When Luna was drawn into a wormhole for unexplained reasons to an unknown region of space, the Earth was thrown into chaos in several ways. The people of Earth were in a panic over the loss of Luna that it affected the global economy severely, families of relatives and loved ones on Luna wanted answers as to where they went and how to get them back, military ships that were not drawn into the wormhole scanned the area to find anything they could to figure out what happened, and scientists from around the world were quick to fear the effects of what Luna’s loss would bring to the Earth. Scientists from centuries ago who predicted those effects were accurate in their assessments. One of those effects was the loss of significant high and low tides. While tides still existed based on the pull of the sun, they were not as high as they once were, resulting in several species that relied on high tides dying out. However, the more significant change that occurred to the Earth was the reduction of time it takes for Earth to do a full day’s rotation. Luna served as the gravitational pull that slowed the Earth’s daily rotation down to 24 hours. With Luna gone, the time it takes for the Earth to do a full rotation was reduced to 6-hour days! The rotation increase has caused clouds to look more streamlined much like those found on gas planets found within the Sol System.

 

Earth was no longer capable of supporting life that have become used to a natural standard of living when the moon was present. Humanity resorted to devoting transports to ferry the Human population along with various animal species off Earth and towards Mars as the second home of Humanity utilizing the same terraforming process that was used on Luna. However, while this helped to move most of Humanity off Earth, Mars was not large enough to support 13 billion Humans along with any wildlife that could be taken from Earth. This resulted in Mars quickly becoming overpopulated, and artificial colonies being built in orbit. For the next hundred years or so, living space for any Human was at a premium as accommodations were no bigger than college dormitories. This resulted in a decrease in the growth of the population due to limited space.

 

However, during that time, scientists had continued to advance the capabilities of the warp drive systems originally used for interplanetary travel to make interstellar travel possible to colonize distant worlds. After a few decades, the Direct Anti-Matter Injection Warp Engine, or DAMIWE for short, became a reality. Building the first few ships designed to utilize DAMIWE, Humanity began to expand past the Sol System into neighboring star systems for planets that can be colonized. After 5 years, two planets were found and subsequently terraformed. Humanity began to move from the cramped conditions of Mars and its colonies to the more spacious planets. As the move to colonize more worlds and the subsequent explosion of Humanity’s population occurred, a new democratic government was formed to govern Humanity across the various star systems. The nation was called the New Unity Government and its constitution was ratified in 2683 AD.

 

While Humanity was able to adapt to their new habitats, many species of animals that came from Earth were found to not be able to adapt as quickly as Humans to the new environments on other worlds and in space. To prevent these animals from going extinct due to their inability to adapt quickly, plans were introduced to combine animal and Human DNA into a new race of anthropomorphic beings that would allow their DNA to continue despite them being hybrids. While many animal rights activists were protesting such actions being taken, the government approved of the process to prevent any further extinctions of Earth animals. The first hybrids were born in labs and their numbers had grown within twenty years to become a sizable part of the population. To prevent any form of conflict from happening in the future, these hybrids were given the same rights and privileges as Humans in the New Unity Government, including education and being able to speak English, the dominant language of Humanity.

 

While Humanity knows the reason of why they left the Sol System, there are those who have yet to find answers as to how or why Luna disappeared through a wormhole. However, some fanatical scientists had learned that the crystals found on Luna were responsible for the creation of the wormhole that took Luna away. The only crystals that remained in Humanity’s possession were stored in a secure facility in the nation’s capital in the Vega star system. One of those scientists managed to get access to those crystals, stating they were for scientific purposes, and transported them to a newly built colony vessel bound for a new world that was recently terraformed. As the colony vessel consisting of over 2 million people consisting of all hybrids was about to go to warp, the scientist and his few associates energized the crystals in the hope that they would be transported to where Luna was located. The wormhole formed in front of the colony vessel with the hybrids on board beginning to panic knowing that it was the same type of wormhole as the one that pulled Luna away from their history books, yet not knowing why one was forming in front of them. However, while many tried to get to the escape pods, none could be launched by the time the wormhole drew the colony vessel in. The colony ship was successful transported to the Novus Initium star cluster, but the scientist and his associates ran into two problems.

 

The first problem was that the colony ship did not end up in the Lumen System like Luna did. Instead, it reached the Northwest Region, the least dense region of stars compared to other regions in the star cluster. That means that there was no evidence that the colony ship was in the right location or not. The expanse between the Northwest and Central Regions had natural interference from gravitational disturbances meaning transmissions from the Novus Initium Republic, which still only resided in the Lumen System, would not reach the wayward colony vessel and vice versa.

 

The second problem facing the scientist and his associates was the realization that for all intents and purposes he just kidnapped over 2 million unsuspecting and unwilling hybrids for this experiment. None of the hybrids were thrilled when they found out he and his associates, the only Humans on board, were responsible. With the crystals disintegrating after the jump that the scientist had not anticipated and with no means to return to the Milky Way Galaxy, the hybrid colonists were fortunate that they jumped to a star system that contained a habitable planet to colonize with little need to terraform. However, the scientist and his associates would never set foot on that world as they were “spaced” for their actions, a term used to describe being ejected into space without the protection of a space suit. The hybrids found the scientist’s logs afterwards which made it clear he acted alone and not under orders from the NUG or the Humans specifically.

 

The planet that was colonized was named Sakura due to the large number of pink-flowered trees resembling Japanese cherry blossoms near the site of the colony ship’s landing. As a requirement for all colony ships, the hybrid colonists had an established government and databases with knowledge in all fields of studies and careers. This knowledge included propulsion systems like the DAMIWE system but lacked information relating to weapons and defenses as those were to be handled by the NUG military rather than colonists. While the hybrids could have named and created their own unique nation, they chose to retain the New Unity Government in name and government structure, appointing the pre-selected governor as their president instead. The rest of the governmental structure was reorganized to be more in line with the central NUG government from the Milky Way. The new capital city of Atlantis was formed around the waterfront near the colony ship which has since been redesigned and remodeled into an artificial island, resulting in the use of the mythological name for the city. Any references of Humans were removed as there were no Humans that remained after the scientist and his associates were killed for their actions. The term “hybrids” also disappeared over time, replaced with the names of the animals they were combined with when being identified individually but collectively they became known as “Animality.”

 

The New Unity Government of the Novus Initium star cluster managed to quickly build its own society, modeled as close as it can to the society they were forced to leave behind in the Milky Way. The New Unity Government in the Milky Way established a military force to protect Humanity and the hybrids from possible threats in the galaxy and the NUG of the Novus Initium star cluster is no different in that regards of protecting Animality, though how they do so is different from their original counterparts. A planetary military force was quick to mobilize using existing handheld “slug thrower” guns and bladed weapons, developing additional weapons based on those they were provided. It is when Animality began to develop an interplanetary and later an interstellar military force that the NUG military began to differ greatly from their Milky Way counterparts. While the NUG in the Milky Way Galaxy managed to create defensive energy shields to defend their ships and stations from “foreign objects” like rocks and debris, the shields of the Novus Initium NUG were strengthened in anticipation of possible combat in their new home. This included a system like the shield boosters found in the Republic, though developed differently from the Republic version. The shields are reinforced continuously and automatically, unlike the active boosters that are switched on like Republic vessels. The ships are also heavily armored in case the shields fail, but no auto-repair system is in place like the Republic vessels. While handheld slug throwers still exist for use in small arms, the NUG dealing with limited resources managed to quickly develop laser-based energy weapons. These are powered by multiple capacitors that are charged by the DAMIWE system and allow for continuous fire. However, unlike the Republic version of these weapons, there are no short-range modes of these guns. This is due to the NUG doctrine of staying at long-range to engage a target. Short-range or close combat is primarily handled by missile launchers.

 

For over a thousand years, the NUG expanded across Sakura and throughout the NUG’s capital star system of New Sol, which was named as such on short notice and due a lack of pre-existing names for the stars. During their exploration of New Sol, the NUG came across more of the purple crystals like those used to force the original colonists to jump into the star cluster. Calling the crystals “Purple Devils,” the NUG gathered and quarantined the crystals wherever they were found as they could not be destroyed or disintegrated by any available means. When the NUG decided to use the DAMIWE system to explore other star systems to colonize, they found more of the “Purple Devil” crystals in those star systems. This contrasted with the old records that showed that no such crystals existed in star systems colonized in the Milky Way Galaxy. Scientists began to hypothesize that the crystals found on Luna were “attracted” like magnets to the crystals found in the star cluster. If this was true, it could mean that Luna ended up in the star cluster as well after being drawn into the wormhole. However, there was no form of physical proof that this occurred with Luna and the NUG had only just started to explore their region of the star cluster. If Luna was anywhere in the star cluster, it would take a very long time before the NUG would ever find that moon and the Humans who inhabited it. However, there are those among Animality that believe the crystals were “planted” on Luna by someone or something. As to who that was and if those responsible lived in the star cluster, this remained unknown to Animality. The ban on the “Purple Devils” was not enough to stop select members of Animality from testing them without authorization. Up to ten groups of Animals disappeared within the following years before the Union, a shortened term to describe the NUG, had scanners installed on any ship or structure to detect the crystals before they are used and detain those that wished to use them. No other unauthorized usage of the crystals has occurred since that implementation. This means that NUG ships rely strictly on warp drives to travel between star systems.

 

While the NUG has been exploring other star systems longer than the Novus Initium Republic by over a thousand years or longer, the New Unity Government has been rather slow in colonizing other star systems within the Northwest Region. While star systems within the region are spread further apart compared to other regions in the star cluster, this was not the cause of the NUG’s slow expansion. Because of the fewer number of star systems in the region, the number of habitable worlds is fewer still. Many exploration vessels investigate new star systems for new worlds to colonize only to come up empty on existing habitable worlds or any that could easily be terraformed. To make up for this in the face of a growing population, large space habitats such as colonies and space stations are built in planetary orbit and in deep space to serve as habitable locations and centers with nearly a fifth of the total population reside in them. Some of these stations and colonies serve as transfer points and trade centers between star systems as well as resource gathering and manufacturing. They can also serve as a port for a local fleet. The New Unity Government continues to slowly expand but now covers over 40 percent of the Northwest Region. However, because of the small number of star systems in the region, the number of stars the NUG governs under its jurisdiction is comparable to 15 to 20 percent of other nations like the Novus Initium Republic due to the densely packed regions under their jurisdiction. Unlike the Republic, the Union has not stopped their expansion efforts and continues to explore the far-flung systems in hopes of finding new worlds to colonize and alleviate the strain of resources on space stations and dense planet-side population centers.

 

The culture of the New Unity Government has many aspects that are surprisingly similar when they are compared to the Novus Initium Republic, though it is far more in line with the aspects of all Animality compared to Humans. The cultures and religions of these individual races were brought with them to the star cluster but unlike the Republic, they would end up blending into a single culture and religion over the past three millennia. Also, unlike the Republic, the Union does not have specialized planets and star systems for specific purposes, such as one system as the hub for entertainment and one that houses the heads of all religions. The NUG does not have the luxury of assigning star systems or planets for specific purposes nor do they have a reason to do so due to the small number of planets that can support life for the Union’s population. While the population grew at first once the NUG explored other worlds, this has since been put into check to reduce the number of children a couple can have to a maximum of two to decrease the burden on of over-population. Any further conceptions were subject to a government-funded mandatory abortion (the exception to this is if the mother is having triplets or more but are subject to additional taxes). While some outside cultures would find this practice appalling, the NUG finds it necessary due to “limited” comfortable living conditions. This puts the population of the NUG at over a quarter the number of citizens compared to the more populated Novus Initium Republic.

 

The military culture of the Union over time developed and embedded itself in the everyday life of the nation to a level like the United Vitam State. While there is no required mandatory four-year military service term like the State, many had viewed enlistment as the means to protect the nation and to remove themselves from the “cramped” living conditions found on some worlds or space stations, though the only truly spacious accommodations on a ship are for officers only, a goal many strive for. While the military was originally created to protect the nation from those responsible for the crystals, a reason that has since been forgotten over the centuries, it has since grown to a level in terms of the number of ships that surpasses even the Republic. This is primarily cause by the fact that the accommodations of a Union Navy officer on a ship are generally larger than most one-bedroom apartments that single civilians use. Many of those that know about this fact along with the appeal and prestige it comes with enlist to serve in the Navy in large numbers contributing to the size and number of ships in the fleet. The size of the Union Navy would have many military analysists from other nations concerned as the vessels used by the NUG are larger than their foreign counterparts from other nations along with their ships’ military capabilities. Despite the use of laser weapon systems on Union ships, those weapons are far more powerful compared to those found on Novus Initium Republic ships, capable of burning a hole through a defenseless ship after a few shots depending on the target’s armor. However, the Union was not aware of any of the other nations at the time of the development for their current line of vessels in operation, so the size of the ships and the weapons are not in response to any known threat. Rather, their development was in response to a possible threat to the New Unity Government rather than an existing one.

 

While many of the nations in the Novus Initium star cluster use flat and glossy finishes on their ships, the Union forces only use a gloss finish of orange and black for the central defense fleet known as the Alpha group which is assigned to the central section of the nation including New Sol. Alpha group holds the largest number of ships including battlecruisers. They also receive the latest updates to the ships. The Union Navy uses a camouflage paint scheme on their ships for the remainder fleets divided into four groups: Beta, Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon. While this paint scheme serves no practical purpose in space, the paint scheme was more to identify the fleet the ship is assigned to. The Beta group’s jurisdiction covers the systems that are “south” of the central area towards the Western Region. Their paint scheme is the water camouflage style. Gamma group’s jurisdiction is in the systems north and northeast of the central region. Their paint scheme is the desert camouflage style. The Delta group’s jurisdiction are the systems between the central section of the nation and the “void” that separates the Northwest Region from the Central Region. The paint scheme used is the urban camouflage style. Lastly, Epsilon group’s jurisdiction is the area between the central section of the nation and the edge of the star cluster. The paint scheme used is the forest camouflage style.

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Over the past thousand years, the Union Navy has been fielding battlecruisers to serve as the flagship of every large NUG fleet and are generally assigned to locations that are highly important whether civilian or military. The importance of these ships as both the flagship of an admiral/flag officer and as a heavy weapons platform has made the assignment aboard such vessels a matter of honor and prestige. Given command of such a vessel is often seen as the culmination of one’s long service career to the Union Navy. The Union Navy refuses to build battleships due to the intense resources required to build and maintain such large vessels, instead resorting to building existing ships in larger numbers.

 

The current battlecruiser is the Danbira-Class Battlecruiser (“broadsword” in the old Japanese dialect) and continues to uphold the battlecruiser tradition as a command vessel capable of engaging multiple vessels with far more firepower than the Naifu-Class Cruiser. Coming in at 910 meters long, it is the largest combat vessel in the NUG fleet and possessing the greatest amount of firepower. The forward and midsections of the vessel hold the capacitors and missile storage bays for the ship’s weapons and allow for additional weapons to be mounted to the hull. The base of the engine pylons has been widened and reinforced to allow the mounting of a twin warp drive system on each side of the cruiser. These units also house the 8 pulse ion drive engines (4 each) that provide thrust due to the vessel’s mass. 2 additional standard warp drive units are mounted dorsally and ventrally on the Danbira’s aft midsection along with two pulse ion drive engines each. These pulse ion engines provide the vessel the needed thrust due to the vessel’s mass. Among the Danbira’s impressive arsenal are 4 quad missile launchers mounted above and below on each side of the base of the engine pylons. An additional 4 launchers are mounted in pairs on the port and starboard bow of the vessel. These launchers generally house missiles used for medium- to short-range engagements and the Danbira will have up to 768 missiles on board for those launchers. The missiles’ flight range is up to 45 kilometers. Against destroyers, the Danbira comes equipped with 16 triple-barrel “light” laser cannons mounted on the dorsal and ventral axis with 14 forward facing turrets and 2 rear facing turrets, the latter of which is mounted aft of the single warp drive engines. These laser turrets are larger and more powerful than the laser turrets used by the Novus Initium Republic, though they lack the short-range pulse laser mode found on Republic ships. Their effective optimal range is 75 kilometers before their lethal potential begins to fall off. The type of damage produced by the laser turrets is the same as Republic ships resulting in electromagnetic and thermal damage to targets.  Against cruisers, the Danbira is equipped with 18 twin “medium” laser cannons mounted on the port and starboards sides of the vessel’s midsection: 6 each above and below, and 3 mounted on each side. These turrets fire more powerful lasers than the “light” laser turrets and were designed to engage larger more heavily armored opponents.  They move slower than the smaller turrets, so they were not designed to engage smaller targets unless they are at long-range. Their effective optimal range is 125 kilometers before their lethal potential begins to fall off. The Danbira possesses a primary heavy weapons system in the form of 4 forward mounted heavy laser cannons. These laser cannons have the power output equivalent to the heavy laser turrets found on Republic Paladin-Class Battleships and require just as much power to fire. These cannons are used for extreme long-range engagements against targets up to 250 kilometers away before the lasers’ lethal potential begins to fall off. They require the ship to turn in order to aim, but the power requirements mean that the turrets cannot fire in conjunction with the heavy laser cannons. The main shuttle bay is located in the forward central section of the ship between the heavy lasers. This bay is also used for docking as an extendable docking arm at stations connects to this section to allow cargo and personnel to quickly load and unload. Engineering, the bridge, and auxiliary systems are found in the center of the ship near the aft. Energy capacitors, missile storage bays, cargo holds, and shield systems are located in the forward and side sections of the ship with additional shield generators towards the rear side sections. Crew compliment is 825 with accommodations and amenities are in the rear of the vessel along with the escape pods. This low number in crew based on its size is thanks to automation handled in several areas of the vessel.

 

To allow for larger accommodations aboard the Danbira, the cruiser has both its two twin warp drive units mounted externally on each side of the ship and two single warp drive units mounted on the rear dorsal and ventral sections. These are the main faster-than-light drive units of the ship and are based on the current engine design introduced 30 years ago by the Proxima Engineering Company. Located in the ship’s aft mid-section is the twin DAMIWE system, the ship’s main power source which also powers the warp drive units. The twin DAMIWE system for the Danbira is designed to accommodate the additional power needs of the vessel due to the multitude of laser turrets along with the warp drive. The warp manifold coils are located under armor plating on each of the drive units to optimize the warp field. The speed of the drive is comparable to the Novus Initium Republic’s warp drive and, because of how far apart star systems in the Northwest Region are, can take a few days for ships to travel between star systems. However, a Danbira will rarely leave the star system and the fleet it is assigned to due to its role and will usually use the warp drive to reach other locations within the same star system in a hurry.

 

The Danbira is rarely ever found alone without a fleet of destroyers and cruisers escorting it. The usual size of the fleet escorting the vessel consists of 8 Naifu-Class Cruisers and 32 Tanken-Class Destroyers. The only exceptions to these numbers are the 1st through 5th Fleets of the Union Navy. These fleets consist of 3 Danbira-Class Battlecruisers, 24 Naifu-Class Cruisers, and 96 Tanken-Class Destroyers. The minimum rank to command the Danbira is Rear Admiral. However, for any Danbira found in the 1st through 5th fleets, the rank to command the entire fleet is Vice Admiral or higher with the other 2 battlecruisers commanded by Rear Admirals. As previously mentioned, being given command one of these ships is considered by many who pursue a career in ship command as the pinnacle of their career short of reaching the rank of Admiral, though those that reach the rank of Admiral are generally relegated to space stations that serve as a local headquarters for fleets within a sector or at the Union Navy’s main headquarters at New Sol.