[X] Request assistance from Kilburrough
Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)
- Thread starter LordSunhawk
- Start date
KyranKandosa
Well-known member
| [X] | Request assistance from Kilburrough |
The Kilburroughs will like us better, we get to roll out cures faster. What's not to like? Also, I'm honestly tempted to try and capture the RN leadership purely to sentence them to death by injecting them with the very diseases they've used to butcher so many of their own "undesirables".
[X] Request assistance from Kilburrough
Friendly relations with the Kilbourroughans is...controversial both in and out of character, due to the whole slavery thing combined with their bizarro orange-and-blue morality around it.
Friendly relations with the Kilbourroughans is...controversial both in and out of character, due to the whole slavery thing combined with their bizarro orange-and-blue morality around it.
AlphaOmega
Well-known member
[X] Request assistance from Kilburrough
Wasn’t it disproven at some point that they don’t use slaves and it was just a misconception because we extrapolated that from the Dracs who did use slaves?
This is correct. They specifically outline slavery of their 'production' as contract breaking.
foolswriter
Well-known member
[X] Request assistance from Kilburrough
It's a little complicated. They don't consider it slavery and to be fair, the terms are technically much closer to indentured servitude. However, a lot of cultures would still consider it slavery, and although it's not "supposed" to be, there are little to no safeguards taken to prevent it from being actual slavery. Because of their. . . peculiar morality, the Killbourroughans consider contract breaking to be an unthinkable action, and they do not really have provisions for enforcement other than simply blacklisting the customer from all future business if they find out about it..
Turn 111 - Buttered Popcorn
Turn 111 - Buttered Popcorn
You get the opportunity to try out the finalized version of the new battle armor suits that will be worn by all of your infantry, or at least the Mk V Medium version of the suit. The actuators and control systems have been highly refined, giving the suit a far more fluid and natural feel, and it is even possible for the wearer to easily drop to the ground to cover, then rise back up without assistance or the use of jump jets. The 12.7mm anti-personnel gauss rifle has been replaced with a 3cm laser, while the short range missiles are now much more smoothly integrated into the shoulders of the armor in detachable packs.
You also get to see the Mk II version of the Assault suit put through its paces, and the suit impresses you with the sheer lethality. A small particle projection cannon is the main direct fire armament, backing up a quad pack of advanced short-range missiles as well as both a quartet of anti-personnel weapon mounts and a back mounted 40mm grenade launcher.
There is one other suit that you are brought to see, an assault-grade quadrupedal suit intended for high intensity urban combat. It is a highly experimental suit, not at all suitable for production as many of the innovations included are only approximated due to the requisite technologies still being in their infancy. This suit removes three of the anti-personnel weapon mounts, upgrades the 3cm laser to a pulse variant, then places that and the grenade launcher in a fully traversable turret on the ‘back’ of the suit. The missile launcher has over twice the number of shots available as well.
According to the engineers this suit has an ‘uptime’ of less than 1%, and indeed while you are present it has multiple faults interrupting the very limited demonstration, and has as they rather delicately put it ‘teething issues’. It’s the first true quadrupedal suit ever attempted to be made serviceable, rather than as an experimental platform, and the turret is a radical concept. Control systems, pilot escape systems, targeting systems, even such basics as the power distribution and life support, are all… dodgy. It is currently operated semi-remotely via a hard-cable remote control, since there is absolutely no confidence in it being safe for manned operation.
If they ever manage to make it work, however, it would be a terrifying weapon system.
The Black Steel is quiet at the moment, with no sightings so far this year. In contrast, there have been a number of attempts by the Rouges Noir to strike at some of your new colonies and newly surveyed systems with penny packets of Jolly Rogers.
When your scientists show Kilburroughan experts samples of the Rouges Noir bioweapons, the Kilburroughans become very indignant. Both at the ‘grotesque misuse of biomedical knowledge!’ and also at the clumsy hackery of it all. Evidently they are very professionally offended that such incompetence is allowed to exist, referring to the samples as ‘excellent examples of how not to engage in genetic engineering’. They are likewise exceptionally offended about how they are being used, as, in their words, such ‘base coercion’ undermines the very concept of contractual rights and reciprocal responsibilities by depriving one of the contractors of the ability to refuse to enter into a contract in the first place. It’s the most roundabout way of condemning slavery you’ve ever heard.
The Kilburroughans show just why they are such excellent biochemists, however, as within three weeks of the data being given to them they have a broad-spectrum antidote entering initial lab trials. They estimate that it will take them three years to complete all testing to ensure that it is safe, with no unexpected or undesirable side effects. That’s about a year faster than your own scientists have estimated, and the Kilburroughans are so offended by this that they are doing the work for free.
They also give you a stark warning, that their initial analysis is that any of the neo-dinosaurs of Calliope would be incredibly vulnerable to this viral cocktail, with even slight exposure being fatal within hours. They are expediting a protective cocktail for the neo-dinos, also free of charge, but nevertheless strongly recommend very strict quarantine procedures for any who might come in contact with the Rouges Noir.
Parliament is rather busy this year. The Imperial Senate’s Armed Forces Committee is working on legislation to further improve military procurement and logistics, by carefully determining industry-wide best practices in multiple areas of contracting, transport, and inventory management. They likewise are recommending additional subsidies to small businesses involved in the military-industrial complex to broaden the underlying supply base and make the entire system more resilient and able to handle rapid changes in demand parameters.
The major contractors are a bit hesitant about all of this, as it would open the door for additional competition, but even they admit that it would be useful overall, as the pie would be growing, even if they had a smaller percentage share of it.
You get the opportunity to try out the finalized version of the new battle armor suits that will be worn by all of your infantry, or at least the Mk V Medium version of the suit. The actuators and control systems have been highly refined, giving the suit a far more fluid and natural feel, and it is even possible for the wearer to easily drop to the ground to cover, then rise back up without assistance or the use of jump jets. The 12.7mm anti-personnel gauss rifle has been replaced with a 3cm laser, while the short range missiles are now much more smoothly integrated into the shoulders of the armor in detachable packs.
You also get to see the Mk II version of the Assault suit put through its paces, and the suit impresses you with the sheer lethality. A small particle projection cannon is the main direct fire armament, backing up a quad pack of advanced short-range missiles as well as both a quartet of anti-personnel weapon mounts and a back mounted 40mm grenade launcher.
There is one other suit that you are brought to see, an assault-grade quadrupedal suit intended for high intensity urban combat. It is a highly experimental suit, not at all suitable for production as many of the innovations included are only approximated due to the requisite technologies still being in their infancy. This suit removes three of the anti-personnel weapon mounts, upgrades the 3cm laser to a pulse variant, then places that and the grenade launcher in a fully traversable turret on the ‘back’ of the suit. The missile launcher has over twice the number of shots available as well.
According to the engineers this suit has an ‘uptime’ of less than 1%, and indeed while you are present it has multiple faults interrupting the very limited demonstration, and has as they rather delicately put it ‘teething issues’. It’s the first true quadrupedal suit ever attempted to be made serviceable, rather than as an experimental platform, and the turret is a radical concept. Control systems, pilot escape systems, targeting systems, even such basics as the power distribution and life support, are all… dodgy. It is currently operated semi-remotely via a hard-cable remote control, since there is absolutely no confidence in it being safe for manned operation.
If they ever manage to make it work, however, it would be a terrifying weapon system.
The Black Steel is quiet at the moment, with no sightings so far this year. In contrast, there have been a number of attempts by the Rouges Noir to strike at some of your new colonies and newly surveyed systems with penny packets of Jolly Rogers.
When your scientists show Kilburroughan experts samples of the Rouges Noir bioweapons, the Kilburroughans become very indignant. Both at the ‘grotesque misuse of biomedical knowledge!’ and also at the clumsy hackery of it all. Evidently they are very professionally offended that such incompetence is allowed to exist, referring to the samples as ‘excellent examples of how not to engage in genetic engineering’. They are likewise exceptionally offended about how they are being used, as, in their words, such ‘base coercion’ undermines the very concept of contractual rights and reciprocal responsibilities by depriving one of the contractors of the ability to refuse to enter into a contract in the first place. It’s the most roundabout way of condemning slavery you’ve ever heard.
The Kilburroughans show just why they are such excellent biochemists, however, as within three weeks of the data being given to them they have a broad-spectrum antidote entering initial lab trials. They estimate that it will take them three years to complete all testing to ensure that it is safe, with no unexpected or undesirable side effects. That’s about a year faster than your own scientists have estimated, and the Kilburroughans are so offended by this that they are doing the work for free.
They also give you a stark warning, that their initial analysis is that any of the neo-dinosaurs of Calliope would be incredibly vulnerable to this viral cocktail, with even slight exposure being fatal within hours. They are expediting a protective cocktail for the neo-dinos, also free of charge, but nevertheless strongly recommend very strict quarantine procedures for any who might come in contact with the Rouges Noir.
Parliament is rather busy this year. The Imperial Senate’s Armed Forces Committee is working on legislation to further improve military procurement and logistics, by carefully determining industry-wide best practices in multiple areas of contracting, transport, and inventory management. They likewise are recommending additional subsidies to small businesses involved in the military-industrial complex to broaden the underlying supply base and make the entire system more resilient and able to handle rapid changes in demand parameters.
The major contractors are a bit hesitant about all of this, as it would open the door for additional competition, but even they admit that it would be useful overall, as the pie would be growing, even if they had a smaller percentage share of it.
| [] | Action | Argument | Result |
| [] | Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041 | Logistical support and upkeep of our military is a major and growing expense for the Empire. While it is both needful and, overall, beneficial, it is still expensive. Building dedicated logistics factories help with this, but the bulk of logistics is still handled by the private-sector military-industrial complex. Increasing their efficiency is critical for future military growth. This legislation leverages industry-wide best practices to maximize efficiency, while ensuring that the military-industrial market doesn’t become dominated by a small number of megacorporations. |
|
| [] | Veto the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041 | Things are working well enough, there is absolutely no need to innovate in this manner right now. Sure it will save some money, but it will also harm businesses which have been loyal backers of the Empire even when it has not been profitable to do so. There is no critical need for this, upkeep costs are reasonable given the sheer size of our military. Let the free market handle the efficiency question, and leave it alone. |
|
KyranKandosa
Well-known member
| [X] | Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041 |
Winter_Wind45
Well-known member
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
Jarow
Well-known member
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
Not really significant cost savings right now (~.115% of budget, which is calculated after upkeep is factored into income and savings, or around the cost of core development focus), but military upkeep is continuously accelerating, so this is a long-term investment. Research event is sad, but the rest of the costs are pretty easily replaced.
Not really significant cost savings right now (~.115% of budget, which is calculated after upkeep is factored into income and savings, or around the cost of core development focus), but military upkeep is continuously accelerating, so this is a long-term investment. Research event is sad, but the rest of the costs are pretty easily replaced.
darkcloudt2
Well-known member
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
Thors_Alumni
Well-known member
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
foolswriter
Well-known member
[X] Sign the Military-Industrial Reform Act of 3041
