Terminus Quest: A CKII Mass Effect Quest
Dude; yes, we need to root the corruption, but unless we have enough credits to support consecutive actions in rooting it out, we run the risk of even a single turn not paying attention entrenching the corruption. And while those taking our money might suspect that we will try to get rid of them, and the smarter ones are trying to anchor themselves into the system, attacking the problem without the funds to make headway with is like charging into a roach infested house waving bright lights. It'll appear as if we've driven them out, but instead all we've done is encouraged them to hide. With money, and taking consecutive actions will be more like walking in with a couple dozen bug bombs, and beginning the long term fumigating that's going to take several turns (years) to finish. Heck, we may even have to improve infrastructure one more time before we can be reasonably sure that we won't run out of money trying to get rid of all the money sinks. At least I hope it won't be so bad that we should have also expanded off-world mining again also.
Darrenb209
"Who are you, who do not know your history?"
- Location
- Scotland
Long term actions are for when you can afford long term actions, not just monetarily but also the time investment.
Edit: Only half of my post appeared, had to edit the rest back in.
Edit: Only half of my post appeared, had to edit the rest back in.
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Infrastructure is a never-ending grind and corruption will be eating away at it the whole time until we fix it. Half the reason we are so low on resources is because a bunch of it is getting wasted or stolen, so we should tackle it as soon as possible now that our situation is somewhat stabilized.
We're not losing ships, we have a bit of money with no apparent expensive actions that must be taken and we don't have any emergencies that require our Intrigue or Stewardship actions for the year, so we should do it before something important comes up.
We're not losing ships, we have a bit of money with no apparent expensive actions that must be taken and we don't have any emergencies that require our Intrigue or Stewardship actions for the year, so we should do it before something important comes up.
And when we run out of money the turn after we start actually digging it out, not identifying like the current options are for, but actually getting rid of it. What do you think the corrupted opposition is going to do then? Just sit there and let us get some more money? I mean, yeah Poptart could do that. But will he just let them not actively oppose us? I'm not willing to bet that the answer to that question is yes. This means using whatever means we can to build up an income to sustain getting them out. And while I may be utterly misreading @PoptartProdigy's comment regarding the economy, I am currently under the impression that the returns we're told we'll see per investment already takes into account the corruption eating at the returns. Supposedly meaning, at the time, the +10,000 credits per turn on the first level of infrastructure is what we get back after the corrupted have taking their piece of the pie. Yes, when we can, literally, afford to get rid of the corruption we'll likely see a massive spike in credits per turn on the first, and less for each consecutive effort until we're reasonably sure the corruption is gone. But, first, we'll need to go through with the identifying action, then we'll need to immediately follow with getting rid of identified problems action, which I'm fairly sure is going to be at least as costly per action as our spanking new shipyard. I just can't think of any other reasonable way to explain; We Need. The Money. In Order. To Act.
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rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
We'll always need money to anything and you can always reason that the infrastructure boost from ignoring corruption is going to outweigh the pain of trying to fix the problem, but you are neglecting the fact that corruption has a bigger effect on a quest than just the numbers. Leaving it alone for too long could very well have narrative consequences that will come back to bite us in the ass.
There's also nothing in the options that say we HAVE to immediately follow up on it, how hard those will be or if there are any incremental actions that will improve our situation, both in terms of lowering corruption and getting some of our money back.
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Warning For Marginal Behavior
You, obviously don't realize you just contradicted yourself there... so I'm going to assume that you need to get some sleep and just point out the fact that you just said that we can't afford to ignore them, then said that we can simply let the fact that we've identified the bribe takers sit while we figure out how much money we've got left. ... Yeah, trying to argue with someone that isn't cognitively present is... mind numbing.
rdc30
While you learned to write, I studied the blade.
Yeah, I think I'm done arguing with you.
don't blame me that you haven't gone to bed yet. Good night, and hope you think more clearly in the morning.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
I don't disagree the corruption is a huge issue. I voted for it. I'm only saying that now that we've set a precedent of making short term fixes, we might as well use them to prop ourselves up for the long-term fix. And if we have other options I would argue against continually putting the corruption off.
Warning: Be Civil
Acatalepsy
Firewall Proxy
- Location
- The Diamond Age
be civil
Hi there.
Rule 3 of this site is Be Civil. That's "Do not post in a way which is discourteous or indecorous". You're not over the line of what we'd consider infraction-worthy for a short exchange, but you're getting awful close and I thought I'd drop in a friendly warning to drop the needless insults and passive-aggressive behavior. You can disagree without being discourteous.
Rule 3 of this site is Be Civil. That's "Do not post in a way which is discourteous or indecorous". You're not over the line of what we'd consider infraction-worthy for a short exchange, but you're getting awful close and I thought I'd drop in a friendly warning to drop the needless insults and passive-aggressive behavior. You can disagree without being discourteous.
- Location
- Orlando, Florida
@PoptartProdigy Will there be an update?
Year 2: 481 GS
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Year 2: 481 GS
You smile at the batarian male flirting with you, desperately thinking for a way to escape the situation.
"Of course, my business is nothing too substantial," he demurs, waving his hand in false modesty. "A mere slice of the starship engineering industry. Nothing extravagant."
Your smile grows somewhat strained. You know damn well what his business is. You could hardly not, what with how vital it is to your military's continued functioning.
Which is why you can't tell him just to go to hell, tempting as it is.
You open your mouth to try to excuse yourself, resigning yourself to offending him at least a little bit, when Marae swoops in from the side.
"If I may beg your pardon, Mister Tarel, Minister Shurna requested that I retrieve the Prime Minister for an urgent message." Your friend smiles at Tarel as he deflates rapidly in disappointment. "I'm sure that she can find you again later."
"Of course," mutters your would-be suitor. "I would not dare monopolize her time."
"Nevertheless, thank you for your indulgence," says Marae, dipping her head in a polite nod. "Mira, it's this room off to the side."
"Of course; show me the way," you say, following along. The two fo you slip away from the fundraiser and vanish.
The room is empty.
"Oh thank the Goddess," you sigh, sagging against he wall. "Dealing with that woman is the last thing I need right now."
"I didn't realize you disliked her that much," says Marae. Then she smirks and nudges you. "You're welcome for the escape, by the way."
"Thank you." You rest a hand on your head. "I don't dislike her. But she knows her job a lot better than I do, and considering what that job is, I feel uneasy around her. It's hard to shake."
"I suppose that's fair," says Marae. "How are you holding up in general, Mira? You've seemed tired."
"Honestly, I am," you say. "This job has become my whole life. I don't regret it, but it is a lot of work. I hope we can get a bit more on top of things this year. Last year, it was just problem after problem."
Marae gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. "One year at a time, Mira."
You smile at her. "I know. I know." You sigh and push off from the wall, squaring your shoulders. "Well? Time to get out there and listen to fat business owners trying to seduce me."
"You could always agree to one for a night," says Marae, a teasing twinkle in her eyes. "Blow off some steam that way."
You roll your eyes as the two of you turn back to the door. "Yes, but I don't like fat." You collect yourself, and Marae does the same.
"Where's Lissa?" she asks. "Usually she's the one dragging you off when you need an escape."
"She's overseeing some work in Nemata," you reply. "Couldn't make it tonight. Shall we?"
Marae nods, and the two of you step back out into the party.
Current Reserves: 81,000 credits.
Yearly Income: 11,000 credits (gained at start of next turn).
Martial: "Prime Minister. The news about the vessels in Sentry Omega-4 presents a complication. The military is not very ready to respond. Frankly, I don't think it's wise to spare the forces for some kind of military response, even if that is your intention. If you have a military response in mind, I have a plan drawn up, but I strongly suggest that we instead keep those vessels on the line until our production capacity expands more. We'll be much better able to afford expeditions like this if we have ships to spare from Relay duty."
Choose 1.
[-] Expanding Production: The shipyards you brought online last year have already pulled their weight, stabilizing your production capacity. But that isn't enough; you still need more. Honestly, until you have a net yearly gain of vessels -- or get a bunch in space all at once -- you can't condone any other military projects that aren't immediate priorities. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 90%. Cost: 40,000 credits. Effect: At current rates of attrition, start gaining vessels per year.
[X] Repurposing Production: Building new shipyards is a costly proposition at a time when money is dearly stretched. You could save a lot by instead repurposing civilian orbital production. Of course, while that saves in the short term, you then lose out on the revenue that civilian production generates, and that's less production moving through the economy. Given your plans to either clean up corruption or find ways to make more money soon, the economy looks set to expand if things go well; if you don't do this soon, it'll become harder to find factories which you can convert without disrupting the civilian flow of production unduly. If you leave this too long, you can probably expect it to have a larger impact on your civilian economy. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 90%. Cost: 20,000 credits. Effect: At current rates of attrition, start gaining vessels per year. -500 yearly income due to damage to civilian economy.
[-] Emergency Refits: You don't need to outright boost production; you need more ships in space to plug the gaps while you get the resources to let you really develop your navy. And the various civilian vessels in-system are mostly just sitting idle. Requisition those ones, get them into your existing factories, and slap some barriers and guns on them. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 70%. Cost: 5,000 credits. Effect: Flood the front with garbage-tier, "warships," to buy time for you to secure the resources needed to really get your navy running. Navy takes significantly heavier losses for the duration.
[-] Military Response: Five warships a system away from you is a provocation that cannot be ignored, especially not in wartime. Wait for a lull in the fighting at the Relay and send a task force to confront these vessels in strength. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 60%. Cost: 2 light cruisers, 6 frigates, 12 corvettes. Effect: Confrontation with the mystery vessels, mini-turns. If the mini-turns go poorly, some or all of the vessels you send may not return. Severe failures may result in the Rachni attacking while your task force is away.
[X] Repurposing Production: Building new shipyards is a costly proposition at a time when money is dearly stretched. You could save a lot by instead repurposing civilian orbital production. Of course, while that saves in the short term, you then lose out on the revenue that civilian production generates, and that's less production moving through the economy. Given your plans to either clean up corruption or find ways to make more money soon, the economy looks set to expand if things go well; if you don't do this soon, it'll become harder to find factories which you can convert without disrupting the civilian flow of production unduly. If you leave this too long, you can probably expect it to have a larger impact on your civilian economy. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 90%. Cost: 20,000 credits. Effect: At current rates of attrition, start gaining vessels per year. -500 yearly income due to damage to civilian economy.
[-] Emergency Refits: You don't need to outright boost production; you need more ships in space to plug the gaps while you get the resources to let you really develop your navy. And the various civilian vessels in-system are mostly just sitting idle. Requisition those ones, get them into your existing factories, and slap some barriers and guns on them. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 70%. Cost: 5,000 credits. Effect: Flood the front with garbage-tier, "warships," to buy time for you to secure the resources needed to really get your navy running. Navy takes significantly heavier losses for the duration.
[-] Military Response: Five warships a system away from you is a provocation that cannot be ignored, especially not in wartime. Wait for a lull in the fighting at the Relay and send a task force to confront these vessels in strength. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 60%. Cost: 2 light cruisers, 6 frigates, 12 corvettes. Effect: Confrontation with the mystery vessels, mini-turns. If the mini-turns go poorly, some or all of the vessels you send may not return. Severe failures may result in the Rachni attacking while your task force is away.
Diplomacy: "As much as I'd love to help, Madame Minister, I'm afraid the Department of Relations is too busy to try to make contact with these new parties. The timing couldn't be worse, but it is what it is. Once our restructuring is complete, we can help."
Choose 0. LOCKED.
[-] Draft First Contact Protocols: The Council has protocols, but they're completely inapplicable to your situation. You're not negotiating from the position of the most powerful polity in the galaxy; you're a single planet under siege. If there's somebody else sharing the Sentry Omega cluster with you, or deeper into the Relay network, you need to be ready. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 65%. Cost: 5,000 credits. Effect: Draft a set of First Contact Protocols in the event of successful contact with new alien civilizations while you search for a way out of Sentry Omega.
[X] Ministry Reorganization: Virmire was, until the Rachni came, a colony of the Council, and since then it has been entirely devoted to military pursuits. You've never needed a truly professional Ministry of Relations. Thus, most of your people are charming amateurs. Marae, Matron that she is, has worked in this craft before, as a consul on Sur'Kesh. If you give her the word, she can get to work getting you a proper Ministry. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 55%. Cost: 15,000 credits. Effect: Restructure your Ministry of Relations, replace inexperienced and unprofessional staff with merely inexperienced staff, lose debuffs to Chances of Success from everybody being slightly shit.
[-] Light Into the Void: The comm beacons were the first bit of infrastructure to go, but you still have FTL transmitters. They still transmit without a receiving node. You don't even know how long it takes for those signals to propagate when they're not being bounced from node to node, but they certainly do propagate...and it's the only way you have of contacting anybody. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: ? Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Fire up the old FTL transmitters, budget the energy grid towards them to overcharge them, and send out regular distress calls at random into the galaxy. Pray that somebody is in the way and listening...and that they're not inclined to worsen things.
[X] Ministry Reorganization: Virmire was, until the Rachni came, a colony of the Council, and since then it has been entirely devoted to military pursuits. You've never needed a truly professional Ministry of Relations. Thus, most of your people are charming amateurs. Marae, Matron that she is, has worked in this craft before, as a consul on Sur'Kesh. If you give her the word, she can get to work getting you a proper Ministry. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 55%. Cost: 15,000 credits. Effect: Restructure your Ministry of Relations, replace inexperienced and unprofessional staff with merely inexperienced staff, lose debuffs to Chances of Success from everybody being slightly shit.
[-] Light Into the Void: The comm beacons were the first bit of infrastructure to go, but you still have FTL transmitters. They still transmit without a receiving node. You don't even know how long it takes for those signals to propagate when they're not being bounced from node to node, but they certainly do propagate...and it's the only way you have of contacting anybody. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: ? Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Fire up the old FTL transmitters, budget the energy grid towards them to overcharge them, and send out regular distress calls at random into the galaxy. Pray that somebody is in the way and listening...and that they're not inclined to worsen things.
Stewardship: "Well, my Ministry might not be in as much of a fuss over these new contacts as the others, but I'm afraid that my news isn't much better than theirs. Our situation hasn't really improved. Expanding our operations on Nemata put a patch on things, but the continuing operations aren't profitable enough to get us out of the woods -- and we actually have less money now than we did last year. I don't like the writing I'm seeing on the wall, Mira. I'm not sure we're going to be able to find the breathing space to really look into the corruption issue -- not swiftly, if things keep going like this. We need to bring in enough cash that we can afford for my Ministry to be unproductive on the balance sheet for a few years. I'm looking away from longer-term projects for the next few years until we can get a big enough stockpile going. My new proposals are on your desk now."
Choose 1.
[X] Taking Stock: Your predecessor was a corrupt piece of shit, and under his tenure, your government caught that disease, and badly. Virmire produces everything it needs in embarrassing excess, but you're losing several mountain ranges of the stuff through inefficiencies and bribes. It needs to be fixed...but it's going to be a long project. To start with, you need to figure out where it's all going. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 60%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Get an understanding of the staggering monument to excess and greed that is your government at the moment.
[-] Roadways and Trains: Virmire is very highly developed for a colony less than a century old, but...well, it's less than a century old and has expanded far more quickly than expected. Your infrastructure on the ground is embarrassingly ad-hoc and can't really handle the load of production efficiently. It'd be a large investment up-front, but some simple transit system improvements would ease the load on trade substantially, and that means credits. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 90%. Cost: 20,000 credits. Effect: Ground infrastructure is modernized and streamlined. +10,000 Yearly Income, future development is easier and cheaper.
[-] Militarize Freighters: The issue with things as they stand is that the Ministry of Finance can't be trusted to do its job ethically. Fixing that is a years-long issue, but you don't have to fix it immediately -- just work around it. You live under constant siege, with constant raids through the Relay. If presented the right way, you could demand that all freighters doing shipping within Hoc carry a Virmire Defense Army detachment -- for security's sake, of course. Naturally, Military Police divisions would be the best fit for a job involving such close work with civilians. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 65%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Suppress corruption aboard space freighters, netting +10,000 Yearly Income. Failure by 10 or more will tip corrupt elements to the fact that you are actively working to counter them.
[-] Surplus Sale: The army, let's face it, does very little for this war. This is as it should be, but it does mean that their weapons stockpiles are growing massive as wartime production kicks out good that don't get used. Such weapons have always had a market outside the military, and in times like this, that doesn't look like as bad a proposition as it does to a government in peacetime. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 95%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: +150,000 credits, civilian population has access to military-grade infantry equipment and weaponry. This may be either good or bad, depending on follow-up.
[-] Roadways and Trains: Virmire is very highly developed for a colony less than a century old, but...well, it's less than a century old and has expanded far more quickly than expected. Your infrastructure on the ground is embarrassingly ad-hoc and can't really handle the load of production efficiently. It'd be a large investment up-front, but some simple transit system improvements would ease the load on trade substantially, and that means credits. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 90%. Cost: 20,000 credits. Effect: Ground infrastructure is modernized and streamlined. +10,000 Yearly Income, future development is easier and cheaper.
[-] Militarize Freighters: The issue with things as they stand is that the Ministry of Finance can't be trusted to do its job ethically. Fixing that is a years-long issue, but you don't have to fix it immediately -- just work around it. You live under constant siege, with constant raids through the Relay. If presented the right way, you could demand that all freighters doing shipping within Hoc carry a Virmire Defense Army detachment -- for security's sake, of course. Naturally, Military Police divisions would be the best fit for a job involving such close work with civilians. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 65%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Suppress corruption aboard space freighters, netting +10,000 Yearly Income. Failure by 10 or more will tip corrupt elements to the fact that you are actively working to counter them.
[-] Surplus Sale: The army, let's face it, does very little for this war. This is as it should be, but it does mean that their weapons stockpiles are growing massive as wartime production kicks out good that don't get used. Such weapons have always had a market outside the military, and in times like this, that doesn't look like as bad a proposition as it does to a government in peacetime. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 95%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: +150,000 credits, civilian population has access to military-grade infantry equipment and weaponry. This may be either good or bad, depending on follow-up.
Intrigue: "Obviously, Madame Minister, this new-" gshk "-revelation is concerning to us all. In addition to my proposals from last year, I have sent-" gshk "-you a new one, regarding a potential Intelligence investigation into the matter."
Choose 1.
[X] Domestic Affairs: Lissa is an excellent accountant, but the problems she faces are extreme. If you're willing to authorize it, Minister Shurna is willing to task the Counter-Intelligence Division to assist, assisting her in finding those magnifying the corruption issue and removing some of the worst offenders. Nothing lethal, of course. But illegal...well, yes. Time: 1 year, Chance of Success: 70%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Must be taken in conjunction with, "Taking Stock." Significantly lowers the difficulty and cost of follow-up actions to, "Taking Stock," and increases its Chance of Success by 10%. Failure by more than ten may result in exposure and a scandal.
[-] Bugs On Bugs: It's an unfortunate reality that the Marines attached to your fleet regularly have to fight boarding or counter-boarding actions against the Rachni. It's a horrible prospect, but it does present a somewhat...mostly...completely insane opportunity. San wants to secretly attach Intelligence Division agents to some of your vessels and task them with getting tracker beacons, listening devices, and hidden cameras onto Rachni soldiers and workers, in the hopes that some will make it back to their ships and transmit valuable data. It's...a long shot, she admits, and even a successful operation would be very costly in terms of lives and materiel. But when you think of what a success could mean, your knees go weak. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 30%. Cost: 30,000 credits. Effect: Gain snapshots of first-hand data on Rachni and their vessels.
[-] Spy Probes: The listening posts are still catching occasional activity in Sentry Omega 4. Whoever this is, they have an interest in the system. With the right timing, you could deploy some more of the posts to the system when the ships are absent, expanding the Network and giving you more comprehensive and covert surveillance on the system. Unfortunately, establishing the Network at all used all of our stockpiles of probes, so we'll have to spend on the manufacturing this time. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 70%. Cost: 15,000 credits. Effect: Expand the Sentry Network. Gain detailed, live surveillance on Sentry Omega 4.
[-] Bugs On Bugs: It's an unfortunate reality that the Marines attached to your fleet regularly have to fight boarding or counter-boarding actions against the Rachni. It's a horrible prospect, but it does present a somewhat...mostly...completely insane opportunity. San wants to secretly attach Intelligence Division agents to some of your vessels and task them with getting tracker beacons, listening devices, and hidden cameras onto Rachni soldiers and workers, in the hopes that some will make it back to their ships and transmit valuable data. It's...a long shot, she admits, and even a successful operation would be very costly in terms of lives and materiel. But when you think of what a success could mean, your knees go weak. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 30%. Cost: 30,000 credits. Effect: Gain snapshots of first-hand data on Rachni and their vessels.
[-] Spy Probes: The listening posts are still catching occasional activity in Sentry Omega 4. Whoever this is, they have an interest in the system. With the right timing, you could deploy some more of the posts to the system when the ships are absent, expanding the Network and giving you more comprehensive and covert surveillance on the system. Unfortunately, establishing the Network at all used all of our stockpiles of probes, so we'll have to spend on the manufacturing this time. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 70%. Cost: 15,000 credits. Effect: Expand the Sentry Network. Gain detailed, live surveillance on Sentry Omega 4.
Learning: "Madame Minister, the medical situation is graver than we ever imagined. Honestly, I'm beginning to doubt that the Rachni Plague was a bio-weapon at all; with our doctor population as low as it is, we were frankly lucky that something like this hadn't happened already. But we at least have a handle on the problem now, and the clinics are a true blessing. They will make the job far easier and cheaper. The Medical Council has put together a comprehensive action plan for converting the informal clinic network into true medical facilities. We believe it best to start here, so that the workers have facilities to work in once they're trained and don't learn bad habits from improper equipment. In other news, the Research Council sends its thanks to Minister Shurna for her gift of survey data. They've used it to make some tweaks in their planned exploration procedures. They have also forwarded a proposal for a focused survey of Sentry Omega 4, although we of course understand that you likely would prefer to make contact in some manner first."
Choose 1.
[X] Clinic Repurposing: Honestly, while hundreds of thousands of unlicensed medical workers would ordinarily be a living hell for somebody trying to upgrade their medical infrastructure, their organization and work with your real doctors makes them something of a blessing in disguise. The first step in making use of them is getting their facilities upgraded to proper medical standards. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 80%. Cost: 10,000 credits. Effect: Grant the clinics official recognition and government funding in exchange for them bringing their equipment standards up to modern par.
[-] Up To Code: It's not surprising that the Citadel doesn't approve of their colonies having local military forces with cutting-edge tech. Frankly, we can't get cutting-edge tech. But our vessels are a little dated even beyond that. Engineering is requesting a grant to attempt to bring our warships up to a more modern standard. If they find something, the military will need the budget and breathing space to put vessels in for refit, but it would be well worth it. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 60%. Cost: 25,000 credits. Effect: Gain access to modern-day refits for present vessels, and begin constructing such vessels by default.
[-] To Boldly Go: Whether or not a breakout from Sentry Omega is even feasible is, frankly, unknown. It would only be responsible to explore other avenues of escape. But before you touch the Mass Relays, with all of the now-obvious risks which those entail, it would be prudent to secure your flanks. An exploration mission is only wise, and the Research Council assures you that they don't even need a grant. Just a loan of some corvettes, which they would return good as new. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 80% per corvette. Cost: 10 corvettes for one year. Effect: Survey neighboring systems in the Sentry Omega cluster for issues or opportunities. Failure by more than ten may result in the loss of corvettes.
[-] Digging for Clues: Something about Sentry Omega 4 has these unknown contacts interested -- interested enough to keep coming back time and again, even though it's right next door to you. Head out there, stake a claim, and start poking around to find out what's out there. Of course, without making this a proper military expedition, you can only justify sending so many ships. If the newcomers return while you're there, and are hostile... Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 50%. Cost: 4 corvettes. Effect: Determine what has interested the unknown parties so much about Sentry Omega 4. Failure may result in a confrontation with the unknown parties.
[-] Up To Code: It's not surprising that the Citadel doesn't approve of their colonies having local military forces with cutting-edge tech. Frankly, we can't get cutting-edge tech. But our vessels are a little dated even beyond that. Engineering is requesting a grant to attempt to bring our warships up to a more modern standard. If they find something, the military will need the budget and breathing space to put vessels in for refit, but it would be well worth it. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 60%. Cost: 25,000 credits. Effect: Gain access to modern-day refits for present vessels, and begin constructing such vessels by default.
[-] To Boldly Go: Whether or not a breakout from Sentry Omega is even feasible is, frankly, unknown. It would only be responsible to explore other avenues of escape. But before you touch the Mass Relays, with all of the now-obvious risks which those entail, it would be prudent to secure your flanks. An exploration mission is only wise, and the Research Council assures you that they don't even need a grant. Just a loan of some corvettes, which they would return good as new. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 80% per corvette. Cost: 10 corvettes for one year. Effect: Survey neighboring systems in the Sentry Omega cluster for issues or opportunities. Failure by more than ten may result in the loss of corvettes.
[-] Digging for Clues: Something about Sentry Omega 4 has these unknown contacts interested -- interested enough to keep coming back time and again, even though it's right next door to you. Head out there, stake a claim, and start poking around to find out what's out there. Of course, without making this a proper military expedition, you can only justify sending so many ships. If the newcomers return while you're there, and are hostile... Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 50%. Cost: 4 corvettes. Effect: Determine what has interested the unknown parties so much about Sentry Omega 4. Failure may result in a confrontation with the unknown parties.
Personal: You have your own things that need doing as well. You have a life outside of this office...sometimes.
Choose 1.
[X] Personal Attention: Sometimes, a project needs all hands on deck, including yours. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 100%. Cost: none. Effect: Oversee one of your chosen actions personally, adding your full stat in the relevant category (i.e., Martial for Martial actions) to the success roll.
-Given to Stewardship
[-] Get To Know San: Your Minister of Intelligence is a woman you can't read and don't know, and is much better at her job than you are. Try to fix this. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 40%. Cost: none. Effect: Develop a friendly professional relationship with San Shurna. Possible Intrigue gains for critical successes.
[X] Speak To the People: You have the support of the people, and should never take it for granted. Beyond that, they could use some cheering up, you'll bet. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 50%. Cost: 1,000 credits. Effect: Run a series of public broadcasts. Raise popularity with the populace by justifying administration decisions and being a visible and accessible public presence. A happier populace allows a deeper recruiting pool, for when you need it, as well as being just generally better.
-Given to Stewardship
[-] Get To Know San: Your Minister of Intelligence is a woman you can't read and don't know, and is much better at her job than you are. Try to fix this. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 40%. Cost: none. Effect: Develop a friendly professional relationship with San Shurna. Possible Intrigue gains for critical successes.
[X] Speak To the People: You have the support of the people, and should never take it for granted. Beyond that, they could use some cheering up, you'll bet. Time: 1 year. Chance of Success: 50%. Cost: 1,000 credits. Effect: Run a series of public broadcasts. Raise popularity with the populace by justifying administration decisions and being a visible and accessible public presence. A happier populace allows a deeper recruiting pool, for when you need it, as well as being just generally better.
THIS VOTE IS NOW CLOSED.
I encourage you all to read every option, even the repeats; some have been updated. I updated To Boldly Go's success chance, for instance, as a result of the Sentry Network last turn.
Hope you have fun puzzling over this one! As a reminder, my policy is a twelve-hour moratorium for discussion, brainstorming, vote-crafting, and to allow you all to propose write-ins for me to judge.
Now, I am tired, so do let me know if you see something wrong. I'll go through and correct things in the morning, should they need it. Enjoy the update!
TWELVE-HOUR MORATORIUM, AS DISCUSSED.
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- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Since you asked...
- Location
- United States of America
@PoptartProdigy there is a fifth [] under stewardship is there supposed to be another action
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
Hmm.
Plan Not Voting Yet
Military Response
-Repurposing Production
Stewardship
-Taking Stock
Intrigue
-Domestic Affairs
Persona Attention
-Stewardship
We have the stewardship score that now is a better idea to work on fighting that corruption, as the Minstry fixes up some of its issues. While getting the dudes on ships does sound like an interesting, the hint at future corruption rewards and the greater risk of failure doesn't strike me as pleasant.
Plan Not Voting Yet
Military Response
-Repurposing Production
Stewardship
-Taking Stock
Intrigue
-Domestic Affairs
Persona Attention
-Stewardship
We have the stewardship score that now is a better idea to work on fighting that corruption, as the Minstry fixes up some of its issues. While getting the dudes on ships does sound like an interesting, the hint at future corruption rewards and the greater risk of failure doesn't strike me as pleasant.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Huh. Nah, I actually have no idea how that got there.
Nix's Warden
Welcome to Hades
- Location
- United States
Military Frieghters looks like a solid option. Get our initial investment back immediately while starting to atleast make steps to cutting the corruption down.
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
Yeah... We need to actually get an idea of where the corruption is. We might not be able to tackle it for another year or two as we try and build up credits, but we need to at least know where the corruption is so we can try and plan around it.
Speaking of credits... @PoptartProdigy You've said that we can actually go negative in how many credits we have, though as negative amount of credits gets larger, or more years go on, it get's more hazardous. Can you give us an idea of the thresholds for when problems stat occurring? Nothing specific, but something like 'After around 3 years, or -100 000 credits +/- a year or 20k credits, you need to start gaining credits or problems'...
Speaking of credits... @PoptartProdigy You've said that we can actually go negative in how many credits we have, though as negative amount of credits gets larger, or more years go on, it get's more hazardous. Can you give us an idea of the thresholds for when problems stat occurring? Nothing specific, but something like 'After around 3 years, or -100 000 credits +/- a year or 20k credits, you need to start gaining credits or problems'...
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Given that credits are an abstraction for what all of your leveraged resources, if you stay in the negatives, then your accountants stop being able to pull off Hail Mary saves and resource shortfalls start murdering your Chances of Success. This scales with time -- I haven't yet defined it because I don't expect you all to let it happen given the warnings I've making sure to give you.
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
Okay, so it is something possible, but it's a lot more risky than your comments had made me aware...
Which makes me thing that we need to know where the corruption is even more so, so that when we take the Surplus Sale option, like is seeming inevitable, we have a chance at ensuring that the arms go to the people less involved in the corruption, instead of basically arming a private army for the guys running the corruption like it would currently...
Which makes me thing that we need to know where the corruption is even more so, so that when we take the Surplus Sale option, like is seeming inevitable, we have a chance at ensuring that the arms go to the people less involved in the corruption, instead of basically arming a private army for the guys running the corruption like it would currently...
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
...I...admit that I am missing this. Possibly because I'm tired, but looking over the Martial options, I'm not seeing any phrasing like that. You have the various production options, and the option to force a confrontation with the strange vessels. Where are you seeing this phrasing?
In any event, options such as you describe would not require an action to stop. I would occasionally put them up for votes at appropriate moments, although they'd always be available for write-ins.