The Cost of Victory

by Jay Allan

  Space battles are often protracted affairs, with extended maneuver and ongoing damage control between short periods of intense combat. The ability of crews to remain functional for these extended periods is extremely important.

  Weaponry

  The missiles utilized in space warfare are armed with multiple atomic warheads, typically with extremely high yields (up to 500 megatons). Tactics are based on firing spreads of missiles to cause detonations close enough to a target to cause damage from the blast and radiation. Actual direct hits are rare, though when they occur, the damage caused to the target is catastrophic.

  Vessels firing missiles must choose between accelerating their weapons rapidly to close the distance quickly or keeping the incoming speed relatively low, allowing for a more random, zig-zag pattern. The greater predictability of a fast-moving missile's path makes it vulnerable to countermeasures and interception, especially by defensive lasers. Conversely, a slow missile can maneuver in an erratic manner, but is exposed to enemy action for longer before it reaches the target.

  Missiles exert more thrust than ships, unconstrained as they are from the need to keep human occupants from turning into strawberry jam Thus, a missile salvo launched by a fleet rapidly approaching a target can close the distance very quickly, providing a short window for interception and defense. However, the path of the missiles is more predictable when they are launched with a high initial velocity from fast-moving platforms.

  In theory, missiles have an infinite range, however once they run out of reaction mass they can no longer maneuver and will continue on the same vector unless captured by a gravitational field. These "spent" missiles are easy for target vessels to evade and, as such, once the fuel is exhausted, the weapon is effectively out of action.

  Ships also employ energy weapons, predominantly based on some variation of laser technology. Lasers have the advantage of moving at the speed of light, making it much easier to score actual hits on a target, even a fast-moving one.

  The light from a laser diffuses over the distances involved in space combat, however, making these weapons effective only at short ranges. Typically, after an exchange of missiles, fleets close and engage in a laser duel.

  Defensive Systems

  Various defensive systems are employed by the battlefleets to degrade the effectiveness of enemy weapons.

  Some ships are armed with torpedoes filled with a metallic power informally known as Angel Dust. The torpedo detonates, spreading the reflective material over a wide area, diffusing laser light passing through the affected zone, thereby reducing the energy reaching the target.

  Missile defense arrays consist of combinations of systems. Small, close range sprint missiles are designed to detonate close enough to incoming weapons to destroy or deflect them. Lasers are also employed to destroy enemy missiles at close range.

  Enemy fighter bombers are targeted by batteries of coil guns firing spreads of projectiles at high velocity. Known among Western Alliance naval personnel as "shotguns," the weapons are highly effective against enemy small, unarmored craft at close ranges.

  Nationalism and Cultural Makeup of the Superpowers

  The death and suffering caused by the Unification Wars was incalculable. Billions died...on the battlefield, of starvation, from disease. Governments, and the privileged classes who ran them, took advantage of the desperate struggles to tighten their grip on power. Terrified, helpless populations willingly surrendered the tattered remnants of their freedom and self-determination to any authority offering even minimal promises of security.

  As governments sought to control and inspire their populations to greater efforts during the war, they resorted more and more to nationalistic strategies, harnessing latent racial, ethnic, and religious resentments. Slowly, steadily, the cultural and ethnic archetypes most closely associated with enemy nations suffered increasing levels of persecution and officially sanctioned discrimination. As casualties and suffering among the population escalated, the governments found it increasingly useful to target various groups as scapegoats, and many were forced into concentration camps or expelled in mass deportations.

  The result was a steady process of cultural homogenization within the Superpowers and a continuing reliance on nationalistic themes to control populations. In each Superpower, traditional foods, drinks, and customs were actively promoted, while alternatives were suppressed. Thus, the Western Alliance, for example, became much more typically "western" in culture, while the Central Asian Combine extolled traditional Chinese values and lifestyles.

  To a certain extent, populations were encouraged to think of the residents of the other Superpowers as culturally inferior to their own. This ranged from a modest sense of superiority compared to allied powers, to full-fledged racial and nationalistic hatred of enemy populations. Such attitudes were more prevalent among the lower and middle classes - the ruling caste considered such matters to be little more than a tool to control the masses.

  Class Structure in the Western Alliance

  Officially, there are no societal classes in the Alliance, which is ostensibly a democratic republic. In actuality, there are three fairly rigid castes, and upward mobility, while possible, is rare and difficult.

  During the Unification Wars and the Disruptions, the government gradually established total control over every aspect of its citizens' lives. As government became more powerful and the population in general more vulnerable and deprived, the politicians conspired to secure permanent positions of power, first for themselves and later for their heirs. The Political Academies were established for the stated purpose of insuring that all individuals appointed to positions of authority had the appropriate skills and character. The true intent was to establish a gatekeeping system, allowing those in power to control future access to high-level positions. The practical effect was to create a predominantly hereditary system where the majority of Academy graduates are children of existing politicians. Access by others requires the patronage of someone highly placed, so cronyism is the only way to advance to the upper classes.

  The government steadily assumed total control over the economy, first through massive regulations and later by outright nationalizations of major firms. Small companies and entrepreneurs were eventually driven out of business, as the crony capitalists, aided by their political allies, took total control of all economic activity. The high-level executives of major corporations form a subset of the upper class that is also largely hereditary in nature. The Corporate Academies were patterned on their political counterparts and served a similar purpose. While much of the actual operation of major corporations is performed by middle class managers, all power resides with the functionaries of the Corporate Magnate class.

  The Cogs

  Cog is a derogatory term widely used to describe the lower classes in the Alliance, particularly the U.S. Officially called non-designated workers, the Cogs are citizens who do not have work permits or assigned professions. Denied access to the segregated middle class enclaves, the Cogs live predominantly in semi-abandoned sections of cities, typically crime-ridden ghettoes with minimal municipal services and crumbling infrastructure.

  The Cog demographic has its roots in the years prior to the Unification Wars, when political parties sought to increase dependence on government to more effectively create easily-controlled voting blocks. As terrorism escalated and the economy began to collapse, government found it no longer had the resources to fulfill its obligations, nor the need to do so. War and strife allowed the politicians to establish tighter controls over the population, obviating the need to incentive voters. The secret ballot was abolished, ostensibly as a security measure to protect the integrity of the process, but in effect allowing governmental agencies to persecute those who voted "incorrectly." Henceforth, governments became entrenched and elections were held strictly for appearances.

  The precursors to today's Cogs fell into desperation and despair. In the new economic reality, they were unable to obtain educatio
ns or decent jobs, and government support and assistance levels were severely reduced or eliminated. Ultimately, it became apparent that paying sustenance-level wages to desperate workers was cheaper than using high-tech automation, allowing the Cogs to survive, however marginally.

  The Cogs are mostly illiterate and born into their station. It is almost impossible for an individual born a Cog to obtain anything but a minimal education or to move to the middle classes. Cogs continue to work in unsafe and poorly maintained basic materials factories and similar facilities for sustenance wages.

  Members of the middle classes whose work permits are revoked for committing some offense effectively become members of the Cog class, though they are not designated as such officially. The victims of these punitive actions create a small pool of educated workers among the Cogs, though they are generally barred from anything but the basic menial jobs available to their less well-trained neighbors.

  The Cogs are generally preyed upon by the Gangs, which consist mostly of Cogs themselves. The Gangs are secretly sanctioned and loosely directed by the government, and they serve to keep the Cogs too terrorized to contemplate rebellious or disruptive activity.

  The Middle Class

  The middle classes consist of the (mostly) educated workers who perform the various jobs that keep a technologically advanced society functioning. Engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors, chefs, and similar professionals are all members of the middle class. Members of the middle class are allowed to live in segregated enclaves with security and services far superior to those available to the Cogs. Food and other necessities are generally available in adequate, though not excessive quantities. Families live in small apartment flats, usually in residential blocks managed by employers.

  The middle classes are highly regulated. Everyday activities are subject to considerable monitoring, and anyone whose reading, video, or other entertainment selections are suspect is marked for monitoring by internal security. Travel, pregnancies, marriages, and job changes all require governmental approval and appropriate permits.

  The middle class enjoy a life that is relatively safe and secure, as long as they obey the many laws and regulations. While long lines, waiting periods, and shortages are common, for the most part the middle classes have the basic requirements of tolerable living. Any dissatisfaction is stilled by the fear of losing status and being expelled from the middle class zones and forced to live and work among the Cogs.

  About the Superpowers

  The Western Alliance

  Capital: Washbalt Metroplex

  The Western Alliance is a two-level federal republic consisting of the marginally separate but strongly allied nations of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Oceania (greater Australia). This commonwealth arrangement is unique among the superpowers. The Alliance also occupies Latin America and administers the area as a resource zone under the supervision of a military governor. The occupied territories are not represented in the Alliance Senate.

  Though their governments are a sinkhole of incompetence, authoritarianism, and corruption, the states of the alliance remain, at least in theory, the most democratic on Earth. Superficially a republic, the Alliance is, in effect, an oligarchy controlled by an entrenched political class. Citizens have few freedoms, and speech, travel, and other activities are heavily monitored by the government.

  The individual nations maintain their own separate military establishments, both on Earth and in space, though they are commanded by a unified Joint Chiefs of Staff organization and are frequently combined for operations.

  The U.S. deep space ground forces consist primarily of the Marine Corps, which operates alongside the British Royal Marines and other Alliance offworld forces. British military organizations continue to carry the designation "Royal" despite the fact that the monarchy was eliminated during the Unification Wars.

  The Western Alliance is one of the strongest superpowers, both on Earth and in space. Its terrestrial economy is perpetually bankrupt, and the government is highly dependent on the profitable exploitation of its colony worlds, which are allowed a significant level of independence as long as mandated production quotas are met.

  The Mohammedan Caliphate

  Capital: New-Media

  Though the jihad failed to achieve its goal of world domination, the forces of the Caliphate ended the Unification Wars in possession of a vast domain stretching from Western India to the Atlantic coast of Africa.

  This vast theocracy is headed by the Caliph, who rules with absolute and unquestioned power. Below the Caliph are several levels of nobility exercising direct control over the larger population, which lives barely above the sustenance level and enjoys almost no comforts or freedoms. Citizens are encouraged to live a simple existence and to practice obedience to their lords and the state. Laws are restrictive, and violators are punished harshly.

  The Caliphate’s colonies are organized according to a highly militarized feudal system. The local commanders are lords, and essentially “own” their colonies in return for providing resources and militia units for use on the frontier. By encouraging the use of private resources in colonization efforts, the Caliphate has established one of the largest interstellar empires.

  The Caliphate military is capable and well-equipped. The frontline Janissaries are elite powered infantry trained from childhood to serve for life.

  Central Asian Combine

  Capital: Hong Kong

  The Central Asian Combine is the descendant of the People’s Republic of China. When the Chinese economic "miracle" proved to be at least partly illusory and exports evaporated as the overall world economy collapsed, the nation exploded into revolution and chaos. The Peoples' Liberation Army crushed the dissenters and established a new government in partnership with remnants of the old regime. Senior generals and several leaders from the old government formed a ruling council, the decrees of which are strictly enforced by the military and internal security forces.

  The Combine is less technologically advanced than the Western Alliance or the Pacific Rim Coalition and lacks the religious fervor of the Caliphate, but it has shown a willingness to expend enormous amounts of manpower to compensate. The pre-cursor power to the CAC stopped the Caliphate’s initial eastward expansion with massive human wave attacks, and the resulting 50-year war of attrition depopulated much of the Indian subcontinent.

  In the years following the Unification Wars, the Combine and the Caliphate, initially bitter enemies, gradually became close allies. The two nations shared many enemies, and their interstellar holdings were complimentary, making cooperation expedient for both.

  The CAC has a few elite units with training and equipment more or less equal to that of their Alliance and PRC foes, but the primary strength of the CAC military remains the ability and willingness to expend huge numbers of soldiers in battle.

  The CAC has been very aggressive in its space exploration program, and has the third largest colonial empire, after the Alliance and the Caliphate.

  Pacific Rim Coalition

  Capital: Tokyo

  The Pacific Rim Coalition was created as a counter to the strength of the CAC. Early in the Unification Wars the Chinese military invaded Taiwan, but they were decisively defeated by the Taiwanese army supported by U.S. and Japanese forces. A Chinese sponsored North Korean invasion of the south was also shattered with U.S. assistance.

  When the U.S. economy collapsed, and American forces were compelled to withdraw to deal with threats at home and elsewhere, the local nations began to fear renewed attacks from the newly-formed CAC. The Pacific Rim Treaty of 2081 named Japan, United Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Greater Thailand as full members. Over the next 20 years, many other nations of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific were added, some by diplomacy and others by force. These new additions were admitted as subject areas, lacking the full rights of the founding members.

  The PRC is a single-party government providing superficial voting rights to citizens, bu
t in fact vesting almost all power in the hands of the party elite. Citizens enjoy a moderately high standard of living, though nothing approaching early 21st century norms. Speech is controlled, but not tightly, and legislative punishments are relatively moderate.

  The PRC military has tried, and mostly failed, to revive the code of bushido and resurrect the samurai spirit in its troops. While some elite units do subscribe to a modified code of honor and refuse to surrender, or even survive, a defeat, most PRC formations simply consist of well-trained and equipped units of modern troops.

  The PRC has the fourth largest collection of interstellar colonies, but is far behind the "big three" in both settled worlds and naval strength.

  Europa Federalis

  Capital: Paris

  Europa Federalis consists of the territory of the former nations of the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Spain. Europa is governed by three consuls, who are elected from a designated class of elites known as the Concordat. Although entry into the Concordat is theoretically open to any citizen, in reality the existing members control access. Cronyism and patronage is the only way to advance, and upward mobility is rare.

  Europa Federalis is in the second tier of superpowers and is not a match for the Alliance, Caliphate, or CAC. Europa is the mortal enemy of the Central European League, and the two powers fought bitterly and unsuccessfully for total control of the continent during the Unification Wars. They have carried this enmity into space.