Intrepid Memories - A Star Trek: New Horizon AAR

[AtticusKrass]

I've been sitting here for ages though for me it feels like only hours have passed, not that there's much to do, I'm quite old and have done just about everything one can do in the universe. You might have heard of my species, we call ourselves the Q and we've been around since the first wave of matter exploded across the void, I have seen civilizations rise, plateau, then fall thousands of times over. Its true that we are immortal but that is true of all lifeforms one way or the other, I can watch the lifecycle of a single species an unimaginable number of times by just switching channels so to speak, to another universe that is identical to the original and watch the show again except this time invariably different. Not to blow your mind but you're not the only you around, there's millions of you out there in the great void reading this story, even if you dropped dead right now there would always be another you alive and kicking, see, we're all immortal one way or the other. The reason I'm telling you all this is because I want to establish credibility with my audience, I'm not some biased historian of a particular cultural perspective writing a thousand years after the fact, using broken tablets and third hand accounts to explain what happened, I've actually seen and experienced many of these events and I can tell you what the people involved actually thought was happening. So with that done, let me introduce the subject of this story. This is about humankind, specifically during what will be called the Classical Age by this galaxy's 4th Millennium historians, it's a remarkable period when all the spacefaring civilizations stepped out into the stars and sometimes cooperated with their neighbors and sometimes destroyed and enslaved them. Empires would rise and fall, our subjects would hook up with all sorts of strange alien creatures, and yes Jean-Luc Picard was still a little goody two shoes just like in the universe you're probably referencing in your head right now. I say that because this story isn't about that universe or the mirrored one you're familiar with, this is a totally unique galaxy where the species you know about is located in an utterly different part of space. It shares historical similarities, like the good alcoholic Zefram Cochrane inventing the warp drive and the Klingons still being aggressive militarists but there's quite a few differences too. So without further delay, let me get started, we have a lot of space to cover.

Season One, A New Epoch
Episode 1 - Idealism and Hope
Episode 2 - Democracy Abroad, Elitism At Home
Episode 3 - You Must Crawl Before You Can Walk
Episode 4 - Revolution From Above

 

[AtticusKrass]

Season One, Episode 1: Idealism and Hope (2150 - 2164)

We begin in the year 2150 CE, Stardate 21001, the nation-states of Earth have finally come together and formed United Earth, an idealistic republic that could only be produced by a world that has all but eliminated crime, poverty, and warfare. However, the Vulcans never came around to carefully usher Earth into the interstellar age, instead they have yet to make first contact and their utopian ideology has yet to be tested by the harsh realities of the space. Still, they entered the space age with hopeful anticipation and under Nathan Samuels, their first president, they immediately began exploring nearby star systems and exploiting newfound resources. The Solar System held abundant deposits of Dillithium, Water-Ice, and Deuterium, they also had detected two warp signatures from nearby star systems proving that humanity was not alone in the universe. Unfortunately, attempts at contacting these aliens proved useless as they disappeared by the time long range exploration vessels could reach their positions. There would be other warp signatures detected in the following years, idealistic utopian Earth would however be disappointed when their first contact was made with the hostile, military dictatorship of the Lyridian Diaspora.

As this was the early days of interstellar exploration, most information about other species came by way of disparate space merchants or maybe refugees fleeing unknown oppressors, very little was learned unless the aliens in question were intentionally open and friendly. The Lyridians who were contacted simply declared their right to defend themselves if United Earth threatened their interests then abandoned the proceedings so information was obtained through hit or miss questioning of whatever spacefarer came across starfleet vessels. Andrea Di Bartolomei, captain of the Enterprise NX-01 managed to gather the first shreds of intelligence in regard to the Lyridians. A Chelarian merchant captain explained that the Lyridians were ruled by the Imperatrix, the supreme commander of their starfleet, through a dictatorship established many years ago during their migration from enemies unknown to the captain. He warned that they were highly territorial and were already threatening his own people with enslavement. This exchange also marked the beginning of relations with the Chelarian Sovereignty, an egalitarian democracy interested only in peace, it's capital world, Chelar, happened to be surrounded by the Lyridians.

In 2160, President Nathan Samuels won reelection in a close contest against Clara Di Bartolomei, the brilliant sister of the explorer who had made contact with the Chelarians. She was the most recognizable face of a growing opposition to Samuels and his Federal Party that had accomplished great achievements but held what Popular Frontier considered archaic positions on the issues of education and health care. Humanity had nearly eradicated crime, poverty, and warfare but done so under the rule of progressive liberals who ultimately felt that society should be in the hands of an elite based on meritocracy. Yes, education was free but not universally accessable, one had to prove their merit to access higher education and the federalists were the ones who determined what that standard was. Healthcare on the otherhand was partially subsidized for those who couldn't afford it but the bulk of medical services on Earth were handled by the elite universities and it was they who decided who lived and died. In truth, the utopia built on Earth had been won through quite ruthless means, those with genetic conditions that could not be fixed were unable to legally have children, communities were heavily scrutinized and aggressively reformed, if a child's parents or community were found to be substandard, they were taken away and placed in a more suitable environment. Popular Front represented those who found this system immoral, some thinkers accepted that yes the federalist ways were necessary but that it was time to progress to the next evolutionary stage which according to some thinkers meant socialism as interpreted by neo-Marxists.

United Earth, 2150s CE​

Although Nathan Samuels won reelection, this opposing force would not go away in the foreseeable future, meanwhile expansion toward the Lyridians and the signing of a non-aggression pact with the Chelarians meant that military conflict was a growing possibility. I will end this episode with the signing of the non-aggression pact with the Chelarians which was the first interstellar agreement in human history. It came with an array of other agreements, scientific research would become more cooperative, commerce more open, and the ports of both societies would be opened to migration and permanent settlement. It was expected by all parties that the Chelarians would soon propose a defense pact which meant that war with the Lyridian Diaspora would become almost inevitable. Meanwhile, federal envoys were being kept busy with a galaxy that was lighting up with warp signatures. Next time, we will explore United Earth's relationship with the Wadi Emirates and Tellarite Technocracy, democratic societies threatened by the might of the Klingon Empire as well as how the Federal Party betrayed its own ideals to remain in power.

 

[steptioit08]

Well Q, I wonder which Q you are.

And another thing, I would like to see how this new universe plays out in the long run.

 

[AtticusKrass]

Season One, Episode 2: Democracy Abroad, Elitism At Home (2164 - 2170)

Nathan Samuels, 2168 CE​

The last place we left off we found United Earth burgeoning onto the astropolitical landscape, it had encountered the martial dictatorship of the Lyridians and were on the cusp of forming a defense pact with the Chelarian Sovereignty. In Late 2164, the Samuels Administration did what everyone were expecting to them to do and signed a defense pact with the Chelarians, the issue was bitterly contentious in the federal parliament. The opposition argued that bringing Earth within touching distance of an interstellar war with an unknown enemy was irresponsible and possibly disastrous and the federalist responded with condescending rebuttals claiming that the popularists were out of their depth and worst endangering democracy by cowardly refusing to protect it abroad. Although Nathan Samuels would have the alliance with Chelar passed by the parliament, it had done so because his party still maintained a slim majority. Despite Clara Di Bartolomei's defeat in the presidential election of 2160, she had received more than 35% of the vote, a formidable bloc, her party, Popular Frontier had been a coalition of smaller interests before, now they agreed to consolidate and form a unified movement.

Despite the tension caused by the pact with the Chelarians, Nathan Samuels, would pursuit his policy of "protecting democracy abroad" aggressively. In 2166, a wave of first contacts illuminated the astropolitical reality around the Wimar Drift, there were three democracies and three authoritarian regimes discovered but two of the oppressive regimes were feeble one system polities of little consequence. However the other regime, the Klingon Empire, would reveal itself to be the strongest military power in the region, its boundaries pushed up against those of the Tellarite Technocracy, an abrasive species whose legislative body decided policy through blunt deliberations between various elected governors and Wadi Emirates, a direct democracy mostly interested in material wealth. Earth would establish embassies with both polities and quickly develop strong relationships with them, so much so that in 2168, they would offer United Earth association status with their federation, the Union of Sovereignty formed to defend against the threat of the Klingons. Later, in 2170, Earth would join as full members, aggravating the domestic political scene considerably.

Polities around the Wimar Drift, 2168 CE​

The decade that followed the reelection of Nathan Samuels saw exploration, acquisition of star systems, interstellar commerce and cultural exchange accelerate. In 2160, United Earth controlled eight star systems, by 2170 that number had jumped to 18, the population had grown from twenty five billion to forty two billion including one billion Wadi, one billion Tellarites. Meanwhile, the size of the economy multiplied several times over and while there was plenty to maintain high standards of living in the Solar System, most of the energy supply was consumed by Starfleet. In the early years of Starfleet's existence, it served almost entirely as a deterrent force and focused primarily on exploration and diplomacy. Still, by 2170, it was the strongest fleet among the democracies and rivaled only by the Klingon Empire. While it was true that United Earth considered itself a pacifistic state and meant it, there were elements of the government that felt it prudent to maintain a large and formidable interstellar navy. Early Starfleet vessels/crews were dual purposed, able to perform basic scientific and explorative missions, assist civilian governments with logistical problems, and function as diplomats resolving disputes along with fighting pirates and defending the frontier.

While there was significant opposition to the ruthless albeit effective meritocratic liberalism represented by the Samuels Administration, it had managed to maintain its marginal hold on the parliament throughout the 2160s. It could not be disputed that the government, controlled by the Federal Party had made United Earth one of the strongest powers in the region, increasingly higher resolution analysis of the Lyridians found that their fleet power was not a match for Starfleet, even the Klingons were simply rivals on a one to one basis and outmatched when the fleets of the Tellarites and Wadi were brought into consideration. It was perhaps because the election of 2170 occurred when Earth was on a high note that so many of the people thought it time to finally enter the next stage of socioeconomic evolution, to express it simply, to democratize the economic and education system, and to embrace socialized healthcare.

Presidential Election of 2170 CE​

I'll finish with the 2170 Presidential Election, when once again Carla Di Bartolomei and Popular Front faced off against Nathan Samuels and the Federal Party. The unified movement of Popular Front were expected to provide a significant challenge to the ruling party due to growing anger with what amounted to quasi-eugenicist government policies and what was viewed as an overcommitment to the protection of alien polities that were still quite mysterious. Except that another faction, the Peace and Prosperity Committee, a small group dedicated to free market capitalism, fearing the ascendency of the left-wing Popular Frontier threw its support behind the federalists, effectively winning the election for them. The defeat suffered in the 2170 election instilled deep bitterness and hatred amongst Popular Front's supporters, it was thought that the federalists would not go so far as to embrace a libertarian capitalism faction. The election marked the end of an era of good feelings where politics had been relatively cooperative, there had been differences before of course but it was assumed by most observers that the Federal Party would inevitably accept Popular Frontier's programme as it marked the final step desired by progressive humans throughout the ages, which was equality in all spheres, not just political but economic and social as well.

 

[RossN]

Very interesting so far! You don't see as much Star Trek Stellaris as you'd think.

 

[HistoryDude]

Well, it seems like United Earth's idealism isn't as steadfast as they claim. Their contacts aren't amazing contacts to have. Let's hope that they don't attack.

Interesting choice to have Q narrate

(And, yes, I'm following Star Wars and Star Trek AARs at the same time. I know I'm a heretic )

 

[AtticusKrass]

Season One, Episode 3: You Must Crawl Before You Can Walk (2170 - 2179)​

Area of Operations during Lyridian War ​

The final years of the Samuels Administration were defined by the Lyridian War (2175 - 2179), a conflict thought to be inevitable by every party and commentator on Earth since the defense pact with the Chelarians was signed in 2164. There had been overconfidence and excessive pessimism about how the war would play out, both outlooks turned out to be wrong. United Earth's intelligence gathering had improved enough that by the late 2160s, it was common knowledge that Lyridian fleets were smaller and less capable than Starfleet, however critically they did not anticipate how formidable the Diaspora's starbase network would prove to be. Economically, United Earth, would easily support military operations and replace starships throughout the course of the war but popular support was difficult to come by, especially after the defeat of 1st Starfleet at the Battle of Rascon in 2177. But i'm jumping ahead of myself, i'll go through the details.

Everything was humming along after Nathan Samuel's election victory, it appeared by 2175 that his third administrative term would be just as peaceful and successful as the others but the Lyridians had other plans. Their high command knowing full well that Earth would defeat their fleets in open battle endeavored to construct a series of military starbases built at critical points along their frontier also their own espionage network had acquired the blueprints of the Intrepid-Type class multipurpose light cruiser that had become the mainstay of Starfleet. With this knowledge they were able to train starbase and ship crews on weak points to target, an important advantage that would prove decisive at Rascon. With renewed confidence in their capacity to defend their borders and perhaps defeat Starfleet, they executed their plan to conquer Chelar in early 2175.

The timing of Lyridia's attack was not totally surprising, Chelarian sensor arrays had detecting considerable build up of military forces along its border in 2174 and so 1st Starfleet, commanded by the venerated Admiral Jonathan Archer moved quickly to Starbase 001 in the Purdy System hoping to reach the Chelarian border within six months. Plans changed when Lyridian fleets were detected moving through the unsettled space between their empire and United Earth. The 1st Lyridian Offensive came in Early 2176, it included two fleets each with a firepower rating of roughly 800 and 600 respectively. Neither stood a chance at defeating 1st Starfleet with a firepower rating of 3600 but then again they weren't meant to, their mission was simply to pull Admiral Archer's forces away from the Chelarian front by threatening invasion of United Earth's territory. It worked, 1st Starfleet would move to intercept both fleets at Roundtree and Creed, as anticipated they would defeat both fleets with ease though neither Lyridian formation stuck around long enough to suffer heavier losses than necessary. While the offensive was successful in distracting Starfleet for the better part of a year, it had failed at one important mission, the two defeated fleets would have had to return back to Lyridian space from subspace, join together, and destroy the starport defending Chelar before Starfleet recovered its forces and reinforce Chelar. It failed to do within the time table given by high command.

Starfleet High Command entered 2177 believing that they had come out the victorious side of the fighting which had been true, not only had they defeated the offensive but they had destroyed 8 Lyridian warships in the process, a significant number. They believed that the Chelarians with their own fleet with a firepower rating of 600 fighting alongside their starport could most likely resist Lyridian attack at least in the near future. So, they abandoned the initial plan of reinforcing Chelar and instead planned their own offensive with the primary objective of neutralizing as many Lyridian starbases as possible. United Earth's counteroffensive began in early 2177 with Jonathan Archer and his 1st Starfleet moving on a direct course to Rascon Star System where the Lyridians had a colony and starbase. The idea was that Starfleet would take control of the starbase and the following year a planetary invasion force would take the colony. It was not to be i'm afraid, when Starfleet arrived it found that the starbase in Rascon was more formidable than expected but determined to carry on with his mission, Jonathan Archer would attack. The Battle of Rascon was not a material disaster, 1st Starfleet would only lose six warships, 4 of them frigates, all of them would be replaced by the end of the year. However when news reached Earth, mass demonstrations took to the streets calling to an end to the war, the largest organized by our old friends the Popular Frontier.

Battle of Rascon, 2177
​

With Archer's fleet stuck in subspace for the next year, the Samuels Administration started to get nervous, their anxiety was justified as only two months after Rascon, the Lyridians attacked Chelar and although they were defeated, the incident made Earth look helpless and weak on the astropolitical stage. The greatest humiliation came when another Lyridian fleet crossed unsettled space and invaded United Earth territory as part of a larger offensive across all fronts. This fleet was able to take control of four star systems by the end of 2178 while another Lyridian fleet neutralized Starbase 001 in the Purdy Star System that same year. It was only through Wadi and Tellarite intervention that the 2nd Lyridian Offensive was halted, forcing their battlegroups to retreat out of the Earth Sphere. While Wadi and Tellarite fleets were hunting and destroying Lyridian ships, 1st Starfleet returned back to Port Cochran and after regrouping spent the remainder of the war retaking lost star systems. In Late 2179, with losses mounting for the Imperatrix's warfleets, the Lyridians made peace with the Chelarians and United Earth.

The Lyridian War is humankind's first interstellar war, compared to future wars, their material losses were negligible but it would change the course of human history, it's a major hinge point. It destroyed the credibility of the Samuels Administration and Federal Party, their dream of a united democratic international political bloc was dealt a major blow, the deaths of several thousand Starfleet personnel for the purpose of protecting aliens that they barely knew anything about angered the general public. You have to remember that we are still early days for the interstellar age and most humans did not know or had ever seen an alien. The war cast doubt on the utility of having such close relations with aliens and then there was the Wadi Scandal which I will talk about more in the next episode. I'll end today with saying that at this junction of our story, our United Earth has turned onto a different pathway than the one you know took. The Federation could have probably been formed if it wasn't for the Lyridian War but i'll tell you now that in this universe there won't be one, something different will take its place which I will explore when it comes. With that said, the next episode will cover the ascendency of Popular Frontier and their charismatic leader, the brilliant scientist Carla Di Bartolomei and we will finally see off Nathan Samuels.

 

[AtticusKrass]

Well, it seems like United Earth's idealism isn't as steadfast as they claim. Their contacts aren't amazing contacts to have. Let's hope that they don't attack.

Interesting choice to have Q narrate

(And, yes, I'm following Star Wars and Star Trek AARs at the same time. I know I'm a heretic )

Idealism can be channeled down many different avenues. I actually had a great set of contacts in the Tellurites and Wadi but you'll see in upcoming installments, that relationship breakdown.

As an enlightened Star Trek enjoyer, you are forgiven, haha. In all seriousness, I don't care what science fiction universe people like best but I have to admit that Star Wars never really appealed to me for whatever reason.

 

[AtticusKrass]

Episode 4: The Twenty Year Plan (2179 -2194)

Carla Di Bartolomei, 2180​

Both the Lyridian War and Nathan Samuel's political career ended at the same time, once the peace treaty was signed on board the USS Chandalar in Late 2179 there was nothing left to do except prepare for an election campaign that the Federal Party would certainly lose. A year of speeches and promises went by between the signing of the peace with Lyridia and Carla Di Bartolomei's landslide victory, after decades of organizing and campaigning she had accomplished one of her life goals, she was now prime minister of United Earth. She was different from Nathan Samuels in everyway, she had been born into a family of geniuses from European Alliance, her father was an intellectual heavily involved in Neo-Marxist causes during the early 22nd Century, her mother was an officer in the European Space Force. She had one brother, the famed explorer and captain of the USS Enterprise, Andrea Di Bartolomei, ten years her senior. Nathan Samuels had been the son of a freighter captain, one himself, and then an early federalist senator to the North American legislature. He was a brilliant politician and technocrat but was never an intellectual, he believed in strong efficient government and democracy, despite the way his story ends he was genuine in his desire to make a better world and quite honestly, he accomplished that objective. After his election defeat he would retire back to his family estate in Montana where he would die of old age in 2203, at the age of 97.

The Bartolomei Administration was something entirely different from the relatively steady and conservative ship that had been United Earth since its formation in 2150. It set to work immediately on fulfilling its projects, education was made universally accessable to everyone who sought to better themselves, healthcare was made free and universal, birthing standards were eliminated and specialized clinics dedicated to improving the birth rate were established on Earth and on the colonies that will be settled in the coming years. Commercial policies were shifted from a wealth creation based program to a consumer benefits program, there was no shortage of consumer goods but there had been reductions on the amount of consumer goods private business were mandated to contribute toward government welfare programs. These policy changes were the first wave of a new program that Popular Frontier think-tanks called the Twenty Year Plan, it would touch every part of United Earth's society and sought to grow the economy by at least three times as it was in 2170, reform Starfleet and secure its status as the dominant military force in the known galaxy, colonize all habitable worlds within United Earth's boundaries, and double the population. These objectives would be achieved by maximizing energy production by rotating overloads of the grids, an array of ambitious production targets, greatly enhanced subsidies to the agricultural sector, STEM subsidies to increase rate of research and development, educational reforms, and officer recruitment drives.

While Bartolomei was enacting a revolution from above, her administration was upending the astropolitical balance of power in the region. Popular Frontier controlled the Executive and Legislative branches of government and they did not hesitate to use that power to not only cancel the defense pact with the Chelarian Sovereignty but most notably to withdrawal from its alliance with the Tellerites Technocracy and Wadi Emirates. This decision was already loaded and ready to go but the Wadi Scandal accelerate its implementation. It had been discovered during the 2180 Prime Ministerial Campaign that the Samuels Administration had covered up the fact that the Wadi Emirates was in fact not a democracy but ruled by a shadow council of the richest individuals of that polity. That revelation sparked angry protests at the Wadi Embassy on Earth and would find its way to the Wadi masses though no serious civil upheaval occured as that society was mostly interested in commerce. There was embarrassment and official rejections by both the Tellarites and Wadi but the damage had been done. In 2182, United Earth officially withdrew from the Union of Sovereignty destroying relations with all parties involved.

Astropolitical Situation, 2190​

By the Prime Ministerial Election of 2190, United Earth was unattached diplomatically ensuring that it would not become entangled in the growing number of conflicts blowing up around them. There were new alien societies contacted, nearly a dozen over the decade, including their next direct rival, the Romulan Star Empire, whose borders pushed up against there's. Not wanting another war, the Bartolomei Administration dedicated two official envoys to improving relations with their Praetor, Galan Pardek while also establishing an extensive spy network within their empire. While economically and socially, United Earth of thriving and moving toward what the Popular Frontier called the "next stage of civil evolution", the foreign situation was getting worse. The withdrawal from the Union of Sovereignty meant that Starfleet stood alone in outer space against an ever increasing number of alien societies many of whom were formidable imperialist states. Furthermore, the Wadi and Tellerites were now openly hostile toward Earth, Starfleet intelligence received credible reports that the Wadi were preparing to declare war in Late 2193. This revelation was kept top secret and it spurred the creation of a 3rd Starfleet and the placement of 1st and 2nd Starfleet's near the border of the Wadi Emirates under the guise of military wargames.

Along every frontier there were threats, the Lyridian Diaspora had expanded aggressively, settling new worlds and star systems, though its military strength paled in comparison to its neighbors. A colony of former supersoldiers from Earth, the Augment Khanate had appeared on the scene years before but by 2194 they had expanded to the borders of United Earth. Then there were the Tellarites and Wadi seemingly intent on not letting go of the humiliation of 2180. Finally, the greatest threat were the Romulans who like Earth had shunned foreign entanglements and whose military and economy rivaled that of Earth's. It was deep in her second administrative term that Carla Di Bartolomei convened her closest advisors from her cabinet, Starfleet High Command, and intelligence community to formulate a new foreign policy which would protect United Earth from destruction by foreign enemies. Next episode, we will delve into who attended this council and explore in detail what policy they developed in response to the aforementioned threats.

 

[HistoryDude]

The Lyridian War appeared to be a disaster for Samuels...

The new administration is very Marxist and isolationist. I wonder if that'll change.

What will replace the Federation?