Database and Lore

The United Human Navy (UHN) Page 1

"I'm humanity's first and last line of defense, for this, I vow. I obey the orders of those appointed over me and, if need be, promise to give my life in service of the UWA," the UHN serviceman's oath. The United Human Navy or the UHN is the united military forces of all the combined worlds of the UWA. While the UWA practices a policy of letting the worlds create its own defenses, the need to have a united defense force was something pressed by the majority of the UWA. Ratified not long after the creation of the UWA, the UHN would utilize the resources given to them by the UWA to help build a modern fleet that lasted well into the mid-24th century. However, the history of such a system is one that runs deep upon all former human militaries. Origins: Most of the beginnings of space-faring vessels run as far back as former Earth when primary contenders such as the United States and China went head to head in competing for natural resources on Luna and the developing colony of Mars at the beginning 22nd century. Just prior to the beginning of the 22^nd century, the direct fusion drive had been created. The revolutionary form of power would allow ships to make trips to Mars, reducing trips by 80% of the time duration. However, even with such innovations, the need to provide new sources of power was paramount to supply the needs of the human and luna populations. Some of these innovations came from the simple mining of Helium 3, a simple element that could be mined on the moon since Earth’s atmosphere naturally blew it away. Helium 3 was vital as it could fuel primary nuclear reactors without the fear of nuclear waste. Contention between superpowers was a critical time. China, a growing superpower, had developed its own spaceships that could be launched from the ground and assembled in orbit. The United States Space Force had developed their own forms of warships that could operate from Luna and in- between orbit. Such rivalries did result in conflicts on the Luna soil. The US-China conflict in the early 2100s was one that resulted in far more expected casualties but ended before entire ships and armies really engaged with each other. Competition for resources had always been intense, and historians to this day were surprised that there were no major world wars that could have been a catastrophic blow to future space travel. Regardless, as Earth was facing a global environmental collapse, there was the need to create the famed Exodus fleet. With things such as the Super Direct Fusion Drive now created, trips to Mars could be as short as two weeks. It was far easier to manufacture the materials to launch scores of spaceships. Debates had raged if there was a need to create a space fleet of warships. The United Nations demanded that all efforts be placed into manufacturing civilian vessels to ensure that every person could be safely transferred to Mars. Most nations felt partially inclined to agree to such a demand. The United States, China, Russia, Europe, Japan, and even Africa saw the need to build some warships that could protect the civilian travelers while keeping an eye on each other at the same time. Many nations couldn’t forget the past conflicts while the need to evacuate people were paramount. Both the United States and the Chinese led the way in commissioning some warships. The United Nations demanded that the space cruisers and battleships would be halted in construction. They partially got their wish as the construction queues were limited. The Earth Exodus fleets would consist of convoys that typically had one warship protecting them. The military crews’ responsibilities were to render any assistance that the convoys needed, provide protection from bitter civilian captains, and provide protection in case another nation was to attack the fleets. Thankfully, there were no shooting incidents in the exodus fleets. Nations took heavy responsibility in helping out one another in the mid Exodus years. Eventually, by the time it hit the later years, the warships of other nations were helping out other nations’ fleets. National identity was beginning to fade as most of the populations knew that Earth was being left behind. Settling on Mars Upon the final years and last departure of the convoys of Mars, the former Earth warships were left in orbit of Mars. Their use was pointless as settling in was more important than tending warships. Many of these ships would reach a hundred years old as maintenance, and lack of spare parts had made them almost useless in battle. The new Martian Government had its hands full, and the creation of a Martian Military was finally completed in 2201. National identity was almost entirely gone by the early 2200s. The military’s lack of funding was forcing it to run essential land vehicles and manning ships. It was deemed a nightmare for the beginning years as the military demanded a shipyard to tend the aging fleets. The Martian military would ultimately get their wish. The Deimos Shipyard, built on the moon of Deimos, would be a hot topic at the time. Some politicians argued that the resources to make it were too expensive, while others argued to have the shipyard on the slightly bigger Phobos moon. The goal was to have an orbital shipyard facility. Excess rocks used in the mining could help in the construction of new ships, and the aging fleet would finally have a place to have refuge. Ultimately, the construction of Deimos Shipyards was completed in 2229. The first five tunnel docks were used to begin overhaul repairs on ancient vessels. Logically, the best route was to decommission and scrap many of the former Earth vessels as additional tunnels were installed into the moon. In the end, all but ten of the best functional battleships were kept online as the rest had been stricken and taken apart. In 2234, the shipyards would begin construction of brand-new battleships to replace the final former Earth warships eventually. The Ares class Battleship would form the cornerstone of the new Martian fleet, even if it was a simple twelve ships. Funding for the military was absolutely sparse, but many would argue that Deimos was worth it in the long run. In 2233, the discovery of the Exodus Wreck on Mars was a wake-up call for humanity. While many felt that alien contact was possible, the wreck was little more than an ancient destroyed ship. Its secrets were only one viable piece of technology that resulted in gate folding travel. The Martian Military was nervous that aliens could pose a risk to humanity. The catch, of course, was that the human space fleet was mostly obsolete ships. The Ares class couldn’t come out soon enough, and even then, it would be so few even to stop an alien fleet. Of course, no one knew if there was even an alien race to be afraid of. Priority remained on infrastructure on Mars and the eventual construction of the Martian gate array. It wouldn’t be the eventual Gabatrix Experiment that the military would finally get a more substantial role. Rise of the UHN When the Gabatrix Experiment was concluded, the human race began to expand into Cebravis to make it into the New Earth. Once again, infrastructure and funding were prioritized over the military, but they would get a break. The need to expand the fleet to travel to other worlds was growing. The first “Long Range Battleships” were created in 2264 with the construction of the Deimos Class Battleships. These ships would carry gate probes and be able to make jumps to other systems. These would be the first form of exploration warships. It greatly extended the operational range of the Martian defense fleets. Further new patrol cruisers would ultimately retire the last of the former Earth warships completely. Even then, the newly acquired goals of the Martian warships were still mostly muted. Morale was slightly higher as there were many more volunteers to operate in the armed forces. Battleships would conduct exploration campaigns to other solar systems while serving the guardians to newly colonized worlds. The fears that the military had were all but quelled as no alien race had been uncovered. The first twenty years after 2260 were a momentous moment as crews braved making voyages hundreds of light-years from the Sol system. Over five major colonies had been established as well. In 2284, Mars and the newly acquired colonies announced that a new government would be established. The United World’s Alliance was a pinnacle achievement in the late 23^rd century and marked a new beginning for the human race. However, the need for a military to represent that was also needed. A year later, the UWA would announce the fabrication of the United Human Navy. This would allow the colonies to be adequately represented while serving in a combined fleet asset. All laws would be treated the same as UWA laws, and everyone would use the same equipment. Colonies were still allowed to have their own armies, militias and construct separate equipment as long as it didn’t interfere with UHN provisions and assets. A year later, after the creation of the UHN, the organization would create the subunit of the UHN Marine Corp. The beginning years of the UHN mostly reflected the status of the beginning years of the UWA. Obviously, the leading shipyard was Deimos that was still being expanded and had new warships that were being built. Further expansions in shipbuilding capability had started at Batrice and Gillan colonies. The late 23^rd century would be nothing but an exploration fleet of warships. These battleships were considered essential but suffered problems that the command structure had pointed out quite well. The most significant issue was that much of the large-scale exploration campaigns had been concluded by the time it hit 2290. Probes were still doing much of the work, and the need to send battleships as far as 150 light-years from Earth seemed to be a waste of resources. The military could see that the warships were rigged for scientific journeys, and their firepower was questionable at best. There was one odd phenomenon, however. In the dawning of the 2280s, the colony of New Olympia had announced their desire to join the UWA. The mysterious world had been apparently well built, even if they were underground, and investigations showed that the people had constructed enormous dreadnoughts. How they managed to create them was never uncovered, but for the UWA membership to occur, these warships had to be made part of the UHN. The New Olympians agreed as long as their ships were limited to their operational staff and that they didn’t leave orbit. At the time, the UHN was seeing more and more warships being used for home defense and agreed to the demands. To this day, the great white fleet of 12 super dreadnoughts hovers over their world. Their secrets remain of their true potential. The UHN was still a relatively low-budget government service by the time of the transition to 2300. Economies were being created, but places like Cebravis focused on infrastructure and food production. If anything, there were prime issues that the population genuinely felt the need to have a military was questionable. While the UHN would never be dissolved, the funding to support it was also light. Despite this, the system was being expanded upon by Mars, Batrice, and Gillan. A number of changes would be introduced to help herald the beginning of the century. For one, the Helix class Battleship would be constructed. The new warships marked the beginning of the “Modern Guided Missile Battleship,” a series of warships that eliminated the heavy-duty sensor packages that dotted the frame. The marine corps would even receive the Fu Yi class Military Transports, one of the first actual transports that could deploy equipment and vehicles on the ground. Both of these led to the evolution of the UHN of today. New stealth cruisers, such as the Providence class, were also introduced that were on par with former Earth submarines. By now, Batrice and Gillan had long completed their new series of shipyards as the economies were on the rise. The Helios would just be the beginning as Batrice would announce one of the grandest UHN projects to be ever made. Some colonies had opted to turn their gate arrays into makeshift weapons platforms and fortresses, but Batrice wanted more. The population and government had been nervous that human expansion would ultimately lead to intelligent alien contact. They had already created their own versions of mobile ground defenses, but the project was one that heralded all human engineering. Fort Batrice was started in the early 2300s, and it was expected to be completed fifty years later. Technically, the project was never fully endorsed by the UHN as it was beyond the capability to even pay for it. Critics even believed it simply required too many resources to make it, but the UHN did see the benefits of having it. Batrice and Gillan would essentially pay for most of the funding for construction. By 2310, most of the ancient Ares Class Battleships were retired, but the UHN was slowly growing. However, a new threat would ultimately arrive that would test the rigors of UHN engineering. In 2315, the new colony of Palora was established. It would serve as a secondary mining system as the planets had an enormous asteroid belt of destroyed planets. It would help the ever- growing demand for metal resources as Batrice and Gillan were dominating the UWA markets. A dilemma broke out as a series of attacks began to be picked up near the asteroid belt. Pirates named the Nova Pirates, or Nova Hamidou Pirates (Named after Hamidou, a known pirate on former Earth) had claimed the location as their home. While their origins were a mystery, their resources were rather limited. Only the fact that they were using the strings of asteroids as hiding spots were they an actual threat. The 2310s would highlight a time when the UHN would dispatch warships to intercept the pirates. It proved to be a pragmatic situation. Some areas of the asteroid field were particularly dense and endangered the lives of crews in trying to transit. While the UHN warships clearly outmatched them, the pirates had a true advantage in their environment. The field had plenty of locations to hide as it was a large area. For every pirate vessel destroyed, there were two more that would survive the battle. This would continuously plague the Paloran mining vessels that came to the field. While the campaign warranted some success, the pirates could never be truly stopped. It is a dangerous area as the UHN still has ships that patrol the edge of the field to this day. For some in the UHN, Anti-Piracy duty is as close to as exciting for those that wish to see action. By 2314, the last Helix Battleship would be completed as a new series of warships would be introduced. New Cruisers would be constructed to help out in patrolling the Paloran asteroid fields. The UHN announced that with the growing funding, they would replace the older exploration battleships and create a vessel to help further provide protection in UWA space. By now, funding had been increasing more and more, and the UHN would get their wish. The Magellan class Battleship would be introduced in 2317 and become the cornerstone of the fleet. Even as of 2350, the warship is used quite heavily as they were moderately cheap while carrying the latest technologies that the human race can offer. A few years later, the Phalanx Class Carrier, the first true assault ship that the marines could use, was finally introduced. New stealth cruisers, such as the Nation class, even served in the background when they were constructed in 2327.  The expansion boom of the 2320s and 2330s was the hallmark for the growing UHN. More and more people were signing up to join it as the shipyards were pumping out warship after warship. Technically, despite the situation with the pirates, there were still arguments that an alien race could eventually show up. Many argued back that there was nothing out there. It became a constant topic at times as many felt the need of the UHN was necessary, but at the same time, it didn’t need to have the resources that it currently has. Even with the Magellan class that became the most widely built warship, most of them were just sitting at home in perpetual orbit. The need to keep them functional was always questioned by society. The UHN felt otherwise. The introduction of the Nelson class Battleship was intended to serve as an eventual replacement to the Magellan class, but it proved to be a disaster. The warships were plagued with maintenance issues. They were powerful but cost more to build than the Magellans. The ship design would further bring debate of the expanding UHN forces as the cost of having the Nelsons built was putting a minor stress on the economy. Those that supported the UHN felt that sacrifices had to be made to continue expanding and that mistakes were bound to be made. Even Batrice would make a critical mistake when they tried to introduce the Widado class Super Battleships as they stopped building them in 2348. Human Itrean Conflict It is argued that the UHN was far from ready when the military encountered the race known as the Itreans. In 2349, the discovery of the unknown race was met with loss after loss. It is an unfair argument for some, as the UHN was never truly ready to engage against an alien invasion. Historians made valid points that humanity had never fully recovered from the evacuation of Earth. If anything, to see the UHN fleets as they were in 2349 was anything but amazing. One hundred fifty warships protecting over ten different colonies was a profound task. The ability to even reach that number was one of difficulty and triumph. Of course, the JJ-78 Disaster was an immediate reaction by the UHN. Panic had broken out as an alien race had bested one of the prized Magellan battleships. The other ship had managed to escape to safety to report that the other crew sacrificed their lives to ensure their escape.