5 years pass....
Skylar upgrade: +20 to space tactics use.
* * * * * *
Power usage:
[x] Reinforce Protection.
(14, failure) A major power issue prevents any major work in pathspace. Something is really messing up your connection this turn and you don't know what.
[x]Use Zeal Make sure religion is conductive to creative though and hard-work.
(68, success) A nucleus of a religion worshiping the concept of the industrial-faith complex. Through labor, technological advancement, and duty comes greater fulfillment of the original purpose of the machine: to serve the greater whole. It will take time to grow and take root, but the beginnings of a new intellectual and societal movement have begun.
R&D:
[x] Research Bio-mechanic Synthetic Information networks(+30 Tori)
(98+30= 128 Critical Success!)
Yes, this is about brains in jars and use of nerve-clusters in replacement of transistors. And its surprisingly efficient. Okay, scratch that, it makes your current heuristic expert systems look flat out dumb. Biotech is severely outclassing cybertech in the area of raw computing power at the moment with brains built for maximum computer power, with the downside that if your computer gets a cold it has a fair chance of dying. Unlikely though, with nanotech preservation methods and immune systems. In the mean time, its a workable system until hardware catches up with wetware. An organic brain freed of having to maintain an actual body has a ton of computer power to spare.
In terms of practical effects, Tori's designed a new form of computational nexus using this new biotech. It will take a while to set up, but by augmenting the interlink with wetware nodes, available computational power skyrockets. Not only that, but by attaching wetware nodes to starship it provides a low-maintenance, high performance computer core. Okay, yes there are burnout issues after more than 500 days of use, but Tori is working on them and she could use more time on it.
New Improvement: The Wetwork Web (++ science OR + science slot, 500 points)
New Research Project: Wetwork computer core refits. (-10)
[x] Jorian Inertia-less Drive (+30 Nanu lab) (+10 Tyrosian)
(95+30+10-40= 95, 156 of 500)
Progress is made in uncovering the composition of cavorite, but its simply flat out impossible to synthesize. You need to find a source of it. Survey bots co-opt some survey corvettes and tugs and start searching and making deep space scans.
[x] Mass driver variable ammunition. (+15 wetware complex).
(94+15= 109, CRITICAL SUCCESS)
Using a bunch of brains in parallel, a number of munitions warheads are developed for the mass drivers. These are the major ones:
1) Nano-D+ tipped rounds. These are special because they are redesigned with battery packs for the nano warheads along with a armor-piercing tip. The round impacts into the armor, rips a hole, then shoves the nano into it at maximum deconstruction. While its only 60 seconds of active nano time, its enough to make some big holes in enemy ships. Extremely expensive and hard to make though.
2) Self-propelled rounds. Incorporating a rocket thruster into the spike after its shot out of the driver for maximum acceleration, its a pin-point but deadly weapon system if targeted right.
3) Shotgun rounds. A timed warhead packed with a ton of grapeshot. Primitive, but don't fix what ain't broken. Combining the enemy's speed with the round's speed= big holes in enemy ship. Cheap too.
4) Sensor rounds. Meant for recon and forward observation to coordinate fire and get sensor readings up close from enemy ships.
New Ship Refit: Variable Mass Driver Rounds (+2 strength, consumable- 3 uses)
New Ship Refit: Nano-D+ Mass Driver Rounds (+8 strength, consumable- 1 use) (-20 to refit with)
[x] Nanotech Molecular Assembly units (Mizol+20)(+20 AI hub)
(32+20+20= 72, success)
Mizol takes a look at the existing nanotech industrial complex, scoffs, and then designs a new one with the aid of the AI Hub. The new "Sentient Nano-plant" is a much more refined design as a type of sentient factory complex built out of nanotech to produce nanotech products with a special brand of nano-C. The problem is that this variant of nano-C will be very, very complex and limited utility outside of the factory's loom systems, and is mostly geared towards construction tasks than general actions.
New Improvement: The Sentient Nano-plant (+++industry/ +action, 600 points)
[x] Nano-harden Hexaferium (+15 wetware complex)
(29-20+15= 24, failure)
Erm. Boss? We lost another lab. The nano-C was trying to turn the whole thing into Hexaferrium.
We're going to need more orbital labs.
Actions:
[x] Finish geo-industrial mining complex.
(63, 355 of 300, project complete)
Hexaferrium begins to stream into your factories and new applications and methodology around it begin to form around this very useful metal.
[x]Create Space Tactics Agressor(+20)(Skylar +15)
(33+20+15= 68, success)
Skylar is at work again, designing aggressive space tactics. Thankfully her TI drone assistant didn't delete anything.
Overclock- Set everything to barely controlled overload. Weapons, engines, shields, everything. Get maximum efficency out of everything, and damn the maintenance costs afterwards! Reduces safety margins but gets more bang for your buck out of ships.
Volley Fire- Organized firing patterns and interlocking target lanes for better accuracy at long range duels. Weak against close-up fights.
Wall of Battle- form a wall in space and bring broadsides to bear. Works best with cruisers or larger, as they have heavier armor and shields for interlocking protection.
E-Haze- use high-power electronic warfare techniques to jam and misdirect the enemy while bolstering your own targeting ability. Weak against primitive enemies, best against advanced ones.
Attrition Assault- Charge, charge, charge and take as many of them out with you as possible. Its high casualties on both sides.
Damage Control- emergency repairs take priority, and survival of the unit matters more than beating up the enemy. Improves survival rates when damaged, but causes lack of aggression.
Xantos Gambit- Heads I win, tails you lose. Its risky, it depends heavily on individual field units and available assets, and demands a truely skilled master of planning and strategic thinking. But if you can pull it off....the results will be glorious.
New Action Project: Design Space Strategic Operations Planning (+10)
[x] Continue work on Technic-telepathic Interlink.(+15 Bioroid cloning plants)(+30 Nanofactory complex)
(80+15+30= 125, 256 of 300)
Progress is swift, to the point where some sections of the interlink are done ahead of time so that others can be refitted to wetware systems instead, which prove to be much more reliable for this type of system than optronics. Much more flexible.
[x][x] Continue refitting destroyers.
(37+32= 69, success)
15 of the initial refit destroyers are put through more vigorous upgrades to A-type design.
[x] Begin Construction of Heavy cruisers. (+10 Transport network)(+10 Titan reactor)
(72+10+10=92)
Production of Centaurs begins in the capital yards. One has already rolled off the assembly lines and another is almost done. In fact, the bots are starting to gear up and tool up for Centaurs in particular, but they're asking for more priority assets to get more Centaurs online in time, like the nano-factories. Building them in batches would also be more efficient.
(1 Centaur Heavy Cruiser online)
Centaur #2 (42 of 50)
New Action: Centaur production group. (x10 Centaurs, 400 points) *100 point savings*
[x][x] Begin work on High speed information highways.
(32+15= 47, 47 of 400)
While the projected wetwork systems are meant to be more efficent, the information highways are better suited for economics and sating the population with hologramatic programs and cheap entertainment. Foundations are made to lay down the network.
Multipurpose slots:
[x][x] Begin construction of anti-matter synthesis plants Is as deep space in our system as reasonable..
(20+74= 94, 94 of 400)
Using the system's far-side Lagrange point on the other side of the sun, a safe and large city-sized synthesis plant is built to use the sun's energies to make antimatter, gram by gram. You can't mass produce antimatter yet, so you need to brute force a solution with multiple antimatter production plants working simultaneously.
* * * * * * *
HOTSPOT EVENT
Nothing happening. dull, boring.
Oh, and Tori is getting a little worried about the new religious movement. Might want to watch out for that
