The UFR Insurrection

It is the year 2525.  Planet Earth has long been under the rule of an oppressive government. Technology has advanced to the point where nearly anything is possible and interstellar space travel is commonplace.  Devoid of most of its natural resources, planet earth can no longer support the flooding sea of human population.  To accommodate the ever-growing population and to seek new resources, space colonization has extended far beyond our own solar system, eventually encompassing much of the galaxy.  

Still wanting to preserve strict control and to keep the new found colonies from breaking away, the Imperial Federation of Earth (IFE) had its scientists create a technology whereby they could maintain influence over the thought and behavior of the colonists.  This mind control went on for many centuries, enabling the IFE to control its citizens and force them to do their bidding. Unfortunately for the IFE, this mind control technology did not work on the Solnovians, the only other intelligent life form who live in our galaxy. The Solnovians learned of the IFE's secret when they tried to exert control over them using the same technology. Understanding what the IFE was doing, the Solnovians attempted to alert the colonists, but the IFE thwarted their actions and declared war upon them, forcing the colonist to become their instruments of war. 

	This war lasted several decades and if not for the Solnovians' superior technology, they would have been wiped out. Eventually, the Solnovians figured out a way to block the IFE's mind control signals.  Jamming the signals of an attacking ship, they were able to reveal to their attackers what the IFE had been doing to them. Once freed from the IFE's mind control, the attackers allied themselves with the Solnovians and formed a resistance group called the United Fringe Republics (UFR).  With the Solnovians as their allies, the UFR launched a campaign to wake up the other colonists. 

Out numbered and outgunned and with little time to plan before the IFR could raise an effective counter strike, the UFR devised a bold strategy.  Using a jump gate, the UFR would launch a two-stage assault against the heart of the IFE based on planet earth. The first plan was to cut off the head of the IFE's government by disabling the technology they used to control the masses.  Rigging a battleship, the Disruptor, with a jamming devise, the UFR would try to disable the IFE's mind control technology in one swift and daring attack.

	Accompanying the UFR battleship Liberator on its attack mission to earth are two new prototype destroyers built on Solnovian technology: the Justifier and the Incursion. Both destroyers have powerful ship-to-ship Mason Lasers, and Mark XV reduced neutron cobalt torpedoes. All three ships have entered into earth's orbit through the use of a jump gate that has been hidden in the asteroid belt just beyond earth's orbital path. The Solnovians had given the technology necessary to activate the jump gate to the UFR, something the IFR had been trying to get their hands on since learning about it.  

Plan two was a back up plan, should the first one fail.  The jump gate would allow a fleet of UFR destroyers to enter behind the IFE's first line of defense: a massive Starfleet of heavy cruisers, battleships and interceptors located just beyond the asteroid belt. The destroyers would surprise the IFE Starfleet by attacking it from behind. Despite the over whelming numbers of the IFE's Starfleet, they would be no match against the fast moving, Solnovian technology enhanced destroyers.  

Episode IV: Moon Siege (map: AS-UFR3-MoonSiege) By Carey Grayson

	Before the first attack force can assault the IFE defenses on earth, the battleship Disruptor must immobilize earth's last line of defense: huge laser turrets, hidden inside large craters across the moon.  These turrets can emit powerful laser beams strong enough to destroy any spacecraft with a single laser blast.  The UFR has successfully overtaken the outposts and neutralized the turrets by shutting down their power generators. Unfortunately, the UFR assault team has little time to rest.  

The IFE is sending in their crack assault force known throughout the galaxy as the DRACS (Defense Rapid Assault Counter Strike).  Their mission is to regain control of each of the moon outposts by, a) re-energizing their power generators and switching on power to the radar dish and turret, b) destroying the gate blocking access to the laser turret & c) activating the turret control panel and firing upon the attacking UFR vessel. An almost impossible mission, but if anyone could do it, it is the DRACS.

<<(*EPISODE V: The Incursion (map AS-UFR4-Incursion) By Kelly Barnard*)>>

Fortunately for the IFE, the DRACS were successful in their counter strike. Having regained control of at least one of the moon outposts, they have destroyed the UFR's battleship Liberator. One of the destroyers, the Justifier, has gotten away, but the second, the Incursion, was disabled during the destruction of the Disruptor.  

The Incursion has lost one of its warp pods, and another pod was severely damaged. With two pods offline, the Incursion could not light jump to safety. Knowing this, and realizing the ship contains Solnovian technology that the IFE can use against them, the crew of the Incursion has set about scuttling the ship by setting the warp core to overload. 

IFE intelligence has also learned of the UFR's second attack phase, to send in a fleet of destroyers should their first plan fail.  Once again, the IFE is counting on the DRACS to assault the destroyer Incursion and shut down the core before the ship can self-destruct. Once they have their hands on the Solnovian technology, they can then shut down the jump gate before the UFR can launch their second attack wave.

EPISODE VI: The StarGate

	To be continued...
 

