Kajal
20-11-2003, 08:25
The Imperium of Kajal is relatively young in comparison to several
which number in the billions of citizens, but has technology that rivals
that of several larger nations. The nation has been in existence 125
years at the time of this publication, and was the largest nation in the
Pleaides Colonial Cluster, which is now part of the Federation of Races.
At first, the colony of Kajal numbered only 5 million, scattered about
an entire uninhabited world, and as the population today is a little
over a half-billion, there are still several areas of empty space on
Kajal Prime, in which the environment has been completely undisturbed.
When the population of Kajal reached 50 million, the colonial govern-
ment initiated an ambitious space program, that was intended to put a
true starship into orbit over the planet. Construction of the vehicle,
which was less two hundred metres long, took nearly five years, but
when it was completed, it was outfitted with a prototype FTL drive - a
truly ambitious project. Kajalan scientists had theorized 20 years
prior that the speed of light could be broken if a ship was partially
submerged into subspace to lighten its mass.
The project failed, of course. The craft, upon attempting to
partially submerge itself, completely failed to enter subspace to any
degree whatsoever. The data collected revealed why. The theorem that
the designers of the drive had discounted had been proven by the craft's
complete failure to submerge.
The Onion Theorem states that there are layers in the universe.
Submerge a craft to a lower layer and travel 1 kilometre, and upon
returning to the original layer, dozens of kilometres have been covered.
The travel differentials are different for each layer, but it requires
a certain amount of energy to actually submerge a ship. The ambitious
prototype simply did not have enough.
As a result, the prototype was refitted, and put into service as the
first Zeal class sublight frigate. It was found that while the FTL
drives mounted were not capable of FTL travel, they comfortably allowed
the small ships to cruise almost indefinitely at .5c. As such, the Zeal
class became Kajal's primary mean of transporting goods within a star
system. Travel between systems was inconvenient, as the next nearest
inhabited system was three light years away.
Two years later, however, an alien ship arrived in the Kajal system,
decelerating from 0.95c. It nearly crashed into Faralurro, Kajal's
second moon, but it was intercepted by several Zeal class frigates
before it was destroyed. However, it had put the final nail in the
coffin for the Kajalan FTL drive.
All the material dating systems pegged the craft at no more then 6
years old. However, the age of the craft was not what was at question -
it employed a drive that was capable of far greater speeds, relative to
all other ships Kajal had at the time.
The ship was a freighter that had come under attack from
pirates. It was indeed badly damaged, and while it was six
years old, the surviving computer logs stated that not only had it
travelled to Kajal with such damage, but that it covered 16 light years
in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the drive responsible for such a feat was
all but destroyed - only a few mechanisms that were stuck in a pile of
slag remained, but it at last answered the largest question of all.
Why are we here?
Kajal had been colonized by a seed ship, which had used the resources
present to genetically engineer creatures which would be able to survive
without terraforming the planet, while allowing them to survive in the
same conditions as those who sent the ship.
In short, the first colonists of Kajal had a frigate for a mother.
The mothership, also referred to as 01, created 25 small felines that
were perfectly adapted to live on the planet, approximately 300,000
years prior to the founding of Kajal. At first, these 25 beings that
barely qualified as colonists were not sentient in the truest sense
of the word. However, within three generations, a true civilization had
developed. The first generation of colonists, produced by 01, were not
quite sentient, but their offspring were.
At the time, Mothership 01, as it referred to itself, sent out small
mechanical drones, which were 'fluent' in the language that the natives
had developed, and had them bring the scattered population to her.
Mothership had constructed a settlement of appropriate size and scale
for her children, who were, at the time, quadrapedal, appearing exactly
like the Kajalan Myarra does today (cats). Many were skeptical, and
refused to come at first, because they were smaller then the predators
of the planet, and a large gathering of them would present the larger
Myors with a veritable feast.
Mothership knew of this factor however, since she had also created
the Myorra, or the White-hairs. The Myorra were the equivalent of the
tigers of Earth, but were graced with white coats.
However, neither the Myarra or Myorra expected what happened.
The settlement of Mothership 01 had been designed to accomodate the
Myars, the Myors, the Fanthyrs, and the Liyors.
The Myar and Myor populations did not even know of the existence of
the Fanthyrra or the Liyorra. The Fanthyrra were the equivalent of
Earth's panthers, while the Liyorra were equivalent to Earth's Lions.
The Myarra, however, were the equivalent of Earth's tabbis.
Naturally, they felt a little... threatened.
At first, the four groups had to be forcibly kept separate from each
other, as the three larger breeds had begun to joke about eating the
tabbis, while also threatening hostilities against each other.
Mothership had a plan.
Her education center was quite effective in integrating the four
breeds into one united race. And within a decade, the tabbis grew to be
the same size as the other breeds.
And then, tabbi couples began producing children of the other breeds,
an event that had never happened before. Mothership had been caring for
them, to ensure that the plan embedded in their genetic structure
carried itself out to completion.
Approximately 2000 years ago, the first generation of Bipedal felines
appeared on the planet Kajal, and unlike humans, who at the time that
they first started walking on two feet, the Kajalans started building
cities.
It was at this time that Mothership 01, who had attained the status
of a deity, began the process of shutting down permanently.
She had accomplished her plan. Her children had evolved to their
final projected form. They would continue to evolve, but no longer at
their original accellerated rate - to do so would be dangerous. The
plan was complete, however, the Kajalan civilization was not one that
was spacefaring. There was a point to this, of course.
Mothership 01 had observed that her children were quite violent
towards each other over the years, despite her best efforts. Violent
enough, in fact, that her plan had been delayed by 2000 years. As the
last of the fuel that powered her fusion reactor was spent, she sent a
message that would be recieved by the primitive technology that was
already present.
"Listen, children, and be enlightened. You are here not to make war
against one another, nor to destroy the land. You are here..."
Mothership 01 was destroyed before she could complete her message,
as the first Kajalan nuclear bomb was employed in the worst war the
planet would ever see.
The Fanthyrra destroyed Mothership 01, rather then to allow her to
be captured by the troops that were advancing towards her position.
They knew that her technology in the hands of the Myorra would spell
their defeat. Anything that could have ever been of use to them was
turned into slag, but Mothership 01's outer hull remained intact, as did
the very engine that had allowed her to arrive at Kajal in the first
place.
For 1800 years, scientists attempted to discern what it did, and then
the alien frigate arrived, equipped with a device that was
identical to the one that Mothership 01 carried.
Her interupted message was finally completed, when the databanks of
the frigate were searched.
"Listen, children, and be enlightened. You are here not to make war
against one another, nor to destroy the land. You are here so your kind
may once again walk amongst the stars, and to seek others like you out.
It is your destiny."
Mothership 00 had 'died' three years before Mothership 01. However,
it was like getting a message from the sister of God.
Although Kajal had been recognized as a soveriegn nation since it's
population had reached five million, a new planetary government formed
overnight, uniting the four colonies on Kajal into one nation, which
fielded the first Kajalan ship capable of subspace travel, a refitted
Zeal class, 10 years later.
It was followed by the successful Shalbatana design.
The Shalbatana Class is a versatile ship that can be used in many
roles. It forms the backbone of the Kajalan Navy. It has also been
deployed in FARAD configurations, and serves as escort to both the large
Xanthe class destroyers and convoys of Zeal class frigates. Unlike
either of the other two classes, it is capable of planetary landings.
The success of the subspace jump drive was astronomical, and also
terrible.
Kajal annexed all the surrounding systems that were suddenly in range
within the Pleiades Colonial Cluster, and found Motherships 2 and 3.
The other two planets were inhabited by aliens. Derivia was
populated by a race that for all intensive purposes appears human, but
possesses extensive psi abilities in comparison.
The greatest shock of all came when the first Shalbatana class landed
on Aelera, when the locals identified the Kajalan troopers as Kitaran.
Aelera shared one common trait with the planet Taenaria, which
eventually became a deserted forest world. Aelera's inhabitants were
Taenarians, and they had psi abilities that made anything the Kajalans
had ever seen seem like child's play.
Their technology was also sufficiently advanced that the entire
invasion fleet was neutralized in high Aeleran orbit. The vessels were
returned to Kajal not in the three hours that they had taken to travel
to Aelera, but in three minutes, through what the Taenarians called jump
gates.
It was then that Kajal first started using the local jumpgate
network, that had been established by the Neo-Kitarans, as they were the
very first to inhabit the region.
The population of Kajal first began referring to itself as a species
as "Kitaran" after first contact with the Neo-Kitaran nation, which, at
the time, numbered more then three hundred million.
And then, for a brief stint, the Kajalan Government was elected to be
the regional delegate for the United Nations.
The nation continued to advance until it reached the same stage as
the Neo-Kitarans. Ultra-efficient sublight engines allowed the vessels
to reach near-lightspeed without any tricky relativistic effects, and
the subspace jump drives onboard the Kajalan cruisers were supplied with
enough energy to travel anywhere in the galactic arm within a half hour.
It was not the Blink Drive, but it was close. Kajalan survey ships
appeared in orbit over Mars during the summer months, and were
promptly introduced to quite possibly the largest, and most developed
world in existence.
Earth. Over 400,000 recorded nations, and of them, tens of thousands
still existed. The population of the planet was in all likelyhood well
past the trillionth mark, and the space around it was clogged with star-
ships and stations from sufficiently advanced nations. There were even
nations that resided outside known space, as far as Kajal was concerned.
The crew on board that first corvette realized how important that
polluted world was, and became aware that the planet below them, which
the Earthers referred to as Mars, was open for colonization, and already
had non-human colonists living on it.
The Kajalan Government made a claim for land on Mars, and wound up
controlling the entire oceanic exit for the Mars-based nation of Sunset.
Kajal Mars, while not supported by any regimes as powerful as those
present, claimed a region of land that would be most beneficial.
Kajal Mars falls between more then five nations, and recieves a great
deal of trade from each of them every day. The colony has a great turbo
rail network, which allows transport of goods between the countries that
the colony borders in half an hour or less. Kajal Mars does export
goods to other countries, but nothing rivals the colony's transport
industry. It is the most profitable business in the entire colony.
Since the colony grew to become a nation of it's own, the shipping
companies have grown as well, expanding into the neighboring nations.
KM Freight, a government owned company, is one of the larger companies
on Mars that deals exclusively with the transport of goods. It is
supported by Superdynamics, a private company that manufactures the vast
majority of the transportation company's fleet vehicles, while maintain-
ing the turborail network. Cyberweb, the company responsible for the
recent SAL9000 incident, is also partnered with KM Freight, and manages
most, if not all of the vast computer net that allows the company to
deliver the goods on time, if not ahead of schedule.
As far as population is concerned, Kajal Mars is roughly half as
large as the Imperium of Kajal, but is supported by Kajal in full. The
two nations effectively operate as one, and their combined population is
nearly a billion.
On another note, Kajal has recently test fired a subspace weapon, and
the results were promising. The device was not destroyed, as expected,
but remained intact, and operational. However, the subspace shockwave
has rendered any further communications with the observing vessel
impossible, and it's estimated that it will take two weeks before the
Zeuse exits the affected region, and regains subspace capability.
Kajal's navy is comprised of over two hundred and fifty active ships,
with approximately a thousand ready to be put into service when needed.
75% of the ships are Shalbatana Class, and 15% are Xanthe class. The
remaining 10% is made up of aging Zeal class vessels, which are still
in use by the military. Kajal's merchant fleet numbers dwarf those of
the navy, and it is comprised primarily of Zeal class frigates and
Dvareg class freighters, which are often seen towing several kilometres
worth of cargo in modular containers. The average Dvareg tows about
1.25km of cargo containers, while the wealthier have been seen to tow
almost 3 km of cargo containers.
However, these statistics are no longer accurate. Over the past two
years, the Imperium has been testing it's latest generation of starship
design.
Inspired by the Eldar nation of Tor Yvresse, the new Kajalan warfleet
makes the old one look like a bunch of potato guns. The new fleet's
existence was to be kept secret, but a war between two of Kajal's
neighbors had forced them to deploy the new ships.
The most common ships in the new fleet are the Phyrsian heavy cruisers.
Sleek and versatile, they can do everything that the Shalbatana class can,
but better. They also pack quite a substantial whallop in comparison.
They are commonly accompanied by several of the Solaris Cruiser/Carriers,
which can provide fire or fighter support, in addition to launching
torpedoes.
For scouting and general patrol duties, however, the Liyo Light
Cruiser and Sorath Advance Scout are used. The advance scout possesses
the speed necessary to make quick runs in and out of enemy territory,
and has enough firepower to defend itself when necessary, or to make a
tactical strike against a smaller enemy outpost or convoy. The Liyo
Light Cruiser is exactly that - Smaller then the Solaris, but larger
then the Sorath, it exists simply because it is more economical to use
it instead of a Phyrsian or Solaris. It fulfills the same roles, but at
a fraction of the resources required. It is primarily found only within
Imperial space.
While the navy is varied and adept at many tasks, no single ship is
more impressive then the Fanthyra Heavy Destroyer. Designed solely for
war, it mounts a powerful array of devastatingly accurate weapons, while
its engines allow it to outrun the escorts of many of the nations in the
Federation of Races. It is the single most feared sight to pirates in
Imperial space, as if it is deemed necessary to send one after you...
Well, you're pretty much screwed.
The remaining ships in the advanced Imperial Fleet fill the escort
role. Depending on the size of a convoy, and the cargo it carries, a
single squadron of Tigirans may be assigned, or several Hretanas
instead. No matter what the cargo, there is always something protecting
it.
The single largest achievement of the advanced Imperial Navy was the
completion of the single most advanced shipyard complex in the Imperium.
The Aesir shipyards cost nearly four trillion kit hours, and took over
ten years to build. Although the opening of the complex was a success,
the real test was how the facility would operate. Less then six months
after completing the yards, the first Fanthyra Heavy Destroyer was
completed. However, this was a unique task - the shipyards technically
simply did not have the internal volume required to construct the ship.
However, there was ample space outside.
A web of gantries sprang between three of the main pylons,
encompassing an area large enough to construct the ship, and the vessel
was built, all while the smaller escorts were churned out by the
internal yards.
The successful completion of the Heavy Destroyer opened the way to
beginning full scale construction operations at the Aesir shipyards, and
for once, Kajal could build an entire armada using only one facility.
It was quite helpful.
which number in the billions of citizens, but has technology that rivals
that of several larger nations. The nation has been in existence 125
years at the time of this publication, and was the largest nation in the
Pleaides Colonial Cluster, which is now part of the Federation of Races.
At first, the colony of Kajal numbered only 5 million, scattered about
an entire uninhabited world, and as the population today is a little
over a half-billion, there are still several areas of empty space on
Kajal Prime, in which the environment has been completely undisturbed.
When the population of Kajal reached 50 million, the colonial govern-
ment initiated an ambitious space program, that was intended to put a
true starship into orbit over the planet. Construction of the vehicle,
which was less two hundred metres long, took nearly five years, but
when it was completed, it was outfitted with a prototype FTL drive - a
truly ambitious project. Kajalan scientists had theorized 20 years
prior that the speed of light could be broken if a ship was partially
submerged into subspace to lighten its mass.
The project failed, of course. The craft, upon attempting to
partially submerge itself, completely failed to enter subspace to any
degree whatsoever. The data collected revealed why. The theorem that
the designers of the drive had discounted had been proven by the craft's
complete failure to submerge.
The Onion Theorem states that there are layers in the universe.
Submerge a craft to a lower layer and travel 1 kilometre, and upon
returning to the original layer, dozens of kilometres have been covered.
The travel differentials are different for each layer, but it requires
a certain amount of energy to actually submerge a ship. The ambitious
prototype simply did not have enough.
As a result, the prototype was refitted, and put into service as the
first Zeal class sublight frigate. It was found that while the FTL
drives mounted were not capable of FTL travel, they comfortably allowed
the small ships to cruise almost indefinitely at .5c. As such, the Zeal
class became Kajal's primary mean of transporting goods within a star
system. Travel between systems was inconvenient, as the next nearest
inhabited system was three light years away.
Two years later, however, an alien ship arrived in the Kajal system,
decelerating from 0.95c. It nearly crashed into Faralurro, Kajal's
second moon, but it was intercepted by several Zeal class frigates
before it was destroyed. However, it had put the final nail in the
coffin for the Kajalan FTL drive.
All the material dating systems pegged the craft at no more then 6
years old. However, the age of the craft was not what was at question -
it employed a drive that was capable of far greater speeds, relative to
all other ships Kajal had at the time.
The ship was a freighter that had come under attack from
pirates. It was indeed badly damaged, and while it was six
years old, the surviving computer logs stated that not only had it
travelled to Kajal with such damage, but that it covered 16 light years
in 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the drive responsible for such a feat was
all but destroyed - only a few mechanisms that were stuck in a pile of
slag remained, but it at last answered the largest question of all.
Why are we here?
Kajal had been colonized by a seed ship, which had used the resources
present to genetically engineer creatures which would be able to survive
without terraforming the planet, while allowing them to survive in the
same conditions as those who sent the ship.
In short, the first colonists of Kajal had a frigate for a mother.
The mothership, also referred to as 01, created 25 small felines that
were perfectly adapted to live on the planet, approximately 300,000
years prior to the founding of Kajal. At first, these 25 beings that
barely qualified as colonists were not sentient in the truest sense
of the word. However, within three generations, a true civilization had
developed. The first generation of colonists, produced by 01, were not
quite sentient, but their offspring were.
At the time, Mothership 01, as it referred to itself, sent out small
mechanical drones, which were 'fluent' in the language that the natives
had developed, and had them bring the scattered population to her.
Mothership had constructed a settlement of appropriate size and scale
for her children, who were, at the time, quadrapedal, appearing exactly
like the Kajalan Myarra does today (cats). Many were skeptical, and
refused to come at first, because they were smaller then the predators
of the planet, and a large gathering of them would present the larger
Myors with a veritable feast.
Mothership knew of this factor however, since she had also created
the Myorra, or the White-hairs. The Myorra were the equivalent of the
tigers of Earth, but were graced with white coats.
However, neither the Myarra or Myorra expected what happened.
The settlement of Mothership 01 had been designed to accomodate the
Myars, the Myors, the Fanthyrs, and the Liyors.
The Myar and Myor populations did not even know of the existence of
the Fanthyrra or the Liyorra. The Fanthyrra were the equivalent of
Earth's panthers, while the Liyorra were equivalent to Earth's Lions.
The Myarra, however, were the equivalent of Earth's tabbis.
Naturally, they felt a little... threatened.
At first, the four groups had to be forcibly kept separate from each
other, as the three larger breeds had begun to joke about eating the
tabbis, while also threatening hostilities against each other.
Mothership had a plan.
Her education center was quite effective in integrating the four
breeds into one united race. And within a decade, the tabbis grew to be
the same size as the other breeds.
And then, tabbi couples began producing children of the other breeds,
an event that had never happened before. Mothership had been caring for
them, to ensure that the plan embedded in their genetic structure
carried itself out to completion.
Approximately 2000 years ago, the first generation of Bipedal felines
appeared on the planet Kajal, and unlike humans, who at the time that
they first started walking on two feet, the Kajalans started building
cities.
It was at this time that Mothership 01, who had attained the status
of a deity, began the process of shutting down permanently.
She had accomplished her plan. Her children had evolved to their
final projected form. They would continue to evolve, but no longer at
their original accellerated rate - to do so would be dangerous. The
plan was complete, however, the Kajalan civilization was not one that
was spacefaring. There was a point to this, of course.
Mothership 01 had observed that her children were quite violent
towards each other over the years, despite her best efforts. Violent
enough, in fact, that her plan had been delayed by 2000 years. As the
last of the fuel that powered her fusion reactor was spent, she sent a
message that would be recieved by the primitive technology that was
already present.
"Listen, children, and be enlightened. You are here not to make war
against one another, nor to destroy the land. You are here..."
Mothership 01 was destroyed before she could complete her message,
as the first Kajalan nuclear bomb was employed in the worst war the
planet would ever see.
The Fanthyrra destroyed Mothership 01, rather then to allow her to
be captured by the troops that were advancing towards her position.
They knew that her technology in the hands of the Myorra would spell
their defeat. Anything that could have ever been of use to them was
turned into slag, but Mothership 01's outer hull remained intact, as did
the very engine that had allowed her to arrive at Kajal in the first
place.
For 1800 years, scientists attempted to discern what it did, and then
the alien frigate arrived, equipped with a device that was
identical to the one that Mothership 01 carried.
Her interupted message was finally completed, when the databanks of
the frigate were searched.
"Listen, children, and be enlightened. You are here not to make war
against one another, nor to destroy the land. You are here so your kind
may once again walk amongst the stars, and to seek others like you out.
It is your destiny."
Mothership 00 had 'died' three years before Mothership 01. However,
it was like getting a message from the sister of God.
Although Kajal had been recognized as a soveriegn nation since it's
population had reached five million, a new planetary government formed
overnight, uniting the four colonies on Kajal into one nation, which
fielded the first Kajalan ship capable of subspace travel, a refitted
Zeal class, 10 years later.
It was followed by the successful Shalbatana design.
The Shalbatana Class is a versatile ship that can be used in many
roles. It forms the backbone of the Kajalan Navy. It has also been
deployed in FARAD configurations, and serves as escort to both the large
Xanthe class destroyers and convoys of Zeal class frigates. Unlike
either of the other two classes, it is capable of planetary landings.
The success of the subspace jump drive was astronomical, and also
terrible.
Kajal annexed all the surrounding systems that were suddenly in range
within the Pleiades Colonial Cluster, and found Motherships 2 and 3.
The other two planets were inhabited by aliens. Derivia was
populated by a race that for all intensive purposes appears human, but
possesses extensive psi abilities in comparison.
The greatest shock of all came when the first Shalbatana class landed
on Aelera, when the locals identified the Kajalan troopers as Kitaran.
Aelera shared one common trait with the planet Taenaria, which
eventually became a deserted forest world. Aelera's inhabitants were
Taenarians, and they had psi abilities that made anything the Kajalans
had ever seen seem like child's play.
Their technology was also sufficiently advanced that the entire
invasion fleet was neutralized in high Aeleran orbit. The vessels were
returned to Kajal not in the three hours that they had taken to travel
to Aelera, but in three minutes, through what the Taenarians called jump
gates.
It was then that Kajal first started using the local jumpgate
network, that had been established by the Neo-Kitarans, as they were the
very first to inhabit the region.
The population of Kajal first began referring to itself as a species
as "Kitaran" after first contact with the Neo-Kitaran nation, which, at
the time, numbered more then three hundred million.
And then, for a brief stint, the Kajalan Government was elected to be
the regional delegate for the United Nations.
The nation continued to advance until it reached the same stage as
the Neo-Kitarans. Ultra-efficient sublight engines allowed the vessels
to reach near-lightspeed without any tricky relativistic effects, and
the subspace jump drives onboard the Kajalan cruisers were supplied with
enough energy to travel anywhere in the galactic arm within a half hour.
It was not the Blink Drive, but it was close. Kajalan survey ships
appeared in orbit over Mars during the summer months, and were
promptly introduced to quite possibly the largest, and most developed
world in existence.
Earth. Over 400,000 recorded nations, and of them, tens of thousands
still existed. The population of the planet was in all likelyhood well
past the trillionth mark, and the space around it was clogged with star-
ships and stations from sufficiently advanced nations. There were even
nations that resided outside known space, as far as Kajal was concerned.
The crew on board that first corvette realized how important that
polluted world was, and became aware that the planet below them, which
the Earthers referred to as Mars, was open for colonization, and already
had non-human colonists living on it.
The Kajalan Government made a claim for land on Mars, and wound up
controlling the entire oceanic exit for the Mars-based nation of Sunset.
Kajal Mars, while not supported by any regimes as powerful as those
present, claimed a region of land that would be most beneficial.
Kajal Mars falls between more then five nations, and recieves a great
deal of trade from each of them every day. The colony has a great turbo
rail network, which allows transport of goods between the countries that
the colony borders in half an hour or less. Kajal Mars does export
goods to other countries, but nothing rivals the colony's transport
industry. It is the most profitable business in the entire colony.
Since the colony grew to become a nation of it's own, the shipping
companies have grown as well, expanding into the neighboring nations.
KM Freight, a government owned company, is one of the larger companies
on Mars that deals exclusively with the transport of goods. It is
supported by Superdynamics, a private company that manufactures the vast
majority of the transportation company's fleet vehicles, while maintain-
ing the turborail network. Cyberweb, the company responsible for the
recent SAL9000 incident, is also partnered with KM Freight, and manages
most, if not all of the vast computer net that allows the company to
deliver the goods on time, if not ahead of schedule.
As far as population is concerned, Kajal Mars is roughly half as
large as the Imperium of Kajal, but is supported by Kajal in full. The
two nations effectively operate as one, and their combined population is
nearly a billion.
On another note, Kajal has recently test fired a subspace weapon, and
the results were promising. The device was not destroyed, as expected,
but remained intact, and operational. However, the subspace shockwave
has rendered any further communications with the observing vessel
impossible, and it's estimated that it will take two weeks before the
Zeuse exits the affected region, and regains subspace capability.
Kajal's navy is comprised of over two hundred and fifty active ships,
with approximately a thousand ready to be put into service when needed.
75% of the ships are Shalbatana Class, and 15% are Xanthe class. The
remaining 10% is made up of aging Zeal class vessels, which are still
in use by the military. Kajal's merchant fleet numbers dwarf those of
the navy, and it is comprised primarily of Zeal class frigates and
Dvareg class freighters, which are often seen towing several kilometres
worth of cargo in modular containers. The average Dvareg tows about
1.25km of cargo containers, while the wealthier have been seen to tow
almost 3 km of cargo containers.
However, these statistics are no longer accurate. Over the past two
years, the Imperium has been testing it's latest generation of starship
design.
Inspired by the Eldar nation of Tor Yvresse, the new Kajalan warfleet
makes the old one look like a bunch of potato guns. The new fleet's
existence was to be kept secret, but a war between two of Kajal's
neighbors had forced them to deploy the new ships.
The most common ships in the new fleet are the Phyrsian heavy cruisers.
Sleek and versatile, they can do everything that the Shalbatana class can,
but better. They also pack quite a substantial whallop in comparison.
They are commonly accompanied by several of the Solaris Cruiser/Carriers,
which can provide fire or fighter support, in addition to launching
torpedoes.
For scouting and general patrol duties, however, the Liyo Light
Cruiser and Sorath Advance Scout are used. The advance scout possesses
the speed necessary to make quick runs in and out of enemy territory,
and has enough firepower to defend itself when necessary, or to make a
tactical strike against a smaller enemy outpost or convoy. The Liyo
Light Cruiser is exactly that - Smaller then the Solaris, but larger
then the Sorath, it exists simply because it is more economical to use
it instead of a Phyrsian or Solaris. It fulfills the same roles, but at
a fraction of the resources required. It is primarily found only within
Imperial space.
While the navy is varied and adept at many tasks, no single ship is
more impressive then the Fanthyra Heavy Destroyer. Designed solely for
war, it mounts a powerful array of devastatingly accurate weapons, while
its engines allow it to outrun the escorts of many of the nations in the
Federation of Races. It is the single most feared sight to pirates in
Imperial space, as if it is deemed necessary to send one after you...
Well, you're pretty much screwed.
The remaining ships in the advanced Imperial Fleet fill the escort
role. Depending on the size of a convoy, and the cargo it carries, a
single squadron of Tigirans may be assigned, or several Hretanas
instead. No matter what the cargo, there is always something protecting
it.
The single largest achievement of the advanced Imperial Navy was the
completion of the single most advanced shipyard complex in the Imperium.
The Aesir shipyards cost nearly four trillion kit hours, and took over
ten years to build. Although the opening of the complex was a success,
the real test was how the facility would operate. Less then six months
after completing the yards, the first Fanthyra Heavy Destroyer was
completed. However, this was a unique task - the shipyards technically
simply did not have the internal volume required to construct the ship.
However, there was ample space outside.
A web of gantries sprang between three of the main pylons,
encompassing an area large enough to construct the ship, and the vessel
was built, all while the smaller escorts were churned out by the
internal yards.
The successful completion of the Heavy Destroyer opened the way to
beginning full scale construction operations at the Aesir shipyards, and
for once, Kajal could build an entire armada using only one facility.
It was quite helpful.