Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)
- Thread starter LordSunhawk
- Start date
IceWing_mk1
Well-known member
[X] Split them between the NRR and NRI
Turn 71 - You'll Take My Life, But I'll Take Yours Too
Turn 71 - You’ll Take My Life, But I’ll Take Yours Too
You receive word that Gustavson has awakened, but he is in terrible condition and is not expected to live much longer. Only the assistance of Griffon medical care has allowed him to hold on as long as he has, he’s over 140 years old and it shows. His memory is spotty and when asked about the potential source for Drac reinforcements he starts to ramble about playing soccer with his brothers. You’d met him a few times, and seeing such a strong leader reduced to a doddering wreck is… sobering.
You do make it a point to go and visit, however, out of a sense of respect. Your mother comes along, and is rather embarrassed when the old man starts talking about just how fearsome she had been when he’d first met her and that she reminded him of his wife who’d died years before that first meeting. Oh, and that it was too damn bad she wasn’t twenty years older and still single or he’d have made a play.
Too. Much. Information. Although seeing mom sputtering like that was so worth it.
The Rasalhaguian Thing has been in constant session lately, with nobody really sure what to do when Gustavson is no longer around as a unifying figure. He has no obvious heir, as he never remarried nor had children.
Your mom comments that she’s very glad that she was able to retire, then promptly goes off on another vacation with dad, this time a safari tour of Calliope III. Well, at least she is enjoying her retirement more than you are enjoying being Emperor. Being Emperor sucks.
Speaking of family, your eldest son has been promoted to Brigadier General while remaining in command of a mech regiment assigned to the 4th Regimental Combat Team. The 4th is currently deployed to Nowa Warszawa as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. John is slated to take over the entire 4th RCT by the end of the year, as the current CO is rotating to command the Aerie.
Back at home a series of mineral strikes in the Nowy Wroclaw system have caused a surge of interest in the planet, boosting the local economy somewhat as mining companies set up claims and begin work.
A team of industrialists have approached the Crown as well. They would like to set up an industrial complex on Nowy Slask to build heavy and assault mechs and would like Crown investment and license for the project. Ordinarily this would be a task for the DoME, but these industrialists are prepared to underwrite the administration of the project if the Crown finances it. The resulting production lines would be operated by an industrial consortium from Nowy Slask that expects to make up their expenses in a decade.
Another group of industrialists has also approached the crown seeking investment funding in a scheme to build commercial factories on Nowy Slask to take advantage of the relatively cheap property costs. The industrialists will have to build an arcology in order to house the massive workforce that they are projecting, especially considering the planetary conditions, and are requesting the crown’s assistance with the project. The actual business model that they present seems sound enough, at least based on your remembered econ lessons and the input from the experts in the Interior Ministry.
You receive an HPG message from outside the network, identifying itself as coming from the Crimson Storm. They are contacting you to inform you that they have lost track of the Black Steel, the planet that they had been inhabiting is empty apart from some empty shells of buildings and their entire fleet has vanished. Considering that Black Steel are supposedly the most aggressive of the Amaris Pirate factions this is worrisome. The Crimson Storm doesn’t know if the Black Steel are heading towards you, towards the Inner Sphere, or somewhere else, they have no information in that regard.
The transmission also includes a possible force breakdown. A half dozen fully automated McKennas, four of which are completely new construction, four Farraguts that are likewise almost completely automated, requiring crews in the single digits, a dozen cruisers ranging from Avatar to Sovetskiy Soyuz class vessels, and almost 30 assorted lighter units, again every single one of them massively automated and upgraded. Most of the fleet are ‘new’ construction, or are complete frame-out rebuilds of existing ships.
Ordinary pirate attacks are continuing, you are losing an occasional fighter and taking bits of damage here and there but overall losses are low while the pirates are being thinned out. The frequency of attacks is dropping off, leading analysts to believe that the small bands that have been the most aggressive are nearly wiped out. The NRI concurs, pointing out that such lulls have occurred in the past and usually last a decade or so while the pirates build back up.
COINTEL had a bit of a busy February. They had detected signals intelligence that led them to believe that they might be on the trail of a possible espionage operation in Griff’s Leap. After several weeks, however, they discovered that it was a smuggling ring operating out of New Capricorn that was attempting to set up operations into the prison complex in Griff’s Leap to bring in contraband and smuggle out prisoners. A swift visit by the Special Branch puts an end to that operation.
There’s a slight bit of controversy, the young Takeda who is nominally the Tenno of the TTP has slipped an application to the Aerie past Siriwan. The young man has no interest in just being an idle figurehead, and while he greatly respects and loves his guardian, he wants to do something on his own. Siriwan is exasperated, because the teenager never asked her, she’d have been just fine with it, as a military education is something she believes would benefit the young man. You leave this situation in her capable hands, and a few days later get a memo repeating the request for admission, with a note asking that the young man be steered to a non-combat specialty.
There’s another economic slump in the Griffon system, the local markets are somewhat saturated and while there is some growth analysts point out that it is far below other systems in the Empire. The vehicle industry is particularly hard hit, primarily due to the explosive growth of Calliope Motors stealing market share from the established firms. They were caught out in the middle of a factory upgrade cycle in preparation for the next generation of vehicle models, a generation which is seeing lackluster at best sales. In simple terms, the established manufacturers were caught in the middle of a zig when they should have been zagging and it is hurting their numbers badly.
You expect things to even out, the major firms will be able to survive the slump and recover, but they’re currently grumbling and not hiring all that much, which is affecting the local economy badly. Quite a few workers are also furloughed while factories are being rebuilt, and that is causing further issues. You still are seeing some growth in the capital system, but it is far below the growth elsewhere.
This malaise has been going on for several years, and appears to have no one single cause, it just seems that the capital system is stumbling along while others are running. The system and planetary governments are equally frustrated, the business cycles just seem to be coming up ‘stagnant’ in the system, years when Griffin’s Roost has good growth, Nowy Gdansk has a recession that drags the entire system down, when both have a good year, Griffon IV, the Asteroid Belts and the Orbitals suffer a near depression and… drag the net down. Nothing seems to always go right at the same moment, but on the other hand things don’t all go wrong at the same time either.
Frustrating, but things should eventually even out on their own.
And great, now the Department of Periphery Studies has decided that Four Legs Good and are scooting around using arm extensions to be quadrupedal. You wouldn’t mind if they weren’t doing this around the Palace and keeping you awake at night. Your mom tolerated them, and they truly are harmless, but she was a deeper sleeper than you too, and even in the heart of the complex their bullhorns are audible. Making animal noises. Constantly.
You punch the pillow a few times, roll over, and finally manage to fall asleep. Hopefully you won’t dream tonight.
You receive word that Gustavson has awakened, but he is in terrible condition and is not expected to live much longer. Only the assistance of Griffon medical care has allowed him to hold on as long as he has, he’s over 140 years old and it shows. His memory is spotty and when asked about the potential source for Drac reinforcements he starts to ramble about playing soccer with his brothers. You’d met him a few times, and seeing such a strong leader reduced to a doddering wreck is… sobering.
You do make it a point to go and visit, however, out of a sense of respect. Your mother comes along, and is rather embarrassed when the old man starts talking about just how fearsome she had been when he’d first met her and that she reminded him of his wife who’d died years before that first meeting. Oh, and that it was too damn bad she wasn’t twenty years older and still single or he’d have made a play.
Too. Much. Information. Although seeing mom sputtering like that was so worth it.
The Rasalhaguian Thing has been in constant session lately, with nobody really sure what to do when Gustavson is no longer around as a unifying figure. He has no obvious heir, as he never remarried nor had children.
Your mom comments that she’s very glad that she was able to retire, then promptly goes off on another vacation with dad, this time a safari tour of Calliope III. Well, at least she is enjoying her retirement more than you are enjoying being Emperor. Being Emperor sucks.
Speaking of family, your eldest son has been promoted to Brigadier General while remaining in command of a mech regiment assigned to the 4th Regimental Combat Team. The 4th is currently deployed to Nowa Warszawa as part of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team. John is slated to take over the entire 4th RCT by the end of the year, as the current CO is rotating to command the Aerie.
Back at home a series of mineral strikes in the Nowy Wroclaw system have caused a surge of interest in the planet, boosting the local economy somewhat as mining companies set up claims and begin work.
A team of industrialists have approached the Crown as well. They would like to set up an industrial complex on Nowy Slask to build heavy and assault mechs and would like Crown investment and license for the project. Ordinarily this would be a task for the DoME, but these industrialists are prepared to underwrite the administration of the project if the Crown finances it. The resulting production lines would be operated by an industrial consortium from Nowy Slask that expects to make up their expenses in a decade.
| [] | Approve and Invest |
|
| [] | Disapprove |
|
Another group of industrialists has also approached the crown seeking investment funding in a scheme to build commercial factories on Nowy Slask to take advantage of the relatively cheap property costs. The industrialists will have to build an arcology in order to house the massive workforce that they are projecting, especially considering the planetary conditions, and are requesting the crown’s assistance with the project. The actual business model that they present seems sound enough, at least based on your remembered econ lessons and the input from the experts in the Interior Ministry.
| [] | Go for it |
|
| [] | What’s with all these investment opportunities? |
|
You receive an HPG message from outside the network, identifying itself as coming from the Crimson Storm. They are contacting you to inform you that they have lost track of the Black Steel, the planet that they had been inhabiting is empty apart from some empty shells of buildings and their entire fleet has vanished. Considering that Black Steel are supposedly the most aggressive of the Amaris Pirate factions this is worrisome. The Crimson Storm doesn’t know if the Black Steel are heading towards you, towards the Inner Sphere, or somewhere else, they have no information in that regard.
The transmission also includes a possible force breakdown. A half dozen fully automated McKennas, four of which are completely new construction, four Farraguts that are likewise almost completely automated, requiring crews in the single digits, a dozen cruisers ranging from Avatar to Sovetskiy Soyuz class vessels, and almost 30 assorted lighter units, again every single one of them massively automated and upgraded. Most of the fleet are ‘new’ construction, or are complete frame-out rebuilds of existing ships.
Ordinary pirate attacks are continuing, you are losing an occasional fighter and taking bits of damage here and there but overall losses are low while the pirates are being thinned out. The frequency of attacks is dropping off, leading analysts to believe that the small bands that have been the most aggressive are nearly wiped out. The NRI concurs, pointing out that such lulls have occurred in the past and usually last a decade or so while the pirates build back up.
COINTEL had a bit of a busy February. They had detected signals intelligence that led them to believe that they might be on the trail of a possible espionage operation in Griff’s Leap. After several weeks, however, they discovered that it was a smuggling ring operating out of New Capricorn that was attempting to set up operations into the prison complex in Griff’s Leap to bring in contraband and smuggle out prisoners. A swift visit by the Special Branch puts an end to that operation.
There’s a slight bit of controversy, the young Takeda who is nominally the Tenno of the TTP has slipped an application to the Aerie past Siriwan. The young man has no interest in just being an idle figurehead, and while he greatly respects and loves his guardian, he wants to do something on his own. Siriwan is exasperated, because the teenager never asked her, she’d have been just fine with it, as a military education is something she believes would benefit the young man. You leave this situation in her capable hands, and a few days later get a memo repeating the request for admission, with a note asking that the young man be steered to a non-combat specialty.
There’s another economic slump in the Griffon system, the local markets are somewhat saturated and while there is some growth analysts point out that it is far below other systems in the Empire. The vehicle industry is particularly hard hit, primarily due to the explosive growth of Calliope Motors stealing market share from the established firms. They were caught out in the middle of a factory upgrade cycle in preparation for the next generation of vehicle models, a generation which is seeing lackluster at best sales. In simple terms, the established manufacturers were caught in the middle of a zig when they should have been zagging and it is hurting their numbers badly.
You expect things to even out, the major firms will be able to survive the slump and recover, but they’re currently grumbling and not hiring all that much, which is affecting the local economy badly. Quite a few workers are also furloughed while factories are being rebuilt, and that is causing further issues. You still are seeing some growth in the capital system, but it is far below the growth elsewhere.
This malaise has been going on for several years, and appears to have no one single cause, it just seems that the capital system is stumbling along while others are running. The system and planetary governments are equally frustrated, the business cycles just seem to be coming up ‘stagnant’ in the system, years when Griffin’s Roost has good growth, Nowy Gdansk has a recession that drags the entire system down, when both have a good year, Griffon IV, the Asteroid Belts and the Orbitals suffer a near depression and… drag the net down. Nothing seems to always go right at the same moment, but on the other hand things don’t all go wrong at the same time either.
Frustrating, but things should eventually even out on their own.
And great, now the Department of Periphery Studies has decided that Four Legs Good and are scooting around using arm extensions to be quadrupedal. You wouldn’t mind if they weren’t doing this around the Palace and keeping you awake at night. Your mom tolerated them, and they truly are harmless, but she was a deeper sleeper than you too, and even in the heart of the complex their bullhorns are audible. Making animal noises. Constantly.
You punch the pillow a few times, roll over, and finally manage to fall asleep. Hopefully you won’t dream tonight.
SuperHeavy
Well-known member
We are going to have make like the Concordant and pump out nuclear weapons like it pennies from a mint. With those batteries of Heavy Naval Gauss those four battlewagons can batter our fixed defenses to nothing from an incredible range. Those NPPCs and at least 128 combined NAC/40s will be murderous to our dropship fleet. NAC/40s are noted for being able to disable even pocket warships in a single hit and those ships could be rebuilt along the lines of the Casper drones for more firepower.
VicSage
Carpenter, Cobbler, Chirugeon, Dataminer.
All these projects that lead to benefits with very little or no negative consequences makes me paranoid.
Time for the hunter to become the hunted. Mobile Defenestration Window vehicle.
Trashman.exe
Well-known member
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
Jarow
Well-known member
Yes! Want. DoME is basically negligible in our budget anyways, anything to let DoME run without costing us DoME slots is excellent
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
Thors_Alumni
Well-known member
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
darkcloudt2
Well-known member
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
[X] Approve and Invest
[X] Go for it
[X] Go for it
Given the extreme threat potential of an entire fleet of capital WarShips, the senior design staff at Majeure Electrique quietly approach Jeremy with an unsolicited proposal for what they believe is the only viable defense option: "Project Mordor", a series of 2.5-million ton military space stations crammed to the gills with the heaviest possible naval weapons. Unfortunately, their proposed design can't be started yet because it assumes successful development of not only the Navy's planned point defense subcapital misssiles and next-generation capital armor, but also a Griffonian version of the Drac's new "super capital missiles".
Majeure Electrique wants Jeremy's unofficial-official approval to proceed with planning and development of these new stations so that they can be laid down as soon as the projected technology is sufficiently finalized for design work.
Majeure Electrique wants Jeremy's unofficial-official approval to proceed with planning and development of these new stations so that they can be laid down as soon as the projected technology is sufficiently finalized for design work.
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