Federation News Service (Sim News)

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2419

March 11

Assault continues on the FKI


5 more worlds fell to the weapons now widely believed to be Cardassian in origin based on the timing with which they have arrived. This brings the total number of worlds hit to 13 and the casualties to an estimated 115 billion. There seems to be little reason to expect the assault to stop in. Estimates are that it will continue for the next 3 days.
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2419

March 15

Final FKI World Hit; Final Casualty Estimates exceeed 200 Billion


The assault on the FKI that began 6 days ago reached is horrible climax as the last FKI world was struck. Casualty estimates exceed 200 billion, with only two known Ferengi worlds surviving unscathed as the explosions targeted starbases rather than the surface. Nearly half those casualties are thought to be fatalities. The enormity of the problem might well defy the ability of any power to save even a small portion of the Ferengi people.

The worlds are estimated to be only marginally inhabitable for the next six months after which they likely will not be inhabitable for some hundreds of years.


Allied Miscommunication?

Prior to the massive assault on the FKI by bombardment weapons the Breen had launched a small invasion attempted aimed at seizing footholds in the North-western FKI space. The fate of these troops is at present unknown, though it seems likely they perished in the blast during the bombardment.
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2419

March 15

Riots outside Cardassian Embassies throughout the Region


Earth- Large scale protest racked the various Cardassian missions on Earth as protestors threw stones and held up signs reading "Genocide" in the streets.

QonoS- At least 3 Cardassian members of the diplomatic mission were found lynched in the streets as Klingon's planet wide revolted against this dishonorable strike against civilians.

Breen- The Cardassian Embassy was burned to the ground by angry protestors as the mission was evacuated to the orbiting starbase for the security of those invovled.

Large scale protest gripped most major Federation worlds as the public cried out in disgust at the actions of the Cardassian Union. Industrial groups threaten massive work stoppages if the Union is not held to account for such actions.
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2419

Breen Invade Taiidan Space, Seize Several Worlds

Breen troops stormed and seized a number of minor, outlying worlds from the Taiidan early in the year. Breen armored infantry units were opposed doggedly by the badly outgunned Taiidan militia forces on all the worlds but the defenders had success holding only one world.

Breen casualties were reported at about 30-40% of the assaulting force. They were digging in to hold their gains in apparent preparation for a coming allied offensive later in the year.

Battle at Orias, Disaster for Allies

A combined CU and Tueri Fleet had amassed at the Orias system in apparent preparation for a coming attack on Taiidan space. Upon detecting the Breen assault the Taiidan launched their fleet towards the presumed staging point within the Cardassian Union, seeking to eliminate this threat to their empire.

CU and Tueri ships that were not fast enough to run away elected to stay and fight a rear-guard action. By all reports this action was badly mishandled by the allies and they suffered losses at nearly a 10-1 ratio against the enemy before fleeing with all ships still undamaged enough to do so and abandoning the remainder to their fate.

During the battle the commander of the Migrant Fleet demanded the allies show themselves and fight, rather than employ the cloaking tactics they had up to that point. The Taiidan first destroyed the infrastructure on the planet before wiping out a city in a futile effort to force the Cardassians to show themselves and be destroyed.

Cardassians Launch Massive Strike Against Taiidan in FKI Space

The Cardassian Union, in apparent response for the strike against a major city on Orias IV launched a retaliatory strike using an automated, long-range missile with a large anti-matter warhead. Apparently aimed at infrastructure and troop concentrations on FKI worlds the large warheads destroyed all of that and much more.

Casualty estimates exceed 200 billion, with the vast majority of those being Ferengi civilians caught in the cross-fire.

Analyst say that the weapons seemed to perform well within their design parameters but that either national leadership did not understand the magnitude of the warhead emplaced on the weapon or simply did not care. The design of the weapon appears solid but cannot be safely used on ground emplacements for the most part. The weapons fired at the orbital facilities had good success rates without the high civilian cost.

Union Expelled from ISA

The Federation and Gorn Hegemony have expelled the Cardassian Union from the ISA after their refusal to turn over their government for war crimes trials. This move left the Union alone to face the Taiidan, though the allied fleet is still thought to be pursuing the Migrant Fleet through Cardassian space in view of ending the conflict.

Ceasefire Adopted

The Taiidan and the Allies announced a general ceasefire to allow the groups to negotiate a general peace. This brings to an end nearly 18-months of conflict between the two sides, though not all combatants were hostile for the whole period in question.

The move to propose a ceasefire was hotly debated among the allies before a general agreement developed to offer it, though there was still much debate on the exact terms under which such a deal should be offered.

The Taiidan moved swiftly to accept the offer once it was made.

CU and Taiidan sign Peace Treaty

The Cardassian Union and the Taiidan Directorate signed a general peace treaty ending the conflict between the two powers. Lacking the leverage of being a part of the ISA the Union was forced quickly to the table lest it face the prospect of retaliation by the Taiidan.

As part of the terms of the treaty the Union did finally agree to hand over its leadership to the allies for warcrimes trials.

New Government Arises in Cardassian Union as Talarian Systems Enter Mass Revolt

In addition to the difficulties present from the ending of the war the Cardassian government was faced with what became a mass revolt by the citizens on its occupied Talarian systems. Sensing weakness in the government and flushed with weapons from recent raids the Talarians rose up and drove back most of the government troops at heavy cost to themselves. The troops were evacuated to orbit as they could no longer hold the ground facilities.

This caused a crisis in the civilian government which after repeated votes of no confidence by the various parties was unable to establish a ruling coalition as the government collapsed.

As a result of the collapse of the civilian government the military has taken over the day to day operation of the Cardassian Union. At this point it is not know if they will restore democratic government or not but by all reports the majority of their worlds are on a form of lock down as the military moves to establish control and bring order to the situation in the coming year. The new government faces many challenges, including dealing with the expect Breen demands seeing as the Union attack vaporized a half-million Breen soldiers.

Taiidan Directorate Signs Peace Treaty with Allies

After a long round of negotiations that strained relations between the Allies an acceptable peace agreement was finally hammered out between the two sides.

The agreement called for the turning over of the commander of the Migrant Fleet for prosecution as a war criminal as well as some disarmament provisions and payments to the Imperium of Martok for certain losses incurred during the conflict.

Several experts in international law referred to the treaty as a typical result of multiple parties with multiple agendas being involved. Few spoke highly of the document but all were sure that the task of assembling a coherent treaty from allied policy, never really articulated during the war, was no easy task.

Ferengi Refugee Crisis

The slightly over 20 billion surviving Ferengi have been stabilized by allied shipments of food and medical care over the last six months of the year. Now the task remains to relocate them to self-sustaining worlds.

The vast majority of the Ferengi have expressed a desire for settlement within the Federation as they feel they will be best able to pursue their way of life within the Federation's somewhat loose governmental structure.

The primary issue is that the only allied power with access to sufficient lift capacity to move the Ferengi in a timely fashion is the Imperium of Martok which has refused to carry the Ferengi into the Federation, instead offering them resettlement on Romulan worlds.

The two governments were at loggerheads over the issue until agreeing simply to take off the civilians as best and as quickly as they can during the coming year. It is unknown if the Federation will make appropriations to construct transports during the year capable of facilitating the move to Federation worlds. Given the option it seems most Ferengi would prefer that move to living under the laws of the Imperium.

Trials of War Criminals Conclude

The allies continued to wrangle over other issues, including the manner in which war criminals turned over to them ought to be tried. Eventually a compromise was hammered out and it was agreed the Klingons would sit first and pass final judgment on the Taiidan commander and the Federation and Gorn would sit first and pass final judgment on the Cardassian president.

The Cardassian President, faced with a preponderance of evidence and offering no defense other than to say he acted in defense of the Cardassian civilians killed at Orias was tried with the Federation and Gorn as the lead judges and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There were no dissenting votes in this case.

The case with the Taiidan commander was a much more contentious case. Having been mind-wiped and stripped of all information prior to the trial by the Taiidan he was unable to either defend himself or contribute to his defense. Intellectually he was viewed by doctors to be a different person inhabiting the same body, with no knowledge of the previous actions taken. The vote came in a split decision with the Federation and Gorn voting not guilty and everyone else voting guilty. The Klingon judge sentenced the commander to death by ritual dismemberment which was carried out over the course of three weeks in Klingon space. By all accounts the victim suffered the necessary amount of pain and suffering demanded by Klingon law.

Tueri Join the ISA

In a somewhat surprising end to their previously neutral stance the Tueri have joined the Interstellar Security Alliance. This action represents a reversal from previous Tueri policies of maintaining neutrality and seems to be founded on their belief they can no longer afford to be a political football between the two surviving post war alliances.

"This day is momentous for our people. We have abstained from international allegiances because we clung to our isolation, like a winter frost stubbornly persisting in spring. That time ends now. The ISA offers ideals that match our own, they offer peace and humanitarian beliefs that our race can support. Finally they offer us a place to belong. We will watch for them from our darkened clouds, we are sentinels for their peace. And, more than ever, we have a peace and friendship all of our own."

It is not known what role the sometimes contentious allied relationships during the war played in this decision and as the full details of those conversations will likely never be known the Tueri government has not further clarified its action. Additionally it is suspected they saw the fate of the Ferengi, who had stayed outside of alliances for business reasons, and believed that if they stayed alone they would likely be singled out for aggression.

The Federation president had the following response to the joining.

"I am very happy with this development. The Turei are a strong people and this alliance will hopefully make us both stronger. This will mark a great advancement for the relations between our states, and hopefully one that will continue on into a new era of peace through the quadrant."

Gorn Begin Transition to Constitutional Monarchy

The Gorn Hegemony has begun the process of converting to a more democratic form of government now that the war has ended. This process is expected to last three years, one each to establish democratic government at the local, planetary and federal levels respectively. Likely to be helped along by Federation advisors and observers the process is expected to go smoothly.

The Gorn will retain the position of Hegemon, though it will be greatly reduced in authority to a mostly ceremonial function as head of state. A prime minister will see to the day to day affairs of government.
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2420

Dreadnaughts Destroyed Under Joint Supervision
Despite a sometimes contentious debate between the Federation delegate and the Taiidan delegate on what exactly the two treaties called for when it came to destroying the Cardassian Dreadnaught program a structure was eventually agreed to and the weapons were destroyed in a manner that both governments were able to witness.

Initially the Taiidan had wished to remove the weapons from the area and destroy the program in that manner. After loud objections everything was eventually destroyed in place.

Analyst are dubious as to the value of this action, as the weapons themselves are fundamentally simple.

"Really building a basic, world killing version of this is not highly difficult. Any major power could assemble some in the matter of a few months. The only thing that appeared to set the Dreadnaught apart was its ability to discriminate targets in an automated fashion, as well as its phase cloak. The basic functionality of such a weapon when aimed at a planet is very simple. We should expect to see such weapons proliferate over the next several years barring a treaty to ban them," was the summation of one analyst.

Unknown Forces Raid Breen-Klingon Trade Route

In the remote coreward region of space through which Breen and Klingon trade passes the last six months of the year saw large scale raids take a toll on one of the regions most massive and lengthy trade routes.

No comments have been available from either the Breen or the Klingons but it is presumed their reaction will be swift. Insurance premiums for merchant ships passing that way have risen to extremely high levels in recent weeks, with many ships being unwilling to make the voyage without active protection from the Breen or Klingon military.

No leads have been made public about who might be behind such actions.

Taiidan miss 1st Indemnity Payment to Klingons

The Taiidan government did not make the first scheduled payment on monies owed the Imperium of Martok per the terms of the treaty of Dorzan. Per the terms of the treaty the Taiidan will be charged a 1% penalty on the 40 million credits owed every year they miss a payment of at least 2 million credits.

Gorn Move Towards Democracy

Local Gorn elections were held for the first time in recorded history as the people turned out in overwhelming numbers to elect the social democrats in most districts. The Imperial party, that advocates an abandonment of the democratization process was the second largest vote getter but generally lagged far behind the more forward thinking Social Democrats.

Other parties are just in early stages of organization and likely will not emerge as full fledged entities until the issue of democratization is settled fully.
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2421

Taiidan Re-Activate Fleet

Amid diplomatic controversy the Taiidan re-activated a large portion of their fleet and returned it to active service.

Response from the former allies were mixed and are believed to have been hampered by political considerations within many of the ISA powers. The Taiidan assert that they are following the letter of the treaty while most powers agree they are in violation of the spirit of the document if not the explicit wording. Treaty experts tend to agree that the document at the very least was poorly worded in many sections.

"The section on their fleet numbers is not the only area that shows weakness in construction. For example the financial penalties to the Imperium of Martok calls for a penalty if a certain amount is not paid every year. But it lacks enforcement provisions or any escalated consequences for the Taiidan. As worded the Taiidan could simply elect to be assessed a 1% penalty each year for the next 1,000 years."

"The same lack of total clarity hurts the section on Taiidan fleet levels. While it is a reasonable interpretation that the levels specified should remain for all time that is not made explicit in the treaty document. Regardless of if it had to be written it really should have been written as part of the document for clarity sake," said on expert.

"The treaty itself is the product of drafting by negotiation among several powers all with different interest. You see this frequently in international politics where a treaty that itself has to be negotiated before it can be submitted to the opposite party often loses its clarity of purpose. The allies would have been well served to have established war aims jointly before the strike by the Cardassians when time for doing so was relatively plentiful."

Gorn Elections Continue

The move towards democratic government continued as regional governments were elected. National elections should occur during the next year and are likely to install a strongly pro-democratic party opposed primarily by a much smaller pro-imperial party that wishes to revert to Hegemony's former government style.

Pirate Activity Ceases

The activity of pirates appears to have ceased as none of the three governments invovled in coreward patrols reported any apprehensions or loss to any trade route in the area. To date no evidence has been gathered about who or what engaged in the attacks.
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2422

Cardassian Worlds Suffer Occasional Blackouts

In a scene that harkens back to the times before anti-matter Cardassian worlds suffered occasional blackouts and brownouts throughout the last year as the military government struggled to make ends meet in terms of anti-matter useage. Reports were widely rumored throughout the year but were finally confirmed when power was lost for 12 hours in the embassy section of Cardassia prime.

The military government has been accused of vastly mis-managing its energy situation. Outside observers cite a bloated navy and inefficient production under the new regime as the primary problems.

Gorn Elect Social-Democrats to Power

The gorn people voted overwhelmingly for the pro-democracy Social Democrats in recent elections, sending them into control of the first national assembly with nearly 70% of the seats. The only other party to put forward canidates was the Imperial party, which vowed to overtun the democratic reforms and restore the authority of the imperial family. They occupy the other 30% of the seats.

Analyst expect that the Imperial party will rapidly decline in popularity, baring a disaster in the near term, and that the social democrats will fracture over time as the main electoral issues shift away from the type of government to be put in place and towards the policies of that government.

Despite the strong showing of the Imperial party the imperial family itself stayed out of the elections in a public sense. Often seen as a figurehead in the old system anyway they appeared to be quite content to retain the function of ceremonial head of state while giving up the vast majority of their governmental power.

Search for missing Federation ships comes up empty

A joint Federation-Klingon search for missing Federation explorers came up empty during the year. No further information was released by the two crews went from being declared missing to being declared lost for causes unknown.
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2423

CU gets anti-matter situation in order

The Cardassian energy ministry reports that while it has not yet fully resolved its anti-matter crisis the worst is likely over as increased domestic production along with increased access to imports from a variety of sources has stabilized the situation. This is seen as a positive for the stability of the new government. While this will increase the quality of life for the average citizen it is likely that the military is still well short of the type of reserves that would be necessary to fight a war of any appreciable length.

The nations exporting anti-matter to the Union have not been identified but there is some debate within the international energy markets centered around the fact that exports appear to be moving in at mere subsistance levels while the ISA governments are sitting on record amounts of anti-matter. While coalition stores are not subject to public records it is speculated by many that all parties invovled would like to see the CU sustained, but not able to conduct major operations without their approval and anti-matter.

Diplomatic Concern over Loyalties of the CU on all sides

At the same time the Union has become the latest diplomatic football in the games between the ISA and the Coalition. While it is not known if either side has moved to formalize a relationship with the Union it seems inevitable that they will eventually fall into one sphere of influence or the other. Analyst see this as more important for the Coalition as it has effectively "lost" the last two major battles for allies with the Federation in seeing the Gorn and Tueri be made part of the ISA.

The rejoining of the Union to the ISA would make it substantially more powerful than the Coalition, moreso than it already is. A move to join the Coalition would help to bring the odds back closer to even, forcing the Federation to consider a major conflict on both extremities of its territory.


Economic boom within the ISA

All facets of the ISA nations economic might have grown immesurably since the Tueri have joined the alliance. The replacement of the shambling Cardassian economy with the dynamic trade-based economy of the Tueri has seen the three foremost trading powers of the region fused into a single alliance. Additionally the move of the Gorn to a democratic government has seen their economy pick up steam over the past several years.

Anti-matter stores for all powers are at record levels while trade is expanding at a rapid clip as it moves safely and securely along trade lines located entierly within the alliance.

Where the ISA once had to prop up the Cardassian economy with anti-matter, loans and technology that money is now staying within the three ISA members and being put to good use in internal developments.

Imperium's new Space Claims, Experts Dubious about Defensive Ability

The Imperium of Martok has increased its size by an unprecendented amount by claiming large swaths of space rimward and Eastward from its present borders. While official reaction has thus far been muted on the part of other governments this is expected to innagurate a new set of colonial disputes and conflicts as powers posture to take advantage of these more distant worlds.

Experts remain doubtful in light of the slower than expected reconstruction fo the Klingon fleet that the Imerium can acutally defend the claims it is making. It seems they are relying on their force of will and the strong voice of their leader to dare anyone to challenge them.

Cardassian Source Reveals Union Behind Attacks on Klingon and Breen Trade

An unnamed source within the Union has revealed to the FNS that the Union was behind the attacks on Klingon and Breen shipping. The source with this claim was initially dismissed as not creditworth but was later able to produce the exact dates and victims of the attacks. This information had never been publicly released by the Klingon and Breen governments. FNS confirmed at least 70% of the dates with a source within the Tueri government, which maintains long range sensor logs of the area.
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2424

Federation Elections Shake Up Council

The most hotly contested Federation elections in the past decade reshaped the council during the past year. The Federalist party largely held onto its seats, retaining 32% of the votes in the council which is in-line with their post-Khitomer average. However the parties they will have to work with to form a coalition government are very different than they were previously.

The Republic Party, the long-time and broad-based competition for the Federalist, saw its share of the seats within the council dimish to 20%, keeping it only slightly ahead of more radical parties on both sides of the political spectrum. Many of its followers felt that the party had so long been excluded from power that they prefered to move further to the left or right in an attempt to influence the direction of the Federation through coalition government with the Federalist, rather than the usual opposition stance taken by the party.

This swelled the numbers of both the Isolationist Party and the Green Party who call for a withdrawl from non-ISA diplomatic and military entanglements and a large reduction in military spending respectively. The Isolationist took a suprising 18% of the seats, riding a wave of bad feeling on the heels of the marginally successful but somewhat unpleasent Grand Alliance that conduct the previous war against the Taiidan.

The Greens did even slightly better, polling 19% of the vote on the basis of the party looking to slash active fleet numbers based on the information gained during the recent conflict. Their position is that the Federation has not been successful applying hard power to situations and that it should return to attempting to use its soft power to influence events.

The defense leagues, formerly a large presence, combined into the Federation Security League and garnered only 11% of the vote in a surprisingly weak showing. Many convereted to the Isolationist party which as a result adopted a more pro-starfleet stance with its new converts.

No official coalition has been announced as yet by the Federation.

CU Economy Stabilizes with Large, External Cash Infusion

An infusion from an unknown source but rumored to be in the low 8 figure range has stablized the Cardassian economy and seems likely to restore the Union to some measure of its former power. The source and cost of these funds is unknown at this time but concealing such a large transaction is quite difficult as it represents nearly half of the annual Cardassian domestic output of goods and services.

This has fueled additional Cardassian debt concerns as they are now likely borrowing far more money than their economy generates on an annual basis, though it may be less of a concern if these numbers are kept at artificially low rates by the governments lending to the Union.

CU, ISA relations head south

In a series of highly publicized incidents CU and ISA relations chilled over the past year.

The first and most public of these was the revelation in the news that the Union was possibly behind the attacks on shipping in Tueri territory. Diplomatic sources within the ISA report that a request for clarification on the part of the Union was delivered and thus far no response has been forthcoming from the Union. Reaction within the Tueri government has been mixed. War is seen as an unlikely outcome at this point but it seems likely that there will be some official response.

Additionally negotiations to formalize the Unions relations with the ISA moving forward have broken down. Offered what amounted to a probationary spot within the ISA the Union apparently turned the offer down, leaving ISA officials dismayed at the direction of their former allies.

In a less public incident after this the ISA made an offer to the Union to at least formalize the split and secure certain information and technology from the Cardassian Union that was shared during their time with the ISA. The response to this was described as less than favorable by officals with knowledge of the neogtiations.
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2424 Janes Defense Update

This year's edition introduces an order of battle system that gives the estimated total number of ships and classifies them through our patented universal ratings system, which is detailed as follows.

Battleship- Advances in technology have reduced the size of the highest end capital ships as most of the new ultimate designs are around 5 million tons and are more comprehensively armed and armoured than their smaller companions. Large enough to make no real compromises they are designed to stand up to and deal great amounts of punishment.

Battle Cruiser-The main heavy forces of most regional naval forces these are heavily armed and armoured and generally quite fast. These ships generally exhibit a bias towards either offensive of defensive action as their size generally inhibits the ability to do everything one would want with them. Still, the most capable of this breed are generally among the most well rounded ships you will find in the region.

Cruisers- Cruisers make up a large component of most naval forces in the region. Composed of ships that generally are well armed but often make trade offs of speed, defensive capability or armament to excel in one particular area. More rounded ships do exist in this area (such as the Ambassador Class which in its time would have been a battlecruiser) but have generally fallen out of favour with most naval forces as they move towards specialist ships like the Akira Class.

Frigates- We have chosen to utilize the traditional age of sail definition of a Frigate to distinguish between Frigates and Destroyers. Both occupy the same general mass ranges. However a Frigates mission is to be a well-rounded and generally speedy ship designed to be the eyes of the fleet and operate independently of other units. Generally more lightly armed they are focused much more on range and speed.

Destroyer- Destroyers on the other hand are biased almost 100% towards combat. Heavily armed and generally short legged they operate most often in groups in support of larger ships during battle. Often slower than their Frigate counterparts they tend to be ships that hit above their weight.

Specialist Ships- Ships with a roll outside of the traditional naval force structure. These would include dedicated exploratory vessels, advance cloaked observation vessels, command ships and anything else that does not fall into the above categories.

SPECIAL SECTION- Combat Effectiveness of Destroyers in Recent Conflicts

While the war with the Taiidan saw a great deal of conflict and loss of ships the class that figured most prominently in the major battles were the smaller, destroyer ships which absorbed most of the losses on both sides of the conflict. In doing so they largely fulfilled their design goals, which was to limit losses to their heavier and more expensive counterparts. This extensive combat experience, involving nearly ever known type of destroyer in service, has allowed for a comparative ranking to be made of the various types in service. The ships are listed in order of estimated effectiveness.

1. Vengence Class (Starfleet)- The latest Federation offering performed well in combat, comfortably overmatching the opposing Taiidan designs and outperforming the Mogh Mk II by a small margin in battle.

2. Mogh Mk II (Klingon)- This updated version of a tested Klingon platform performed adequately but was difficult to assess given the lack of covering fire generally available due to a stunning absence of capital warships in the fleet during the conflict.

3a. High Charity Class (Tueri)- This design saw little combat action in the war but was assessed against the Mogh Mk I by the Tueri, which it comfortably outclassed.

3b. Exchequer Class (Ferengi)- The origin of this design was the former FKI and it performed well in service to the Gorn and Cardassian fleets during the conflict.

3c. Defiant Mk II (Starfleet)- This final upgrade of the Defiant class suffers for lack of range but does hit well above its weight to finish tied with more modern designs.

4. Kephri Class (Taiidan)- These ships were incredibly tough for their size but lacked overall firepower to punch with any of the above listed ships.

5. TurLoc Class (Gorn)- An old Gorn design these ships served as little more than cannon fodder for the Taiidan but were at least available in large numbers.

6. Dukat Class (Cardassian)- An indigenous Cardassian design it was the worst destroyer in Cardassian service during the war. Slow, short ranged and under-armed they were available in only moderate numbers, leaving them unable to even attempt to swarm opponents.



STARFLEET

Government: United Federation of Planets
Headquarters: Earth
Personnel: 27,426,264
Ships in Commission: 14,833 (aprox. 5,000 of those in reserve)
Major Installations: 30

General Overview: Starfleet is at the present time the foremost known fleet in the region. It performed well in the recent conflict but was caught with many older ship types in service as the transition to contemporary ships was slowed recently to allow for generational leaps with the next class of starships. This was somewhat rectified by several crash R&D projects and a re-allocation of building priorities which is now putting first rate combatants into the field.

Recent Developments and Operations: Starfleet was a key participant in the War of the Grand Alliance participating and playing a key roll in the Battle of Quonos and the allied opposition to the Taiidan invasion of Cardassian space, which forced an end to the conflict.

Losses during the war were confined almost totally to the destroyers that operate with the fleet. If any weaknesses were detected they applied mostly to the alliance as a whole as no cohesive offensive strategy was ever agreed on and the group spent much of its time reacting rather than prosecuting the war.

Procurement Programs: Starfleet continue to procure the following ships; Pierre, Etat, Vengence, Alextria, Thor, Liberty, Fusion and Fission Classes of ship.

Most of these ships seem designed for specialist or patrol roles. The Etat is a patrol frigate. The Pierre is a light cruiser that handles specialist roles for the fleet. The Alextria and Thor are more general cruisers biased towards combat roles. The Liberty was a combined ISA program to produce a first rate capital ship. The Fusion and Fission Classes are exploratory vessels.

The hodgepodge of vessels is largely the result of the often delayed program to leap ahead a generation in ship technology while extending the service life of legacy designs. This led to advancement in stops and starts for Starfleet with some ships like the Thor being in low rate production for a decade before the recent war caused a ramp up in production.

Other Equipment: Starfleet has continued to aggressively retire ships from service as new construction has allowed them to do so. Many are being sold with others just being scrapped rather than placed into reserve.

Ships by Class (Number in Service)

Ships are listed by suspected combat ability relative to others in their class.

Battleships (75)
Liberty Class (30)
Vigil Class (45)


Battlecruisers (2,153)

Thor Class (1,028)
Sovereign Class (1,125)

Cruisers (4,080)

Alextria Class (190)
Pierre Class (620)
Alliance Class (400)
Prometheus Class (1,650)
Akron Class (600)
Akira Class (620)

Frigates (2,680)

Etat Class (2,070)
Intrepid Class (610)


Destroyers (4,981)

Vengence Class (3,981)
Defiant Class (1,000)

Specialist Ships (864)

Ignes Class Deep Space Explorer (23)
Fusion Class Deep Space Explorer (11)
Pulsar Class Deep Space Explorer (300)
Etoli Class Science Ship (400)
Fission Class Light Explorer (130)

Other Comments: Starfleets procurement lost focus after the first round of improvements from the Dominion War. The glut of cruisers classes represents a bit of design indecision on the part of Starfleet that now appears to be resolved. Nonetheless Starfleet remains a very potent force with a high degree of commonality among its newer ships.


KLINGON DEFENSE FORCE

Government: Klingon Empire
Headquarters: Qo'Nos
Personnel: 100 Million est. (2 Million Naval, 60 Million Army, balance are support personel)
Ships in Commission: 3-6,000 est.
Major Installations: 15-20 est.

General Overview: The KDF suffered heavily during the 2nd Romulan-Klingon War and during the Taiidan invasion of Klingon territory. Exact losses are unknown but are rumoured to be upward of 50% of the Klingon fleet. Production levels were high, and observations of the QonoS shipyards during the defense of that system indicated they would remain high at least there but the exact rate at which ships can be produced is unknown.

The Mogh Mk II was made the focus of the KDF's operations in recent years. Culturally this small and powerful ship harkens back to the glory days of the Bird of Prey, allowing captains and small crews the chance to seek glory.

The Hos Hegh was retired from service, in some view prematurely, and a replacement design is rumoured to exist and is suspected of being produced in ever increasing numbers. Details other than that are sketchy but it is presumed any such replacement would comfortably double what the latest model Hos Hegh was capable of.

The Vor'Cha is also rumoured to have been taken out of service and replaced by yet another massive warship about which no details or production numbers are known. Projections for a battleship level Klingon warship put it on part with the Liberty design put in service by the ISA.

Recent Developments and Operations: Klingon forces suffered in their two most recent combat experiences due to a lack of larger support craft. The Mogh Mk II was obliged to take on many cruiser sized and above combatants in the Romulan-Klingon War and in engagements with the Taiidan. This led to disproportionate losses among the smaller ships. The degree to which this concerns high command is unknown.

Procurement Programs: Little is known about the specifics of the Klingon ship building program but analysis of material consumption, spending patters and other rumors would place the number of ships being built between 200 to 500 major combatants being constructed each year with the majority being smaller destroyers.

Battleships (~0-50)

Unknown Class (0-50)

Battlecruisers (~200-500)

Unknown Class (~200-500)

Destroyers (3,000-5,000)

Mogh Mk II (3,000-5,000)

Other Comments: The Klingon Defense Forces comprise the second strongest known fleet in the region, though few details are known as the Imperium has become somewhat reclusive since the Taiidan incident. Larger ships should be a priority but restoring overall numbers for security purposes may keep this a destroyer driven fleet for sometime.


CARDASSIAN NAVY

Government: Cardassian Union
Headquarters: Cardassia Prime
Personnel: 240 Million (1.2 Million shipboard, 20 Million Army, balance are support personnel)
Ships in Commission: ~4,100
Major Installations: 10

General Overview: The state of the Cardassian Navy is subject to much dispute in the region. A formidable force on paper it is a mish-mash of imported units, domestic designs with old and new ships in all categories. The fleet has suffered from a lack of fuel for training in recent years but is believed to be rectifying the problem.

Recent Developments and Operations: The Cardassian Navy performed awfully against the Taiidan in the recent conflict. It ships were not up to the challenge from a technical sense, nor did its commanders show themselves well.

Procurement Programs: Prior to converting government types and classifying nearly all information on the fleet procurement of the following class was underway. Liberty Class, Akleen Class, Malficar Class, Executor Class and Medes Class. A surge in shipbuilding was suspect with the ascension of the military government but economic problems are suspected to have slowed that pace.

Battleships (~100)

Liberty Class (~25)
Akleen Class (~75)

Battlecruisers (~1,230)

Malficar Class (~800)
Prefect Class (430)

Cruisers (~1,061)

Medes Class (~370)
Akira Class (413)
Regulator Class (94)
Keldon Class (184)

Destroyers (~1,665)

Executor Class (~750)
Defiant Class (165)
Dukat Class (~600)
Zeutor Class (~150)

Other Comments: Much of the Cardassian's development went into a specialized weapons system that debuted with strikes on former FKI worlds. The weapons proved effective but drastically overpowered for limited strikes. The weapons, over 1,000 of them, were destroyed at the end of the conflict, drastically reducing the striking power of the Cardassian military.


BREEN NAVY

Government: Breen
Headquarters: Breen
Personnel: 150 million est. (unknown composition)
Ships in Commission: 2,000 to 5,000
Major Installations: Unknown

General Overview: More has been learned about the Breen due to recent joint operations, though the overall extend of their participation remains a question. No one is entirely sure what percentage of their capability was put forth, though estimates should be more accurate than in the past.

Recent Developments and Operations: Ever larger Breen ships have been seen in recent conflicts, including several old Dominion types. This implies a shift in the organizational philosophy of the Breen as they move away from smaller ships and towards more capable cruiser style designs.

Procurement Programs: The Breen have recently fielded and allowed to be observed several smaller classes of ship designed for observation purposes. Additionally the Breen are suspected to have undertaken a domestic destroyer program, though no information on that exist at this time.

There is some speculation the Breen wish to move away from reliance on the Klingons for certain warships and have instead developed their own line of ships in almost all classes to equip their forces moving forward. It is known they made a purchase of Mogh Class ships at one point, though few have been seen in active service with the Breen.

Battleships (50)

Dominion Dread. (50)

Battlecruisers (~400)

Breen Battleship (~400)

Cruisers (~700)

Breen Torpedo Cruisers (~700)

Destroyers & Frigates (~1,100)

Unknown Class (~250)
Mogh Class (~350)
Breen Observer (~500)


GORN/THOLIAN NAVY

Government: Gorn/Tholian Hegemony
Headquarters: Gorn
Personnel: 199 million est.
Ships in Commission: ~5,307
Major Installations: 10

General Overview: The Gorn fleet has been thoroughly reworked over the years, though much work remains to be done. The fleet is overwhelmingly composed of older, Tholian based attack ships which are effective at swarming but can scarcely stand up to modern firepower and add little in fleet actions.

Recent Developments and Operations: The Gorn fleet was an active participant in the defence of QonoS and what ships it did have there performed well. The Tur'Loc class is getting extremely long in the tooth, being a derivative of the Tholian attack ship this is not surprising. The remainder of the fleet resembles the Cardassian Navy in that it is a hodge-podge of bought in and domestically built designs. Recent economic advances have allowed the Gorn to pursue a increasingly domestic approach to their ship-designs.

Procurement Programs: The Gorn are producing three types of ships, the Ghavel, a domestic destroyer design; the Lazarus, a joint designed cruiser for which the Gorn got Starfleet assistance and the Exchequer, a design bought in from the former FKI.

Battleships (50)

Liberty Class (50)

Battlecruisers (240)

Lazarus Class (110)
Imperial Class (30)
Profit Class (100)

Cruisers (274)

Midas Class (247)
Akira Mk II (27)

Destroyers (4,468)

Exchequer Class (550)
Defiant Class (633)
Ghavel Class (225)
Tur'Loc Class (3,060)


MIGRANT FLEET

Government: Taiidan Directorate
Headquarters: Unknown
Personnel: Unknown
Ships in Commission: 5,000-6,000 est.
Major Installations: Unknown

General Overview: The Migrant Fleet sprang upon the region unannounced and spread like a plague across many nations before being contained. The fleet consist of three types, though additional types can't be ruled out if they have a production source or willing constructor, as well as various captured units and technologies.

Little is known about the ships except that they are highly protected with shields and armor. As of yet the Taiidan have not made use of quantum torpedoes or cloaking devices, which gave the allies a crucial firepower advantage in the recent conflict.

Recent Developments and Operations: The Taiidan fleet performed well in recent conflicts. Despite meeting unexpected resistance the fleet was able to penetrate Klingon space and inflict considerable damage on the Imperium's infrastructure. In a brief battle with the Cardassians and a small Federation fleet the Migrant Fleet overwhelmed and crushed those forces. A portion of the fleet was overwhelmed itself over QonoS but inflicted heavy damage on allied destroyer units that attempted to close, while showing good resistance to long range fire due to heavy shields.

Procurement Programs: Unknown

Battleships (~500-1,500)

Unknown Class (~500-1,500)

Battlecruisers (~2,000)

Unknown Class (~2000)

Destroyers (~3,000)

Unknown (~3,000)

Other Comments: Taiidan ships are incredibly well protected, this being their primary asset. The fleet is large but should be lacking in resources and industrial support given the Cardassian strikes on their industrial base.

VANGUARD FLEET

Government: Tueri
Headquarters: Unknown
Personnel: 20 Million (1.8 million ships crew)
Ships in Commission: 5,010
Major Installations: Unknown

General Overview: While the exact locations of many Tueri installations remain a closely guarded secret the fleet has come into the open with the recent conflict and the transition back to an open democratic government. It performed admirably in combat in recent conflicts.

Recent Developments and Operations: The Vanguard fleet continues to push for bleeding edge technology, often resulting in protracted development cycles and reduced numbers of high technology ships. This has been modified recently as ship as being built in larger numbers due to the ascension to the ISA treaty and a more prominent place in the galaxy.

Vanguard ships are the technological equal of most major races in the region.

Procurement Programs: The High Charity Class Destroyer and the new Prophecy Class Cruiser are the two ships being built by the Tueri as foreign designs are being phased out entirely.

Battlecruisers (750)

Hos'Hegh Class (650)
Profit Class (100)

Cruisers (49)

Prophecy Class (10)
Arbiter Class (39)

Destroyers (3,910)

High Charity (3,910)
Mogh Class (300)

Other Comments: The latest Tueri designs are in-line with the best that Starfleet and the Klingon Empire are currently fielding by all reports, though they may not match the newest designs coming off the slips in those empires they should comfortably hold their own for some time.
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BigJKU316
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Commendations: The Daystrom Award, Cochrane Medal of Excellence

Re: Federation News Service (Sim News)

Post by BigJKU316 »

2425

February

Taiidan Declare War, Invade Cardassian Space

Taiidan forces are once more on the move as they declared the Union in violation of treaty provisions and have launched an attack in unknown numbers against the Cardassians. The declaration of war comes after some period of speculation as to the loyalties of the Union, though the situation is still quite unclear to most at this time.

Breen, Klingons to Send Assistance

The Breen and Klingons have pledged assistance to the Cardassian Union agianst this renewed threat. The Breen are presumably sending forces to assist with the defense of the Union now. The Klingons will likely follow suit but it is a long journey to the presumed conflict area.

ISA Declares Neutrality, Destroys last vestiges of Grand Alliance

The ISA has declared neutrality, and little else, in regard to the most recent conflict. Wide confusion reigns among the people in regard to recent events as few public statements have been made by these nations leaders. Public opinion polling shows that most hold the Cardassian Union is almost equally low regard as the Taiidan. But clear direction from the top has been lacking thus far and for the most part people are withholding judgement until they see how the conflict plays out.

Within the Federation dissatisfaction with the outcome for the grand alliance likely made a reprise all but impossible though again the public silence on these issues has left most feeling somewhat confused as to what happened.
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