It took nanowrimo to get me writing again but the one deserving most praise is @Kelenas for reminding me to get this done numerous times.
Turn 4: Sigma Crisis - End
Date: 12/812 AS
You have 6 Action Points that you can spend anyway you wish at 1 point per action. You can also add 1 Focus Point (giving a + 20 Bonus) to a chosen action, representing DSX focusing on that action.
(Survey actions, especially in the Terminus sector will also have a chance of unveiling new Jumphole connections/unlocking new systems)
Sirius Sector:
You may be hundreds of light-years removed from the Sirius sector with the goal of exploring a completely new part of space but that doesn`t mean you can ignore what happens in the Sirius sector.
[] Transports:
With you expanding your industrial capacity the demands on your logistic network have also increased significantly, severely taxing your logistics. And while the normal supplies you get from your backers should be enough to solve that issue you should probably look into ordering additional transports if you plan to expand your industry this turn.
Cost: Medium, Result: Logistics improved
Over the next few weeks DSX, and several shell companies owned by it, place orders for a few dozen freighters at shipyards in Rheinland, primarily the Order and Alster Shipyard. Daumann as well as a number of your own personal contacts ensure that your ships are not only placed in the priority queues but also that they are provided with the best equipment possible.
Result: You take possession of a significant number of high-end Rheinland freighters.
Ship Class: Freighter
The term freighter covers a very wide range of ships that can range from small in-system transports which are not even capable of travelling with Jump Gate to deep space transports like the Dromeda which are designed for nearly autonomous operation in the dangerous and hazardous frontier regions. The main difference between it and the next bigger transport oriented ship class, ironically knows as Transports, are the fact that their cargohold is part of the ship itself instead of the container based systems utilised by bigger ships, allowing for great flexibility in regards to what cargo it transports. They are also generally viewed as the biggest shipclass with which it it is safe to transverse Jumpholes.
[] Violet Diamonds:
Diamonds may no be longer as rare as they were when humanity was still limited to a single planet but they are still a very valuable trade good, be it for industrial purposes or as a luxury good. They are relatively easy to excavate, requiring only minimal infrastructure, and your contacts in the IMG and Daumann can not only provide you with the necessary tools and equipment but also give you an easy access into the market (while still remaining hidden).
Cost: Minimal, Result: Small diamond mining operation established
Normally one of the biggest challenges your organization faces when it comes to expanding its industry this far out is neither securing the necessary technology nor the transport of the machines disfar into the frontier but securing the necessary manpower. After all not many are happy to abbadon almost any connection civilisation for years if not decades to work in one of the most dangerous regions of space for a pretty mysterious organization (especially when the end up doing a job they could have easily found at home). In fact only your cooperation with the IMG, which has always attracted and employed exactly that kind of spacer, has allowed you to maintain your rapid pace of expansion so far.
However when it comes to crewing your new diamond operation finding the necessary staff proves to be surprisingly easy. In fact your recruiters are practically overrun by Daumann employees the moment they start. It seems like working for even, even with all its disadvantages, is preferable to working in either the Dresden system and its constant attacks by Red Hessians or, even worse, working in Omega 11 where miners not only have to deal with constant pirate attacks but also extreme radiation and the possibility of deadly sun flares. And while you are unsure of how you should feel about how callous Daumann treats its workers the influx of talented and experienced miners is certainly welcome.
Result: Access to diamonds, a universal accepted tradegood (medium income boost for now)
[] The Sigma Crisis:
Sigma 17 is quickly developing into a free for all between Corsairs, Outcasts, Samura and Cryer which not only forces you to reorganise your supply lines but also presents you with an opportunity. The various factions are all hiring freelancers and mercenaries to assist in their operations and as it happens you have access to a not insignificant military force just waiting to do something other than endless, boring patrols. This could be a good idea to get some of the factions involved here in your debt, see how well trained your pilots really are and make a nice payday!
(Your current military status allows you to use a second action to choose an additional action (or pick the same for additional benefits/higher success chance) at the cost of stripping your systems of all your reserves. The options are also listed according to their "difficulty" - since "success" might be nearly certain but the amount of casualties you take can vary. I also wanted to note that your "Ethos" limits the options here (for example you have no option to attack another lawful organisation or assist the Outcasts (other than not getting involved))
Option 1: Freelancer
Cryer Pharmaceuticals has always depended on Freelancers and Bounty Hunters to ensure the safety of its Atka facility and is currently desperately trying to reinforce its security force. Likely enemies are mainly the Outcasts though Alexandra fears that Samura may use the chaos for an opportunistic strike to solidify its claim over the system.
Result: Support Cryer
Kalom rolls 1d100+20 = 55 #Sigma
Kalom rolls 1d100+10 = 30 #Sigma- Corsair
It is perhaps a sign of how dire the situation has become that Cryer accepts your offer of assistance without any of the typical endless back and forth negotiations you normally associate with Liberty companies.
Due to the difficulty and danger of the task, as well as seeing an opportunity to gauge the skill of your pilots firsthand, you decide to take personal command of the operation and arrive only days after the signing of the contract in Sigma 17. Once there you quickly understand nervousness of the pharmaceutical giant because the system is practically getting flooded with ships by Outcasts and Corsairs.
On the trip from the Omicron Theta Jumphole, located in the southeast of the system, to Atka station, located in a minor asteroid field in the northwest, you happen to come across a small skirmish between the two pirate factions which both mesmerizes and terrifies you for it demonstrates once again that their boast of being the best pilots in the Sirius sector is far from empty. Their individual ship handling is simply perfect and both factions seem to have a flair for such small scale conflicts that borders the supernatural, their wingmen are nearly always in perfect positions and they can swap positions at the a moment's notice.
But both you and Henry had ample experience in fighting those factions and thus know that they are neither immortal nor unbeatable. Together with the Cryer security forces you thus quickly devise a plan to secure the base till reinforcements from Liberty can arrive or the conflicts dies down. Sadly the standard tactic of the House militaries and policies, holding them in position till you can deploy fast capital ships like destroyers and corvettes against them, is beyond your current capabilities leaving you with the alternative of simply trying to ensure that you have local numerical superiority in any possible battle (and to avoid fights where this isn't the case), ideally baiting any attacker into the range of the considerable weapons of Atka base. And while your pilots might not be as superhumanly good as the Corsairs or Outcasts they are certainly a well skilled and well trained force with great understanding of both tactical and strategic requirements of space battle (and lacking the perhaps most fatal flaw of their enemies, overwhelming pride).
This allows them to repulse the two major offensives the Outcasts start during the year, although at considerable cost of both man and material, and ensure that Atka base survives long enough for reinforcements, a small fleet of both corporate security as well as a significant detachments of bounty hunters led by a destroyer, to arrive from Liberty.
Result: Cryer is very thankful, surviving pilots gain significant experience, manageable cost in both lives and material (expected time till complete replenishment: 1 year)
General situation in Sigma 17:
After some initial gains Corsairs get too cocky and overextend dangerously in an attempt to attack the Sigma-19 Jumphole. Outcasts, expecting such an attack, manage to trap the Corsairs between two fleets and nearly annihilate the Corsair taskforce. After that is Outcasts who make significant gains, pushing the Corsairs back the Omicron Theta Jumphole and would in all likelihood completely destroyed them hadn't they also tried to deal with Cryer at the same time. Towards the end of the year the conflict starts to die down but both sides fortifying their positions and bringing in reinforcements it is clear that both of the expect this to continue next year.
Cryer has decided to try and defend Atka for now (rumour suggest that they have managed to secure some interesting samples from the failed Outcast attacks) though it is also prepared to pull back if the situation becomes untenable.
Samura's presence meanwhile has been restricted to the planet of Kurille, which so far has escaped any major attack, and after suffering several complete losses stopped any transports into the system for the foreseeable future. It is however putting considerable pressure on the Kursari government and navy to become active and would likely have succeeded at that task if its rival, Kishiro, hadn´t decided that it really liked to see Samura suffer (though even they have a hard time opposing such a clear anti-piracy action).
Terminus Sector:
The new, unexplored frontier.
[] Asteroid Mining:
The inner asteroid field of Alpha01 is rich in various valuable resources and it might be a good idea to establish an operation similar to Omicron Kappa.
Cost: Medium, Result: Small Mining operation established
Establishing a mining operation in Alpha01 is at this point nearly a routine maneuver though the distance involved and the presence of radioactive materials complicate the matter notably. But thanks to your experienced foremen and their decades of experience the mining operation is established according to plan and soon shipments of valuable materials are their way from the asteroid belt to Alpha Base where they most of them get either stockpiled or shipped towards your contacts in the Border Worlds.
Result: Access to valuable materials (as well as radioactive materials utilized in certain weapon types), small increase in wealth
[] Monster Hunter:
The alien organisms found in Alpha01 seem roughly similar to those found in the Edge Worlds (like for example Kurile) and could possible be a valuable trade good used in the agricultural industry. However as it stands none of the organisations you work with have had any experience with such things which complicates the matter somewhat since you can`t simply sell them through them.
[] Option 3: Daumann
Just because your allies are currently not involved in this part of economy doesn't mean this has to be so forever. Müller has suggested that you cooperate with Daumann to help them get a foot in the market and expand their portfolio.
Cost: High, Chance of success: 60%, Result: Cooperate with Daumann to sell the Alien Organisms
-> 93
Initially Daumann doesn't think much of your idea of establishing a subsidiary company whose primary focus are the newly discovered alien organisms you have found. In their opinion the complicated extraction as well as lengthy and difficult logistics involved in actually transporting it to rheinland make it too expensive for most markets, leaving only very specialised research and pharmaceutical companies as potential buyers.
However this quickly changes once one of their scientists, inspired by the Juno fishfarms, looks for possible uses in Daumann colonization of the planet Holstein. At the start it looks like a failure for unlike the organisms harvested by Samura on Kurille the organisms from Alpha01 seem to have no special use in the agricultural or fishing sector but once the scientist widens the net he quickly notices that the microorganisms allow for on in situ purification of several of the locally mined minerals (mostly Bor), greatly lowering the cost of the process and as a nice side effect several of the byproducts of the process can actually serve as fertilizer. Within days after the discovery Daumann Exognesis is incorporated, widening the catalogue of both Daumann and DSX.
Result: Large amount of wealth, increased reputation, cooperation with Daumann
[] Open the Box:
Your study of the alien mining base has so far created far more questions than answers and you don`t think that you will ever be able to answer all of them, no matter how much you probe the installation, but an in-depth analysis might still solve a few questions.
Chance of success: 50%: Result: More information about Pandora/Aliens
-> 59
The report that Aaron, the lead scientists on Pandora, gives you at the end of the years sadly doesn't really answer the burning question of who or what built and operated the station. However what they unearthed so far is highly interesting, the atmosphere of the station consisted of a mixture that is eerily similar to what found on most life bearing planets, though with an uncomfortable high percentage of oxygen and several trace amounts of gases not normally found on human planets. Further analysis of the architecture of the station also shows that the alien has most likely been a bipedal, possibly tripedal, with a height of around 2,5 meters and that the structure never experienced any noticeable gravitational change as would be the case with most human station, though it is hard to predict the exact reason for that. Sadly the search for any true archaeological remains has been fruitless so far though nobody is willing to guess if this is by chance or design.
Result: Some information about aliens
Organization:
Name: Deep Space Exploration (DSX)
Reputation: Relatively Unknown
Your organization has so far managed to stay secret though rumours about your presence in the Omicron region have begin to surface, especially since Daumann Exogensis started to operate.
Ethos: Lawful
The large presence of highly trained military and industrial personnel means that your people tend to follow the rules and avoid ethically questionable actions.
Supply: Extremely well supplied
The support of Daumann and Zoner's mean that your organisation is well supplied with basic resources and construction materials. Your ongoing expansion has greatly increased the amount of materials needed for the smooth running of your operations but at the same time you have managed to secure several new sources of materials which counters this development so far. You are also slowly but surely building up a significant cash reserve.
Manpower: 7.500
You are reasonably well staffed with many experienced people in non-combat roles, especially space exploration and mining. Your organisation has expanded significantly to deal with the increased need for manpower. Space on Alpha base is getting sparse and your security and intelligence operation had to work overtime to screen the new hires.
Military:
Level of equipment: Standard
Your military is well equipped and can maintain several ongoing operations
Average experience:
Veteran: Nearly all your pilots and soldiers have proven their mettle various battlefields and skirmishes.
Military forces:
Your military currently consists of a several wings of BAF fighters (each made of 4 squads), a few squads from the IMG and as well as four squads of Order heavy fighters. Over the last six month you got heavily reinforced, giving you a significant taskforce not busy with patrol or security work.
Readiness:
75% - Currently replacing losses from the fights in Sigma 17
"Ground" Forces:
A battalion of Royal Marines (BAF)
Installations:
Alpha Base: The main base of DSX is located in one of the bigger asteroids, circa ten kilometers in diameter, of the outer asteroid field in the Alpha01 system. The metal heavy composition of the asteroid paired with advanced stealth systems mean that the base is hard to detect for any known sensors.
The base is still undergoing construction but can already house up to five thousand people as well as their associated ships and equipment with the current goal to create enough room to comfortably house ten thousand people. recently a small industrial complex has been added to it, allowing it to produce a small amount of basic materials.
In regards for active defenses it features numerous military grade point defense turrets as well as a lesser number of anti fighter guns.
Mining operations:
Small mining operation (rare metals) in Omicron Kappa
Small mining operation (diamonds) in Omicron Kappa
Small mining operation (Ice) in Omicron Kappa
Small mining operation (diamonds) Alpha01
