No. The Concordat is absolutely nuts, and in any case, allying with the Federated Commonwealth is the best shot at achieving peace in the Inner Sphere.
Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)
- Thread starter LordSunhawk
- Start date
No. The Concordat is absolutely nuts, and in any case, allying with the Federated Commonwealth is the best shot at achieving peace in the Inner Sphere.
Jarow
Well-known member
Perhaps they will. However, allying with them doesn't get us much - we want an alliance with the FedCom (or at least a... mutual aggression treaty? An agreement to work together against a mutual enemy, as opposed to a more generalized military cooperation) directed against the Dracs (and possibly Clans), neither of which are a real concern to the Taurians given their distance. Not that we're any closer, but we are a lot more involved.
Keep in mind though, that the local Drac's we beat by conquering Okusawa have absolutely no ties to the Dracs of the IS, so IC-ly we would not be in a position to assume that the Dracs we met are the same as the Dracs in the IS ... there might've been quite a bit of Cultural drift after all.
Jarow
Well-known member
The original Drac population is only just now dying off (okay, they're pretty well into it now, but Gustavson, the not-that-long-ago deceased leader of the NRR, was originally the head of the naval detachment sent from the IS). The ones that attacked us at the beginning of the quest came from the IS. There's definitely been some cultural drift (read: their leader was a complete madman and the population listened), but the population on Nowa Warzsawa probably wasn't that different when compared to the IS populace.
Skitzyfrenic
Well-known member
I thought the local dracs were part of Operation Bakkustabbu? Or did I miss the part where that was just the front for the madman?
The entire Drac presence in this region is all from Operation Bakkustabbu, with the NRR having rebelled against the local Drac leader (the self-styled Dragon) and created their own polity.
Jarow
Well-known member
So, a brief not-so-brief history of the local Dracs (previous version here):
-Coordinator (presumably Hugai Kurita from prisoner interrogations, but could be his father Shinjiro) gets a brilliant idea: send a detachment of military and industrial force out deep behind Davion lines to build up then hit the Davions from behind
-Detachment is collected:
--a Kurita (I'm going to guess a son or brother) for assuredly loyal leadership
--Mechwarriors from the Amphigean Light Assault Group
--DCA pulled from wherever you get non-Samurai (in this case, the Free Rasalhague movement. oops)
--ISF pulled from those politically significant but incompetent people the head of ISF couldn't get rid of (he didn't think the operation was going to succeed anyways. no reason not to keep the good intelligence people where they're useful. Oops)
-Planned operation is named Operation Bakkustabbu and is launched
-They reach a location near us, and decide it's the right time to settle down
--Nowa Warzsawa is conquered and made the capital of the Deep!Dracs
--We're attacked, and presumably show off a mixture of high military and low industry/population that convinces them to focus on more productive conquests. They can always come back to us later (Oops)
--Atarashi is conquered, and used for bioweapons research and asteroid mining
-We begin upteching and becoming something worth conquering
-Gustavson, head of their naval detachment, forms a peace deal with us
-Gustavson launches a rebellion, planning to turn Bakkustabbu against the Dracs so as to free Rasalhague
--They presumably have aerospace advantage, but extreme ground disadvantage
--They end up taking the planets now known as New Rasalhague and Gotland, but are slowly losing under not having the main industrial world
--The original Deep!Dragon dies. His son/grandson takes over (this is the guy we all know)
-Our industry now looks tempting and could be the way to finally defeat the Rasalhaguian rebellion. An attack is launched
--Attack fails catastrophically, giving us a way to leave our system
-We attack and successfully take Nowa Warzsawa
--Atarashi gets excited, launches it's own rebellion, dies horribly
-Current Deep!Dragon is now hiding on fortress world Okusawa
-Deep!Dragon's heir is lost in battle against us, he decides killing his daughter is part of the process of raising another of his children as heir (oops)
--Daughter rebels, taking even more of the remaining Combine fleet, along with Kuriosora and Sukiashi
-Combine gets the chance to relax for a while we focus on other things
--New Eden is found and used as a new source of slaves
-We turn our attention back to the Dracs, and drive the coordinator insane by winning space battles
--Navy is removed from existence
--New Eden is worse-than-Kentares-massacred
-We finally conquer Okusawa, ending the Drac threat in the deep periphery (except a few remaining insane ISF people and Combine loyalists)
-Coordinator (presumably Hugai Kurita from prisoner interrogations, but could be his father Shinjiro) gets a brilliant idea: send a detachment of military and industrial force out deep behind Davion lines to build up then hit the Davions from behind
-Detachment is collected:
--a Kurita (I'm going to guess a son or brother) for assuredly loyal leadership
--Mechwarriors from the Amphigean Light Assault Group
--DCA pulled from wherever you get non-Samurai (in this case, the Free Rasalhague movement. oops)
--ISF pulled from those politically significant but incompetent people the head of ISF couldn't get rid of (he didn't think the operation was going to succeed anyways. no reason not to keep the good intelligence people where they're useful. Oops)
-Planned operation is named Operation Bakkustabbu and is launched
-They reach a location near us, and decide it's the right time to settle down
--Nowa Warzsawa is conquered and made the capital of the Deep!Dracs
--We're attacked, and presumably show off a mixture of high military and low industry/population that convinces them to focus on more productive conquests. They can always come back to us later (Oops)
--Atarashi is conquered, and used for bioweapons research and asteroid mining
-We begin upteching and becoming something worth conquering
-Gustavson, head of their naval detachment, forms a peace deal with us
-Gustavson launches a rebellion, planning to turn Bakkustabbu against the Dracs so as to free Rasalhague
--They presumably have aerospace advantage, but extreme ground disadvantage
--They end up taking the planets now known as New Rasalhague and Gotland, but are slowly losing under not having the main industrial world
--The original Deep!Dragon dies. His son/grandson takes over (this is the guy we all know)
-Our industry now looks tempting and could be the way to finally defeat the Rasalhaguian rebellion. An attack is launched
--Attack fails catastrophically, giving us a way to leave our system
-We attack and successfully take Nowa Warzsawa
--Atarashi gets excited, launches it's own rebellion, dies horribly
-Current Deep!Dragon is now hiding on fortress world Okusawa
-Deep!Dragon's heir is lost in battle against us, he decides killing his daughter is part of the process of raising another of his children as heir (oops)
--Daughter rebels, taking even more of the remaining Combine fleet, along with Kuriosora and Sukiashi
-Combine gets the chance to relax for a while we focus on other things
--New Eden is found and used as a new source of slaves
-We turn our attention back to the Dracs, and drive the coordinator insane by winning space battles
--Navy is removed from existence
--New Eden is worse-than-Kentares-massacred
-We finally conquer Okusawa, ending the Drac threat in the deep periphery (except a few remaining insane ISF people and Combine loyalists)
Jarow
Well-known member
[X] Plan: Divine Honor
-[X] Procurement [$ 514,734,987.75 ]
--[X] Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $213,842,116.00 ] (95)
---[X] 40 Bainbridge [95]
---[X] 15 Queen [95]
---[X] 16 Trenton [95]
---[X] 30 Saipan [95]
--[X] Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $7,410,273.43 ] (75)
---[X] 4 Brig*
---[X] 10 Brig*
---[X] 7 Galleon [75]
--[X] Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $225,369,790.33 ] (80)
---[X] 3 Stilleto*
---[X] 14 Stilleto*
---[X] 5 Dart*
---[X] 6 Cleveland*
---[X] 10 Supply [80]
---[X] 10 Samuel B Roberts [80]
---[X] 1 Wichita [80]
---[X] 1 Erebus [80]
--[X] Purchase New Units [ $ 68,112,807.99 ] (90)
---[X] 0 Fighter Wing [auto]
---[X] 30 Heavy Carrier Wing [90]
---[X] 4 Training Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Armored Cavalry Regiment [90]
---[X] 4 Pathfinder Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Standard Mech Regiment [90]
---[X] 2 Assault Regiment [90]
---[X] 5 Garrison Mech Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Armored Regiment [90]
---[X] 4 Mechanized Regiment [90]
---[X] 6 Air Cavalry Regiment [90]
---[X] 6 Artillery Regiment [90]
---[X] 5 Mechanized Training Regiment [90]
-[X] General [$ 2,791,345,070.20 ]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Calliope Nadir* [auto]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station New Castor Zenith* [->1]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Okusawa Zenith* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower 2 Kuroisora* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Okusawa* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower New Castor* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower New Pollux [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope III [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope II [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope V [->3]
(All worlds must have at least one. Two would be better, but I'm trying to leave some room for the Black Tower project there's a design competition for in the discord)
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station New Pollux Zenith [->3]
(I think this is our only system without one)
--[X] Focus Development on Core World Nowa Warzsawa [65]
(General economic boost to one of our core worlds)
--[X] Focus Development on Peripheral World New Pollux [65]
--[X] Economic Investment New Pollux [85]
--[X] Economic Investment Edelsteine [85]
--[X] Economic Investment New Capricorn [85]
(General economic boosts to some of our more useful peripheral worlds)
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
(Our advisors want a lot more mechs, so a lot more mechs they will have. We can afford them.)
--[X] Cultural propaganda on Okusawa* [->7]
--[X] Basic Infrastructure Repair - Okusawa* [->6]
--[X] Implement Griffon legal code on Okusawa* [->6]
--[X] Set up framework for Okusawa system government* [->6]
--[X] Build ASF Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
(More ASFs is always useful)
--[X] Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn III* [~]
--[X] Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn IV* [~]
--[X] Upgrade Commercial Space Stations - ECP* [->8]
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
(Maximizes our commercial stations, which ensure we have more money)
--[X] Survey GX-K32 [75]
(Expansion requires surveying, as does finding pirates)
--[X] Build HPG Station New Pollux* [80]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Griffon [75]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Calliope [75]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Nowa Warzsawa [75]
(Light warships are the biggest we can make right now, so these yards are important)
--[X] Upgrade All Lamellar Ferro Carbide [75]
--[X] Upgrade All Ferro Aluminium Forges [75]
--[X] Upgrade All DHS Factories [75]
(I don't think any of these resources are really stretched, but better safe than sorry)
--[X] Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [100]
--[X] Construct Refit & Repair Yard New Pollux [105]
(More repair and refit ability is never a problem)
-[X] DoME [$ 3,770,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Construct O'Neill Cylinder Cluster in Griff's Leap* [75]
--[X] DOME - Megafactory Calliope [->4]
(Heavy mechs are important for ground forces, and this is the only way to get them. Also boosts economy, and is therefore useful)
--[X] Edelsteine Arcology & Terraforming* [->3]
--[X] Terraform Calliope II - Stage II* [->8]
--[X] DOME - Underwater City Griffon's Roost* [->5]
--[X] DOME - Pollution Scrubbing Towers* [->2]
--[X] DOME - Water Pollution Filtering* [->2]
--[X] DOME - Industrial Pollution Cleanup* [->2]
--[X] Terraform Calliope V - Stage II* [->2]
--[X] Continuing recovery work on Sukiashi* [->2]
-[X] Research [$ 1,865,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Advanced Naval Combat Doctrine [->9]
(Helps make winning naval battles a bit easier)
--[X] Exotic Genetic Enhancement* [->2]
--[X] Kraken-T Capital Missile* [65]
--[X] Industrial Mechs Lvl 7 [->1]
(Failing actions is always annoying, and we have a lot of actions this helps)
--[X] Terraforming Equipment Lvl 5 [->1]
(DoME is already pretty stressed, but maybe having better actions will make choosing easier)
--[X] Naval Laser/35 [->1]
--[X] Light Naval PPC [->1]
(There are supposedly capital energy weapon upgrades after we research all capital energy weapons)
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Theory IV* [->3]
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Design IV* [->3]
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Construction IV* [->3]
-[X] Miscellaneous [$ 83,339,424 ]
--[X] Peacekeeping [2,000,000][->?]
--[X] People Purchase [25,000,000]
--[X] Upgrades [83,339,424]
--[X] Better Carbide [2,000,000,000]
$11b leftover. Black Towers are going to be expensive though; should be a good use for our savings (assuming we get them next turn, as we expect).
-[X] Procurement [$ 514,734,987.75 ]
--[X] Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $213,842,116.00 ] (95)
---[X] 40 Bainbridge [95]
---[X] 15 Queen [95]
---[X] 16 Trenton [95]
---[X] 30 Saipan [95]
--[X] Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $7,410,273.43 ] (75)
---[X] 4 Brig*
---[X] 10 Brig*
---[X] 7 Galleon [75]
--[X] Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $225,369,790.33 ] (80)
---[X] 3 Stilleto*
---[X] 14 Stilleto*
---[X] 5 Dart*
---[X] 6 Cleveland*
---[X] 10 Supply [80]
---[X] 10 Samuel B Roberts [80]
---[X] 1 Wichita [80]
---[X] 1 Erebus [80]
--[X] Purchase New Units [ $ 68,112,807.99 ] (90)
---[X] 0 Fighter Wing [auto]
---[X] 30 Heavy Carrier Wing [90]
---[X] 4 Training Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Armored Cavalry Regiment [90]
---[X] 4 Pathfinder Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Standard Mech Regiment [90]
---[X] 2 Assault Regiment [90]
---[X] 5 Garrison Mech Regiment [90]
---[X] 3 Armored Regiment [90]
---[X] 4 Mechanized Regiment [90]
---[X] 6 Air Cavalry Regiment [90]
---[X] 6 Artillery Regiment [90]
---[X] 5 Mechanized Training Regiment [90]
-[X] General [$ 2,791,345,070.20 ]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Calliope Nadir* [auto]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station New Castor Zenith* [->1]
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Okusawa Zenith* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower 2 Kuroisora* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Okusawa* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower New Castor* [->1]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower New Pollux [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope III [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope II [->3]
--[X] Construct Silver Tower Calliope V [->3]
(All worlds must have at least one. Two would be better, but I'm trying to leave some room for the Black Tower project there's a design competition for in the discord)
--[X] Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station New Pollux Zenith [->3]
(I think this is our only system without one)
--[X] Focus Development on Core World Nowa Warzsawa [65]
(General economic boost to one of our core worlds)
--[X] Focus Development on Peripheral World New Pollux [65]
--[X] Economic Investment New Pollux [85]
--[X] Economic Investment Edelsteine [85]
--[X] Economic Investment New Capricorn [85]
(General economic boosts to some of our more useful peripheral worlds)
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
--[X] Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
(Our advisors want a lot more mechs, so a lot more mechs they will have. We can afford them.)
--[X] Cultural propaganda on Okusawa* [->7]
--[X] Basic Infrastructure Repair - Okusawa* [->6]
--[X] Implement Griffon legal code on Okusawa* [->6]
--[X] Set up framework for Okusawa system government* [->6]
--[X] Build ASF Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
(More ASFs is always useful)
--[X] Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn III* [~]
--[X] Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn IV* [~]
--[X] Upgrade Commercial Space Stations - ECP* [->8]
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
--[X] Build New Commercial Space Station
(Maximizes our commercial stations, which ensure we have more money)
--[X] Survey GX-K32 [75]
(Expansion requires surveying, as does finding pirates)
--[X] Build HPG Station New Pollux* [80]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Griffon [75]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Calliope [75]
--[X] Build Light Warship Yard Nowa Warzsawa [75]
(Light warships are the biggest we can make right now, so these yards are important)
--[X] Upgrade All Lamellar Ferro Carbide [75]
--[X] Upgrade All Ferro Aluminium Forges [75]
--[X] Upgrade All DHS Factories [75]
(I don't think any of these resources are really stretched, but better safe than sorry)
--[X] Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [100]
--[X] Construct Refit & Repair Yard New Pollux [105]
(More repair and refit ability is never a problem)
-[X] DoME [$ 3,770,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Construct O'Neill Cylinder Cluster in Griff's Leap* [75]
--[X] DOME - Megafactory Calliope [->4]
(Heavy mechs are important for ground forces, and this is the only way to get them. Also boosts economy, and is therefore useful)
--[X] Edelsteine Arcology & Terraforming* [->3]
--[X] Terraform Calliope II - Stage II* [->8]
--[X] DOME - Underwater City Griffon's Roost* [->5]
--[X] DOME - Pollution Scrubbing Towers* [->2]
--[X] DOME - Water Pollution Filtering* [->2]
--[X] DOME - Industrial Pollution Cleanup* [->2]
--[X] Terraform Calliope V - Stage II* [->2]
--[X] Continuing recovery work on Sukiashi* [->2]
-[X] Research [$ 1,865,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Advanced Naval Combat Doctrine [->9]
(Helps make winning naval battles a bit easier)
--[X] Exotic Genetic Enhancement* [->2]
--[X] Kraken-T Capital Missile* [65]
--[X] Industrial Mechs Lvl 7 [->1]
(Failing actions is always annoying, and we have a lot of actions this helps)
--[X] Terraforming Equipment Lvl 5 [->1]
(DoME is already pretty stressed, but maybe having better actions will make choosing easier)
--[X] Naval Laser/35 [->1]
--[X] Light Naval PPC [->1]
(There are supposedly capital energy weapon upgrades after we research all capital energy weapons)
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Theory IV* [->3]
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Design IV* [->3]
--[X] Advanced Compact Core Construction IV* [->3]
-[X] Miscellaneous [$ 83,339,424 ]
--[X] Peacekeeping [2,000,000][->?]
--[X] People Purchase [25,000,000]
--[X] Upgrades [83,339,424]
--[X] Better Carbide [2,000,000,000]
$11b leftover. Black Towers are going to be expensive though; should be a good use for our savings (assuming we get them next turn, as we expect).
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
[X] Plan: Divine Honor
Knowledgeispower
Ah I love the smell of missile spam in the morning
we have litteral mech sports. and yes that includes mech football and soccer
darkcloudt2
Well-known member
[X] Plan: Divine Honor
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X] Plan: Divine Honor
Turn 79 - I've Been Everywhere Man
Turn 79 - I’ve Been Everywhere Man
-----
December begins with a bang. Literally. The R&D station in the Inner Asteroid Belt where the Kraken-T research has been wrapping up has exploded in a titanic fireball, the cause of which is still uncertain. It appears to have been a truly catastrophic accident with the test missiles, but nobody is sure because the heavily armored station has been utterly annihilated.
The worst part about it is that General Karin Stewart and Dr Anna Bryant were both on board to oversee the final tests in what should have been a triumphant completion of the project. In one fell swoop you have lost your military and research advisor at the same time you are needing to replace your Interior and Diplomatic advisors.
The best that can be reconstructed from the accident is that the testbed Kraken-T magazine had ‘catastrophically detonated’, which in turn had detonated the station's own fuel tanks as well as the anti-missile magazines carried for last-ditch defense. Several other experimental pieces of ordnance were also on board, including some early prototypes of new Naval Autocannon shells and such, and those had clearly contributed to the explosion.
The entire R&D team is dead, the labs are destroyed, most of the data on the Kraken-T project has either been destroyed or is considered highly suspect since nobody is sure what went wrong. Intelligence and the Special Branch both report that there is absolutely no sign of any foul play.
Rebuilding the lab and recruiting a replacement R&D team is possible, but would be either exceptionally expensive or take some time. Qualified engineers and researchers at this level do not grow on trees, after all, and luring them away from well-paid work in the private sector would be expensive, and training fresh talent up from scratch would take time.
You also have advisors to replace. For the military you have two different angles you could take. You have three perfectly qualified branch commanders available that you’ve worked with and are very familiar with. You have complete confidence in all three of them, even with their foibles and such. Or you could promote one of your two Corps Commanders to the position, as they are the highest ranked officers who aren’t already heads of a service branch and would be acceptable to all involved.
For the Research advisor position you have a variety of choices.
Dr Richard Whitehead is the current interim head of the department, having served as Dr Bryant’s deputy since she took the position initially. Has a reputation as a straight-shooter but has never been a leader, rather always being a deputy or assistant.
Dr Jessica Glen is a medical researcher with an excellent reputation. She holds multiple doctorates in various biological sciences in addition to her M.D. and still occasionally covers emergency room shifts at a local trauma center here in Griffsport when her other duties permit. Is willing to take the position on a short-term basis, but comes very highly recommended.
Dr Mitsuhara Kurihara is a KF and quantum physicist, with a reputation for being the ‘absent minded genius’ who is easily distracted yet undeniably brilliant. Much of the underlying theorycraft used in your development of KF drives and HPGs has been the result of his work. He’d not be the most efficient administrator, but he does have a gift for hiring skilled assistants to cover his weak spots in that regard and is quite self-aware enough to know of his issues keeping focused.
Grace Rivas has never allowed anybody to call her ‘doctor’ twice, she feels that since she isn’t an MD she doesn’t deserve the title. This despite the fact that she has six Ph.Ds in fields ranging from electrical engineering to chemistry to computer science to mechanical and civil engineering. She is also the youngest of the candidates to replace Dr Bryant.
Dr Luke Stevens is a senior administrator for the R&D teams and has a solid reputation in that role, however he is known to be somewhat abrasive towards those who don’t measure up to his incredibly exacting standards.
(QM Note - when I rolled the severity of the critical failure that led to this, if I had rolled any higher Jeremy would have been on the research station when it exploded and we’d have a new Empress)
Finally in the personnel department you need to select replacements for Bridget and Isoroku as they retire.
In far more positive news, the Miranda you had sent out to search for the Free Folk has returned, accompanied by a badly damaged Free Folk Tramp that has seen far better days. A group of pirates had captured and enslaved the Free Folk and the expedition had decided that this just wasn’t cricket, attacked the pirate base, freed the Free Folk, recovered their ship before the pirates could get done with it, wiped out said pirates in the process, made field repairs using the facilities at the base, destroyed the base to deny it to any other little pirate bands out here, and have no returned. Frankly, the entire thing reads like a pulp adventure story out of the distant past.
Both the Tramp and the Miranda are currently in the repair yard. The media is having a field day over it all. The pirates in question apparently were an offshoot of the various groups that had been plaguing the NRI for so long.
The massive economic investment and focused development has seen great dividends, significantly boosting the local economies of the systems in question. New Pollux in particular has seen a massive boost in economic growth thanks to all the attention it has received, both in terms of commercial investment but also all of the new factories that have been built there.
More good news comes from the survey of GX-K32. On a hunch the survey commander had requested that the IGN provide a heavy warship escort for the survey which proved to be very wise indeed. Two Fletcher class destroyers and a Dart light cruiser fresh from the refit yards swept through the system along with the survey Miranda. The place was crawling with small bands of pirates, none of whom had any jumpships to their name and all of whom were fighting with each other when you arrived.
The fleet rather quickly put an end to most of the nonsense and in the process gained some valuable intelligence on these pirate groups and how they organized, grew, and operated.
This particular system, dubbed New Port Royal by the locals, had been one of the ‘two great ports’ of the pirate bands. There are actually four habitable worlds in the system, although one of them earns that status on a technicality and another is an incredibly unpleasant place indeed unless you like 99% humidity and temperatures between 37 and 54 degrees celsius.
The vast majority of people in the system were actually incredibly happy to see you, even many of the ‘pirate bands’ that were fighting were not nearly as hostile as expected. Some were, to be fair, but for every band that was aggressive, two or three others weren’t.
According to the reports, this is because of how the ‘culture’ here works. The largest and most powerful pirate bands had settled this place centuries ago, raiding the NRI heavily, along with other, less established, states in the region, most of which have been destroyed. They practices mass slavery, bringing in captives from their raids and using them as chattel labor. However, if a slave managed to either escape or kill their ‘owner’, to those older bands this was ‘proof’ that they were ‘worthy’, at least of a degree of freedom. Those ex-slaves would be branded across the face and driven out into the wilderness. Over time bands of the ‘branded’ would form and begin raiding the pirate settlements for supplies, eventually becoming new bands of pirates in their own right and continuing the cycle. They kept up the same traditions as their progenitors, even as the older bands were either picked to death, wiped out by the NRI or other threats, or vanished into the depths of space in pursuit of new opportunities.
About fifteen or so years ago the largest remaining bands had started to gather up their forces, resources, and chattel and began migrating away from the Ports. The most aggressive of the small bands had tried to take their place via aggressive raiding of the NRI and you, mostly being wiped out in the process, leaving even smaller bands to fight over resources and try and gain enough strength to take over.
This system had seen a Black Steel raid a few years back, a pair of Vincents had attacked and had eventually been overwhelmed by various bands managing to work together, although none of said bands had survived themselves as they’d been so weakened that others had torn them apart.
At this point the vast majority of the population of the system are long term ‘slaves’ whos masters had wiped themselves out in the in-fighting, small bands of ex-slaves battling among themselves for dominance, a few surviving pirate bands who’d mostly wiped themselves out attacking your expedition, and that was pretty much that. According to the expedition CO, as far as they can tell none of the actual ‘pirates’ are left. The locals are quite cheerful about this and have loudly proclaimed the expedition to be the ‘new big boss’ in the system. The CO is requesting instructions.
The new commercial stations have been built, boosting commerce in the Empire. Likewise the New Pollux HPG station is fully online.
The small warship yards in the core systems have been expanded, increasing your available slips for future production. In addition the Refit & Repair network has expanded, giving you ever greater support for your growing navy.
Lamellar Ferro-Carbide, Ferro-Aluminum and DHS orbital factories have all been upgraded yet again, increasing production significantly.
The O’Neill Cylinder cluster in Griff’s Leap has been inaugurated, with over a hundred new stations brought online with a single flick of a switch to allow for significant population growth in the otherwise uninhabitable system. Prudently, none of the new stations are anywhere near the prison complex, which would have been rather awkward indeed.
The first unit of the Wichita class heavy cruisers is progressing much faster than expected and should be completed a year ahead of schedule. Otherwise the entire naval building program for the year is progressing quite well, on budget and on schedule. You like it when the only surprises in a program are good ones. Likewise Army and Aerospace procurement is all fully on track, with the new units coming into service as planned.
| Meta Event | 17 | |
| Dynasty Luck | 52 | |
| Successes | ||
| Imperial Approval | 0 | |
| Approval Change | -3 | |
| Political Event | -2 | |
| Successes | ||
| Imperial Economy | 1 | |
| Economic Event | 3 | |
| Research Event | 5 | |
| Griffon | Econ | 0 |
| Health | 0 | |
| Event | 1 | |
| Nowa Warszawa | Econ | 6 |
| Health | 0 | |
| Event | 4 | |
| Calliope IV | Econ | 3 |
| Health | 0 | |
| Event | 3 | |
| TTP | Econ | 5 |
| Health | -2 | |
| Event | -3 | |
| New Capricorn | Econ | 2 |
| Health | 2 | |
| Event | 2 | |
| Nowy Śląsk | Econ | 5 |
| Health | 0 | |
| Event | 0 | |
| Edelsteine | Econ | 0 |
| Health | 1 | |
| Event | 4 | |
| Nowy Wroclaw | Econ | -1 |
| Health | -1 | |
| Event | 0 | |
| Griff's Leap | Econ | 4 |
| Health | ||
| Event | 3 | |
| New Phoenix | Econ | 0 |
| Health | 5 | |
| Event | 0 | |
| New Eden | Econ | 2 |
| Health | 0 | |
| Event | 4 | |
| New Castor | Econ | 5 |
| Health | 3 | |
| Event | 4 | |
| Okusawa | Econ | 2 |
| Health | 1 | |
| Event | 0 | |
| New Pollux | Econ | 3 |
| Health | 3 | |
| Event | 10 |
Plan: Divine Honor
- Procurement [$ 514,734,987.75 ]
-- Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $213,842,116.00 ] (95)
--- 40 Bainbridge [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 95
Result - SUCCESS
--- 15 Queen [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS
--- 16 Trenton [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS
--- 30 Saipan [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 85
Result - SUCCESS
-- Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $7,410,273.43 ] (75)
--- 7 Galleon [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 39
Result - SUCCESS
-- Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $225,369,790.33 ] (80)
--- 10 Supply [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 76
Result - SUCCESS
--- 10 Samuel B Roberts [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 78
Result - SUCCESS
--- 1 Wichita [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 1
Result – Critical SUCCESS
--- 1 Erebus [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 77
Result - SUCCESS
-- Purchase New Units [ $ 68,112,807.99 ] (90)
--- 30 Heavy Carrier Wing [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 86
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Training Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 63
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Armored Cavalry Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 49
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Pathfinder Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 47
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Standard Mech Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 70
Result - SUCCESS
--- 2 Assault Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 66
Result - SUCCESS
--- 5 Garrison Mech Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 53
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Armored Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 40
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Mechanized Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 64
Result - SUCCESS
--- 6 Air Cavalry Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 68
Result - SUCCESS
--- 6 Artillery Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 45
Result - SUCCESS
--- 5 Mechanized Training Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 89
Result - SUCCESS
- General [$ 2,791,345,070.20 ]
-- Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Calliope Nadir* [auto]
-- Focus Development on Core World Nowa Warzsawa [65]
Target - 65
Roll - 48
Result - SUCCESS
-- Focus Development on Peripheral World New Pollux [65]
Target - 65
Roll - 29
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment New Pollux [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 54
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment Edelsteine [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 14
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment New Capricorn [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 53
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 89
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 8
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 7
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 58
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build ASF Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 75
Result - SUCCESS
-- Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn III* [~]
-- Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn IV* [~]
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 46
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 8
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll – 96, Jarow reroll - 4
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 25
Result - SUCCESS
-- Survey GX-K32 [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 31
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build HPG Station New Pollux* [80]
Target - 80
Roll – 93, Event reroll - 56
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Griffon [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Calliope [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 65
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Nowa Warzsawa [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 15
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All Lamellar Ferro Carbide [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 35
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All Ferro Aluminium Forges [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 44
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All DHS Factories [75]
Target - 75
Roll – 90, Event reroll – 89, Event reroll - 15
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [100]
Target - 100
Roll - 87
Result - SUCCESS
-- Construct Refit & Repair Yard New Pollux [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 17
Result - SUCCESS
- DoME [$ 3,770,000,000.00 ]
-- Construct O'Neill Cylinder Cluster in Griff's Leap* [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS
- Research [$ 1,865,000,000.00 ]
-- Kraken-T Capital Missile* [65]
Target - 65
Roll – 80, ShadowArxxy reroll - 100
Result -Critical FAILURE
- Procurement [$ 514,734,987.75 ]
-- Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $213,842,116.00 ] (95)
--- 40 Bainbridge [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 95
Result - SUCCESS
--- 15 Queen [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS
--- 16 Trenton [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS
--- 30 Saipan [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 85
Result - SUCCESS
-- Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $7,410,273.43 ] (75)
--- 7 Galleon [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 39
Result - SUCCESS
-- Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $225,369,790.33 ] (80)
--- 10 Supply [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 76
Result - SUCCESS
--- 10 Samuel B Roberts [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 78
Result - SUCCESS
--- 1 Wichita [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 1
Result – Critical SUCCESS
--- 1 Erebus [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 77
Result - SUCCESS
-- Purchase New Units [ $ 68,112,807.99 ] (90)
--- 30 Heavy Carrier Wing [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 86
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Training Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 63
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Armored Cavalry Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 49
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Pathfinder Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 47
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Standard Mech Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 70
Result - SUCCESS
--- 2 Assault Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 66
Result - SUCCESS
--- 5 Garrison Mech Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 53
Result - SUCCESS
--- 3 Armored Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 40
Result - SUCCESS
--- 4 Mechanized Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 64
Result - SUCCESS
--- 6 Air Cavalry Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 68
Result - SUCCESS
--- 6 Artillery Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 45
Result - SUCCESS
--- 5 Mechanized Training Regiment [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 89
Result - SUCCESS
- General [$ 2,791,345,070.20 ]
-- Construct Oasis II Heavy Recharge Station Calliope Nadir* [auto]
-- Focus Development on Core World Nowa Warzsawa [65]
Target - 65
Roll - 48
Result - SUCCESS
-- Focus Development on Peripheral World New Pollux [65]
Target - 65
Roll - 29
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment New Pollux [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 54
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment Edelsteine [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 14
Result - SUCCESS
-- Economic Investment New Capricorn [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 53
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 89
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 8
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 7
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Mech Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 58
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build ASF Factory Complex New Pollux [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 75
Result - SUCCESS
-- Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn III* [~]
-- Broadcast Propaganda to Nya Kopenhamn IV* [~]
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 46
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 8
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll – 96, Jarow reroll - 4
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build New Commercial Space Station
Target - 80
Roll - 25
Result - SUCCESS
-- Survey GX-K32 [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 31
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build HPG Station New Pollux* [80]
Target - 80
Roll – 93, Event reroll - 56
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Griffon [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Calliope [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 65
Result - SUCCESS
-- Build Light Warship Yard Nowa Warzsawa [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 15
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All Lamellar Ferro Carbide [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 35
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All Ferro Aluminium Forges [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 44
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade All DHS Factories [75]
Target - 75
Roll – 90, Event reroll – 89, Event reroll - 15
Result - SUCCESS
-- Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [100]
Target - 100
Roll - 87
Result - SUCCESS
-- Construct Refit & Repair Yard New Pollux [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 17
Result - SUCCESS
- DoME [$ 3,770,000,000.00 ]
-- Construct O'Neill Cylinder Cluster in Griff's Leap* [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS
- Research [$ 1,865,000,000.00 ]
-- Kraken-T Capital Missile* [65]
Target - 65
Roll – 80, ShadowArxxy reroll - 100
Result -Critical FAILURE
-----
December begins with a bang. Literally. The R&D station in the Inner Asteroid Belt where the Kraken-T research has been wrapping up has exploded in a titanic fireball, the cause of which is still uncertain. It appears to have been a truly catastrophic accident with the test missiles, but nobody is sure because the heavily armored station has been utterly annihilated.
The worst part about it is that General Karin Stewart and Dr Anna Bryant were both on board to oversee the final tests in what should have been a triumphant completion of the project. In one fell swoop you have lost your military and research advisor at the same time you are needing to replace your Interior and Diplomatic advisors.
The best that can be reconstructed from the accident is that the testbed Kraken-T magazine had ‘catastrophically detonated’, which in turn had detonated the station's own fuel tanks as well as the anti-missile magazines carried for last-ditch defense. Several other experimental pieces of ordnance were also on board, including some early prototypes of new Naval Autocannon shells and such, and those had clearly contributed to the explosion.
The entire R&D team is dead, the labs are destroyed, most of the data on the Kraken-T project has either been destroyed or is considered highly suspect since nobody is sure what went wrong. Intelligence and the Special Branch both report that there is absolutely no sign of any foul play.
Rebuilding the lab and recruiting a replacement R&D team is possible, but would be either exceptionally expensive or take some time. Qualified engineers and researchers at this level do not grow on trees, after all, and luring them away from well-paid work in the private sector would be expensive, and training fresh talent up from scratch would take time.
| [] | Action | Pro | Con | Effects |
| [] | Emergency replacement and recruitment | The entire basis of our superiority has been our technology and R&D advantage. Losing a research lab is catastrophic and the faster we replace it the better | We still have 9 teams available and can be patient with replacing this one. Better to save the resources for other projects than frivolously spend them needlessly |
|
| [] | Rebuild over time | We have 9 active R&D teams. Yes the loss of one hurts us, but it is not a catastrophe. Taking time to replace them won’t hurt us in the long run, spending too much money could. | Slowing down the pace of R&D would be a critical mistake. Our entire strategy is based on our R&D advantage, let’s not risk it now |
|
You also have advisors to replace. For the military you have two different angles you could take. You have three perfectly qualified branch commanders available that you’ve worked with and are very familiar with. You have complete confidence in all three of them, even with their foibles and such. Or you could promote one of your two Corps Commanders to the position, as they are the highest ranked officers who aren’t already heads of a service branch and would be acceptable to all involved.
| [] | Name | Commentary |
| [] | Gen. Leeroy Jenkins | Your current IGA CO and a long time colleague, you’ve trusted him with your life on multiple occasions and he’s never let you down despite his joking demeanor. |
| [] | Gen. Penelope Romanov | The current CO of the IGAF. Of the three current service heads you have the least experience with her, but she’s been a solid officer who has an excellent service record |
| [] | Admiral Thanh Griffith | Your sister and the current head of the IGN. Also the current record holder for ‘Most times thrown through the Tyler Lee Memorial Window of Defenestration’ |
| [] | Gen. Frank English | Current CO of 1st Corps, was the field commander for the conquest of Okusawa. Very steady man who came up through the Infantry rather than Mech branch. Is somewhat notorious for not having a working sense of humor. |
| [] | Gen. Anne Bradley | Current CO of 2nd Corps, is currently overseeing the occupation of Okusawa. Very calm individual with a strong reputation for innovative strategic thinking. |
For the Research advisor position you have a variety of choices.
Dr Richard Whitehead is the current interim head of the department, having served as Dr Bryant’s deputy since she took the position initially. Has a reputation as a straight-shooter but has never been a leader, rather always being a deputy or assistant.
Dr Jessica Glen is a medical researcher with an excellent reputation. She holds multiple doctorates in various biological sciences in addition to her M.D. and still occasionally covers emergency room shifts at a local trauma center here in Griffsport when her other duties permit. Is willing to take the position on a short-term basis, but comes very highly recommended.
Dr Mitsuhara Kurihara is a KF and quantum physicist, with a reputation for being the ‘absent minded genius’ who is easily distracted yet undeniably brilliant. Much of the underlying theorycraft used in your development of KF drives and HPGs has been the result of his work. He’d not be the most efficient administrator, but he does have a gift for hiring skilled assistants to cover his weak spots in that regard and is quite self-aware enough to know of his issues keeping focused.
Grace Rivas has never allowed anybody to call her ‘doctor’ twice, she feels that since she isn’t an MD she doesn’t deserve the title. This despite the fact that she has six Ph.Ds in fields ranging from electrical engineering to chemistry to computer science to mechanical and civil engineering. She is also the youngest of the candidates to replace Dr Bryant.
Dr Luke Stevens is a senior administrator for the R&D teams and has a solid reputation in that role, however he is known to be somewhat abrasive towards those who don’t measure up to his incredibly exacting standards.
| [] | Dr Richard Whitehead |
| [] | Dr Jessica Glen |
| [] | Dr Mitsuhara Kurihara |
| [] | Grace Rivas |
| [] | Dr Luke Stephens |
Finally in the personnel department you need to select replacements for Bridget and Isoroku as they retire.
| [] | Interior Replacement | Commentary |
| [] | Ethan Phillips | Current deputy minister of the department, in most ways Bridget’s diametric opposite. Very focused and rather boring but quite efficient |
| [] | Elizabeth Lee | She’s a cousin of yours, another great great grandchild of Tyler Lee. Only in her 30s, she’s already built her own orbital infrastructure services company from the ground up into a multi-billion dollar concern before shifting to the public sector and working with the interior department as a consultant for the past 5 years. |
| [] | Dr. Darryl Rhodes | Current head of DoME, a brilliant engineer and terraforming specialist. Was the chief designer of the current generation of pollution control equipment being rolled out on Okusawa and has an excellent reputation within the department |
| [] | Mia Wieder | The Chief Operations Officer of Majeure Electrique with an excellent background in facilities management and development. The accountants there are begging you to select somebody else while the chief designer is begging you to hire her, both on the grounds that she seems to be the only person able to control said chief designer. |
| [] | Dean Thomas Grabski | The current head of the business school at Griffin’s Roost University, has a long and distinguished academic and business career, primarily in the financial services sector. |
| [] | Foreign Minister replacement | Commentary |
| [] | Jon Addams | Your current ambassador to the NRI. A career foreign service professional with a distinguished resume. |
| [] | Moshe Reznick | Your current ambassador to the NRR. A retired Colonel in the IGA, has an excellent relationship with the current NRR leadership |
| [] | Celina Nowicki | The current head of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Isoroku’s current deputy minister. Has been with the ministry her entire career, almost exclusively in cultural affairs. |
| [] | Dr. Leila Teitelbaum | The dean of the International Relations program at GRU, previously served as ambassador to the NRR and was a critical part of the diplomatic team that worked with the Crimson Storm. |
| [] | Peter Nusbaum | A bit of a dark horse, an academic with a history of being highly critical of the Empire’s focus on military expansion at the expense of diplomatic relations. |
In far more positive news, the Miranda you had sent out to search for the Free Folk has returned, accompanied by a badly damaged Free Folk Tramp that has seen far better days. A group of pirates had captured and enslaved the Free Folk and the expedition had decided that this just wasn’t cricket, attacked the pirate base, freed the Free Folk, recovered their ship before the pirates could get done with it, wiped out said pirates in the process, made field repairs using the facilities at the base, destroyed the base to deny it to any other little pirate bands out here, and have no returned. Frankly, the entire thing reads like a pulp adventure story out of the distant past.
Both the Tramp and the Miranda are currently in the repair yard. The media is having a field day over it all. The pirates in question apparently were an offshoot of the various groups that had been plaguing the NRI for so long.
The massive economic investment and focused development has seen great dividends, significantly boosting the local economies of the systems in question. New Pollux in particular has seen a massive boost in economic growth thanks to all the attention it has received, both in terms of commercial investment but also all of the new factories that have been built there.
More good news comes from the survey of GX-K32. On a hunch the survey commander had requested that the IGN provide a heavy warship escort for the survey which proved to be very wise indeed. Two Fletcher class destroyers and a Dart light cruiser fresh from the refit yards swept through the system along with the survey Miranda. The place was crawling with small bands of pirates, none of whom had any jumpships to their name and all of whom were fighting with each other when you arrived.
The fleet rather quickly put an end to most of the nonsense and in the process gained some valuable intelligence on these pirate groups and how they organized, grew, and operated.
This particular system, dubbed New Port Royal by the locals, had been one of the ‘two great ports’ of the pirate bands. There are actually four habitable worlds in the system, although one of them earns that status on a technicality and another is an incredibly unpleasant place indeed unless you like 99% humidity and temperatures between 37 and 54 degrees celsius.
The vast majority of people in the system were actually incredibly happy to see you, even many of the ‘pirate bands’ that were fighting were not nearly as hostile as expected. Some were, to be fair, but for every band that was aggressive, two or three others weren’t.
According to the reports, this is because of how the ‘culture’ here works. The largest and most powerful pirate bands had settled this place centuries ago, raiding the NRI heavily, along with other, less established, states in the region, most of which have been destroyed. They practices mass slavery, bringing in captives from their raids and using them as chattel labor. However, if a slave managed to either escape or kill their ‘owner’, to those older bands this was ‘proof’ that they were ‘worthy’, at least of a degree of freedom. Those ex-slaves would be branded across the face and driven out into the wilderness. Over time bands of the ‘branded’ would form and begin raiding the pirate settlements for supplies, eventually becoming new bands of pirates in their own right and continuing the cycle. They kept up the same traditions as their progenitors, even as the older bands were either picked to death, wiped out by the NRI or other threats, or vanished into the depths of space in pursuit of new opportunities.
About fifteen or so years ago the largest remaining bands had started to gather up their forces, resources, and chattel and began migrating away from the Ports. The most aggressive of the small bands had tried to take their place via aggressive raiding of the NRI and you, mostly being wiped out in the process, leaving even smaller bands to fight over resources and try and gain enough strength to take over.
This system had seen a Black Steel raid a few years back, a pair of Vincents had attacked and had eventually been overwhelmed by various bands managing to work together, although none of said bands had survived themselves as they’d been so weakened that others had torn them apart.
At this point the vast majority of the population of the system are long term ‘slaves’ whos masters had wiped themselves out in the in-fighting, small bands of ex-slaves battling among themselves for dominance, a few surviving pirate bands who’d mostly wiped themselves out attacking your expedition, and that was pretty much that. According to the expedition CO, as far as they can tell none of the actual ‘pirates’ are left. The locals are quite cheerful about this and have loudly proclaimed the expedition to be the ‘new big boss’ in the system. The CO is requesting instructions.
| [] | Action | Effects | Result |
| [] | Griffon Empire Will Grow Larger | Send in a Corps to fully pacify the system, claim it for the Empire, set up an actual civil government, and begin the process of introducing the concept of ‘rule of law’ to these people. |
|
| [] | Nation building for fun and profit | Making them part of the Empire is too much trouble considering the high likelihood of this being a criminal mecca. Send in light occupation forces and attempt to work with the locals to help them establish themselves as a hopefully friendly neighbor. |
|
The new commercial stations have been built, boosting commerce in the Empire. Likewise the New Pollux HPG station is fully online.
The small warship yards in the core systems have been expanded, increasing your available slips for future production. In addition the Refit & Repair network has expanded, giving you ever greater support for your growing navy.
Lamellar Ferro-Carbide, Ferro-Aluminum and DHS orbital factories have all been upgraded yet again, increasing production significantly.
The O’Neill Cylinder cluster in Griff’s Leap has been inaugurated, with over a hundred new stations brought online with a single flick of a switch to allow for significant population growth in the otherwise uninhabitable system. Prudently, none of the new stations are anywhere near the prison complex, which would have been rather awkward indeed.
The first unit of the Wichita class heavy cruisers is progressing much faster than expected and should be completed a year ahead of schedule. Otherwise the entire naval building program for the year is progressing quite well, on budget and on schedule. You like it when the only surprises in a program are good ones. Likewise Army and Aerospace procurement is all fully on track, with the new units coming into service as planned.
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X] Emergency replacement and recruitment
[X] Griffon Empire Will Grow Larger
[X] Griffon Empire Will Grow Larger
Thors_Alumni
Well-known member
[X] Emergency replacement and recruitment
[X] Griffon Empire Will Grow Larger
[X] Griffon Empire Will Grow Larger