[X][OFF] Plan sunrise

I think war to the knife is the right play here.

I feel like leaving the Rangers sitting around because we don't want to escalate yet is a mistake. This is going to get worse before it gets better, but the more Disruption we can apply to Harmony early on, the less terrible things will happen to us from their own operations. There's certainly a balance we'll want to strike between taking out key targets, and hacking them to gain actionable intel... but so long as we have the assets that can hack do hacking, while we have the assets that can blow things up do that, we'll have a better time than if we delay and wait to get hurt. The current operational plan doesn't actually give Harmony tangible Assets that are acting against us, but that doesn't mean that we can't hinder their capabilities in other ways. As a reminder:

The Border Conflict, where you attempt to disrupt Harmony operations and task forces. Rather than simply attempting to play on a level playing field, the rules of engagement have been opened, allowing kinetic operations of various scales and objects.
  • This conflict will be fought using Starfleet Intelligence operatives, Diplomatic Service espionage, and even Fleet assets.
  • Progress here is measured in Disruption done to Harmony operations, that you can exchange for positive effects on a quarterly basis such as damaging Harmony opposing teams, opening high-value targets, PP/RP gains, and purifying affiliate space.
  • Targets will have a number of successes in a given area that you will need to achieve to accomplish them. You get one success for an Easy DC pass, two for a Medium DC pass, and three for a Hard DC pass. Targets will have a pre-set amount of Disruption.
  • Missions to hit these targets will be chosen by players Quarterly.
Successful missions here are give us the currency we use to actually win the war, but I feel like the most desirable aspect to that is breaking the things they use to hurt us. There's a suggestion that starting off slow and building up might be better than stirring the hornet's nest, but the mechanics actually suggest the opposite; giving Harmony time to build up will make for a bloodier conflict later. Generally, it's a mistake to see Disruption as a purely offensive victory counter; we can and should invest heavily in defensive uses of Disruption in the early phases of the war, so we'll be in a position of strength as the war continues.
 
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You can't help but win.
That's a sentiment I'm sure everyone here can appreciate.

The position of Commander, Starfleet is one you have craved for a long time. You have built a staircase to this position with every move in your career, proved your worthiness to all who cared to look as you whipped the STO into shape. But this role itself is but a stepping stone to something greater. You were made for a purpose. That is to shape the Federation. But it is also to surpass your mentor and friend, Vitalia Kahurangi. For ten years the Iron Lady shaped the Federation. A woman with your genes should be able to do even better.
My god, Patricia is an Evil Grand Vizier! Now I really want her to stick around. :drevil:
 
I think when it comes to the use of the YanRos team and the 20pp up-front cost to use them is that we have been explicitly told that Disruption can be traded for positive effects. So the question becomes is using Task Group Waterfall to Destroy a Known Singer Hub on Narravonn (Gammon's moon) in return for 4 Disruption going to pay for itself?

It's a tricky question, particularly when we don't know what the Disruption/PP exchange rate looks like (yet).
 
If we want to go for the throat via that Singer node, gonna have to push my plan over Sunrise's, or for Sunrise to edit his plan. Sending Sunglass (investigation 2, SophInt 5, Infil 5) to the (investigation 1, SophInt 1) mission and Wave (Investigate 4, Infil 3, SophInt 5) on the (SophInt 2, Infil 2) mission makes no sense. At a minimum, they should swap.

I would also argue against the supply ship raid. The QMs specifically note that it is a risky escalation, and I'd note that it is a proper casus belli for a hot war, which is rather unhelpful here.
 
[X][OFF] BV Investigation and Asset Building


My head says start slow.
My simmering virtual rage about the Singers wants those Rangers smashing things, but I am sure they will get their chance.
 
[X][OFF] BV Investigation and Asset Building

The time to blow things up will come when we've gotten better target info-Rithe are pawns; when we hit the Singers for real I want to make it hurt.
 
I think it's unlikely that there will be no consequences to even a successful raid on that Singer node. Remember, we're trying to do diplomacy with the Rithe as well. It's what we voted for! When they ask why we sent a strike team to blow up one of their data centers, we just going to shrug our shoulders?

There will be appropriate Team Waterfall targets, I'm sure. But I resist the notion that they must do something and because this is something, it's what they must do.
 
I think when it comes to the use of the YanRos team and the 20pp up-front cost to use them is that we have been explicitly told that Disruption can be traded for positive effects. So the question becomes is using Task Group Waterfall to Destroy a Known Singer Hub on Narravonn (Gammon's moon) in return for 4 Disruption going to pay for itself?

It's a tricky question, particularly when we don't know what the Disruption/PP exchange rate looks like (yet).

Disruption can buy PP outright, sure. I think that's probably going to be the least valuable use of it, and would argue that using that Disruption to stop the Harmony from having the chance to inflict worse losses on us is probably the better play. I'm inclined to suspect that the Disruption / PP ratio is the least valuable aspect of Disruption spending... but sure, it's a thing we could theoretically do.

If we want to go for the throat via that Singer node, gonna have to push my plan over Sunrise's, or for Sunrise to edit his plan. Sending Sunglass (investigation 2, SophInt 5, Infil 5) to the (investigation 1, SophInt 1) mission and Wave (Investigate 4, Infil 3, SophInt 5) on the (SophInt 2, Infil 2) mission makes no sense. At a minimum, they should swap.

That said, this is a sensible suggestion.

I think it's unlikely that there will be no consequences to even a successful raid on that Singer node. Remember, we're trying to do diplomacy with the Rithe as well. It's what we voted for! When they ask why we sent a strike team to blow up one of their data centers, we just going to shrug our shoulders?

There will be appropriate Team Waterfall targets, I'm sure. But I resist the notion that they must do something and because this is something, it's what they must do.

When they ask why we sent a strike team to blow up one of their data centers, we'll advise that said data center was home to Malevolent Artificial Intelligences that were Mind-Controlling the Licori People, which is the sort of thing that legitimately scares the shit out of them. If we can prove that Hermony Singers were there (and are dead now), they'll probably send us flowers.
 
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[X][OFF] BV Investigation and Asset Building

I like the ideas behind this plan. The more we know about where the singers operate, the more we can hurt them, and hurt them in a very serious way. Let's save up our PP and our BOOM teams until we have a list of high-disruption targets, and maybe get enough assets for a simultaneous strike.
 
Success: On a roll of 2d6+Stat, successes are awarded as follows: 1 Success at 7, 2 Successes at 10, 3 Successes at 13, 4 Successes at 16, 5 Successes at 19.

Following this pattern, 6 successes would be 22, a result that some of our Task Groups can reach. (Though I doubt there will be any targets with difficulty 6.) Task Group Season's Computer 14 could even roll 25 or 26 for 7 successes. With a score like that, you could even Hack the Gibson. :V
This table should help people plan. It indicates, the minimum, average and maximum amount of successes you can expect for a given skill.

Don't forget, a roll that's one or two under the score results in a Marginal Success.

[X][OFF] BV Investigation and Asset Building

The most important thing right now is to set things up for future missions. That means building up assets and finding more targets to hit. If we just go for blowing up targets right now, we'll have a much harder time finding important targets in the future. Plus, some quick math says that sending the Rangers to destroy the hub has a 58.4% chance of failure, since they need 3 successes (13) on the Escape roll but only have Escape 5. They need to roll 8 or higher, which is way too risky for a turn one play. (Technically could also roll snake eyes on Disruption, too.)
 
Regarding Chen and her ambitions.

Commander Starfleet isn't high enough - guess she wants to be President?

However, from deleted posts the HoH know she is an Augment, and the original omakes made clear the Romulans also know. The chances of her serving out 5 years, let alone a full decade likes she wants, without this secret being spilled by opposing state actors is very low, and the Humans are incredibly prejudiced on this topic.

I wish her well, but I very much doubt her ambitions will be filled, and is more likely she will be forced to retire in disgrace.
 
Regarding Chen and her ambitions.

Commander Starfleet isn't high enough - guess she wants to be President?

However, from deleted posts the HoH know she is an Augment, and the original omakes made clear the Romulans also know. The chances of her serving out 5 years, let alone a full decade likes she wants, without this secret being spilled by opposing state actors is very low, and the Humans are incredibly prejudiced on this topic.

I wish her well, but I very much doubt her ambitions will be filled, and is more likely she will be forced to retire in disgrace.

That she knows about it and has deliberately hid it while cultivating this creepy augment superiority complex is also pretty worrying.
 
[X][OFF] BV Investigation and Asset Building

I knew I liked this plan when I found myself specifically predicting "well I'd like to do a certain future mission when we can..." only for Briefvoice to have exactly replicated my reasoning in the post. About the only way I might disagree with @Briefvoice is that I might have sent Task Group Wave (I think it was) against the Felis-Harmony passenger line instead of the supply ship, but that arguably has lower payoff and becomes more important later as our detailed information on the Harmony infiltration of the Felis becomes less current.
 
and the Humans are incredibly prejudiced on this topic.
I'll note our current president is not an Earthling. Several member states are noted for various forms of augmentation, cybernetic and otherwise. The fact that a subset of the Federation's citizens are knee-jerk reactionaries on the topic of sophont augmentation is regrettable, but Earth and her daughter colonies might discover themselves facing serious pushback from the rest of the UFP if they kick up a fuss about Chen's heritage.

I can only begin to imagine how a battle for augment rights might interact with the ongoing parallel struggle for the rights of computer-based intelligences. It would be fascinating to watch unfold.
 
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