also known as "Jesus, he's a wordy bastard, isn't he?" Forgive wiki markup, etc. Comments & critiques welcome.
====== Soviet Air Force ======
//Also known as VVS, USSRAF or Those Commie Bastards//
{{art
oviet-air-force-roundel.png?x100 |Soviet Air Force emblem}}
The **Soviet Air Force** (in Russian, //Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily//, or //Military-Air Forces//, acronymed **VVS**) is a minor fen faction founded by the crew of the ex-Soviet Space Shuttle USSR //[[ships
tichka]//.
The faction was unofficially founded 25 September 2008, shortly after //Ptichka//'s first full-power ground test. The party celebrating the newly functional (if not yet flying) Shuttle wore on into the night, and somewhere around three in the morning on the 26th the few crewmembers still awake and (not quite) sober declared themselves to be the Soviet Air Force "in exile, awaiting the day when the bourgeois capitalists are swept from the Earth and stars!"
The joking declaration was more or less forgotten until 12 October, when agents of the American government stormed the hangar where //Ptichka// was being refit. The ensuing standoff ended with //Ptichka// and her crew running for atmosphere with a good chunk of the US military establishment hot on their heels. In orbit, the crew took stock of their situation. They had successfully evaded capture by the Americans, but in the process had lost almost everything but what was aboard //Ptichka//. None of the crew had any serious connections to the Trekkies or Warsies, and were effectively cast adrift. It was at this point that somebody remembered the half-drunken declaration of the Soviet Air Force. Not having any better prospects, the crew took a vote. In a 5-2 motion, //Ptichka//'s crew dissolved and reformed as the Central Committee of the Soviet Air Force in Exile. The Committee's first act was to appoint (over his strong and rather loud objections) shuttle commander [[chars:S. Malalcypse Fnord] as Generalissimo-for-life.
Newly organized in the face of adversity, the VVS next focused on establishing a niche for themselves. Since most of the people in Fenspace were too busy building The Future to really take a hard look around them, basic scientific research fell to the wayside. Into this niche is where the VVS flew, first making contract deliveries for [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNES|CNES], [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAU|NSAU] and other small 'Danelaw space agencies, then building on those successes to begin operating independently.
An old habit of randomly breaking out a video camera and taping things paid off unexpectedly in early 2009, when a hastily-edited YouTube video of //Ptichka//'s stop at the [[gazetteer:places:belt:Ceres] waystation became a flash hit on Earth. The realization that people - even mundanes - would pay to see real images of space meant that the VVS now had a new revenue stream. The Ceres video was rereleased as //Lonely Planet: Ceres//, with generally higher quality video and audio. Downloadable through the VVS' Luna-based website, //Lonely Planet// proved a modest success.
The lure of the space beyond the solar system proved irresistable to the Central Committee, and as the Trekkies had proven that FTL flight was possible the VVS were among the early interstellar pioneers. //Ptichka// made her first interstellar flight in 2009, journeying to the Tau Ceti system and surveying the planets there. A second interstellar flight to Epsilon Indi in 2011 sealed the VVS' reputation as explorers of the first magnitude.
The VVS were part of the initial group headhunted by the [[SOS-dan] for their political and military support. The decision seemed odd at first, as the VVS was only lightly armed compared to the Republic Navy or even ten Browncoats selected at random. However, the extremely devious minds on the Central Committee more than made up for the lack of armament. //Ptichka// was refit with moderate weapons and put to work as a convoy escort and fast strike vehicle, earning several battle stars for her effort. Meanwhile, the Committee reached out to the Senshi militia, offering advanced equipment in exchange for commandos.
GREAT JUSTICE was also the impetus for the VVS' expansion project. Until 2012 the Soviets had been the core group of nine on //Ptichka// with a handful of support people scattered about, mostly friends and family who were in on the original caper but weren't in the area on launch day. The Committee had kicked around expanding the VVS before, but the demands on their time kept them from exploring the option. Suddenly thrust into the front lines of a war, the Committee realized they needed a hell of a lot more support than they had, and so began the great leap forward.
Politically, the VVS supported GREAT JUSTICE from the Convention until mid-2013, when [[fiction:greatjustice:with liberty and great justice|questions regarding Commander Suzumiya's leadership] caused a major schism in the OGJ command ranks. The Soviets ended up backing the group headed by [[gazetteer:companiestellvia corporation|Stellvia] owner [[chars:Noah Scott], a decision that led to the creation of the ##WHITENOISE## Foundation.
===== Government/Law =====
The Soviet Air Force is largely democratic. All members with sufficient sapience to understand the ground rules are allowed to debate and vote on most decisions affecting the VVS as a whole. Each independent spacecraft or facility qualifies as a "soviet," which can vote on issues relating directly to them. The Central Committee acts as a ratifying body, much like the UN Security Council or American Senate. The VVS soviets can override a Committee veto, but it requires a 2/3rds majority of all soviets to work((Most of this is still theoretical, as the VVS expansion is only a few years old and still quite small. In practice, the VVS follows military hierarchy with the Committee as the general staff.)).
The VVS Uniform Code of Justice follows the [gazetteer:government:Articles of Convention] to the letter. Violating the UCJ means a court-martial followed by (if found guilty) turning the offender over to whichever jurisdiction the offense was committed in, usually the Kandor City police.
===== Organization =====
Originally, the VVS was an one-horse faction based almost entirely onboard //Ptichka// or at their apartment/hangar building in Kandor City. After the expansion project, the force split into two seperate commands under the overall control of the Central Committee and the Generalissimo.
==== Deep Space Exploration Command (DSCOM) ====
* //2009:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond:Tau Ceti]; landing on Mercury.
* //2010:// Survey of Neptune system; landing on Triton; landing on Nereid.
* //2011:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond:Epsilon Indi]; survey of Proxima Centauri system; landing on Proxima Centauri III.
* //2012:// Survey of Saturn system for JPL.
* //2013:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond
elta Pavonis].
* //2014:// Charting Barnard's Star; exploration of Sirius; charting Procyon.
Deep space exploration always has been the main focus of the Soviet Air Force. Despite their successful foray into combat operations starting with GREAT JUSTICE, the Central Committee would much rather engage in exploration and research. In order to maintain their commitment to exploration, the **Deep Space Exploration Command** (abbreviated **DSCOM**) was founded in 2013 to continue the mission while other elements engaged in fighting Boskone.
DSCOM is the most visible part of the VVS. When most people think of the Soviet Air Force, the image that comes to mind is //Ptichka// poking around some distant object, taking samples and filming everything. The films in particular are a VVS trademark; every Soviet exploration mission has some footage shot, whether it ends up as a proper documentary or simply several hours of raw footage dumped to YouTube.
{{art:dpx-patch.png?x100 |Delta Pavonis Expedition mission patch}}
The first mission under the DSCOM banner was the [[gazetter:places:beyondelta Pavonis] expedition of late 2013, the first multiship expedition put together by the VVS. The Pavonis expedition was highly successful, mapping the extrasolar system to a high degree and discovering ##WHITENOISE##
DSCOM is based out of [[gazetteer:places:earth:Korolev AFB], Luna, on the outskirts of Kandor City. Korolev is also the Central Committee's main mailing address. Ships that can't ground at Korolev maintain a standard lunar orbit or move to parking at the Lagrange-2 point.
==== Extraterrestrial Combat Command (X-COM) ====
The **Extraterrestrial Combat Command** (abbreviated **X-COM**) was offically set up in 2013 as part of the expansion project. The original force had been an armed //Ptichka// and a platoon's worth of Senshi. Once the expansion project grew to the point where //Ptichka// wasn't needed as a front-line ship, she was returned to research duties and X-COM stepped in to take up the slack.
The Central Committee has always had a sense of humor about these sorts of things, so yes, the combat wing of the VVS is named X-COM //exactly// for the reason [[www.xcomufo.com/|you think it is.] The amazing thing is that the VVS got there first.
The VVS is unique in their profligate use of unmanned combat vehicles; nobody else in Fenspace or on Earth uses UCVs like the Soviets. Because of the nature of handwavium AI, the Central Committee realized early on that a handwaved spacecraft doesn't necessarily //need// a human pilot to function. In the beginning of the expansion the VVS focused on handwaving "plug and play" AI cores, partly because it was easy to do while on the move and still get the new recruits properly trained. The AIs could also network and operate machinery, giving the VVS the extra "hands" needed to get production lines for new ships up and running.
Soviet front-line combat operations are almost all AI-driven. Active warships have human control spaces in them, but unless there are direct orders to the contrary the ship's AI is in total control.
Most of the human membership of X-COM is either at the staff level (the Central Committee) or part of the Militarized Armed Response Senshi force. The MARS was formed as part of OGJ, and remained with the VVS after the split and the fall of Boskone Prime. MARS units are technically special forces within the Sammie hierarchy, but tend to see action as regular marines with the VVS.
X-COM is based out of [[gazetteer:places:earth:Gagarin Crater] AFB, on the lunar farside. Active forces are rotated through the Space Patrol on 3-year assignments performing convoy escort, general patrol and the occasional show of force. Rumors that MARS units have been used in black operations against Boskone remnants and/or intrusive 'Danelaw interest remain rumors.
==== Ground Operations ====
Ground operations is a catch-all catagory for activities that don't fall entirely under DSCOM or X-COM's sphere of influence. Business and diplomatic relations with the other factions, maintaining the VVS web servers, hiring and managing ground crews at Korolev and Gagarin Crater, etc. Ground operations are directly managed by the Central Committee, and probably will continue to be so managed until the force expansion demands otherwise.
===== Relations with other factions =====
Generally, the Soviet Air Force has good relations with the major factions. Their important role in Operation GREAT JUSTICE, and their major shareholder status in the ##WHITENOISE## Foundation and the Space Patrol keeps the VVS operating at "great power" status, despite its relative small size.
Soviet relations are particularly good with the [[Crystal Millennium] and the [[United Federation of Planets]. In the former, joint operations with the Sammies during GREAT JUSTICE led to the formation of the MARS units. In the latter, DSCOM's drive for increased interplanetary and interstellar scientific work impressed the Federation Council with their fervor, and Utopia Planitia's license for //[[ships:yuri_gagarin|Gagarin]//-class cruisers helped spur expansion of the Martian shipyard industry. Relations are also good with the [[blue_blazers|Blue Blaze Irregulars]; while there aren't any Blue Blazers currently employed by the VVS, the force is always willing to share information or provide assistance to any BBI operation at any time.
The goodwill felt towards the VVS is not universal, however. The Central Committee has never been shy about expressing a strong fan-seperatist line, and this makes certain individuals on Earth and in Fenspace nervous. Most fendane-aligned factions (aside from [[.:gazetteer:companiestellvia_corporation|Stellvia Corp.], oddly enough) tend to be wary of the VVS, particularly since their expansion from a one-ship microfaction to a sizable fleet. Mundane governments (especially the United States) are also wary of the VVS and their growing military power.
DSCOM retains good relations with JPL, ESA, ISRO and JAXA, but has been in an undeclared blood fued with [[.:gazetteer:government:TSAB] since early 2012. (TSAB is convinced that the VVS was directly responsible for [[ships:the_three_graces|Project Artemis], which isn't really true; it was a collaborative effort, //Ptichka// was just the point end of the spear.)
Some anti-AI microfactions have filed protests with the Central Committee over their heavy use of autonomous vehicles in combat operations, often with many citations of //Frankenstein// and //The Terminator// as "proof" that AIs shouldn't be allowed weapons. The Central Committee's replies have been less than diplomatic, which only furthers the bad feelings.
===== Order of Battle (January 2015) =====
**DSCOM**
* 1st Deep Space Exploration Wing - Korolev AFB, Kandor City
* USSR //[[shipstichka]//
* MCU //[[ships:Columbia]//
* GCU //[[ships:Yuri Gagarin]//
* MCU //[[ships:Xenu Express]//
* MCU //[[ships:A Series of Unlikely Explanations]//
**X-COM**
* 1st Air Army - Gagarin Crater AFB, Luna
* [[ships:Azu Squadron]
* 1st Militarized Armed Response Senshi (MARS)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|I Blame The Parents]// (troop transport)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|Inappropriate Response]// (troop transport)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|i've got a big stick]// (troop transport)
* ROU //[[ships:tu-22m|Frank Exchange of Views]//
* ROU //[[ships:tu-22m|Laugh While You Can]//
* ROU //Complaint Department// (under construction)
===== Craft Inventory (January 2015) =====
^ DSCOM ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| //Buran// class | Soviet Union | experimental | 1 | |
| OV-201 | Soviet Air Force | medium contact unit | 1 | Design licensed by Artemis Corp. |
| A310 | France | airliner | 1 | |
| //Gagarin// class | United Federation of Planets | general contact unit | 1 | Design licensed by UFP Starfleet. |
| DC-8-71 | United States | airliner | 1 | |
| X-24 | United States | shuttlecraft | 2 | |
| X-38 | United States | shuttlecraft | 1 | Design licensed by Artemis Corp. |
| Venture Star | United States | medium contact unit | - | Design licensed by Artemis; production slated to begin 2016-17. |
| Energia | Soviet Union | general contact unit((The full Energia stack is a range-extending mothership for //Ptichka//, and will not go into regular production.)) | - | Construction by Hephaestus, expected to begin mid-2015. |
^ X-COM ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| X-15 | United States | fighter | 7 | To be mass produced through 2020. |
| Tu-95 | Soviet Union | bomber/carrier | 3 | 2 operational, 1 reserve. |
| Tu-22M | Soviet Union | rapid offensive unit | 2 | 1 under construction, 6 to be built through 2018. |
| J4500 University Coach | United States | troop transport | 3 | More to be ordered as needed. |
^ Miscellaneous ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| [[ships:kestrel_mk3|Kestrel] | Soviet Air Force | racer | 1 | KJ's personal transport. |
| Cirrus X-3 | Soviet Air Force | jetpack | 1 | Dee's personal transport. |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | - | - |
==== Motif ====
Soviet Air Force hardware tends to fall into one of three categories:
- USSR/Warsaw Pact aircraft.
- Experimental aerospacecraft.
- Custom-built spacecraft.
Very few of the vehicles used by the VVS are of original manufacture, particularly the Soviet-era warplanes. Most of the really interesting Soviet hardware devolved onto the satellite states when the USSR collapsed, and since none of the satellites had the infrastructure or money necessary to keep them in anything resembling flightworthy shape, a lot of impressive technology was sent to the breakers or simply corroded away in abandoned hangars. This is not to say none of this stuff is available, mind; the VVS managed to purchase three Tu-95 bombers in good condition from the Ukranian Navy. However, in many cases the VVS purchases the blueprints from the appropriate design bureau and (since 2012) manufactures the airframes themselves at their Gagarin Crater, Luna facility.
The same is true for the experimental Space Race gear the VVS likes to play with. In most cases, the original hardware (when it still exists) are all one-off pieces, usually housed in a museum with curators with no sense of humor about the whole thing. While this can sometimes be overcome, as was the case with the VVS' most famous (and infamous) acquistion //Ptichka//, generally it is again easier for the VVS to simply purchase the plans for the necessary equipment, then build it themselves or farm the construction out to another Fenspace firm like Artemis, Hephaestus or Utopia Planitia.
VVS custom designed ships are (to date) mostly exercises intended to keep the Central Committee's minds sharp during long interplanetary or interstellar transits. A "standard" custom design will take an existing concept (either a mundane or genre vehicle) and then modify it - often quite extensively - to fit parameters. So far, only one VVS design, the [[ships:yuri_gagarin|Gagarin class], has translated from drawing board to reality.
The Soviet Air Force also employs a handful of one-off fenships, mostly craft intended to fill a specific role while production lines were built and brought online. These one-offs tend to be surplus airliners bought from transport companies or boneyards, usually because the aircraft could be easily converted but sometimes because the aircraft triggered the Central Committee's sense of humor. A good example of the latter is the //Xenu Express//, a heavily-modified DC-8-71 bought by the VVS in 2012 //solely// because it would annoy the [[gazetteer:religion:Scientologists] who had moved into a nearby compound.
==== Vehicle Designation System ====
The Soviet Air Force being a democratic, largely AI-staffed organization dedicated to sticking their noses where they don't belong, it was almost inevitable that they would gravitate towards the [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The...re|Culture] novels by Iain M. Banks. To this end, the VVS decided to lift the spacecraft designation scheme from the Culture books and use them for Soviet ships:
**DSCOM Designations**
* Contact Units (CU)
* Limited Contact Unit (LCU) - craft with less than 50mt dry mass.
* Medium Contact Unit (MCU) - craft with between 50-100mt dry mass.
* General Contact Unit (GCU) - craft with >100mt dry mass.
**X-COM Designations**
* Offensive Units (OU)
* Limited Offensive Unit (LOU) - specialized combat vehicles.
* Rapid Offensive Unit (ROU) - fast medium multi-role attack craft.
* General Offensive Unit (GOU) - heavy multi-role attack craft.
The "USSR" designation was retained solely for use by //Ptichka//, as the Central Committee deemed her historical significance as the Soviet Union's last great technological achievement outweighed the internal benefits of a redesignation.
=== Service Vehicles ===
Of all the Culture designations, the VVS refuses to use what is perhaps the most impressive of them, the Service Vehicle (*SV). In the Banks novels, the General Services Vehicles are the Culture's backbone, gigantic sentient spacecraft capable of intergalactic travel and housing millions of people. When the Central Committee decided to use the Culture ship nomenclature for the fleet, they decided to hold off on declaring any VVS spacecraft to be a SV until they had a ship //worthy// of such a name.((For the record, the only thing approaching proper SV status in Fenspace is //[[ships:Greenwood]//. //[[ships:Grover's Corners]// comes close, but falls short of the //scale// necessary to be a true Service Vehicle.))
===== Soviet Air Force members (January 2015) =====
==== Central Committee ====
//Also known as "the **Ptichka** Nine," or "Sandwich's Seven."//
* **[[chars._malaclypse_fnord|S. M. Fnord]** - CinC, VVS (2008-current); captain, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-current).
* **[[chars:kj|K. J. DeRosia]** - Chief Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); CinC, X-COM (2013-current).
* **[[elena_b_oorebeek|E. van Oorebeek]** - Co-pilot, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); captain, GCU //Yuri Gagarin// (2013-current).
* **K. Stewart** - Science officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); captain, MCU //Xenu Express// (2013-2014); captain, MCU //Columbia// (2014-current); CinC, DSCOM (2013-current).
* **P. Stewart** - Science officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); co-pilot, MCU //Xenu Express// (2013-2014); co-pilot, MCU //Columbia// (2014-current).
* **R. Houben** - Master-at-arms, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); commander, Azu Squadron (2013-current).
* **J. Renken** - Flight attorney, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); head of ground operations (2013-current).
* **Ptichka** - Systems control officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-current).
* **[[charsee]** - Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2009-2013); chief engineer, GCU //Yuri Gagarin// (2013-current); head shipwright (2012-current).
==== DSCOM ====
* **[[charsora_hasegawa|S. Hasegawa]** - Chief Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2013-current).
* (Another 30-50 people scattered across the various explorer ships, most on loan from one university/organization or another.)
==== X-COM ====
* (Between 15-30 shipmind AIs and one company-strength MARS unit.)
==== Ground Operations ====
* **A. Renken** - commander, Korolev AFB (2009-current).
* (Variable; usually 40 people scattered across Korolev AFB and Gagarin Crater AFB.)---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information
"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"
====== Soviet Air Force ======
//Also known as VVS, USSRAF or Those Commie Bastards//
{{art
oviet-air-force-roundel.png?x100 |Soviet Air Force emblem}}The **Soviet Air Force** (in Russian, //Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily//, or //Military-Air Forces//, acronymed **VVS**) is a minor fen faction founded by the crew of the ex-Soviet Space Shuttle USSR //[[ships
tichka]//.The faction was unofficially founded 25 September 2008, shortly after //Ptichka//'s first full-power ground test. The party celebrating the newly functional (if not yet flying) Shuttle wore on into the night, and somewhere around three in the morning on the 26th the few crewmembers still awake and (not quite) sober declared themselves to be the Soviet Air Force "in exile, awaiting the day when the bourgeois capitalists are swept from the Earth and stars!"
The joking declaration was more or less forgotten until 12 October, when agents of the American government stormed the hangar where //Ptichka// was being refit. The ensuing standoff ended with //Ptichka// and her crew running for atmosphere with a good chunk of the US military establishment hot on their heels. In orbit, the crew took stock of their situation. They had successfully evaded capture by the Americans, but in the process had lost almost everything but what was aboard //Ptichka//. None of the crew had any serious connections to the Trekkies or Warsies, and were effectively cast adrift. It was at this point that somebody remembered the half-drunken declaration of the Soviet Air Force. Not having any better prospects, the crew took a vote. In a 5-2 motion, //Ptichka//'s crew dissolved and reformed as the Central Committee of the Soviet Air Force in Exile. The Committee's first act was to appoint (over his strong and rather loud objections) shuttle commander [[chars:S. Malalcypse Fnord] as Generalissimo-for-life.
Newly organized in the face of adversity, the VVS next focused on establishing a niche for themselves. Since most of the people in Fenspace were too busy building The Future to really take a hard look around them, basic scientific research fell to the wayside. Into this niche is where the VVS flew, first making contract deliveries for [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNES|CNES], [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NSAU|NSAU] and other small 'Danelaw space agencies, then building on those successes to begin operating independently.
An old habit of randomly breaking out a video camera and taping things paid off unexpectedly in early 2009, when a hastily-edited YouTube video of //Ptichka//'s stop at the [[gazetteer:places:belt:Ceres] waystation became a flash hit on Earth. The realization that people - even mundanes - would pay to see real images of space meant that the VVS now had a new revenue stream. The Ceres video was rereleased as //Lonely Planet: Ceres//, with generally higher quality video and audio. Downloadable through the VVS' Luna-based website, //Lonely Planet// proved a modest success.
The lure of the space beyond the solar system proved irresistable to the Central Committee, and as the Trekkies had proven that FTL flight was possible the VVS were among the early interstellar pioneers. //Ptichka// made her first interstellar flight in 2009, journeying to the Tau Ceti system and surveying the planets there. A second interstellar flight to Epsilon Indi in 2011 sealed the VVS' reputation as explorers of the first magnitude.
The VVS were part of the initial group headhunted by the [[SOS-dan] for their political and military support. The decision seemed odd at first, as the VVS was only lightly armed compared to the Republic Navy or even ten Browncoats selected at random. However, the extremely devious minds on the Central Committee more than made up for the lack of armament. //Ptichka// was refit with moderate weapons and put to work as a convoy escort and fast strike vehicle, earning several battle stars for her effort. Meanwhile, the Committee reached out to the Senshi militia, offering advanced equipment in exchange for commandos.
GREAT JUSTICE was also the impetus for the VVS' expansion project. Until 2012 the Soviets had been the core group of nine on //Ptichka// with a handful of support people scattered about, mostly friends and family who were in on the original caper but weren't in the area on launch day. The Committee had kicked around expanding the VVS before, but the demands on their time kept them from exploring the option. Suddenly thrust into the front lines of a war, the Committee realized they needed a hell of a lot more support than they had, and so began the great leap forward.
Politically, the VVS supported GREAT JUSTICE from the Convention until mid-2013, when [[fiction:greatjustice:with liberty and great justice|questions regarding Commander Suzumiya's leadership] caused a major schism in the OGJ command ranks. The Soviets ended up backing the group headed by [[gazetteer:companies
tellvia corporation|Stellvia] owner [[chars:Noah Scott], a decision that led to the creation of the ##WHITENOISE## Foundation.===== Government/Law =====
The Soviet Air Force is largely democratic. All members with sufficient sapience to understand the ground rules are allowed to debate and vote on most decisions affecting the VVS as a whole. Each independent spacecraft or facility qualifies as a "soviet," which can vote on issues relating directly to them. The Central Committee acts as a ratifying body, much like the UN Security Council or American Senate. The VVS soviets can override a Committee veto, but it requires a 2/3rds majority of all soviets to work((Most of this is still theoretical, as the VVS expansion is only a few years old and still quite small. In practice, the VVS follows military hierarchy with the Committee as the general staff.)).
The VVS Uniform Code of Justice follows the [gazetteer:government:Articles of Convention] to the letter. Violating the UCJ means a court-martial followed by (if found guilty) turning the offender over to whichever jurisdiction the offense was committed in, usually the Kandor City police.
===== Organization =====
Originally, the VVS was an one-horse faction based almost entirely onboard //Ptichka// or at their apartment/hangar building in Kandor City. After the expansion project, the force split into two seperate commands under the overall control of the Central Committee and the Generalissimo.
==== Deep Space Exploration Command (DSCOM) ====
* //2009:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond:Tau Ceti]; landing on Mercury.
* //2010:// Survey of Neptune system; landing on Triton; landing on Nereid.
* //2011:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond:Epsilon Indi]; survey of Proxima Centauri system; landing on Proxima Centauri III.
* //2012:// Survey of Saturn system for JPL.
* //2013:// Exploration of [[gazetteer:places:beyond
elta Pavonis].* //2014:// Charting Barnard's Star; exploration of Sirius; charting Procyon.
Deep space exploration always has been the main focus of the Soviet Air Force. Despite their successful foray into combat operations starting with GREAT JUSTICE, the Central Committee would much rather engage in exploration and research. In order to maintain their commitment to exploration, the **Deep Space Exploration Command** (abbreviated **DSCOM**) was founded in 2013 to continue the mission while other elements engaged in fighting Boskone.
DSCOM is the most visible part of the VVS. When most people think of the Soviet Air Force, the image that comes to mind is //Ptichka// poking around some distant object, taking samples and filming everything. The films in particular are a VVS trademark; every Soviet exploration mission has some footage shot, whether it ends up as a proper documentary or simply several hours of raw footage dumped to YouTube.
{{art:dpx-patch.png?x100 |Delta Pavonis Expedition mission patch}}
The first mission under the DSCOM banner was the [[gazetter:places:beyond
elta Pavonis] expedition of late 2013, the first multiship expedition put together by the VVS. The Pavonis expedition was highly successful, mapping the extrasolar system to a high degree and discovering ##WHITENOISE##DSCOM is based out of [[gazetteer:places:earth:Korolev AFB], Luna, on the outskirts of Kandor City. Korolev is also the Central Committee's main mailing address. Ships that can't ground at Korolev maintain a standard lunar orbit or move to parking at the Lagrange-2 point.
==== Extraterrestrial Combat Command (X-COM) ====
The **Extraterrestrial Combat Command** (abbreviated **X-COM**) was offically set up in 2013 as part of the expansion project. The original force had been an armed //Ptichka// and a platoon's worth of Senshi. Once the expansion project grew to the point where //Ptichka// wasn't needed as a front-line ship, she was returned to research duties and X-COM stepped in to take up the slack.
The Central Committee has always had a sense of humor about these sorts of things, so yes, the combat wing of the VVS is named X-COM //exactly// for the reason [[www.xcomufo.com/|you think it is.] The amazing thing is that the VVS got there first.
The VVS is unique in their profligate use of unmanned combat vehicles; nobody else in Fenspace or on Earth uses UCVs like the Soviets. Because of the nature of handwavium AI, the Central Committee realized early on that a handwaved spacecraft doesn't necessarily //need// a human pilot to function. In the beginning of the expansion the VVS focused on handwaving "plug and play" AI cores, partly because it was easy to do while on the move and still get the new recruits properly trained. The AIs could also network and operate machinery, giving the VVS the extra "hands" needed to get production lines for new ships up and running.
Soviet front-line combat operations are almost all AI-driven. Active warships have human control spaces in them, but unless there are direct orders to the contrary the ship's AI is in total control.
Most of the human membership of X-COM is either at the staff level (the Central Committee) or part of the Militarized Armed Response Senshi force. The MARS was formed as part of OGJ, and remained with the VVS after the split and the fall of Boskone Prime. MARS units are technically special forces within the Sammie hierarchy, but tend to see action as regular marines with the VVS.
X-COM is based out of [[gazetteer:places:earth:Gagarin Crater] AFB, on the lunar farside. Active forces are rotated through the Space Patrol on 3-year assignments performing convoy escort, general patrol and the occasional show of force. Rumors that MARS units have been used in black operations against Boskone remnants and/or intrusive 'Danelaw interest remain rumors.
==== Ground Operations ====
Ground operations is a catch-all catagory for activities that don't fall entirely under DSCOM or X-COM's sphere of influence. Business and diplomatic relations with the other factions, maintaining the VVS web servers, hiring and managing ground crews at Korolev and Gagarin Crater, etc. Ground operations are directly managed by the Central Committee, and probably will continue to be so managed until the force expansion demands otherwise.
===== Relations with other factions =====
Generally, the Soviet Air Force has good relations with the major factions. Their important role in Operation GREAT JUSTICE, and their major shareholder status in the ##WHITENOISE## Foundation and the Space Patrol keeps the VVS operating at "great power" status, despite its relative small size.
Soviet relations are particularly good with the [[Crystal Millennium] and the [[United Federation of Planets]. In the former, joint operations with the Sammies during GREAT JUSTICE led to the formation of the MARS units. In the latter, DSCOM's drive for increased interplanetary and interstellar scientific work impressed the Federation Council with their fervor, and Utopia Planitia's license for //[[ships:yuri_gagarin|Gagarin]//-class cruisers helped spur expansion of the Martian shipyard industry. Relations are also good with the [[blue_blazers|Blue Blaze Irregulars]; while there aren't any Blue Blazers currently employed by the VVS, the force is always willing to share information or provide assistance to any BBI operation at any time.
The goodwill felt towards the VVS is not universal, however. The Central Committee has never been shy about expressing a strong fan-seperatist line, and this makes certain individuals on Earth and in Fenspace nervous. Most fendane-aligned factions (aside from [[.:gazetteer:companies
tellvia_corporation|Stellvia Corp.], oddly enough) tend to be wary of the VVS, particularly since their expansion from a one-ship microfaction to a sizable fleet. Mundane governments (especially the United States) are also wary of the VVS and their growing military power. DSCOM retains good relations with JPL, ESA, ISRO and JAXA, but has been in an undeclared blood fued with [[.:gazetteer:government:TSAB] since early 2012. (TSAB is convinced that the VVS was directly responsible for [[ships:the_three_graces|Project Artemis], which isn't really true; it was a collaborative effort, //Ptichka// was just the point end of the spear.)
Some anti-AI microfactions have filed protests with the Central Committee over their heavy use of autonomous vehicles in combat operations, often with many citations of //Frankenstein// and //The Terminator// as "proof" that AIs shouldn't be allowed weapons. The Central Committee's replies have been less than diplomatic, which only furthers the bad feelings.
===== Order of Battle (January 2015) =====
**DSCOM**
* 1st Deep Space Exploration Wing - Korolev AFB, Kandor City
* USSR //[[ships
tichka]//* MCU //[[ships:Columbia]//
* GCU //[[ships:Yuri Gagarin]//
* MCU //[[ships:Xenu Express]//
* MCU //[[ships:A Series of Unlikely Explanations]//
**X-COM**
* 1st Air Army - Gagarin Crater AFB, Luna
* [[ships:Azu Squadron]
* 1st Militarized Armed Response Senshi (MARS)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|I Blame The Parents]// (troop transport)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|Inappropriate Response]// (troop transport)
* LOU //[[ships:ogj_troop_carrier|i've got a big stick]// (troop transport)
* ROU //[[ships:tu-22m|Frank Exchange of Views]//
* ROU //[[ships:tu-22m|Laugh While You Can]//
* ROU //Complaint Department// (under construction)
===== Craft Inventory (January 2015) =====
^ DSCOM ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| //Buran// class | Soviet Union | experimental | 1 | |
| OV-201 | Soviet Air Force | medium contact unit | 1 | Design licensed by Artemis Corp. |
| A310 | France | airliner | 1 | |
| //Gagarin// class | United Federation of Planets | general contact unit | 1 | Design licensed by UFP Starfleet. |
| DC-8-71 | United States | airliner | 1 | |
| X-24 | United States | shuttlecraft | 2 | |
| X-38 | United States | shuttlecraft | 1 | Design licensed by Artemis Corp. |
| Venture Star | United States | medium contact unit | - | Design licensed by Artemis; production slated to begin 2016-17. |
| Energia | Soviet Union | general contact unit((The full Energia stack is a range-extending mothership for //Ptichka//, and will not go into regular production.)) | - | Construction by Hephaestus, expected to begin mid-2015. |
^ X-COM ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| X-15 | United States | fighter | 7 | To be mass produced through 2020. |
| Tu-95 | Soviet Union | bomber/carrier | 3 | 2 operational, 1 reserve. |
| Tu-22M | Soviet Union | rapid offensive unit | 2 | 1 under construction, 6 to be built through 2018. |
| J4500 University Coach | United States | troop transport | 3 | More to be ordered as needed. |
^ Miscellaneous ^^^^^
^ Vehicle ^ Origin ^ Type ^ In Service ^ Notes ^
| [[ships:kestrel_mk3|Kestrel] | Soviet Air Force | racer | 1 | KJ's personal transport. |
| Cirrus X-3 | Soviet Air Force | jetpack | 1 | Dee's personal transport. |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| - | - | - | - | - |
==== Motif ====
Soviet Air Force hardware tends to fall into one of three categories:
- USSR/Warsaw Pact aircraft.
- Experimental aerospacecraft.
- Custom-built spacecraft.
Very few of the vehicles used by the VVS are of original manufacture, particularly the Soviet-era warplanes. Most of the really interesting Soviet hardware devolved onto the satellite states when the USSR collapsed, and since none of the satellites had the infrastructure or money necessary to keep them in anything resembling flightworthy shape, a lot of impressive technology was sent to the breakers or simply corroded away in abandoned hangars. This is not to say none of this stuff is available, mind; the VVS managed to purchase three Tu-95 bombers in good condition from the Ukranian Navy. However, in many cases the VVS purchases the blueprints from the appropriate design bureau and (since 2012) manufactures the airframes themselves at their Gagarin Crater, Luna facility.
The same is true for the experimental Space Race gear the VVS likes to play with. In most cases, the original hardware (when it still exists) are all one-off pieces, usually housed in a museum with curators with no sense of humor about the whole thing. While this can sometimes be overcome, as was the case with the VVS' most famous (and infamous) acquistion //Ptichka//, generally it is again easier for the VVS to simply purchase the plans for the necessary equipment, then build it themselves or farm the construction out to another Fenspace firm like Artemis, Hephaestus or Utopia Planitia.
VVS custom designed ships are (to date) mostly exercises intended to keep the Central Committee's minds sharp during long interplanetary or interstellar transits. A "standard" custom design will take an existing concept (either a mundane or genre vehicle) and then modify it - often quite extensively - to fit parameters. So far, only one VVS design, the [[ships:yuri_gagarin|Gagarin class], has translated from drawing board to reality.
The Soviet Air Force also employs a handful of one-off fenships, mostly craft intended to fill a specific role while production lines were built and brought online. These one-offs tend to be surplus airliners bought from transport companies or boneyards, usually because the aircraft could be easily converted but sometimes because the aircraft triggered the Central Committee's sense of humor. A good example of the latter is the //Xenu Express//, a heavily-modified DC-8-71 bought by the VVS in 2012 //solely// because it would annoy the [[gazetteer:religion:Scientologists] who had moved into a nearby compound.
==== Vehicle Designation System ====
The Soviet Air Force being a democratic, largely AI-staffed organization dedicated to sticking their noses where they don't belong, it was almost inevitable that they would gravitate towards the [[en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The...re|Culture] novels by Iain M. Banks. To this end, the VVS decided to lift the spacecraft designation scheme from the Culture books and use them for Soviet ships:
**DSCOM Designations**
* Contact Units (CU)
* Limited Contact Unit (LCU) - craft with less than 50mt dry mass.
* Medium Contact Unit (MCU) - craft with between 50-100mt dry mass.
* General Contact Unit (GCU) - craft with >100mt dry mass.
**X-COM Designations**
* Offensive Units (OU)
* Limited Offensive Unit (LOU) - specialized combat vehicles.
* Rapid Offensive Unit (ROU) - fast medium multi-role attack craft.
* General Offensive Unit (GOU) - heavy multi-role attack craft.
The "USSR" designation was retained solely for use by //Ptichka//, as the Central Committee deemed her historical significance as the Soviet Union's last great technological achievement outweighed the internal benefits of a redesignation.
=== Service Vehicles ===
Of all the Culture designations, the VVS refuses to use what is perhaps the most impressive of them, the Service Vehicle (*SV). In the Banks novels, the General Services Vehicles are the Culture's backbone, gigantic sentient spacecraft capable of intergalactic travel and housing millions of people. When the Central Committee decided to use the Culture ship nomenclature for the fleet, they decided to hold off on declaring any VVS spacecraft to be a SV until they had a ship //worthy// of such a name.((For the record, the only thing approaching proper SV status in Fenspace is //[[ships:Greenwood]//. //[[ships:Grover's Corners]// comes close, but falls short of the //scale// necessary to be a true Service Vehicle.))
===== Soviet Air Force members (January 2015) =====
==== Central Committee ====
//Also known as "the **Ptichka** Nine," or "Sandwich's Seven."//
* **[[chars
._malaclypse_fnord|S. M. Fnord]** - CinC, VVS (2008-current); captain, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-current).* **[[chars:kj|K. J. DeRosia]** - Chief Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); CinC, X-COM (2013-current).
* **[[elena_b_oorebeek|E. van Oorebeek]** - Co-pilot, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); captain, GCU //Yuri Gagarin// (2013-current).
* **K. Stewart** - Science officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); captain, MCU //Xenu Express// (2013-2014); captain, MCU //Columbia// (2014-current); CinC, DSCOM (2013-current).
* **P. Stewart** - Science officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); co-pilot, MCU //Xenu Express// (2013-2014); co-pilot, MCU //Columbia// (2014-current).
* **R. Houben** - Master-at-arms, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); commander, Azu Squadron (2013-current).
* **J. Renken** - Flight attorney, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-2013); head of ground operations (2013-current).
* **Ptichka** - Systems control officer, USSR //Ptichka// (2008-current).
* **[[chars
ee]** - Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2009-2013); chief engineer, GCU //Yuri Gagarin// (2013-current); head shipwright (2012-current).==== DSCOM ====
* **[[chars
ora_hasegawa|S. Hasegawa]** - Chief Engineer, USSR //Ptichka// (2013-current).* (Another 30-50 people scattered across the various explorer ships, most on loan from one university/organization or another.)
==== X-COM ====
* (Between 15-30 shipmind AIs and one company-strength MARS unit.)
==== Ground Operations ====
* **A. Renken** - commander, Korolev AFB (2009-current).
* (Variable; usually 40 people scattered across Korolev AFB and Gagarin Crater AFB.)---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
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