No, SV, You Are the Forest! (Riot Quest)

"The Forest desires knowledge," it says, not in words but in ideas. "The Forest has seen little and knows less. We desire to discover more about the galaxy we live in."

"Knowledge for knowledge is simple enough, but complicated indeed by the sheer amount of knowledge. We will need to speak with the Ingaba to come to a conclusion on what might be available for trade, and what they will not part with, or will only part with under special circumstances.

"We will require a similar amount of data from you, oh Forest. You desire knowledge, but what kinds of knowledge do you want? Please, take your time."

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"So what are we after here, Admiral?" Oragles asked.

"Your job is to learn as much about this Forest as can be learned, Senior Scientist, and figure out how it can be applied to our already extant technologies. So do so. Now that the Crystal Forest has proven itself to be capable of communication, it is my job to ensure that it does not become a threat to the Ingaba.

"So the question I have for you, is what do you need to get the most data, and scale back from that."

"Hmm," Oragles' fur ruffled as he thought. "The best case scenario would be a base within their shield, to better study the Forest and the ecosystem present there. A single ship would be allowed to breach the shield and dock at a time. In order to ensure the peaceful purposes of the base, the Forest would be required to defend it from aggression. As a bonus on top of that, studying the material of the Forest itself would be ideal, but I don't know how likely we are to get that concession."

"You want a research agreement."

The scientist blinked. "Yes, that's it exactly. We help with their research in fields they are deficient on, and they help with our research in fields we are deficient on. Our base technologies are so different that it will likely prove fruitful for decades to come, if not generations."

"That is quite the turnaround from asking for a naval group to shoot something for you."

"It's the difference between a person and a plant, Admiral. A plant responds to stimuli in a very basic way. An animal can be taught, to some extent. A person needs to be convinced. Alas, I never did study the more social sciences."

"Do we know what they want?"

A shadow pooled in the room and stretched out into the shape of an Ingaba. "Knowledge," the visage of Yaranae Yllarat said. "They seek knowledge. It is most fortuituous that your desires and theirs parallel."

"Is it?"

"Peace is ever more fragile when bought at the edge of a knife or the mouth of a gun, Admiral," she said, the fur on the image ruffling. "There is ever some other threat to life on the horizon."

"And you see this as aiding us in surviving such a thing as what destroyed the Vi'la'kith'nai?" Oragles asked, tripping over the glottal stops in the name.

"Has it not already? You now have particle shielding within your grasp. What more do you think awaits?" The Clairvoyant smiled, a display of tooth and fang considered either a warning or an invitation, and disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

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Vote For One

Each vote will adjust the Forest's priority in terms of what it wants specifically. The more votes an option gets, the fewer concessions will be needed to obtain it, which will be hashed out in the next update. The fewer votes an option gets, the more concessions that will be required to obtain it. Options that receive no votes will not be considered.

[ ] The current state of the galaxy
-Galactic-level Politics, Astrography, known threats

[ ] Knowledge of local affairs
-Knowledge of local stars, hyperlanes, politics.

[ ] General research asssistance
-Additional automatic successes on trees and powers that parallel the Ingaba's current knowledge, for the duration of the treaty.

[ ] Travel between Stars
-Unlocks advanced technologies for study early, by examining samples provided by the Ingaba.

[ ] Psionic Tutor
-Additional automatic successes on Psionic trees and powers, due to the presence of a powerful psionic individual, for the duration of the treaty.

[ ] Materials Technology Cache
-Advanced materials science. Early unlock of 2-4 more advanced technologies through provided samples, specifics to be determined.

[ ] Energy Technology Cache
-Advanced energy weapons. Early unlock of 2-4 more advanced technologies through provided samples, specifics to be determined.

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I'm sorry this took me so much longer than I wanted, but I had to figure out how I was going to do this.

This vote is open for between sixteen and twenty-four hours.