Theres no real mod going on. I'm no fredder, so I just keep creating ships
In another time.... and another universe.....
Nephilim scouting party invaded Confed space.
Midway managed to push them back and destroy the gate.
Confed and others started ramping up defense
Nephilim a few years latter with a much larger strike force through a new portal in a unused, out of the way jumpsystem and invade from there.
All three (confed, kil, border) take considerable damage
recon jumps through that portal and discsovers a second portal behind it
one strike group lead by ???? carrier jumps through portal and disables the second portal
severed from support and reenforcements the nephilim invasion party is ground into dust.
All three parties enter full war time production.
Confed starts reconning their newly acquired space (the area between the first portal and the destroyed one)
They come across an alien race thats been utterly destroyed by a nephilim battlegroup.
The aliens have considerably advanced tech but were so hopeless out-numbered.
Seeing how a treaty with them would be very advantagous, confed immedieately aligns with them and and start providing evacuation of the the few remaining civilians.
With this aliance comes massive improvements in ship building (hence the larger sizes), new weapon and armour technologies