Gray Lensman
SOC-13
(Excerpted from the Secretary General’s speech to the Terran Confederation General Assembly on June 23rd, 2240)
Friends, Colleagues and Citizens. Today, I would like to make some very important announcements. Five years ago, our scientists made two critical breakthroughs in space technology. We have spent five years verifying and testing these technologies in complete secrecy.
The first breakthrough is in Jump Drive Technology, today we start rebuilding our Naval Fleet with ships capable of travelling three parsecs in a single jump. This breakthrough will allow us to travel farther, faster than the enemy. This new technology will also allow us to travel farther afield than ever before in search of new worlds and resources.
The second breakthrough that I speak of is a new weapon system. I will not say much about it here except that it should give us a significant tactical advantage over the Vilani.
Five years ago, I began a small project of my own, some of you have already encountered this project or parts of it, some others of you have suspected that something was going on. I am sorry for misleading those of you that have asked, but I felt secrecy to be important at the time. But in regards to this project, the time for secrecy is past.
Today, I would like to formally announce the existence of the Terran Confederation Survey Service. Selected individuals deemed to have the necessary skills were recruited and received specialized training at the Naval Academy. These people and the ones whom graduate from the newly formed Survey Service Academy will form the backbone of the Terran Confederation Survey Service, in fact, they have already been out with their new ships providing us with the testing and verification of the new drive technology. They have already surveyed several worlds to add to our knowledge and resources.
Today, I signed orders formalizing the construction of three new shipyards in the asteroid belt. Two of these shipyards are going to be producing, along with our existing shipyards, a large fleet of warships for the navy. The third shipyard shall begin constructing several classes of ships for the Survey Service and fleets of colony ships to take advantage of the new worlds the Survey Service locates.
I wish to take steps to ensure the survival of our culture just in case the conflict with the Vilani goes badly or is not soon resolved. To that end, I have a proposal to make to all of you. Approximately 400 light-years to Rimward of us is a dense star cluster known as the Amderstun Cluster. My proposal is this, in order to preserve our identity and culture we should launch exploration and colony missions to this region. This cluster contains approximately 230 stars in a region of space about 60 light-years across. This is a stellar density much higher than our local area and we already know from visits to nearby stars that planets and life seem to be fairly common.
So, my friends, what say you? (end of Excerpt)
(Referee: Several things in this speech are not what they appear to be. First, the two naval ships yards in the asteroids are already complete. They became fully functional and are ready to produce ships as of today. The third or survey service shipyard as been completed for three years and is also the site of the already functioning Survey Service Academy. The Survey Service Shipyard as already constructed three Survey Squadrons to begin the long journey to Amderstun Cluster and is already in the design stages on colony ships to follow.)
Friends, Colleagues and Citizens. Today, I would like to make some very important announcements. Five years ago, our scientists made two critical breakthroughs in space technology. We have spent five years verifying and testing these technologies in complete secrecy.
The first breakthrough is in Jump Drive Technology, today we start rebuilding our Naval Fleet with ships capable of travelling three parsecs in a single jump. This breakthrough will allow us to travel farther, faster than the enemy. This new technology will also allow us to travel farther afield than ever before in search of new worlds and resources.
The second breakthrough that I speak of is a new weapon system. I will not say much about it here except that it should give us a significant tactical advantage over the Vilani.
Five years ago, I began a small project of my own, some of you have already encountered this project or parts of it, some others of you have suspected that something was going on. I am sorry for misleading those of you that have asked, but I felt secrecy to be important at the time. But in regards to this project, the time for secrecy is past.
Today, I would like to formally announce the existence of the Terran Confederation Survey Service. Selected individuals deemed to have the necessary skills were recruited and received specialized training at the Naval Academy. These people and the ones whom graduate from the newly formed Survey Service Academy will form the backbone of the Terran Confederation Survey Service, in fact, they have already been out with their new ships providing us with the testing and verification of the new drive technology. They have already surveyed several worlds to add to our knowledge and resources.
Today, I signed orders formalizing the construction of three new shipyards in the asteroid belt. Two of these shipyards are going to be producing, along with our existing shipyards, a large fleet of warships for the navy. The third shipyard shall begin constructing several classes of ships for the Survey Service and fleets of colony ships to take advantage of the new worlds the Survey Service locates.
I wish to take steps to ensure the survival of our culture just in case the conflict with the Vilani goes badly or is not soon resolved. To that end, I have a proposal to make to all of you. Approximately 400 light-years to Rimward of us is a dense star cluster known as the Amderstun Cluster. My proposal is this, in order to preserve our identity and culture we should launch exploration and colony missions to this region. This cluster contains approximately 230 stars in a region of space about 60 light-years across. This is a stellar density much higher than our local area and we already know from visits to nearby stars that planets and life seem to be fairly common.
So, my friends, what say you? (end of Excerpt)
(Referee: Several things in this speech are not what they appear to be. First, the two naval ships yards in the asteroids are already complete. They became fully functional and are ready to produce ships as of today. The third or survey service shipyard as been completed for three years and is also the site of the already functioning Survey Service Academy. The Survey Service Shipyard as already constructed three Survey Squadrons to begin the long journey to Amderstun Cluster and is already in the design stages on colony ships to follow.)
