Professor Wayne King-Meiouf of the University of ProximaSo Starbot is gone (or will be once the war is over), i'd like to discuss how this will affect the DDS in the short to medium term.
In the short term the DDS fleet has been reduced in size as Starbotian ships were included in the DDS fleet register, however these tended to spend all of their time on Starbotian missions and duties so the actual reduction in DDS fleet strength will be negligible. One as yet unanswered question will be what will happen to the 5 Corkscrew 51As on order to Starbot. If the order is cancelled the ships will go to the DDS though there will of course be cost implications.
Strategically the loss of Starbot means a weakening of DDS South along its Eastern flank though the proximity of the Free Eritran States will reduce the impact here. Starbot is a handy staging post for ships to the FES though Malau or Saeou can step in here. DDS South will reorientate into a region between Aldebra and Liberation so strategically it may be better off especially as it would be stronger towards space where the threat is higher.
Longer term the loss of Starbot may be felt in the DDS' standing. After first the Aritans now a second Tier 1 ally has left the DDS. The perception that the DDS is a "human organisation" is strong amongst opponents on alien DDS ally worlds. The DDS may need to bring the Raegris, Remedians, Porquatians and Eritrans more into the heart of the DDS, with roles for non-humans on the Politburo (S101 will need replacing anyway).
So the loss of Starbot will be felt in many ways but none will be that life threatening to the DDS or as dangerous as say the Raegris leaving. However its still sad and a warning to the DDS that they face a challenge on many battlespheres, including cultural.
