Thelasi construction yards had been churning out fleets for years now, large construction centers cranking out parts of ships, which were then shipped to large fleet yards, where the pieces were assembled to larger ships.
Yet even his massive push in fleet construction was not enough, the Thelasi needed a defensive network. With the massive amounts of nations that were hostile to the Thelasi they needed some protection. Because of that a massive construction project was begun. Now that the Thelasi had become comfortably settled on their planet, they had money to spend on other things namely, this construction project.
Weapons had been taken off of Edenbar, and placed on asteroids that had been towed close to the Thelasi home-world itself, there were ten asteroids—named “Castles”—each of these asteroids had hundreds of low-caliber weapons (anti fighter), many medium weapons (anti-light-capital) heavy canons (anti-capital) and each castle had a single—huge—long range cannon, capable of firing all the way to the edge of the system. Added to this was the thick armor, partially from the rock of the asteroid, and also from the many feet of armor plate that the Thelasi had added.
These massive Castles cost a small fortune, but in the Thelasi’s minds, they were worth it. Each Castle contained many fighters, fighter-bombers and heavy-bombers, along with hundreds of soldiers. Each base also served as a fleet refueling and re-supply base.
On top of these ten bases were many more firing platforms, many of them smaller unmanned bases, some that only had a single anti-fighter cannon, some of them had cannons that belonged on battleships, some of the facilities were made to launch fighters, others were designed to quickly re-arm, re-supply, and repair capital ships, and others were designed to knock down enemy missile systems.
OOC: This thread is mainly just for little developements within my nation that don't fit into other threads, but I want to have them posted.
Nosirin looked at the data sheets that were spread before him. His naval commanders had been informing him of the dangerous situation in the outside world, and he had to wonder whether the Thelasi could have an effective weapon with which to strike back. The Empire was stronger, perhaps stronger and safer than it had been at any other point in history. The Ninth fleet had recently been deployed; three more remained until all twelve war-fleets had been deployed. Yet Thelas still lacked a non-conventional means with which to strike back.
Leaning back he looked at the data screens, on the display a history program played,
“The German Raiders of WW2 attacked shipping and cargo supplies throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Among these vessels was the dreaded Bismarck. Although destroyed by British forces, the Bismarck could have done tremendous damage to shipping. Also used by the Germans were ‘Trojan Horses’, military vessels disguised as merchant ships, they would reveal their armaments when a target had entered their sights, and then open fire.”
Chuckling, Nosirin initiate a communications link with several designers at the Agar ship-yards.
It was weeks later that within the Thelasi Omega base, within the comet shield began to produce twelve vessels, all of them merchant ships on the outside, with hidden armor and weapons. These ships would be the commerce raiders of the Thelasi fleet, but no just commerce raiders, spy ships and recon vessels.
Each ship was two point four kilometers long, all armed with cutting edge Thelasi systems, hidden in retractable turrets and missile batteries. From the outside, the ship would look exactly like any of many cargo ships in space. Even scans would turn up the fact of a standard freighter, even an interior search would betray little of the ships’ true purpose.
Yet also at one of the massive ships-yards around the gas-giant five battle-cruisers began production. They had weaker armor, better engines, and more fighter space than standard Thelasi battle-cruisers. They were the R-Class ships, faster than standard Thelasi vessels, and with more fighters than a standard ship, the R-Class was designed to operate on its own, or with a partner ship, it could deploy into deep space and act as a Merchant raider, or even convoy guardian.
When the R-Class vessels were finished, they would fly into space, observing space traffic and mapping trade routes. Identifying ships of certain nations and recording commonly used trade routes. The Ardan system was a ripe hunting ground, yet it was the territory of the Sub-space cruisers and destroyers because of the rapid response time of the targeted nations.
The R-Class vessels would instead hunt outside the system, pulling ships out of FTL with their Gravitic generators. Then they would board them and seize their cargos—then scuttle the ship—or they would simply blast the ship to pieces. Immediately after, the R vessels would fly away to another location, hoping to avoid enemy vessels.
On the other hand, the “Wolf Ships” would hunt within the trade routes using false distress calls, or other lures, to locate vessels, then destroy them. Each of the ships had a different design, each unique. Because they had been built at Omega, they were almost totally secret, only their crews, and the personnel at Omega—all of whom had been checked so many times, there was almost no chance of a spy—knew of them, and even then, they were designed to emulate commonly used cargo vessels.
These ships would soon prowl space, carrying cargo to and fro, securing their many identities. Legitimate traders or smuggler’s ships all this was up to the captain.
The Thelasi home system had been turned into a massive armory center over the past years. Successive construction projects, the creation of the Star Castles, the massive Grand Cannons on the surface, massive Asteroid Guns (gigantic mass-drivers within asteroids), fighter bases, fleet centers, automated mine-fields, all of this was to ensure that the Thelasi people would be secured.
Now another project was underway, the deployment of a massive “net” of FTL inhibitors. Transports belonging to the Thelasi Navy Construction Core deployed massive automated generators, themselves defense installations with large defense guns, around the Thelasi system. Yet the Thelasi couldn’t simply deploy these generators—designed to remain on indefinitely—and cut off all their trade.
Instead they began the construction of Gateway Defense Facility One. GDF-1 was made out of eight asteroids, arranged in the cube, each asteroid at one of the corners. These asteroids were each three kilometers in diameter and had been hollowed out; this hollowed space contained massive Thelasi military and civilian installations. Large docking yards, military bases, hangers, and even large shopping malls were contained within the facility.
Ships would be stopped as they entered Thelas, the FTL inhibitors preventing them from proceeding, indeed, a vessel could enter anywhere in the border, but they would then be stopped by the defense force and arrested, for it was now a law that all vessel had to enter at GDF-1, or else face confiscation and fines.
The vessels stopped at GDF-1 would be searched by scanners, or even physical inspectors, and then either allowed on their way, turned back, or detained and the crew placed under arrest. Vessels allowed through would be allowed to all planets within the system, albeit, they wouldn’t be able to use FTL drives.
This was part of the continuing project to create a safer—more defensible—Thelas.
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In another part of Thelas, around the gas giant Delos, the Thelasi Navy Construction Core had another task to complete: the construction of massive stations around the planetoid. These stations were fleet construction yards, in complement to the ones around the moon, research bases and training facilities. Each facility would contain twelve three-kilometer construction bays, and thirty-six two-kilometer maintenance bays for the fleets already constructed. More of these bases would be later added, but for now these were the main facilities.
The base was also to contain a gigantic mining array. The Thelasi experiments, though they were short-lived, on Nenar had provided useful data about high-pressure gas-mining operations. All sorts of valuable gasses and minerals could be extracted from the gas giant. Be they hydrogen, to power the huge fusion furnaces that would power the ship yards, or to fuel the docked craft, or the minerals that could be used in construction.
Another odd aspect of the facilities would be their mobile factor. Designed to follow Delos’ two moons, conveniently both were on the same orbital track. These moons already had massive mines, and would provide raw materials for the massive smelters at the base, along with raw ore from the asteroid belt, and then the finished metal could be sent to the home-planet itself.
To provide rapid transport, two large sets of “tracks” were already being constructed, one for each Lunar base. Again based upon knowledge gathered by the Thelasi project at Nenar, these tracks were actually thick cables, twelve of them in fact, arranged in a hexagram and connected by cross beams every two hundred kilometers, preventing the cables from drifting apart, while still allowing the cables to bend.
Massive trains would be propelled upon the tracks, either carrying raw materials—or even passengers, as Lunar I and II were planed to also house workers for Angardhon, the name of the facilities—to and from the Lunar worlds and Angardhon. Within the cables would be piped the liquid materials, and power, that needed to be transported, seeing as how Angardhon had more abundant sources of power. On the other hand, the Lunar bases would have more sources of water.
Another way that the Thelasi would generate power was a revolutionary new technology. Operating on the fact that metals become hot as they are compressed, the Thelasi harnessed this power, using massive booms to generate power, the Thelasi bases could generate massive amounts of power, without consuming energy.
It would take a while to complete, but so far the construction was going well. Massive transports uncoiled the long cables, and then specially designed craft traveled along inside the hexagrams of cables, placing the structural support braces behind them.
The cables were laid first from the already built Lunar bases, then after the cables had been completely laid, the anchors were constructed, after that the command and control areas, and the rest of the base around the center “plug in” for the cables.
The Thelasi home system had been turned into a massive armory center over the past years. Successive construction projects, the creation of the Star Castles, the massive Grand Cannons on the surface, massive Asteroid Guns (gigantic mass-drivers within asteroids), fighter bases, fleet centers, automated mine-fields, all of this was to ensure that the Thelasi people would be secured.
Now another project was underway, the deployment of a massive “net” of FTL inhibitors. Transports belonging to the Thelasi Navy Construction Core deployed massive automated generators, themselves defense installations with large defense guns, around the Thelasi system. Yet the Thelasi couldn’t simply deploy these generators—designed to remain on indefinitely—and cut off all their trade.
Instead they began the construction of Gateway Defense Facility One. GDF-1 was made out of eight asteroids, arranged in the cube, each asteroid at one of the corners. These asteroids were each three kilometers in diameter and had been hollowed out; this hollowed space contained massive Thelasi military and civilian installations. Large docking yards, military bases, hangers, and even large shopping malls were contained within the facility.
Ships would be stopped as they entered Thelas, the FTL inhibitors preventing them from proceeding, indeed, a vessel could enter anywhere in the border, but they would then be stopped by the defense force and arrested, for it was now a law that all vessel had to enter at GDF-1, or else face confiscation and fines.
The vessels stopped at GDF-1 would be searched by scanners, or even physical inspectors, and then either allowed on their way, turned back, or detained and the crew placed under arrest. Vessels allowed through would be allowed to all planets within the system, albeit, they wouldn’t be able to use FTL drives.
This was part of the continuing project to create a safer—more defensible—Thelas.
**************************************************************
In another part of Thelas, around the gas giant Delos, the Thelasi Navy Construction Core had another task to complete: the construction of massive stations around the planetoid. These stations were fleet construction yards, in complement to the ones around the moon, research bases and training facilities. Each facility would contain twelve three-kilometer construction bays, and thirty-six two-kilometer maintenance bays for the fleets already constructed. More of these bases would be later added, but for now these were the main facilities.
The base was also to contain a gigantic mining array. The Thelasi experiments, though they were short-lived, on Nenar had provided useful data about high-pressure gas-mining operations. All sorts of valuable gasses and minerals could be extracted from the gas giant. Be they hydrogen, to power the huge fusion furnaces that would power the ship yards, or to fuel the docked craft, or the minerals that could be used in construction.
Another odd aspect of the facilities would be their mobile factor. Designed to follow Delos’ two moons, conveniently both were on the same orbital track. These moons already had massive mines, and would provide raw materials for the massive smelters at the base, along with raw ore from the asteroid belt, and then the finished metal could be sent to the home-planet itself.
To provide rapid transport, two large sets of “tracks” were already being constructed, one for each Lunar base. Again based upon knowledge gathered by the Thelasi project at Nenar, these tracks were actually thick cables, twelve of them in fact, arranged in a hexagram and connected by cross beams every two hundred kilometers, preventing the cables from drifting apart, while still allowing the cables to bend.
Massive trains would be propelled upon the tracks, either carrying raw materials—or even passengers, as Lunar I and II were planed to also house workers for Angardhon, the name of the facilities—to and from the Lunar worlds and Angardhon. Within the cables would be piped the liquid materials, and power, that needed to be transported, seeing as how Angardhon had more abundant sources of power. On the other hand, the Lunar bases would have more sources of water.
Another way that the Thelasi would generate power was a revolutionary new technology. Operating on the fact that metals become hot as they are compressed, the Thelasi harnessed this power, using massive booms to generate power, the Thelasi bases could generate massive amounts of power, without consuming energy.
It would take a while to complete, but so far the construction was going well. Massive transports uncoiled the long cables, and then specially designed craft traveled along inside the hexagrams of cables, placing the structural support braces behind them.
The cables were laid first from the already built Lunar bases, then after the cables had been completely laid, the anchors were constructed, after that the command and control areas, and the rest of the base around the center “plug in” for the cables.
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OOC: This happens a while later…
The entire Delos facility had been constructed, and was now beginning to go into full operation, the trains between the Lunar bases and the Delos yards were operating at maximum capacity, carrying personnel to and from the colonies, raw materials to Delos, and finished products to Lunar I.
On the side of Lunar 1 facing Axara, a large Space-port had been constructed. Not a fleet yard like Delos, Lunar 1 Transport was a civilian base, designed to dock smaller, private, transports and small civilian craft. The base was made to send small amounts of finished products, civilians goods—from blenders to hover-cars—and also some governmental goods, high grade, low volume items—from gold bars, to super-dense metals used in the construction of Thelasi fission-fusion warheads.
Lunar 1 was no longer really a mining facility, it had never had the amount of metal deposits that Lunar 2 had. Now it was almost completely hollow, composed of the houses of the military and civilian workers for Lunar 2 and Delos. It also contained the hydroponic farms for the workers, and the back-up generators that could be used to power emergency life support at Delos and Lunar two should their power systems go down—in fact, Lunar 2 and Delos also had these systems—an eventuality that the Thelasi had planned for.
Lunar 2 had none of the homes and other facilities that L1 was constructed with. L2 merely collected the raw materials for Delos, where the raw goods would be transformed into finished goods, and then the finished goods would be transferred to L1, some to L2: mining goods, and the rest would be sent to Delos for eventual transfer to Axara, or used in ship construction.
Delos had been finished too late to help with the reconstruction of the Thelasi fleets, yet it still was able to help. The facility was assisting with the construction of the Pandora under-sea colony, pre-producing parts for the colony, and even entire undersea domes.
In another part of Delos, a massive research project was under way. Secret and illegal, operation Black Flame was receiving hidden funding from the government.
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OOC: Warning, Biology wank ahead
IC:
Deep down in the atmosphere of the Gas-Giant Delos a small, relatively, pod had been lowered. Connected by a cable, with attached transport pod, to the Delos platform, the one hundred by sixty by twenty meter pod sat totally separated from the base.
Within the pod, named “Erebus” by its ten inhabitants, some quite advanced research was under way. The Thelasi had never used biological warfare against its enemies, preferring the much more stable chemical and conventional weaponry, but recently, as the Tyranid threat had shown, the Thelasi needed an “Exterminatus” weapon, able to completely decimate an enemy culture.
Erebus was separated from the rest of the facility for a good reason, the viral, bacterial, and mutagenic weapons being worked on within Erebus could be deadly to other nations if released, the Thelasi weren’t too afraid, they were immune to these weapons, yet because of its nature, if the weapon was accidentally set loose, the Thelasi wouldn’t know about the leak until humans in other nations started dying; and that might not happen for generations after the leak.
The Thelasi had figured that their best bet was not in normal viruses and bacteria, but their best hope was a fusion of viral and mutagenic weapons. Viruses, undefeatable by standard medicines, would be a perfect carrier for DNA which would direct cells to generate and secrete special mutagenic chemicals that would absorb into surrounding cells and change a particular part of the DNA. Within months the changed DNA could have infiltrated major portions of the body.
The scariest part was the possibility to tailor the weapon to activate after a certain amount of time, or a certain amount of divisions. When a certain gene disappeared off of the end of the DNA (see end note), the mutagen would be released, no longer restrained by that piece of DNA—maybe it would produce a certain Protein, or even was next to the changed genes, causing the weapon to be inactive—the weapon would have the cell kill itself and possibly release a specific chemical into the blood stream.
Within hours, as this chemical hit the cells, there would be internal hemorrhaging, in some children—second or third generation, who had almost every cell changed with this time-bomb—organs would die off within minutes, then organ death, and final the total death of the victim.
The mutagenic virus could even be designed to be triggered by a chemical released from the outside. This idea was the most heavily researched. Tailor a bacteria to have this genetic timer—a chemical with a specific half life that when destroyed would trigger a reaction in proteins—then release the chemicals into the air. Entire colonies could be cultivated and transplanted (by something as simply as a napkin left in a restaurant or bathroom, or added by vial into a river or lake) within days. Then, in several years, the bacteria, all spawned from the same culture therefore having the same timer, would release their chemicals, triggering the death of any cell infected with the special “weapon” portion of the virus.
Without knowledge of the mutagenic virus, it would be almost impossible to detect. There would be no symptoms, the affected portion would be one of the millions of genes of useless junk that pads DNA, until the chemical was released, and by the time the chemical was released, it would be too late to save the victims.
It would be most useful if used as an offensive weapon, or as a “vengeance” weapon, a weapon used against the enemy when the Thelasi have lost, then let sit for several generations, the longer it was let to sit, the more effective it would be. To excrete the virus, the cells would simply create a standard vesicle and then release the virus.
One of the things that the scientists were most proud of was their engineering to allow the virus to be exposed to the air, or water, for long periods of time. By engineering the capsule, the Thelasi also allowed the protein pod to simply fall off of the cells, and then disintegrate within the blood stream.
A deadly weapon, it is. A horrific weapon, it is. A scientific marvel, it is. Effective, it is.