Quest Deep Periphery Quest (Battletech Sandbox Empire Builder)

LordSunhawk

Das BOOT (literally)
Owner
Administrator
Staff Member
Founder
Turn 128 - Fever

LordSunhawk

Das BOOT (literally)
Owner
Administrator
Staff Member
Founder

Turn 128 - Fever

With all of the major events happening you’ve not had much of a chance to enjoy the Pan Griffon Games this year, which is completely understandable. Unfortunately this means that you missed the start of the latest tempest in a teacup which has brewed up around the Olympics in general.

As has become almost ritualistic, during the planning meeting for the next Olympics in two years the Bourbon delegation once more proposed eliminating Naked Volleyball on the basis of ‘immorality’. As usual the NRI, NRR, and your own delegation outvoted the Bourbons. However, this year there is a new representative from the NRR who choses to take offense at the tone and conduct of the Bourbon representative and decides that the appropriate way to express her displeasure at the moralizing is to advance her own proposal.

Namely that apart from needful safety gear, all competitions in the Olympics would be carried out in the nude, citing the ancient Grecian Olympic Games as the basis for this rule change. The Bourbon representative, predictably, turns purple and nearly blows a few gaskets in response to this, the NRR rep laughs and seconds the proposal, rather smugly informing everybody that they certainly have no objection to showing off.

Your daughter is standing in for you at the committee meeting and, considering her chosen sport when she did compete, promptly votes in favor of the NRI proposal without consulting you after adding an amendment to specify that the same eligibility rule codicils used in Naked Volleyball would apply, namely that all competitors must be of legal age and permitting ‘shall issue’ exemptions for individual competitors with religious or moral objections to competing in the nude.

The Bourbon ambassador is officially livid and privately laughing his backside off. You found his delivering the formal protest absolutely hilarious, as he managed to keep a perfectly straight face for the entire time while his assistant held up cue cards noting that he was ‘shouting angrily’ and ‘shaking his fist’, while in reality he was sipping a glass of wine and giving a totally deadpan delivery. How you managed not to laugh while being ‘sternly yelled at’ is a testimony to just how experienced you’d gotten at the political and diplomatic game.

You also get a private letter from the Bourbon monarch expressing his thanks for your support in his little plan, as well as apologizing for the ‘total idiot’ he’d sent for the Olympics planning in order to get the moron out of his hair doing something mostly harmless.

That all being said, the competitions are going very well indeed. You have time to watch a number of highlight reels and you are quite satisfied with the level of competition heading into the Olympic cycle. Thankfully the new rules won’t be implemented this cycle, but they will be in the next.

The new Spartoi Defense Clusters receive a bit of a baptism by fire in the Arvum system when a small Black Steel raid is handily repulsed thanks to them. Apart from a slightly higher than expected thermal load, traced to software issues rather than anything in the hardware, the small platforms perform precisely as intended. What is mildly disturbing is that the raid was obviously targeting production infrastructure in the system, a departure from usual Black Steel practice of simply targeting the planet and military assets.

Thankfully you’d always planned for that, so all this does is mean your previous planning isn't useless. Which is a positive, you guess.

General Bradley does present to you a list of proposed replacements as Army Chief of Staff.

General Majed Tarik is the current head of Army Training Command following distinguished service in combat against the Rouges Noir. General Tarik brings a broad spectrum of experience to the table. Initially a Mechwarrior, General Tarik transitioned to command of an Infantry regiment, then to the Imperial Guard. He does have a bit of a temper, however.

General Jessica Harper is the current head of Battlemech development, liaising closely with various R&D organizations. She has a reputation as a bit of a technical maverick, embracing tech based solutions to problems. Prior to being promoted to staff work, Harper was a LAM pilot, and by all accounts a quite good one, with combat experience in the Rouges Noir campaign.

General Alfonso Zara is the current Quartermaster General of the Imperial Army and a mark of just how good he is at his job is the fact that you cannot recall there ever being any serious logistics issues since he’s taken command. He’s a peppery sort of fellow, but there’s no real heat to it at all.

General Gonothi is, despite her name meaning ‘Tall, slender person’, a tiny little elfin waif of an ebon skinned woman who looks like a strong breeze would blow her away. She’s also a highly decorated infantrywoman, having served in assault battle armor units during the Rouges Noir campaign while also being a completely qualified mechwarrior. She has also served in Imperial Special Forces, and in one incident during the Rouges Noir campaign when a group of the fanatics managed to use hidden tunnels to bypass the defensive front, she managed to take down a half dozen heavily armed lunatics while initially armed with a large butcher knife and a hot frying pan.

General Miyara Ichibei, by contrast, is a massive bear of a man who looks like he routinely bench presses assault mechs and, if you asked him for directions, would likely pick up a nearby tank to show you the way. His muscles have muscles, you are fairly certain that he knows the weather at least a half hour before anybody else considering that he tops seven feet in height, and his combat record is exemplary. He’s also an exceptionally gentle man who is the current CO of the Imperial Guard and whom you’ve trusted with looking over your grandkids at times.

[]ChoiceAffect
[]Majed Tarik
  • Assigns Majed Tarik as Army CoS
  • Gives +1 to unit survival rolls following combat
[]Jessica Harper
  • Assigns Jessica Harper as Army CoS
  • One time +1 Research Event points
[]Alfonso Zara
  • Assigns Alfonso Zara as Army CoS
  • Prevents ‘Logistics Problem’ events from firing
[]Gonothi
  • Assigns Gonothi as Army CoS
  • Once per combat, +1 success to ground forces combat roll
[]Miyara Ichibei
  • Assigns Miyara Ichibei
  • Constant +1 die to ground forces combat rolls

It is now budget time, which you always look forward to.

Amaunet is up first, as always, as the giant cat lounges on the dias. “Padrone, the military is in overall good shape. Since this will be her last briefing, I’ll keep it short and sweet and not steal any of her thunder, General Bradley?”

The pugnacious fireplug of a woman takes the podium. “Your Majesty, the Army remains in solid shape. We remain confident that our current force structure is sufficient for our requirements, outside of increasing our garrison and militia forces. The ongoing Service Life Extension Programs are serving to maintain our manufacturing base so that, if needed, we’ll be able to surge production at a moment’s notice.” She actually smiles slightly, which is unusual for her. “Of course, if you want to give us more toys we won’t object, but we don’t require them and the Imperial budget can better be spent elsewhere.”
  • Imperial Griffon Army
    • Procurement
      • Garrison
        • 25 Garrison Divisions
        • 25 Militia Divisions

General Perkins then takes over. “Your Majesty, we continue to need to expand our ASF production numbers, along with constantly rebuilding our ASF strength. The good news is that our training capacity is at a point where we can focus on our combat strength for a time.” He grimaces slightly. “The bad news is that our losses continue to outweigh our production levels, although on a marginally positive note the gap is shrinking.”
  • Imperial Griffon Aerospace Force
    • Production
      • New ASF Factories
        • Glorreich
        • Shin Tōkyō
        • Kurortas
        • Raj
        • Pustina
        • Platzregensburg
        • Pryyemnyy
        • Awha
        • Bāṛi
        • Bellaterra
    • Procurement
      • 40 CAP Wings
      • 40 Fighter Wings
      • 100 Carrier Wings

Admiral Fisher is back, looking as grumpy and feisty as ever, but he once again sends Commodore Savić up to the podium to give the presentation.

“Your Majesty, the Navy continues to grow rapidly and we are pleased to report that our losses in the latest engagements with the Black Steel are actually below our replacement rate for the first time of any major combat engagements with them. The hard work, courage, and professionalism of both our combat spacers and the shipyard workers should be highly commended. That being said, this does not mean that we can take our feet off the gas pedal, Your Majesty, if anything we need to work even harder so as to capitalize on this advantage to the greatest extent possible.”

She checks her notes. “That being said…” she brings up a series of slides, going over the exact requests as she does so.
  • Imperial Griffon Navy
    • Production
      • Orbital Shipyards
        • Expand All Orbital Shipyards
      • Refit & Repair Yards
        • Expand All Refit & Repair Yards
      • Escort Yards
        • Construct New Escort Yards
          • Nowy Szczecin
          • Baddorando
          • Sturmland
          • Neubayern
          • Neuhessen
          • Nouvelle Bourgogne
          • Nuova Lombardia
          • Skala
          • Stahlfurt
          • Grand View
          • Griff's Leap
          • Kurortas
          • Novolar
          • Olej
          • Pinball
          • Pryyemnyy
          • Pustina
          • Steingarten
          • The Hub
          • Nuova Puglia
          • Chuma
          • Nuovo Abruzzo
          • Stenen Tuin
          • New Libertalia
          • Nyū Shikoku
          • Nuova Tripoli
          • Catachan
          • Feurstern
          • Neuthüringen
          • Nowe Mazowsze
          • Nox
          • Platzregensburg
          • Porto Milano
          • Landprettig
          • New Algiers
          • New Clew Bay
          • Nubifragio
          • Bellaterra
      • Small Warship Yards
        • Construct New Small Warship Yards
          • Raj
          • New Port Royal
          • Nowa Warszawa
          • Nowy Slask
          • Chuma
          • Awha
          • Kaiyo
          • Shin Tōkyō
          • Iskra
          • Griffon
          • Bohren
      • Medium Warship Yards
        • Construct New Medium Warship Yards
          • New Pollux
          • Calliope
          • Pieklo
          • Nya Kopenhamn
          • Edelsteine
      • Large Warship Yards
        • Construct New Large Warship Yards
          • Bari
          • Kainga
          • Okusawa
          • New Capricorn
      • Capital Warship Yards
        • Construct New Capital Warship Yards
          • None at this time
    • Procurement
      • Standard Dropships
        • 400 Artemis-class Planetary Defense Boat Flotillas
        • 135 Wright-class Dockable ASF Platforms
        • 135 Colt-class Defense Blisters
      • Large Dropships
        • 30 Saipan-class Parasite Carriers
        • 280 Mikasa-class Parasite Battleships
        • 8 Omaha-class Parasite Scout Cruisers
      • Jumpships
        • 5 Windjammer-class Jumpships
      • Escorts
        • 210 Battle-class Destroyers
        • 10 Skjold-class Missile Corvettes
        • 10 Constellation-class Corvettes
        • 50 Tarantul-class Missile Raiders
        • 50 Asheville-class Raiders
      • Small Warships
        • 60 Belfast-class Light Cruisers
        • 30 De Grasse-class Light Cruisers
        • 10 Guiseppe Garibaldi-class Light Cruisers
        • 10 Hosho-class Light Carriers
        • 1 Consultant-class Fast Logistics Ship
      • Medium Warships
        • 20 Prinz Eugen Flight II-class Heavy Cruisers
        • 10 Algerie-class Heavy Cruisers
        • 5 Nevada-class Heavy Cruisers
      • Large Warships
        • 10 Kaiserin-class Battleships
        • 4 Saratoga-class Fleet Carriers
        • 10 Jean Bart-class Battlecruisers
    • Fortress Command
      • Black Tower
        • Nowego Lublina
        • Nowy Szczecin
        • Salamander
        • New Portland
        • Shwartzstahlfriedhof
      • Spartoi
        • Arvum
        • Baddorando
        • Sturmland
        • Blár
        • Waypoint 3

Elizabeth is up next, and is smiling a bit. “Your Majesty, let me start with DoME, since those maniacs need things to do before they convert the Palace into a giant battlemech or something.” General laughter greets that. “More seriously, they are prepared to begin intensive cleanup and remediation on Neuhessen in order to begin undoing the effects of the nuclear strikes there, along with their more usual work.”
  • DoME
    • Terraforming Projects
      • Neuhessen
      • Hot Mess
      • Nueva Chiapas
    • Regular Projects
      • Expand Shin Tokyo Arcologies
        • Final Expansion
      • Neuhessen Cleanup

“Now, on the economic front. The recent attack is a minor setback in the grand scheme of things, as while Neuhessen was an important part of the Diamond March, the Diamond March as a whole is a fraction of our total economic activity.” She looks a bit chagrined to have to say that, but you get the point of it. “That being said, we do think it would be useful to throw some extra investment that way this year.” She brings up the chart for investments and such.
  • Economic Focus, Investment & Infrastructure
    • Economic Focus
      • Core
        • Edelsteine
      • Periphery
        • Novalar
    • Major Investment
      • Core
        • Glorreich
      • Periphery
        • Stahlfurt
    • Investment
      • Neuhessen
    • Infrastructure & Industrial Zones
      • Hot Mess
      • Baddorando
      • Salamander
      • Nouvelle Bourgogne
      • Nuova Puglia

Dr San Severino is up next from the Foreign Ministry. “Your Majesty, we continue our routine activities, although we have been sending out small contact teams with the local minor traders to attempt to build relations with the minor powers that we know are out there. With the Pan Griffon Games ongoing this year there really isn’t anything for our Cultural Affairs department to do, but we would like additional funding for the outreach efforts to those statelets and such if possible.”
  • Foreign Ministry
    • Imperial Outreach Project

Tiberius is attending the meeting remotely, as he is currently on Neuhessen working with the remnants of the system government to properly reestablish governmental operations there in that system. “Your Majesty, the only thing we could go for is the continued expansion of the Civil Service.”

Grace, meanwhile, is present. “Your Majesty, originally we’d hoped to be able to begin R&D work on the next generation of warships, however we have fully analyzed the budget situation and determined that it would be fiscally irresponsible to do so this year. Simply put, the margin would be very poor and even the slightest economic downturn would result in severe deficits. As such we have several other proposed projects.”
  • Research & Development
    • New Projects
      • Prototype Lithium-Fusion Battery
        • We are very hesitant about this project, as such the first stage involves building a dedicated test facility in an otherwise empty system.
    • Project Recommendations
      • Prototype Lithium-Fusion Battery
      • Advanced Damage Control (Parasite) II
      • Advanced Damage Control (Warship) II
      • Economic Forecasting Lvl 2

Sina Day is absent, as she is working closely with analysts to attempt to bring some level of coherence to the reports concerning this ‘Federated Commonwealth’ that you have been getting. She does send an aide who reports that they do not require any additional funding this year.

Martina is present, however. “Your Majesty, I have two things for you this year. First off, we’d like to get a jump on our work streamlining the legal and regulatory systems for the next decade. If we play our cards right, we’ll be able to keep control of things for a longer period than we have in the past. Second, we would like to request increased funding for the Special Branch in light of the recent attack.”
 
Last edited:

Jarow

Well-known member
For commanders, my top 3:
[] Majed Tarik
Keeps people alive
[] Alfonso Zara
Protection from logistics problems
[] Miyara Ichibei
Best ground forces commander

Given we don't use ground forces often, but always have to keep them supplied, going to go with
[X] Alfonso Zara


Now, onto the plan:

[X] Plan: But I also likes savings the money
-[X] Procurement [$ 1,038,393,795,499.67 ]
--[X] Lay Down Major Unit [Construction - $84,576,856,497.25 ] (95)
---[X] 400 Artemis [95]
---[X] 135 Wright [95]
---[X] 135 Colt [95]

---[X] 280 Mikasa [95]
---[X] 30 Saipan [95]
---[X] 8 Omaha [95]

--[X] Lay down Jumpship [Jumpship Construction - $23,300,067.75 ] (90)
---[X] 5 Windjammer [90]

--[X] Lay down Warship [Warship Construction - $587,840,647,066.67 ] (90)
---[X] 60 Belfast*
---[X] 20 De Grasse*
---[X] 5 Hosho*
---[X] 10 Guiseppe Garibaldi*

---[X] 20 Prinz Eugen II*
---[X] 10 Algerie*
---[X] 5 Sacramento*
---[X] 20 Prinz Eugen II*
---[X] 10 Algerie*
---[X] 5 Nevada*

---[X] 10 Kaiserin*
---[X] 10 Jean Bart*
---[X] 10 Kaiserin*
---[X] 10 Saratoga*
---[X] 10 Kaiserin*
---[X] 10 Jean Bart*

---[X] 210 Battle [90]
---[X] 10 Skjold [90]
---[X] 10 Constellation [90]
---[X] 50 Tarantul [90]
---[X] 50 Asheville [90]

---[X] 60 Belfast [90]
---[X] 30 De Grasse [90]
---[X] 10 Guiseppe Garibaldi [90]
---[X] 10 Hosho [90]
---[X] 1 Vestal [90]

---[X] 20 Prinz Eugen II [90]
---[X] 10 Algerie [90]
---[X] 5 Nevada [90]

---[X] 10 Kaiserin [90]
---[X] 4 Saratoga [90]
---[X] 10 Jean Bart [90]

--[X] Purchase New Units [Minor Unit - $ 73,453,716,868.00 ] (90)
---[X] 40 Fighter Wing [auto]
---[X] 100 Carrier Wing [90]
---[X] 40 CAP Wing [90]

---[X] 25 Garrison Division [90]
---[X] 25 Militia Division [90]

--[X] Fortress Command [$ 282,499,275,000.00 ] (90)
---[X] Build Jump Point Defenses
---[X] Construct Oasis II
---[X] Construct Black Tower
----[X] Nowego Lublina [90]
----[X] Nowy Szczecin [90]
----[X] Salamander [90]
----[X] New Portland [90]
----[X] Shwartzstahlfriedhof [90]
---[X] 5 Spartoi Clusters [90]

--[X] SLEP [$ 10,000,000,000 ] (100)
---[X] SLEP all Mech Units* [->1]
---[X] SLEP all Conventional Units* [->1]

-[X] General [$ 2,753,850,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Focus Development on Core World Edelsteine [90]
--[X] Focus Development on Peripheral World Novolar [90]
--[X] Massive Core Investment Glorreich [85]
--[X] Massive Peripheral Investment Stahlfurt [85]
--[X] Economic Investment Neuhessen [90]
--[X] Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Salamander [90]
--[X] Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Nouvelle Bourgogne [90]
--[X] Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Hot Mess [90]
--[X] Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Baddorando [90]
--[X] Construct Infrastructure and Industrial zones on Nuova Puglia [90]
(Money is needed in general)
--[X] Imperial Outreach [-]
(People have been wanting to know what's going on in the IS, this can only help us with that)

--[X] Build ASF Factory Complex (95)
---[X] Glorreich [95]
---[X] Shin Tōkyō [95]
---[X] Kurortas [95]
---[X] Raj [95]
---[X] Pustina [95]
---[X] Platzregensburg [95]
---[X] Pryyemnyy [95]
---[X] Awha [95]
---[X] Bāṛi [95]
---[X] Bellaterra [95]
(We need things to put in our dropships and forts)
--[X] Rationalize Legal Codes [95]
--[X] Expand Special Branch [85]
(Not having issues with either of these is nice)
--[X] Expand Civil Service [80]
(We need as many actions as we can get)
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Neubayern [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Neuhessen [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nouvelle Bourgogne [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nuova Lombardia [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nuovo Puglia [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nuovo Abruzzo [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nyu Shikoku [90]

--[X] Construct Escort Yard Stenen Tuin [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard New Libertalia [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nuova Tripoli [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Catachan [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Feurstem [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Neuthuringen [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nowe Mazowsze [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nox [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Platzregensburg [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard New Algiers [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard New Clew Bay [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Nubifragio [90]

--[X] Construct Escort Yard Bellaterra [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Landprettig [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Porto Milano [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard The Hub [90]
--[X] Construct Escort Yard Baddorando [90]
--[X] Upgrade Refit & Repair Yard [105]
--[X] Expand Orbital Shipyards [105]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard New Phoenix* [90]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard Nowy Wroclaw* [90]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard Glorreich* [90]

--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard New Castor* [90]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard New Capricorn [->1]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard Okusawa [->1]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard Bari [->1]
--[X] Construct Large Warship Yard Kainga [->1]
--[X] Construct Medium Warship Yard Calliope [90]
--[X] Construct Medium Warship Yard Edelsteine [90]
--[X] Construct Medium Warship Yard Pieklo [90]
--[X] Construct Medium Warship Yard Nya Kopenhamn [90]
--[X] Construct Medium Warship Yard New Pollux [90]

--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Sturmland [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard New Port Royal [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Nowa Warzsawa [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Griffon [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Nowy Slask [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Chuma [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Awha [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Kaiyo [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Shin Tokyo [90]
--[X] Construct Small Warship Yard Iskra [90]
(Ships are important)

-[X] DoME [$ 1,902,000,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Expand Shin Tōkyō Arcologies* [90]
--[X] Neuhessen Cleanup [->2]
(I like my planets not irradiated)
--[X] Terraforming Neuhessen [->2]
--[X] Terraforming Hot Mess [->2]
--[X] Terraforming Nueva Chiapas [->2]
(Better planets can become core, and are more useful)
--[X] Terraforming Catachan* [->1]
--[X] Terraforming Nuova Puglia* [->1]
--[X] Terraforming Nuova Tripoli* [->1]
--[X] Terraforming Steingarten* [->1]
--[X] Terraforming Nox* [85]
--[X] Terraforming Nuova Fortezza* [85]
--[X] Terraforming Neuthuringen* [85]

--[X] Planetary Optimization (Peripheral) - Novolar* [85]

-[X] Research [$ 39,500,000,000,000.00 ]
--[X] Prototype Lithium-Fusion Battery [->9]
(Lets things move "faster" by charging two jumps instead of one. More importantly, safer for scouting because you can escape more effectively)
--[X] Genetic Engineering Lvl 6* [90]
--[X] Advanced Terraforming Techniques Lvl 2* [->1]
--[X] Advanced Terraforming Equipment lvl 2* [->1]
--[X] Advanced Damage Control (Parasite) II [->4]
--[X] Advanced Damage Control (Warship) II [->4]
(The more ships we can keep after combat, the fewer we have to replace)
--[X] Improved Germanium Refining Lvl 5* [->4]
--[X] Economic Forecasting Lvl 2 [->2]
(Money is always good)
--[X] Commercial R&D [-]
--[X] Industrial R&D [-]

-[X] Miscellaneous [$ 134,370,200,000.00 ]
--[X] Culture [$ 200,000 ]
---[X] Local Olympics
--[X] Production Contract [->1?][134,370,000,000]

51t leftover.
 

darkcloudt2

Well-known member
[X] Plan: But I also likes savings the money

I really like that we are finally doing something to find out what’s going on 8n the IS, also let’s hope that in a few more turns we can tip the scales so the that we a butchering the Black Steel fleets, because of their limited population there is no way the can keep up with us in the research and development race so once we get ahead of them we will keep the lead.
 

Artifex

Well-known member
[X] Plan: But I also likes savings the money

Good plan, but I seem to miss the entry for supplying the spooks with additional money for them to figure out what is happening with the area between us and the Periphery states (MoC/Aurigans/Taurians)?
 

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