A little something I'm working on for Federation Commander:
Unless you're familiar with the SFU, I'm pretty sure you have no idea what the WYN Cluster is. So here's a little background(for those interested in such things):
The WYN Cluster is a small power located at the intersection of the borders between the Klingon, Kzinti, and Lyran empires. The WYN Cluster was founded by a former Kzinti noble, known only as "The Usurper". He started a civil war within the Kzinti Hegemony in an attempt to claim the throne for himself. He and his followers were ultimately defeated, and after the final battle the surviving remnants of his fleet were on the run, pursued by the Kzinti fleet. They fled towards the WYN radiation cloud, and in a final act of suicidal defiance, dove in. The Kzinti fleet did not follow them, knowing the cloud was extremely dangerous and assuming the Usurper's forces to be dead.
But they survived. The WYN radiation cloud had never been explored. Probes did not survive long in it and it was assumed ships wouldn't either. But unbeknownst to all other empires, the cloud was hollow. The Usurper discovered this when his fleet emerged in open space, surrounded by multiple star systems rich in resources that no other beings knew about. He saw a unique opportunity before him: a chance to create his own sovereign nation that was well-protected by a powerful natural shield. The Usurper's forces settled down, and began slowly colonizing the cluster and harvesting its bountiful resources.
Word of the Usurper's new empire spread quickly, at first among pirates, smugglers, and other types who existed on the fringes of civilization. They flocked to the cluster, and the Usurper was quick to make deals with them for ships, personnel, and supplies in return for the cluster's resources and safe haven. By the time the larger empires became aware of its existence, the WYN Cluster had an entire fleet to protect itself.
The cluster's fleet was extremely rag-tag, consisting mostly of freighters and auxiliaries with far too many additional weapons and systems shoe-horned into them. WYN Cluster ships were tenuous and required ridiculous amounts of maintenence to keep them spaceworthy, but they never had to venture far from a starbase. They also had the home field advantage. Any ship passing through the radiation shell was severely affected, and by the time they emerged from it, they were barely functional. This allowed the WYN's cobbled-together fleet to defend itself from the incursions of far-superior Klingon, Kzinti, and Lyran ships.
Eventually the WYN Cluster's three neighbors accepted that conquering it was mostly likely out of the question. The cluster took advantage of its neutrality and relative safety by opening trade with all three empires. Occasionally the Klingons, Lyrans, and Kzintis still made attempts to force their way into the cluster, but these were very rare since the cluster was well-defended, it usually angered their neighbors, and they did not want to jeopardize their lucrative trading with the cluster itself.
Almost no one knew of the Usurper's real plans that had been in motion for years. He(and later, his sons and grandsons) had been hoarding much of the cluster's wealth to build a fleet a true warships that would be used to return to the hegemony and finally take the throne. They quietly observed the General War, studying the ship designs of their neighbors, and improving on the them. This fleet was called the "Fish Ships" by the Federation, since their codenames for them were all the names of predatory terran fish. The fish ships were deadly and efficient warships, which eliminated the weaknesses present in many other races' older designs. After the General War ended, the Kzinti Hegemoney was left broken and exhausted by decades of warfare. This is when the Usurper struck.
The Usurper(or rather, one of his descendants; he himself had been dead for years) gathered up all the forces loyal to him, took his fish ships and left the cluster for good. Other individuals took over governing the cluster, but he would never return. The following civil war in the hegemony was brutal and not well-understood by the other races, who stayed out of it. The Federation was aware that it was happening, but when the dust cleared, they were not actually certain who the victor was. The Kzinti were not eager to talk about it either. Whether or not the Usurper still lives, his legacy remains in the WYN Cluster.
The model above is the largest of the Usurper's "fish ship" fleet, the Great White heavy cruiser. It's a combination of Kzinti, Lyran, Klingon, and Orion technology, which incorporates many of the advantages of each and few of the weaknesses.
Anyway, comments are appreciated, as always.
Unless you're familiar with the SFU, I'm pretty sure you have no idea what the WYN Cluster is. So here's a little background(for those interested in such things):
The WYN Cluster is a small power located at the intersection of the borders between the Klingon, Kzinti, and Lyran empires. The WYN Cluster was founded by a former Kzinti noble, known only as "The Usurper". He started a civil war within the Kzinti Hegemony in an attempt to claim the throne for himself. He and his followers were ultimately defeated, and after the final battle the surviving remnants of his fleet were on the run, pursued by the Kzinti fleet. They fled towards the WYN radiation cloud, and in a final act of suicidal defiance, dove in. The Kzinti fleet did not follow them, knowing the cloud was extremely dangerous and assuming the Usurper's forces to be dead.
But they survived. The WYN radiation cloud had never been explored. Probes did not survive long in it and it was assumed ships wouldn't either. But unbeknownst to all other empires, the cloud was hollow. The Usurper discovered this when his fleet emerged in open space, surrounded by multiple star systems rich in resources that no other beings knew about. He saw a unique opportunity before him: a chance to create his own sovereign nation that was well-protected by a powerful natural shield. The Usurper's forces settled down, and began slowly colonizing the cluster and harvesting its bountiful resources.
Word of the Usurper's new empire spread quickly, at first among pirates, smugglers, and other types who existed on the fringes of civilization. They flocked to the cluster, and the Usurper was quick to make deals with them for ships, personnel, and supplies in return for the cluster's resources and safe haven. By the time the larger empires became aware of its existence, the WYN Cluster had an entire fleet to protect itself.
The cluster's fleet was extremely rag-tag, consisting mostly of freighters and auxiliaries with far too many additional weapons and systems shoe-horned into them. WYN Cluster ships were tenuous and required ridiculous amounts of maintenence to keep them spaceworthy, but they never had to venture far from a starbase. They also had the home field advantage. Any ship passing through the radiation shell was severely affected, and by the time they emerged from it, they were barely functional. This allowed the WYN's cobbled-together fleet to defend itself from the incursions of far-superior Klingon, Kzinti, and Lyran ships.
Eventually the WYN Cluster's three neighbors accepted that conquering it was mostly likely out of the question. The cluster took advantage of its neutrality and relative safety by opening trade with all three empires. Occasionally the Klingons, Lyrans, and Kzintis still made attempts to force their way into the cluster, but these were very rare since the cluster was well-defended, it usually angered their neighbors, and they did not want to jeopardize their lucrative trading with the cluster itself.
Almost no one knew of the Usurper's real plans that had been in motion for years. He(and later, his sons and grandsons) had been hoarding much of the cluster's wealth to build a fleet a true warships that would be used to return to the hegemony and finally take the throne. They quietly observed the General War, studying the ship designs of their neighbors, and improving on the them. This fleet was called the "Fish Ships" by the Federation, since their codenames for them were all the names of predatory terran fish. The fish ships were deadly and efficient warships, which eliminated the weaknesses present in many other races' older designs. After the General War ended, the Kzinti Hegemoney was left broken and exhausted by decades of warfare. This is when the Usurper struck.
The Usurper(or rather, one of his descendants; he himself had been dead for years) gathered up all the forces loyal to him, took his fish ships and left the cluster for good. Other individuals took over governing the cluster, but he would never return. The following civil war in the hegemony was brutal and not well-understood by the other races, who stayed out of it. The Federation was aware that it was happening, but when the dust cleared, they were not actually certain who the victor was. The Kzinti were not eager to talk about it either. Whether or not the Usurper still lives, his legacy remains in the WYN Cluster.
The model above is the largest of the Usurper's "fish ship" fleet, the Great White heavy cruiser. It's a combination of Kzinti, Lyran, Klingon, and Orion technology, which incorporates many of the advantages of each and few of the weaknesses.
Anyway, comments are appreciated, as always.
