JUTLAND -- Megathread

Subject: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:55 am

A war ravages galaxy. A war between two races. A war that does not end, but merely goes through cycles of bloodshed and false peace.

So many have needlessly died. Too many. The two races -- man and cretin -- duel constantly for supremacy over the galaxy. All want it to end; but man's greed and the cretin's zealotry only furthers the intensity of the confrontation. Battles in the void of space are frequent. The bombardment and storming of planets is a grim reality. Death more and more becomes part of the fabric of the races.

In 2187, a ship ventured to the planet Fate. The true nature of it's mission was unknown even to those who captained it; their instructions merely being to pick up a cargo and a few scientists. What happened afterwards would decide the fate of the galaxy, and that of all the life within.

JUTLAND -- Megathread PLCNe

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Subject: Re: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:57 am

In 2014, Japanese Nobel Prize winner Makoto Kobayashi managed to do the previously unthinkable at Kyoto University; in a previously secret experiment, he devised a mechanism that was capable of firing subatomic particles four times faster than the speed of light. Kobayashi's experiment was the first hyper-drive; a mechanism that exploited electromagnetism to be able to fire anything faster than light herself. When the results of his experiment were peer reviewed and released, Kobayashi's invention quickly was built for commercial use. Planes and trains could traverse continents instantaneously, nuclear fusion became phenomenally easy to do, and rocket boosters were mooted.

Kobayashi's work, invention, and theories had him heralded as an international hero by his death in 2024, and for all of humanity's future, he was regarded as a man above the leagues of even Einstein and Newton. His work paved the way for transport, communications, and processes that previously would have been deemed impossible. The Kobayashi mechanism wormed it's way into every facet of society; ultimately, the huge amount of progress it brought to every field fueled an international desire to establish man in space. The question of whom raised furore and nationalist sentiment all over the globe; each nation wanting to spearhead the advance into space. The Superpowers didn't want to be deprived of their claims to the valuable resources of space. This bickering came to a head in 2036, when the People's Republic of China and the United States of America declared war on each other.

Although the crumbling United Nations managed to get all nations to agree to an anti-nuclear pact, they were unable to stop Kobayashi's inventions to wreak havoc. Intercontinental railguns, pulse weaponry, and small arms that could destroy entire buildings were deployed; to terrifying effect. The war enveloped every nation, and eventually economic, military, and social ties forced states to form into their own superpowers to be able to hold their own ground in the World War. Eventually, the US annexed Cuba and parts of Canada too, the rest was placed back in control of Britain; this prompting many of the Commonwealth nations and former mandates to congregate to form the New British Empire. Russia annexed the former Soviet states and Scandinavia, forming the Siberian Union. South American states joined together with populist overtones to form the New World Union, even getting Papua New Guinea to sign up. The African and European Unions formally declared themselves to be superstates to ensure their sovereignty was protected; for Africa against Britain, and Europe against Russia. China enveloped South-East Asia, India, Indonesia, and the Philippines to form the People's Republics of China.

The map of Earth as it is today- Red is the New British Empire, Blue is the United States, Green is the African Union, Brown is the New World Confederacy, Yellow is the European Union, Navy is the Siberian Union, and Orange is the People's Republics of China. Japan maintained it's sovereignty.

Constant conflict enveloped the world, the United Nations collapsing as the Superpowers sought only to safeguard their own interests. For many years, World War Three ravaged everything; borders constantly shifting, architecture and national identities collapsing, with millions of soldiers and just as many civilians dying in the conflict. The war for supremacy over space ended up with a third of the population dying; the advances in space warfare, also utilising Kobayashi's hyper-drive, meaning that much of the world was charred open.

After twenty-three years of war, in 2059, the war stopped; the superpowers laying down their arms with the realisation they were only likely ensuring their destruction. This revelation and peace came about due to the work of an English doctor named Jonathan Gittens, who called for a conference to be held in Neutral Japan. Little is known of what he said, but it is known that the world leaders rallied beneath the reclusive wise man and Gittens successfully managed to coerce the world powers into contributing resources into the founding of United Earth; a global organisation that would serve as the administrator and supervisor of all non-Earth settlements and colonies. With Gittens vanishing from history at this point, United Earth's board of world leaders, captains of industry, and academics had the first permanent settlement on the moon established in 2065. Huge domes and bunkers were cut into the land, many leaving to settle in the place. Mars was next; 2069 witnessed the first man on Mars, and that same year witnessed the first colony. Transport between the two colonies and Earth was rapid, with Kobayashi's drive ensuring that logistics and transport was a breeze.

Venus, Mercury, Ganymede, Europa, Callisto, Titan, Rhea, Titania, Triton, Pluto, and then Charon were taken by United Earth. By 2100, the Solar System was man's; the 21st century having bore witness to man's lowest lows and his greatest highs; man had mastered the genome, the solar system, and travel. A huge project towards the end of the century meant that life expectancy had doubled, and many hereditary diseases had been removed completely from men.

Huge, habitable space stations became commonplace, and asteroids were mined out to become luxury condominiums. A booming population around the various resorts of man lead to planets themselves wanting to declare independence from United Earth. These attitudes reached a climax in 2100 when the Mars provincial Government attempted to secede, and a fair amount of it's populace rallied and stole arms to defend themselves. Facing what could be a break-up of the order as it stood, United Earth commandeered several cargo ships and attached weapons to them, and called up volunteers from Earth to reclaim Mars. The bloody battle saw the Martian capital, Newton, decimated and sacked. Many millions of Martians lay dead; and many more were imprisoned for life when United Earth reasserted control over the planet.

Realising the risk of secession was all too real, 2102 witnessed the creation of the United Earth Army, Naval Forces and Marine Corps; a group force designed to maintain the grip and power of United Earth over her colonies, and combat any risks to man. This huge force of specialised combat ships and personnel were able to quickly put down any insurrections by colonists; and by 2114, the hundredth anniversary of Kobayashi's experiment, a mission was set up to find planets to colonise for resources and living space.

Two candidates came up; Epsilon Erdani B was almost a perfect Earth replica, with oceans, tectonics, and it's own benign plants and animals. And then there was the unexpected finding of a single Earth-sized body wedged between the binary brown dwarves orbiting Epsilon Indi; although the planet was bathed in darkness, it was tidally locked so it was kept at a comfortable temperature, and it had a breathable atmosphere and vegetation to boot. The former became the picturesque colony of Fate, the other became known as the eerie, black settlement of Duskstar.

Humans currently are in control of two "garden-like" planets, as shown here. However, thousands of asteroids and stations are owned by man; just about every system has at least one, along with terraformed worlds.

Man's rapid expansion and growth in power was coupled with it's growing fleet; a true use for it finally appearing in 2145. In L372-58, a strange series of unfamiliar ships were seen passing the asteroid of Hugh Hefner IV, who immediately called the Navy. There, the two fleets faced each other. No fire was opened, and no words could be exchanged; no communications could be opened, either. The interloping fleet merely backed away without a word.

This first contact between man and an alien race was an awkward one; and after several years, the ships drifting into human territory became commonplace. Always, the human fleets would scramble and proceed to drift beside the alien fleets; an awkward observation of this race ensuing. Five years of this peculiar state of affairs passed before communication via prime numbers was established.

Images were shared, knowledge was split, and understanding was reached. This race was one of humanoids with many avian features. Of what could be understood, they worshipped a pantheon of Gods; and very fanatically. The Humans in turn responded, and more efficient methods of communication began to pop up.

The species came to be known as the Cretin; and it was clear that the more they learnt of man, the more antagonistic they became. Their communiques and incursions became more and more commonplace, and with less regard for man's sovereignty; they often trying to communicate wishes for conversion of men to their faith. United Earth, along with many large corporations and institutions, became tired of the Cretin's refusal to barter and work with them. Both races seemed to become more adverse to one another.

This rare image of a Cretin was leaked from the files of an autopsy of one from Duskstar. The X-ray shows the humanoid structure, but also the bird-like elements of the race.

And in 2168, that adversity reached a head. The Cretin fleets finally managed to reach the Solar System; and the largest ever welcoming party was scrambled for them. Human and Cretin fleets stopped at Jupiter; the human fleets, headed by the most expensive and largest ship ever produced, the Belgrano, faced each other.

No man knows who fired the first shot of the war. But in a matter of minutes, frigates and cruisers from both sides were flaming and plunging into the atmosphere of Jupiter. The Belgrano and her fleet scrambled, preparing to fire all they had at the very large Cretin fleet. Never having experienced Cretin fire-power, the human fleet was quickly and savagely mauled. Many ships retreated, others scrambling to back up their fleets. The battle ended with a great tragedy; Cretin infiltration pods managed to storm the Belgrano, and overrun it's garrison and crew. The crew on board were slaughtered methodically and ruthlessly, as the Cretin purposefully set the ship's fusion reactor to overload. As the Cretin fleet retreated, and just after the last escape pods on the Belgrano jettisoned, the ship exploded in the biggest blast seen in the history of man. Most of the fourth and fifth human fleets were wiped out in the blast, with thirty-thousand dead due to radiation poisoning on both ships and the nearby Jovian colonies. All but fifty-eight of the three-thousand crew members of the Belgrano perished.

The war that ensued was bloodier than even the Third World War. Fleets met, and obliterated each other. Although Cretin ships were unable to reach Earth, many of the colonies in the outer solar system suffered horribly. Man was never quite able to penetrate the Cretin systems, command deeming it more economical to focus on defence against the Cretin.

By far the bloodiest conflict in the war was that of the battle for Duskstar. The Cretin sixth and seventh fleet, headed by the Champion of the Cretin people itself, obliterated the tiny space and ground-based garrisons of the planet. Although they let the civilians well alone, human attempts to retake the planet were costly; battles in space rained millions of tonnes of debris and bodies on the planet, bombardments left many civilians dead, and the radiation and magnetic fields of the two brown dwarfs lead to many ailments on the already fatigued crew and marines. When the Marines landed, the Cretin cut off all light; friendly fire was commonplace between both sides. The battle for Duskstar lasted years, it remaining in Cretin control until 2183; when humans finally managed to retake the planet. This battle alone claimed four million human lives, both civilian and military; and an uncounted number of Cretin lives. Even in 2187, cleanup efforts on Duskstar are still under-way. Bodies litter the place, rotting away.

The ending of the war was proposed by the Cretin in 2183, and United Earth accepted it; with much of the civilian and military establishment demanding an offensive. For years, United Earth remained unpopular for it's seemingly "cowardly" decision.

The war was over, but the violence and animosity certainly wasn't. Border skirmishes were frequent between humans and Cretin, and harsh words were exchanged more frequently. All of humanity had been affected by the war to some extent; and constant baying for the "penguin's" blood was common. The Cretin attempted to refrain from violence, but constant aggressive tactics by the human fleet and human corporations usually made them have to resort to self-defence.

It is clear the peace between man and Cretin will break again. Hyper-militarisation is a stark reality for humans, and aggressive attempts to terraform planetoids and more asteroids near the human/cretin border are underway. Circa 2187, United Earth and the rest of humanity were ready for a single spark that will start another war.

Scientific efforts are under-way to develop new weapons and methods that would help man trump the Cretin in any conflict; and in Winter 2187, the state-of-the-art UEN Jutland was sent to Fate -- the details relayed to her Captain being sparse, and the only thing of a personal nature being an ominous message on the cover sheet.

"This is to you a simple courier mission. Later you will discover more regarding it's nature and what you have done, but know this; humanity depends on you to complete this task; your success may very well mean the aversion of war.

-J.G."

Subject: Re: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:57 am

Subject: Re: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:58 am

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JUTLAND -- Megathread SIy0D

Construction began: 28/4/2183

Contractor: Cosmic Command Industries

Chief Engineer: Stefan Castro

Constructed in: Kako Memorial Shipyard, Newton, Mars

Construction complete: 11/9/2184

Serial: X/948J

Owner: United Earth Naval Forces

Designation: UEN JUTLAND

Function: Auxiliary/Support ship

As this document concerns a military vessel, it is not to be circulated outside of the registry or of United Earth. The following paperwork may constitute issues of United Earth security, please consult a supervisor before reading.

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The Jutland is the first ship of the state-of-the-line Jutland frigate class. Commissioned by the United Earth navy in response to the obsolescence of the fifty year old Dover class, the Jutland exceeds her predecessor in every way possible. Designed for auxiliary support missions, reconnaissance, screening, and a way to showcase highly experimental technology, the Jutland has come to be regarded as the vanguard of a new era of ships; she's faster, more energy efficient, and tougher than any other ship of her class, even with what the Cretin have.

For propulsion, the Jutland utilises the technology that all human ships use; the Kobayashi mechanism. Unlike other human ships, the Jutland's hyperdrive is configured to be thirty percent faster than that of the current hyperdrives deployed on ships; this being done primarily by the ship having it's hyperdrive consisting of many maneuverable high-temperature superconductors alongside magnets and gamma rays, rather than just a stationary series of magnets and radioactive materials. Although this means that the entire configuration will use more power, it also means that less radioactive materials need to be ferried about to keep the engine running; in theory, the thing could run as long as the main reactor of the craft carried on functioning. This configuration requires two dedicated Hyperdrive Monitors, however; constant tweaking, reports, inspections, and repair of the system is needed -- it's extraordinarily delicate.

The other main innovation in the Jutland is also possibly the most dangerous; the Neutron core. Previously, gyroscopic motion was used on ships to ensure that gravity was ensured for the crew. Unfortunately, these proved to be far too delicate, and a great safety hazard; more than one ship has exploded due to a failure of the machinery to do it's job properly. The neutron core is designed to be a much more benign presence; it's composed of four tennis ball sized spheres made entirely of neutrons. Due to the fact that the Neutron balls have almost no space inside of them, hence are very, very dense, they collectively weigh the equivalent of all of planet Earth. The construction of the Neutron balls was one of the most expensive procedures on the Jutland, and making sure they were safe to use was also essential. So far, they've served perfectly well for this purpose. But the neutron core also has an ulterior purpose. In the past, Cretin-besieged ships have been ransacked, and had many of their personnel taken captive and a great deal of classified information and technology stolen. The neutron core is a mechanism designed to stop this from happening; if the highest ranking officer of the ship is able to reach agreement with the ship's AI of the need for the procedure, said officer will head to the Neutron core, and activate the core lowering procedure; the three podiums holding the balls descending into a large bowl of water at the bottom of the chamber. With this done, the water will be sucked up and compacted into more neutrons for the neutron balls, which will roll together and subsequently meet. The meeting of the three balls will do two things: firstly, they'll cause gravity to become so intense that the ship will collapse in on itself, secondly, there will be a huge amount of energy released, in the form of a local gamma ray burst that will likely kill the personnel of all nearby ships.

The ship also has all the staples of human ships; a helium fusion core, complete with a supply of helium which can last for up to a hundred years. Ultra-sensitive parallax technology is able to triangulate the ship's position instantaneously. It is designed for a complement of 190 men; 85 to be kept in cryostasis, and 105 to live in high-density quarters. The officers have the privilege of rooms to themselves. The Jutland is in possession of a gym, two recreation rooms featuring the latest recreational VR technology, and a single library.

Alongside this, the Jutland also plays host an advanced Prototype, the eighteenth version of the Electronic Monitoring & Maintanence Interface; otherwise known as EMMI. Although almost all United Earth craft come with an AI interface, EMMI is unique in the fact that her computational power is several petaflops above that of the Cretin equivalent -- VARK. Previously, the ships encountering any Cretin capital ship above the level of the Pitchfork class have been compelled to shut off all inter-ship electronic interfaces to ensure no unauthorised access can occur. However, Jutland's EMMI's computational power means that these attacks can simply be buffed, and she can operate and actually turn the tables -- now, amazingly, it seems Cretin ships may be able to fall to cyber-warfare instead of human's.

As with all ships, there are also food recycling provisions; meaning that in the scenario of fresh supplies run out, minerals and nutrition can be extracted from the ship's waste. The Jutland's waste compacter and recycling system has a 99.7% efficiency rating. This is above even the newcomer Malta class, meaning that the ship can run on the same batch of supplies for eighteen hundred years; but this isn't preferable, since the crew will be effectively eating paste made from their own faeces and urine.

One of the most interesting features of the Jutland is her shield and plating; in line with the role of reconnaissance and screening, it was deemed more important to invest in Jutland's defensive capabilities over her offensive. Although she is able to easily hold her ground in terms of firepower against a Cretin frigate, the Jutland's strength lies in her capacity to take damage and go faster than her fellow human ships. The armour consists of a thick steel plate, coated with half an inch of tungsten. The paint is mostly made of carbon, also meaning the damage of impacts will be curbed slightly more. This means that the Jutland can likely take a missile to her weakest point, yet not have the hull breached. Along with this, the state-of-the-art SENTINEL shield matrix means that any impact likely will cause minimal damage, provided there aren't many at once. The shield array is costly and laborious to operate, and if it's used too much, it will likely completely drain the ship's power; meaning a balance in the intensity of the array is necessary.

The Jutland's arsenal comprised six ASC guns, and the standard hydrogen missile array; hence success in ship-to-ship combat is determined by the skill of the missile man, more than anything.

The Jutland has within her the fruits of the greatest technological breakthroughs in decades. But she is still a ship, and very much one that is as vulnerable as any other. A single well placed rail round can end any ship, even the best. But the Jutland certainly has a good fighting chance.

Subject: Re: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:58 am

Humanity has changed much in less than two centuries; to the point of which society and culture is unrecognisable on many levels to that at the beginning of the 21st century.

United Earth

United Earth is a bureaucratic mess on the surface. Although technically all human colonies, settlements, and nation-states are independent and sovereign of it, it has control over their actions in all but name. All laws in human space are universal, and all actions undertaken are usually ran by United Earth's representatives.

United Earth arose after the unspeakable horrors of the Third World war; along with being designed to replace the failed United Nations, it also was intended to be the overseer and manager of the establishment of humanity beyond Earth, this role it continuing to this day. Although it heavily uses contractors, the bill for the establishment of all colonies and settlements is footed by United Earth until the point where the settlement becomes able to handle itself (ie, the GDP of the place exceeds its expenses), at which point it becomes a contributor.

Twenty-five percent of every sovereign body's annual budget is forwarded to United Earth; and the likely amount of cash it has on had numbers in the Quadrillions; these funds being used to invest in the development of more colonies, expand her fleets, and invest in science and technology.

United Earth is supposedly open to judiciary processes in any territory where it or it's personnel violate the law, but in practice this never occurs; United Earth is considered untouchable by any Government, and the wish to appease United Earth to try to snare investment overcomes any urge to prosecute many cases of corruption and mismanagement.

United Earth is the subject of great contention in academic and intellectual circles; they considering it a proto-fascist body that's unaccountable and has an unhealthy influence on human legislature; and that effectively acts as a centralised human government. People on both the economic left and right have voraciously criticised how United Earth has effectively forged many monopolies to large conglomerates like Cosmic Command Industries and Planetary Resources with it's huge contracts and spending; the former camp claiming it merely concentrates a great deal of wealth in the hands of very few, the latter claiming it distorts the marketplace and makes it ridiculously hard for businesses to compete.

Founded in 2059 after the Tokyo accords that finally brought about the end of the Third World War, United Earth was the brainchild of Dr. Jonathan Gittens. How a General Practitioner of Medicine managed to bring himself to the attention of World Leaders is unknown; all that is known is that the United Earth charter was very quickly ratified, and that Gittens was never mentioned again.

The United Earth Defence Forces were formed to originally prevent colonies and settlements from attempting to secede from the organisation, after the catastrophic and bloody Martian uprising; until recent years, they were very much underfunded and unpopular due to their clear agenda to maintain United Earth's iron-fisted grip. They comprised of the United Earth Navy, United Earth Marines, and the United Earth Army; each part crucial facets in maintaining order and reclaiming seceding territory. The Human-Cretin war spurred a phenomenal growth in the size of the military, it's budget doubling and it's size increasing by leaps and bounds; bringing more and more concerns regarding the need for such expenditure now that actual hostilities with the Cretin have ended.

Health & Population

The average human can enjoy a lifespan of at least one-hundred and forty years, with one-hundred and eighty being an increasingly common landmark. Many diseases are easily combated, with advances in antibiotics and antiviral medication casting HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to the litter bin once and for all; many diseases are simply treat with one use pills filled with nanobots that literally incinerate the offending pathogens in the body. Even Cancer, up until the final stages, is easily treatable.

A longer life expectancy and fewer diseases, very few disincentives to give birth and the spread of humans, along with cumulative population growth over time means that the Human population now stands at approximately three hundred billion.

Considering humanity and the Cretin's current state of affairs, it may come as a surprise to learn very little is known about the Cretin race. But what is known can be seen as both profound and worrying.

Biology

The Cretin are often referred to as "birdies" by man, and on first inspection the reason of this moniker becomes immediately clear; there is an uncanny resemblance between the Cretin and birds. The sexes of the Cretin are effectively identical, meaning all Cretin resemble humanoid penguins. They have thin legs, and very long arms with three bony finger-like instruments for handling whatever. They have large chests, and even larger pelvis bones to allow for their oversized eggs to be deposited. A coat that looks similar to feathers adorns the Cretin, but this is actually an ultra-hard, resin-coated coat of hair; it serves as a sort of biological body armour. The true comparisons to birds stem from the Cretin's heads; their heads are shaped like a spoke, and their eyes are small and narrow; sitting atop a large fleshy protrusion, with bone underneath. This "beak" serves most of the functions that the beaks of birds on Earth do, but it's designed to serve better in combat then any frail beak. It's been known on the battlefield that a cornered Cretin can crush the appendages of a human with the sheer force of it's beak.

Subject: Re: JUTLAND -- Megathread Sat Jun 02, 2012 10:58 am

In December 2187, the UEN Jutland docked at the planet Fate; she receiving the enigmatic Dr. Rook, his robotic assistant, and a strange package. On her departure from the picturesque planet, the Jutland encountered a Cretin fleet of epic proportions; they immediately opening fire, and quickly decimating the ship. Fate quickly being swept down upon and glassed, it seemed the Jutland was doomed. However, with the revelation Rook's package was a wormhole device -- his invention -- the Jutland quickly activated it and escaped the ungodly onslaught, arriving in empty space. The ship hastily repaired, the revelation was made that the ship was forty eight thousand light years from Earth, with only one functional engine. Quickly setting a course for Earth, the Jutland discovered a disabled Cretin fighter had also been dragged along with the ship; the live pilot revealing many things. The Cretin had attacked Fate and the Jutland in hopes of either taking or destroying the Wormhole device, after some sort of leak. The decision to begin war again with the humans was not authorised by the Holy Cretin council, but by the vicious and malevolent Admiral Krang. Helplessly drifting through space, the Jutland's mission still stood; to get Rook and his package to Earth, at all costs. With war with the Cretin having started again, the need to complete their mission was clearer than ever.

» The UEN Jutland (WIP)
» Jutland Megapack
» Jutland Memories~
» UEN Jutland Supply Manifest
» The Jutland Encyclopedia