Grasp the Stars (Stellaris: Overlord)

Captain Dragomirov appears over video link, three minutes late and looking disheveled.

"No good news, I take it?" you inquire mildly.

"The beams don't point anywhere, Madame Secretary," he says with a grimace. "At least nowhere consistent. I've had the techs run a huge sweep of noise parameters in case these things were installed wrong or were hit by asteroids. But no, just out into the galaxy. I know there's something, I know there is. We just need more... time." His brow furrows. "I'm terribly sorry, I may have to run."

His window in the call shuts abruptly. Doctor Zhivenkova raises an eyebrow but at least manages not to smirk.

You sigh. "In better news, Captain Okada reports the survey of Barnard's Star is almost complete, and that she will proceed to the nearby black hole next. Additionally, the ISS Valhalla departed Sol Station today with the colonists bound for Trappist V. I've been given a list of names popular among the colonists - apparently 'Trappist Prime' isn't so enticing now that the Alpha Centauri colony gets to be called 'Chiron'."

The name for the next colony should be...
[] (Name) Kore, a Roman name for the Greek nature goddess Persephone
[] (Name) Gengen Wer, an Egyptian god who protected a cosmic egg
[X] (Name) Delling, a Norse god of sunshine
[] (Name) [Write-in]

"Speaking of habitable exoplanets," Dr. Wang pipes up, "have you given more thought to my proposal?"

Your head biologist has proposed a "Habitable Worlds Survey", cataloging the life forms found on new planets. GIven that you have already found several immediately colonizable planets, not everyone is on board, but a more systemic examination of extraterrestrial life could prove a boon for your biological research efforts. Green-light the project?
[X] (Worlds) Yes (eventually gain Research points)
[] (Worlds) No (gain Unity now)

As far as habitable worlds go, the moon of Ribblor IVa is decidedly not a candidate. Captain Reid describes it as a "tomb", with high levels of atmospheric soot and surface radiation - signs that match your own scientists' estimates of what a full-scale nuclear war would produce on Earth. It may never be possible to discover exactly what happened to the people who lived there, but the fact that you have now found two cases of apparently long-dead intelligent life, and no living ones, has put everyone on edge.

---

Later that evening, you review Dr. Ngwanya's report on the deployment of standardized applied nanomechanical systems in Earth's top engineering labs. She has left the implementation to more junior managers and redirected her focus onto improving zero-gravity mineral refineries.

Humanity's scientists have made enormous strides in just the last few years. The increased interest in, and prestige of, space science careers have led to more specialized educational tracks as well as a flood of applicants willing to work more for the love of the job and less for the paycheck premium.

You have completed the Discovery Tradition tree! This unlocks an "Ascension Perk", a substantial boost to your civilization. Which one does humanity take first?
[X] (Perk) Technological Ascendency: +10% research speed, 'rare' technologies more likely to be discovered
[] (Perk) One Vision: +10% Unity generation, -10% population amenities usage, government's ethics become more attractive to the population at large
[] (Perk) Executive Vigor: +100 to policy fund (40 -> 140)

After the success of the field modulation research project, Katya continues focusing on energy production. The ISS Azophi has entered orbit of the Eye of Bal, a black hole which appears to have consumed everything else in its system. They are taking careful readings. Meanwhile, the ISS Einstein has discovered strange patterns in the upper atmosphere of Ribblor III, perhaps indicating something unusual going on deeper below.

Even as the Valhalla arrives in the Trappist system, your construction fleet is en route to Sirius, to begin constructing the infrastructure to support the next colony ship.


"I fucking knew it!"

You jump slightly at the exclamation. Pavel is ducking under your office door, not even waiting for it to fully open. "Time! It was about time," he proclaims.

Regaining your composure, you fold your hands on your desk. "Explain."

"It wasn't that the sensors were hit by an asteroid, it's that Luna itself has been hit by so many! But if you back-calculate when and where they occurred, and with how much force, you can figure out where the lasers would have been pointing in the past."

He slaps down a schematic of the solar system, a bright blue line connecting Luna to a point in space just inside the asteroid belt. "Mars," he says excitedly. "They were oriented to track Mars."

His ship departs the lunar surface less than twelve hours later.


Just as you finish reading the preliminary reports of the ISS Maui entering Mars' orbit, an alert comes across your screen. An alert you've never seen before - a distress call.

They were built in to all your interstellar ships, of course. But through careful planning, engineering, and luck, you had never seen anyone actually use one. This one registers as the Einstein, and is attached to the very first scans taken by their probes, which appear to show the gas giant's atmosphere actively avoiding the remote-operated drones before rising up to engulf the ship.

We don't know how long the crew will be able to stay alive, but the Maui is closer than the Azophi. Divert Captain Dragomirov from his quest? Or leave the Einstein to its fate?
[X] (Rescue) We have to save them!
[] (Rescue) How interesting... (add a future research location to Ribblor III)