning, Corvettes fufill the requirements of the Alliance perfectly. Corvettes are designed to be the smallest ship that can operate for extended periods without support, holding just enough personnel on board for crew mental health, and the minimum equitment neede to fufill its function. Most Corvettes carry operations modualls containing the equitment needed for their specified role, which can be swapped out relativly easily, allowing a single Corvette to fufill multiple functions without needing to haul around equipment that is unnecessary for its current assignment.

While Corvettes are capable of combat, they are minimally armed and have extremely weak hulls. The majority of Corvettes are commanded by Lieutenant Commanders or promising Staff Lieutenants, though the command Corvette of a Squadron will be commanded by a Staff Commander, who also commands the squadron.

Meriwether Lewis Class: Almost immediately the Mars Ruins were discovered, work on the Merriweather Lewis class began. Rapidly planned and constructed, the first vessels of the class had several flaws that needed to be resolved in later vessels. Nevertheless, the Meriwether Lewis class holds the tidal of first mass produced FTL capable human ship class, the first vessels being completed in the waning days of 2148.

The class was not actually developed by the Systems Alliance ( the first vessels being completed before the Alliance even existed), instead the class was designed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the space exploration arm of the United North American States, which was inherited from the United States of America (the story is similar with the Heartbreak Ridge class Frigate, only it was created by the Chinese People's Federation, and only 4 vessel, including the Heartbreak Ridge herself, were completed before the Alliance was created).

The class saw continual production until 2155, when production stopped in favor of the newer Francis Drake class. Vessels of the class continue operation in large numbers alongside their successor, with plans for their replacement being delayed due to the desperate need for ships.

Mass: 1,800 tons

Length: 67 m

Width: 15 m

Hight: 8 m

Armament (Pre 2154 refit): None

Armament (Post 2154 refit): 2 Guardian Laser Emitters

Planned: 800 (324 canceled)

Building: 0 (40 day construction time)

Completed: 576

Active: 565 (8 lost to accidents, 2 lost to Pirate attacks, 1 fate unknown)

Francis Drake Class: As early as 2152, the Alliance had been looking for a successor to the Merriweather Lewis class. While the class is acceptable at what is asked of it, the early point in human eezo development in which it was built means it was approaching obsolescence only a few years after the first one was completed; a successor was needed.

In 2155, that successor came; the Francis Drake class. Using the advances made in the years following the design of the Lewis, the Drake sought to do the job of a Corvette better than its predecessors. In that it succeeded; lighter, more powerful, more fuel efficient engines, better sensors, compact life support systems, the Drake holds superiority over its predecessor in almost every way. A streamline to design and improvements in shipbuilding technology brought about by technologies retrieved from the Mars Ruins brought down the construction time to 30 days months, 10 days less then its predecessor.

Mass: 2,400 tons

Length: 75 m

Width: 20 m

Hight: 10 m (no turrets)

Armament: 4 Guardian Laser Emitters, 4 18 m MACs (2 twin turrets)

Planned: 800 (Order to be fulfilled in 2160, bill for the order of an additional 400 units under review)

Building: 16 (30 day construction time)

Completed: 384

Active: 384

Frigate:

Whenever a problem needs fixing, a Frigate is usually the solution brought by the Alliance. Relatively cheap and quick to build, yet powerful enough to challenge most threats it could come up against, the Alliance believes that the Frigate gives the best value for its cost of any ship type currently in use.

When the Mars Ruins were discovered, there was a lot of fear about the posability of an alien invasion in the near future. Alongside that, the rapid expansion of human space has brought a scourg long diminished into a golden age, piracy. When the Alliance took over the space based military forces, those defense contractors who did not get Alliance contracts were facing bankruptcy. These companies began producing military equitment for less than reputable organizations, even getting loans for newly forming pirate groups so they could purchase their products (note: the previous section has been removed and writer James Cobblepot has been fired due to liable lawsuit. There has been no guilty verdict against any defense contractor for the sale of equipment to pirate groups). The rise of piracy and the fears of imminent invasion combined to create the need for a cheap, rapidly producable warship capable of both fighting pirates, and potentially fighting an alien threat; a role fufilled by the Frigate.

Frigates are equipped with very large eezo cores for their sizes, allowing them to move at high sunlight and FTL speeds. The primary uses of Frigates are patrol, rapid response, Pirate hunting, skirmishing, reconnaissance, escort, and attacking enemy ships that are damaged or vulnerable during battle. When in battle, Frigates form into formations of 4 to 6 Frigates (1 to 1.5 squadrons) called Wolf Packs (Alliance doctrine dictates that a Pack merge with another Pack once it reaches half strength). While a single Frigate lacks the firepower and protection to face even the broadside or turret mounted MACs of Cruisers and Dreadnoughts, a whole Wolf Pack could face them, while retaining superior speed and manuvrability compared to the larger vessels.

Frigates are usually comanded by Staff Comanders, though Frigate Squadrons are usually lead by a Captain.

Heartbreak Ridge Class [Yes I know about the difference in the battles name, but im going to use this one: As soon as the Mars Ruins were discovered, the potential advances it could bring to next generation warships was evident, and many countries wished to exploit that potential. By the time of the creation of the Alliance, the leader in that race was the Chinese People's Federation, being the only country to have created a working next generation warship using technology from the Mars Ruins. When the Systems Alliance was formed, the Heartbreak Ridge and its 3 sisters were given to the Alliance.

Heartbreak Ridge itself would go on to make history only a few days after being given to the Alliance, being the first vessel, Captained by John Grissom, to travel using a Mass Relay.

Construction of the class continued under the Alliance until 2151, with the final block being built alongside the Hastings class. The early creation of the class left it in the same boat as the Merriweather Lewis, rapidly reaching obsolescence as technology advances at a breakneck pace, even with refits to keep them competitive. The class plays hosts to numerous flaws, a result of its rapid development. The egregious of these flaws was in the engine cooling system, where a flaw in the temperature measurements caused the destruction of three of the Block 1 vessels. Many of these flaws were fixed in later vessels and during the 2153 refits, but some still remain. The class is planed to serve until

Mass: 16,000 tons

Length: 182 m

Width: 27 m

Hight: 30 m

Armament (Pre 2153 refit): 4 Nuclear Torpedo Launchers (12 Torpedos carried), 16 Guardian Laser Emitters

Armament (Post 2153 refit): 4 Disruptor Torpedos Launchers (12 Torpedos carried), 20 Guardian Laser Emitters

Planned: 36 (order fufilled)

Building: 0 (4 month construction time )

Completed: 48

Active: 44 (4 lost to accidents)

Hastings Class Light Frigate: The Hastings class is the first Alliance designed warships class, the first vessels commissioning in the early days of 2151. Designed to be cheap, quick to build, and fast, the Hastings is the backbone of the Alliance. The Hastings is the first ship class to be equipped with the Mass Accelerator Cannon, having a pair of spinally mounted MACs as the main armament. The Hastings is lighter than the Heartbreak Ridge, with less armor and fewer torpedoes, acting more as a patrol ship or skirmisher than a head on attack ship, focused on fighting smaller, faster ships instead of larger vessles, though the capability still remains.

Mass: 12,000 tons

Length: 160 m

Width: 40 m

Hight: 20 m

Armament: 2 100 m MACs, 2 Disruptor Torpedos Launchers (6 Torpedos carried), 12 Guardian Laser Emitters

Planned: 532 (order to be fulfilled in 2170)

Building: 12 (3 month construction time)

Completed: 132

Active: 132

Yamen Class Heavy Frigate: A response to criticisms of the Hastings minimal Torpedo armament, the Yamen was designed to operate alongside the Hastings as a heavier anti-ship vessel. Introduced in 2155, the Yamen is the largest Frigate in Alliance service, and has the heaviest armament and armor. The Yamen is not commonly deployed, with almost all of the vessels meant to act as a response for for emergencies.

Mass: 20,000 tons

Length: 200 m

Width: 45 m

Hight: 25 m

Armament: 2 100 m MACs, 6 Disruptor Torpedos Launchers (18 Torpedos carried), 24 Guardian Laser Emitters

Planned: 180 (order to be fulfilled in 2165)

Building: 12 (8 month construction time)

Completed: 24

Active: 24

Cruisers:

The poor bloody infantry of the Alliance Navy, while the Frigate is the most important ship type during peacetime, during war, it is expected that Cruisers will be the most important vessels. The first space Cruisers began to appear in the 2110s as power projection platforms around other planets like Mars. Over the next few decades, an arms race occurred, with Cruisers growing in size rapidly. Over that time, a divide between between Light Cruisers and Heavy Cruisers began to form. Heavy Cruisers are massive vessels that only the largest countries could deploy, and even then, in extremely limited numbers. Light Cruisers are comparatively smaller, usually half or less the mass of a Heavy Cruiser.

The Alliance continues the use of both Heavy and Light Cruisers, though the creation of the Dreadnought striped the status of pinnacle of space warfare from the Heavy Cruiser. Cruisers' Cos are usually Captains.

Annapolis Class Light Cruiser: The Annapolis class was originally designed by the Amarican Spaceforce in months prior to the formation of the Alliance, using their last Light Cruiser design as a base, but the two Cruiser being built for the class were not completed until after. Once the Alliance was established, it decided to complete the Annapolis class and continue production past the first two vessels. Construction continued until mid 2154, when production of the Geneva class begins. The class lacks the broadside MACs of later Cruisers and the Everest class. Each Exploration Flotilla is commanded by an Annapolis class Light Cruiser

Mass: 380,000 tons

Length: 420 m

Width: 70 m

Hight: 45 m

Armament: 2 350 m MACs, 8 Disruptor Torpedos Launchers (32 Torpedos carried), 40 Guardian Laser Emitters, 20 30 m MACS (10 twin turrets)

Planned: 8

Building: 0 (24 month construction time for first 2, 18 months for last 6)

Completed: 8

Active: 8

Geneva Class Light Cruiser: The newest class of Cruiser in service. Only three, the Geneva, Genoa, and Florence, have been completed as of April 2157, but three more, the Damascus, Lowell, and Halifax, are set to be completed in June.

Mass: 425,000

Length: 450

Width: 70

Hight: 50

Armament: 2 400 m MACs, 8 Disruptor Torpedo Launchers (32 Torpedos carried), 40 Guardian Laser Emitters, 20 30 m MACS (10 twin turrets), 8 60 m MACS (broadside mounted)

Planned: 45

Building: 3 (18 month construction time)

Completed: 3

Active: 3

Berlin Class Heavy Cruiser: When the first hull of the Everest was laid down, the Alliance dreamed of its class being the mainline Heavy Cruiser of the Alliance, its ship-of-the-line; than they looked at the Alliance budgit and the delusion died rapidly. The prejected costs of the Everest, not only in production, but operations too, meant that the class would never reach the numbers necessary to be the main capital ship of the Alliance, something smaller was needed. Thus, the Alliance went back to the drawing board and created the Berlin class. While not as massive as the Everest, the Berlin is still over three times the mass of the Geneva, and has many times the firepower. Few of these colossal vessels exist in the fleet, all centured around