Q2 2057 Results
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GDIOnline Q2 2057
By the Rocket's Red Glare: General Initiative Rocketry Thread XXII
Nightingale_Dreams
To recap after the last thread hit the page limit.
Solan
I got a memo about this and all I can say is that there are a lot of engineers going to Space Command right now. It's actually quite nice staying in an office for once and the factory is spewing out a lot of the components for what Granger wants. I hear this is a top priority and mutterings of needing the chemical rockets on standby are being raised here. But this is an orbital job but the strangest thing is that there are a lot of politicians going in and out with MPs in the defence committees requesting regular updates. I don't know what Carter and Granger are talking about but this is really serious and probably the most expensive project we've had for years.
FloatingWood
Hasn't Space Command been getting more active for years though?
I mean, with the construction for the Philadelphia and Enterprise and with them needing to be supplied an average launch rate of 1 every 3 days was slow. You do need to supply all the people living there and maintain stuff.
AccomplishingProvidence
While the specific pace is a bit unusual, haven't we been seeing steadily-increasing rates of construction of space-borne assets? And there's a small research base on Luna at this point? It wouldn't be that strange that they're working to expand these resources.
Nightingale_Dreams
#Floatingwood
There is a difference between "getting more active" and "hundreds of launches in the last month" There is something going on, and nobody is talking.
JohnnyBull
I've made inquiries about getting some ametuer astronomers to look into this-a basic telescope can easily see even a small space station, and more specialized gear ought to be able to easily work out what the actual launch craft are doing in space-the problem is you need a big network of observers. That said, I've put my own trainspotting experience hard at work, and I've successfully localized every single large sat transporter in the GDI rail network-they're quite specialized and sophisticated rail cars, and capacity of this type is probably a major limiting factor. So far, I've not seen anything being loaded or unloaded, but they've been in very brisk action, rolling back and forth from launch sites to factories all week.
FloatingWood
Maybe they are finally building that bunch of outward pointing ion cannons for orbital defenses? I mean, it's such an obvious solution to alien spaceships they must've planned for it.
KropotkinsGhost
I'm putting my money on "more rovers and scientific instruments". I swear bureaucrats will classify ANYTHING these days that there's no point in caring about it. Hell if you do guess right I feel InOps will flag your account and figure out if you're leaking information or a Nod spy.
Ormonde2020
Nah, it's absolutely got to be something tib related. I'm a boring person so I read the public information released in regards to funding allocations of the treasury, and Secretary Granger up until a few years ago loved to focus in on Tiberium spending, if he's allocating this much to something it has to be Tib. My bet is they figured out some kind of method to harvest tiberium fields from orbit by studying Scrin Technology, which will in turn make it easier to refine it and construct stations in space. We probably haven't seen much in the way of big structures because the harvesters are probably pretty small, and they'll want those built before the refineries and manufacturing. Mark my words, the next thing you're going to see is them focusing on getting that manufacturing station fully kitted out.
DammitJanet
But why would they want to bring the evil death crystals into space, where they can eat the space station?
Ormonde2020
GDI has space locked down. If we can harvest from space, we don't need soldiers and tanks defending mining outposts, just need defences to stop Nod taking pot shots.
Besides, properly refined and stored tiberium is more or less harmless.
DammitJanet
I still think it's too much of a potential hazard, but if you say so. I'm just worried about some kind of leak spraying Tiberium all over half the planet. Temple Prime all over again. Lost my entire hometown to that bomb. Nothing but Tib now.
AgathaH
I don't see how harvesting from orbit could work - that's a really long way up… unless the rumors of the aliens' harvesters teleporting things around were true, but that still seems risky. Maybe they found a way of slowing the spread? Or, possibly, it's some sort of super-sensor on new satellites to see through interference and Nod stealth fields? We'd probably see a lot more Ion Cannon strikes if that's the case.
FloatingWood
GDI High Command might be waiting to collect a lot of data in that case, but I'd be extremely impressed if they managed to make satellites that manage to look through Nod's magic stealth systems. Best stuff GDI's got is what, good for 500 meters in optimal conditions? They're probably lying at least a little in those public specifications, but even if they were good out to a kilometer that is a far cry from a satellite that's up at least 100 kilometers, and probably a lot more.
AgathaH
Or it could be magic gene-editing to turn us all into catgirls - that's only slightly less plausible than some of the things suggested here.
Solan
Man I'm just waiting for this to be declassified since the speculations can be hilarious. My buddies and I usually spend some part of our breaks laughing at the hot takes and even more fantastical suggestions we engineers are going to do.
KryptosAdept
Honest, from what I can tell publicly, it's either a sensor or an emissions platform group. No idea why though. It could be an attempt to run ESM on Nod (Possible GDI intel grab or other?) or to deal with Tib.
We'll know when it gets revealed anyways. GDI never does stuff like this without a reason.
AccomplishingProvidence
Mark me down as skeptical of the "Orbital Tiberium Harvesting" idea. While harvesting seems pretty advanced these days, and I won't claim to be an expert on the subject, there seem to be a lot of logistical challenges. As for the "teleport it up" idea, while there's a certain "wow" factor to that concept, it seems inefficient.
I suppose it's possible the satellites have something to do with Tiberium. I think #AgathaH may be closer to the truth with the speculation of it being something that affects Tiberium's behavior. That seems more doable and conceivable from orbit.
It does make me wonder if some of the more "mundane" space missions are getting lost in the proverbial shuffle. Which is a bit sad; Carter and his people have done fantastic work reaching to the heavens.
FloatingWood
But how would you even affect tiberium from space? Magic? Everything we've got right now either needs outright touching the stuff, heating the stuff, or having a machine scream at it really loud.
And I'm not so sure 'orbital heat rays' are a really good choice, given how much energy you'd need to pump into tiberium to have an effect.
AgathaH
#FloatingWood - Catgirls.
AccomplishingProvidence
#FloatingWood I would think that there's some sort of more exotic energy at work here. I trust Granger's people to have made sure this isn't immediately harmful. Though we probably don't want to go hug one of those satellites long-term. But Tiberium gets affected by sound/sonics, and if these utilize any of that weird Scrin/alien technology, it may work on principles a lot of people don't easily understand.
FloatingWood
Just caught this on the news; Nod tried to intercept a Leopard on a return trajectory with a SAM. It's implied they failed, but I've a feeling there's some fresh underwear needed for the pilots and traffic control officials involved.
Results Q2 2057
Politics
The much reduced Free Market Party has begun to rally somewhat, although they are likely to end up rebranding themselves as the party of small business in the near future and shift their positions to being the party of small, privately held business. At the same time, the Market Socialists have begun to see increasing influence from a number of growing retail chains and other large cooperatives; however, they have had difficulty converting the passage of the new grant programs into actual general political support. In other news, the Initiative First Party has succeeded its first leadership challenges, as Ozawa fended off party-splitters who railed against the diminishment of their party influence in the wake of the Militarist split.
The race for the Director has narrowed, with each potential leader having assembled a coalition. While each has to split critical departments with their ideological neighbors, a rough order of status has emerged. Leading the pack are Litvinov and Hackett, with the former representing an Optimist vision for the Initiative, versus a more Pessimist position offered by Hackett. Following them are Carter and Bennett, both of which offer a more moderate and compromising position and coalition. Finally, Tran Cong Tang has found herself in last place, struggling to gather support and build a coalition herself. Unsubstantiated rumors have begun spreading that she is looking to throw her support behind Hackett or Carter in order to push at least some of her views from behind the scenes.
A series of televised debates have occurred this quarter, both group format and one on one, between the candidates. While all have acquitted themselves well, Carter shone as one of the more eloquent candidates, surprising from someone who came out of the military. Tran on the other hand performed relatively poorly, especially on more social questions. While she could talk elegantly about everything from heavy industrial development to space construction, the problems of clarifying policies and her stances on more down to earth projects such as integrating the Forgotten into the Initiative, have been somewhat less coherent.
PAGe Report
Firipi Dakarai Ezrom
The current leader of the Market Socialists, Ezrom is a rare man in the GDI political landscape as one of the few openly religious politicians who are highly regarded. Born after the First Tiberium War, Ezrom and his family are held in the vice of the tumultuous times of the First Interwar Period. Born of the Shona people and raised a Christian, Ezrom was subjected to the same crisis of faith that many of the Christian faithful felt when both Vatican and Jerusalem fell to the ever-advancing Tiberium menace. While many lost their faith in the face of such trials and tribulations, Ezrom kept his. More than that, he embraced in full the teachings of Paul Moore, one of the leading voices in black liberation theology. He began practicing the principle of "God in Action" just as luck– or destiny, depending on one's view- brought him to the academic and political spheres.
At present, Ezrom is the semi-absent leader of the Market Socialists. He prefers to travel the world, working to reach out to the disparate Black and/or Christian communities across the Blue and Green Zones. He is often found preaching homilies to what few faithful remain– and those who are not, yet willing to listen– as he champions the ideals of the poor and downtrodden. In many ways, his absentee leadership is why he is the head of the Market Socialists; no one else has the sheer outreach and popularity to reign the nascent party. Combine this with the steady trickle of representatives from both the Developmentalists and Free Market Party even as the Tiberium mutations are riding high on the public's view, and the slow-but-steady influx from various Christian groups, he managed to congregate a powerbase within the Market Socialists. Ezrom may have started off deep in Liberation Theology, but as time passed he has been able to reach out to most surviving Christian groups. While they don't all necessarily agree on all points, all are united in their goal to make the world better a little bit at a time.
Markets
The new grant programs have been overwhelmingly taken advantage of by existing cooperatives and the old companies being restored. With both the prewar corporations and existing cooperatives bombarding the administrative office with applications seconds after the grant program opened, it is a wonder that any of the new startups got funded in the deluge of high quality applications from people who have done grant applications professionally for years.
Military
The military has continued to consolidate its positions, having spent much of the quarter improving airfields, and laying in more permanent bridges and roads. While somewhat limited, the expansion of logistics has been improving supply to many of the more forward outposts. However, they do still want the Treasury to take an interest and build a supply network forward, rather than the thin lines that the construction battalions have assembled. It has also managed to reduce the demand for consumables below production rates, although only marginally. This means that it will (barring additional production in any case) be ready for further drives early next year. However, they also expect to see further intensification, and likely Brotherhood offensives around the world, as the Initiative takes over half of the remaining habitable surface area.
Military Priorities
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.
Brotherhood of Nod
InOps has reported that the Brotherhood has stepped up their counterintelligence efforts, and killed or captured a number of Initiative agents. Additionally, SIGINT and ELINT sources have been significantly reduced in effectiveness. While analysts do not yet believe that this reduction in noise represents an imminent threat to the Initiative, it is a worrying increase in effectiveness for the Brotherhood, and likely a prelude to generalized conflict in the coming two to four years if following the model of the Third Tiberium War.
Forgotten Conference
Going into the Forgotten Conference, it was expected by many parties that this would be the Initiative beginning a process of either reaping rewards from their generosity over the last four years or otherwise draw the Forgotten into the Initiative system more deeply. However, as the news trickled out about the overall treaty, many were shocked at just how generous it was. In exchange for overall minor concessions, the Forgotten had extracted a wide range of assistance and support projects. While the initial thinking was that the Forgotten had run rings around untested and amateur diplomats– with the more experienced of the diplomatic corps dealing with the Meccan Debacle, a more clear picture began to form when members of the actual diplomatic team began to find their way onto GNN, and other news organizations. Not only were the concessions intentional, but they were intentionally balanced so as to treat the Forgotten as a whole as an equal to GDI, despite their lacking both the size and the industrial capacity to manage that in reality. Though there were grumblings from the political sphere on the generosity, none are currently willing to rail against it.
At the same time, the measures for initial integration have already seen Forgotten, especially those either wounded or older, applying for citizenship in droves. While some Forgotten tribes, those least friendly to the Initiative, have pulled back, they are also the least overall useful to the GDI's needs. Equally, a volunteer from the Delta-strain stepped forward for the studies. Zaragoza Atreides stepped forward under his own volition, apparently finding the time to be 'right' for him to subject himself to GDI's testings.
SCED
In more strange news, the SCED has made a finding that has thrown the scientific fields bordering astronomy and stellar physics into turmoil. As part of the Martian surface exploration program, the rover Gleiser Opportunity 1 (sent to explore the Elysium Mons volcano) discovered trace amounts of what appeared to be naturally occurring transuranic elements in the local soil, with the largest amounts specifically in the crater of Elysium Mons. While some more conservative physicists have stated they will wait for more information, others have already publicly called into question current theories on the formation of heavy elements during supernovae and neutron star collisions. With the scientific community debating this find, it does indeed look to be the most unusual find compared to any of the items found to this point. Regardless, this find is likely to provide new insights into the field of transuranics at the very least, as to occur naturally, this specific element would need to be relatively stable with a comparatively long half life.
Resources: 655 + 5 in reserve (15 allocated to the Forgotten) (35 allocated to grants)(5 from Taxes)
Political Support: 50
Free Dice: 6
Fusion Dice: 10 (+1 per turn)
Tiberium Spread
16.45 Blue Zone
4.89 Green Zone
22.00 Yellow Zone (86 points of abatement)
56.66 Red Zone (59 points of abatement)
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Significant Surplus (+10) (30 population in low quality housing) (2 points of refugees)
Energy: Major Surpluses (+11) (+2 in reserve)
Logistics: Major Surpluses (+7)
Food: Major Surpluses (+17) (+8 in reserve)
Health: Showing Strain (+3) (4 consumed by emergency refugee healthcare)
Capital Goods: Major Surplus (+3)
Consumer Goods: Significant Surpluses (+8) (+5 from private industry)
Labor: Gargantuan Surpluses (+31)
Tiberium Processing Capacity (1300/1480)
Yellow Zone
Water: Notable Surpluses (+6)
Status of the Parties
(strong support, weak support, weak opposition, strong opposition)
Free Market Party: 125 seats (0; 5; 25; 95)
Market Socialist Party: 331 seats (152; 129; 35; 15)
Militarist: 237 seats (37; 160; 20; 20)
Initiative First: 178 seats (0; 0; 74; 104)
United Yellow List: 73 seats (58; 15; 0; 0)
Starbound Party: 155 seats (73; 82; 0; 0)
Socialist Party: 50 seats (30; 18; 2; 0)
Developmentalists: 640 seats (350; 200; 90; 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: Low
ZOCOM: High
Plan Goals
Capital Goods: 5 points remaining
Food: 5 (3) points remaining
[ ] 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 138/600: 15 Resources per Die) (++++ Housing, +++ Consumer Goods, -- Energy) (High Priority)
Construction of the first wave of new arcologies since the war has continued slowly, as the vast majority of the Initiative's focus has been on Mecca and the Arabian peninsula. However, further work has occurred on the Blue Zone arcologies. For the most part this has been underground, installing the pump stations that allow the arcologies to maintain pressure and handle the many different pipes running through the building. Additionally, the local substations have been installed. With each arcology being effectively a neighborhood, it often makes more sense to run a relatively high voltage line to the arcology and use a transformer there, rather than running a series of lower voltage lines in. However, actual construction of the primary residences, service, and industrial sectors has not yet begun, despite waiting lists hundreds of names long for every housing unit in the currently planned arcologies.
"I want to clarify that there has been no work slowdown. We are making good progress on the Tokyo-3 Complex, and the other Arcology projects listed in the schedule. Some of you have clearly forgotten that it can take years to assemble an arcology under normal circumstances-our workers are not pulling round the clock shifts, or doing overtime, but are working full shifts and going home with a well-earned paycheck." - Jun Yoshizuki, Public Affairs.
[ ] Mecca/Jeddah Planned City (Phase 3)
While the initial phase of construction has begun, and the region has at least the pretenses of military security, bringing birds from the bush into hand, and expanding reconstruction work into Mecca itself will bring both political and practical benefits.
(Can spend mixed Tiberium and Infrastructure dice, at least 1 die must be Tiberium)
(Progress 538/640: 20 resources per die) (-- Labor, - Logistics) (10 Political Support) (+2 Red Zone Abatement, +2 Yellow Zone Abatement, +5 RpT, +120 Processing Capacity)
With the Treasury recommitting to the protection of Islamic holy sites across the Arabian peninsula, many of the representatives have calmed down, and talks have recommenced. While so far the progress has been limited, they are at least talking once again, and the Treasury's construction crews can return to work.
Much of the reason for this has been one of the largest and most orderly Hajjs in the last decades, not only from the Arabian Blue Zone, but from across the islamic world. One of the items given by the Initiative's military, as a gesture of good faith, has been a number of old ion cannon targeting beacons, with intentionally scrambled codes in order to be able to move without fear of Ion cannon strikes. The ability to move freely has meant that more people could come, and in far less time.
At the same time, the neutrals have begun slowly falling in line. With GDI choosing to redouble its efforts and expand its goals in the region after a near collapse in negotiations, they have begun to decide that the Initiative is likely a better friend than the Brotherhood of Nod, and one with deep pockets indeed. While their loyalty is likely only transactional, for the people of the region, it makes little difference so long as GDI can begin to move in and provide the benefits of the system.
Much of the work has actually been north of Medina this quarter, primarily aimed directly at tiberium abatement operations and a limited amount of harvesting operations. While most sites are claimed by either the Independents or the Brotherhood, the Treasury has won the right to a handful of sites near the major settlements, which are to be capped off with spikes belonging to the Initiative.
While Medina itself has been broadly untouched by the Initiative's work, its inclusion in the project has significantly shifted the abatement line forward, putting it at the edges of the red zone, rather than comfortably in the yellow.
[ ] North Boston Chip Fabricator (Phase 4)
A Fourth stage of North Boston will be substantially more costly than the previous three stages combined. A massive new complex adjacent to the existing one will produce even more chips, and even more dedicated computing hardware, ranging from single integrated systems for extreme miniaturization, to single purpose microcontrollers and multi core processors. While expensive, this will bring with it a substantial surplus in some forms of capital goods, allowing for substantial investments in future projects.
(Progress 970/1200: 15 resources per die) ( +++++ Capital Goods ++++ Consumer Goods -- Labor --- Energy)
Work has continued on the North Boston complex, with some of the last of the heavy construction going in and the site beginning to prepare for operations. With additional heavy construction robots being made available, the site is a seething, buzzing swarm of construction, with lines of bots in constant motion. The primary Boston complex is all but complete, however there is significantly more processing left after a chip has been finished, and these facilities have not yet been set up. While most of the chips will be general purpose computing, many will also be going to more dedicated designs.
When it comes to building computers in the Initiative, in the modern day, custom builds are very, very uncommon. While there are certainly options, there are often only a handful in any given field, and rarely is there much in the way of overlap. CPUs, for example, only have about five models, although it can be as low as three or as high as seven available at any given time, all fitting into the same slots, merely built to differing levels of computing power. The same applies to graphics cards, RAM, hard drives and SSDs. For almost any workable configuration there is almost certainly a prebuilt version that offers that specific design. However, at the same time, there is quite a bit of rolling repair. Rather than throwing out an entire system when one critical part breaks, nearly every build is designed to be taken apart and repaired.
[ ] Chemical Fertilizer Plants
While GDI's methods typically rely heavily on circulating nutrients through fish to deliver nutrition to its plant growth bays, producing effective non toxic fertilizers is quite possible. By supplementing fish and bacterial byproducts with chemical additives, GDI can increase production of food and consumer goods.
(Progress 184/200: 15 resources per die) (+++ Consumer Goods, +++ Food, - Energy)
Chemical fertilizers fall into three categories: nitrogen-, phosphate- and potassium-fertilizers, of which nitrogen fertilizer is usually the most in demand, with one of the primary limitations of plant growth being the supply of nitrogen. The first step in its production is the synthesis of ammonia via the power intensive Haber-Bosch process from methane and nitrogen, which serves as the chemical basis for all other nitrogen fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate. With GDI's use of hydro- and aquaponics, these different fertilizers are usually mixed together at the end of the production chain into the basis for Hoagland solution, which is then filled in bags and put into GDI's logistical system. Work has been notably fast, however, the logistics have been somewhat lacking. While thousands of tons of fertilizers have been produced, the majority is still sitting in on-site warehouses due to scheduling issues.
[ ] Yellow Zone Aquaponics Bays (Phase 4)
Expanding on previous programs, further development of Yellow Zone Aquaponic systems is aimed at increasing the self sufficiency of the network. While it will almost certainly still require a fairly substantial amount of food to be shipped in to ensure an acceptable level of diversity, if cut off for some reason, it is almost certainly going to be able to maintain existing populations at a survivable, if not particularly comfortable level.
(Progress 160/160: 10 resources per die) (+++ Food, ++ Consumer goods --- Water)
(Progress 22/200: 10 resources per die) (+++ Food, +++ Consumer Goods, ---- Water)
The fourth phase of yellow zone aquaponics has been overtaken in some ways by the course of events. While initially planned to offer the yellow zones a meaningful level of self sufficiency, that has proven to be not the case as resettlement efforts have instead inundated both Blue and Yellow zones with new refugees, leading to ever greater food shipments being required to simply feed the population. In order to relieve strain on the logistics network, especially the bottlenecks in the transition from Blue to Green Zone operations, a new wave of standardized aquaponics bays have been established, primarily in urban areas. Delivering a mix of grains and fruits, they have cut somewhat into the logistical strain, but for every truck and train car of food that is removed, one or another form of supplies has been added, leaving the system at a net zero.
[ ] Spider Cotton Development
Spider Cotton is a cotton plant that is built to produce a very near approximation of spider silk. While not quite as strong or as fine, it is more than good enough to serve as a form of ultralight body armor, and is from first reports quite comfortable. It will however require some larger scale tests before it can become a substantial part of GDI's total fiber production.
(progress 22/40: 20 resources per die)
While early test models had been relatively productive, attempts to convert one off plants into something that can be grown in any aquaponics bay in the Initiative have run into serious roadblocks. First is unexpected reactions to environmental pressures. Test plants are typically raised in extremely controlled lab environments, including carefully controlled atmospheric conditions. While usually this produces few problems when converting, Spider Cotton seems to react very poorly to temperature and moisture, as small deviance in both significantly reduced the quality of the final product. Such tolerance ranges are no problem in a laboratory, but are not economically achievable in a standard greenhouse environment. However, this is not a severe problem. With potential problem candidates in the genome already identified, the program looks to return to schedule next quarter, so long as it is granted another infusion of funding. Other roadblocks are more practical, the most critical of them is in the formation of the cotton itself. Spider silk, including the dragline silk that this product is meant to mimic in large quantities, is formed from a combination of proteins woven together to form long chain polymers. The test conversion cotton plants have produced appreciable amounts of the correct polymers. Unfortunately this has been in tight wads of interlinked and interwoven material, small balls of protein rather than long chains that would have been useful in everything from clothing to lightweight ropes.
[ ] Tiberium Stabilizers
A low orbit satellite network stretching around the world, each stabilizer is a lotus of panels and transmitter systems. With the system needing to come online all at once, the entire network will have to be launched before the Initiative can make use of it.
(Progress 674/2000: 30 resources per die) (---- Capital Goods) (Increases time between mutation rolls from 1d4 to 1d4+1) (+25 PS) (Fusion)
A single Tiberium stabilizer satellite is 150 tons of material, bulky, fragile, and difficult to handle. While on the ground it is fairly boxy, once deployed it is a lotus of solar and radiator panels, wrapped around a central RTG and battery pack, all built to supply energy to the communications and central messenger systems. The first step was to construct a pair of facilities, one in West Africa and one in Korea, to begin production of these satellites. However, late in the quarter, the first launches began, a systematic drumbeat of hundreds of units being put up. While the entire constellation will be some 3000 satellites, currently the number is closer to two hundred, with many, many more left to launch.
While impossible to fully hide, the true extent of the system seems to have remained secure, although some rumors have begun floating that it is one of Granger's "novel technological solutions" to Tiberium. While true, these rumors have little evidence and no warlord has, as of yet, made mention of the system or made any changes to their operational systems.
One of the returning Leopards had an attempted interception by a Brotherhood strategic SAM system. In retaliation, GDI unleashed over twenty strike operations in the next twenty four hours, keeping a constant air presence in the area for a week afterwards as a threat to ensure the Brotherhood does not try again.
[ ] GDIS Pathfinder
The gravitic drive has met initial use testing, and it is ready for a more thorough test. A relatively small testbed ship is the next step towards granting the Initiative the ability to use the drive system practically. While it will be a major project, and require construction of many of the tools to make the tools, it is a first step towards a mass producible drive design.
(Progress 158/300: 30 resources per die)
In orbit near the Enterprise, GDIS Pathfinder's orbital cradle has taken shape. A skeletal hexagonal tube, the cradle serves as a mounting point for many elements of the ship before it can support its own weight. While currently the cradle is intended to be single use, blown away by explosive bolts before the ship lights off its drive, future designs are likely to be somewhat more permanent. Similarly, on the ground, there has been significant construction work. Most notably has been the construction of a facility in Reykjavik for the assembly of drive nacells. While initial testing was done with a single nacelle, current modeling suggests that the Pathfinder will need eight, set in two offset rings. Using the orientation of the decks, the bow nacelles will be placed at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o clock positions, while in the stern, they will be placed at the 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30 positions. The nacelles produce sets of low slung, contoured teardrops on the surface of the generally bricklike hull. While almost certainly not a particularly efficient design, it is one that the scientists have a relatively high confidence in, and should not produce an unsafe design.
Amid the drumbeat of launches for the stabilizer network, there have been six fusion launches, and many more conventional chemical rocket launches, for the Pathfinder, hauling up a handful of the largest pieces. First was the fusion engine, a standard model found across the Initiative's space fleet, used here as an emergency reaction drive in case the gravitic drive suffers a fault during operations. Second and third were the two primary fission reactors, both pebble beds, that will be used to provide power. While both are fairly small by Initiative standards, they will provide more than enough power to keep the lights on and the ship livable until long after the food has run out. The remaining three hauled internal modules, many repurposed from the Leopard and the Union classes, at least on this initial ship. Similarly, the Enterprise has begun to supply standard hull plating to the Pathfinder, however much of the ship is not yet enclosed, and many of the primary systems, most notably the bridge, have not yet arrived.
One of the most severe bottlenecks in production has been the fact that GDI's entire supply of stable transuranic elements comes out of two sites. Chicago and Jeddah, and while both have been running full pace since the project was proposed, the total amount of STUs has been less than 100 tons, not all of which are useful for the production of gravitic drives.
[ ] Lunar Regolith Harvesting (Phase 1)
The Silicate compounds in the Moon's crust contain extractable levels of iron, titanium, and aluminum, making them incredibly useful as a source of bulk materials. While processing will require massive amounts of energy in some cases, it is also a useful beginning point for developing the solar system.
(Progress 350/350: 30 resources per die) (+15 Resources per turn) (Fusion)
(Progress 50/340: 30 resources per die) (++ Light Metals) (Fusion)
On the lunar surface, first stage refining has begun. While Enterprise's systems are quite capable, it helps if the feedstock can be sorted and preprocessed for easier feeding. Primarily this is sorting by density and magnetism currently, leaving significant amounts of random ores in any given sample. These are then loaded onto primarily Union class shuttles. While most have been retasked towards the creation of the massive array of satellites in low earth orbit, a handful can be used to haul hundreds of tons of lunar rock to the Enterprise. Those first shuttles loaded down with Lunar ores made landings on GDSS Enterprise this quarter, bearing the first fruits of the mining program, and establishing a flow of supply that is, from mining to processing, to finishing, completely separated from the Earth. While not yet self-sustaining, with many critical components only manufactured on the surface, it is a major milestone in the history of Initiative orbital operations. While the current supply is enough to fill existing processing capacity, it is far from enough for a long term project. Expansions of the Enterprise, or establishing Lunar processing and manufacturing capacity will be required to power further industrialization of the solar system. Currently Enterprise's orbital processes are primarily servicing its own needs and those of the Philadelphia, and have already cut launches from once every two weeks, to one a month, and with expansion they are likely to soon be oriented towards supporting operations across not just Earth's sphere of influence, but across the inner system.
[ ] Expand Medical Schools
With Initiative medical demands likely to increase significantly in coming years, expanding a number of dedicated training programs and offering incentives to work in the field should begin meeting some of these demands, especially in the field of trained staff.
(Progress 207/300: 10 resources per die) (-- Labor, +++ Health)
The Initiative medical program has been steadily increased every year for the past seven years, with increases in funding coming from the Welfare department, and more doctors being available to serve as mentors and teachers. However, the Treasury has found this increase to be somewhat lacking, and has targeted the medical system for a surge in funding. Primarily this has focused on expanding and renovating existing facilities, and establishing higher targets for the medical system.Most notably in the supply of nurses, but also for doctors, surgeons, and other specialities across the field. While residencies are still in short supply for the expanded classes, this is primarily a problem that requires setting aside further funding to ensure that the supply of medical professionals is maintained, especially in light of the Initiative's continuing refugee influx, even months after Initiative forces halted their advance.
[ ] Indoor park programs
With the Initiative looking to expand public services once more, a series of indoor parks under skylights will provide many of the benefits of playing outdoors without the inherent risks on a Tiberian earth. While the project is not particularly expensive, it will be politically popular among nearly all factions.
(Progress 106/150: 5 resources per die) (5 Political Support)
Indoor parks-to-be have been springing up around the Initiative. While the vast majority have been in the newly established Green Zones, they are also appearing across the Blue Zones as a concession to interests there. While the Blue Zones can, and do, have outdoor parkspaces, there are still safety concerns involved that have motivated lobbying by parents and educators for a more enclosed environment.
At the most basic, each of these parks begins with a hybrid isolated dirt and aquaponic greenspace. While some parts, primarily the isolated dirt, are going to be operated by the Initiative, the vast majority will be handled on an allotment basis, ranging from about a square meter of growing space, all the way up to about a hundred for the most avid gardeners. Beyond the allotments, playing fields (these with artificial grass) are being erected, using a series of geodesic domes with clear panels for cover.
Currently, the parks are effectively complete, however much of the internal setup still remains. Play structures, seed packages, and other accoutrements must be shipped in from across the Initiative and installed on site. These are, for the most part, either backlogged or in transit from the handful of locations with capacity to produce appropriate equipment.
[ ] Remote Weapons System Deployment Predator
With the new laser point defense system, GDI's ground forces are out of patience. Survivability upgrades for the Predator tank are no longer a matter of convenience, but a matter of necessity. While likely one of the last major block upgrades the Predator will see over the course of its life cycle, that does not make it particularly less vital, especially as the Predator will likely serve until at least the mid 2070s in second and third line roles.
(Progress 389/350: 10 Resources Per die) (-5 Political Support every quarter progress is not made on this project)
At long last, a major flaw has been fixed in the Predator Main Battle Tank. The addition of a remote weapons system, and currently more importantly a mainline antimissile system is already seeing significant impacts. In Patagonia, for example, the allocation of a single new model predator to an armored squadron has reduced loss rates by 15-20 percent, and decreased ablative plate consumption by between 25 and 30 percent, as their APS have been notably effective in reducing the impact of Stahl's missile equipped Scorpions, forcing him, like most others, to begin switching over to mixed platoons of the vehicles.
In its current state, the Predator has reached some of the limits on its fundamental systems, most notably the power pack and suspension. A fully loaded MBT-6 has gone from 65 tons up to just short of 70, even at regulation specifications. With many troops loading up even more heavily than that, any further systems development will likely require a clean sheet design that integrates many of these systems more efficiently. Additional requirements are likely to include a redesigned armor scheme, a redesigned systems interface bus to reduce the problems faced early on in the remote weapons system project, new Aluminum/Air battery systems, and a more powerful engine to feed the significantly increased power requirements of the railgun and laser systems.
[ ] Universal Rocket Launch System Deployment (Phase 1)
With the system developed, the first step is to convert existing munitions factories to the new standard. While this project can be delayed, once started it should be completed in short order to avoid difficulties in the Initiative's munitions supply. These will replace a broad swathe of existing systems, overall simplifying the ammunition situation drastically.
(Progress 300/300: 15 Resources per die) (High Priority)
(Progress 105/200: 15 resources per die) (-- Energy)
Missile production has worked out many of the kinks that had been plaguing them last quarter, and supply has restarted. While currently Ground Forces are generally happy with the missiles, the biggest beneficiary has actually been the Air Force. Operational tempos have doubled, and with the program, the Orcas are finally flying with full loads. While still distinctly vulnerable, and unable to program or guide the air to air configurations of the Thunderbolt, it is a significant increase in firepower, nearly doubling the striking power of every Orca in the Initiative roster.
Similarly, the new QAAM has already scored its first victories. A pair of Barghests were downed over Patagonia in early June, with another pair being shot down over the North Sea later that month. While the rate is still low, partially due to pilots still getting used to the missiles, it has been a significant counter to the ever growing threat of the Barghest. Of those Barghests, GDI has been able to recover one in relatively good condition. Upon initial analysis it has been discovered that the aircraft uses a liquid suspension cockpit containing a heavily cybernetically augmented soldier. Little more than a torso, the pilot is built into the hull, well protected and wrapped inside the other systems. While it is almost certainly removable, InOps has not found the connections that would have to be disconnected to do that. It is also clearly a gravitic drive craft, using a number of articulating plates to accelerate in any direction at any time, providing a good explanation for the absurd mobility that the aircraft has demonstrated time and time again.
Against ground targets, the force is significantly less revolutionary at the moment. Being little more than a standardization on a handful of performance metrics, it has ensured that there are more diverse munitions available to nearly any force. For example, many missile teams have requisitioned additional missile segments configured for rail launches, in order to give themselves a more standoff anti material capacity.
While the refits have been finalizing, construction has already begun on a series of new plants, both to provide redundancy, and prepare for what some in the Initiative believe to be a solution to the inaccuracy that has hampered fire missions for nearly half a decade at this point.
[ ] Governor Class Cruiser Shipyards
Rebuilding some of GDI's battleship docks into half sized cruiser sections will save on resources, however they will require major investments in capital goods. These yards will take some significant time to begin major developments however, with a cruiser taking months to construct, and longer to fit out for service. (Very High Priority)
- [ ] Hampton Roads(Progress 45/185: 20 resources per die) (- Capital Goods, -- Energy, - Labor)
Hampton Roads, of all the shipyards in the program, suffered some of the worst damage in the Third Tiberium War. In 2047 the GDS Pathe, an Initiative aircraft carrier, was sunk in the harbor as part of a NOD commando operation to seize the port during the Battle of Washington. Just days later, a GDI counteroffensive brought even more ruin as it fought across the city, displacing the Grey Watch Chapel of the Black Hand that had taken up residence to recuperate after leading the breakthrough against GDI defenses in southern Virginia. During the operation, a second ship, the GDS Zheng He, was sunk in the harbor by a squadron of Venoms. While since refloated and returned to service, it was badly damaged, and left scrap across a significant portion of the seafloor, some of which has proven to be problematic for the cruiser program. In both cases, the spearhead of the operations were lead by Commandos. While the Brotherhood has managed to conceal the identity of their operative, GDI operations began with the infiltration of Lt. (Promoted to Captain posthumously after his death at Temple Prime) Whittering. Unfortunately in the operation, he had employed tactics hardly less destructive than those of the Grey Watch he was rooting out of the shipyards.
This has resulted in the shipyard being effectively destroyed, and despite reconstruction efforts in years past, it was not brought completely back online. This has meant that the first task of the construction crews upon arriving on site was to conduct repairs on the rail, road, water, and power linkages that the site requires for operations. Additionally, the GDS Pathe, while left during the reconstruction as too much of a problem, had to be worked around. A cofferdam has been erected around the site of the sinking, and salvage crews have been working over the site stripping the ship down. While most of the crew made their way off the ship during the sinking, it was a somewhat hurried affair, and a handful did not make it, and were unable to be recovered before this point. With the remains sent to Arlington, the ship is scheduled to have its keel pulled out in the coming days, leaving the port clear for continued operations.
[ ] 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) (81)
Another sweep has been conducted of the Tiberium Department. The most worrying processes found were a handful of monitoring programs, primarily placed to trace the flow of raw tiberium to overseas refineries. These were likely placed by either the Ten Rings or Bintang's factions of the Brotherhood, searching for easily hit ships to feed their own industries. With ever more of the Initiative's processing capacity tied up in a pair of major developments (Chicago and Jeddah) shipments like these are unfortunately common, and their contents, while not disclosed, are often easy to deduce from the precautions taken in transit.
However, no significant personnel infiltration has been found, likely an indication that these programs have been piggybacking on legitimate uses of the system to gather data.
InOps suggests building out a broader and more decentralized array of processing facilities and encouraging more localized shipping as solutions to what seems to be an incipient pirate problem long term.
By the Rocket's Red Glare: General Initiative Rocketry Thread XXII
Nightingale_Dreams
To recap after the last thread hit the page limit.
- We don't know what the rockets are going up for.
- This has been a long ass three months, with sometimes launches going up every day at times.
- Granger did say Novel Technological Solutions. This could be part of it, but the Initiative is keeping its Opsec up, and neither confirming or denying anything.
- We are not seeing anything big and new in the sky.
Solan
I got a memo about this and all I can say is that there are a lot of engineers going to Space Command right now. It's actually quite nice staying in an office for once and the factory is spewing out a lot of the components for what Granger wants. I hear this is a top priority and mutterings of needing the chemical rockets on standby are being raised here. But this is an orbital job but the strangest thing is that there are a lot of politicians going in and out with MPs in the defence committees requesting regular updates. I don't know what Carter and Granger are talking about but this is really serious and probably the most expensive project we've had for years.
FloatingWood
Hasn't Space Command been getting more active for years though?
I mean, with the construction for the Philadelphia and Enterprise and with them needing to be supplied an average launch rate of 1 every 3 days was slow. You do need to supply all the people living there and maintain stuff.
AccomplishingProvidence
While the specific pace is a bit unusual, haven't we been seeing steadily-increasing rates of construction of space-borne assets? And there's a small research base on Luna at this point? It wouldn't be that strange that they're working to expand these resources.
Nightingale_Dreams
#Floatingwood
There is a difference between "getting more active" and "hundreds of launches in the last month" There is something going on, and nobody is talking.
JohnnyBull
I've made inquiries about getting some ametuer astronomers to look into this-a basic telescope can easily see even a small space station, and more specialized gear ought to be able to easily work out what the actual launch craft are doing in space-the problem is you need a big network of observers. That said, I've put my own trainspotting experience hard at work, and I've successfully localized every single large sat transporter in the GDI rail network-they're quite specialized and sophisticated rail cars, and capacity of this type is probably a major limiting factor. So far, I've not seen anything being loaded or unloaded, but they've been in very brisk action, rolling back and forth from launch sites to factories all week.
FloatingWood
Maybe they are finally building that bunch of outward pointing ion cannons for orbital defenses? I mean, it's such an obvious solution to alien spaceships they must've planned for it.
KropotkinsGhost
I'm putting my money on "more rovers and scientific instruments". I swear bureaucrats will classify ANYTHING these days that there's no point in caring about it. Hell if you do guess right I feel InOps will flag your account and figure out if you're leaking information or a Nod spy.
Ormonde2020
Nah, it's absolutely got to be something tib related. I'm a boring person so I read the public information released in regards to funding allocations of the treasury, and Secretary Granger up until a few years ago loved to focus in on Tiberium spending, if he's allocating this much to something it has to be Tib. My bet is they figured out some kind of method to harvest tiberium fields from orbit by studying Scrin Technology, which will in turn make it easier to refine it and construct stations in space. We probably haven't seen much in the way of big structures because the harvesters are probably pretty small, and they'll want those built before the refineries and manufacturing. Mark my words, the next thing you're going to see is them focusing on getting that manufacturing station fully kitted out.
DammitJanet
But why would they want to bring the evil death crystals into space, where they can eat the space station?
Ormonde2020
GDI has space locked down. If we can harvest from space, we don't need soldiers and tanks defending mining outposts, just need defences to stop Nod taking pot shots.
Besides, properly refined and stored tiberium is more or less harmless.
DammitJanet
I still think it's too much of a potential hazard, but if you say so. I'm just worried about some kind of leak spraying Tiberium all over half the planet. Temple Prime all over again. Lost my entire hometown to that bomb. Nothing but Tib now.
AgathaH
I don't see how harvesting from orbit could work - that's a really long way up… unless the rumors of the aliens' harvesters teleporting things around were true, but that still seems risky. Maybe they found a way of slowing the spread? Or, possibly, it's some sort of super-sensor on new satellites to see through interference and Nod stealth fields? We'd probably see a lot more Ion Cannon strikes if that's the case.
FloatingWood
GDI High Command might be waiting to collect a lot of data in that case, but I'd be extremely impressed if they managed to make satellites that manage to look through Nod's magic stealth systems. Best stuff GDI's got is what, good for 500 meters in optimal conditions? They're probably lying at least a little in those public specifications, but even if they were good out to a kilometer that is a far cry from a satellite that's up at least 100 kilometers, and probably a lot more.
AgathaH
Or it could be magic gene-editing to turn us all into catgirls - that's only slightly less plausible than some of the things suggested here.
Solan
Man I'm just waiting for this to be declassified since the speculations can be hilarious. My buddies and I usually spend some part of our breaks laughing at the hot takes and even more fantastical suggestions we engineers are going to do.
KryptosAdept
Honest, from what I can tell publicly, it's either a sensor or an emissions platform group. No idea why though. It could be an attempt to run ESM on Nod (Possible GDI intel grab or other?) or to deal with Tib.
We'll know when it gets revealed anyways. GDI never does stuff like this without a reason.
AccomplishingProvidence
Mark me down as skeptical of the "Orbital Tiberium Harvesting" idea. While harvesting seems pretty advanced these days, and I won't claim to be an expert on the subject, there seem to be a lot of logistical challenges. As for the "teleport it up" idea, while there's a certain "wow" factor to that concept, it seems inefficient.
I suppose it's possible the satellites have something to do with Tiberium. I think #AgathaH may be closer to the truth with the speculation of it being something that affects Tiberium's behavior. That seems more doable and conceivable from orbit.
It does make me wonder if some of the more "mundane" space missions are getting lost in the proverbial shuffle. Which is a bit sad; Carter and his people have done fantastic work reaching to the heavens.
FloatingWood
But how would you even affect tiberium from space? Magic? Everything we've got right now either needs outright touching the stuff, heating the stuff, or having a machine scream at it really loud.
And I'm not so sure 'orbital heat rays' are a really good choice, given how much energy you'd need to pump into tiberium to have an effect.
AgathaH
#FloatingWood - Catgirls.
AccomplishingProvidence
#FloatingWood I would think that there's some sort of more exotic energy at work here. I trust Granger's people to have made sure this isn't immediately harmful. Though we probably don't want to go hug one of those satellites long-term. But Tiberium gets affected by sound/sonics, and if these utilize any of that weird Scrin/alien technology, it may work on principles a lot of people don't easily understand.
FloatingWood
Just caught this on the news; Nod tried to intercept a Leopard on a return trajectory with a SAM. It's implied they failed, but I've a feeling there's some fresh underwear needed for the pilots and traffic control officials involved.
Results Q2 2057
Politics
The much reduced Free Market Party has begun to rally somewhat, although they are likely to end up rebranding themselves as the party of small business in the near future and shift their positions to being the party of small, privately held business. At the same time, the Market Socialists have begun to see increasing influence from a number of growing retail chains and other large cooperatives; however, they have had difficulty converting the passage of the new grant programs into actual general political support. In other news, the Initiative First Party has succeeded its first leadership challenges, as Ozawa fended off party-splitters who railed against the diminishment of their party influence in the wake of the Militarist split.
The race for the Director has narrowed, with each potential leader having assembled a coalition. While each has to split critical departments with their ideological neighbors, a rough order of status has emerged. Leading the pack are Litvinov and Hackett, with the former representing an Optimist vision for the Initiative, versus a more Pessimist position offered by Hackett. Following them are Carter and Bennett, both of which offer a more moderate and compromising position and coalition. Finally, Tran Cong Tang has found herself in last place, struggling to gather support and build a coalition herself. Unsubstantiated rumors have begun spreading that she is looking to throw her support behind Hackett or Carter in order to push at least some of her views from behind the scenes.
A series of televised debates have occurred this quarter, both group format and one on one, between the candidates. While all have acquitted themselves well, Carter shone as one of the more eloquent candidates, surprising from someone who came out of the military. Tran on the other hand performed relatively poorly, especially on more social questions. While she could talk elegantly about everything from heavy industrial development to space construction, the problems of clarifying policies and her stances on more down to earth projects such as integrating the Forgotten into the Initiative, have been somewhat less coherent.
PAGe Report
Firipi Dakarai Ezrom
The current leader of the Market Socialists, Ezrom is a rare man in the GDI political landscape as one of the few openly religious politicians who are highly regarded. Born after the First Tiberium War, Ezrom and his family are held in the vice of the tumultuous times of the First Interwar Period. Born of the Shona people and raised a Christian, Ezrom was subjected to the same crisis of faith that many of the Christian faithful felt when both Vatican and Jerusalem fell to the ever-advancing Tiberium menace. While many lost their faith in the face of such trials and tribulations, Ezrom kept his. More than that, he embraced in full the teachings of Paul Moore, one of the leading voices in black liberation theology. He began practicing the principle of "God in Action" just as luck– or destiny, depending on one's view- brought him to the academic and political spheres.
At present, Ezrom is the semi-absent leader of the Market Socialists. He prefers to travel the world, working to reach out to the disparate Black and/or Christian communities across the Blue and Green Zones. He is often found preaching homilies to what few faithful remain– and those who are not, yet willing to listen– as he champions the ideals of the poor and downtrodden. In many ways, his absentee leadership is why he is the head of the Market Socialists; no one else has the sheer outreach and popularity to reign the nascent party. Combine this with the steady trickle of representatives from both the Developmentalists and Free Market Party even as the Tiberium mutations are riding high on the public's view, and the slow-but-steady influx from various Christian groups, he managed to congregate a powerbase within the Market Socialists. Ezrom may have started off deep in Liberation Theology, but as time passed he has been able to reach out to most surviving Christian groups. While they don't all necessarily agree on all points, all are united in their goal to make the world better a little bit at a time.
Markets
The new grant programs have been overwhelmingly taken advantage of by existing cooperatives and the old companies being restored. With both the prewar corporations and existing cooperatives bombarding the administrative office with applications seconds after the grant program opened, it is a wonder that any of the new startups got funded in the deluge of high quality applications from people who have done grant applications professionally for years.
Military
The military has continued to consolidate its positions, having spent much of the quarter improving airfields, and laying in more permanent bridges and roads. While somewhat limited, the expansion of logistics has been improving supply to many of the more forward outposts. However, they do still want the Treasury to take an interest and build a supply network forward, rather than the thin lines that the construction battalions have assembled. It has also managed to reduce the demand for consumables below production rates, although only marginally. This means that it will (barring additional production in any case) be ready for further drives early next year. However, they also expect to see further intensification, and likely Brotherhood offensives around the world, as the Initiative takes over half of the remaining habitable surface area.
Military Priorities
- Ground Forces
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
- Air Force
- Navy
- Space Force
Brotherhood of Nod
InOps has reported that the Brotherhood has stepped up their counterintelligence efforts, and killed or captured a number of Initiative agents. Additionally, SIGINT and ELINT sources have been significantly reduced in effectiveness. While analysts do not yet believe that this reduction in noise represents an imminent threat to the Initiative, it is a worrying increase in effectiveness for the Brotherhood, and likely a prelude to generalized conflict in the coming two to four years if following the model of the Third Tiberium War.
'Of course war was going to be on the horizon. I served since the First Interwar, the signs were always there but– call me the fool if you must– Mecca was something we thought would buy us even more time.
'In a way, it did. Not the ways we expected though…'
– Excerpts from The Unclassified (2080) by Arthur Hackett
'In a way, it did. Not the ways we expected though…'
– Excerpts from The Unclassified (2080) by Arthur Hackett
Forgotten Conference
Going into the Forgotten Conference, it was expected by many parties that this would be the Initiative beginning a process of either reaping rewards from their generosity over the last four years or otherwise draw the Forgotten into the Initiative system more deeply. However, as the news trickled out about the overall treaty, many were shocked at just how generous it was. In exchange for overall minor concessions, the Forgotten had extracted a wide range of assistance and support projects. While the initial thinking was that the Forgotten had run rings around untested and amateur diplomats– with the more experienced of the diplomatic corps dealing with the Meccan Debacle, a more clear picture began to form when members of the actual diplomatic team began to find their way onto GNN, and other news organizations. Not only were the concessions intentional, but they were intentionally balanced so as to treat the Forgotten as a whole as an equal to GDI, despite their lacking both the size and the industrial capacity to manage that in reality. Though there were grumblings from the political sphere on the generosity, none are currently willing to rail against it.
At the same time, the measures for initial integration have already seen Forgotten, especially those either wounded or older, applying for citizenship in droves. While some Forgotten tribes, those least friendly to the Initiative, have pulled back, they are also the least overall useful to the GDI's needs. Equally, a volunteer from the Delta-strain stepped forward for the studies. Zaragoza Atreides stepped forward under his own volition, apparently finding the time to be 'right' for him to subject himself to GDI's testings.
SCED
In more strange news, the SCED has made a finding that has thrown the scientific fields bordering astronomy and stellar physics into turmoil. As part of the Martian surface exploration program, the rover Gleiser Opportunity 1 (sent to explore the Elysium Mons volcano) discovered trace amounts of what appeared to be naturally occurring transuranic elements in the local soil, with the largest amounts specifically in the crater of Elysium Mons. While some more conservative physicists have stated they will wait for more information, others have already publicly called into question current theories on the formation of heavy elements during supernovae and neutron star collisions. With the scientific community debating this find, it does indeed look to be the most unusual find compared to any of the items found to this point. Regardless, this find is likely to provide new insights into the field of transuranics at the very least, as to occur naturally, this specific element would need to be relatively stable with a comparatively long half life.
Resources: 655 + 5 in reserve (15 allocated to the Forgotten) (35 allocated to grants)(5 from Taxes)
Political Support: 50
Free Dice: 6
Fusion Dice: 10 (+1 per turn)
Tiberium Spread
16.45 Blue Zone
4.89 Green Zone
22.00 Yellow Zone (86 points of abatement)
56.66 Red Zone (59 points of abatement)
Current Economic Issues:
Housing: Significant Surplus (+10) (30 population in low quality housing) (2 points of refugees)
Energy: Major Surpluses (+11) (+2 in reserve)
Logistics: Major Surpluses (+7)
Food: Major Surpluses (+17) (+8 in reserve)
Health: Showing Strain (+3) (4 consumed by emergency refugee healthcare)
Capital Goods: Major Surplus (+3)
Consumer Goods: Significant Surpluses (+8) (+5 from private industry)
Labor: Gargantuan Surpluses (+31)
Tiberium Processing Capacity (1300/1480)
Yellow Zone
Water: Notable Surpluses (+6)
Status of the Parties
(strong support, weak support, weak opposition, strong opposition)
Free Market Party: 125 seats (0; 5; 25; 95)
Market Socialist Party: 331 seats (152; 129; 35; 15)
Militarist: 237 seats (37; 160; 20; 20)
Initiative First: 178 seats (0; 0; 74; 104)
United Yellow List: 73 seats (58; 15; 0; 0)
Starbound Party: 155 seats (73; 82; 0; 0)
Socialist Party: 50 seats (30; 18; 2; 0)
Developmentalists: 640 seats (350; 200; 90; 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: Low
ZOCOM: High
Plan Goals
Capital Goods: 5 points remaining
Food: 5 (3) points remaining
[ ] 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 138/600: 15 Resources per Die) (++++ Housing, +++ Consumer Goods, -- Energy) (High Priority)
Construction of the first wave of new arcologies since the war has continued slowly, as the vast majority of the Initiative's focus has been on Mecca and the Arabian peninsula. However, further work has occurred on the Blue Zone arcologies. For the most part this has been underground, installing the pump stations that allow the arcologies to maintain pressure and handle the many different pipes running through the building. Additionally, the local substations have been installed. With each arcology being effectively a neighborhood, it often makes more sense to run a relatively high voltage line to the arcology and use a transformer there, rather than running a series of lower voltage lines in. However, actual construction of the primary residences, service, and industrial sectors has not yet begun, despite waiting lists hundreds of names long for every housing unit in the currently planned arcologies.
"I want to clarify that there has been no work slowdown. We are making good progress on the Tokyo-3 Complex, and the other Arcology projects listed in the schedule. Some of you have clearly forgotten that it can take years to assemble an arcology under normal circumstances-our workers are not pulling round the clock shifts, or doing overtime, but are working full shifts and going home with a well-earned paycheck." - Jun Yoshizuki, Public Affairs.
[ ] Mecca/Jeddah Planned City (Phase 3)
While the initial phase of construction has begun, and the region has at least the pretenses of military security, bringing birds from the bush into hand, and expanding reconstruction work into Mecca itself will bring both political and practical benefits.
(Can spend mixed Tiberium and Infrastructure dice, at least 1 die must be Tiberium)
(Progress 538/640: 20 resources per die) (-- Labor, - Logistics) (10 Political Support) (+2 Red Zone Abatement, +2 Yellow Zone Abatement, +5 RpT, +120 Processing Capacity)
With the Treasury recommitting to the protection of Islamic holy sites across the Arabian peninsula, many of the representatives have calmed down, and talks have recommenced. While so far the progress has been limited, they are at least talking once again, and the Treasury's construction crews can return to work.
Much of the reason for this has been one of the largest and most orderly Hajjs in the last decades, not only from the Arabian Blue Zone, but from across the islamic world. One of the items given by the Initiative's military, as a gesture of good faith, has been a number of old ion cannon targeting beacons, with intentionally scrambled codes in order to be able to move without fear of Ion cannon strikes. The ability to move freely has meant that more people could come, and in far less time.
At the same time, the neutrals have begun slowly falling in line. With GDI choosing to redouble its efforts and expand its goals in the region after a near collapse in negotiations, they have begun to decide that the Initiative is likely a better friend than the Brotherhood of Nod, and one with deep pockets indeed. While their loyalty is likely only transactional, for the people of the region, it makes little difference so long as GDI can begin to move in and provide the benefits of the system.
Much of the work has actually been north of Medina this quarter, primarily aimed directly at tiberium abatement operations and a limited amount of harvesting operations. While most sites are claimed by either the Independents or the Brotherhood, the Treasury has won the right to a handful of sites near the major settlements, which are to be capped off with spikes belonging to the Initiative.
While Medina itself has been broadly untouched by the Initiative's work, its inclusion in the project has significantly shifted the abatement line forward, putting it at the edges of the red zone, rather than comfortably in the yellow.
[ ] North Boston Chip Fabricator (Phase 4)
A Fourth stage of North Boston will be substantially more costly than the previous three stages combined. A massive new complex adjacent to the existing one will produce even more chips, and even more dedicated computing hardware, ranging from single integrated systems for extreme miniaturization, to single purpose microcontrollers and multi core processors. While expensive, this will bring with it a substantial surplus in some forms of capital goods, allowing for substantial investments in future projects.
(Progress 970/1200: 15 resources per die) ( +++++ Capital Goods ++++ Consumer Goods -- Labor --- Energy)
Work has continued on the North Boston complex, with some of the last of the heavy construction going in and the site beginning to prepare for operations. With additional heavy construction robots being made available, the site is a seething, buzzing swarm of construction, with lines of bots in constant motion. The primary Boston complex is all but complete, however there is significantly more processing left after a chip has been finished, and these facilities have not yet been set up. While most of the chips will be general purpose computing, many will also be going to more dedicated designs.
When it comes to building computers in the Initiative, in the modern day, custom builds are very, very uncommon. While there are certainly options, there are often only a handful in any given field, and rarely is there much in the way of overlap. CPUs, for example, only have about five models, although it can be as low as three or as high as seven available at any given time, all fitting into the same slots, merely built to differing levels of computing power. The same applies to graphics cards, RAM, hard drives and SSDs. For almost any workable configuration there is almost certainly a prebuilt version that offers that specific design. However, at the same time, there is quite a bit of rolling repair. Rather than throwing out an entire system when one critical part breaks, nearly every build is designed to be taken apart and repaired.
[ ] Chemical Fertilizer Plants
While GDI's methods typically rely heavily on circulating nutrients through fish to deliver nutrition to its plant growth bays, producing effective non toxic fertilizers is quite possible. By supplementing fish and bacterial byproducts with chemical additives, GDI can increase production of food and consumer goods.
(Progress 184/200: 15 resources per die) (+++ Consumer Goods, +++ Food, - Energy)
Chemical fertilizers fall into three categories: nitrogen-, phosphate- and potassium-fertilizers, of which nitrogen fertilizer is usually the most in demand, with one of the primary limitations of plant growth being the supply of nitrogen. The first step in its production is the synthesis of ammonia via the power intensive Haber-Bosch process from methane and nitrogen, which serves as the chemical basis for all other nitrogen fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate. With GDI's use of hydro- and aquaponics, these different fertilizers are usually mixed together at the end of the production chain into the basis for Hoagland solution, which is then filled in bags and put into GDI's logistical system. Work has been notably fast, however, the logistics have been somewhat lacking. While thousands of tons of fertilizers have been produced, the majority is still sitting in on-site warehouses due to scheduling issues.
[ ] Yellow Zone Aquaponics Bays (Phase 4)
Expanding on previous programs, further development of Yellow Zone Aquaponic systems is aimed at increasing the self sufficiency of the network. While it will almost certainly still require a fairly substantial amount of food to be shipped in to ensure an acceptable level of diversity, if cut off for some reason, it is almost certainly going to be able to maintain existing populations at a survivable, if not particularly comfortable level.
(Progress 160/160: 10 resources per die) (+++ Food, ++ Consumer goods --- Water)
(Progress 22/200: 10 resources per die) (+++ Food, +++ Consumer Goods, ---- Water)
The fourth phase of yellow zone aquaponics has been overtaken in some ways by the course of events. While initially planned to offer the yellow zones a meaningful level of self sufficiency, that has proven to be not the case as resettlement efforts have instead inundated both Blue and Yellow zones with new refugees, leading to ever greater food shipments being required to simply feed the population. In order to relieve strain on the logistics network, especially the bottlenecks in the transition from Blue to Green Zone operations, a new wave of standardized aquaponics bays have been established, primarily in urban areas. Delivering a mix of grains and fruits, they have cut somewhat into the logistical strain, but for every truck and train car of food that is removed, one or another form of supplies has been added, leaving the system at a net zero.
[ ] Spider Cotton Development
Spider Cotton is a cotton plant that is built to produce a very near approximation of spider silk. While not quite as strong or as fine, it is more than good enough to serve as a form of ultralight body armor, and is from first reports quite comfortable. It will however require some larger scale tests before it can become a substantial part of GDI's total fiber production.
(progress 22/40: 20 resources per die)
While early test models had been relatively productive, attempts to convert one off plants into something that can be grown in any aquaponics bay in the Initiative have run into serious roadblocks. First is unexpected reactions to environmental pressures. Test plants are typically raised in extremely controlled lab environments, including carefully controlled atmospheric conditions. While usually this produces few problems when converting, Spider Cotton seems to react very poorly to temperature and moisture, as small deviance in both significantly reduced the quality of the final product. Such tolerance ranges are no problem in a laboratory, but are not economically achievable in a standard greenhouse environment. However, this is not a severe problem. With potential problem candidates in the genome already identified, the program looks to return to schedule next quarter, so long as it is granted another infusion of funding. Other roadblocks are more practical, the most critical of them is in the formation of the cotton itself. Spider silk, including the dragline silk that this product is meant to mimic in large quantities, is formed from a combination of proteins woven together to form long chain polymers. The test conversion cotton plants have produced appreciable amounts of the correct polymers. Unfortunately this has been in tight wads of interlinked and interwoven material, small balls of protein rather than long chains that would have been useful in everything from clothing to lightweight ropes.
[ ] Tiberium Stabilizers
A low orbit satellite network stretching around the world, each stabilizer is a lotus of panels and transmitter systems. With the system needing to come online all at once, the entire network will have to be launched before the Initiative can make use of it.
(Progress 674/2000: 30 resources per die) (---- Capital Goods) (Increases time between mutation rolls from 1d4 to 1d4+1) (+25 PS) (Fusion)
A single Tiberium stabilizer satellite is 150 tons of material, bulky, fragile, and difficult to handle. While on the ground it is fairly boxy, once deployed it is a lotus of solar and radiator panels, wrapped around a central RTG and battery pack, all built to supply energy to the communications and central messenger systems. The first step was to construct a pair of facilities, one in West Africa and one in Korea, to begin production of these satellites. However, late in the quarter, the first launches began, a systematic drumbeat of hundreds of units being put up. While the entire constellation will be some 3000 satellites, currently the number is closer to two hundred, with many, many more left to launch.
While impossible to fully hide, the true extent of the system seems to have remained secure, although some rumors have begun floating that it is one of Granger's "novel technological solutions" to Tiberium. While true, these rumors have little evidence and no warlord has, as of yet, made mention of the system or made any changes to their operational systems.
One of the returning Leopards had an attempted interception by a Brotherhood strategic SAM system. In retaliation, GDI unleashed over twenty strike operations in the next twenty four hours, keeping a constant air presence in the area for a week afterwards as a threat to ensure the Brotherhood does not try again.
[ ] GDIS Pathfinder
The gravitic drive has met initial use testing, and it is ready for a more thorough test. A relatively small testbed ship is the next step towards granting the Initiative the ability to use the drive system practically. While it will be a major project, and require construction of many of the tools to make the tools, it is a first step towards a mass producible drive design.
(Progress 158/300: 30 resources per die)
In orbit near the Enterprise, GDIS Pathfinder's orbital cradle has taken shape. A skeletal hexagonal tube, the cradle serves as a mounting point for many elements of the ship before it can support its own weight. While currently the cradle is intended to be single use, blown away by explosive bolts before the ship lights off its drive, future designs are likely to be somewhat more permanent. Similarly, on the ground, there has been significant construction work. Most notably has been the construction of a facility in Reykjavik for the assembly of drive nacells. While initial testing was done with a single nacelle, current modeling suggests that the Pathfinder will need eight, set in two offset rings. Using the orientation of the decks, the bow nacelles will be placed at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 o clock positions, while in the stern, they will be placed at the 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, and 10:30 positions. The nacelles produce sets of low slung, contoured teardrops on the surface of the generally bricklike hull. While almost certainly not a particularly efficient design, it is one that the scientists have a relatively high confidence in, and should not produce an unsafe design.
Amid the drumbeat of launches for the stabilizer network, there have been six fusion launches, and many more conventional chemical rocket launches, for the Pathfinder, hauling up a handful of the largest pieces. First was the fusion engine, a standard model found across the Initiative's space fleet, used here as an emergency reaction drive in case the gravitic drive suffers a fault during operations. Second and third were the two primary fission reactors, both pebble beds, that will be used to provide power. While both are fairly small by Initiative standards, they will provide more than enough power to keep the lights on and the ship livable until long after the food has run out. The remaining three hauled internal modules, many repurposed from the Leopard and the Union classes, at least on this initial ship. Similarly, the Enterprise has begun to supply standard hull plating to the Pathfinder, however much of the ship is not yet enclosed, and many of the primary systems, most notably the bridge, have not yet arrived.
One of the most severe bottlenecks in production has been the fact that GDI's entire supply of stable transuranic elements comes out of two sites. Chicago and Jeddah, and while both have been running full pace since the project was proposed, the total amount of STUs has been less than 100 tons, not all of which are useful for the production of gravitic drives.
[ ] Lunar Regolith Harvesting (Phase 1)
The Silicate compounds in the Moon's crust contain extractable levels of iron, titanium, and aluminum, making them incredibly useful as a source of bulk materials. While processing will require massive amounts of energy in some cases, it is also a useful beginning point for developing the solar system.
(Progress 350/350: 30 resources per die) (+15 Resources per turn) (Fusion)
(Progress 50/340: 30 resources per die) (++ Light Metals) (Fusion)
On the lunar surface, first stage refining has begun. While Enterprise's systems are quite capable, it helps if the feedstock can be sorted and preprocessed for easier feeding. Primarily this is sorting by density and magnetism currently, leaving significant amounts of random ores in any given sample. These are then loaded onto primarily Union class shuttles. While most have been retasked towards the creation of the massive array of satellites in low earth orbit, a handful can be used to haul hundreds of tons of lunar rock to the Enterprise. Those first shuttles loaded down with Lunar ores made landings on GDSS Enterprise this quarter, bearing the first fruits of the mining program, and establishing a flow of supply that is, from mining to processing, to finishing, completely separated from the Earth. While not yet self-sustaining, with many critical components only manufactured on the surface, it is a major milestone in the history of Initiative orbital operations. While the current supply is enough to fill existing processing capacity, it is far from enough for a long term project. Expansions of the Enterprise, or establishing Lunar processing and manufacturing capacity will be required to power further industrialization of the solar system. Currently Enterprise's orbital processes are primarily servicing its own needs and those of the Philadelphia, and have already cut launches from once every two weeks, to one a month, and with expansion they are likely to soon be oriented towards supporting operations across not just Earth's sphere of influence, but across the inner system.
[ ] Expand Medical Schools
With Initiative medical demands likely to increase significantly in coming years, expanding a number of dedicated training programs and offering incentives to work in the field should begin meeting some of these demands, especially in the field of trained staff.
(Progress 207/300: 10 resources per die) (-- Labor, +++ Health)
The Initiative medical program has been steadily increased every year for the past seven years, with increases in funding coming from the Welfare department, and more doctors being available to serve as mentors and teachers. However, the Treasury has found this increase to be somewhat lacking, and has targeted the medical system for a surge in funding. Primarily this has focused on expanding and renovating existing facilities, and establishing higher targets for the medical system.Most notably in the supply of nurses, but also for doctors, surgeons, and other specialities across the field. While residencies are still in short supply for the expanded classes, this is primarily a problem that requires setting aside further funding to ensure that the supply of medical professionals is maintained, especially in light of the Initiative's continuing refugee influx, even months after Initiative forces halted their advance.
[ ] Indoor park programs
With the Initiative looking to expand public services once more, a series of indoor parks under skylights will provide many of the benefits of playing outdoors without the inherent risks on a Tiberian earth. While the project is not particularly expensive, it will be politically popular among nearly all factions.
(Progress 106/150: 5 resources per die) (5 Political Support)
Indoor parks-to-be have been springing up around the Initiative. While the vast majority have been in the newly established Green Zones, they are also appearing across the Blue Zones as a concession to interests there. While the Blue Zones can, and do, have outdoor parkspaces, there are still safety concerns involved that have motivated lobbying by parents and educators for a more enclosed environment.
At the most basic, each of these parks begins with a hybrid isolated dirt and aquaponic greenspace. While some parts, primarily the isolated dirt, are going to be operated by the Initiative, the vast majority will be handled on an allotment basis, ranging from about a square meter of growing space, all the way up to about a hundred for the most avid gardeners. Beyond the allotments, playing fields (these with artificial grass) are being erected, using a series of geodesic domes with clear panels for cover.
Currently, the parks are effectively complete, however much of the internal setup still remains. Play structures, seed packages, and other accoutrements must be shipped in from across the Initiative and installed on site. These are, for the most part, either backlogged or in transit from the handful of locations with capacity to produce appropriate equipment.
[ ] Remote Weapons System Deployment Predator
With the new laser point defense system, GDI's ground forces are out of patience. Survivability upgrades for the Predator tank are no longer a matter of convenience, but a matter of necessity. While likely one of the last major block upgrades the Predator will see over the course of its life cycle, that does not make it particularly less vital, especially as the Predator will likely serve until at least the mid 2070s in second and third line roles.
(Progress 389/350: 10 Resources Per die) (-5 Political Support every quarter progress is not made on this project)
At long last, a major flaw has been fixed in the Predator Main Battle Tank. The addition of a remote weapons system, and currently more importantly a mainline antimissile system is already seeing significant impacts. In Patagonia, for example, the allocation of a single new model predator to an armored squadron has reduced loss rates by 15-20 percent, and decreased ablative plate consumption by between 25 and 30 percent, as their APS have been notably effective in reducing the impact of Stahl's missile equipped Scorpions, forcing him, like most others, to begin switching over to mixed platoons of the vehicles.
In its current state, the Predator has reached some of the limits on its fundamental systems, most notably the power pack and suspension. A fully loaded MBT-6 has gone from 65 tons up to just short of 70, even at regulation specifications. With many troops loading up even more heavily than that, any further systems development will likely require a clean sheet design that integrates many of these systems more efficiently. Additional requirements are likely to include a redesigned armor scheme, a redesigned systems interface bus to reduce the problems faced early on in the remote weapons system project, new Aluminum/Air battery systems, and a more powerful engine to feed the significantly increased power requirements of the railgun and laser systems.
[ ] Universal Rocket Launch System Deployment (Phase 1)
With the system developed, the first step is to convert existing munitions factories to the new standard. While this project can be delayed, once started it should be completed in short order to avoid difficulties in the Initiative's munitions supply. These will replace a broad swathe of existing systems, overall simplifying the ammunition situation drastically.
(Progress 300/300: 15 Resources per die) (High Priority)
(Progress 105/200: 15 resources per die) (-- Energy)
Missile production has worked out many of the kinks that had been plaguing them last quarter, and supply has restarted. While currently Ground Forces are generally happy with the missiles, the biggest beneficiary has actually been the Air Force. Operational tempos have doubled, and with the program, the Orcas are finally flying with full loads. While still distinctly vulnerable, and unable to program or guide the air to air configurations of the Thunderbolt, it is a significant increase in firepower, nearly doubling the striking power of every Orca in the Initiative roster.
Similarly, the new QAAM has already scored its first victories. A pair of Barghests were downed over Patagonia in early June, with another pair being shot down over the North Sea later that month. While the rate is still low, partially due to pilots still getting used to the missiles, it has been a significant counter to the ever growing threat of the Barghest. Of those Barghests, GDI has been able to recover one in relatively good condition. Upon initial analysis it has been discovered that the aircraft uses a liquid suspension cockpit containing a heavily cybernetically augmented soldier. Little more than a torso, the pilot is built into the hull, well protected and wrapped inside the other systems. While it is almost certainly removable, InOps has not found the connections that would have to be disconnected to do that. It is also clearly a gravitic drive craft, using a number of articulating plates to accelerate in any direction at any time, providing a good explanation for the absurd mobility that the aircraft has demonstrated time and time again.
Against ground targets, the force is significantly less revolutionary at the moment. Being little more than a standardization on a handful of performance metrics, it has ensured that there are more diverse munitions available to nearly any force. For example, many missile teams have requisitioned additional missile segments configured for rail launches, in order to give themselves a more standoff anti material capacity.
While the refits have been finalizing, construction has already begun on a series of new plants, both to provide redundancy, and prepare for what some in the Initiative believe to be a solution to the inaccuracy that has hampered fire missions for nearly half a decade at this point.
[ ] Governor Class Cruiser Shipyards
Rebuilding some of GDI's battleship docks into half sized cruiser sections will save on resources, however they will require major investments in capital goods. These yards will take some significant time to begin major developments however, with a cruiser taking months to construct, and longer to fit out for service. (Very High Priority)
- [ ] Hampton Roads(Progress 45/185: 20 resources per die) (- Capital Goods, -- Energy, - Labor)
Hampton Roads, of all the shipyards in the program, suffered some of the worst damage in the Third Tiberium War. In 2047 the GDS Pathe, an Initiative aircraft carrier, was sunk in the harbor as part of a NOD commando operation to seize the port during the Battle of Washington. Just days later, a GDI counteroffensive brought even more ruin as it fought across the city, displacing the Grey Watch Chapel of the Black Hand that had taken up residence to recuperate after leading the breakthrough against GDI defenses in southern Virginia. During the operation, a second ship, the GDS Zheng He, was sunk in the harbor by a squadron of Venoms. While since refloated and returned to service, it was badly damaged, and left scrap across a significant portion of the seafloor, some of which has proven to be problematic for the cruiser program. In both cases, the spearhead of the operations were lead by Commandos. While the Brotherhood has managed to conceal the identity of their operative, GDI operations began with the infiltration of Lt. (Promoted to Captain posthumously after his death at Temple Prime) Whittering. Unfortunately in the operation, he had employed tactics hardly less destructive than those of the Grey Watch he was rooting out of the shipyards.
This has resulted in the shipyard being effectively destroyed, and despite reconstruction efforts in years past, it was not brought completely back online. This has meant that the first task of the construction crews upon arriving on site was to conduct repairs on the rail, road, water, and power linkages that the site requires for operations. Additionally, the GDS Pathe, while left during the reconstruction as too much of a problem, had to be worked around. A cofferdam has been erected around the site of the sinking, and salvage crews have been working over the site stripping the ship down. While most of the crew made their way off the ship during the sinking, it was a somewhat hurried affair, and a handful did not make it, and were unable to be recovered before this point. With the remains sent to Arlington, the ship is scheduled to have its keel pulled out in the coming days, leaving the port clear for continued operations.
[ ] 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) (81)
Another sweep has been conducted of the Tiberium Department. The most worrying processes found were a handful of monitoring programs, primarily placed to trace the flow of raw tiberium to overseas refineries. These were likely placed by either the Ten Rings or Bintang's factions of the Brotherhood, searching for easily hit ships to feed their own industries. With ever more of the Initiative's processing capacity tied up in a pair of major developments (Chicago and Jeddah) shipments like these are unfortunately common, and their contents, while not disclosed, are often easy to deduce from the precautions taken in transit.
However, no significant personnel infiltration has been found, likely an indication that these programs have been piggybacking on legitimate uses of the system to gather data.
InOps suggests building out a broader and more decentralized array of processing facilities and encouraging more localized shipping as solutions to what seems to be an incipient pirate problem long term.
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