Fiction:Dawnstar Project

"Consider that we get our food and water from Andromeda, our fuel from Borealis, our machine parts from Mirus, our computer technology from the Milky Way. This wormhole is our gateway to Xonexi. All of our trade passes through it: hundreds of trillions of kilotons of cargo, billions of francs every week. It is our nation's greatest asset, but it is also its greatest weakness. If we lose it, we won't be able to function. Our enemies know that."

- Governor Michèle Bélanger of the Republic of Galactica, announcing the Dawnstar Project

The Dawnstar Defense Project is an military construction project launched in 2815 whose primary purpose is the fortification of the GITO wormhole in the Quadrant 82 Neutrality Zone. Funded primarily by the NZTO, the initiative coordinates the resources of the Galactican Ministry of Defense with those of defense contractors, stellar architecture firms, industrial concerns, and research outfits from all over the French Empire and associated economies and governments. Most notably, the Delpha Coalition of Planets is providing the lion's share of the experience and scientific and technical know-how, acting as a critical adviser and partner. The effort is currently in its exploratory and planning stages, though with geopolitical and military tensions mounting in the Neutrality Zone, the pressure is on for construction to begin.

The goal of the project is to generate and maintain a spherical wall of thick 'hyperspatial fog' around the wormhole which would make it significantly more difficult for an attacker to destroy. Such ambitious fortification projects using hyperspatial fog have been attempted in the past, a notable example being the Delphan Maelstrom during the Great Xonexian Schism. As such, the creation of such a structure lies well within the bounds of theoretical scientific knowledge, but has never been attempted within the French Empire. The challenge, therefore, is in bridging the gap between what science knows is possible and what French industry can pull off, requiring a concerted government-led push for French firms to develop those capabilities within a short amount of time.

While an array of plans to fortify the GITO wormhole existed on the shelf of the Galactican Ministry of Defense for almost as long as the wormhole itself existed, no single crisis seemed to call for such an intense investment of resources and labor. However, by the mid 2810's, Rambo Nation's posture towards the inhabitants of the Neutrality Zone had grown hostile to the point that it began building a ring of Starbases around its outer edges, fortifications which French planners fear could be used as launch-points for a future invasion. It has become clear that with the temperamental High King Rambert Ramerval on the throne, war is a likely scenario. In 2815, with the GITO wormhole undefended, it is assessed that a lone strike craft could singlehandedly bring the entire Neutrality Zone to its knees, providing Ramerval with plenty of incentive to go to war. The goal of the Dawnstar Project and the other Zone Defense Projects like it is to raise the cost and difficulty of attacking the Neutrality Zone to an unacceptable level. If the costs of attacking are too high, the theory goes, Rambert is unlikely to attempt it.

Trivia

 * In-universe
 * The Draconid Imperium was offered participation in the Dawnstar Project, but instead opted to maintain strict impartiality in the Quadrants, a position which it hopes to use to mediate between the Neutrality Zone and Rambo Nation.


 * Out-of-universe
 * The Dawnstar Project is a collaboration between Charles Murray and Wormulon with help from Ghelæ.