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Attempting to Fulfill the Plan: GDI Edition

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Time to yeet to pluto (Not Charon :p)
[X] Plan Yeet to Pluto
-[X]Tanegashima Space Center (Stage 3) 3 dice 60C 317/400 91%
-[X]Reusable Probes (36/36 IP, 18/18 Capital)(Allows for spending of Pathfinder time instead of resources for scans)
-[X]Surface Exploration EVA Development 92/500 5 dice 10C 20%
-[X]Mars Landing Mission Addendum: Return sample of transuranics 30/50 1 die 86%
-[X]Mission: Surface Exploration Ceres 44/100 1 dice 50%
-[X]Mission: Orbital Scan Pluto 1 die auto
-[X]Pardus Mission-Luna Mare Insularum 4IP, 2C, 1 Manned Mission
-[X]Pardus Mission-Luna Stevinus 4IP, 2C, 1 Manned Mission
-[X]Pathfinder: Surface Scan Pluto 55 days 6IP, 3C, 3 Launch Cap
Totals: 95C/130C, 50IP/50IP, 56/90 Pathfinder Days, 3/80 Launch Capacity, 2/2 Manned Missions
BOTcommander threw 3 100-faced dice. Reason: Tanegashima Space Center Total: 215
74 74 100 100 41 41
BOTcommander threw 5 100-faced dice. Reason: Surface Exploration EVA Total: 196
36 36 27 27 3 3 90 90 40 40
BOTcommander threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Mars Mission Addendum Total: 20
20 20
BOTcommander threw 1 100-faced dice. Reason: Surface Exploration Total: 34
34 34
BOTcommander threw 2 8-faced dice. Reason: Pardus Prospecting Total: 10
2 2 8 8
BOTcommander threw 1 4-faced dice. Reason: Prospecting 1 Availability Total: 2
2 2
BOTcommander threw 3 8-faced dice. Reason: Mars Prospecting Total: 11
4 4 1 1 6 6
BOTcommander threw 1 3-faced dice. Reason: Mars Prospecting 1 Total: 1
1 1
 
Last edited:
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Q2 2058 Results
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    • GDIOnline Q2 2058


    Yellow Zone Community Thread X: Qualifications?
    TabithaCat

    So I just got back from the last day of testing for the first month's intake of Yellow Zone Qualifications applicants. I had five days, most of the others only had two or three. I was going for General Engineering quals, which are hard, but I think I got them. Generally the first day was easy. Algebra, some calculus, reading and writing mostly. I would have been insulted if I did not know that some people failed out on that first day. Second was harder, got into a spectrum of sciences. Physics and chemistry mostly, with some biology. Third through fifth were specialist, and I got put through the damn wringer. It was everything from robotics to high energy dynamics to aerospace (although I don't expect to ever be authorized for a job there).
    Overall, it was a challenging course, meant to give GDI a baseline of who is where. Been living here for a couple years, and I want to do something. I was told to expect a week before my quals came back, and two to three before I am assigned to anything. But, well, I can wait.

    GreenBird
    all those tests were super hard how were u able to do so well? i got through like the first test with the number before they took me out to do a diff bunch of tests!!!! they say my learning wassnt so good so they gave me this one test where there was a whole bunch of shapes in a row in a pattern and then told me to predict how the rest of the pattern went. then there was another qustion about about what a dice would look like if they unravelled it and told me to guess what it would look. they called it and eye cue test or something.

    i never went to this school thing they asked about. dad was the one who had all the learning in the family. im afraid of this special catchup school they are puttin me in for smart but no school people. dad tole me a little about it but i cant ask him about it any more since he die last year.

    TabithaCat
    I was lucky. The local Confessor was big on education. I keep remembering him telling me "knowledge is power, use it well." Of course, there was also a lot of "holy tiberium" nonsense. That lasted until he walked into a Tiberium field.

    GreenBird
    mum and dad tried really hard to keep me away from the nod guys and they always kept coming and we had to move all the time from place to place. i didnt get why when i was younger but then one time i saw a bunch of nod guys make a bunch of their guys stand on a plank of wood over this tib pit and try to push each other into it. mum told me the confessor guy sometimes make each other do that when they argue. but then that confessor sometime brought fresh ration packs to the town and most of them usually were still sealed. we didnt stay there too long, dad said more of the confessors guys would come later.

    SpeakertoManagers
    #Greenbird, you should be thankful for the chance you are being given. On your knees with gratitude that you're only having to pass an IQ test rather than being sent back to that Yellow Zone you crawled out of. There are too many people in the world who take for granted what they have, and think they deserve things. What you have been given is a chance and a gift and you do not deserve it! It is charity, plain and simple, and I see far too many people acting like this supreme kindness is in some way anything else.

    FloatingWood
    #SpeakertoManagers, well, I see that we found one bitch whose parents failed to educate her properly on her manners.
    Or, for that matter, on her history. Used to be that having an education of any kind at all was something you could only get if your parents were rich. Us in the Blue Zones are very fortunate indeed that GDI invests tremendous effort in making sure the population is educated, regardless of whether or not they deserve it. Why, one could call it charity.

    AccomplishingProvidence
    #SpeakertoManagers , you are the one who should be thankful, on her knees and crying out in thanks to whatever deity or force you place your faith in. Because it is by no inherent merit that you found yourself in what is clearly a position of privilege. Since you certainly don't seem to be showing any inherent merit to being what sounds like a poster child for Nod's propaganda about "decadent Blue Zoners".
    #GreenBird just ignore Speaker. Whoever they are, they don't know you, or where you came from. It sounds like you've endured a lot of pain and trials in your life. I'm glad you seem to still have a positive outlook. I know it's difficult now, but keep trying with those tests. From what I've been hearing, the people at the testing center will do their very best, so all you need to do is your best, and let them worry about the rest. I'm happy you're taking the steps to improve yourself. Keep it up!

    SpeakertoManagers
    #FloatingWood I do not see anything impolite about my manners-I am simply trying to correct the breathtaking greed of the average poster who says they 'deserve' things like this before it gets out of hand. Nobody 'deserves' an education or a place to live, you either have to earn it with hard work or acquire it through the good graces of someone else. It is even moreso in this case, but
    #AccomplishingProvidence you misunderstand both my character (I am a hard working woman, a devoted mother, and an interested community leader!) and my points here. I am not a meek and submissive kitten who can be bullied like some other people, I have strength and wisdom. I lost my home in the last war, and I can tell you I have not an ounce of privilege in my body.

    Calvary8472
    {Deleted by Tin_Father: Personal Attacks, Excessive Profanity}

    Tin_Father
    #Calvary 8472, this is not the first time one of the moderators has had to take action about this. Remember that this is a family friendly forum and one where we do not need to be calling people subhuman, let alone any of the rest of your screed.

    AccomplishingProvidence
    #SpeakertoManagers, your words reek of privilege. The greatness of the Global Defense Initiative in the last decade, the strength and resurgence of this world-wide nation, has come from leaders who decided that every single person within the reaches of GDI deserved to have food, water, shelter, clothing, health care, and education. The world is ravaged by a crystal that consumes all in its path. Tiberium is fascinating but ruthless, and would not care a wrap about your "character."
    Any person who would speak down to a person the way you spoke to GreenBird, especially with his statements about the trials his family has undergone, has shown themselves to have exceedingly poor character. Attitudes like yours belong in the dustbin of history.

    Only when mankind finally sheds the weight of these prejudices once and for all can we truly reach our potential. There will always be disagreements, debates, and arguments; we will not agree on many things, including religion, politics, and the best toppings for pizza. But it is my dream that one day humanity can agree that treating others as lesser due to the circumstances of their birth, the misfortunes of the economy, or the like is simply needless, useless, and baseless. It is a dream that may seem that of a fool, but it is one I hold close to my heart. We have but to look around to see the potential the collective of mankind holds. One day these "Tiberium Wars" will be over, and we will be left picking up the pieces; mark my words that the path we take to achieve that victory will determine our fate beyond this humble sphere we reside on.

    TabithaCat
    #AccomplishingProvidence
    Thank you for the support.

    MajorMiner
    I'm happy to see more people who grew up in Yellow Zones getting pulled in for certification for work - when you work with Tib for a living, having the dangers hammered in from a young age is definitely a plus. I can't tell you how many idiot newbies have medical'd themselves out with Tib-related injuries that were their own damn fault, but most of them came from Blue zones. So the IF and their patsies can shut up and let us save the world for them.
    And remember, treatment for rock lung or other Tib-related illnesses costs a lot.

    FloatingWood
    #MajorMiner, actually, they cost you very little. Not to say that the treatments themselves aren't expensive, but you have an astonishingly good health care insurance plan.
    It's called 'taxes'. GDI covers most of the bill, you might end up paying a small fee, a few hundred credit a year, tops.
    That said, if you look at the unemployment and job vacancy numbers you can see that there's a reason the certification matter was pushed through. We have plenty of people who want to work, but lots of jobs that require an education where certified people are near enough impossible to find, so finding people's qualifications and making sure they're up to snuff and certifying for them through the standard system makes a lot of things a lot easier.

    MajorMiner
    #FloatingWood
    I was referring to total cost of treatment, not the cost to the person who's sick.
    Given that the IF bigots seem to be focusing on "how much does this take away from my precious moneys". Just thought I'd point out how stupid their screeds are, when you actually look at the facts.

    AccomplishingProvidence
    Before things potentially get too heated I'd just like to point that as far as I can tell, both of you (#MajorMiner and #FloatingWood) said nearly the same things in terms of intent and "mission" (if you will). Just from different perspectives. Which can be exceedingly useful! We all benefit when we take the time to consider the "angles" in this way.
    Well, everyone except the mindless bigots, but that's really on them, isn't it?

    Ormond2020
    Speaking as an actual teacher, #Greenbird, I want you to know that you don't have anything to be worried about, any teacher actually worth the name will want to do their best to help you, it sounds like you're a very bright person with a good future ahead of you. Do your best and I can guarantee you'll have a rewarding experience learning; if you find you're having any kind of trouble at all, either in School or with people like #SpeakertoManagers you can send me a private message and I'll do whatever I can to help you out. You deserve an education. Every Human Being does.

    YellowZon3r
    Well I don't have much to add to this save my job is still going along. I've been doing the same job under GDI as I have been prior to them coming along and I'm good at it. To those of you bettering yourselves, best of luck and keep up the hard work.

    Solan
    I see some of the tests I helped create is making rounds here especially the engineering ones it took us in the whole committee there to find out how to accurately measure engineering skills as well as other jobs.While I wait to go back to Yellow Zone deployment I was chosen to be part of the academia track my superiors told me since even with the many Red Zone mining sites I would love to do I was part of the select people to work on these tests and double check in grading them since the machine might not work as intended. I also heard that the essay-type qualification exams are harder to grade since you can't use an EVA but I'm not yet grading that since we actually have entire departments helping us out. Though from what I heard an ethics test might be on the table especially those who will go to Department work and they're mostly essay types so this will be fun because I was chosen as a part of the committee to check on the thousands of new citizen applicants' entry to the central offices of each department.

    Politics Thread XV: Expansion of Parliament?

    PoliProf
    Looks like the sat net is back up. Parliament is probably going to be expanded again. Would anyone like to give their ideas as to who might benefit from the new coverage? If I were a betting man, my money would be on the Militarists, seeing as the army has been making headway in the Middle East, and perhaps a dozen or so splinter factions of the existing parties.

    FloatingWood
    UYL and similar parties who depend a lot on the Green Zone vote. Most of the sat net will be used for getting in the votes that aren't on the hardline network in the Blue Zones.

    Crucible
    I know I'm going to get rebuked for this, but I must be honest and stand up for what I believe in. I am a lapsed Noddite. I believe the Faith is in desperate need of reform. We have lost our way. In the next elections, I intend to start a Party of Reformist Noddites. I accept that this will likely result in either my assassination or imprisonment, but it must be done. I believe that there has to be change. That GDI has proven that it is capable of actually living up to what it claims to be. I am tired, tired of fighting for peace when the toll inevitably falls on the civilian population. Kane forgive me, but there must be a better way than this? More than that, I want to prove that the beliefs of Nod and the beliefs of this new GDI can work together and indeed, must, for the good of all of Humanity.

    ProfCollingsworth
    #Crucible
    As a historian, I have to say that the Brotherhood of NOD's professed beliefs have had a fair amount of justice behind them. As shown by the virulent entitlement of the Initiative First party, the GDI has at best a spotty record of living up to its own professed high ideals. I support everyone who seeks to support the best ideals of humanity, whatever the label they use.
    ...now if we could only break the influence of Gilded-Age beliefs about wealth/privilege justifying morality… Sorry, I'll save the lectures for my students.

    LaserKiwi2000
    It's been a while since I heard from a family friend in the Far North, but it sounds like their community is going perfectly fine, for a yellow zone anyway. Satellites finally got dense enough that we can talk to each other. Pretty cool.

    BlueGuppy
    My streaming base has had a minor uptick from new IP codes, which is nice. Might have something to do with the sats?

    Crucible
    #ProfCollingsworth
    It is an unfortunate fact that the root Nod grows from is disaffection. It is a sad reality that Nod has been forced to act as a monument to the Sins of the old world. The poor and unloved filled our ranks, and instead of doing what I believe was originally intended; supporting one another, becoming part of something great and wonderful, the anger at the injustice of our situation poisoned our hearts and minds. There is nothing wrong with Peace. There is nothing wrong with believing in something greater than us. Even now, the focus of most Nod Warlords, and they are Warlords, is on their own personal power. There are no city builders among their ranks. There is no love in their hearts for the oppressed. Only fear, that they too will one day be crushed under the boot of GDI or their own Brothers and Sisters. I truly believe that Nod was justified in rising up against GDI in the first Tiberium War, but the dead outnumber the living now. This cannot continue.

    ProfCollingsworth
    #Crucible
    To be pedantic, something I am told I am extremely good at, some factions of NOD were justified in their actions in the first Tiberium War. Unfortunately, reality continues to be messy, and those with pure intentions often find themselves in a position where they have no simple, clear path of action. And too often, unless they are careful, they find themselves used by people who are skilled at making themselves seem reasonable, until it's too late. I hope that you can find a way that allows you both the peace and the freedom you seek.

    FloatingWood
    #Crucible, you may believe that, but the past 70 years have sadly shown that whatever the good intentions of Nod as a religion, it has drowned in cruelty, terror and wrath. Religion has a long and storied history of being used by the powerful and ambitious to further their own goals no matter the cost to others, so it's at least in good company there.

    Crucible
    #ProfCollingsworth Thank you for your kind consideration, I hope that you too will enjoy peace and freedom.
    #FloatingWood, I am all too aware of the darkness in the heart of Mankind. I have seen it, all my life I have seen it. Even in the depths of sleep, I cannot escape it. But if GDI... if even that closed hearted, closed fisted tyrant can unclasp its hand and reach out to those it has by turns ignored and brutalised, if even it can change, perhaps I can help save the heart of Nod. In either case, I believe that an alternative must be presented. Even if it is mostly futile, even if only a few listen.

    FloatingWood
    #Crucible, I wish you the best of luck. The path you seek to walk is not easy, nor is it safe, and you know it. But it is one worth walking.

    AccomplishingProvidence
    #PoliProf , I would echo the guesses that we will see gains for the United Yellow List and Militarists. I would wager the Market Socialists and likely the Socialists will also grow, perhaps even splintering off members of Developmentalists.
    #Crucible , I applaud your courage. It is easy to simply sit back and mourn "what could have been", and for some, that is all they might be able to due thanks to circumstance. It seems you have found yourself in a position wherein you feel you can do more than that. I hope you find success, rather than the barrel of a gun or the shackles of oppression. Here's to your success, my friend.

    YellowZon3r
    United Yellow List voter here. And yeah, for now most yellow zoners that are Nod or Former nod have found their home in this party. So one hand, vote splitting. But on the other, UYL does too much good to be tarred with further accusations of being Nod Sympathisers. That said, an actual Nod Party isn't a bad idea. The core principle of democracy being anyone willing to abide by democracy has a say in democracy.

    Akira Oda (Treasury)
    Speaking as someone in the halls of power of GDI's government I would say that it is too early for now to be speculating on elections since while I have my own preferences on who to vote the projects being decided is making the political situation in flux and parliament is deciding on many important projects to greenlight with Mr. Seo's scientific interest however, rest assured that GDI's political apparatus will still be a pluralistic one since I doubt we would return to an era of the two-party system that happened before the war. Director Litinov is also a factor as the first post-reconstruction Director she would do more than just a holding action like General Granger mostly because of the resources and time that Granger gave us.

    Q2 2058 Results

    Settled in: +2 to all areas (maximum of +8)

    Resources:‌ ‌585 ‌+‌ 5 ‌in‌ ‌reserve‌ ‌(15‌ ‌allocated‌ ‌to‌ ‌the‌ ‌Forgotten)‌ ‌(35 ‌allocated‌ ‌to‌ ‌grants)‌(+10 from Taxes)

    Political‌ ‌Support:‌ ‌75
    SCIENCE Meter: 4/4
    Free‌ ‌Dice:‌ ‌6‌ ‌
    Tiberium Spread
    17.76 Blue Zone
    3.6 Green Zone
    22.56 Yellow Zone (88 points of abatement)
    56.08 Red Zone (67 points of abatement)

    Current‌ ‌Economic‌ ‌Issues:‌ ‌
    Housing:‌ Limited ‌Surplus‌ ‌(+9)‌ ‌ (31 population in low quality housing) (1 points of refugees)
    Energy:‌ Major ‌Surpluses‌ ‌(+15)‌ ‌(+2 in reserve)
    Logistics:‌ Limited ‌Surpluses‌ ‌(+4)‌ ‌
    Food:‌ Major ‌Surpluses‌ ‌(+21)‌ ‌(+8 in reserve)‌ ‌
    Health:‌ Steadily Improved ‌(+9)‌ (4 consumed by emergency refugee healthcare) ‌
    Capital‌ ‌Goods:‌ Significant ‌Surplus‌es ‌(+6)‌ ‌
    Consumer‌ ‌Goods:‌ Significant Surpluses ‌(+30)‌ ‌(+5 from private industry)
    Labor:‌ Significant ‌Surpluses‌ ‌(+30)‌ (+4 per turn) ‌
    Tiberium‌ ‌Processing‌ ‌Capacity‌ ‌(1520/1720)‌ ‌
    Yellow‌ ‌Zone‌ ‌
    Water:‌ Notable ‌Surpluses‌ ‌(+6)‌ ‌

    Status‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌Parties‌ ‌
    (strong‌ ‌support,‌ ‌weak‌ ‌support,‌ ‌weak‌ ‌opposition,‌ ‌strong‌ ‌opposition)‌ ‌
    ‌
    Free‌ ‌Market‌ ‌Party:‌ ‌125‌ ‌seats‌ ‌(0;‌ ‌10;‌ ‌20;‌ ‌95)‌ ‌
    Market‌ ‌Socialist‌ ‌Party:‌ ‌331 ‌seats‌ ‌(161;‌ ‌122;‌ ‌30;‌ ‌15)‌ ‌ ‌
    Militarist:‌ ‌237‌ ‌seats‌ ‌(53;‌ ‌150;‌ ‌20;‌ ‌14)‌ ‌
    Initiative‌ ‌First:‌ ‌178‌ ‌seats‌ ‌(0;‌ ‌0;‌ ‌48; ‌130)‌ ‌
    United‌ ‌Yellow‌ ‌List:‌ ‌73 ‌seats‌ ‌(65;‌ ‌8;‌ ‌0;‌ ‌0)‌ ‌
    Starbound‌ ‌Party:‌ ‌155 ‌seats‌ ‌(85; 70;‌ ‌0;‌ ‌0)‌ ‌
    Socialist‌ ‌Party:‌ ‌50 ‌seats‌ ‌(34;‌ ‌16;‌ ‌0;‌ ‌0)‌ ‌
    Developmentalists:‌ ‌640 ‌seats‌ ‌(360;‌ ‌210;‌ ‌70;‌ ‌0)‌ ‌
    Independents‌ ‌11 ‌seats‌ ‌
    -Biodiversity‌ ‌Party‌ ‌(2 ‌seats:‌ ‌Weak‌ ‌Support)‌ ‌ ‌
    -Dominion‌ ‌Party‌ ‌(1‌ ‌seat:‌ ‌Strong‌ ‌Opposition)‌ ‌ ‌
    -Reclamation‌ ‌Party‌ ‌(5‌ ‌seats:‌ ‌Weak‌ ‌Support)‌ ‌ ‌
    -Homeland‌ ‌Party‌ ‌(3‌ ‌seats:‌ ‌Weak‌ ‌Support)‌ ‌
    ‌
    Military‌ ‌Confidence‌ ‌
    Ground‌ ‌Forces‌ ‌:‌ ‌Decent‌ ‌ ‌
    Air‌ ‌Force‌ ‌:‌ ‌Decent‌ ‌
    Space‌ ‌Force‌ ‌:‌ ‌Decent‌ ‌
    Steel‌ ‌Talons:‌ ‌Low
    Navy:‌ Decent ‌
    ZOCOM:‌ ‌Decent ‌

    Plan Goals
    Capital Goods: 50 Points
    Consumer Goods: 110 (40) Points
    Food: 20 points in reserve
    Income: 550 Points
    Stations: 4000 Points
    Abatement: 30 Points
    Processing: 1080 points
    Projects
    Complete ASAT Phase 4
    Complete OSRCT Phase 4
    Prototype Plasma Weapons Development
    Shimmer Shield Development
    Orbital Defense Laser Development
    Railgun Munitions Development
    Tactical Plasma Weapons Development
    Complete the Hydrofoil Project
    Complete the Point Defense Refits
    Complete at least three more phases of Shell Plants
    Complete at least two more phase of Ablative Armor
    Complete at least two more phases of URLS production
    Complete at least two phases of Wadamalaw Kudzu Plantations
    Complete at least three more phases of Blue Zone Arcologies
    Complete GDSS Enterprise
    Complete GDSS Philadelphia II
    Complete at least six phases of Lunar Mines
    Complete Perennials Phase 3
    Complete at least four phases of Karachi Planned City
    Develop Tactical Ion Cannons
    Develop and Deploy Mastodon
    Develop and Deploy Havoc


    Emilia Litvinov.
    After bending Parliament to her will, as much as possible anyway, Litvinov has turned her eyes to the bureaucracy of government, especially looking at the Treasury.

    Seo,
    While your efforts to integrate the refugees into the workforce have been exemplary, I believe that more investment will need to be made in education, especially in the Green Zones. Beyond the educational side of affairs, my administration is looking to further improve integration and immigration systems, and will be expecting the Treasury to take a leading role in that. While much of the work will be assigned to the Welfare department, they will need your support. I expect to be able to send you program proposals in the coming weeks, and will expect you to give them all due attention.
    Beyond that, I look forward to collaborating on a number of future projects to better serve the people of the Initiative and the world. If there are tasks that you believe will be useful, but require other departments, please send them to my desk.
    Sincerely,
    Director Litvinov

    Politics
    The Initiative First party has seen a marginal rally, having been able to frame themselves in the aftermath of the attack of Hideo Daishi as Cassandras rather than ignorant bigots. However, this has not been an altogether effective strategy, with only marginal gains for most of their ranks. The end result meant that IF remained a niche party, especially with the repeated snubs from other corners of the political groups and system as a whole– but it is now one that has fully closed ranks around Ozawa, axing and curtailing any chance of reform aside from leaving the party wholesale.

    In big-picture politics, the Militarists are quite pleased with the current situation, as they have gotten significantly increased military spending during the same timeframe in either of the last two plans. Secure as they are, Al-Jilani and the rest of the Militarists have no complaints, as the military are well positioned to launch a successful campaign, having spent the last two years riding relatively high on massive military spending. In this, they are senescent and would not rush the new heir of the Treasury as the department continues to be on-board with their given mandate, particularly considering that they have expected the Department to continue with the intensification of resource extraction.

    Beyond that, the future is a point of hazy chanciness. The manifold forms of the GDI are left wondering what comes next. For between the bureaucratic tugging driven by impending labor shortage against worker rights push, the sown seeds of the reforms undertaken by Professor Granger, as well as the new Director's ongoing crusade against the excessively punitive measures of the GDI security state, someone expects some form of shoe to drop within the coming years. The mood on the whole, however, is one of guarded optimism, for the Initiative's left wing has seized more meaningful victories within the past decade than it has within the lifetimes of its younger citizens.

    Capital Goods
    Over the last few quarters, GDI's surplus of capital goods has gone towards backfilling the technical deficit of the Initiative's manufacturing capabilities. Inch by inch and bit by bit, delayed and deferred maintenance cycles are dealt with and in this quarter, the auditing resulted in another record. For now, since the onset of the Third Tiberium War, maintenance cycles across GDI territories are fully up to date. With many facilities having returned to standard operating capacities, many in GDI's government are ready to begin stockpiling masses of capital goods in secured warehouses, replacing the spent caches that Professor Granger had used in his crusade against the aggressive Tiberium encroachment in his first Term. However, they need authorization to begin such forms of massed stockpiling as well as first priority to ensure that they can call on modern goods before they get snapped up by factories or the public marketplaces.

    However, this proposal is not without its detractors. Every subfactions from within the Developmentalists up to the Market Socialists felt that while stockpiling is eminently reasonable, the market is at a pivotal juncture where numerous cooperatives and startups have truly gained tempo in picking up the slack where the Treasury cannot easily prioritize. They argued that enacting the stockpiling schema within the next year or so would stall the markets, potentially leading to an unwanted tertiary goods market shortage. While such things are survivable, to have it happen in the first years of Seo's leadership is likely to be bad for the optics, especially with the expectations that he would not be as politically detached like his predecessor.

    Environment Suits
    On a more positive note, the P2050 Civilian Environment Suit produced by GDI has become a staple addition of aid supplies, with significant numbers of updated models being provided to the Caravanserai as Hajj packages due to the ability of the Commanders of the Hajj to penetrate deep beyond GDI's zone of influences. The Commanders and their subordinates then would use the Suits both as bargaining chips– as the P2050s are of standardized high-quality beyond most of what most Warlords can produce– and pilgrim aid both. A quick estimate shows that ten percent of the elderly Hajj pilgrims are saved from untimely and life-threatening medical complications due to the suit's insulation, even as the Caravanserais travel unimpeded without worrying about GDI's Ion Cannons. Not only that, nearly the entire production of the suits by this point are being sent out beyond GDI borders as basic humanitarian goods. The P2050 now can be found not only in GDI territories, but– allegedly, as the InOps are unable to truly confirm– across all Brotherhood of Nod regions except for the most radical and hardliner of the factions.

    Assassination Attempts
    This quarter the Brotherhood of Nod made two strikes against the Initiative's political system, once against Arthur Hackett, and another against Hideo Daishi. Both are dangerous marks to be singled out.

    Hackett's base of operations is in Vauxhall Cross London, in a complex centered around the old MI6 building. However, he lives further upriver in Kew, leaving a long period of relative vulnerability.
    In early February, a fairly major London Shadow Cell received orders to take out Hackett, and having taken nearly two months to prepare, they made their move. On the night of May 6th, eight Shadows bypassed Hackett's guarded perimeter and made their way towards the garage where a trio of Guardian APCs were parked. As they moved in to plant explosive charges inside the maintenance hatches, they were taken by surprise via a salvo of concussive and stun grenades before being quickly overwhelmed by Hackett's security team. In truth, the team had spotted the intruders near the perimeters and gambled for a capture operation. With the Shadows captured alive and relatively whole– as much as anyone subjected to a dozen shock grenades could be– the rest of the London cell has been rolled up. With operations coming to a halt in the last few days, Intelligence has begun taking stock of what has survived.

    The latter assassionation attempt however, is in some ways far more threatening than the former, at least to the consensus of the GDI politicos not in Initiative First's camp. The attempt at the son of Hideo Ozawa lends credence that he's not only chasing shadows against potential threats, but one that chased an adversary out for his own kin, slightly estranged as they are. This time, the assassination vector is Daishi's proclivity for travelling, as he does on-site consulting work with construction teams around the world. Some unknown person leaked Daishi's travel plans and led to a Shadow Team at the ready with RPG-43s to intercept his flight path. In the corresponding salvo consisting of five missiles, the Carryall transporting him took two missile strikes, one to the port forward rotor, and one to the port cabin below it. While Daishi was on the other side of the cabin, he took multiple pieces of shrapnel to his left arm and leg as the Carryall made an emergency landing. The response from GDI was swift, with security flooding the area in under twenty minutes before further harm could come to Daishi. In the aftermath, Shadow Team's equipment was found abandoned, the team itself had made itself scarce beforehand. Luck was not on their side, however, as within the next day their trail was picked up again, and in the next eighteen hours, they were hunted down and eliminated piecemeal.
    Hideo Daishi has spent the following weeks in a hospital, recovering from the shrapnel wounds. In this time he has refused all requests for interviews and has done nothing to contest his father's version of events. There is little that can be done to push him into testifying, as he likely knows very little, and beyond that, any pressure on him would taint his testimony.

    Middle East
    Across the Middle East, tumultuous times are abound. Nod Warlords, and several of the few remaining neutral ones, have been found dead or vanished altogether. While the culprits are unknown, the motive is clear for the vast majority of the victims are the ones who have worked with GDI in the past. The Caravanserai in particular seems to be hit hard by this. While this year's Hajj pilgrims are higher than the last due to the inherent stability of the routes and the completion of the Planned Cities Cluster, the Initiative has had to take a more complete charge, and often directly negotiate with Warlords across the Muslim-adherent Nod territories to ensure safe passage for the pilgrims due to the death of many Caravanserai intermediaries. This appears to be retaliation for the betrayal of the Brotherhood by one of the more hardline figures in the organization.

    Navy and the Battle of Natuna Isles
    Within the first months of the quarter, news media and the eyes of the world were fixed to the largest naval engagement since the Third Tiberium War, the Battle of Natuna Isles. The engagement happened early in the quarter as a flotilla of six Governors did a regular patrol mission around the coastlines of Natuna Islands, an archipelago within the confines of the Malacca Strait with over 250 islands within it. It was here, among the shallower Tiberium-reefed waters, that the Brotherhood of Nod sprung their ambush. With coastal artillery emplacements breaking out of stealth fields and the signal-jamming cover of the Tiberium-encrusted islands, they fired a synchronized salvo on each of the Governors. Though most of the fire was intercepted with the CIWS, it was a constant barrage that allowed for elements of Bintang's fleet to reach combat ranges without being intercepted, including Bintang herself aboard the Rajanaga present on the Brotherhood's side. Sensing a losing battle when he saw one, the Flotilla Admiral, one Ranjeet Savitr, ordered a fighting retreat as he opened contact with both the Space Force and any naval presence that he could reach. It was a harrowing three hours as the flotilla broke free of the shallower waters, sprinting at forty knots north, towards Japan. All the while, Brotherhood air assets maintained continuous attack on the flotilla, although they did minimal damage. Glide and dive bombing attacks from Vertigo Squadrons based on the coasts of Borneo did minimal damage, but kept the men at their posts, and the antiaircraft and CIWS systems firing near constantly. At the end of those three hours, the micromissiles had been shot nearly dry across the task force, and the other systems had begun to show strain. However, Bintang's own complement maintained a safe following distance, close enough to shadow, but far enough away to avoid any parting shots taken by the retreating group.

    The reasoning became clear soon after, as abnormal signatures began to be detected under the water- then above the decks. Lithe and sleek, many-tentacled cephalopodic boarders made themselves known, moving with speed beyond the languid agility of the seaborn creatures normally have. With great cost to the relatively lightly armed seamen and with the deployment of the ship's contingent of Zone Armored troops, they were repelled as the Governors continued to beat a hasty retreat. Respite seemed close, however, as the Carrier Battle Group "Talay Khan," having sprinted south from their posting near Taiwan, launched their own large contingent of Firehawks to cover the retreat and with the Space Force ready to fire their ionic salvos. By this point, however, the Rajanaga had entered the engagement range and revealed that Bintang had not rested on her laurels. With the unnerving sounds of plasma weaponry, the Pirate Queen's flagship scorched the decks of Raskolnikov and Paricia, rendering the two Governors helpless to fight, though still able to flee as the other Governors covered for their smouldering sister ships. Not willing to risk the loss of further lives, Rear Admiral Savitr called in the bombardment, well before Rajanaga's supporting elements massed enough for the ion salvo to hit them.

    Instead of the expected destruction and death of a Warlord, Bintang revealed her trump card as a shield shimmered around her flagship and the diffusion of the ion bombardment around the barrier. At the same time, eight Brotherhood destroyers, ships of about seven thousand tons, launched from the coast of Borneo, made interception, prompting a close range gun battle as the four still capable ships of Savitr's fleet took desperate measures to safeguard their sisters. Firing at maximum rate, the destroyers were pummeled with 200mm railgun shells, punching through their bows and detonating inside, while they returned fire with octets of 130mm conventional guns, and salvoes of deck launched torpedoes and missiles. It was a running knife fight, with any loss in speed turning rapidly into death at the hands of an implacable enemy. With the arrival of Talay Khan's Firehawks, the two surviving destroyers were rapidly sunk, and Bintang seems to have been dissuaded from further pursuit, scattering her flagship escorts south, into the seas.

    The end result of the three and half hour long Battle of Natuna Isles, is an unequivocal tactical loss to the GDI, even as none of the Governors were mission-killed and having blooded the ambushing forces. Though it had revealed the greater extent of Bintang's capability as a Warlord and Rajanaga's ability to counter GDI's Ion SOP against HVTs, it came at the cost of 19 naval airmen, 201 dead seamen and a further 472 heavily injured- a blow to the highly skilled workforce of the GDI Navy. Furthermore, each one of the six Governors had been significantly damaged, with the least damaged– Zaratan– having melted its railguns with constant high-intensity fire and three of its AA platforms destroyed from artillery salvos and hydraulic press like vice of the bioweapons, leaving only its forward starboard gun able to operate. It is estimated that repairs will take some five to seven months, though it could be reasonably shortened with the completion of the Busan-Ulsan shipyard complex– as the flotilla will undergo repairs within the confines of the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese Home Islands. Furthermore, post-battle analysis showed that R.Adm Savitr and his flotilla had done as close to an optimal engagement against a numerically superior– and importantly– skilled foe. Unwilling to risk actual ship and further manpower losses, the Navy stopped all patrol operations within the Malacca Strait and limited operations within the Java and South China Seas strictly to larger flotillas and carrier battle groups.

    In a silver lining, the battle had become the Governors first major surface engagement and showed that it is a surprisingly hardy platform against sudden ambushes on the shallower waters with its damage control and fire suppression systems working as expected. Its weapons have, at the least, been proven to destroy the numerous and standard cruisers that Bintang favours with ease. Though no slugging match occurred due to Savitr's discretion, simulated analysis indicated that a good part of Bintang's strategic calculus hinged on waiting for the Governors weapon systems being mostly destroyed or spent before closing in. Its weaknesses however, are laid out clearly. The lack of updated point defense systems are keenly felt, as additional PD emplacements would have helped shoot down the artillery shells and pick off the boarders before the Zone Troopers could intercede.

    Military Priorities
    • Ground Forces
    For the Ground Forces, the highest priority must be the prompt delivery of zone armor as soon as possible. With the development of new artillery pieces, they are expecting delivery on a somewhat accelerated schedule, with the aim of drastically reducing the overall shell problem. Third is consumables. While current consumables supplies are enough for smaller scale operations, general operations exhaust supplies quickly.
    Currently, the provision of vehicles is generally sufficient. However, many of the existing designs lack the space or other requirements for enhancing capabilities and will require replacements during the coming years.
    • Steel Talons
    The Steel Talons see current priorities as having shifted away from Ground Forces and general vehicle development. While they see the development of the Havoc as the most potentially revolutionary system currently available, they are also very interested in new weapons and armor technologies, especially the potential of the Ion Cannon system in novel configurations.
    • Air Force
    With the missile problem well on its way to being resolved (although more missiles would certainly not go amiss) the Air Force has reassesed its priorities. The most important job is the A-16 Orcas, but the Wingman drones are not far behind. Beyond that, technical development of various projects including plasma warheads and airborne lasers among other things are high priorities themselves.
    • Navy
    GDI's naval forces have returned to a point where convoys can expect routine escort, and even attempted blockades can be forced, although not without sacrificing other routes. In the aftermath of the Battle of Natuna Isles, the Navy reprioritized. Though they see the escort carriers (especially with navalized A-16s) as the next major important area to invest in and waiting for the final hydrofoil yard completion, they have strenuously pushed for Point Defense Refits, effective next quarter. This is at least the prerequisite requirement before the Navy feels safe doing more than probing missions to the Malacca Strait.
    • Space Force
    The Space Force strongly desires the OSRCT concept to move as soon as possible from the drawing board to reality. Additionally, the development of new technologies is an increasingly high priority, as systems to defeat the Ion Cannon network are only likely to proliferate.


    [ ] Blue Zone Arcologies (Stage 2)
    Investing in constructing new arcologies reflects a major and ongoing investment in providing not only livable environments but genuinely pleasant ones. These facilities are not just about comfort however. If needed, these are the hardest structures politically feasible to build in the blue zones, and the most resistant to the spread of Tiberium.
    (Progress 549/650: 15 resources per die) (+8 Housing, +4 Consumer Goods, +1 Energy Reserve, -2 Energy) (High Priority)

    With the completion of the apartment blocks, the Treasury has returned to work once more on the Arcology complexes clustered all around the world. These new complexes are not concentrated anywhere in particular, but are primarily located in a number of secondary and tertiary cities, locations like Porto or Albany rather than Tokyo or New York. Approval-wise, the restarting of the project has been met with fanfare and mollified the parts of the public that were unsatisfied with the perceived distractions of working on the apartment project. So long as the arcology complexes continue apace, the expected demands and complaints would subside to a dull roar. Progress has been significant, if not unproblematic, with multiple arcologies being sealed in the last days of the quarter, ready to have their amenities and furnishings installed before habitation begins. The need based allocations will primarily prioritize yellow zone families, especially those currently living in the Fortress towns, many of which are close enough to the border for Nod raiding forces to attack.

    [ ]Blue Zone Apartment Complexes (Phase 1)
    With GDI struggling against the massed wave of incoming refugees, high efficiency, and high quality housing is still an ongoing demand. Apartment complexes, while not quite what the people actually want, are a far cheaper option than the arcologies, and are quite high quality.
    (Progress 188/160: 10 resources per die) (-1 Logistics, +6 Housing)

    The apartment complexes are in many ways a layer cake version of the duplexes that GDI has already constructed. Built around a central common area and transit shaft, the apartment blocks are some twenty to thirty stories tall in most places, although some are shorter due to ground conditions. Each block typically has two floors of mixed shopping, including an Initiative rationing commissary, provided for it. While far from enough to actually supply all of the needs of the population, requiring travel to reach larger complexes, it does provide many of the day to day needs. The rooms themselves are made modularly spacious, with a quick hotline for apartment furnishing and able to host three people with crampless ease and up to six with enough elbow room and personal privacy.

    These have been mostly filled by families, many of whom have moved out of the immediate postwar residential blocks to the more luxurious apartments. This has opened pathways for Yellow Zone families, some of whom currently live in the fortress towns, to move into the Blue Zones, and for families in general, many of whom do not wish to be caught between GDI and the Brotherhood of Nod once more.

    "Dear diary. Arrived in Thule today. Movers helped us unpack our belongings-not that they can compare to the pre-built furnishings. I have my own room– father has an office and there's a little garden-space looking out on the central courtyard of the apartment building with this thing called a balcony. I sat there with the plants and watched people go by. Tomorrow, I'll see what I can grow in those planter boxes though, the plants they have now are toxic apparently."


    [ ] Automated Civilian Shipyards
    With GDI's ever increasing need for shipping, production of cargo ships, the backbone of global logistics, must increase. A series of heavily automated shipyards will fill the gap, requiring substantial investments of capital goods, but able to produce ships far faster than human construction crews.
    (Progress 139/250: 20 resources per die) (+9 Logistics, -1 Capital Goods, -4 Energy)

    Ground has been broken on a number of civilian shipyards, including one at the Busan-Ulsan complex. These shipyards are building the already heavily automated (including a number of standardized evasion patterns) standard civilian cargo ship design. While so far progress has not reached a point where hulls can be cut, there are many steps before that point. Each ship, beyond the hull, is a series of standardized subassemblies. For example, standard containerized cargo ships, unpressurized liquid haulers, pressurized liquid haulers and passenger ships all share the same bridge assembly, only differentiated by its location on the ship, with the former two having the bridge at the stern, and the latter two at the bow. Similar principles apply to a number of other systems, such as lifeboat launch bays, accessways, and numerous other assemblies that apply to multiple classes of ship.
    The serious developmental work has delayed a number of other projects, however this is one of the very highest priorities, not only to continue supplying GDI's many far flung outposts, but to maintain open lines of transport and redeployment around the world.

    [ ] Red Zone Tiberium Harvesting (Stage 10) (Updated)
    Further offensives against Tiberium in the Levant will continue feeding resources into the Jeddah refinery complex, and will continue increasing GDI presence across the region. While putting so many resources into a single area is risky, it is also the best way to continue exploiting glaciers that do not require shipments of Tiberium to cross the world.
    (Progress 176/130: 25 resources per die) (additional income trickle [10-20 Resources]) (1 point of Red Zone Mitigation)

    Moving north, into what used to be Israel and Jordan has been a tough fight. The elements of the middle eastern Brotherhood hostile to GDI's interests have decided to make a stand and engage GDI forces much more generally. This is likely because, in addition to the previous strike on the other side of the Sinai peninsula, the region has been effectively cut off from unfriendly Brotherhood forces, and they made an all out offensive to attempt to break out, including a nuclear strike on the forward operations base on April seventh. While casualties were overall not as bad as they could have been, they were significant. The strike did however open up enough of a hole for many of the assets of the hostile elements of the Middle Eastern Brotherhood to manage an evacuation, pushing out through the fallout of the strike towards the former territories of Iraq, and their supply lines. Operations continued throughout the rest of April and into early May, including skirmishes as far north as Meggido, and as far east as the Wadi al-Mujib on the edges of the once Dead Sea, now a single mass of blue Tiberium. This fortunately happened early enough in the quarter for the Zone Operations Command to surge reinforcements to the region and carry out their objective, expanding mining operations nearly to the edges of the Mediterranean sea.

    While the region was formerly one of the heartlands of western civilization, today it is a wasteland, one scarred by tiberium, but covering over decades of chemicals, radiological, and nuclear warfare as the region had bled in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The always unstable consequences of western meddling with Sykes-Picot, and the broader ethnic and cultural grudges that had divided the region across the centuries. In the Israli region, tensions were inflamed following the first Intifada, and in 1995, there was an uneasy settlement enforced by "neutral" GDI peacekeepers. While broadly seen in the region to be on the side of Israel, and the face of western oppression, they were also deeply unpopular among the Israli settlers. This state of affairs lasted until 1997, when increasing Brotherhood activity forced the withdrawal of GDI forces to fight in the European and African theaters. Soon after, with weapons being fed in from both sides, the region erupted into a general strategic exchange, leading to the death of millions in just two years. By 1999, the war had died down more due to the lack of arms than anything else. With Tiberium levelling the field of play, and GDI operations being limited due to ongoing conflicts, the Brotherhood of Nod had little opposition in the region. Even after the 2003 defeat of the Brotherhood at Sarajevo, the Middle East remained a significant flashpoint and the crossroads of the Brotherhood, until the rise of Hassan in the late twenty teens. Even then the region had not seen an end to conflict, as it played host to the rise of Anton Slavik, and the dawn of the Second Tiberium War.

    [ ] Tiberium Glacier Mining (Stage 10) (Updated)
    The Sinai peninsula holds a number of glaciers in it, and while not the most secure of areas, is worth exploiting for materials. With this, the Red Sea will become one of the more travelled parts of the sea lanes, due to the simple number of barges required to ship Tiberium out to Jeddah and finished goods beyond.
    (Progress 210/180: 30 resources per die) (-2 Logistics) (additional income trickle [40-60 Resources]) (1 point of Red Zone Mitigation) (1 Stage available)

    The Tiberium Glacier mines of the Suez region have been caught up in the general action across the peninsula. Three companies of ZOCOM were deployed to the region following the nuclear strike, and operated out of the base camp provided by the previous quarter's mining expedition. While the need to load thousands of tons of ammunition has cut into the allocations for the glacier mine, it has been completed, and shipments of Tiberium have begun crossing the Red Sea. The ports of Jeddah have become a constant bustle of ships. At any hour of any day, dozens of ships are being unloaded or loaded. The refinery systems there are pouring forth titanic quantities of materials, ranging from the standard structural materials, silver, steel, and silicon, to a trickle of the incredibly precious transuranic materials.
    With the port complex increasingly congested, the naval protection detail has been stepped up, with an additional pair of Governors being allocated to the region, and plans for a carrier battle group to take up at least part time residence in Duqm.

    [ ] Railgun Harvester Development
    GDI's harvesters of any model have typically been armed in the years since the Second Tiberium War. The Rapid Fire Railguns of the Steel Talons can be put to good use increasing the firepower that one of these units can deploy, allowing it to better fend off Brotherhood raids while not compromising its primary harvesting mission.
    (Progress 42/40: 10 resources per die)

    GDI's modern harvesters were first commissioned in the months after the Second Tiberium War. Mounting sonic systems to help clear Tiberium off of them, they were designed to be lightly armed due to the consensus that the Brotherhood had been effectively defeated and unable to contest harvesting operations. While future designs, such as the circa 2040s Heavy Harvester of the Zone Operations Command built upon this by adding heavier weapons, the core schematics was never displaced, not only in more secure regions of the Yellow Zones, but instead everywhere across Initiative operations. It had the desired durability, economical cost, and all around an easy to use workhorse that makes it accepted. However, the Third Tiberium War put paid to that concept. In many locations, raids and skirmishes around and on harvester operations were– and are– some of the first signs of Brotherhood interest in a region, oftentimes the precursor to general assault operations in a given region.

    The new design is more iterative than revolutionary. Taking ZOCOM's already heavier Harvester schematics, the design work had to add multiple tons from the final weight. Not only to mount the railguns, but also the attached capacitor banks, power systems, and other miscellaneous equipment and maintenance tools. While in some ways this is significantly simpler than the two arm system that ZOCOM favored, in others it is much more expensive and limiting. While it is unlikely to actively replace the vast majority of the designs– for there was nothing inherently wrong with them in the first place– it is likely to supplement the Steel Talon's variant, or otherwise be assigned to the most bitterly embattled Harvesting operations. In long terms, it is hoped that the model could replace the Steel Talon Harvesters wholesale, and for field officers to request greater proportions of the heavily armed harvesting systems.

    [ ] GDSS Philadelphia II (Phase 4)
    The project that was never completed by the prewar administration, the fourth phase of Philadelphia will bring yet more critical government systems into orbit and serve as a secure location for parliamentary commissions and panels. (Station)
    (Progress 100/715: 30 resources per die) (+3 to all dice, +1 Free Die) (10 Political Support) (Fusion)

    Much of the restarted work this quarter has gone towards Philadelphia's life support systems, mainly oxygen. Most GDI stations use some form of algae based air exchange system, using external tanks to allow the sun to keep the air circulating. With the intention to nearly double the peak capacity of the station in this expansion project, expanding the ring of algae tubes is a substantial project. These expansion tubes have been filled at this point, and seeded with algae. However, it will take some time for the system as a whole to expand to the point of being able to support that kind of peak performance as the algae has only been seeded in the last days of the quarter, and so far has seen only limited growth.

    [ ] Expand Orbital Communications Network (Phase 4) (Updated)
    With ever more communications capacity coming online, more rounds of orbital communications provides for a stronger backbone, and greater redundancy in the face of potential attacks on GDI's orbitals. However, they are beginning to reach a point of saturation, and the limits of current technology though there are still more seats of parliament able to be added.
    (Progress 135/135: 15 resources per die) (+2 Logistics) (5 Political Support) (Fusion)
    (Progress 79/135: 15 resources per die) (+2 Logistics) (10 Political Support) (Fusion)

    Significant progress has been made towards completing the orbital communications network. When the network is completed, GDI will have a global network of communications capacity, connecting every ship, home, and station into a single contiguous network, all able to talk to each other without interruption. While ion storms and other atmospheric events can close off all communications, they do have to be directly overhead.
    In more standard affairs, business travel for anything but classified information has been nearly eliminated, as almost all business can be either conducted on a work from home, or telepresence basis. This has notably reduced the weight on both local and strategic logistics networks, leaving significantly more space for other needs. In many cases this has been taken up by transporting secured data or transuranics on the strategic scale, and consumer goods for more local affairs. While it does not reduce recreational travel, it does significantly reduce the peak traffic hours, as people can have much more flexibility. With standard time schedules there are two key rush hours, usually between the hours of 0800 and 1000 in the mornings, and 1600 and 1800 in the evening, the work from home schedule spreads out the travel, allowing for a regularization of schedules and streamlining traffic, rather than having to surge transit options in two time slots of the day.
    The only remaining work is a number of hardening operations, leaving GDI able to compensate for losing the Philadelphia hub once more, with communications being routed to the other stations, and being ready to take on additional load in case of Brotherhood ASAT operations.

    [ ] NOD Research Initiatives
    While the lowest hanging fruit has been plucked, there is still much more on the tree. Following up and authorizing another major round of funding, grants, and research programs will provide the impetus for more research into the Brotherhood's so called "technologies of peace"
    (Progress 124/160 : 30 resources per die)

    The research into the Brotherhood's technologies has gone worse than anticipated. Missed deadlines and progress markers abound as research teams hit dead ends after dead ends. With the most recent round of assassination attempts adding to the stresses of the research projects, slow progress is to be expected, but not perhaps this slow. The security sweeps in the sector have also not helped progress, with many of the scientists, some of whom have connections to the Brotherhood in their past, spending more time looking over their shoulders than at their jobs. The only thing that can be done to continue the research is a further round of resource infusions and a serious attempt to regain feelings of security and safety for the scientists.

    [ ] Scrin Research Institutions
    While the Scrin material has provided substantial advantages already, Initiative scientists believe that there is still more that can be gained by studying the remnants of the invaders. While it will be expensive, the last round of research has already more than paid off.
    (Progress 328/350: 30 resources per die)

    The Scrin research has only been somewhat more successful. While there are a number of theoretical developments, all are quite expensive to develop towards something significant, let alone brought to full capacity. With the more unserious proposals winnowed out, there are still quite a few possibilities, many of which could be revolutionary, from blink packs and hovercraft, to Scrin mining techniques and even methods of FTL travel. However, none of these have yet panned out, and many will require significant further infusions of funding.

    [ ] Wartime Factory Refits (Phase 1)
    As a first critical phase of refits, there are the various specialist vehicles that GDI is not at this time looking to replace. Things like the RIGs, Firehawks, and MCVs are unlikely to make any significant changes in the near future. Simply by supplying marginally more capital goods and some relatively simple installations, major improvements in the availability of spare parts and actual fully functional vehicles can be made.
    (Progress 60/60: 20 resources per die) (-1 Capital Goods)
    (Progress 52/90: 20 resources per die) (-3 Capital Goods)

    Under the current system, the Treasury has gone to great lengths to ensure that the military has enough supplies. During the collapsing global economy of the Third Tiberium War, the Treasury built dozens of factories, and more broadly massive investments into military readiness. While this did require significant triage, it was enough to keep the military in guns, shells, and most importantly vehicles and environmental equipment. However, it has required significant sacrifices, not only on the Treasury's part to ensure the flow of war material to the exclusion of civilian concerns, but also sacrifices in the altar of expediency, where 'what works' became the working ethos. Efficiency and quality control thresholds were lowered, and that had left indelible marks on the GDI war machine even after the war. Ones shown in the disparity between older Zone Armour factories and the newer ones that no longer needed to rely on hand-fitted armours.

    Given how long the refit proposal had languished, the work itself has gone stunningly well. While the completion of the project this quarter was always expected with minimal interruptions, nobody expected the sheer efficiency gains made by the introduction of new automation systems. Perhaps it was a boon that advances to automation systems happened before the refit project was started. Due to GDI's diversification attempts in spreading factory sites, the spare parts flow much easier and easier to produce– with a great sum of the supply chain no longer backlogged waiting for one factory to finish the whole list. Due to other advances in myomers and iterations to modern material engineering, superior performance could be eked out with comparatively lesser cost than any electric hydraulic systems. All these, and more, led to a significant reduction in the estimated need for capital goods. And not only would this cost-savings impact the current phase, but also that of the hundreds of system refit proposals left to cover.Current progress is projected to have significant impacts on readiness. While standard equipment pools have had some supplies on standby ever since the Third Tiberium War, they have rarely been full, especially with the nearly constant aggression of the Granger administration. However, with this first phase of refits, core assets, especially the Firehawks, are reporting not only increasing readiness rates, but are projected to fill their standard stockpiles by the end of the year, and beyond that significant strategic stockpiles are expected to be formed, beginning in major hub cities in the Blue Zones and propagating forward to meet the front lines around the world.

    [ ] Ferro Aluminum Armor Testing (New)
    With Nod having supplied the armor, a series of tests are required before it can be trusted to protect GDI's people. Both in protection and production, the new armor is not yet proven, but could be a significant upgrade to large portions of GDI's equipment.
    (Progress 31/30: 5 resources per die)

    The testing program ran into severe and chronic problems with the development of effective manufacturing. While each of the elements, foamed aluminum, woven iron/titanium alloy fibers, self sealing fluid crystal layers are simple enough to produce individually, and easy enough to combine in certain ways, they are not simple to turn into a militarily useful composite. The first batch was too brittle, shattering into thousands of razor flecks when hit with test impactors above 170,000 joules, or approximately the kinetic energy of an American M1 37mm antiaircraft gun back in the second world war. The second and third batches were too soft and weak, with 90,000 joule impactors penetrating without significant issue. Sequential problems were found with the next six batches.

    "I was nearly ready to throw in the towel and say they'd handed us a lemon when the new guy came in and took a look at what we were trying to produce. Turns out, Johan was like… a slave laborer in some NOD factory? Debt slave, or something, he doesn't like to talk about it. But the upshot is, Johan had come in from a Yellow Zone, and had worked with this stuff before. He knew all it's tricks and temperaments and we got a lot of information about how to actually handle it. So here you go General, one Pitbull, one Orca, and one Wolverine with this fancy new armor composition, courtesy of NOD. Now can you get INOPS to stop breathing down my neck?"

    It was the aid of a number of newly qualified workers, many of whom had worked at various Brotherhood armor plants before and during the Third Tiberium War, who provided answers. While some were straightforward misinterpretations (because the arabic that the documents were provided in was translated, and some of the nuances were lost) others were apparently a combination of lore passed down from senior workers to new ones by word of mouth, especially as it kept the workers valuable enough to the Brotherhood so that they would not be sent onto the front lines as militants.

    This produces some interesting insights about the Brotherhood more generally. While it has long been known that many of the warlords cloak their purpose in faith, and the upper echelons are often heavily obscurantist in nature, the lower levels apparently have their own culture of obscurantism, especially with more desirable jobs. Something like the armor manufacturing is relatively safe, high status, and well paid, meaning that those in position are doing everything they can to stay in that position, rather than allowing a warlord to send them where he wishes. With nearly everything in Brotherhood society up for negotiation, every side is searching for some edge over not only their rivals, but their subordinates and superiors.

    [ ] Tube Artillery Development
    GDI's current stock of tube artillery was defined by its need to be rushed into the field. Primarily existing guns pushed into the role, there are compromises made that did not have to be, notably in the lack of lighter guns, and the accuracy of the mainstay weapon. Further development of the system should provide for at least some mitigation of the problem.
    (Progress 53/40: 15 resources per die)

    At this time, GDI's artillery park is standardized around three guns. First, a 203mm rifle, originally built for the Mark 2 Juggernaut, and later expanded out in lighter configurations. Second, a 152mm smoothbore, And third, a 120mm mortar. Of these, the first and last are quite acceptable. Somewhat short ranged on the former, and somewhat slow firing on the latter, but perfectly acceptable. The problem comes from the middle of the three.
    The current 152mm artillery gun was an emergency measure to create a stopgap solution for the demand for more artillery. As the MBT-6 Predator was undergoing a force wide upgrade to rail guns, its old 152mm smoothbore high velocity guns were available in great quantities, and would not require substantial retooling at a time when GDI was still deep in reconstruction efforts following the Third Tiberium War. Unfortunately, it has performed poorly, with commanders commonly attempting to leave the 152mm pieces behind and requesting greater allotments of 203mm Juggernaut walking artillery and 120mm mortar equipped Bulldogs. Sadly, the problems for the current iteration of 152mm cannons are chronic. As a smoothbore gun, shells are not spin stabilized, and as the gun was designed for high velocity operation it requires very high pressure to properly function, necessitating a thick, heavy barrel. These are useful traits for a gun firing APFSDS shots, as the shot would not engage with the rifling anyway and sheer velocity was the main method of breaching enemy armour. They are not as useful for an artillery piece that is meant to be accurate at great ranges. The new model is substantially optimized for artillery work. First, the gun has been redesigned to work with lower pressures, allowing the barrel to be made thinner and lighter while losing little in range. Second, as the pressure has been lowered it has become possible to use shells with considerably thinner shell walls, holding more filler for better effect on target. Third, the barrel has been rifled, imparting much greater accuracy at range. While the absolute maximum range has shrunk, the effective range has thus been increased. Fourth, the gun can now operate on both integrated munitions, with shell and propellant in the same cartridge, and with separated shell and propellant charges in case the standard load would be inconvenient.
    Beyond modifications to the 152mm gun, the primary changes have been made to the targeting computer. With GDI increasingly relying on forward observers and massed battery fire, the use of centralized fire direction, despite adding in another step between a call for fire and shells reaching the target, increases accuracy and speed of response. In GDI's next generation force, each company will have a fire direction vehicle, almost certainly an extensively modified Guardian chassis, replacing its crew compartment with computers, sensors, and communications equipment to allow for directed fire against targets across an over fifty kilometer range.
    The total refit costs are going to be incredibly marginal. While refits are definitely required, they will not require more than a series of modifications to existing equipment. This will not immediately remove the existing smoothbore guns from service, but it will relegate them to increasingly marginal roles, and over the course of the next five to seven years, they will be removed completely, as GDI transitions to a more modern artillery park.


    [ ] Hydrofoil Shipyards
    With GDI's new Rapier class Hydrofoils design ready, there remains a need to build them in appropriate areas. With the need for patrol assets, GDI has selected three ports for doing the work. The last port remaining is the combined port of Busan and Ulsan. One of the largest shipbuilders in the world, the port is a natural fit for the relatively small scale production of additional military vessels.
    • [ ] Busan-Ulsan Combined Port (Progress 69/85: 10 resources per die) (-6 Energy, -2 Labor)
    Nearly four years ago, when the hydrofoil project was first developed, a section of the broader yard complex was set aside for their use. However, with the Treasury not going ahead on development, the other departments and independent working groups managing the shipyard, have built up all the areas around it, leaving it in a pocket that would be a logistical snarl to bring material into and take waste out of. While significant work has gone on to bring the sector up to standard, it has mostly not been in the shipyard itself, but in the surrounding areas, rationalizing and relaying track, roads, and marshalling yards for the complex. The shipyard itself has reached a state of near completion, but many of the final components, most notably the assembly cranes, have not yet arrived. With a final investment however, there should be enough hydrofoil production in the coming months to not only provide commands for many young officers, but also protect against Brotherhood activities

    [ ] Naval Defense Lasers (New)
    With the Treasury having constantly delayed implementation of existing naval defenses, the state of naval combat has significantly changed. With long range cruise and ballistic missiles an ever greater threat, the existing point defenses, built to intercept bombs from Vertigos and shellfire from shore batteries, are no longer good enough. A new generation of defense laser systems, based on the Crystal Beam Laser technology is required posthaste.
    (Progress 63/60: 15 resources per die) (-5 Political Support Per Turn progress is not made)

    The existing naval point defense systems are ineffective beyond two to three kilometers. Primarily this is due to an optimization problem, as they have to be able to make rapid target correction against very close range threats. For example a Vertigo bomber used to be able to make an attack within two to three kilometers before it had to break its stealth field in order to deliver its ordinance. With these kinds of airborne threats being the standard, it is no surprise that the Navy's first attempt at point defense systems overwhelmingly emphasized that band of ranges, using them to make smaller, lighter, and more distributed defense networks.
    The new Naval Laser System is, much like the rest of GDI's defensive laser work, derived from the Steel Talons rapid fire laser systems. While it proved too difficult to make work on a land bound system, especially a mobile land bound system, GDI's navy has far more capacity to use such high intensity systems, and can use the system with minimal modifications to ensure seaworthiness. As a missile interceptor system, it can work out to ranges between five and ten kilometers, depending on environmental conditions. While technically capable of engaging beyond that range, it is difficult to ensure sufficient stabilization to keep the beam on target, and there is the constant problem of achieving sensor locks on the usually stealthy and always sea skimming Brotherhood missile systems. There are still some circumstances where longer ranges are likely possible, using multiple ships in a data link, but those have not yet been tested. Unfortunately the system as a whole is substantially larger and heavier than the existing mounts, meaning that a one to one conversion will be difficult. However, it can be used as a replacement for existing anti aircraft mounts, only needing a much more substantial power supply.
    In terms of refits, the most likely approach will be to mount one on the Governors, retaining their existing point defense systems and replacing one of the stern antiaircraft mounts with a naval laser system. While not the best location possible, it is far better than nothing, and the ships are maneuverable enough to at least attempt to bring the system to bear against incoming missile threats. The Mountain class battleships and Atlantis class aircraft carriers will be a significantly more extensive refit project, with each likely trading off between a fifth and a quarter of their air defense systems to mount the new lasers.

    [ ] Zone Emergency Medical Evacuation Vehicle Deployment
    ZOCOM believes it needs two facilities, on nearly opposite sides of the world, to serve its general needs, and to supply the Forgotten. While even combined they won't be quite enough to serve all of the Command's medical evacuation needs, they will be enough to make a significant dent in them.
    -[ ] Sydney (Progress 82/80: 10 resources per die) (-1 Labor, -1 Energy) (Must be completed before End of 2058)

    The ZEMEV units, or Zombies are beginning to finally roll out en masse. While it will take some time for ZOCOM to be supplied properly, many are being sent to the Forgotten. These units are mostly unmarked, and some of the disguised versions, primarily because the Forgotten will not be using them entirely as ambulances. They are also significantly stripped down from the GDI versions, meaning that larger portions can be used as either a mobile first aid station, or actually as fast (if lightly armored) personnel carriers. While current deployments are primarily aimed towards the largest and most friendly tribes within the Forgotten, they will be eventually deployed to any who want some such units.
    For the Zone Operations Command, one of the interesting side effects has been a marginal but significant uptick in readiness rates for the Zone Armor suits that they rely on. With the Ambulances often delivering the armor back to base along with the soldiers, it has meant that more can be salvaged, as both the suit and the person are more intact than without the ambulance conducting an evacuation. These salvaged components are often being put back into service with other units, reducing overall needs for supplies, although it has increased the tempo of maintenance operations, as many of the components are already partially through their rated service life.
    More broadly, they are reducing overall combat losses in ZOCOM substantially, and Ground Forces have already registered their interest in such equipment as a supporting asset, especially once they begin receiving their allocation of Zone Armor.

    [ ] Yellow Zone Qualifications Initiatives
    Most Yellow Zone refugees that GDI has taken in have a somewhat fragmentary education. While usually competent in a field, they lack the breadth of knowledge that GDI expects for most positions. While they have so far been assigned to work, finding ways to fully qualify them will unlock a previously underutilized pool of labor (DC 90/120/150) (265)

    The Initiatives as implemented began with community drive sign ups for qualifications self reporting, followed by tests and training programs. These tests are, for the most part, skills based, aimed to determine who is already up to Initiative's standards. Overall, known and suspected former members of the Brotherhood of Nod have scored reliably well. They often do not know the precise mechanisms or systems of GDI procedures, but do know the principles and many will only nee a few weeks at most of on the job communications instruction before they can be considered fully qualified.
    The regular men and women however are significantly less broadly skilled, with most only knowing one or two procedures and how to work a particular set of machines. These are being given specialist certifications, as a prelude to being educated for more general certification. While they can be gainfully employed, it will be far more difficult to move them around, and they are at risk of near permanent unemployment due to improving automation. However, at least for now, they can be assigned to jobs, and can aid the Initiative.
    Beyond tests however, there are educational programs. Many of the results are being fed into GDI's educational systems, and not only will these tests provide a surge of skilled labor immediately, they are laying the groundwork for a steady influx of labor over the coming years and potentially decades.
    Additionally, many of their children have attempted to sign up for testing, and after some bureaucratic kerfuffle, they have been allowed to take the tests. While their skills were not as complex or as complete as the adults, some do show noticeable technical talent, likely trained into them as part of yellow zone life.

    [ ] Security Reviews
    GDI has often faced problems with infiltration by the Brotherhood of Nod. A full security review of one department of operations can mitigate or discover infiltration, however it will take a significant amount of effort. (DC 55 + 1 operations die) (169)

    The attack on Hackett has InOps in something of a tizzy. Seeing potential threats in every shadow and every corner, they have rampaged through the services department like bulls in a china shop, requesting ream after ream of documentation from everyone from the highest management to individual teachers and line workers. Throwing themselves into the work of searching for security threats to reassure themselves that they are in control and can counteract the Brotherhood of Nod.
    However, their search, no matter how spirited, has shown little in the way of results. Little to nothing has been found. While there are some handful of low placed Brotherhood Humint assets in the department that have been arrested and imprisoned, that is the extent of what the InOps search teams have been able to turn up.

    [ ] Private Industrial Automation
    Providing a steady supply of capital goods to the larger cooperatives should serve to increase private output substantially. While these cooperatives would be unlikely to free up labor in any significant amount, they would increase production as much as possible.
    (-2 Capital Goods)

    Beginning to supply the private sector with a steady stream of labor saving devices has led to noticeable restructings across the sector, with thousands being transferred to other jobs, and more broadly a general replacement and restructuring of the system as a whole. While this has increased the output of the private sector significantly, including a noticeable increase in taxes, the restructuring has widened the gaps between larger and smaller companies, creating a wealth gap in the workforce, and making it more difficult for small companies to compete. However, with the workforce problem, if not solved, put at bay for some time, more companies are being founded, and many new startups are filing for incorporation, a fifteen percent increase over the average for the program.
     
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    • Only way to prevent it would to keep the labor supply artificially high, which also artificially depresses wages and the workers' standard of living.

    My preferred solution would be just to tax larger companies more and use the proceeds to increase the BIG.
     
    Another option could be that, once we have a resource surplus (and now that labor's coming in), we can put a Grant or two on specifically the smaller start-ups, like the option we had with our LI Grant.
     
    Well now Bintang has played her hand and has driven us out of the straights. That's something we'll need to counter sooner or later since I do not like the idea of her having freedom to act without at least some opposition form us.
     
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    Looks like the governor's did work. Yeah they had flee, but none were sunk and it looks like bintang pulled out all the stops for that.

    Either way laser pd for the navy is probably the biggest priority for the military next turn.
     
    The navy has told us exactly what we need to do to get back into the straits: laser point defense and escort carriers.

    We can do laser PD in short order for to contest the seas again for the short term, but the escort carriers and other ships will take a lot longer for longer term securing of the seas.
     
    Ithillid said:
    Speaking as someone in the halls of power of GDI's government I would say that it is too early for now to be speculating on elections since while I have my own preferences on who to vote the projects being decided is making the political situation in flux and parliament is deciding on many important projects to greenlight with Mr. Seo's scientific interest however, rest assured that GDI's political apparatus will still be a pluralistic one since I doubt we would return to an era of the two-party system that happened before the war.
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    I cannot parse this sentence for the life of me.
     
    Well at least we have confirmation of reduced Ion Cannon effectiveness and we sunk some of their ships but lost a good chunk of crew. Not that point defense was not already in all of the proto plans I have seen (including my own). As is I do want to up our mil spending next turn. Also sounds like we are getting more education projects- might have to push them off to Q4 to finish up research. We still need more income to get our dice to full activation as that is slowing us down. Also the reduction in cap goods for the refit is nice as that sets us up well on the backend for military.
     
    marids said:
    If only this could come out before completing the new Harvester development. But then again it's a dice roll for which tech so we can only hope to get something that multiplies Tiberium mining income gains.
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    One is a significantly bigger project than the other. What you have done is little more than strapping a bigger gun on an existing harvester. If you get Scrin methods you need a blank slate design.
     
    Ithillid said:
    The reasoning became clear soon after, as abnormal signatures began to be detected under the water- then above the decks. Lithe and sleek, many-tentacled cephalopodic boarders made themselves known, moving with speed beyond the languid agility of the seaborn creatures normally have. With great cost to the relatively lightly armed seamen and with the deployment of the ship's contingent of Zone Armored troops, they were repelled as the Governors continued to beat a hasty retreat. Respite seemed close, however, as the Carrier Battle Group "Talay Khan," having sprinted south from their posting near Taiwan, launched their own large contingent of Firehawks to cover the retreat and with the Space Force ready to fire their ionic salvos. By this point, however, the Rajanaga had entered the engagement range and revealed that Bintang had not rested on her laurels. With the unnerving sounds of plasma weaponry, the Pirate Queen's flagship scorched the decks of Raskolnikov and Paricia, rendering the two Governors helpless to fight, though still able to flee as the other Governors covered for their smouldering sister ships. Not willing to risk the loss of further lives, Rear Admiral Savitr called in the bombardment, well before Rajanaga's supporting elements massed enough for the ion salvo to hit them.
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    And yet another India Suprise.

    Did we recover any carcasses for analysis?

    Ithillid said:
    In a silver lining, the battle had become the Governors first major surface engagement and showed that it is a surprisingly hardy platform against sudden ambushes on the shallower waters with its damage control and fire suppression systems working as expected. Its weapons have, at the least, been proven to destroy the numerous and standard cruisers that Bintang favours with ease. Though no slugging match occurred due to Savitr's discretion, simulated analysis indicated that a good part of Bintang's strategic calculus hinged on waiting for the Governors weapon systems being mostly destroyed or spent before closing in. Its weaknesses however, are laid out clearly. The lack of updated point defense systems are keenly felt, as additional PD emplacements would have helped shoot down the artillery shells and pick off the boarders before the Zone Troopers could intercede.
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    Good show on the Governors.

    But, yeah, this really highlights the delicate state of the Navy, particularly when deprived of orbital support. They need that PD, and they need more hulls.

    Ithillid said:
    The total refit costs are going to be incredibly marginal. While refits are definitely required, they will not require more than a series of modifications to existing equipment. This will not immediately remove the existing smoothbore guns from service, but it will relegate them to increasingly marginal roles, and over the course of the next five to seven years, they will be removed completely, as GDI transitions to a more modern artillery park.
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    > 200 Progress?
    Ithillid said:
    Current progress is projected to have significant impacts on readiness. While standard equipment pools have had some supplies on standby ever since the Third Tiberium War, they have rarely been full, especially with the nearly constant aggression of the Granger administration. However, with this first phase of refits, core assets, especially the Firehawks, are reporting not only increasing readiness rates, but are projected to fill their standard stockpiles by the end of the year, and beyond that significant strategic stockpiles are expected to be formed, beginning in major hub cities in the Blue Zones and propagating forward to meet the front lines around the world.
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    I kind of want to hold off on Wartime Factory Refits 2 while we get Orcas, Tube Arty and Orbital Nuclear caches out the door this quarter? But I can hear the sighs of relief from every quarter.
     
    Ion cannon problems are very frightening. Aren't they the core of our ASAT defenses? What if Nod decides to make a giant rocket, ion cannon disrupter with a nuclear cherry on top, and send it straight for the Philadelphia?
     
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