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【Vision of an Alternate Future】

Arc 1: Ascendance

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【VAF】Chapter║: 4 ─ A Step Forward

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On the morning of 01-09-2117, 12 months had passed, and the day when the Hulls would be tested had arrived. The Hull that absorbed the most energy will decide the course of Crystalorb's Ship development. Naole's team had built 1.5 meter thick Bio-genetic Organic Crystal technology living Hull, and Pelam's team had built a 9 meter thick composite non living Hull from 1〙 an experimental alloy called Varodium that was formulated from various materials 2〙 the Hull's external top layer was Crystalorb's Black Crystals.

On the face of things Pelam's team looked like they had the measure of Naole's team, and the 9 meter thick composite Hull with Crystalorb's Black Crystals was clearly superior to the Hulls of the Crystalorb ships that were currently operational. Even Naole seemed unsure of the performance of his 1.5 meter thick Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull compared to Pelam's team 9 meter thick Hull with composite Crystalorb's Black Crystals.

The testing procedure would start with each of the team leaders describing their product and explaining its attributes, and then 2 Particle Beams of Identical energy output would be fired at the two products with the energy of the Particle Beams increasing every 30 seconds until both products fail. Thousands of Crystalans had come to witness the big scientific showdown. Naole was feeling slightly intimidated, so he allowed Pelam to begin his presentation first.

After Pelam was finished it was now Naole's tern. Naole stepped onto the podium and began his presentation

Naole : " That was inspired; Very nice Pelam." Pelam nods his head at Naole "Thank you Ladies and Gentleman. First I would like to thank the members of my team. To my 2 sons and my daughter, your dedication to this project has been exemplary. To my sister Casara, your knowledge and understanding of advance weaponry has been invaluable. Dr Kebu and Dr Pau your keen minds have been the driving force of this project." Naole pauses for Applause "As you can see most of the team came from the Olen family. Let me tell you that this was no accident. Bio-genetic Organic Crystal technology was developed by our family, and it’s our family legacy. My 12 year old granddaughter went as far as to inform me that if I should fail, I must consider myself out of the family." Naole pauses for laughter " So you can understand that I'm in a precarious position" Naole pauses for laughter "With all that in mind Ladies and Gentleman I give you the RRBOCA" The 1.5 meter thick Bio-genetic Organic Crystal technology living Hull is unveiled for everyone to see "The Refractive-Reflective Bio-genetic Organic Crystalline Armour is the next evolutionary level in Crystal Armour Technology. This new development will revolutionize Crystal Armour Technology and usher in a new age of Reactive Armour Technology. As we all know the Chest Crystal is a living organ that is part of our bodies. No different from a hand, an eye, the liver or the heart. The Crystalorb ships were developed to be living organisms based on the Chest Crystal. The Energy/Weapons Crystals on the Crystal Armour and on the Ships were developed to have properties similar to those of the Chest Crystal. But the Chest Crystal is a complicated organ that we still do not fully understand. The skin of the Ships is an organ of the living ship, and to suggest that we could cover it up to fulfil our own purposes is just wrong. What I have done is try to help the skin develop better defensive techniques by stimulating an evolutionary response to energy attacks. Granted I did introduce new genetic material and new Crystalline compounds, but the purpose was to teach the skin how to better protect itself. To that end we grew a 3 layer skin, with each layer being 0.5 meters thick. The First layer was developed by encouraging the skin to absorb fragments of Energy/Weapons Crystals, and hope was that skin could develop some of the properties of the Energy/Weapons Crystals. Therefore by introducing Energy/Weapons Crystals into every skin cell with the Aid of Nano Bio-Machines we could alter the cell structure through cellular replication. We then fired into the skin and using sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms we could harness what I call the Refractive-Reflective nature of Energy/Weapons Crystals which incidentally is a property of the Chest Crystal. We realised that we could generate a Reflective Particle Beam in the direction of the original Particle Beam through a series of Refractions. This process virtually reduces the energy of the original Particle Beam by 80%. The process was difficult to control and manage. We calculated it could take years for the skin to learn how to do what we wanted it to do. So we moved our research to the Indigo, and on the Indigo I could link the Indigo's Brain and connect to Indigo's skin sample that was being worked on. This approach produced results much more quickly than we anticipated, and now that we could use the Refractive-Reflective process to reduce effectiveness of direct Particle Beams by 80% we moved to deal with the remaining 20%. We created the Second layer in the same way we created the first layer, except that this time we introduce Black Crystals instead of Energy/Weapons Crystals. We created a Bio-Organic Crystalline version of the Black Crystals. Now I'm not saying that it can absorb as much energy as the normal Black Crystals, but we estimate it to be about 75% as absorptive. The real breakthrough here is that we've created a Bio-Organic Crystalline Black Crystal that can repair itself, and the energy it absorbs is transformed and sent to the Third layer. On the Third layer we repeated the creation process of the First and Second layer, but this time we introduced Energy Storage Crystals. The Third layer will form part of the Ship's Energy reserve system, and this new system will help us turn our enemy's weapons against them."

Naole ended his presentation.

Tarun the oldest member of the Council of Elders gave the order for the testing to begin. The Particle Beam Energy/Weapons Crystals were activated and 2 Particle Beams of Identical energy output were fired at the two products starting at enough energy to cut through existing ship Hulls, and then the energy of the Particle Beams increased every 30 seconds.

Many Crystalans had seen preliminary testing of the team Pelam's Hull and were convinced that Pelam's would win, and because Naole had been working in secret they only had appearances to judge Naole's design. Naole's presentation was scientific jargon to most Crystalans and they barely understood the implications of what Naole was talking about, and only those in the scientific community could comprehend the gravity of Naole's work, but even they were unsure about which team would emerge Victorious.

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After 150 seconds the 9 meter thick composite Hull with Crystalorb's Black Crystals began to fail and was breached. To everyone's shock the 1.5 meter thick Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull continued to take even more energy with the first layer only beginning to fail after 750 seconds, but once the first layer failed the other layers failed some 5 seconds later. The 3 layers of the 1.5 meter thick Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull were integrated components that functioned as a single structure.

Tarun : " By the Source!"

Pelam : " I don't believe it!"

Naole : " It's not a matter of Faith Pelam."

Pelam : " How?"

Tarun : " Good work Naole"

Naole : " My Lord I will be the first one to note that while the Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull represents a significant achievement or progress it is not without its weaknesses."

Naole then instructs that the 2 Particle Beams be focused on a single point on the Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull, and under the power of 2 Particle Beams from different directions the first layer of the Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull began failing after 500 seconds

Pelam : " Ok; I See!"

Once again Naole stands to address the Thousands of Crystalans

Naole : " As you can all see no defences are perfect. Under Multiple Particle Beams the Refractive-Reflective hull fails more quickly as the number of Particle Beams increase. The Reactive capabilities of the Bio-genetic Organic Crystal living Hull is something unique to living tissue. This is something that only living organisms can do. When Crystalorb decided to duplicate the Artificial Intelligence Organism of the Indigo and install the living Brains on the Intrepid Class Ships we change everything. These Ships are Sentient-Sapient Organisms; they are no longer Artificial Intelligence Organisms. They are living feeling beings. Beings that we created! To suggest that we could discard them is not just morally wrong it is positively malevolent! I’m very disappointed in Crystalans! Very disappointed! Have you not seen how the baby ships play? Have you not seen how the parent ships care for their young? Have you not seen how they care for us? Have you not seen how they love us? A hundred years ago the Hodians killed 60% of our population and stole the Spirit Stone; with the Spirit Stone gone the only thing keeping death on the other side of the line was our ships! They’ve lived the true meaning of out Oath! They are the light on the hill! The line in the sand! And with them its here and no further, what ever the cost! How have we repaid them? How have we Honoured their sacrifice? How have we Honoured their service to us? These Ships are no longer just vessels? They are no longer weapons? They are Crystalans! Born of the Spirit Stone! Deserving of every right due to Crystalans! We must recognize them for what they are! They must vote! And if they so wish it they must be allowed to stand for election to membership of the Council of Elders. It's time for Crystalorb to live out the true meaning of the Crystalorb Charter!"

Tarun : " Thank you Naole! Crystalorb has heard your voice. I can assure you that Crystalorb will live out the true meaning of the Crystalorb Charter! We will make hard decisions."

A few days later the Crystalorb General Council held a series of heated debates, and after long, sometimes hurtful discussions the Crystalorb General Council passed a resolution recognizing the Crystalorb Ships as Crystalans by a margin of 57%. Because of the perceived divisions amongst the members of the Crystalorb General Council, the Council of Elders called for a referendum on the issue and 68% of voting age Crystalans approved the resolution.

From then onwards the Crystalorb Ships were regarded as Crystalans, with all the rights due to a Crystalan. The Crystalorb Ships were designed to require Crystal Armoured individuals as keys to the weapon systems, and without Crystal Armour the Crystalorb Ship can not Fire. This was a security measure that was designed to prevent the younger ships from causing damage while they were playing.

The Crystalorb Research Division began to implement the new Crystal Armour to all the Ships, Ilesian Armour, Vanguard Armour, Vanglead Armour and Guardian Armour. The application of the new Crystal Armour to all the Crystalorb Ships was a long and complicated process taking many years and was expected to be completed by 01-06-2125. The Crystalorb Research Division also worked to develop a Bio-Organic Crystalline Jump Drive for the Ships, and the Ships were being fitted with a large Bio-Organic Ore processing facility.

The Crystalorb Ships would then be able to process small to medium asteroids to produce minerals and Nuclear Fusion Fuel. The Crystalorb Ships were also equipped with a Bio-Organic Crystalline Fusion Powered Plasma Propulsion System for Navigation in Nth Hyper-Space, and the system would be relatively small compared to that of the other Earth Ships. The Plasma Propulsion Systems would be shut down when in Normal Space, and activate just before a Crystalorb Ship entered Nth Hyper-Space.

The Crystalans would not consider developing a mechanical Jump Drive for the Ships, and would rather work on a Jump Drive based on their technology than rush to keep up with global developments. Crystal Valley Industries had supplied components for the construction of 1500 Nuclear fusion reactors, and Crystal Valley Industries would operate 800 Reactors around the world.

The Global economy had recovered, and Crystal Valley Industry’s advanced robotics were a critical component in the speed of the recovery. They could build faster than any other company or organization, and CVI's global activities revived the ailing African Federation Economy. CVI was now building its own Jump Drive for commercial applications. The Crystalorb Leadership was eager to gain access to the vast resources available in the form of asteroids at the edge of the solar system.

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On 02-12-2118 the UAS Atlantis A2118 left Earth's Moon for the first time and moved into High orbit around the Earth for its final faze of its construction. On 02-12-2118 the UAS Atlantis A2118 was the largest Space Ship to be built by humans, and the first Earth Ship to be built with a Jump Drive.

After several weeks of Nuclear Fusion Reactor tests, Fusion Powered Plasma Propulsion Systems tests, Manoeuvring tests and Jump Drive tests the UAS Atlantis A2118 was finally ready to attempt its first Nth Hyper-Space trip. The UAS Atlantis X2115 was called in to escort UAS Atlantis A2118 to Mars on its maiden Voyage.

On 25-02-2119 at 14H00 GMT the UAS Atlantis A2118 activated its Jump Drive opening a Zero length wormhole into Nth Hyper-Space, Then Admiral Ben Perry ordered the Ship's navigation officer to move them into Nth Hyper-Space. The UAS Atlantis X2115 opened its own wormhole and followed A2118. At 14H06 GMT the UAS Atlantis A2118 opened another wormhole and both ships emerged out of that single wormhole into Mars space with the X2115 emerging first out of the wormhole.

Upon returning to Earth space the designation of the UAS Atlantis X2115 was changed to UAS Lack X2115. There were celebrations throughout the United Atlantic Federation, and this marked the birth of UAF as an Interstellar Nation. The first of the UAF's Interstellar Ships had entered service, and its Jump Drive range was 25 LightYears from Nth Hyper-Space to Normal Space. The design format of the UAS Atlantis A2118 would be duplicated and enhanced.

The design format was:

1〙 2600 meters in length,

2〙 1600 meters width at the back and 300 meters width at the front,

3〙 1500 meters Height at the back and 250 meters Height at the front.

The other Earth Nations were already developing Ships that had a similar design format to the UAS Atlantis A2118. The first Asian Consortium StarShip was due to enter service by 2124, the first United Indian Federation Ship was due to enter service by 2125 and the first Islamic Alliance Ship was due to enter service by 2128. The African Federation of City States had selected a design format similar to that of Crystalorb, but budget delays had slowed development, and their first Large Ships were not expected before 2135. However a 450 meter long prototype of the African Federation design format was due to be completed by 2127.

Each of the 5 Earth Federation had a Moon based ship building facility, but the Moon was now functioning like a planetary defence station from which smaller ships conducted continues planetary patrols. Most of these ships were the Gunship Class StarShips, and they were:

150-300 meters in length,

20-45 meters wide,

20-40 meters high,

4-6 meter thick Armoured hull,

Fusion Powered Plasma Propulsion Systems,

1 Plasma Cannon and 2 Multidirectional Particle Beams.

Most countries preferred to install the Crystal Valley Industries components including CVI's: Varodium steel armour, Nuclear Fusion Reactor and Multidirectional Particle Beams. However the United Atlantic Federation did not invest too much in the smaller Ships, and as soon as the Atlantis A2118 went into service their Moon construction dock began building 3 more ships of the design format of the Atlantis A2118.

Atlantic Military designers considered the Atlantis A2118 a design prototype, and they were eager to explore the limits of their ship building capabilities. Analysis indicated that beyond a certain mass the ships became uneconomical to operate, and structural inefficiencies began to set in.

Therefore the optimal size was determined to be:

1〙 4000 meters in length,

2〙 2000 meters width at the back and 400 meters width at the front,

3〙 1800 meters in Height at the back and 310 meters in Height at the front,

4〙 Carry 8 Gunships of 150 meter length.

The increased size Ships were designated Juggernaut Class StarShips making them the first Human built Galaxy Class StarShips with jump capabilities of 35 LightYears from Nth Hyper-Space to Normal Space.

The three ships being built took this optimal format, and the first of the Ships namely the UAS Juggernaut A2125 was expected in 2125, with the other two ships entering service by the end of the following year. The United Atlantic Federation had ordered the construction of 15 of these ships, and because the construction was done by the Engineering Division of the UAF the costs were greatly reduced, but the cost was still more than the other Earth Federations could afford.

For the foreseeable future the United Atlantic Federation would dominate Earth's Interstellar Travel. There were others who could build larger energy reserves, and the theoretical capabilities of the reserve energy systems on the Intrepid and Indigo Class Ships was in the region of 50 LightYears from Nth Hyper-Space to Normal Space, but their Bio-Organic Crystalline Jump Drive for the Ships was still in development.

The Hodians had found a way to synthesis more of their blood, and they were using this technology to harvest more of their Metallic Crystals. The Metallic Crystals were used for energy storage systems and advanced weapons technology comparable to that of Crystalorb. The Hodians supplied the world with just as much weapons technology as Crystalorb through their company Ralefa Holdings.

Hodian Metallic Crystals were used to build Plasma Cannons and Multidirectional Particle Beams that were almost as powerful as those being supplied by Crystal Valley Industries. The Hodians had plans to build Metallic Crystalline StarShips that would rival Crystalorb Ships in speed and power, and their StarShips program had been in development since the Azlecks gave humans Jump Drive designs.

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Hodian Metallic Crystals weapons technology was changing the dynamics in the relationship between Crystalorb and the Federal African Government. With the global Economy back on its feet and the African Federation Economy in positive growth the Federal African Government began to believe that they didn't need Crystalorb, and a growing majority on the Federal Parliament began to see Crystalorb as a long term strategic threat.

Hodian influence on the legislative and Executive branches of the Government of the African Federation of City States was turning the African leaders against the Crystalans. Some in Crystalorb believed that the rhetoric against Crystalorb would only get worse. The Crystalorb Expeditionary Recognisance had long determined the source of their problems with the Federal African Government, and they knew that Hodian influence ran deep.

The Hodians were unapologetic about their activities, and since the death of Viceroy Nato Ralefa the Hodian relations with Crystalorb had grown progressively difficult. The New Viceroy Ruano Ralefa was eager to assert Hodian Power and Influence in the world, and he saw Crystalorb as a competitor in that regard. Lord Ruano put economic and financial concerns ahead of maintaining good relations with Crystalorb.

Crystalorb had always known that the Hodians would one day regain their ability to transform to the legendary level of Metallic Golden Crystalline Form, and by 2124 there were 9 Grandlord including Lord Ruano who had reached this level. The Metallic Golden Crystalline Form posed little strategic military Risk to Crystalorb because of the Intrepid and Indigo Class Crystalan Ships, but the Crystalorb Leadership maintained a watchful eye on the HOD in full knowledge that in their last war the greatest threat to Crystalorb came from within Crystalorb.

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The world had entered a new age of prosperity, and there were human colonies throughout the nearby solar systems. The United Atlantic Federation Juggernaut Class ships were being used to set up military outposts on small Moons in neighbouring solar systems with future United Atlantic Federation colonies being planned. Other nations were also expanding into the nearby solar systems in search for new opportunities for their peoples.

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