"Anything is possible with sufficient technological advancement." - Oligarch Septima Egnatius
Stardate: 14-03-2428
The Fox Cartel in early 2428 was almost entirely focused upon consolidating its power, whilst there were many reasons for them to do so there were two reasons more prevalent than most. The first of which was a lack of any easy targets, a complex web of alliances, defensive pacts, independence guarantees and growing federations ensured that attacking any single rival would draw others into the fight. Whilst the Cartel's military was indeed powerful it still needed decades to reach its full strength due to a vast plan of expansion and refits.
The second reason only a select handful of the Fox Cartel's leadership knew about in any meaningful detail. Historically speaking the Homolog Continuum had always been a baffling neighbour, a vast robotic intelligence whose actions had long been a topic of discussion throughout the Cartel's history. However, their constant allusions to some vast threat and evidence that another ancient race had been wiped out long ago made the Cartel take that possibility far more seriously. Not wanting to be caught flat-footed in the midst of war should some new threat emerge a defensive strategy was adopted.
For years the Cartel showed an unerring focus upon two singular objectives, the expansion of their military and a massive push for more and more advanced technology. Colonia Dwarvian became the largest known research hub in the galaxy, research complexes that matched cities in size ensured the Cartel's already impressive technology accelerated far ahead of their rivals. Some among the board of directors even speculated that they may even match the Yeon Progenitors or Homolog Continuum in decades rather than centuries.
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| Colonia Dwarvian, the largest centre for research in Cartel space if not the entire galaxy. |
The year 2432 saw the Cartel turning its vast economy and scientific expertise toward further expanding their military in a vastly ambitious plan. The recently settled world of Fiiral Colonia and a planet marked for Terraforming in the Hagawa system would become massive training centres for ships crews, armies and all manner of military support personnel. The plan was to ensure that whatever threat emerged be it a rival empire or some ancient terror the Cartel would be ready to deal with it.
With many races beyond the Foxes having full citizenship among the Cartel other planets would also be settled for them within Cartel space. Despite their criminal origins, the Cartel was widely accepting holding to the philosophy of ensuring it was what you knew not who or what you were that mattered. Also, space was becoming a premium as populations continued to grow at a spectacular rate.
A massive achievement in Cartel ship construction techniques and technology arrived in 2433, seeing the titan class hull be approved for construction. Essentially a massive mobile weapons platform to be used as the flagship of each fleet, armed with quad kinetic batteries and a large pair of neutron torpedo launchers alone it dwarfed the firepower of even the Constantine class battleship before the main armament was considered. A vast spinal beam cannon referred to as the Perdition Beam with its main purpose to be the removal of starbases or enemy battleships quickly made it a fearsome vessel. One of which was immediately planned as the first fleet flagship.
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| A new class of ship is designed, the Oligarch-class Titan. |
In the early days of 2441, the first artificial planetary habitat was constructed in Cartel space in orbit of a gas giant within the Janna system. This vast station was essentially a vast arcology and entirely self-sufficient, Janna had been selected to provide the nearby fortress with a means to bring the crews families closer to raise morale as well as ensure that their very first habitat station was well protected. Whilst many such projects were planned the sheer volume of resources required to construct even one strained the Cartel's economy, meaning fleet expansion plans were delayed causing at least two board members to be removed due to poor planning jeopardising a primary objective.
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| The first artificial habitat ever constructed by the Cartel, in orbit of a gas giant in the Janna system. |
The galaxy at large seemed fairly stable and quiet with most empires focusing on internal issues, very little of note seemed to take place bar the passing of third fleet admiral Vibius Cluilius who had been venerated as a hero of the Cartel. Due to his efforts in the war with the Uriy Suns, a memorial was once again built along the road approaching the corporate headquarters, a road which many saw as a place to celebrate the heroes of the Cartel.
2443 saw the planet in the Hagawa system terraformed successfully and colonisation efforts began on Menturius Prime, the second of two planned fortress worlds whose primary purpose was to ensure the core of Cartel space remained safe. By not only training and equipping the military itself but by being such unassailable bastions in their own right that any invasion would simply break before being able to progress deeper into the core systems.
Mid-way through 2446 the Homolog Continuum proved to be a massive boon toward the scientific focus they had adopted. Seemingly as some kind of reward for agreeing to settle the planet in the Bitrius system they granted the Cartel a vast cache of precursor knowledge. This proved to mark a veritable golden age of research, something many in the Cartel took as a sign they were correct in their pursuit of science to give themselves the advantage. Would it be enough to help them best their rivals or even the great threat the Homolog continued to allude to? Only time would tell for certain.
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