What's the purpose of an ocean-based navy? I can understand a coast guard force and armed patrol craft for lifesaving and police duties, but what's the purpose of things like battleships and boomer subs? Are the worlds contested with other powers?
Much of the existing oceanic navies are held over from the Terran Empire and its allies, which saw massive levels of armed revolt and insurrection in the era preceding the Great War. The use of missile submarines and combat warships were there to deter or limit the attacks of organised rebels on certain worlds. Even after the war, these rebels didn't exactly go away.
In addition, there are a multitude of worlds the CGU rules as protectorates, rather than directly administrating, and sometimes the CGN is used as a force to deter any active resistance by the local inhabitants.
Mind, also, a coastal defence force only goes to a certain range. Beyond that, to deter piracy and smuggling on the open ocean, you'd need a wet navy.
And add to that, expeditionary warfare. If you're invading a planet, you don't want to leave the enemy's oceans free for them to use. Whether for transporting supplies or hosting missile subs for defence against invaders or for surface combatants armed with anti-satellite weapons. You have orbital artillery, yes, but that only goes for far--and has serious accuracy issues. To control the sea and establish nearby fire support and reconnaissance, you need hulls in the water. And even after the enemy garrison surrenders, what's to stop a bushwhacking force from launching attacks from the sea? Your orbital-dropped navy, that's what.
Now, the CGU does pare down on these a bit after the war. But there is a
massive Naval establishment, which is highly resistant to being downsized or having their funding cut. So they are going to argue, and have their allies in the legislature argue, as ferociously as possible for keeping their forces
exactly where they are. Even if the necessity is diminished in a postwar galaxy.
And also, have you designs for such warships?
Yes.
Yes yes but who are what are they used against. It's been my understanding that the CGU was the only game in town, so to speak.
Yes and no. In the Milky Way, the CGU is the biggest game in town and nominally rules the galaxy with an iron fist. But certain worlds are hotspots for rebel activity, remnant insurrections, and piracy. Add to that the aforementioned protectorates which are controlled rather than directly ruled. And not even close to half of the stars and worlds in the galaxy have been mapped, let alone explored.
Outside of the Milky Way...that's another matter. One of the main conflicts in the story is a massive expeditionary war of conquest in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
No prosthetics technologies?
Prosthetics can be removed, since they're usually hooked into a socket. And in this case, the guy likes to show off his injuries with pride. So he doesn't wear his arm for parades and the like.
And anyway, prosthetics aren't always as simple as all that. Even if you have an amputation, that doesn't mean you can get a prosthesis. It depends on the kind of surgery, how your limb responds to amputation, how your skin and tissue recovers, how it responds to the materials the prosthesis is made of. My wife is an amputee, and has a prosthetic leg, and believe me--it can be a very complicated process.
