Speaking of the Terran Confederacy: I haven't got any ships yet for them, but you can imagine the standard TOS sort of thing for now.
Here's some background writeup:
The Terran Confederacy owes its birth to the early days of Earth's space exploration. With the development of fusion power and improvements to the EM Pulse thruster in the mid-21st century, the path to the rest of the solar system was opened. By 2060 robotic probes were being dispatched to other nearby star systems. The first reports were received back by 2070, and by the end of the century four habitable planets had been detected and manned missions dispatched to each of them.
It was not until 2084, however, that the decision was made to commence a massive colonization effort. Earlier in that year, a kilometer-wide asteroid slammed into northern Brazil, flattening the city of Rio de Janeiro and killing millions. Finally awakened to the danger, and now capable of the technological effort, the decision was made to no longer keep all of humanity's eggs in one comfortable basket.
Throughout the 22nd century, EMPulse powered STL craft spread out from Earth, carrying hundreds of thousands of colonists to new worlds. No living alien sapients were discovered, but the relics of past visits to the region were found in several systems. The most famous of these, of course, was the "Gardener Station", floating in an oxygen-rich layer of the atmosphere of a gas giant at Eta Cassiopea.
Colonization and trade would continue in this manner for decades, with the STL ship-crews becoming families and clans nearly independant of outside authority. Conflict erupted more than once as various colonies sought to assert their independance, and Earth to reassert her authority over them. The sheer impracticality of waging war at such great removes limited the extent of any such struggle, however. Further, the requirement that colonies be as self-sufficient as possible due to the massive expense of supplying them from outside left Earth with limited reigns with which to hold them.
The eventual result was the Confederacy, a loose association of semi-independant polities including Earth, the various colonies, and a representative group elected by the ship-clans. The development of Tachyon-Radio (spurred by some hints in an ancient spaceship wreck, found half-buried on Tau Ceti 4) allowed communication, at least, to be more effective, and coordination and negotiation between Confederacy members possible.
The advent of Hyperdrive in 2234 merely increased the speed of the diaspora. Intra-Confederate conflict was almost unheard of by that point, and Earth's billions provided plenty of capital investment for new starships. Early hyperdrive probes actually met many of the STL ship-clans en route, providing them the data and plans needed to perform their own upgrades, driven by their (often quite canny) agents back on Earth. New, dedicated FTL ships were built as well, and the increased rate of trade and communication tied the Confederate worlds more closely together even as exploration and colonization drove the borders further out from Earth.
With this increased spread came the inevitable first contacts with other races and star nations. Contact was made almost simultaneously with the Nevinyrral Hegemony and the Draconian Empire, both contacts sparking brief skirmishes that eventually calmed down as diplomats and merchants got involved. Brief wars with both polities would erupt again over time, but rarely lasted long or changed borders greatly.
It was not until the War of Liberation was well underway that the first hints of the existence of Hyborea made their way to Confederacy Intelligence. The idea of a human polity on the far side of Draconia caused a certain amount of confusion, until one of the ship-clans got a trading vessel out that far and was able to verify Hyborea's origins.
While there have been wars with Draconia and other powers, the Confederacy is well aware of the value of trade as a binding factor between cultures and nations. Extensive trade contact with their neighbors has gone a long way to reducing conflict. The greatest theater of ambition between the various star nations, these days, is the competition for trade and influence among the numerous independant star systems and small polities that exist amongst and between the greater nations.
One prominent example of this is the People's Democract Republic of Tamar, a breakaway Tharkad county currently being courted by Hyborea, Draconia, the Confederacy, and other powers nearby. The Barachan system, formerly home to a variety of pirate clans after a worker rebellion, is another, maintaining an open port policy and welcoming traders from all realms. Most recently (and somewhat surprisingly), the Terran-settled world of Donegal announced its secession from the Confederacy. The elected President of Donegal was shortly thereafter ennobled as a Baroness by the Tharkad Imperium and the system brought under the Imperial flag.
Perhaps the most recent news of conflict within the Confederacy is the Battle of Kentares. The light cruiser TCS Dependable was hijacked by a ship-clan separatist group who sought to restore their peoples' monopoly on Confederate trade. The Dependable engaged from ambush the famous TCS Endeavor, then on a training cruise with a hundred cadets aboard. The two ships skirmished across the lightly-settled Kentares system for three days until Endeavor firmly gained the upper hand, at which point the separatists chose to scuttle the ship to avoid capture.
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Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
Here's some background writeup:
The Terran Confederacy owes its birth to the early days of Earth's space exploration. With the development of fusion power and improvements to the EM Pulse thruster in the mid-21st century, the path to the rest of the solar system was opened. By 2060 robotic probes were being dispatched to other nearby star systems. The first reports were received back by 2070, and by the end of the century four habitable planets had been detected and manned missions dispatched to each of them.
It was not until 2084, however, that the decision was made to commence a massive colonization effort. Earlier in that year, a kilometer-wide asteroid slammed into northern Brazil, flattening the city of Rio de Janeiro and killing millions. Finally awakened to the danger, and now capable of the technological effort, the decision was made to no longer keep all of humanity's eggs in one comfortable basket.
Throughout the 22nd century, EMPulse powered STL craft spread out from Earth, carrying hundreds of thousands of colonists to new worlds. No living alien sapients were discovered, but the relics of past visits to the region were found in several systems. The most famous of these, of course, was the "Gardener Station", floating in an oxygen-rich layer of the atmosphere of a gas giant at Eta Cassiopea.
Colonization and trade would continue in this manner for decades, with the STL ship-crews becoming families and clans nearly independant of outside authority. Conflict erupted more than once as various colonies sought to assert their independance, and Earth to reassert her authority over them. The sheer impracticality of waging war at such great removes limited the extent of any such struggle, however. Further, the requirement that colonies be as self-sufficient as possible due to the massive expense of supplying them from outside left Earth with limited reigns with which to hold them.
The eventual result was the Confederacy, a loose association of semi-independant polities including Earth, the various colonies, and a representative group elected by the ship-clans. The development of Tachyon-Radio (spurred by some hints in an ancient spaceship wreck, found half-buried on Tau Ceti 4) allowed communication, at least, to be more effective, and coordination and negotiation between Confederacy members possible.
The advent of Hyperdrive in 2234 merely increased the speed of the diaspora. Intra-Confederate conflict was almost unheard of by that point, and Earth's billions provided plenty of capital investment for new starships. Early hyperdrive probes actually met many of the STL ship-clans en route, providing them the data and plans needed to perform their own upgrades, driven by their (often quite canny) agents back on Earth. New, dedicated FTL ships were built as well, and the increased rate of trade and communication tied the Confederate worlds more closely together even as exploration and colonization drove the borders further out from Earth.
With this increased spread came the inevitable first contacts with other races and star nations. Contact was made almost simultaneously with the Nevinyrral Hegemony and the Draconian Empire, both contacts sparking brief skirmishes that eventually calmed down as diplomats and merchants got involved. Brief wars with both polities would erupt again over time, but rarely lasted long or changed borders greatly.
It was not until the War of Liberation was well underway that the first hints of the existence of Hyborea made their way to Confederacy Intelligence. The idea of a human polity on the far side of Draconia caused a certain amount of confusion, until one of the ship-clans got a trading vessel out that far and was able to verify Hyborea's origins.
While there have been wars with Draconia and other powers, the Confederacy is well aware of the value of trade as a binding factor between cultures and nations. Extensive trade contact with their neighbors has gone a long way to reducing conflict. The greatest theater of ambition between the various star nations, these days, is the competition for trade and influence among the numerous independant star systems and small polities that exist amongst and between the greater nations.
One prominent example of this is the People's Democract Republic of Tamar, a breakaway Tharkad county currently being courted by Hyborea, Draconia, the Confederacy, and other powers nearby. The Barachan system, formerly home to a variety of pirate clans after a worker rebellion, is another, maintaining an open port policy and welcoming traders from all realms. Most recently (and somewhat surprisingly), the Terran-settled world of Donegal announced its secession from the Confederacy. The elected President of Donegal was shortly thereafter ennobled as a Baroness by the Tharkad Imperium and the system brought under the Imperial flag.
Perhaps the most recent news of conflict within the Confederacy is the Battle of Kentares. The light cruiser TCS Dependable was hijacked by a ship-clan separatist group who sought to restore their peoples' monopoly on Confederate trade. The Dependable engaged from ambush the famous TCS Endeavor, then on a training cruise with a hundred cadets aboard. The two ships skirmished across the lightly-settled Kentares system for three days until Endeavor firmly gained the upper hand, at which point the separatists chose to scuttle the ship to avoid capture.
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.