Yes, we make more ASFs, but it's not just the ASF's that is the issue. It's the two additional Leopard-CV's in addition to those ASF's every damn turn. To counter those and not slowly backslide, we need even more ASF's. After this turn, if the DCMS expands as expected, then I'll back off and go for only dedicating 2 Interior slots a turn to just military stuff. We can surge production faster than the Dracs can, so let's use that.
We can't afford that production surge without screwing over our own support structure in the long run though, we won't even be able to afford the number of ASF's and dropships we're going to be making if we don't take a step back and prepare things.
We can hold them off right now thanks to our superior designs, we're still building more/better than they can and that will only continue to increase over time, panic buying everything we can as fast as we can plays right into their hands as at some point something will happen event wise that leaves us suddenly strapped for cash and then we'll be having trouble paying for new ships or even repairing the old ones for a turn or two (which the Dracs will almost certainly take advantage of to take out our orbitals/land a raid on our cities which will cost even more to fix and leaving us in debt for longer).
Better to take a step back and set things up so that no matter what happens we'll be able to pay for the things we're producing.
[X] Write-In Reaction : "There's nothing we can do right now. But I want everything we can get, recorded, so that we can ensure justice is done for those people. And when we can, we will make it known just how far from civilization the Draconis Combine has fallen."
We can't afford that production surge without screwing over our own support structure in the long run though, we won't even be able to afford the number of ASF's and dropships we're going to be making if we don't take a step back and prepare things.
We can hold them off right now thanks to our superior designs, we're still building more/better than they can and that will only continue to increase over time, panic buying everything we can as fast as we can plays right into their hands as at some point something will happen event wise that leaves us suddenly strapped for cash and then we'll be having trouble paying for new ships or even repairing the old ones for a turn or two (which the Dracs will almost certainly take advantage of to take out our orbitals/land a raid on our cities which will cost even more to fix and leaving us in debt for longer).
Better to take a step back and set things up so that no matter what happens we'll be able to pay for the things we're producing.
Both the Saber "half" of the previous major attack and the recon-in-force that just went down, had both sides fighting all the way down to bingo fuel while inflicting only minor damage on each other. The Dracs dished out substantially more damage, but not enough damage to actually bring down any of our ASFs.
The fluff and the mechanics actually lined up very well. In fluff terms, the fact that they were formed up in a single mutually supporting pack meant that the massive number of Sabers could effectively prevent the dropper choppers from getting focused attack runs. In space, as opposed to atmosphere, you don't have a problem with damaged heavies falling out of formation and getting picked off. In mechanistic terms, the dropships are amalgamated with the lighter ASFs when they're in a close escort formation, and damage gets spread across that huge pool of HP. This is true for *both* sides.
Outside of close escort? The pincer force in the last major battle shows just how lethal our ASFs are when they can concentrate on a target, because that was a jaw-dropping flawless victory. Eagles versus Sabers, BOOM. Dead in one pass. Goshawks versus Excalibur, BOOM. Dead in one pass. Rocs versus Overlord, BOOM. Dead in one pass.
Only update that needs to be made, is moving the DCMS base from Griffin IV to Griffin V.
[X] Write-In Reaction : "There's nothing we can do right now. But I want everything we can get, recorded, so that we can ensure justice is done for those people. And when we can, we will make it known just how far from civilization the Draconis Combine has fallen."
[X] Plan: War Production Lite
If I understand it right, if we upgrade the Defiant factory next turn, we still get it the same time as if we did it this turn, right?
@Jarow Thank you for posting my plan here. One minor correction - I also included a unit for Pathfinders in my Purchase New Units action.
[X] Write-In Reaction : "There's nothing we can do right now. But I want everything we can get, recorded, so that we can ensure justice is done for those people. And when we can, we will make it known just how far from civilization the Draconis Combine has fallen."
Did I leave that out in text? Oops, it was in calculator for price on both. Fixing it now.
This is just like the legionnaire tank purchase last turn; had planned for them to be Lions (though I found out a lot later then - I didn't realize until after the advisor post, and still took a while to figure it out then)
[X] Write-In Reaction : "There's nothing we can do right now. But I want everything we can get, recorded, so that we can ensure justice is done for those people. And when we can, we will make it known just how far from civilization the Draconis Combine has fallen."
After Action Review [75]
Net result - all Orbital Defense Goshawks upgraded to Crack, all others increment up towards Elite.
Set up 331st Command Bunker as NECP [95]
Target - 95
Roll - 86
Result - SUCCESS
Purchase New Units
-2 Flight of Rocs [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 39
Result - SUCCESS
-2 Lances of Ambush Battlemechs [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 69
Result - SUCCESS
-1 Lance of Pathfinders [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 100 - Omake Reroll - 40
Result - SUCCESS
-2 Flights of Eagles [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 1
Result - CRITICAL SUCCESS
-2 Flight of Goshawks [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 89 - Omake Reroll - 49
Result - SUCCESS
-4 Platoon of Weasel IFV [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 40
Result - SUCCESS
-4 Unit of Mechanized Infantry [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 14
Result - SUCCESS
-9 Platoons of Lions[70]
Target - 70
Roll - 68
Result - SUCCESS
Build Drop-port on Castor [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 85
Result - Bare FAILURE - automatic success next turn
Expand Factory 1 (Eagle) [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 9
Result - SUCCESS
Build Drop-port on Pollux [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 32
Result - SUCCESS
Build Orbital Factory Ferro Aluminum [90]
Target - 90
Roll - 99 - Economist Reroll - 28
Result - SUCCESS
Town Hall Meetings [75]
Target - 75
Roll - 45
Result - SUCCESS
Orbital Survey [100]
Target - 100
Roll - 98
Result - SUCCESS
Improved Agriculture lvl 2 [80]
Target - 80
Roll - 97 - Omake Reroll - 72
Result - SUCCESS
Double Heat Sinks [70]
Target - 70
Roll - 58
Result - SUCCESS
Cure for Congenital Disease [60]
Target - 60
Roll - 29
Result - SUCCESS
Jeremy finally came home after his first year, although he’ll be shipping out for field exercises a few weeks later. He looks quite good in his uniform and you are so proud you are fit to burst. He was very near the top of his class in academics, and had decided to major in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Political Science. Obviously your boy is pursuing both passion and duty with his class choices, and you whole-heartedly approve.
He does ask you a question you’d been dreading for years. He plans to ask Alita to marry him, and plans for the wedding to take place after they graduate and complete their first 2 year tours of duty. He is asking for your blessing for this.
[] Agree - Happy Heir, deliriously happy public, some in the nobility might get their noses bent out of joint.
[] Disagree - No licks of approval for YOU, you monster.
The twins also finish their first year, not quite as successfully as their big brother perhaps, but they are very pleased… since they are in the championship hunt for the Professional Hovercraft Racing League Nollak Cup, the lower of the 2 tiers of racing at the professional level.
Thanh is still pouting that you won’t let her test out of her senior year of high school, but you are adamant on that point. You do concede to purchasing a brand new Eagle trainer for the Royal hangar, and allowing her to be checked out in it by the chief test pilot of the manufacturer, but that is as far as you are willing to bend.
Sarah is back into the swing of things, but appears to have discovered a passion for history and cultural studies thanks to her long discussions with Sarah. You have to be firm a time or two on the two of them for your daughter to go to bed on time, or at least at a time prior to a half hour before dawn. If you hadn’t intervened, they’d be talking all night and Sarah would fall asleep in class.
In late November there is a sudden alert from Sarah, a bright flash was observed on Griffin V. After an hour or so it is determined that the Mammoth had exploded during launch, unfortunately, as far as you are concerned, high enough up in the atmosphere that it didn’t cause any damage to the ground. Sarah’s analysis is sabotage, it looks like two of the drive pods had suddenly detonated, sending the dropship into an uncontrollable spin and causing it to explode. This is, however, a major blow to Drac logistics.
Counterbalancing that, a resupply cycle of Mules occurs, obviously bringing fresh supplies to Griffin V. Surveillance shows the execution of a number of slaves, obviously for the sabotage, and their replacement with hundreds of fresh captives. Interestingly, the Dracs are transporting entire families of slaves to labor in the snow and ice of Griffin V.
The first time you watch surveillance of small children who can’t be more than 7 or 8 being whipped by Drac overseers is enough to enrage you. Sarah postulates that it was a form of motivation for their parents ‘meet your work quotas and your precious children will not be harmed’. You throw up a little in your mouth at that.
Not that the Dracs are any less cruel towards their own people, there are countless recordings of DCMS soldiers being ‘disciplined’ in a manner that is nearly as abominable in your eyes. Most of the worst cruelties are carried out by obvious officers, even against the slaves, and it appears that any DCMS enlisted type who fails to be sufficiently aggressive towards the slaves is beaten and in several cases executed.
The latest supply shipment included a lance of Battlemechs, identified by Sarah as FS9-H Firestarters. Looking at their specs, you are pretty sure you know precisely why they are there.
You have to spend a few hours worshipping a porcelain throne after witnessing a demonstration of precisely what they were there for.
You then dictate a Royal Decree that any Drac officers and any lesser ranks identified by Sarah surveillance as having willingly participated in war crimes would be interrogated as harshly as needed to break them, then executed by hanging.
The After Action review identifies a few areas where there are weaknesses in doctrine and tactics, which are rapidly addressed. In general the Goshawk units see great improvement, while the Eagles, buoyed by just about all of the top graduates from the piloting program begging for Eagle slots, are now rated as Elite.
The old micro-Castle Brian built by the 331st has been fully set up as an emergency command post. From now on, you would observe battles from the incredibly well equipped command center rather than the cramped confines of a submarine.
Procurement is fairly successful with no notable hiccups. The new mech’s are bolstering 1st Armored and the Aerie Cadre, while your Aerospace Forces are boosted by the new birds. The 1st Heavy Attack Wing is now at full strength with plans already underway to begin the 2nd as production continues.
On the ground, 2nd Brigade has been boosted by the start of a mechanized infantry regiment and an entire battalion set of Lion tanks.
The new drop port on Pollux goes in very smoothly. It is on Castor that things go… wonky.
And it’s all thanks to the never sufficiently annoying Periphery Studies Department, who have evidently decided that there are ancient grifftiger burial grounds located at the proposed Drop Port site and have built an encampment right in the middle of it to dig for proof of their crackpot theory.
Considering that Grifftigers have never been native to Castor, had never been there before humans had transported some there, and were looking utterly baffled by the very concept of an ‘ancient grifftiger burial ground’ of any sort… It takes the Eldest showing up in person to growl at them to run them off, and even then they’d delayed construction so much that there is no way that it will be finished this year.
The Eagle factory has been upgraded, slightly below budget and time. It looks like even structural and production engineering for the powerful ASF are blessed by whatever dark, bearded powers approve of its existence.
An orbital foundry for Ferro-Aluminium joins the constellation of orbital factories occupying the L4 point. It may be a good investment to expand the space station there in order to station a few more Goshawks for close defense against any surprises.
The town hall meetings are very successful. You manage to attend the one held in Griffsport early on and spend an enjoyable evening fielding questions and discussing multiple topics with common citizens. One of the meetings even takes place in the new observation center for the eruption of Mt Griffsport, and the holos of that are extremely popular on the planetary datanets.
The orbital survey is hampered by poor weather in parts of the planned survey area, and unfortunately little to nothing is discovered. Some data on potential fisheries is generated, but nothing of any real importance.
After a few minor accidents involving Periphery Studies types showing up claiming to be expert agrimech drivers only to then engage in ridiculous duels using combine harvesters and other tools, the research on boosting yields via the use of agrimechs is completed. Procedures are tested, attachments validated, and production is now underway. Food yields are already reflecting the great efficiency of the new equipment. Now that Castor is fully open for colonization the continent should in relatively short order become a breadbasket for the planet. The soil is fertile and agriculture won’t be hampered by little things like ‘rampaging deathopotamusaurus herds’. Pollux should likewise be rich fertile farmland once infrastructure is in.
You get an excited missive from the R&D team dedicated to freezers announcing that they’d gotten it done. They now knew precisely how to build the things, they just required zero gravity and high precision manufacturing techniques. Considering how excited all of your engineers and designers had been about getting freezers, you figure this might be a very important thing to take care of.
The biologists and geneticists report that the various Star League era techniques for in-utero treatment and cures for congenital defects and diseases had been validated and are now available for general treatment.
[X] Agree - Happy Heir, deliriously happy public, some in the nobility might get their noses bent out of joint.
Seriously, who cares about the Nobles. as long as they are happy together than that is all that matters. If the disagree well thats what the guillotine if for.
