Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)

[LordSunhawk]

Turn 113 - Death Magnetic

Spoiler: Event, Luck & Rating Rolls

Meta Event	23
Dynasty Luck	10
	Successes
Imperial Approval	0
Approval Change	0
Political Event	0
	Successes
Imperial Economy	3
Economic Event	0
Research Event	0
Griffon	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Nowa Warszawa	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Calliope IV	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
TTP	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
New Capricorn	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Nowy Śląsk	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Edelsteine	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Nowy Wroclaw	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Griff's Leap	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
New Phoenix	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
New Eden	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
New Castor	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Okusawa	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
New Pollux	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
New Port Royal	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Kainga	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Chuma	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Stahlfurt	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Bāṛi	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Skała	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Piekło	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Nya Köpenhamn	Econ	0
	Health	5
	Event	3
Bauernparadis	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Awha	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Kaiyo	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Bohren	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Grand View	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Iskra	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Raj	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Feurstern	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Pinball	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Catachan	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Nox	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Olej	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	2
Glorreich	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Pryyemnyy	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Novolar	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Steingarten	Econ	4
	Health	3
	Event	1
Pustina	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Kurortas	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Arvum	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Landprettig	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Bellaterra	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Nubifragio	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Platzregensburg	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Shin Tōkyō	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
Porto Milano	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nuova Fortezza	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nowe Mazowsze	Econ	5
	Health	1
	Event	4
Neuthüringen	Econ	1
	Health	1
	Event	1
New Algiers	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
New Clew Bay	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nuova Tripoli	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
New Libertalia	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nuova Puglia	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nuovo Abruzzo	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nuova Lombardia	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Stenen Tuin	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nouvelle Bourgogne	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Nyū Shikoku	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Neubayern	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3
Neuhessen	Econ	3
	Health	3
	Event	3

Spoiler: Action Results

Plan: Fewer contracts
- Procurement [$ 282,671,419,553.83 ]
-- Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $10,569,842,450.00 ] (95)
--- 200 Shimakaze [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 95
Result - SUCCESS

--- 150 Spruance [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 92
Result - SUCCESS

--- 35 Lublin [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 93
Result - SUCCESS

--- 90 Normandy [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 3
Result - SUCCESS

--- 80 Mikasa [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 70
Result - SUCCESS

--- 9 Charleston [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 2
Result - SUCCESS

-- Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $23,300,067.75 ] (90)
--- 5 Windjammer [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 83
Result - SUCCESS

-- Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $20,404,265,200.00 ] (90)
--- 50 Battle [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 86
Result - SUCCESS

--- 100 Lyr [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 77
Result - SUCCESS

--- 30 Dido [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 40
Result - SUCCESS

--- 10 Guiseppe Garibaldi [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 73
Result - SUCCESS

--- 20 De Grasse [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS

--- 10 Prinz Eugen [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 50
Result - SUCCESS

--- 10 Algerie [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 58
Result - SUCCESS

--- 12 Dreadnought [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 51
Result - SUCCESS

-- Purchase New Units [Minor Unit - $ 22,673,361,836.08 ] (90)
--- 9 Regimental Combat Team Division [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 3
Result - SUCCESS

--- 21 Garrison Division [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 19
Result - SUCCESS

--- 21 Militia Division [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 58
Result - SUCCESS

-- Fortress Command [$ 229,000,650,000.00 ] (90)
--- Construct Black Tower
---- Griff's Leap [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS

---- New Phoenix [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 47
Result - SUCCESS

---- New Eden [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 43
Result - SUCCESS

---- Okusawa [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 51
Result - SUCCESS

---- New Castor [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 41
Result - SUCCESS

- General [$ 2,198,250,000,000.00 ]
-- Focus Development on Core World New Castor [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 44
Result - SUCCESS

-- Focus Development on Peripheral World Grand View [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 67
Result - SUCCESS

-- Massive Core Investment Glorreich [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 5
Result - SUCCESS

-- Massive Peripheral Investment Nubifragio [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 80
Result - SUCCESS

-- Economic Investment Nox [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 25
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Nuova Puglia [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 81
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Bohren [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 11
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Landprettig [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 11
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Nouvelle Bourgogne [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 10
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Arvum [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 43
Result - SUCCESS

-- Expand Civil Service [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 33
Result - SUCCESS

-- Build Orbital Shipyard Griffon [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 54
Result - SUCCESS

-- Build Orbital Shipyard Calliope [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 1
Result – Critical SUCCESS

-- Build Orbital Shipyard Nowa Warzsawa [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 33
Result - SUCCESS

-- Build Orbital Shipyard Glorreich [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 83
Result - SUCCESS

-- Build Orbital Shipyard New Port Royal [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 32
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nuova Triploi [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 19
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Awha [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 56
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Catachan [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 78
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Feurstem [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 63
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nowe Mazowsze [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 85
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nouvelle Bourgogne [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 63
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Platzregensburg [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 90
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Neuthüringen [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 71
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nyū Shikoku [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 41
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Landprettig [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 38
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Neuhessen [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 52
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Neubayern [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 74
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nuova Puglia [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 56
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard New Algiers [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 62
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard New Clew Bay [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 15
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Bellaterra [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 30
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Bohren [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 26
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Iskra [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 15
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nubifragio [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 30
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Escort Yard Nox [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 26
Result - SUCCESS

-- Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 86
Result - SUCCESS

-- Expand Orbital Shipyards [105]
Target - 105
Roll - 99
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Large Warship Yard New Capricorn* [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 64
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Large Warship Yard Edelsteine* [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 79
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Large Warship Yard Nya Kopenhamn* [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 52
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Large Warship Yard Kainga* [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 11
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard New Phoenix [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 61
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Okusawa [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 29
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard New Port Royal [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 55
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Nowy Wroclaw [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 11
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard New Castor [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 7
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Pieklo [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 10
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Bari [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 33
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Nowy Slask [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 75
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Chuma [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 44
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Small Warship Yard Glorreich [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 1
Result – Critical SUCCESS

- DoME [$ 812,000,000,000.00 ]
-- Expand Shin Tōkyō Arcologies* [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 27
Result - SUCCESS

-- Terraforming Feurstem* [85]
Target - 85
Roll – 98, Jarow reroll - 47
Result - SUCCESS

-- Terraforming Grand View* [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 61
Result - SUCCESS

-- Terraforming Pinball* [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 41
Result - SUCCESS

-- Terraforming Porto Milano* [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 32
Result - SUCCESS

-- Construct Major Army Base - New Libertalia* [85]
Target - 85
Roll - 51
Result - SUCCESS

- Research [$ 1,850,350,000,000.00 ]
-- Omnifighter* [55]
Target - 55
Roll - 52
Result - SUCCESS

-- Advanced Arrow IV Artillery* [60]
Target - 60
Roll - 17
Result - SUCCESS

-- Commercial R&D [-]
-- Industrial R&D [-]

- Miscellaneous [$ 134,370,000,000.00 ]
-- Production Contract [->2][134,700,000,000]

----------

You are awakened by a noise more awful than the wailing of the palace alert sirens. More awful than that time a rather intrepid raptor had managed to startle a grifftiger into yowling. More awful even than the sound of your kids whining at you for ice cream.

The sound of thousands of kazoos, hurdy-gurdys, and badly out of tune bagpipes all being played simultaneously by people who had absolutely no musical skill whatsoever, but an enormous amount of enthusiasm.

Yes, somebody who will soon be thrown through the Window of Defenestration convinced the Department of Periphery Studies that they were a full up orchestra with the latest avante-garde instruments, and that moreover 0430 in the morning was the best possible time to put on their first performance in the Palace park.

You and your husband try to stick your heads under your pillows, no help, it’s only when the palace staff helpfully activates the white-noise generators that you are finally able to get a few more blessed hours of sleep.

Therefore you are quite grumpy when morning rolls around. Especially when you find that the lunatics are still at it, having added even more weird and wacky instruments to their mix. If you ever find out whose brilliant idea this was you might skip the Window of Defenestration and throw the perpetrator out of the highest window in the Palace.

You can’t hear yourself think without the white noise generators, and there are numerous noise complaints coming in about this latest bit of Periphery Studies shenanigans.

Thus you are rather short-tempered as you go through the reports that day, and nothing that you read particularly cheers you up. Clean up from Fifth Arvum is nearly completed, which only reminds you that you still have some letters to finish writing and further spoils your mood. Reports from the Expeditionary Fleet on their progress preparing for operations against the Rouges Noir only reminds you that you will soon be sending thousands more of your people out to fight and die.

Even the reports on new construction fail to cheer you up. Sure, you’ve now completed and commissioned all of the planned Jean Bart-class battlecruisers. Whoo. Doesn’t make up for the losses in Dreadnoughts, or how badly battered the Grand Fleet is.

Yes, you admit it, you are feeling peevish and irritable. The white noise does nothing to stop the sound of the great gong that some imbecile is pounding on with far more enthusiasm than skill.

Luckily, your husband will only put up with this mood for so long before you find yourself picked up and carried out of the office, to the motor pool, and driven down to the docks for a cruise on SS United States. At the very least you can hear yourself think again.

Relaxing by the pool, you once more attack the reports, this time in a better mood helped by the strawberry daiquiri at your elbow, the actually skilled musicians playing cheerful music, and the lovely weather.

You have a massive stack of reports from DoME, mostly about various terraforming projects that have been completed around the Empire. You are still somewhat in awe of how capable those madmen are. Seeing them casually talking about massive geoengineering feats as if they were utterly boring and commonplace is… enlightening and humbling.

‘In order to extend the water cycle inland and thus reverse desertification we removed three mountains in order to create a suitable rain corridor into the interior.’ is one of the TAMEST reports. Removing mountains?

They’ve also completed the Army portion of the new base on New Libertalia, as well as further expanding the massive arcology complex on Shin Tōkyō. You take a great deal of satisfaction from these reports, as they are hopeful signs for future growth and prosperity.

Likewise the R&D reports are also quite pleasant reading. The initial trials on the experimental ‘Omnifighter’ concept ASF proved extremely successful, with the same modularization technology in use by your ground forces now being extended to your ASF forces. Also, the lighter and more compact Arrow IV launcher is also now in service, although the testers note that it will be a few years before they’ll be able to actually field them due to the need to refactor the logistics train to support the new weapon. Apparently the ammunition is not fully cross-compatible.

You get two bits of superb news that you missed while in your funk. Glorreich, in a highly celebratory mood following their designation as a Core world… the fastest world to ever reach that status from scratch… celebrated via the planetary government purchasing a second small warship yard to go along with the one you’d bought and paid for. This authorization had gone through proper channels, having been approved by Admiral Sims as well as Amaunet. Similarly, the aerospace industry on Calliope IV got so excited by the prospect of expanding their dropship manufacturing sector that they got just a wee bit over-excited and built two core platforms, not one. They’ve apologized quite profusely for the error, but since the cost for it came out of their pockets, not the Imperial treasury, you are inclined to be quite forgiving indeed.

Otherwise, your production levels are going up significantly, although you fear that it’s not going to be enough to match the Black Steel if the latest attacks are anything to go by.

The expansion of the civil service continues to proceed with no real issues, although expenses are continuously rising over time this, sadly, is to be expected. Qualified civil servants who are both competent and honest are not something that grows on trees.

Economic reports are also extremely strong, showing across the board growth in GDP across all worlds, although there are caveats that a few of the poorer worlds are seeing population outflow as younger residents seek work elsewhere in the Empire. Since these are the agricultural and craft worlds, there really isn’t all that much you can do about it.

 

[LordSunhawk]

Turn 114 - Too Fast For Love

You get some rather good news in early January. Your eldest daughter evidently has met a young man while assigned to her first command and, by all reports, things are starting to get rather serious. According to your spies, hand holding is involved, and there are even hints of potential dreamy smiles and mooncalf expressions.

You, of course, most certainly do not instruct General Messerschmidt to perform a full background check on the young man, nor do you instruct the Special Branch to do the same from the shadows. You most certainly do not bribe the resident raptor pack and grifftigers to monitor your eldest to gather as much information as you can on her visits home.

That would be an unethical use of Imperial resources.

You would never abuse Imperial resources that way.

So when you get the reports from General Messerschmidt and the Special Branch, that plainly is due to their own deep concern for the Empire and proactive determination to set a mother’s mind at ease.

Samuel Coineagain is evidently the scion of a long line of military men, indeed you believe that his great-great grandfather had been a member of your great-grandmother’s unit before she took the throne, and had been a part of Palace security afterwards. He was a fellow mechwarrior in the same lance as your daughter, although he hadn’t attended the Calliope Military Academy, instead gaining a direct commission from the enlisted ranks. He’s also such a massive man, almost 7 feet tall and built like a grizzly bear, that you are frankly surprised that he fits in the cockpit of his mech in the first place.

He’s also apparently an extremely quiet man, who paints, plays the violin, and has a knack for poetry. He is also exceptionally patient with those who make fun of his hobbies… to a point… at which point said individuals usually find themselves named in scurrilous verse, immortalized in mocking paint, and having filthy violin ditties composed about their unnatural love for goats. When said individuals try to object physically, they often find themselves contemplating the oneness of nature as they find that their bodies have become possessed of a burning desire to fly like an eagle.

You have to admit that his verse is quite good, clever and witty, and when he’s not taking revenge on a jackass rather good natured and cheerful as well. You’ve also intercepted some of the poems he’s sharing with your daughter, and she with him, which are both just as sappy and lovey-dovey as you’d expect. You again resolve to hide all of your correspondence with Markus and see what bribe he’ll require to do the same and never share any of your verse with your daughters.

You return to Griffsport from your cruise, to find that earplugs, white noise generators, and grimaces are the order of the day as the Periphery Studies Philharmonic is still enthusiastically ‘entertaining’ the city.

They’ve also added cymbals to their repertoire. Lots and lots of cymbals. You read a rather despairing report that apparently there is now a cymbal shortage in the capital system, with manufacturers besieged with requests to please suffer an unfortunate breakdown in production so as to stop the spread of the madness.

The Black Steel seems to have gone quiet again, as no reports are received so far this year. Admiral de Palo has been confirmed as the new CO of the Grand Fleet, with the personal thanks of the Empress and his pick of flagship. He’s evidently decided to stay on board HMS Agincourt, which you rather approve of to be honest.

Admiral Romanov has scheduled a meeting with you to discuss the various options for the upgrade cycle for the Aerospace Force.

“Your Majesty, we have completed our analysis of the performance of our current birds, our examination of captured bits of enemy hardware including Rouges Noir, Bourbon, and Black Steel, and engaged in extensive simulations and studies.” She begins. “For the record, Your Majesty, I’ll be retiring soon, so I’d like to leave my successor with the best possible Aerospace Force.”

“One thing that we have discovered is just how relatively ineffective long range missiles are, unless fired in truly massive quantities. Any unit with fewer than 3 20 racks of those missiles rarely fires them, and when they do they are rarely decisive. In the past, Drac ASFs were extremely fragile designs, with minimal armor and a focus on weapons and performance, thus the relatively small long range missile warheads were lethally effective. Now, however, it appears that the general ASF design paradigm has far heavier armor than even the best of the Drac designs, and there is a growing proliferation of anti-missile systems.”

She checks her notes. “We have several designs which mount nominal LRM armament, by stripping them of that armament we will be able to reallocate tonnage to enhanced electronics, superior cooling, and additional fuel. In at least two cases, however, we would like your permission to completely retire the design in question.”

She brings up images of the Shrike Missile Interceptor and the Condor Heavy Dogfighter.

“For the former, it is a light design completely built around a single large LRM rack. In operational service it has proven ineffectual at modern war, finding success only against pirates. We would be far better served transitioning those units to Sparrowhawk Interceptors, as they have proven to be far more effective in battle. The Condor, on the other hand, was built to bring the Hyper-Assault Gauss weapon into service alongside the Eagle in Dogfighter units, and has sadly proven to be ineffective as well. We simply cannot fit enough ammunition into the fighter to make it worthwhile. 24 shots seems like quite a few, but they vanish extremely quickly in pitched combat, and the Condor lacks sufficient backup firepower to be viable once it has shot its load, so to speak.” She smiles slightly. “There has been some talk of simply redesigning the ASF, but doing so produces a craft substantially identical to the Eagle with no real niche. Attempts to reimagine the Condor as a Missile Bird runs into the existence of the Merlin, which already covers that role quite adequately, albeit with very limited missile stores.”

[]	Action	Result
[]	Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans	Redesign work will commence on the basis described above, with a focus on enhanced avionics, fuel, and heat capacity and a deprecation of LRM racks on non-LRM centered ASFs Retired the Shrike and the Condor
[]	Deny the Aerospace Forces Plans	No change

 

[KyranKandosa]

[X]	Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[charclone]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[Knowledgeispower]

[X] retire them to be training birds we can never have enough of those

 

[Rukatin]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[The Whispering Monk]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[AlphaOmega]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[darkcloudt2]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[Havalt300]

[X] Approve the Aerospace Forces Plans

 

[Brogatar]

[X] retire them to be training birds we can never have enough of those

 

[LordSunhawk]

Turn 114 - Shout At The Devil

You receive another briefing from General Romanov, following up on the previous one.

“Following our previous discussions, the further decision has been made to also retire the Merlin airframe and replace it with a missile variant of the Eagle. The Eagle-M only has 3 racks of LRMs rather than 4, but it carries a much heavier ammunition load, as well as equipping the missile racks with the Artemis targeting system for greater accuracy at range.”

She checks her notes. “We will also be consolidating down many of our unit types, mostly at the Wing level, to streamline and simplify logistics. In addition, we have been experimenting with the new Naval Patrol Bombers, and have decided that the best use for them is as support craft for regular ASFs. As such, we’ve reduced their armament, significantly boosted their fuel load, and equipped them with sufficient in-flight refueling gear to resupply an entire flight of regular ASFs at once. We have also redesigned our interceptors to more fully fit the ‘point intercept’ role, rather than serving as very junior dogfighters. As such we’ve reduced their fuel load and switched to a more compact cockpit size that is no longer suitable for patrol work.”

She looks up at you. “That last, Your Majesty, will better differentiate between pure interceptors, like the Sparrowhawk, and light dogfighters, like the Peregrine, we’re no longer going to try and do both in the same bird. The Sparrowhawk will be far faster and more agile, but with less combat endurance. The Peregrine will then fill the light dogfighter role.”

“I will note that the birds we are retiring are unsuitable for training assignments, we currently have a set of very well designed primary and advanced training birds that are more than sufficient for our needs, which are significantly cheaper to maintain, and which will never be mistaken for combat birds by front-line commanders.” She smiles slightly. “We are updating the Falcon trainer with the new omnifighter technology, so as to ensure that our maintainers have appropriate training opportunities as well.”

“We will be reorganizing our wings as follows. The new Planetary Defense Wings will be based on planets, White Tower, Black Tower Silver Tower and Oasis II stations. These wings will consist of a mix of interceptors and strike assets optimized for their mission of safeguarding our planets and infrastructure. Patrol Wings will be planet based and be biased towards heavy strike units supported by the Sunderland-Tanker to extend their reach. CAP Wings will be assigned to our naval units as defense against enemy ASF assets, while Strike Wings will be assigned to naval units as offensive platforms to perform strikes on enemy assets. Finally, the two different Fighter Wings will be generally assigned as needed, and will likely be our most common unit type once the reorganization is completed as they will be general purpose units based on the Eagle chassis.for the heavy fighters, and the Stingray-chassis for the light ones, supplemented by Gripens.”

She gets a sly little smile. “I would also like to report that we have challenged Admiral Fisher that he won’t be able to design an adequate heavy carrier optimized for multiple wings of ASFs to support the Grand Fleet. This seems to have greatly irritated him, but has also gotten him out of his funk.”

You join her in laughter at that.

The Pan-Griffon Games have begun. You manage to catch some of it in between working meetings and the competition seems to be going rather well. You have always been impressed by the blend of athleticism, competitiveness, and sportsmanship on display in these games, and it is a pleasure to see that continuing.

It is an even greater pleasure to see that there have been no fresh Black Steel attacks. Pleasure is a strong word, perhaps relief is better. You will always worry about when the hammer will fall, after all.

Speaking of hammers and falling, your strategic planning staff has asked you to reconsider the strategy for the Rouges Noir. In light of the Black Steel threat, they feel that it is imperative to wrap up that operation as swiftly and firmly as possible, especially in the naval arena, and simultaneously wiping out all Rouges Noir orbital infrastructure would be critical to that. Once that is accomplished relatively light naval forces would be all that would be needed to maintain the orbital blockade, and the bulk of the Expeditionary Fleet could be reassigned to the Grand Fleet in order to face the Black Steel, indeed it should be possible at that point to begin hunting for Black Steel bases and hopefully start weakening them.

According to your planning staff, waiting the 2 additional years to begin operations will result in a net savings of ten years before the Expeditionary Fleet would be available for counter-Black Steel operations, however it does increase the risks to your ground forces. You went with Operation: Feature Length for pretty compelling reasons, after all, but the analysis shows that Wrecking Ball might turn out to be the better option on the basis of grappling with the Black Steel.

[]	Action	Result
[]	You’ve made your decision and are sticking to it	Stick with Operation: Feature Length
[]	When the situation changes, you can change your mind	Switch to Operation: Wrecking Ball

Meanwhile, Parliament is in session, and they are doing the People’s Business (or is that Bidness, you guess it depends on who’s bidding for whom…). This year debate seems to be raging about a major infrastructure bill that would normally be rather straightforward. However a determined faction of enthusiasts wants to add in language establishing a regulatory body for, as well as subsidies to encourage, ‘heritage’ projects, resurrecting long-obsolete transportation technologies for tourism and educational purposes.

The proposal would set up an entire department dedicated to the purpose, with boards composed of historians and enthusiasts to select viable projects, and separate oversight boards ensuring that funds are spent appropriately and that all relevant safety standards are maintained. Normally you’d dismiss this out of hand, but your Great-Aunt Sarah is the primary sponsor of the legislation and is lobbying fairly hard for it. At just over a century old, she is still serving as the Chancellor of Griffin’s Roost University, is still the Dean of the History Department, and shows absolutely no sign of stepping down anytime soon.

It doesn’t hurt that she’s an exceptionally skilled public speaker with a true talent for evocative language. She has the media eating out of her hand for this project, and quite honestly you can see the appeal. The supporting economic figures show that this shouldn’t cost the Treasury too much, overall, and there seems to be fairly broad-based support. It’s just that this doesn’t do anything to advance preparedness against the Black Steel or any other military foe.

Steam trains, sailing vessels, and airships are not, after all, military assets any longer.

[]	Action	Argument	Result
[]	Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044	Historical reenactment, preservation, and resurrection are valuable, both for cultural purposes of historical memory, but also to give the people an outlet from their day to day lives so that they can experience, for just a brief time, the past. It is the past which has made us what we are today, and acknowledging that past is inherently valuable. There may be no direct benefits from this. This may not give us more battleships on the front line, or more money in the treasury. It may not speed up DoME projects or lower maintenance costs. But it does something far more valuable, it preserves the soul of our nation. It brings our shared human history alive and awakens in us that sense of wonder and unity that will allow us to see the challenges of the present and future through.	Establishes the Historical Heritage Bureau Reduces base Interest Rate by 1% Each turn, roll 1d2 for bonus Interest Rate Your Great-Aunt will give you her famous peanut butter cookie recipe
[]	Oppose the Infrastructure Act of 3044	This is utterly ridiculous. Every moment wasted on this silliness is time not spent in defense of the Empire. Every penny spent on this ridiculousness is a penny not spent on military preparedness. How can we justify spending a single moment on this garbage when we are facing a threat like the Black Steel, and are about to embark in our operations against the Rouges Noir?	No peanut butter cookie recipe for YOU

 

[charclone]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

We should keep pressure on both, but lightening the load in the long run, while we are in a stable position, is a good idea. That being said, priorities may adapt as the situation changes.

Minor bonus from the infrastructure thing. We either get a +0%, or a +1%, if I am reading it correctly.

 

[ShadowArxxy]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

It's *really weird* that there are significant meta benefits, even though the fluff says there are no real benefits besides culture...

 

[LordSunhawk]

It's a pretty insignificant benefit, apart from the cookie recipe

 

[mmgaballah]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

 

[Rukatin]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

 

[Thors_Alumni]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

 

[Yacovo]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

Part of me is worried about being hit during the Noir campaign, but the pragmatic part in me says at most we lose one system due to a concentrated attack, which we can handle at this point.

Also keep in mind laid out outcomes to decisions are sometimes not the whole story. This may encourage other pet projects in the future. That said this one is relatively harmless.

 

[Brogatar]

[X] When the situation changes, you can change your mind
[X] Support the Infrastructure Act of 3044

Good shame I wasn't able here for that vote unfortunately. Wanted that one for this reason.