Update 24 - Deciding Fates
[X] Siege. Reduce Linxia's orbital defences, this will leave the colonies around the gas giant completely at your mercy and allow you to loot them, you can bring in the captured cruisers once the defences are offline, sending the Cirrus back to guard them until that moment. (Reduction of planetary defences will take 1-3 days depending upon rolls. You do not know how much wealth might be on offer, but dozens of points worth).
This seems a strongly favoured choice, so another update before I head to bed.
You manoeuvrer the Endeavour ahead of your little squadron, not really having to pay attention as you direct the heavy cruiser in dodging and intercepting the ineffectual efforts of the poorly directed defences, an occasional shudder as you feel the railguns speak and eliminate another weapon pod. Your crew is utterly in control of things, completely assured of total victory, even your XO is now passingly capable.
Your first order of business is to send prize crews to the surrendered vessels, damage and munitions assessments. Then you open a channel to the Cirrus.
"Commander Ranca." That does always feel somewhat odd to say. "Given the damage sustained by your ship I am going to have to task you with securing the prizes, escort them back to the holding point along with those cruisers then keep them jumping between rally positions according to this pattern." You transmit. "If you do not have further contact within five days then return to Illam. Good luck!"
Ranca for her part sighs and gives a dramatic shrug before tapping the hilt of her sabre. Dramatic shrugging looks somewhat stilted in full armour but she manages it. "There I was hoping to get to use this again. But very well, Commodore, the Cirrus is in no shape to risk another fight. I hope to see you in less than five days!"
Then, once the two captured ships are aligned, they accelerate away from the gas giant's gravity well before jumping out.
For your part you direct the Endeavour and Peregrine in eliminating orbital defences, moving close, pushing just hard enough.
Reducing Orbital Defences:
4 + 3 + 5 +22 Strategy +3 Crew = 35
Defences:
2 + 4 + 4 + 9 Strategy -2 Crew = 17
Overwhelming victory.
It becomes increasingly obvious that these defences are not tested, firing too early, poorly distributed, you push harder and expend not a railgun round too many as you eliminate the ability to resist.
Peregrine reduces to 50% Readiness from sustaining combat.
Endeavour remains at 95% Readiness
It takes you just over a day to leave the domed colonies and orbital stations around Linxia completely at your mercy. Captain Sones has been analysing signals traffic across the system, much of it commercial and poorly encrypted, or simply broadcast media.
Intelligence Gathering
2 + 4 + 6 + 15 Subterfuge = 27
Chuang Mu Defensive Planning
1 + 6 + 4 + 14 Strategy = 25
The summarised information he presents you is that the polity is voting on how to respond to your attack, every adult out of the seven billion population deciding on what to do with the overwhelming decision being that all available fleet units should rally and attack you before the citizens around Linxia are under your guns.
Loading of ordnance onto the elderly Yuzhao is under way, a corvette has been pulled out of drydock, three attack skiffs are ready... But the commodore in charge of their home fleet has cited that the populace already agreed to delegate full control to the military in event of a threat to the home system. What remains of their ships will remain in orbit of the main planet, protecting them under the cover of the heaviest defences.
Regardless of the politics behind it the message seems to be that they will not help and almost everyone in the system is utterly furious about it whilst there is a huge profusion of masturbatory fantasy being published about just what will happen when their battleships return.
For now though you have the colonies around Linxia completely at your mercy.
[] Destroy Them. In retribution for the atrocities carried out on Imhotep, kill three hundred million people with fusion torpedoes, wrecking the infrastructure around the gas giant for decades to come and sending an unmistakable message of Imperial supremacy. (Will only take hours, then you can leave, will give ~30 Political Capital)
[] Loot Them. You have almost three battalions of power armoured marines backed by the guns of your cruisers. Storm the starports, seize civilian shipping, load everything of value you can confiscate over the course of a week. (Will take about 7 days, will grant Wealth depending upon Strategy rolls, in the range of 10-50).
[] Demand Tribute. Demand that the local citizens surrender then pay tribute, loading all available shipping with high value manufactured goods before sending them up into space with sacrificial crews. (Time taken and yield variable, depending upon Diplomacy and Subterfuge rolls, in the range of 5-75 Wealth)
[] Slave Raid. Use the threat of your cruiser's guns and your marines to force tens of thousands of people in high value professions to board confiscated civilian vessels then take them back to the empire as serfs, both extremely valuable and hostages to the system's further behaviour. (Time taken variable, will require Diplomacy and Subterfuge rolls, will give 10-40 Political Capital and 10-60 Wealth).
Regardless of the fate of these colonies, what do you do next?
[] Return Home. You have achieved your goals, return home with your prizes and/or loot.
[] Press The Attack. Send your two cruisers into the teeth of the planetary defences and their handful of likely ill crewed vessels, go for the big prize.
This seems a strongly favoured choice, so another update before I head to bed.
You manoeuvrer the Endeavour ahead of your little squadron, not really having to pay attention as you direct the heavy cruiser in dodging and intercepting the ineffectual efforts of the poorly directed defences, an occasional shudder as you feel the railguns speak and eliminate another weapon pod. Your crew is utterly in control of things, completely assured of total victory, even your XO is now passingly capable.
Your first order of business is to send prize crews to the surrendered vessels, damage and munitions assessments. Then you open a channel to the Cirrus.
"Commander Ranca." That does always feel somewhat odd to say. "Given the damage sustained by your ship I am going to have to task you with securing the prizes, escort them back to the holding point along with those cruisers then keep them jumping between rally positions according to this pattern." You transmit. "If you do not have further contact within five days then return to Illam. Good luck!"
Ranca for her part sighs and gives a dramatic shrug before tapping the hilt of her sabre. Dramatic shrugging looks somewhat stilted in full armour but she manages it. "There I was hoping to get to use this again. But very well, Commodore, the Cirrus is in no shape to risk another fight. I hope to see you in less than five days!"
Then, once the two captured ships are aligned, they accelerate away from the gas giant's gravity well before jumping out.
For your part you direct the Endeavour and Peregrine in eliminating orbital defences, moving close, pushing just hard enough.
Reducing Orbital Defences:
4 + 3 + 5 +22 Strategy +3 Crew = 35
Defences:
2 + 4 + 4 + 9 Strategy -2 Crew = 17
Overwhelming victory.
It becomes increasingly obvious that these defences are not tested, firing too early, poorly distributed, you push harder and expend not a railgun round too many as you eliminate the ability to resist.
Peregrine reduces to 50% Readiness from sustaining combat.
Endeavour remains at 95% Readiness
It takes you just over a day to leave the domed colonies and orbital stations around Linxia completely at your mercy. Captain Sones has been analysing signals traffic across the system, much of it commercial and poorly encrypted, or simply broadcast media.
Intelligence Gathering
2 + 4 + 6 + 15 Subterfuge = 27
Chuang Mu Defensive Planning
1 + 6 + 4 + 14 Strategy = 25
The summarised information he presents you is that the polity is voting on how to respond to your attack, every adult out of the seven billion population deciding on what to do with the overwhelming decision being that all available fleet units should rally and attack you before the citizens around Linxia are under your guns.
Loading of ordnance onto the elderly Yuzhao is under way, a corvette has been pulled out of drydock, three attack skiffs are ready... But the commodore in charge of their home fleet has cited that the populace already agreed to delegate full control to the military in event of a threat to the home system. What remains of their ships will remain in orbit of the main planet, protecting them under the cover of the heaviest defences.
Regardless of the politics behind it the message seems to be that they will not help and almost everyone in the system is utterly furious about it whilst there is a huge profusion of masturbatory fantasy being published about just what will happen when their battleships return.
For now though you have the colonies around Linxia completely at your mercy.
[] Destroy Them. In retribution for the atrocities carried out on Imhotep, kill three hundred million people with fusion torpedoes, wrecking the infrastructure around the gas giant for decades to come and sending an unmistakable message of Imperial supremacy. (Will only take hours, then you can leave, will give ~30 Political Capital)
[] Loot Them. You have almost three battalions of power armoured marines backed by the guns of your cruisers. Storm the starports, seize civilian shipping, load everything of value you can confiscate over the course of a week. (Will take about 7 days, will grant Wealth depending upon Strategy rolls, in the range of 10-50).
[] Demand Tribute. Demand that the local citizens surrender then pay tribute, loading all available shipping with high value manufactured goods before sending them up into space with sacrificial crews. (Time taken and yield variable, depending upon Diplomacy and Subterfuge rolls, in the range of 5-75 Wealth)
[] Slave Raid. Use the threat of your cruiser's guns and your marines to force tens of thousands of people in high value professions to board confiscated civilian vessels then take them back to the empire as serfs, both extremely valuable and hostages to the system's further behaviour. (Time taken variable, will require Diplomacy and Subterfuge rolls, will give 10-40 Political Capital and 10-60 Wealth).
Regardless of the fate of these colonies, what do you do next?
[] Return Home. You have achieved your goals, return home with your prizes and/or loot.
[] Press The Attack. Send your two cruisers into the teeth of the planetary defences and their handful of likely ill crewed vessels, go for the big prize.
break the back of their pathetic democracy and get them even more angry at their military so they riot harder vs them!
