01
Chapter I
Anomaly 2508-Sol-Kappa
2508.04.08
1023 SET
Primary Navigation Bridge
UNN United Nations
Navy Base Egress
Terminal Egress
The United Nations of Earth
Grand Admiral Wang Tianlong admires the majestic sight of the Grand Armada of the United Nations Navy from the primary bridge of the UNN *United Nations.*The fleet is currently in orbit of the singularity that is the backbone of the L-Gate network, ready to mobilize at a moment's notice.
The flagship of the Grand Armada, the first and only United Nations-class dreadnought, was the first of her kind—though derivatives are in service of other GRC nations, the most prominent being the GRCDFS Milky Way, theGalaxy-class dreadnought that is the heart of the Galactic Research Cooperative Defense Force.
Christened in 2445—the half-millennial anniversary of the founding of the UNE—to serve as the flagship and backbone of the UN Navy's Grand Armada, 50 kilometers port to starboard and 10 kilometers bow to stern (a beam width ten times and volume over a thousand times that of the Terra-class juggernauts) packing enough firepower to break most fleets in the Milky Way by herself, and providing all the facilities—fabricators, shipyards, flag facilities, et cetera—needed to support extended operations of the entirety of the Grand Armada away from friendly space for decades on end, she is the pinnacle of the UN's military and technological might and the pride of the UN Navy. As such, the design process differs significantly from that of other warships, bringing in designers from civilian shipbuilding corporations to make the hull far more graceful than the angular edges of other UN designs.
The 721-ship Grand Armada of the United Nations—one of the largest formations in the galaxy by net tonnage—consists of the United Nations and twenty 36-ship titan fleets. Each fleet has an identical composition: a single kilometer-long titan and five battleship flotillas, each consisting of a battleship, two cruisers, and four destroyers. The actual classes of the ships vary, with formations being suited for specific roles, from picket escorts to long-range artillery.
The purpose of the armada has expanded since its inception in 2267 (when Terminal Egress was fully brought under UN control), thanks to the construction of the United Nations. Whereas previously it was meant to serve as the guard fleet of strategically the single most important system in the galaxy (though technically Terminal Egress is not within the galaxy) and be able to mobilize anywhere in the galaxy quickly, its new primary purpose is to be a self-sustaining invasion force, capable of waging all aspects of an interstellar war upon a hostile power.
With the current tension preluding the War in Heaven—the hypothesized conflict between the fallen ascendencies that have since been reborn in the past decades—it is also an awe-inspiring deterrent for the empires' blocs to not mess with the UN's allies.
Though its purpose is critical, most of the time, the Grand Armada just stays at Naval Base Egress, occasionally traveling for training or power projection operations.
Suddenly, 721 ships began turning and accelerating at once, as thousands of fusion impulse RCS thrusters and dark matter drives fired and lit up, and the armada started moving toward the system's Gateway—part of the UN-built network, not the more limited aeons old L-Gate network.
Near the gate, Quick Reaction Force Alpha—a formation of four hundred Hurricane-class multi-role destroyers—was already transiting through the Gate, heading to wherever the fleets were ordered.
"We're going to Sol." A female voice said from behind Wang, "Command is spooked about an anomaly in the outskirt of the system. Preliminary analysis suggests it's some sort of extra-dimensional tunnel that is going to stabilize in around two hours, and they've recalled most of the fleets to at least a gateway system."
Wang turned around to see a beautiful woman that looks like an animate version of the dreadnought's figurehead: Elpis, the spirit of Hope.
"Have they found its pair yet?" He asked the preferred on-board form of the ship's Mind, a hologram-nanite construct nearly indistinguishable from an organic.
"Nope, though the Eye and other GRC sats are searching for it as we speak. The concerning thing is GRC Central Intelligence, Special Circumstances, et cetera… no one had any idea of a project or device that could bypass the jump inhibitors. And there's been no mobilization anywhere in the galaxy that could make a dent in the Home Fleet, not to mention Sol's orbital defenses."
"So what is Command getting all worked up about? It's probably just from some ancient artifact someone dug up. It'll likely be sorted out soon enough, why perform such a large mobilization?"
"The fear is the origin of the anomaly is extra-galactic. The preliminary readings show the anomaly to be nearly identical to the Ulysses Wormhole from the 22nd century, from what little primitive readings were collected at the time—that's why they're calling it Anomaly 2508-Sol-Kappa for now, since that wormhole led to the Koprulu cluster."
"The thought is that the Commonwealth's Operation Lighthouse—you know, that expedition they launched to the cluster at the tail end of the Third Cold War, which should've arrived around 2500—caused the cluster's inhabitants to attempt to re-establish the connection. It could just be the Reds' task force trying to get back to the Milky Way, but they're preparing for the worst-case scenario of an extra-galactic invasion. We don't know if the Dimensional Lock will work on it due to its novelty. This could turn out to be a worse disaster than Europa VII, with the potential for an extra-galactic invader we know absolutely nothing about to bypass every defense and directly access Sol."
After a few seconds of silence, Wang replied, "I see. I assume Will wants me to help plan the defense?"
"Indeed. There's a contingency plan that is a decent fit for this scenario, but it only covers general doctrine and procedure, and wasn't updated for Luna since she hasn't entered service yet. Sol is already on lockdown with all flights grounded."
Wang began walking to the elevator, Elpis following him. "What's the progress on her anyway? I'm afraid I haven't kept up."
"Nearly all the weapon systems have been installed and tested, and she is essentially fully combat effective. The cracker is yet to undergo its final live fire trial, and the hangars are still empty, but that doesn't matter in a bastion like Sol, and it's not like the Armageddon is too useful for space combat."
"I do seem to recall a certain someone destroying an Azad juggernaut in one hit with hers, though…"
"Need I remind you for the 63rd time, that it was one time, mostly for the propaganda footage? Using the energy on literally any of my other weapon systems would have been more efficient."
"Sure, sure, you can tell yourself that." Wang replied cheekily, "I know you felt amazing doing it."
"I am not going to dignify that with a response," Elpis replied, and promptly disregarded the topic. "Aside from the Home Fleet and the attack moon, the GRCDF main fleet will also be there, and almost all our fleets will be on high alert and in a gateway system, except for the ones picketing the Ascendancy and Imperium. All GRC members will also have all fleets on alert. Skrand is already working on repositioning the Sol Beta and Gamma gateways to more tactically advantageous positions. He is awaiting communication from you if you wish to speak."
"Aye, do it. It seems time is of the essence after all, so I might as well get a head start. I assume my office is set up already?"
"Of course. Connecting to Grand Admiral Skrand Sharpbeak now."
A small hologram of a four-eyed avian with a crest of red feathers in full naval dress uniform appeared in front of Wang, and started screeching in a language few knew since the fall of Skrava and the near extinction of the Skravird species. However, Wang is one of the few that does know the language due to how often he works with Skrand—how to understand it, anyhow. It's not like the human vocal chord can make the sounds needed to speak it, and even the best bio-modifications are far too unwieldy.
"Greetings, Grand Admiral. Shall we start designing the defense now, or would you prefer to wait until you are in a more suitable environment?" The avian asked.
"You can start now. Tell me about your plan for the gateways and orbital defenses." Wang replied in French, knowing the Skravird Admiral prefers it over English due to the grammatical similarity of his native tongue and Romance languages.
"Very well. Let us begin."
1154 SET
Grand Admiral Wang's Office
UNN United Nations
Orbit of Anomaly 2508-Sol-Kappa
Sol
The United Nations of Earth
"Does my wife really need to be involved in this?" Wang asked, "Surely there are enough competent diplomats that can do this instead."
"She is the best, and you know it. We do need the best for something as important as this, and Anxing is the only one with true experience in a true first contact—all the other contact personnel are too used to having every bit of information needed, and a plan with all contingencies covered made before going in," Elpis responded, "I know the feeling, though. I do not like my children going into combat either, yet we all have our duty, do we not?"
"Indeed we do," Wang replied with a sigh, "Sometimes, I really do wish I had just majored in business and ran the shipbuilding corporation instead of joining the Navy. Though I supposed I wouldn't have met Anxing then."
"Now is not the time for an earlylife crisis," Elpis stated, "You became one of five United Nations Grand Admirals out of your own merit, yet you sit here questioning what would have happened if you had taken the coward's path and ran your family's megacorp? And look at me here, a class 17 hyperintelligence, doing a psychologist's job. Do you hear me complaining?"
"No, I guess not," Wang admitted, "But are they really going to pull her out right now? Last I heard 15 hours ago, she was just finalizing the treaty to bring the Quendi Empire into the GRC to contain the Ascendancy. I might be misremembering, but isn't this a critical part of our overall plan for the War in Heaven?"
"Uh huh, the signing ceremony should actually be commencing in a few minutes. Luna wants her here as soon as the treaty is formalized," Elpis confirmed, "And no, you are not misremembering, Helmsdeep is an absolutely critical chokepoint. Command would actually authorize taking it over by force, but thankfully your wife managed to pull a miracle getting the treaty done so quickly after contact."
"That sounds like Anxing, alright," Wang said, "Working miracles while I sit here needlessly worrying about her."
"Oh fucking hell, enough with the self-pity," Elpis admonished, "Come on, I need your input on some post-stabilization plans the other Minds and I have drafted up."
1248 SET
Personal Study of the Empress
Central Imperial Palace Complex
Cuiviénen
Anar
Quendi Empire
"Such a primitive form of documentation, for a people as advanced as yours," Empress Lúthien Tinúviel remarked psionically, as she signed the treaty formalizing the Quendi Empire's entrance into the Galactic Research Cooperative.
"It is." Liu Anxing—nominally the director of the First Contact division of the UN Diplomatic Corps, and currently the Special Ambassador to the Quendi Empire—replied in Lúthien's mind, "Though this is a tradition that has been kept throughout much of Humanity's history, even after it became unnecessary."
"I suppose that does make sense. And the Empire could hardly judge others for keeping archaic traditions," the elven Empress concluded as she finished the signature with a flourish (the conversation near instantaneous due to the swift nature of psionic communication)—and the final piece of the GRC containment plan for the upcoming War in Heaven slid into place.
"It is done, then?" Lúthien asked out loud in Quenya—the elegant tongue of the Quendi—for the cameras recording the ceremony.
"Indeed, Your Majesty. As discussed by our respective governments, key border systems with the Ascendency and Imperium will be reinforced, and any attack upon Your Majesty's Empire will be met with full force. The technological and economic benefits of the Empire's membership should also be apparent soon," Liu replied in Quenya, having learned the language in the months leading up to the first contact a month ago.
"I thank you, the United Nations of Earth, and the Galactic Research Cooperative on behalf of all Quendi for this." Lúthien said, "My people and I shall endeavor to assist in all ways possible."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I too, thank you and your people for your cooperation in keeping the greater galaxy safe from those who seek to oppress us all. I hope our partnership will be long and prosperous for both our great nations."
Liu stood up and walked up to the Empress, holding a long wooden box before her. "On behalf of the United Nations of Earth, I present Your Majesty with this"—she flipped the lid open to reveal a beautiful ornate saber, with colorful ethereal patterns that dance under the light, resting on soft royal blue velvet—"zro-infused stellarite-neutronium composite monomolecular edged saber, as a symbol of the United Nations' commitment to the defense of the Empire as a crucial ally, and a member of the Galactic Research Cooperative."
"I thank the United Nations for this gorgeous gift, and I, too, hope our alliance will be long and prosperous," Lúthien said, as she took the open case and brushed her fingers over the glistening metal, the patterns rippling as the zro in the blade react to her psionic power.
A few seconds after she finished speaking, the dozens of small holo-camera drones floating started moving toward the large orb levitating near the ceiling in the center of the room, which collected the drones and came down to head level and projected a hologram of an old white-haired Caucasian man in an antiquated suit.
One of the avatars of the Mind of UNS Otto von Bismarck, based on the Iron Chancellor himself, said in perfect Quenya, "Truly, Thank you again, Your Majesty, for agreeing to this formality. And again, I apologize on behalf of President Richelieu that he could not be present."
"It really matters not to me. Besides, it was I who requested this date, and I understand your head of state is a busy man."
After she finished her reply, Lúthien shifted her attention back to the saber and took it out of its velvet cradle, and twirled it around carefully with the expertise of an expert swordsman. "It truly is a gorgeous blade," she said, admiring how the pattern on the metal shifted as a result of the zro's proximity to two very powerful psions. The blade's patterns and cutting edge suddenly lit up with ethereal energy, and the Empress exclaimed, "Ah! I figured the monomolecular edge would be psionically maintained. The mechanism is truly ingenious."
After carefully giving the blade a few more measured swings, she asked the Human diplomat, "Anxing, care for a spar? I'd like to get some use out of this absolute beauty before my advisors convince me to lock it up in the imperial museum or vault."
Before Liu could reply to the affirmative, Bismarck intervened, "I am very sorry Your Majesty, but I am afraid that will not be possible. I'm afraid Ambassador Liu is needed elsewhere as soon as possible for an emergency situation. I shall leave behind a mind-state abstract with the embassy, linked to this drone, to explain and answer any questions Your Majesty may have, but Anxing and I will have to depart now."
As the hologram finished speaking, the gilded double doors opened and another drone entered. "Come on, let's go. I'll explain en route," the drone instructed in English.
"Sorry, Lúth, Otto wouldn't exaggerate the importance of this. I do hope I'll be back soon, though," Liu said in Quenya.
"Do not concern yourself over this, just try to be back soon. There will certainly have to be celebrations hosted in honor of this historic moment, and I do look forward to a spar."
"Thank you for understanding," Liu replied, turned to Bismarck's drone, and demanded in English as she started walking towards the landing pad where her shuttle was, "Alright, spill. What is so important you have to drag me away?"
"I still don't understand how you got so friendly with her," Bismarck mumbled. He then cleared his throat—both quirks of his current personality matrix's emulation of Human behavior—and said, "Right. Approximately two and a half hours ago, an anomaly appeared in the outskirts of Sol, which is now known to be some sort of tunnel—through an undiscovered plane, they suspect—to somewhere in the Koprulu Cluster, based on pulsar data. Both sides of the tunnel are now secured by the Navy, but they found a rift to yet another plane close to the exit of the tunnel. They found very recent plasma drive trails into the rift—at most 72 hours old—but no other trails separable from the turbulence in the area, so it's likely this rift is used very sporadically. Whoever made the trails are likely in the parallel plane right now, which seems to have similar properties to realspace, and our ships should traverse it easily enough. Luna is understandably spooked about this entire situation, and they want to make contact ASAP—even if just to obtain more information—and well, you're the best we have. They wanted you back immediately but also didn't want to jeopardize the alliance, so I was told to pull you out as soon as the treaty was finalized."
By the time Bismarck finished explaining, the pair were already out on the landing pad, where Liu's personal shuttle craft Lux Aeterna—a modified Cosmic Minuet XXVIII luxury aerospace passenger craft—was waiting.
After thinking for a while, Liu asked as they entered the chrome-plated transport, "The Koprulu Cluster, huh? Isn't that where the other three Dandelions are? And didn't the Commonwealth send a fleet there back in the twenty-fourth century?"
"Yes, to all three questions," the drone replied as Liu sat down in the pilot's seat, "though it is highly unlikely the Commonwealth task force had anything to do with this, since they would've contacted us by now, at least. The tension back in the Interstellar Cold War wasn't that bad, from what I have heard. There are plenty of theories as to why whoever was responsible for the wormhole created it—it is absolutely artificial, by the way, there's little chance it is natural—aren't waiting for us, if so much energy was spent bridging millions of lightyears, but it's frankly a guessing game with what little information we have."
As Bismarck was speaking, the shuttle lifted off using its gravitational repulsors, and the atmospheric fusion impulse drive lit up, accelerating the craft over the speed of sound (324 m/s, given Cuiviénen's atmosphere's similarity to Earth) in little over a second—with powerful inertia dampeners and gravitational field generators working to keep the interior unaffected by the massive acceleration, and external field manipulators keeping the effects of supersonic flight to a minimum.
"We'll be rendezvousing with myself in 63 seconds, and jumping directly to Sol. After the jump, I'm getting some upgrades and a jump drive core swap from the United Nations, and you can go see your husband, maybe pick out a few more guards and escort ships. Command is giving you free rein over the details of the operation, but they request you enter the rift no later than 1430 Standard Earth Time."
"Well, I guess it's nice I get to see Tian again before going on another mission. Get all the relevant information set up in my office and call Azaryn and Mercedes, I'll deal with the protection when I see my husband. And before I forget, ask Xinglong to send over a mind-state. I hope you don't mind sharing space," Liu ordered.
"I'm grievously hurt you have so little trust in me," Bismarck replied sarcastically before confirming, "Xinglong agreed, he'll start the transfer when we arrive in Sol."
"Thank you. Though the reason I asked is not because I don't trust or like you, but moreso because he is far more familiar with Project Psystar, which I have been informed is ready for use," Liu explained.
"You will let him instruct me on how to use the psi-link though, right?"
"Of course, why would I not? I just don't want anything to go wrong, and Xinglong was working with me on this from the start."
Seconds later, the shuttle entered the hangar of UNS Otto von Bismarck (an Emissary-class diplomatic yacht, the Diplomatic Corps variant of the Cosmic Symphony XXIV luxury star yacht, modified with state-of-the-art military technology not available for public use), the chrome-plated hangar cover slid back into its place, and the Bismarck vanished from Anar with a flash.
1427 SET
Hangar Alpha-1
UNN United Nations
Orbit of Anomaly 2508-Sol-Kappa
Sol
United Nations of Earth
"I feel I would not be doing my duty as a husband if I did not try to dissuade you from going on such a dangerous mission with so little protection, one last time," Grand Admiral Wang Tianlong said, "At least take a few more Hurricanes. Or take a few of my Indomitables if you insist on a four-ship escort."
"The First Contact Division decided on a four-destroyer escort long ago for a reason, Tian," Liu Anxing responded, the couple having one last exchange before she boards the Bismarck,"What do you think someone would think when four kilometer-long titans—with very visible weapons, including a very scary-looking spinal mount, and unknown combat capability—show up unannounced, and they do not know whatever the fuck is going on? Besides, part of the contact strategy is to appear more pacifistic. It's so much easier to establish our power with a simple show of force than to appear peaceful when they think us a militant people. I'm fairly sure I've told you most if not all of this before, though."
"Yes, yes, I'm sure you have," Wang admitted, "Sorry, it's just that I'm too worried about the unknown nature of all of this. Surely you can make an exception for this mission, though? This is nowhere near the normal conditions for a first contact. It's extragalactic, extra-planar, and without any of the information normally procured from the Eye. Not to mention, humanity likely has had previous interactions with whoever you will meet because of the Ulysses Initiative and the Commonwealth's expedition. You know how xenophobic the Commonwealth was back in the day, what if they pissed the Xenos off, and they don't care about the difference between our governments, seeing both as Humans?"
"You are right on all counts," Liu conceded, "This is far from a usual contact, but the standard escort formation has a proven track record, and I'd rather not deviate far from what is known to work. And from what the scouts have detected, the Xenos are not that far from the entrance to the rift. I forgot what the exact figure Otto said was, but it's less than half a minute's hard burn for Atlantis's fleet to reach us, and they should be able to provide covering fire if necessary anyway. They did say essentially everything works in the other plane as if it were realspace though, right?"
"Yes, it's quite strange, actually, from what Az said. It seems every major component from subspace sensors to space-time warping operates nominally. What are you thinking of?"
"Well, if everything works nominally, including the subspace drives… then would it work to take a couple of anti-ship attack subs, and use—what's it called—Cyclones instead of the Hurricanes we initially planned on?"
Wang thought for a few seconds, then shouted out to the void, "ELPIS! Did they test whether the subs work or not yet?"
"You do realize you need not shout, yes?" The newly-formed hologram of the spirit of Hope asked rhetorically, "You are quite literally inside me right now. But yes, the subs should work properly. Though behavior may change further from the rift, Euler has determined the difference is negligible and will not critically impact operation of the subspace drive."
"Four Cyclones and a wolfpack of Phantoms, then. With Atlantis Fleet as backup and most of the UN Navy on standby," he thought out loud, "I suppose that'll have to do. Please… stay safe, my love."
"I will. You know I want children of our own as much as you do," she replied sincerely and moved into the embrace the admiral offered.
"It just seems like we're never fated to see peace, doesn't it?" He asked, "First the Idiran War of our youth, then the Azad War, then all this preparation for the War in Heaven, and now this whole situation."
"It sounds so depressing when you put it like that," Liu responded with a sigh, "But what are we going to do about it? All we can do is do our duty, and hope fate is feeling kind. We still hopefully have a few centuries ahead of us. I hope the galaxy will finally be at peace when the War in Heaven boils over, and that this wormhole doesn't drag us into an intergalactic war."
"Speaking of which, I do need to get going. Otto, Xinglong, come on," Liu said, motioning to the avatars.
"Wait. I'd like a quick word with the Minds," Wang requested.
Continuing her walk up Bismarck's boarding ramp, Liu shouted back, "Just don't take too long!"
1431 SET
Primary Bridge
UNSOtto von Bismarck
Entering the bridge half a minute later, Liu found the two avatars of the Minds currently occupying the ship's compute cores already waiting.
"Has Tian finished his 'quick word' yet?" Liu asked, holding up air quotes.
The two Minds responded in harmony. "Nope."
"Let me guess, he's saying how he'll find and destroy every mind-state you two have if I so much as get a scratch."
"Well, not quite that extreme, but that's the general idea," replied Xinglong's hologram—a four-legged wingless dragon, its body seemingly a nebula with shining stars sprinkled throughout.
"Of course," she said with a sigh, "Well, whatever. You got the Psystar set up?"
"Yes, the link is mounted directly above your office. I couldn't do any tests without a psionic being, but the disturbance from the reactor and shield hardeners should be minimal."
"Well then, let's test it out, shall we?" Liu said and reached out with her mind's eye, ignoring the psychic emissions of the zro-based shield hardeners, and found the distinct psychic signature of the Psystar.
The Psystar was the accomplishment Liu was the most proud of, even more than the many successful missions and first contacts she'd completed with Special Circumstances and the First Contact Division, or her triple major in psionic theory, psi mechanics, and xenodiplomacy. A way to convert psionic communication into digital data—something long thought impossible—the Psystar is the culmination of decades of research from hundreds of scientists and billions in funding from the UN and the corporations of her and her husband's families.
With the cutting-edge nature of the device, though, comes drawbacks. It requires at least a class 5 Mind to process the data and facilitate two-way communication—thankfully, her parents and in-laws had that covered with Xinglong, a class 7 omni-purpose Mind. That's not even mentioning the immense energy requirements and material cost of the device, consuming more power and costing more than some small starships.
However, the potential for discreet near-instantaneous information transfer, the possible development of a far faster, more efficient, and less invasive neural link, and advancements in psi theory were too good to ignore.
Liu connected her mind with the Psystar, and asked, "So, what's the verdict?"
"Eh, it is not perfect, but it'll do," the Mind replied, "I've already passed the data back to myself on Luna, the next iteration should be ready by the end of the month."
"Damn, you did a nice job getting rid of the noise. I didn't think the improvement would be so massive," she commented, "Anyways, are we ready to go?"
"Indeed. Wolfpack Trafalgar, the Cyclones, Euler, and Bismarck are all ready, and Fleet Atlantis is on standby."
"Well then, let's get going."
Milliseconds later, the boarding ramp closed shut, returning the hull to its chrome glory. Precision fabricated hull pieces seemingly fused into one, and UNS Otto von Bismarck slowly rose and exited the hangar using her gravitational repulsors. As soon as her stern passed the shielding of the United Nations, the auxiliary fusion impulse drives and primary dark matter drives lit up, accelerating her toward the unknown, with four Cyclone-class escort destroyers, a wolfpack of ten Phantom-class subspace attack submarines, and the Enterprise-class science ship UNS Leonhard Euler following.
Notes
Time:
I am far too lazy to bother writing the Stellaris and SC parts with two different times, and it would be far too confusing anyway, so I just went with military time lol
The Stellaris times are just going to be shifted to what I feel is appropriate, there's no real rules behind it or anything.
Ships:
My view of the juggernauts and dreadnought (a super-juggernaut, inspired by the First Order'sSupremacy) is that they are mainly support ships with some firepower on the side. This is sort of supported by the in-game shipyards and aura module on juggs, and also just how the flying-wing design doesn't really make sense when presumably you want to maximize for length to increase the power of the spinal weapon. Another thing is, just imagine how complicated and vulnerable the logistics and supply chain of an interstellar fleet would be. Even if only the titans were actually crewed, you would still presumably have to produce ammunition, gather or store dark matter and other exotic materials, et cetera., and having a giant ship take care of that in one well-defended package seems like a good idea to me. So juggernauts in my version are basically the same as in-game, but they are actually part of fleets and shit and are useful beyond just being a mobile shipyard with some guns. The dreadnought is basically this turned up to 11. It would be very heavily armed just by the nature of its sheer size, but as I described, it basically allows a whole theater of war to be self-sufficient.
But also just because big ships are cool.
Also, frigates just do not exist as they do in-game, because I would prefer to go with the traditional definition, and calling torpedo boats frigates is kinda dumb imo.
My rough ship type sizes:
Corvette: ~50m long Frigates: ~100m long Destroyers: ~150m long Cruisers: ~250m long Submarines: ~50-250m long, depending on type Battleships: ~0.5km long Titans: ~1km long Juggernauts: ~5km wide Dreadnoughts: ~50km wide
PS: I'm a bit of a naval history nerd, I know that a dreadnought is just a revolutionary type of battleship, and I was bugged with sci-fi writers just throwing it around willy-nilly too. Then I discovered it's a really good fucking name. Like the only other options I thought of are leviathans (gets confusing with Zerg Leviathans) or superjuggernauts (sounds kinda weird, and supercarriers/superbattleships didn't really describe something with this drastic a difference).
UNS Bismarck:
Basically, the Naboo starship from SW Ep1, but scaled up to ~200m. I just think it is a beautiful design, and it fits the idea of a luxury star yacht turned into a diplomatic vessel well.
FTL:
So basically, as far as the UN is concerned, there are seven ways of FTL: spacetime warp, subspace, hyperspace, jump, and Shroud.
Warp is like the classic bending spacetime around ship method, and its the slowest form of FTL, but can be used essentially anywhere, so its used for intra-system FTL. Also includes wormholes (Einstein-Rosen bridges).
Subspace is like the experimental subspace navigation thing. Basically, a ship enters subspace, a parallel plane, and navigates through it until it reaches its destination. The sub"marines" are just kinda built off that idea that subspace is actually navigable, so you can have ships stay in there. Also just because subs are cool lol
Hyperdrives are just hyperlane travel, I am too lazy to come up with an explanation for it, but travel is only possible in the hyperlanes for whatever reason. Not like Star Wars' where you can just hyperdrive through empty space since hyperlanes are based on where you cannot go (having to navigate around gravity wells). The most efficient and fastest method when in FTL, but limited since hyperlanes only.
Jump drives are just point-to-point near instantaneous FTL through jumpspace (ik so creative). The charge-up time makes more sense before the jump imo, so it gets moved there. It needs a lot of energy though, hours to charge, which is why sometimes it is better to just swap the core. Quantum catapults use jumpspace.
Shroud FTL are Shroud tunnels and psi jump drives, I don't think this needs much explanation (psionic bullshit).
All FTL methods are inhibitable, because what is the point of choke points and shit if you can just jump anywhere, makes it kinda uninteresting imo.
Milky Way cosmopolitics (I figure it sounded better than astropolitics idk):
The UNE, obviously, is the galactic hegemon, because would it really be a Stellaris fic if the player empire is not the most powerful?
The UN-Commonwealth history I think will be covered in more detail later, so I'm not yapping about it here.
And the GRC (I know, such a creative name, thank you very much) is, technically, a research cooperative, but it has kind of evolved into more of a galactic union, covering defense, trade, etc., with a primary focus on science.
The idea is kind of the galaxy is currently preparing for the War in Heaven, and the GRC is trying to deter the fallen empires from entering any allied space, so they try to get alliances with a few empires that have critical chokepoints.
Names:
I'm stealing from Tolkien because they sound cool. Sue me. (on the off chance someone from the estate is reading this, please don't)
The Quendi Empire is just one of my empires based on the elves, just chose them because Tolkiens names are goated af. Also just bc its ez when theres already so much lore I can steal from xd
Otherwise, most of the UN ship names are going to be taken from history, which probably isn't realistic but whatever.
I just used Chinese names because I kinda want it to feel scifi-y, but I fucking suck at names and Chinese names are just throwing a surname and 1-2 characters together so its easy lol
The UNE:
It's vaguely based on a recent run of mine, but I'm going to make so many changes its probably not worth mentioning the details lol. Parts of various mods will also be incorporated, but its not like the entirety of a mod, just components I find interesting.
But the basic setup is: F-Egal Xenophile, Meritocracy, Parliamentary System, Free Haven, Bio Ascension, Cosmogenesis (Lathe-less). Kind of RP but also some min-maxing.