DDS celebrate 25 years

The celebrations were toned down somewhat, and the two planned guests of honour (Ronald and Windscorpion) could not turn up but the DDS still celebrated 25 years since its founding with a ceremony at GHQ and a flypast in orbit by a number of DDS warships led by the oldest warship in service SS Beta Centauri.

Also taking part was one of the preserved Pulsar cruisers SS Central America. To everyones surprise the ship traveled past Orbital HQ under its own power. The ship has been restored for sub-light travel in the Proximan system on events like this though its power is provided by a mobile nuclear battery as the original reactor array was decommissioned.

DDS Commander AP said that the next 25 years of the DDS would see ever greater professionalism and personal growth.

DDS' oldest ship marks 20 years since "birth"

The DDS fleet is overall very young but there are some older ships still in service. The oldest ship in service is the Starsystem 91X training ship X101T Beta Centauri which entered service in 2093 but was laid down in mid-2092 and today marked the 20th anniversary of the first "power switch on" of its core energy grid which the DDS generally regard as being when a ship becomes "alive".

The Alpha Centauri 93X ships might be older but the date of construction of these ex-Bolitic Helwin is not known though they certainly date from the 2090s at least. The Coril 86As may also be older as they were bought from elsewhere (and the oldest joined the fleet in 2094) however Beta Centauri is definitely the oldest DDS built ship and the oldest with a clear biography.

Beta Centauri has returned to GHQ following a training mission and now will be prepared to lead a flypast of DDS ships to mark the DDS 25th Birthday on July 1st. One of the preserved Pulsars will take part in the flypast (though it will be towed).

• Doombringer has left the DDS following 5 years service in the DDS Fleet Command. The robot, who has also served in the HCS, is thought to have been recruited by Sirikwan to help develop their fleet. Although generally trusted it was thought Doombringer's HCS past meant he was sidelined in his DDS role which meant he has been looking to leave since the end of the war.

DDS to celebrate birthday on July 1

DDS Commander AP has announced the date of the DDS 25th Birthday celebrations will now be on July 1st. It had been planned to hold the celebration in June but the PRB terrorist attack forced a postponement and re-planning.

The celebrations will be toned down somewhat to aid security though Ronald and Windscorpion will both attend a celebration at DDS GHQ on the 1st.

• In a notable triumph for the DDS Exports Agency the DDS have sold some spaceships to... the HCS. The Clones have ordered 5 Coril-E shuttles and will also negotiate a licence to build their own ships too. The HCS are in desperate need of upgrading their shuttle fleet which consists of a chaotic mix of no less than 13 different types!

DDS25 (18) : The race for 1000c

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

Even in the worm-drive era the fact that the DDS were the first to send a ship through the 1000c barrier (using hyperspace drive) in known-space is still a great source of pride and a feat that few have yet emulated. The Dinos have more or less settled on around 900c (and even the latest PTs fall short of that). The Tarbotians are rumoured to have a ship that can reach 1000c but its not known how many they have in service. Other factions like the Clones still fall well short.

The first ship to break the 1000c barrier was the singleton research ship SS Neptune. It was basically built around a new engine (also called Neptune) which came from a DDS Research project in the early 2090s which basically started from scratch with engine design. As Dr Forbidden has told me the Neptune project was a true "clean sheet of paper" project. "We tried to reinvent the spaceship engine, everything was examined from the reaction chamber downwards, everything was stretched, redesigned, enhanced in order to create an engine with vastly more power than had ever been created before."

The original Neptune engine thus powered the Neptune 92X ship, Neptune the ship was rather crude in many ways. It was described by one crewmember as "an engine with a few other things bolted onto it" but this amazing ship managed to break the 1000c barrier in the late 2090s and also helped pave the way for the next generations of DDS warship.

A development of the Neptune engine itself was later used in the Quasar 15A cruiser (though this could not reach 1000c until its ILU). The Meson (which powers the Isometric family) and Gluon which powers the (Panther) are direct descendants of the Neptune. The Panther probably represents the maximum that can be wrung from hyperspace design with a sprint dash speed of 1100c.

The DDS do not plan to try and reach any higher speeds, DDS Research think that 1200c is probably reachable but the massive expense is simply not worth it anymore now that wormdrive can propel a ship at the equivalent of near 5000c!

DDS25 (17) : The New DDS Project

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

The New DDS Project was the name given to the renewal of the DDS by Rotarios who became DDS Commander in 2103 following 9 years of rule by The Shiner. There had been a general feeling that The Shiner had caused the DDS to stagnate although to be fair he did navigate the DDS through the Clone Wars successfully.

The Shiner's emphasis was on sustainability and financial prudence, Rotarios said the New DDS Project would completely change the DDS and put the emphasis on professionalism and expansion. This he managed to achieve though some questioned the influence of The Hoods and Rotarios' increasingly dictatorial and brutal leadership. Those who questioned often ended up badly beaten of course.

Windy finally ended Rotarios' reign in 2107 and although he did draw back the worst excesses of Rotarios' regime he kept the basic thrust of the New DDS Project intact. This meant that when Windy stood down in 2109 the hidden infrastructure that had backed Rotarios was still largely intact and able to gradually take over again in The Orchid's and later AP's regimes. Although the Hoods and much of the old philosophy have returned it should be noted however that this second wave of the New DDS Project is somewhat less extreme than before.

One question some ask is what is the final goal of the New DDS Project? Maybe one day we will find out.

DDS25 (16) : What is the Local Group?

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

From time to time the "Local Group" is mentioned in the media especially in the UNP (and i have mentioned them a few times in this series) but what exactly is the Local Group?

Basically the Local Group is a short-hand way of referring to the races, political entities, factions and civilisations in our area of space. It includes the DDS, Dinos and Clones but also minor races and areas like the Rim Worlds, Vegans, Eritrans and so on.

There has been no official definition of what the Local Group actually contains (and maybe more importantly doesn't)  but it usually stands for space around 100-150 light years from Proxima Centauri so that includes the powers mentioned above but not the Utrek and Tarbotians and 7 Sa Sao who more or less provide the borders of Local Group space.

DDS25 (15) : The Second Utrek War

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

The DDS and its allies defeated the Utrek in the early 2100s but the Utrek military power was hardly dented and it was clear they had unfinished business.

In 2107 they launched an invasion of the Remedian Belt, a pincer movement intended on crushing the DDS and its allies and thus be able to continue onwards to invade the DDS and Dinos. The Utrek also hired the Zones to join the attack and force the DDS to fight the war on two fronts.

It was a time of great turmoil for the DDS. Windscorpion finally fought back against the Rotarios regime and slew the dictator. Windy then led the DDS to victory, first crushing the Zone fleet and turning Zoneland into an irradiated wasteland (forcing the survivors of the Zone race to flee to their Clone cousins). The Utrek were then pushed back out of Remedian space and a de-militarized zone set up.

The war was a watershed for the DDS, it helped prove the deadliness of the new TPM weapon and the DDS designed two entirely new weapon systems (Missileer and Panther) around this new weapon. These and the Ferret UCV which was also largely born in this war will be the backbone of DDS military power well into the 2120s.

Despite a brief skirmish a few months after the end of the war when the Utrek broke the ceasefire terms there has been peace between the Utrek and Local Group ever since (though the Utrek have supplied weapons to the Bolitic). Most of this is due to their long-running and very bloody war against the Mantae however.

DDS25 (14) : The Rectoids

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

If the 2110s can be bookended (more or less) by the Tarbotians (albeit only indirectly in the case of the ABBO-Bolitic War that ended the decade) then the middle of the decade was dominated by both the Utrek and the Rectoids.

The Rectoids are ethnically Sa Sao though the DDS encountered them before any of the other 7 Sao Sao factions (the Rectoids are not part of their grouping) and their territory is a long way away even with worm drive. They first came to the DDS attention when they destroyed New Britannia (see full article).

The Rectoids were finally stopped by Windy using biogenic weapons which Megara hacked to cause mass murder (see full article). The shock and revulsion caused by this caused the UNP to stop deploying biogenic weapons routinely by the way, and the latest generation of weapons are much harder to hack. The weapons remain in DDS silos though would only be deployed if the DDS / UNP was in serious danger of destruction.

The Rectoids managed to recover somewhat from the loss of their homeworld and much of their fleet (which committed mass suicide) and the DDS have not had any further serious trouble from them apart from the occasional attack by a rogue element. The Rectoids remain a potential enemy though the DDS do not envisage them being in a position to launch an attack for decades. The DDS have attempted a rapprochement though as yet relations are (understandably) tense.

DDS25 (13) : Remember these too...

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

Some more who fell by the wayside...

Opticon

Opti-who most people will say these days but the one-eyed robot was indeed DDS Commander for a time. A good field commander he helped stabilise the DDS after the disaster of the end of the 1st Clone War but he fell in battle after a short reign. His rule helped pave the way for The Shiner's record breaking reign as commander.

Horsehead

Horsehead was a psychotic maniac, to his friends. A very violent man who had a rare gift for generalship and indeed led his troops well in many battles though often it must be wondered if his men were more scared of him or the enemy. Horsehead perished in a space battle.

Delicate Flower

Delicate Flower was a curious individual, a revolting geek who was also a military genius but he preferred to spend all of his considerable mental energies trying to ensnare the man he loved Quarz. DF never quite managed to get his man though Quarz did indulge him with a bit of rimming.

DDS25 (12) : The First Utrek War

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

Controlling a vast empire the Utrek (or to give them their proper name the Urlik Utrek Federation) had for some time being a looming menace over the Local Group. In 2101 the Utrek finally attacked and sent vast fleets to conquer the DDS, Dinos, Clones and other nations.

The DDS, HCS and Dinos were forced to team up to combat the Utrek invasion. Other nations like the Remedians (who lost any remaining pretense at being an independent power) fell by the way side. New weapons and sheer grit helped stem the tide forcing the Utrek to withdraw.

However the Utrek threat remained but in 2102 the DDS was under attack from the Rectoids too. Windy then mounted one of his most ingenious operations by manipulating the Utrek and Rectoids into a war against each other. This helped keep both enemies occupied for a few years (though the DDS had to fight both again - and defeat both again - in the years to come).

DDS25 (11) : Remember New Britannia?

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

Remember New Britannia? Many haven't as it was never one of the most well-known members of the UNP but 10 years ago it ceased to exist anyway. It was destroyed by the Rectoids in a horrific display of their power. Though it was all a fix...

It appeared at first sign that the Rectoids had the power to destroy a whole planet when their battlecruiser hit New Britannia, a new UNP colony with a population of around 50,000, with an energy beam. The planet exploded seconds later wiping out the population. The DDS were thrown into turmoil, if the Rectoids possessed such power then could Proxima 7 be next? Should they surrender?

In reality the beam did not damage the planet at all (except maybe for some scorching of the surface). New Britannia had been carefully chosen by the Rectoid months before, they discovered the planet had some serious core stability problems, something the UNP Geological Service only discovered later on by going over old data. The planet should never have been a colony as it was one major event away from collapse.

The Rectoids provided the event by secretly burrowing deep into the crust of New Britannia at various points and placing large nuclear warheads. The Rectoids detonated these warheads simultaneously when the beam hit the planet, the shockwaves finally collapsed the planet's core resulting in the planet killing event that horrified the UNP and DDS.

It still remains one of the most horrific events in DDS history though has led to the UNP carefully re-evaluating the stability of all member worlds (all fine so don't worry).

DDS25 (10) : Logography

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

The DDS has employed 3 logos during its 25 years existence. For most of the DDS' life the logo was simple, a skull and crossbones thus symbolising the rough-and-ready mercenary roots of the early DDS. The skull continues to be used here and there, for example some warriors like Windy continue to use them on their shoulder pads.

When Lord Rotarios came to power and began the New DDS Project he thought it was time the DDS, as part of the general spirit of renewal, updated its brand. The new brand 2 interposed triangles with Hood imagery showed the galaxy that Hoodism was at the core of the project. However when the Hoods were discredited as part of the downfall of Rotarios the new regime thought it was time to rebrand again.

That takes us to the current star brand, symbolising the might of the DDS as a galactic force. There has been talk of making this brand much more visible than earlier ones though this is still a work in progress...

DDS25 (9) : The Hitman

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

He is pretty much unknown nowadays but in the very earliest days of the DDS it was The Hitman who was the icon not Windscorpion. When Ronald was on his sabbatical it was The Hitman, Hank Wolfmann, a Vegan psychopath who helped him fight off the angry Oojok.

The Hitman thus was one of the founding members of the DDS along with Ronald (Windy did not come along until a few months later). The Hitman was the top warrior of the DDS and took part in many of the earliest battles against the HCS on Earth and later on Cloneworld. However as the DDS began to expand beyond being a gang of mercenaries into a proper army and Windy began to exert more and more influence The Hitman drifted away.

He did return now and then but was no longer a core DDS member. He was killed in battle a few years later. Nowadays he has largely been forgotten though his influence on the very earliest DDS should not be understated.

DDS25 (8) : The Porquatian War

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

In 2103 the DDS, recovering from the first phase of the Rectoid War, was attacked by Porquat 640 of all people. The aggressive Porquatians attacked DDS GHQ as part of their plan to enable it to conquer New Arit and get away with it...

The DDS linked up with the Dinos and the Clones (though the latter left the alliance before the Porquatians were defeated) to liberate the Aritans. Once the allies had managed to sort out their command structure and strategy then the Porquatians were whittled down by sheer weight of numbers and their fleet was almost totally wiped out.

The war was not without its cost for the DDS, the Pulsar was destroyed in one of the battles, Windy almost dying in the battle. After the defeat of Porquat 640 New Arit became a UNP protectorate and the DDS began to rebuild its fleet. However nowadays New Arit has now joined the DTA instead and Porquat 640 has become a powerful DDS ally...

DDS25 (7) : Megara

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

Megara is an enigma, a human recruited by the HCS he led several successful operations in the early 2100s when the cash-strapped Clone Star Empire was forced to turn to crime to bring in funding. Indeed it is thought Megara started out as a criminal in one of the human ghettos on Cloneworld before his unique skills were picked up by the HCS Secret Services.

Megara's great mission was to stow away on Windy's epic mission to investigate and stop the Rectoids and, working for an undisclosed foreign power, make sure the Rectoids were stopped. Megara hacked into the biogenic weapons the DDS fired over the Rectoid homeworld Recta meaning that the weapons wiped out the population of the planet and not a single crop as Windy intended. Billions died, did Megara care? For him it was a Monday.

Megara, working for the HCS again, fell foul of the new regime after the downfall of Captain Clone and is thought to have been killed during the coup. There have been unconfirmed reports that Megara somehow survived though the DDS think this is unlikely...

DDS25 (6) : Remember these...

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

The DDS's 25 year history is rich with many characters who helped build the DDS into the force it is today, many no longer with us of course. Do you remember...

Vodaphone

Vodaphone joined the DDS during the 2nd Clone War days, an expert in communications he often helped coordinate DDS attacks. Later on as the DDS developed from a small elite unit into a space force he took over DDS Communications and helped build the foundations of the space-spanning DDS infrastructure. Later on though Vodaphone rose to prominence along with AP as the henchmen of Rotarios who seized power in the DDS. Vodaphone became Director of Communications and helped keep the DDS on-message.

Vodaphone was lost due to mysterious circumstances in the Utrek War when his ship was destroyed during the Battle of Zoneland.

Naitron

Naitron was one of the earliest DDS recruits and fought hard alongside Windscorpion during the 1st Clone War on Cloneworld. Naitron was a good soldier though did not have any special skills, Windy though could always rely on the man. Naitron was killed in combat eventually though he has remained popular as one of the early icons of the DDS.

Perei Potsone

As the 1st Clone War hotted up and the DDS expanded Windy decided to form a separate unit called Security Squad (DDS-SS) for special operations under the command of Rathun. Perei was one of the mainstays of this unit along with Oaru and Rasto. Unfortunately Perei was among those betrayed by Redjec's future "wife" when Rathun decided to run away when SS was cornered, the rest of the unit was butchered, Perei Potsone with them.

DDS25 (5) : The Clone Wars

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

When tensions rise between the DDS and HCS now and then there is talk of "the 4th Clone War", but what were the other 3 Clone Wars?

The First Clone War is said to have begun in 2089 when the early DDS launched an offensive on Cloneworld against the HCS. However some place the start in 2088 when the DDS was first hired by the human authorities to protect against the growing Clone threat. This first war continued until 2092 when, after several years of to-and-fro fortunes, a weakened DDS was wiped out by a rampant HCS who went onto conquer all of Cloneworld.

Most authorities regard the Second Clone War as beginning immediately as this marked the Clone expansion into space to form an empire and the DDS efforts to stop them. However the Clone Star Empire began in 2091 when the Clones invaded Daggaddon so in a way the Second Clone War began before the First ended...

In any event this was the longest of the 3 wars with the Clones and DDS battling each other across the galaxy and on many worlds. Key battles were on Terra (with the Clones conquering a good portion of the human homeworld) and Randalf 74 where the DDS arguably won its greatest victory over the Clones. The war is considered to have ended by 2100 when a disintegrating DDS faded away following the (apparent) death of Windscorpion and the Clones were given a free hand to expand across many worlds.

The return of Windscorpion saw the war resumed and this marks the Third Clone War. Windy quickly saved the DDS from collapsing and scored an amazing victory over the Clones by devastating their main fuel source Sandworld. Windy and The Shiner then engineered a final peace agreement with the Clones with the Clones abandoning their territory on Terra and any other attacks on the UNP in return for a cessation of hostilities and the Clones being allowed to hold what territory they had taken.

In many ways the three Clone Wars are around 11 years of near endless conflict, the breaks between the wars were fairly short. It is worth noting though that we are now over 12 years since the end of the last war...

DDS25 (4) : The Tarbotian War of 2097

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

The Tarbotian War of 2097 is often forgotten about nowadays in lieu of more recent conflicts but it laid the foundations for the current astral-political environment more than any other.

The DDS had just come out of a successful campaign on Randalf 74 which saw the Clone invasion on that world repulsed (and the HCS lost nearly a million men). The tide of the Clone Wars appeared to be finally turning with the Clones suffering the first setback in their relentless spread across the galaxy. Then the Tarbotians launched a surprise attack on the Remedians and Starbotians, the DDS and Dinos were also drawn into the conflict. After months of bitter conflict the Tarbotian fleet was finally smashed and Dr Slow appeared to be killed.

The effects of the war were profound. Remedia's existence as an independent galactic power was ended and they joined the DDS soon after the war. Ronald was nearly killed in the final battle and stood down as Emperor, although he later returned to the crown the series of events that have led to the current Dino Republic/DTA were put in place. The Tarbotians lost one of their best battle fleets and the chaos caused by the loss of their leader and other members of senior staff (such as Dr Fast) hurled the vast Tarbot Empire into a civil war. Although they emerged from it eventually its taken up until now for the Tarbotians to become a threat again.

The biggest effect was on the DDS though. The war was when the DDS came of age as a space faring superpower. New technologies such as the Pulsar were perfected during the war and new weapons developed like the Z Cannon because of it. The latter made its debut in 2098, and an amazing debut it was too. The DDS destroyed a large portion of the HCS fleet when the latter launched a surprise attack. Memorably the first shot in anger by the Z Cannon destroyed 2 Kalahati Tuuls with one shot. The shock of this loss forced the Clones to consider peace for the first time.

Although the DDS suffered massive setbacks the following year the trend was put in place for the DDS to become the premier space combat power in the Local Group and it has remained here until the present day. New technologies like the Z7 should ensure it remains at the summit for the near future at least.

DDS25 (3) : The first generation of space ships

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

With a large fleet of warships, many among the most powerful and advanced in the known galaxy it is easy to forget that the DDS space fleet had quite humble origins. Indeed for the first few years of its existence the DDS had no ships at all.

The DDS was created to combat the Clones on Cloneworld who were attempting to take over the planet from human colonists. The Clones did not have a fleet thus the DDS did not feel the need. However in 2090 the Clones bought 6 Kalahati Tuuls from the Utrek along with a number of transports and began building their own too. In 2091 they invaded and conquered Daggaddon in short order forcing the DDS to scramble to build its own space presence.

The DDS bought a number of Ranger scout ships from a commercial builder and a couple of singleton ships to decide on the right types for series production. Total Triumph, when the Clone succeeded in conquering Cloneworld (and nearly destroying the DDS) threw these plans up in the air but by 2095 the DDS had a number of warships including Universe SM, Solaris (which later became the Solaris series class) and a few other minor types.

The DDS were greatly outnumbered however by the Clones who were building their own KTs and also had bought some Cosmos from the Raegris (and of course soon would produce their own of these too). The DDS could not compete numbers wise thus decided to build a warship which would literally blow everything else out of the stars : the Pulsar.

The Pulsar was the last of the one-off prototype classes and helped herald the 2nd Generation of DDS warships, which would be produced in series - the Pulsar, Starsystem and Solaris classes. These formed the backbone of the DDS fleet into the early 2100s and helped stem the relentless spread of the Clones across UNP space. However without the 1st generation everything else would not have been possible. These early ships, often quite primitive and unreliable helped the DDS establish the infrastructure, systems and tradition which makes them such a galaxy beater today.

DDS25 (2) : The amazing reign of The Shiner

The Historian casts his eyes back over the rich history of the DDS Universe.

When one looks at the list of DDS Commanders and the lengths of their reigns then it becomes quite clear that being DDS Commander is not the safest job in the galaxy. Most reigns are fairly short, Opticon lasted around a year for example (and not a very auspicious year at that). The prior Commander The Orchid also had a reign of a few months before she was killed in the ABBO-Bolitic War. Even Windscorpion has not been DDS Commander for very long. His first stint lasted nearly 3 years and his second less than 2.

But there is one Commander who stands out, The Shiner who was DDS Commander for an amazing 9 years (give or take a few months). The Shiner came to power after the death of Opticon in 2094, the financial guru was not known exactly for his courage and few expected him to last very long. However when he finally stepped down in 2103 (due to pressure from the Hoods and Rotarios) he left behind a DDS much stronger and stable. The Shiner laid the foundation for the DDS as it now. But how?

Maybe the answer is because the DDS Commander role is more an executive role than a leadership one. Those who have tried to lead from the front have tended to fall while those who are content to lead from the back and leave the battlefield to the warriors have prospered. Windscorpion himself realised this, which is why he has preferred to not be commander as it restricts him too much. For much of The Shiner's reign it was as if he ruled at the whim of Windscorpion however this overstates matters. Windscorpion was given free reign to do as he wished and enjoyed terrorising the likes of The Shiner however The Shiner did have a strong hold over the bulk of the DDS mostly because he was happy to let people express themselves.

The current commander AP seems to have taken The Shiner road, which means his reign may well be long.