The United Systems Alliance

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The United Systems Alliance

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A WIP, but the basics are here:

United Systems Alliance

The United Systems Alliance (conventional short form: United Systems), is a polity formed of fifty far-flung human colonies in eighteen systems. The United Systems is located in-between the Carina-Sagittarius and the Perseus arms, and is affiliated with the Outer Rim Coalition.

Species: Human
Capital World: Key West
Government: Constitution-based federal republic
Affiliation: ORC

History
Located at the edge of a series of eddies that ultimately lead to a dead-end, the United Systems was formed in the mid-26th century out of a hodgepodge of human colonies generally dissatisfied with the way they were being looked after-- or rather, with the way they weren’t. Universally suffering of some degree of neglect as a result of the relatively long distance away from the various original colonizers, in 2573 the original thirteen colonies ultimately decided to go on as a single independent state. Independence was gained with surprisingly little bloodshed, and in 2583 the formation of the United Systems Alliance was a fact.

In the heady, rugged, chaotic years following independence the new government undertook a series of exploration and colonizing efforts across the wild frontiers of the local cluster. Mistakes were made, lives were lost, dreams were dashed to dust; plenty available conflict arose over undetermined borders and untapped resources; corporations and politicians spun webs of intrigue and conspiracy between the stars, but despite all of this the United Systems slowly but surely spread across local space, thriving almost despite itself, and finally stabilizing somewhat as it ran out of easy room for expansion.

Then in 2651 a formerly dormant eddie in the Charleston system became active with little warning, and what had previously been a dead end at the rear of the Orion-Cygnus arm was suddenly connected to the Carina-Sagittarius arm. Through what became known as the Charleston Strait the United Systems suddenly had access to a whole new sector of space. A ‘gold rush’ ensued, wherein US corporations, expeditionary fleets and intrepid pioneers flooded the newfound area, all too eager to lay claim to whatever riches it might hold.

Oh, there were riches all right, but also the most tenacious enemy the United Systems would ever encounter. Unbeknownst to the Alliance they were intruding into territory ancestrally claimed – though never exploited - by the Aphid Imperium, a polity of some eighty systems located on the fringes of the Sagittarius Arm. In 2683 a pioneer vessel in the Tinian system reported the first encounter with an (Aphid) ship of a previously-unknown species. The Aphid ship ignored all communications attempts, and left the system.

A year later, all communications with the prospector station on Peleliu Three, two eddies in from Tinian, was lost. Six months later the fledgling colony on Caroline, one eddie in from Tinian, was attacked by the Aphidi, taking them completely by surprise. The frigate USS Anderson was lost with all hands; her wingship USS Bushranger narrowly managed to escape a similar fate. The Aphid fleet then proceeded to unleash nuclear bombardments against the planet itself before landing troops. In the ensuing month, every man, woman and child on Coraline was killed, either by the Aphidi or through deprivation.

It took nearly a month before word of the surprise attack filtered back to the government and admiralty on Key West. By that time two more systems had fallen to the Aphidi invasion fleet. A fleet was dispatched to deal with the invaders, and the First Aphid War was a fact. The two polities stalemated each other over two years of fighting in the Midway Cluster until finally in 2687 a shaky cease-fire was signed.

The United Systems utilized the next ten years of peace mainly to rebuild and expand its warfleet-- a fortuitous decision it turned out, for in 2697 the Second Aphid War began with a surprise attack on the Vincennes colony. The Aphid Imperium turned out to have rebuilt its own forces far faster than the United Systems expected; indeed it appeared not soon after the beginning of the war that the Imperium was being sponsored by a ta-su colonial magistrate eager to foster conflict in the region in order to further his own agenda. A vicious struggle for control of the Midway Cluster began...


Government
The United Systems is a loose federal republic in which member colonies have a not-insignificant amount of sovereignty. The precise form of government on the colonial level is varied, ranging from incorporated democracies with shares rather than votes to digital democracies, although all the various forms inevitably involve some degree of democracy.

At the federal level the executive branch of the United Systems is headed by a President and a Vice-President, who are elected once every five years. The legislative branch is composed of a bicameral Congress consisting of a Senate (two members from each colony) and a House of Representatives (the number of representatives per colony depends on the number of inhabitants). The federal government is based on the capital world of Key West.


Culture
The citizens of the United Systems celebrate rugged individualism and a pioneering spirit above all things. ‘No river too deep; no mountain too high’ is something of an unofficial motto; there is a deep-rooted belief that the spirit of the Alliances allows its members to make something out of nothing. This manifests itself in a sort of burly, self-confident swagger many might feel inappropriate for a polity its size.

By virtue of being located on the doorstep of not just the Aphid Imperium, with which it has fought one bloody war in the recent past and is currently fighting another, but also (and some might say by extension) the Suzougu-Go Illuminate, the United Systems Alliance is extremely militarized. Its economy has for the past twelve years run on a total war footing, with nearly 20 percent of the average planetary domestic product going directly to the war effort. This has resulted not only in an disproportionally large navy, a huge standing army, and a massive marine corps, but also in a generally hawkish demeanour among the populace.

Propaganda is nigh-omnipresent, ranging from huge and obnoxious billboards featuring the latest recruitment slogans to subtle references to the war effort in corporate advertising. Indeed it can be said that much of popular culture in the United Systems has been subverted by the war: whereas previously the iconic national self-image may have been the pioneer, stepping off an exploratory ship to dig a shovel into a new world, the pioneer is now a soldier, stepping off a drop ship rifle in hand, ready to liberate an occupied planet. The war dominates newspaper headlines; casual conversation inevitably drifts to the well-being of enlisted family members; and “we’ll meet again” echoes from radios and dance halls alike.

Another result of the war is that life for most average citizens is, whilst not exactly Spartan, definitely not as lavish as it might have been in other parts of the galaxy. With such a large part of the economy tied up by the war, there isn’t much of a supply of consumer electronics and other luxury products, nor for that matter many who would be able to afford such products in the first place. The government takes greats care to emphasize that this is a sacrifice well worth it, and most citizens seem to believe that it is. The innate belief in the values and ‘esprit’ of the Untied Systems tends to inspire a belief in the majority of the public that victory is ultimately inevitable.


Military
The United Systems has an immense military for a polity its size. This military is composed of three main branches: the Spacy, the Army, and the Marine Corps. Traditionally the Marine Corps handles all planetary landings after which the Army follows up with a second-wave ground assault, but years of fighting has diffused this difference to the point where the Army is more than capable of handling its own landing operations, and the Marine Corps frequently conducts prolonged planetary campaigns without Army backup.

The United Systems Space Forces operates a bewildering mixture of ships, from heavy-hitting cruisers and destroyers to fast frigate pickets, numerous fighters, heavy fleet carriers and hulking troop ships. The variety of ships allows the USSF a surprising degree of strategic and tactical flexibility, but differing opinions about doctrine between various admirals and a subsequent lack of a coherent fleet-building strategy simultaneously has a negative impact on fleet strategy.

A final but not insignificant component of the United Systems military is formed by the forces of individual colonies. Several member colonies have in peace time trained up units with specialized mission profiles which are in wartime subordinated to the federal military. Units such as the Vannuatu Skyborne or the Charleston Rangers perform special missions for which their training profile makes them especially suited.

Ships of the Spacy

Arapaho class cruiser
The 750m long Arapaho is the mainstay of the United Systems spacy. Rated by the space fleet as a Cruiser, she is in essence a pure space combat ship, with a minimal marine presence and few dedicated interface craft. She is nonetheless not intended to operate on her own, but rather as the core of a 'cruiser squadron': a wall of battle composed of two or more cruisers, accompanied by frigate pickets whilst starfighter escorts screen ahead of the main formation.

In combat the Arapaho stresses relatively close combat. Arapaho class cruisers are best described as gunfighters: they carry only a minimal missile compliment but an impressive array of masked x-ray laser turrets is scattered across their hull. In battle they will charge in with all guns blazing, relying on their secondary turrets and fighter escort to keep missiles away whilst the cruiser closes the distance and pummels the enemy with its array of heavy lasers.

The laser cannons are divided into two categories: main batteries (36 lasers in 18 turrets labeled M-[number]) and secondaries (56 lasers in 14 turrets labeled S-[number]. All main batteries are located atop or in the immediate vicinity of the spine of the ship, which is home to the main superconductor trench. Main batteries provide long-range hard-hitting punch. Secondaries are scattered in broadside. They provide intermediate-range strike capability against soft targets, and point defence. Each turret has its own fire control sensor slaved to the turret. All turrets are further linked with a redundant, top-of-the-line fire control network.

For self-defence Arapaho has an advanced EMC suite, capable of buffering most missile and laser strikes. A host of secondary laser turrets and four CIRD (Close-In Railgun Defence) guns on each broadside provide point defence, and as a final line of defence the warship's main belt consists of 350mm of advanced composite armour, buffeted by aerogel layers to disrupt laser strikes.

Her sensor array is one of the most sophisticated mounted on a United Systems warship. Arapaho has an advanced search suite with neutrino scanners, spectroscopes and wide spectrum telescopes capable of resolving enemy vessels over 2 AU away. Her gravity array is at the front of the vessel, to minimise interference from her own gravity wake, and is capable of scanning much of a star system. The use of these systems depends on the nature of her mission. On offensive sweeps, it is standard to watch the system from an outer body to minimise danger of ambush. While on defensive sweeps, scans are conducted from the main world of the system.

Like all United Systems mainline warships Arapaho is a torchship. Although she has limited hangar space she is capable of stashing up to eight fighters, typically Corsairs or Cobras, or ten Thunderbolt dropships. The typical compliment is six fighters however; if more are required the Admiralty will usually assign a carrier to ferry them, and ships of this class prefer to stay away from the gravity well and are rarely used to facilitate landings and as such aren't expected to host interface craft all that often.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Individual colony forces may be the most useful on defense too. An armed populace is an instant militia which gives hell to invaders that isn't easy to strike from orbit (unless you decide to just crush the whole lot).

Furthermore, navies might be in the domain of colonial forces rather than federal forces. Depending on your launch and landing capability, of course, but it might be a real pain in the ass to move a naval ship between planets. Thus, the planets maintain their own navy giving even more hell to would-be invaders and can act as symbols reminding the federal government that they aren't pushovers in the event of tyranny.

Since the navy isn't useful for attack, it might be constitutionally prohibited to federalize them, another little state's right people might enjoy.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Destructionator wrote:Individual colony forces may be the most useful on defense too. An armed populace is an instant militia which gives hell to invaders that isn't easy to strike from orbit (unless you decide to just crush the whole lot).
I think the closer you get to the Charleston Strait, the more prominent militias and planetary defense forces will be. And on the other side of the Strait it's basically the Wild West-- everyone that can hold a gun does.

The colonial forces drafted by the Feds are a bit more than PDF though; for example Vannuatu is supposed to be a young world with a very jagged landscape; specializing in overcoming such terrain has resulted in the Vannuatu Skyborne being some of the best airborne assault troops in the United Systems. And so on.
Thus, the planets maintain their own navy giving even more hell to would-be invaders and can act as symbols reminding the federal government that they aren't pushovers in the event of tyranny.
I'm not so sure about that. Building and crewing dedicated military-grade torchships oughtn't be an easy feat, and maintaining a fleet of such ships could likewise be too expensive for all but the richest colonies. PDF could probably sport system monitors and other simple armed spaceships, but anything better than that is probably federal. As a comparison, I doubt many US states would be able to finance a carrier battlegroup.
Since the navy isn't useful for attack, it might be constitutionally prohibited to federalize them, another little state's right people might enjoy.
But this Navy is quite useful for attack, as All The Way To Reno demonstrates ;). No, the Spacy is a branch of the federal war machine, although I'm sure individual colonies maintain gunboats etc, particularly those in the vicinity of the Charleston Strait.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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SiegeTank wrote:I'm not so sure about that. Building and crewing dedicated military-grade torchships oughtn't be an easy feat, and maintaining a fleet of such ships could likewise be too expensive for all but the richest colonies.
By navy I mean wet water navy - (maybe) aircraft carriers, missile cruisers, submarines, that fun stuff. These ships would be awfully heavy and a bad shape (awkward to load them into a booster) to try to launch up and down from the planet. So, the big ones are really limited to the place where they are built.

Controlling the seas is something many sf authors ignore that I think is folly. First off, ships will still be useful for transport of bulk goods, so I'd expect to still see them built for commercial uses. (Doubly so if the colony expands to multiple continents. Or if there are two colonies on one planet that want to trade. Planets are huge, so why not?) Thus, you'll see shipyards and probably at least some ad-hoc navies to fight piracy (perhaps just privately owned guns on cargo ships or maybe something more formal).

A wet water navy is also potentially useful for fighting enemy spacecraft in low orbit or repelling invasions. If there was a colony on a planet that I wanted to take, I'd land my forces in a somewhat far away ocean and move in from there, simply sidestepping your main defenses. It'd be a cakewalk... but if you had submarines or larger naval ships than my starship could carry, you'd really ruin my day!
PDF could probably sport system monitors and other simple armed spaceships, but anything better than that is probably federal. As a comparison, I doubt many US states would be able to finance a carrier battlegroup.
Yeah, as far as space forces go, I probably agree. (Orbital colonies might be different than planetary colonies - spacecraft would be much cheaper for them to build and maintain.)
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Destructionator wrote:By navy I mean wet water navy - (maybe) aircraft carriers, missile cruisers, submarines, that fun stuff. These ships would be awfully heavy and a bad shape (awkward to load them into a booster) to try to launch up and down from the planet. So, the big ones are really limited to the place where they are built.
Oh! Yes, I definitely agree with that-- planetary ships would be built by the local government. No use building aircraft carriers off-world just to go through the trouble of space-lifting them off-world. That would be silly. Of course blue water navies would only be really useful on planets with very large bodies of water; even then, a sufficient proliferation of sub-orbital fighters and/or bombers might make power projection without carriers easy enough to render traditional navies obsolete.

(Unless there's something on the bottom of the sea that's really worth grabbing and holding onto of course. In that case you might see, I dunno, scuba gear soldiers and nuclear submarine battlefleets and shit.)

I'm not ruling out wet navies entirely; it might be useful to have a few ships with anti-orbital capability around as mobile silos, but carriers are mainly a power projection platform. As soon as it becomes affordable to project the same kind of power from half the world away, I suspect the carrier will go the way of the Dodo...
Yeah, as far as space forces go, I probably agree. (Orbital colonies might be different than planetary colonies - spacecraft would be much cheaper for them to build and maintain.)
True, but even then high-end torchships probably won't ever be cheap, even for spaceborne colonies.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

Post by Magister Militum »

Of course blue water navies would only be really useful on planets with very large bodies of water; even then, a sufficient proliferation of sub-orbital fighters and/or bombers might make power projection without carriers easy enough to render traditional navies obsolete.
It's worth noting, however, that if you have maritime warships that can engage stellar warships, then it probably isn't too much of a stretch to assume that said maritime fleet is going to have warships with the capabilities to swat down that fleet of sub-orbital fighters (and that's not even getting into things such as local aerospace garrisons and such).
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Magister Militum wrote:It's worth noting, however, that if you have maritime warships that can engage stellar warships, then it probably isn't too much of a stretch to assume that said maritime fleet is going to have warships with the capabilities to swat down that fleet of sub-orbital fighters (and that's not even getting into things such as local aerospace garrisons and such).
The point is that maritime warships are a means to an end, that end chiefly being overseas power projection. If there is a more efficient way to project power (for example through the use of hypersonic bombers, constellations of satellite weapons, or deployment of orbital monitors) then the need for naval warships is eliminated. Especially considering you'd have to go through some trouble to build a fleet, whereas you can simply ship in fighters, bombers and satellites, and tug in orbital forts and monitors through the nearest eddie.

Also, considering the setup of this universe I doubt we'll be seeing a great many shared planets, in which case the projection of power will in all likelihood be mainly a vertical, rather than horizontal, affair. Maritime warships won't do you much good there (outside of a few exceptions perhaps).
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Updated the OP with the specs of the Arapaho class torch-cruiser.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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That main superconductor trench sounds like a weak point. I could see a series of good hits knocking out the entire array of main batteries.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Destructionator wrote:That main superconductor trench sounds like a weak point. I could see a series of good hits knocking out the entire array of main batteries.
Well yes, but I think that if you can get a few good hits in on the spine of the ship, the whole thing's at the very best mission-killed anyway, and more likely will be reduced to slowly expanding clouds of scrap metal and vapour...
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Maybe, but I wouldn't design based around that assumption - who doesn't live the image of the defiant battleship still firing her guns even as she sinks?!

That said, some bureaucrat might. Why almost double the cost building a redundant system if it will never get to be used anyway?


The situation I'm seeing is a few lucky laser blasts or random kinetics penetrate the spinal armor and burn through the main power bus, or better yet, a support system for it, like a superconductor's coolant pipe.

The ship is still in pretty good condition, but that broken pipe is venting coolant meant for the forward section. The superconductor loses its superconductivity and the huge amounts of energy passing through it to power the lasers now causes it to overheat, which breaks the superconductivity of adjacent modules which then overheat, and a chain reaction results.

You're forced to shut the whole system down or risk melting the main bus beyond repair. Since it powers the whole line, you just shut down most if not all of your offensive capability as the result of a lucky shot.

Damage control is sent up there to repair the system, but in the time it takes them to fix it and for it to come back online to full capacity, you are falling behind in the battle.

If you had a secondary spine with some of your weapons, you could have shut down the one half and kept fighting with the other half. Of course, the designers might figure if you are going to build a secondary spine, you might as well go the whole way and just build an additional ship, which might have merit.


...but on the bright side, this might be material for an action packed battle scene!
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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Well ultimately, it's called the 'main superconductor trench', but that doesn't mean there aren't secondaries anywhere. They probably won't be as efficient, but still.
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Re: The United Systems Alliance

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I see, cool.
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