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[DCE] Ustavan Starleague Dispute Summation

Started by Planet of Hats, July 05, 2022, 05:26:36 PM

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Planet of Hats



SUBMITTED:
Stardate: 99508.2
FILED BY:
RADM Taegan Quistra
SECURITY:
Level 2 - Confidential



LOCATION: DCE field of mission

MISSION: Continuing Deep Copernicus Expedition initiative. ​

OUTCOME: Unit commander's summary of previously-ongoing matters concerning interactions with the Ustavan Starleague.

KEY PERSONNEL:

CAPT Jadrys Itana, USS Copernicus
CAPT Ororo Mbane, USS Tereshkova
CAPT Firuzah Khamidouline, USS Hurutam
CAPT Selai Kainihewe, USS Bayajidda
CMDR Vesek, USS Vainamoinen
NARRATIVE: This report shall serve as a summary to Starfleet Command of recent incidents involving contact with the Ustavan Starleague during the Deep Centaurus Expedition.

SUBJECT ORGANIZATION: The Ustavan Starleague, heretofore "the Starleague," is a warp-capable civilization based in the Tel Ustav system (HD 130779). This is an advanced humanoid civilization operating along sociopolitical lines best classified as eco-fascism. Ustavan waste management and replication technology have not progressed at rates comparable to the Federation, in large part due to strong pressure from multiplanetary resource extraction conglomerates protecting their economic share. The Starleague, in an effort to control pollution, has implemented substantial climate controls on its major and semimajor inhabited worlds, where the Ustavan species operates as a privileged racial group above a small collection of species minorities considered to occupy classes ranging from service workers to near-slavery. The bulk of heavy industry has been outsourced to outlying worlds. The Starleague sanctions resource conglomerates to conduct "acquisitions" of new star systems, essentially annexations and in some cases invasions with semi-private armies. Typical Starleague policy involves large-scale ethnic cleansing of their conquests, enslavement of survivors and environmental devastation of the planet for resource exploitation. While this policy results in Ustavan core worlds remaining environmentally pristine, it incentivizes an ever-expanding economic war machine that routinely exterminates entire pre-warp civilizations in its drive for raw resources.


THE SITUATION: Formal contact with the Starleague was made by CAPT Jadrys Itana, CO USS Copernicus, as part of the Deep Centaurus Expedition.

Relations worsened when the Copernicus visited Lytax, a planet which had recently won a lengthy insurgency against the Starleague and achieved independence. As per Starfleet's humanitarian principles, the Copernicus provided relief of medical supplies to assist populations struggling with respiratory conditions attributable to large-scale atmospheric pollutions, but to provide no tactical or political assistance, as per the Prime Directive.

This assistance was viewed by the Starleague as a provision of material assistance to "known terrorists" and treated as cause to deny the Copernicus entry to Starleague-controlled space. The Copernicus heretofore endeavoured to avoid the Starleague border and continued on her expedition until stardate 98668.9, upon reaching the HD 126485 system.

The Copernicus conducted standard observations in-system of a pre-warp civilization on the second planet. During this observation, several Starleague vessels entered the system at high warp and opened fire with no warning. While the Copernicus was able to gain separation from the attackers and withdraw to the outer system, damage was sustained and her slipstream capability was temporarily lost. Long-distance scans revealed that only two of the arriving ships were combat-capable warships, with another eleven being factory ships and orbital bombardment platforms. Prior to loss of sensor resolution, Copernicus recorded footage of the vessels commencing orbital bombardment of the planet. Later probe scans by USS Jaleyi would reveal a loss of life of 99% of the indigenous population and the establishment of orbital platforms for atmospheric molecule harvesting.

Upon receiving report of the encounter, I dispatched USS Tereshkova and the support cruiser USS Hurutam, along with the scout frigate USS Bayajidda, to link up with the Copernicus and the nearby tactical escort USS Vainamoinen. Prior to the ships' arrival, Copernicus, regrouping into an inversion nebula, was approached by three Starleague vessels, accusing them of providing weapons and technology to the indigenous species of HD 126485. Despite offers of sensor logs to the contrary and attestations concerning the Prime Directive, the Ustavan flotilla demanded the surrender of the ship with intent to impound and dismantle it, which CAPT Jadrys reasonably refused. In the ensuing encounter, Copernicus acquitted herself well and destroyed one of the ships before losing shields and regrouping. The fortuitous arrival of Bayajidda and Vainamoinen ahead of the main fleet proved sufficient to disable a second ship's tactical systems and force the Starleague flotilla to withdraw.

With assistance from Hurutam and the transport ship Fable Nook, Copernicus and Vainamoinen were able to replace damaged systems and resume their mission, albeit in convoy. At this point, I ordered CAPT Mbane of Tereshkova, in her capacity as 103rd Exploratory Unit flag vessel, to set course for a key Ustavan border outpost in the NGC 3847 system with intention to open negotiations.

Tereshkova proceeded as ordered, broadcasting an open message of parley, and held position one light year outside of the nearest posted Starleague customs buoy. Hails were ignored for a period of 96 hours until intercepted by five Starleague vessels. These ships did not open fire but demanded the return of the Copernicus for trial as well as compensation in the form of currency for "damages to Starleague astral stock" and "reparations for assistance rendered to known enemies of the Starleague." In the ensuing talks, CAPT Mbane provided assurances and data that Federation personnel offered no military or political aid and are bound to policies of non-interference. The Starleague representatives seemed to accept these claims grudgingly, and agreed to end active pursuit of the Copernicus, but insisted that any relations with "potential enemy entities" or "interference in future economic expansion" would be viewed as hostile acts.

As the Starleague appears to practice a policy of at-will border expansion, it is impossible to judge who they consider future targets. For that matter, it is not the policy of the Federation to allow our diplomatic entreaties to be conducted only at the sufferance of militaristic third parties. Ultimately no satisfactory conclusion was reached beyond the end of active pursuit efforts, and Tereshkova withdrew from NGC 3847 following the negotiations.

Subsequently, Copernicus has visited several systems in the region broadly "east" of the Starleague and has sought to avoid encounters with their ships, but has experienced no fewer than four attacks by Starleague ships. None of these attacks were serious enough to cause major damage, consisting mainly of single-ship encounters with overly aggressive corporate prospectors.

It is likely that any diplomatic efforts we undertake in star systems proximal to the Starleague will be viewed negatively, but it is also my assessment that the Federation should not allow our mandate of exploration and peaceful first contact to be held hostage by the anti-social behaviour of what is manifestly a rogue authoritarian state with a track record of officially sanctioned genocide. I have ordered the Copernicus to continue her expedition as planned, while remaining cautious for further Starleague aggression.


TECHNICAL NOTES: Starleague vessels are capable of relatively high warp speeds but lack slipstream or transgating capacity. Their tactical capabilities are characterized by extremely heavy duritanium-polyalloy and rodinium hull armour, rugged and compact design that keeps vital systems protected within the ship's main bulk, and armament predominated by high-warp solid-state projectiles of a "Rods From God" tungsten-boride kill-vehicle type, supported by smaller numbers of heavy tetryon beams designed to degrade shielding. Observed tactics of the Starleague tend to centre on "slugfest" battles that make the most of their vessels' heavy shielding and durability. Of note is their use of projectile tracking systems and vertical launch cells, allowing their full projectile armament to be deployed against targets from any angle of approach.

In initial encounters, these tactical approaches presented challenges. Starleague tungsten kill vehicle projectiles have very little effect on shielding, but are significantly more effective against even heavy armour than photon or quantum torpedoes. They are more likely to deeply penetrate the hull and disable vital systems. Initially this proved difficult to counter because of the tendency of the Ustavan beam weapon to steadily degrade shield effectiveness in a prolonged encounter. However, the Copernicus crew were able to identify a rotating shield modulation that significantly diminishes the effectiveness of the Ustavan beam weapon. Their beams degrade the shield envelope by creating "flickers" in the overall coverage through which kinetic kill vehicles can be launched, a weakness which further stresses the shield generators through automated compensation; this can be countered by running the shield envelope at half strength and alternating between generator cores every few seconds, allowing one generator to project a refreshed and uninterrupted bubble while another reboots.

RECOMMENDATION: Maintain a state of no less than silent yellow alert when passing through space known to be proximal to the Ustavan Starleague.
Implement alternating modulation of shield systems when passing through space known to be proximal to the Ustavan Starleague.
Explore the viability of a diplomatic mission to Tel Ustav in the hopes of normalizing relations.




OOC:

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