(sorry about the lack of screenshots. I had no idea how to do them at the time I was playing this game)
Phase One: The Age Of Expansion.
The discovery that we weren't alone in the galaxy, and the development of the hyperdrive that followed, lead to a new feeling of hope and optimism on Earth. The possibility for expansion into space and the colonisation of alien worlds fuelled the populaces enthusiasm for the space program and when the colonisation of Mars went without a hitch, thousands clamoured to join the newly formed Earthforce Navy or to sign up on colony ships.
Expansion was slow and steady with a slow stream of reports coming in from deep space scouts and our flagship, experimental survey ship, Earthforce One. It rapidly became apparent that habitable worlds were at something of a premium and any discovered were hastily colonised as we began to expand our sphere of influence into the unknown.
It was during this time that we began to encounter our closest neighbours. At first as wary of them as they were of us, friendship soon blossomed as we began trading with them and soon our freighters were a regular sight on the worlds of the Iconians, Thalians and theYor. Not only were they new markets for our goods, but new technologies were also traded with them, giving us and them access to areas where we were lacking. It was a profitable exercise and our good relations with them would stand us in good stead for the years ahead.
Our expansion was somewhat hindered when on no less than two occasions our flagship was flung through wormholes to the opposite side of the galaxy. Each time being out of range for any form of resupply or repair, all they could do was run the autopilot on minimum power and head back towards our space, several months away. The fact that no catastrophe occurred and no lives were lost is something of a miracle. The only advantage gained from these episodes was that as they kept their hailing frequencies open during their journey home, they encountered several alien races whose realms were outside the normal range of our ships. Friendly relations were opened this way with the Altarians, The Drengin Empire, the Torians, the Drath Legion and the Korx and though they were outside the reach of our freighters, the distance didn't stop the communicating of ideas and technologies. Thanks to these exploits, the captain of Earthforce One, Commander Pikkard, became something of a hero to the press and public alike. Higher echelons in Earthforce however viewed blundering through no less than two wormholes as bordering on incompetence and wanted him court martialled. Unwilling to go against public opinion however, and aware of the damage that might be caused to the expansion program, they hailed him a hero and promoted him making him responsible for public relations where he became an advisor on the television program "Galaxy Trek". The fact this promotion placed him behind a desk and well away from commanding a ship was something they didn't highlight to the public.
The expansion program ground to a halt when simply put, the number of habitable worlds within range of our ships and not currently occupied by one of the alien powers reached zero. Unable to expand further, our energies were directed towards other projects. Early on, and idea was raised for what became known as the Babylon Project, a series of space stations providing economic, diplomatic and military support for our burgeoning empire. As the expansion slowed, the project received a boost as more constructors were built on our worlds to expand the stations already in service as well as to build more of them. The project proved to be such a success that it was followed by the Deepspace project whose aim was to construct stations further from our colonies to increase our sphere of influence and provide support for our deep space scouts.
Despite our friendly relations with the alien governments we'd encountered, it also gave a boost to our military as they rightly pointed out that should an alien race turn hostile, we were completely defenceless. The early vessels submitted to the design bureau were only barely adequate for our needs, so new ideas were needed.
The first ship to enter service with Earthforce was the Hawker Hornet, a short ranged single seat interceptor. With limited deep space range thanks to it lacking any real interstellar drive, it was designed solely to protect those colonies it was deployed around. For it's small size however, it did pack a formidable punch combined with a small sensor array and was to remain Earthforce's primary fighter for a number of years.
Also from Hawker came the Minotaur, a frigate following similar design principals to the Hornet. With basic interstellar engines and sensors, it had a slight advantage over the Hornet in terms of movement through space and as it was equipped with 4 laser batteries, it was capable of inflicting an enormous amount of damage.
At the same time, from JH Industries, came the Crab Class Cruiser. Though called a cruiser, it was more of a frigate in size and followed a completely different philosophy to the Minotaur. It had exactly the same firepower as the Hornet, though lacking all but the most basic of sensors. The remaining space and power however was taken up by light shielding and engines, giving it greater survivability combined with a speed almost twice that of the Minotaur. As a raider designed to enter alien space and attack their shipping lines, it had no equal. Anything it couldn't outrun it could outfight.
Also coming from JH industries came the Eagle Missile Boat. Utilising missile technologies traded from the alien races, it was an attempt to see what kind of vessel we were likely to come up against. Though a handful were commisioned into Earthforce, it wasn't a particularly popular design either with crews or with Earthforce high command. In future, to see what kind of ship the alien races were using, we would use our economic and diplomatic clout to buy one of their ships from them.
As the age of expansion came to an end, we began to receive an increasing number of messages from several alien governments requesting aid. The Korx had become something of a major player in the galaxy and were using their economic and military muscle to attack a number of the other races. So far they hadn't done anything towards us, but we knew we couldn't allow them to completely dominate the other races, or worse, to conquer any. Such a thing would make them all but unassailable and so, quietly and discretely, we helped out those who asked. Some small technologies here and there would not lead back to us, keeping the other races in the fight whilst not directly involving us before we were ready. And ready we would rapidly become.
