Jatok Fleet

There have been, in fact, two Jatok Fleets in history. The first was a colonial fleet under the command of Commander Ulysses Jatok which departed from Earth during the early colonial period. This fleet is most notable for its ships' use of optic flow, a quaint technology abandoned after the Jatok Fleet disappeared in Benthic Space. The only connection between this and the second Jatok Fleet is that Dr. Frank Jatok adopted the name of this missing fleet, and its courageous commander, in place of his original surname, a name sadly and ironically lost to history. The second Jatok Fleet was dispatched from the Jatok home world, the otherwise deserted planet where Frank Jatok had met his untimely end, during the first phase of the Orbital Wars, as part of the wider combined force raised by the Union after the [Qirel Encounter]?.

The Jatok Fleet was incredibly effective, proving to have the upper hand over all other combatants, both tactically and technologically. Despite being only one-eightieth the size of comparable human vessels, the Fleet's flagship, Battleship Jatok, was responsible for more than its fair share of casualties during the conflict. After the all-out assault on Hyperion Delta, the grand alliance stalled. With their mission completed and following Bifurcative Spacetime Strategy Theory, the Fleet reasoned that its first duty was to establish control of the Grey Zone, the most talked-about bit of Benthic Space. This proved to be tactical error (the Fleet's first and last), as the Fleet lost its bearings. Apparently sustaining damage from parties unknown, the Fleet was left without any communication with its home world. Although improvements in travel technology had lessened the effects of the Belated History Effect, with beings as short-lived as the Jatok a mere few decades separated from their home world meant many dozens of generations would pass. The Jatok had therefore equipped the Jatok fleet with inhibitors to prevent auto-evolution - a system which had worked well with Jatok's emissaries to the Union - but once communication with the home world was lost the Fleet soon over-came these inhibitors and began to auto-evolve.

During its time lost in Benthic Space, during the second phase of the war, the Jatok Fleet thus developed a radically different social structure and profound physical differences from the Jatok. As the Jatok home world would have it, in fact, the Jatok Fleet auto-devolved, those Jatok reverting to their original programming which Jatok claims to have long since evolved beyond. The reappearance of the Jatok Fleet marked the beginning of the third phase of the Orbital Wars. In line with their original programming, and refusing any directions from the Jatok, the Jatok Fleet spent the remaining phases of the war pillaging any ships that happened to cross their path. In many ways it was purely through the continued piracy of the Jatok Fleet that the Wars lasted as long as they did. The Fleet faced only one significant defeat, at the [Skirmish at Vhorm]?, until they were decisively routed at the Battle of [Rutt 5]?.