Terminus Quest: A CKII Mass Effect Quest

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.

[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

We basically want the Quarians to turtle up and maaaybe engage in brief skirmishes to spring raiding parties through relays. No need to strong arm them into doing that. They're also pretty likely to be sensible about sharing tech if we're reasonable about them.

This Kobayashi Maru isn't taking place in a simulator. No go.

Void Stalker said:

On another note, the Rachini are stretched which is good. And hopefully we can take advantage of that to whittle away their forces, econ and logistics further.

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I think we have to. The strong implication is the main reason we weren't counterattacked was the Terminus offensive. If the Rachni win there, they may decide to reduce their number of fronts and hit us hard.

On the plus side... this fits Raiding Doctrine to a tee. Though it was an intelligence windfall that kicked off the cascade, this success won't be the default.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it wouldbe asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

Alliterate said:

With this option, we can't bill Rannoch for millions of credits when we recontact. And the practical military command difference is zero anyway. We won't be directly integrating the fleets, the 3RWF will remain a separate fleet.

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Millions of credits are really peanuts for this war, and while i have ambition of creating an environment for Terminus co-prosperity sphereTM​ post war; i have to push for options that ensure Mira have authority on all available military assets. Which is the Rannoch fleet that landed in front of us, we know they most likely and probably will obey; but establishing that formally gives assurance for all involved. Our internal assertive hardliners will not be offended by the middling option as the good will option might seem like Mira letting "outsider" affect Virmire's military plan.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it wouldbe asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You authorized his request. The chance isn't good, but with the EC running it, you think you have a shot. This kind of thing is held to be impossible, and consequently, has never been tried...so the Rachni will never expect it. Sending him a hurried data packet containing information that you want the rest of the galaxy to have (your available forces, your ability to contribute to the fight, data analysis on the Rachni from this last operation, the rescue of the 3rd RWF, etc.) you gave him a few other ships to boost his chances and sent him on his way. Commits Captain Jamar Kurik and several EC vessels to a blockade run, taking advantage of Rachni weaknesses along the path. All battle rolls along the way will be made with his characteristic martial bonus (19). Failure means death.

VoidZero said:

Millions of credits are really peanuts for this war, and while i have ambition of creating an environment for Terminus co-prosperity sphereTM​ post war; i have to push for options that ensure Mira have authority on all available military assets. Which is the Rannoch fleet that landed in front of us, we know they most likely and probably will obey; but establishing that formally gives assurance for all involved. Our internal assertive hardliners will not be offended by the middling option as the good will option might seem like Mira letting "outsider" affect Virmire's military plan.

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Maybe you are right, did you think more about it?
Edit: I mean pros and cons

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdrawwithout sending any corvettes.

[X][RWF] You are at war, and Malan has already indicated his willingness to submit to your command. Make sure that he understands that this is no formality, moving forward. While the 3rd RWF remains a quarian asset, it must be under your command. It will of course be returned to the Republic of Rannoch once contact is re-established, but until that time, it behaves as a Virmirean possession. Malan shall receive all of the respect and precedence due his rank, but he will be your subordinate, with all that that implies. This won't buy you any favors from the -- famously xenophobic -- Republic when it comes time for negotiations, but the realities of the situation mean that it really won't hurt, either. You've already bought yourself a lot of future goodwill by saving this fleet in the first place, anyway.

[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

I wonder.... with the 3rd we now have a lot more tonnage (to say nothing of getting some Dreads finally, and I'd assume in the process of repairing them we can reverse engineer them) and we know the Lystheni have been getting too big for their britches. Now maybe they can avoid us turning around and kicking their ass through various political machinations. But ultimately- there's nothing preventing the 3rd even in the worst case of acting on our behalf. I mean, technically we'd be strongarming Rannoch into retroactively declaring war on a sovereign state, but we can fix that then. And I can't imagine the Quarian Admiral who's command we saved is going to be all that enthused by the Lystheni being Lystheni.

Now, this does seem a bit tunnel-visioned on the Lystheni, but we need a bit of time to get our various fleets ready to launch another offensive anyways, and unless the Lystheni have ridiculous plot armor, this shouldn't devolve into taking noticeable casualties in the meanwhile. And despite how this post sounds, I'm not even necessarily talking about outright declaring war, but calling them out on their various bullshit (their 'embassy', and their archeological looting) and driving home the sheer power disparity is by no means uncalled for.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide missions of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, ofcourse, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concessionon your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commencenegotiations. Realistically, Malan will dowhat you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and topreserve the pretense would require thatit ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request.You're not in the habit of arguing suicidemissions of this nature. You withdrawwithout sending any corvettes.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it wouldbe asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You authorized his request. The chance isn't good, but with the EC running it, you think you have a shot. This kind of thing is held to be impossible, and consequently, has never been tried...so the Rachni will never expect it. Sending him a hurried data packet containing information that you want the rest of the galaxy to have (your available forces, your ability to contribute to the fight, data analysis on the Rachni from this last operation, the rescue of the 3rd RWF, etc.) you gave him a few other ships to boost his chances and sent him on his way. Commits Captain Jamar Kurik and several EC vessels to a blockade run, taking advantage of Rachni weaknesses along the path. All battle rolls along the way will be made with his characteristic martial bonus (19). Failure means death.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.

[X][RUNNER] You authorized his request. The chance isn't good, but with the EC running it, you think you have a shot. This kind of thing is held to be impossible, and consequently, has never been tried...so the Rachni will never expect it. Sending him a hurried data packet containing information that you want the rest of the galaxy to have (your available forces, your ability to contribute to the fight, data analysis on the Rachni from this last operation, the rescue of the 3rd RWF, etc.) you gave him a few other ships to boost his chances and sent him on his way. Commits Captain Jamar Kurik and several EC vessels to a blockade run, taking advantage of Rachni weaknesses along the path. All battle rolls along the way will be made with his characteristic martial bonus (19). Failure means death.

The news of our survival was no doubt a shock to both the Citadel and the Terminus, both of which no doubt thought we were long dead. The Terminus Alliance was even willing to consider trying to link up - and a Quarian War Fleet made for our borders, as they thought some slim chance of survival was better than none.

We know the Rachni are over-extended right now. That their logistics are weak, and that if the TA and Citadel were to go on the offensive, forcing the Rachni to commit their ships, we'd likely have a much better opportunity to assault the Rachni rear. Right now, they have no idea what we are capable of. They know we survived, but that's it, really.

If they learn that the 3rd QWF reached us - and more than that - that together, we fought off an entire Rachni fleet, and held off a substantially larger one just so we could rescue every last Quarian we could, imagine the impact that would have on the war effort. Not on production, perhaps, but on morale. Behind enemy lines, Virmire not only lives, but is both powerful enough to rescue a warfleet from the Rachni, and bold and decisive enough to mobilize their forces to do so within hours of making contact.

I'm not suggesting that the TA and RoR spend their lives like water, but that hearing what we accomplished, no, what are continuing to accomplish, and how we can be the knife in the Rachni's back, may embolden them. We said we were militarily viable and prepared to participate in a united front against the Rachni, but there is a world of difference between simply taking something said by a Prime Minister across a comm buoy on faith, and learning that she was committed enough to what she said that she went and personally hauled a war fleet out of hot water.

Send Kurik.

Bedpotato said:

Maybe you are right, did you think more about it?
Edit: I mean pros and cons

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Prepare for wall of text and semi-sane train of thought. I really shouldn't have drank coffee at night.

The "mercy" option generates enormous amount of goodwill from the RoR fleet as well as those voters supportive of cooperation but angers those leaning toward equal exchange and self-determination. While us (government and OOC posters) are less concerned about cost of feed the fleet since we know we are able to pay, and have a QM that is lawful; the IC citizens and political nonconformist will be quick to point out we are give something tangible for nothing tangible. As well as concern of a "loose" foreign fleet existing within borders is a signal to show that we are not assertive on the galactic stage, and feeding the conspiracy trolls / fringe political parties accusing Mira selling locals to outside governments.

The "Command" option can be viewed as an equivalent exchange that doesn't please or anger much to either sides. We still have the goodwill for saving the RoR fleet, and we all work together to make sure everyone can survive next week. So it's an acceptable solution that is fairly neutral to both internal and external elements.

The "Own" option is too radical and short-sighted to think about.

Coupling all these political stuff is the "issue" of Lystheni, whom-nobody-forgets-cause-they-stole-our-stuff, they will be deploying all their tricks and tools to find out the situation as well as trying to get leverage to damage Mira's power. It can be funding opponents, conspiring with the corporations, or even reaching out to the RoR fleet while undercover; RoR fleet would obviously have no idea what's up with Lystheni, and be sweet talked into sharing things we rather Lystheni not to know about. Practically every local player feels Mira breathing down their neck and wouldn't mind her losing a bit of edge, so that a lot of common ground for political manoeuvring.

But war with Lystheni apparently requires declaration, Casus belli (reason for war, legit justification optional ), and assembly approval; which is a huge letdown. So i must ask why didn't we go with dictatorship. (I know i voted for an assembly and had also voted to give them some power, but it was suppose to be a transition toward Mira 1st "The supreme leader of all life".)

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

This seems to be as big a no-brainer as I've seen in the quest yet. Commandeering ships of your allies that would follow your lead regardless? No reason to do so. Sending your unique hero on a suicide run in order to provide allies with information that they may already have? (at least some of it) Not worth it.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

// For runner, I fail to see the advantage (as others pointed out, we haven't yet the intelligence analysis), but we'll lose Kurik because how would he make it back, and if the Rachni manage to get him or one of his crew, they'll have the chance to get more inside intel about Virmire.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide mission of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.

[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide missions of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.

I'd like to do a blockade run at the next earliest opportunity, but as a planned, organized operation that we've prepared in advance, specifically timing any raids we stage to maximally disrupt the rachni lines. Trying to jump through rachni space after the enemy has already consolidated from the chaos created by our attacks and linkup with the Quarian Third Fleet is going to be a lot harder than trying to jump through rachni space in the midst of an ongoing attack by our froces.

PoptartProdigy said:

Bear in mind that when the EC goes into action starting next year, he's basically never again going to be as available as he was this time. He'll be committed, yearly, to regular EC missions.

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To be fair, we'll be very likely to benefit considerably from his stat bonuses in that time; if he's off on the Citadel trying to get a hearing from the two Grand Old Ladies that rule the galaxy,* he's not garnering bonuses for us at the same time.

*(sure, one of them's like 32 and the other's busy reminiscing about the good old days with Yoda, but they're both old in relative terms)

SAGrognard said:

ATP Assault Transport Ram and board in SPACE!
This cruiser-sized ship sacrifices all guns for armor, speed, and the ability to carry enough asari/batarian commandos to overwhelm a dreadnaught's crew.
The objective is to live-capture a Rachni Queen.
No-one has ever gotten actionable intelligence from the rachni, probably because workers/soldiers etc are not true individuals.
Time to change that.

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You're making a lot of assumptions there. I see no reason to assume that rachni queens are incapable of, or unwilling to, suicide to avoid capture and interrogation. Also, the part where a cruiser can realistically ram and board an uncooperative dreadnought.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.

[X][RUNNER] You authorized his request. The chance isn't good, but with the EC running it, you think you have a shot. This kind of thing is held to be impossible, and consequently, has never been tried...so the Rachni will never expect it. Sending him a hurried data packet containing information that you want the rest of the galaxy to have (your available forces, your ability to contribute to the fight, data analysis on the Rachni from this last operation, the rescue of the 3rd RWF, etc.) you gave him a few other ships to boost his chances and sent him on his way. Commits Captain Jamar Kurik and several EC vessels to a blockade run, taking advantage of Rachni weaknesses along the path. All battle rolls along the way will be made with his characteristic martial bonus (19). Failure means death.

VoidZero said:

The "mercy" option generates enormous amount of goodwill from the RoR fleet as well as those voters supportive of cooperation but angers those leaning toward equal exchange and self-determination.

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Why would it?
Whence comes the idea that people who want independence automatically want us to demand control of other people's armed forces?
If we link up with the Citadel or Terminus, does that mean that we automatically seize military vessels passing through systems we control?

VoidZero said:

the IC citizens and political nonconformist will be quick to point out we are give something tangible for nothing tangible.

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No, we are making an explicit loan in cash and resources to the representative of a co-belligerent.
Furthermore, we get in the meantime an extra allied battlefleet to cover our defenses, tech-sharing in to upgrade our forces, and possibly future repayment if we both survive to the end of the war, as well as an in on future trade.

Legal figleaf maybe, but legal shit is important. I'm not seeing the counter-argument.

VoidZero said:

As well as concern of a "loose" foreign fleet existing within borders is a signal to show that we are not assertive on the galactic stage, and feeding the conspiracy trolls / fringe political parties accusing Mira selling locals to outside governments.

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It's internet consensus not to feed the trolls.
Given the signal lack of evidence of anything of the sort, Madame Mira "89% Popularity" T'Vael will free to give their concerns precisely zero regard.
And the only fringe political party in Virmire space is pacifist, has 1% popularity, and would not care anyway.

VoidZero said:

The "Command" option can be viewed as an equivalent exchange that doesn't please or anger much to either sides.

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Why do you think it won't irritate another nation that we basically gave one of their fleets an ultimatum?

VoidZero said:

Coupling all these political stuff is the "issue" of Lystheni, whom-nobody-forgets-cause-they-stole-our-stuff, they will be deploying all their tricks and tools to find out the situation as well as trying to get leverage to damage Mira's power.

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The lystheni did not steal our stuff; they played a sneaky dishonorable deceptive hand when we were trying to be straight with them, but they didn't actually steal from territory we had formally claimed. And while they are spying on us(like we are on them), there is absolutely zero evidence of them even thinking of meddling in our politics, or jogging our arm while we're in the middle of a genocidal war.

They're a paranoid, secretive, deceptive bunch. They're not stupid.
They don't wanna die to rachni, nor do they want to crash their economy by forcing us to break trade links or impose punitive sanctions; they currently need us more than we need them, and they know it.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
[X][RUNNER] You authorized his request. The chance isn't good, but with the EC running it, you think you have a shot. This kind of thing is held to be impossible, and consequently, has never been tried...so the Rachni will never expect it. Sending him a hurried data packet containing information that you want the rest of the galaxy to have (your available forces, your ability to contribute to the fight, data analysis on the Rachni from this last operation, the rescue of the 3rd RWF, etc.) you gave him a few other ships to boost his chances and sent him on his way. Commits Captain Jamar Kurik and several EC vessels to a blockade run, taking advantage of Rachni weaknesses along the path. All battle rolls along the way will be made with his characteristic martial bonus (19). Failure means death.

This helps in the longer run considering its strategically useful information and confirms data points, while making our Council negotiations after the whole mess is over much more favorable...but the important part of making sure everyone else keeps the pressure on rather than relent to a seemingly endless tide is valuable as well

Risky of course, but a good risk.

PoptartProdigy said:

For whatever reason, the Rachni have elected not to pursue either of your fleets to Attican Beta.

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Rachni: "I'm not sure if these assholes have MORE surprises in their pants. Lets not."

uju32 said:

Why would it?
Whence comes the idea that people who want independence automatically want us to demand control of other people's armed forces?
If we link up with the Citadel or Terminus, does that mean that we automatically seize military vessels passing through systems we control?


No, we are making an explicit loan in cash and resources to the representative of a co-belligerent.
Furthermore, we get in the meantime an extra allied battlefleet to cover our defenses, tech-sharing in to upgrade our forces, and possibly future repayment if we both survive to the end of the war, as well as an in on future trade.

Legal figleaf maybe, but legal shit is important. I'm not seeing the counter-argument.

It's internet consensus not to feed the trolls.
Given the signal lack of evidence of anything of the sort, Madame Mira "89% Popularity" T'Vael will free to give their concerns precisely zero regard.
And the only fringe political party in Virmire space is pacifist, has 1% popularity, and would not care anyway.


Why do you think it won't irritate another nation that we basically gave one of their fleets an ultimatum?


The lystheni did not steal our stuff; they played a sneaky dishonorable deceptive hand when we were trying to be straight with them, but they didn't actually steal from territory we had formally claimed. And while they are spying on us(like we are on them), there is absolutely zero evidence of them even thinking of meddling in our politics, or jogging our arm while we're in the middle of a genocidal war.

They're a paranoid, secretive, deceptive bunch. They're not stupid.
They don't wanna die to rachni, nor do they want to crash their economy by forcing us to break trade links or impose punitive sanctions; they currently need us more than we need them, and they know it.

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Nope, the main problem with the first RWF option is that the Admiral would produce a bill for his government to our government in regards to supplies and repairs.

Problem is, the Quarian Republic can turn round and say "We aren't paying it with actual money or resources."

PoptartProdigy said:

Miracles do not happen in a bright time.
-
And that is a miracle you will happily claim.

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Yay.

Shame about the Battlecruiser. Price of being a glass cannon.

[X][RWF] The 3rd is, realistically, at your mercy, but that is no way to treat allies. It would be grossly inappropriate to hold this leverage over them. You will recognize Admiral Malan as the local, ranking representative of the Republic of Rannoch, with absolute power over his domain and empowered to purchase yard space and other goods and services from your government in the Republic's name, credited to their government. This polite fiction, of course, binds the Republic itself not a whit, but the sheer generosity of this deal will represent a major concession on your part when you establish contact with the Republic proper and commence negotiations. Realistically, Malan will do what you ask of him regardless of the formality of your relationship -- but in this case, it would be asking, and to preserve the pretense would require that it ever remain just asking.
Play nice with others and they will play nice with you. Also probably best to not set a precedent of the disadvantaged participant being subordinate.

[X][RUNNER] You denied his request. You're not in the habit of arguing suicide missions of this nature. You withdraw without sending any corvettes.
One hair-brained scheme at a time please. This rescue was already launched before we were ready, I would rather not stretch our unprepared forces yet further.