Explore Vareena V (Sila)
DC 70
33 + 40 (Tech) + 14 (Martial) + 25 (Biokinesis Master) = 112. Success.
Vareena V was unlike any of the other worlds in Vareena by various measures. By size and mass it was right in the definition for what the ship had dubbed a superplanet. Its environment was much more varied than the arid terrain of Vareena IV or the obvious oceans of Cantara. But what defined it the most when Sila explored the planet was just how alive it was. The ship had veered on the side of caution and had dispatched her in a cloaked shuttle to scout the planet and it only took a few quick looks above the planets cities to determine their level of general civilization. Factories roared across the plants breadth, each spewing fleets of vehicles to spread out the bounties of civilization to smaller settlements for distribution. There was little in the way of vehicles capable of flight, but given even the shuttles anti-gravity was struggling with the pull of the planet that wasn't exactly surprising. If she had to say a specific era of development this might compare for humans it'd probably be around the level of development humanity reached in the late second millennium or the very early third. A planet in the midst of rapid technological and social development. Perhaps they'd even be in the midst of developing atomics for military and civilian use, as the high level of population in the atmosphere did indicate significant usage of hydrocarbon fuels.
Once she'd made landfall she made sure she hid her shuttle well, while she restructured her body in such a way that it would be better suited to function under significant gravitic strain. Further spying on the locals through small observation drones gave her a good base for her form while she covered herself in significant amounts of cloth to hide her more specific features. Thus she began what she considered something of a year long vacation while she learned what she could and passed it along to the big guys. The aliens here seemed pretty varied overall, with a variety of body plans but all were united by their rather squat statures and inhuman forms. A broad rhinoceros-like and somewhat ugly species seemed to have been the most common sort of alien in the area she had first touched down in, while elsewhere during the year she found other sections of the world seemed to have been dominated by long reptilian aliens.
Socially the first thing she figured out about this planet and its people was that they were anxious, extraordinarily so. They'd been reasonably advanced for some time now, perhaps a century at most but had long been waiting for the return of the space pirates that had long raided their civilizations. Their modern politics were tense, split between 5 or so massive superstates which fought between each over resources and to establish themselves as the foremost states of the planet. Recent wars had crippled two of the once largest states and while both were still powerful, each had fallen to radical political change that set them against the winning powers of the modern day. Their world was slowly being poisoned by the march of industry, and few solutions seemed to be offered by anyone of importance.
And then in the midst of all this conflict and worry a massive starship had arrived. It wasn't easy for them to observe it with how dense the atmosphere was, but with existential concern had come a well deserved boost to the budget of the existing but highly underdeveloped rocketry and astronomy industries. The Union of Draxa, one of the two humbled and radically divergent superstates was the first to launch the behemoth of a rocket that was needed for escaping the planets atmosphere, and will likely be the nation with which the most communication will be made. Investigations of their lands seemed to indicate a land of relative peace but also a deep paranoia on the part of their populace. Including much of the planet's reptilian population it seems they are isolated from and hated by nearly every other state on the planet, while their revolutionary government has become increasingly militaristic and paranoid. A complex situation to be sure. Politics weren't her strong suit, but even Sila could see that contact with them was going to be a much harder prospect compared to the quick submission of the Cantarans.
Effects: Vareena V explored, inhabitants identified. Having been the first Confederal explorer of all three planets in the Vareena system, Sila has gained the "Explorer" trait, granting minor bonuses to exploring new worlds and mysterious locations.
Fabricate Fighter Squadrons (PR-01)
DC 50
28 + 80 (Tech) + 10 (Martial) = 118. Success.
Fighter STC designs were not spared the damage of viral corruption, but for the most part even old designs are still highly effective when equipped with more modern weaponry. The void of space thankfully cares little for the exact dimensions of most ships that fly through its vast reaches and your new set of flyers are no exception to that. Somewhat brick shaped they look rather uninspiring and would likely fare poorly in atmosphere compared to modern designs but what they lack in elegance is made up for in the sheer amount of weapons you can fit into the wasted space of the design. The ultimate design for each varies between those used as torpedo bombers and those that will act that interdiction fighters but each is equipped with the best equipment that your STCs can build. The gravitic weaponry that the fighters have isn't especially more effective than the sorts you might install on a light or medium walker but while much weaker than your broadside or main guns they should still be effective at crippling weaponry on larger vessels and will be very useful in any sort of boarding action that you plan to engage in.
With a good number of hulls now fabricated and commissioned into service you finally have a fleet capable of void operations. Given they all lack Warp Drives none will be able to escape Vareena without being loaded into the Prometheus or any other carrier, but they should be able to handle small invasions of the system and allow you to leave the system yourself without fear of unchallenged attack while you're gone. Another key step completed.
Effects: Tier 2.5 Fighter Squadron Unit created.
Repair the Prometheus (Grachis)
DC 150
30 + 120 (Tech) + 30 (Martial) + 15 (Revolutionary Theoretician) = 195. Success.
The great Dreadnought was a work of art, and one he was lucky to have ever seen. It is also rather clearly on the brink of collapse. While Grachis's education on technology was rather rudimentary and limited to several years of self study even just a look around the outside of the vessel told a rather tragic story. Whole sections of the ship were damaged to the point of depressurization, and while only more recent damage against the Dark Ones had opened a truly monstrous hole in the hull, many smaller wounds had inflicted a death by a thousand cuts to the frame.
For the most part his work to restore the great ship was one of delegation, of supplying experts and the PR-01 itself with equipment and laborers to see the work complete. It certainly helped an enormous amount in his understanding of how exactly the ship was constructed and functioned to have spent such a long time repairing it, but such experience was more similar to the experience that one would gain in repairing a boat of wood and rope, useful to tell under what circumstance these tools could break, but not in how they truly functioned.
Lacking any of the technical expertise to know what was of the highest priority, his work focused on simply sealing the holes and getting totally destroyed systems rebuilt to reinforce hull integrity. The bright side of such work was that it was by most definitions easy. The drydock, while hard to supply with the vast sections of plasteel needed to seal specifically damaged areas, was well suited to the work and its manufacturing capabilities were usually restrained by a slow delivery of supplies into orbit than by any other sort of problems. Within half of a year the most egregious damage was gone from the human eye, and the work of restoring power field emitters and void shielding capabilities began. This seemed the far harder portion of the work, with all the fine detailing of precise and dangerous machinery, rather than just the maneuvering and fusing of kilometer long sections of plasteel into place.
Of course even with most holes repaired the new sections quite clearly lacked the adamantium plating that the rest of the ship, and the few weapon and turret emplacements that hadn't been scrapped yet on the rest of the ship. An incredible amount of work remained to be completed to restore it back to a level of "sufficient" combat capabilities in the eyes of PR-01 and he could understand rather clearly why. Compared to its height it was still badly crippled, lacking in every regard that it might have once excelled. Its weapons, once mighty, relied mostly on only its main gun to confirm kills, while its shields had only just been restored to cover the whole of the ship with these repairs. He could understand the concern clearly; its current position comparable to a city whose only secure defenses were a fortified keep with ballista on the walls while only ruins protected all else of value. Hopefully their figurative repair of such walls would make any further conflict in the favor of his liege.
Effects: 1 wound repaired for PR-01.
Build Military Infrastructure: Cantara (Grachis - Ministry)
DC 80
85 + 80 (Tech) + 30 (Martial) + 15 (Revolutionary Theoretician) =210. Critical Success.
While it seems that Grachis found the work of modern fortifications rather alien from the keeps and fort he was used to, he still did good work this year in upgrading a number of existing holdfasts and forts into proper fortresses. Moist alterations were quite simple in their requirements with small automated foundries, power field encasement and void shield generators turning even ancient stone buildings into relatively durable hardpoints for military defense. They probably wouldn't be very effective at holding off an entire army, but would be great for furnishing local militias when needed and providing safe points for evacuation during times of conflict.
The work of the main fortress-factory that would be used to command this world military was a much longer affair, as it was to be positioned underneath and around the area of the planned arcology-capital. Sparing no costs and with the main industrial zone nearby much of the island found itself excavated and structurally enhanced as layers of plasteel and ferrocrete were layered into place. A number of underground tunnels were dug deep into the earth to connect to nearby supply centers, including the STC, with them and the main fortress now covered with power fields and void shield emitters. The actual main body of the fortress is less complex in design, with most of its room dedicated to the various sorts of equipment needed for the manufacturing and maintenance of military equipment, while what remains is divided between storage, bunkhouse, offices and research areas. While the assemblies for military equipment largely lack the capabilities to process materials into their constituent atomic parts like in the main STC, their focus on small scale manipulation makes them quite competent at assembling the various complicated electronics needed for modern weaponry and equipment at scale and its own integrated and upgraded factory Intelligence should make for an invaluable aid for research. You may still be a better engineer and smarter overall than its more dedicated streams of thought but there is a certain benefit to focusing on specific disciplines of work in such circumstances.
To test its systems and to check that most equipment is operating at appropriate levels an army of androids has been commissioned into service alongside orders for equipment to modernize the already existing organic armies of the New Confederation. Newly sapient and highly networked, the androids should prove to be an interesting force going forward and highly effective at tasks too dangerous for a human. Given their frames they proved economical enough for the extra order to be shuffled into current capital costs, with an unexpected surplus of plasteel production this year covering most of the requirements.
Effects: Multiple new military production, upgrade and research actions gained. Completing this action alongside "Begin the foundations of military industry" has upgraded all base units to current tech levels. A free unit of tier 3.5 android infantry has been created. Further experience with industry, automation and the application of military science to these disciplines has increased Grachis's learning by 1.
First Contact: Vareena V (Ceriox - Ministry)
DC 50
46 + 50 (Tech) + 17 (Diplomacy) + 5 (Hero of the North) + 10 (Negotiators First) + 5 (TTNG) + 10 (Revolutionary State) = 143. Success.
Vareena V, or Dreioch as the natives knew it, was unexpectedly thorny to visit. While initial contact over primitive upgrades to their launched satellite was satisfactory for a time and details for contact and diplomacy was gained from all of the planets five powers, it seems the initial decision to go forward with Cerioxs first visit to the planet being in the Union of Draxa may have been a mistake.
The visit was fairly lovely and being adapted for high pressure environments and crush depths made the required equipment for him to survive the visit reasonably limited. It was definitely a bit uncomfortable regardless at his age, but his aides in the diplomatic corps certainly seemed to have been suffering to a much greater degree than Ceriox did while he dined with the nations leaders and introduced them to the wonders of the New Confederation. By comparison to the absolute primitives of Cantara they viewed the produced technology with much more fascination than awe, seeing the produced anti-gravity lifters and sapient machines as tools more than works of magic. Overall, this was greatly refreshing and he spent as much time negotiating with their Generalissimo as he did their board of economic planning. A meeting with their variation of a parliament made it clear that they were perhaps a bit more oligarchic in style than the New Confederation is, but they seemed to have the right spirit at least with their focus on their common people. Overall negotiations went incredibly well and when the offers of alliance or integration into the New Confederation were given after many weeks of wining and dining they seemed willing to potentially accept either, so long as they are allowed some level of autonomy in economic organization and local politics as a new province.
The rest of the visit meanwhile put a damper on the easy guarantees he had gotten from those in Draxa. Mostly, it was that they seemed to unite into something of a coordinated body which demanded that the Union be granted no specific privileges and that all negotiations would be made by all five powers of the planet working in concert. Willing to concede to this point so long as the Draxans were willing, he found that even with the attendance of the Draxan Generalissimo the rest of the powers sought technology sharing agreements and trade agreements over any agreements of alliance or negotiated annexation for the planet. It was tiresome work to get them all to agree, but the basics of diplomacy were done and all that remained were the hard decisions.
Effects: Mutually exclusive actions added to accept the Draxan offer or the united offer. First contact made with the five superstates of the world of Dreioch
First Contact: Cantaran Lobster-Men (Ceriox)
DC 50
71 + 50 (Tech) + 17 (Diplomacy) + 10 (Laer Biology) + 5 (Hero of the North) + 10 (Negotiators First) + 5 (TTNG) = 168. Critical Success.
The so-called Lobster-Men of Cantara were quite the welcoming people in Ceriox's eyes. Having swam down the the depths of their civilization with a few other select members of his race and with a few mechanically aided observers in tow, he once again engaged in a diplomatic blitz across Cantara's oceans.
Thankfully, much like in his previous work the natives were highly receptive to talk. With the basics of their language provided to the translators by Sila's previous expedition the delegation was able to provide proof of their peaceful intentions quickly and found themselves provided with ritual gift giving as part of a guarantee of safety that they reciprocated with a short transfer of their own proffered materials.
With time to talk he found the Xakathri, as they called themselves, quite the fascinating people. Unlike his own ancestors they dwelled in the very depths of the oceans, and lacked the amphibian-like characteristics that made the Laer masters of both the land and sea. This had led to a long term stagnation for their people without access to the sorts of technology that access to the land might provide, but had made due with an exceptionally complex system of deep-sea trade between the various caves and holes they inhabited so far down. Even being essentially doomed to stagnation in the stone age they had continued to flourish in the societal arts, and had reasonably complex methods of communication and writing adapted to their underwater homes. Their cultural productions, insofar as he observed, were bizarre but utterly unique in their performances. With the dangers of the deep and the fragility of trade, war was nearly unheard of among their people and their conflict ritualized into nearly artistic skirmishes.
Most interesting of all was the fact that these Xakathri had long known that they were not alone on this planet. Over the millenia shipfalls had accumulated throughout the planet's oceans and had been picked clean by the Xakathri as much as by scavenger species. That the world above was inhabited by beings of intelligence was rather clear to them, and they had long speculated on what these spindly fleshy creatures were like, and what had transpired to bring them to this world. According to their own creation myths of having being born from the great vents that they subsisted on most popular speculation on the fleshies was they spawned from a similar process above the waters, in volcanic mudpools where an exoskeleton would be a hindrance rather than as an aid like in their own lands.
That they had been flabbergasted at the idea and clearly given the history of humanity and the other species of the confederation was a given. While the Xakathri had perhaps advanced to the very best of their abilities in the depths, the very concept of space was foreign to them, as were the stars. When given the opportunity to visit the surface in pressurized suits and the wonders of this very underdeveloped colony it was clear that it was very much a near-religious experience for these people, a world they had never seen where everything was different and yet at least partially known. The building they saw stretched into realms never before seen and bore living machines as casually as clothing. They could speak to the bizarre creatures that they had known existed for millennia but which had always been so far out of reach, and did so with peace in both their hearts. It was a heartwarming experience to be quite honest, and with such glowing recommendations from those that had visited the surface it was not a hard experience to convince them to join the Confederation once it was explained in depth to them. Within a fairly short time he had them signed on as the very first new provinces of the Confederation, in exchange for significant concessions as to their rights to the waters and access to the technology of the surface world. A fine work of diplomacy, and a people that he frankly felt a strong affection for, similar to his kind as they were. It would definitely be one of his prouder accomplishments, and likely a people adapted to the seas like none other would make for crucial colonists on other oceanic planets. Perhaps one day they might visit the real location of mankinds emergence on Earth, though that would rely upon the lucky occurance of it still being in one piece. From where the civil war had been heading, he wouldn't have been quite sure about that.
Effects: New civilization greeted and assimilated willingly into government. +3 taxes added for next turn and tens of millions of new natives integrated into the Confederation. New underwater actions available.
STC Industrial Zone Expansion (3/3) (Maximilian - Ministry)
DC 180
25 + 100 (Tech) + 22 (Stewardship) + 20 (Volunteer Labor Drive) + 15 (Governor) + 15 (Infrastructure Magnate) = 197. Success.
Despite Maximilian's pretensions of architectural and logistical genius, it seems that the limits of his capabilities were beginning to be reached with the last stages of the expansion of the industrial zone. Ever keen to micromanage, Maximilian damn near ruined months of work trying to rush some of the safety and testing procedures for the newest material processors. Thankfully the drive for professional and volunteer labor was able to catch the worst of the defects that had popped up in the equipment before the rushed tests began and things for the most part went well. A fair few assemblies needed to be restructured and Maximilian was not exactly on great terms with either the Ministry or you for a time, but everything turned out alright in the end.
The most recent additions to the STC are perhaps the least visible but the most key. By and far the most important was the implantation of its AI core and the various subsystems it would need to determine new designs and catalog them for broader use. Other improvements mostly focused on ultra-high precision equipment, allowing the STC to produce any of its uploaded designs, from the nanite based panaceas to the intricate but broad work of fabricating the internals of gravitic plating. In its current state it is an unparalleled tool for production but you're quite hesitant to rely heavily upon it if not needed. Dedicated manufacturing lines can often produce equipment and goods of comparable quality and greater convenience, and in your opinion the greatest goal of your government now should be to wean the population off of dependency on its production. Dedicating its materials and time to fabricating the most ornery and complex machinery will be the most efficient use of its capabilities over time and each moment wasted on simple consumer goods that might be assembled by skilled laborers is a moment that could be used to create medical, industrial or military goods.
The galaxy waits on no one, and while you do not intend to worsen the living conditions of your charges, Cantara is simply too small to be a power of its own. Capital accumulation still remains a top priority and that will likely not change until you've got quite the Pocket-Empire under your administration.
Effects: The last stage of STC construction is complete, increasing Capital gain and lowering DCs and costs further.
Space Elevator (1/2) (Maximilian)
DC 90
93 + 80 (Tech) + 22 (Stewardship) + 15 (Governor) + 15 (Infrastructure Magnate) = 225. Critical Success.
In Maximilian's rather well cultured opinion, there are few constructions more magnificent than that of a space elevator. Great fortresses and arcologies may be more impressive to look at and tend to the greatest needs of civilization, but the great spires that spite the atmospheres of the planets they stand upon by stretching to the very edge of space have a certain appeal to them that is unmatchable by lesser structures. They are the calling cards of civilization, the foundation upon which interstellar trade may flourish and grow. Most importantly of all however is in how they simply dispel the inherent mysticism that most upjumped yockels have for the sky, showing it be a barrier little different than that of a lake or oceans surface. In simply standing it demonstrates to all who see that they are merely the tiniest of ants compared to the broader universe. They are constructs whose very being spites the imagination of lesser ages, a colossus made not to honor any paltry gods or vain ruler, but instead to feed the hunger of that greatest force of history, technological civilization.
He would not fail to impress with his work this year. With vast quantities of material rolling off the production lines and enough infrastructure to fabricate the upper sections of the elevator in orbit, as much work was done to finish the project as quickly as he possibly could. While his usually meticulous style was betrayed by this work, the sheer benefits that such infrastructure offered outweighed any potential increases in possible points of failure that this might cause.
Incredibly he was able to get the herculean task of constructing the entire space elevator complete in the space of a year, with the majority of its structure simply needing only structural reinforcement left. Building off his own work on Viridia the main structure was one designed for lifting the great loads required for an export oriented planet and which in this case has had extra points of delivery for its materials built into the design itself. Once again he proved himself a genius of logistics, truly.
Effects: Space Elevator created. Multiple new actions unlocked. STC infrastructure cost reductions now fully apply to spaceborne actions and DC's. Critical success completes the second stage ahead of time and at no additional cost. Pushing his capabilities to the limit has taught him to apply his work even in times of quick application, granting +2 stewardship.
Expand Medical Facilities (Sister Amara)
DC 90
58 + 110 (Tech) + 12 (Stewardship) + 10 (Tech Geek) + 20 (Priestly Doctor) = 210. Critical Success.
To work in the medical sciences was something rare for Leena nowadays. While it had been the primary focus of her education, these years of settlement had been filled with a thousand other concerns to be focused on and before this turn of events she'd been merely one more qualified candidate amongst the many millions of doctors and engineers that graduated from those programs on Earth every year.
But here she was worth plenty, and her intimate knowledge of the great medical machines that mankind had ever created would save millions, if not billions of lives into the future. Thus she endeavored to do her absolute best work this year, with a focus on the largest hospitals and gene clinics that were constructed in the major settlements. With the Panacea now finally capable of being manufactured out of the complete STC she was able to furnish even the smallest rural clinics with the miraculous work of nanotechnology that was able to knit wounded flesh back together and which effectively ended the appearance of dangerous diseases amongst interstellar humanity. The mortality rate unsurprisingly dropped to a level that rivaled any civilized world during the time of the Old Confederation, and once again the Cantarans found themselves in awe of the power of technology.
But that was not all. With her own knowledge of the steps needed to make Rejuvenation therapies in hand she spent much of the year simply setting up the exact supply lines need for its production at a consistent rate, so that once again those with the resources to do so in Human society would be able to reach the bounds of immortality. That the ancient desire of all kings and emperors of the ancient past merely required a somewhat capital intensive process of pharmaceutical manufacturing, nanobot injections and targeted gene therapy was perhaps a cruel thing for those living in the unenlightened past, but many would find benefit from it now. Basic Rejuvenation processes would likely be able to be applied to the majority of the population, while the more complex work of adapting them to specific individuals would likely still require vast amounts of wealth to be committed to the work. Still, between the introduction of these therapies, the Panacea and other methods of genetic manipulation and editing the expected lifespan of the average citizen of the world was likely to at minimum double, if not have an additional century or longer added on. Generations would soon become a much slower affair, and she doubted any of the old folks would object to being closer to their spry youth once again.
By year's end even the most impressive clinic of yesteryear had been greatly reworked, with many new buildings servicing any sorts of needs that were required to be net. Multiple diseases were beginning to go wholly extinct as roll outs of the Panacea rendered populations healthy and the existing ongoing baby boom has continued to spike upwards as most forms of mortality have declined to near zero. The cities were already being rebuilt significantly with what change had already concurred, and now would likely begin to continue expanding upwards and outwards as the world reached a state of reasonable development.
Effects: Critical success fully upgrades medical infrastructure on this planet to both a second and third stage. Population and tax base growth increased. Chance of saving dying heroes reaches an initial cap of 30%. Lifespan for heroes and the commons expanded by fifty years. Actions unlocked to upgrade the Human or species trait of organic Heroes to provide more benefits, either through cybernetic or biological means. Action unlocked to apply expensive rejuvenation treatments to specific organic characters to extend lifespan further and prevent old age death rolls from occurring.
Begin the Foundations of Military Industry (PR-01)
DC 100
74 + 120 (Tech) + 15 (Stewardship) = 209. Critical Success.
The work of creating dedicated military supply lines has progressed extremely well over the last year. While the less developed material processing industries that are required for mass production still stifle weaponry and armor production significantly, your eye this year has been to create supply lines for equipment that are well distributed and ready for significant expansion with time. While the most key industries and processing units have largely been built into the military installations constructed this year a number of supply-line industries have also been expanded across the world, with somewhat less care for secrecy due to their nature in largely common use materials like metallurgy and electronics. While most are dedicated to supplying the needs of the main military lines they have added to the general industrial capabilities of this world wonderfully and are well suited to be converted to preprocessing for civilian industrial goods in times of low military demand.
Nearly all of the equipment has been heavily automated in design, as they are essentially required to produce more complicated pieces of machinery for the manipulation of exotic energies, which are key to Confederal military doctrines. Many lines have already been dedicated to the delicate processes required for gravitic machinery, from the vast amounts of gravitic plating needed for spacecraft to maintain earth-like conditions to the production of anti-personnel gravitic weaponry for the army and navy. You probably won't have the capacity to fully repair your main gun with the current rate of production of this equipment but the scraps are wonderful for fixing some of your broadside guns which you haven't very well trusted for a good millennium.
Far more groundbreaking have been the developments made for the New Confederate Army. While still tiny, the force of around a million has been outfitted with budget quality Mark 78 suits of light power armor and heavier weaponry in the form of Gravitic and Thermal Rifles to keep each squad more well rounded in capabilities against most targets. Most of the infantry still sport cheap and effective Laser Rifles as their default gun, but new internals and power cells have improved their capabilities significantly from their extremely worn state previously. Perhaps most importantly the army has been equipped with advanced communications equipment that should increase responsiveness massively and give them rudimentary electronic warfare capabilities. They still aren't quite up to your standards even as light infantry, but they should prove the equal of any confederal level foe, assuming they don't have significant industry on hand. Any further upgrades to their loadouts will require retraining them in the use of more warmachines or swapping out the venerable Mark 78 suits for something a bit more modern, but much more costly. For now, it will do and at least the officers can be better protected with the production of costly but effective individual refractor field generators.
It will take time for all the infrastructure to be properly built out, and there will be a massive demand for their use for quite a long time as you finish your own body repairs, but you may now if you so desire begin work into building vehicles grander than a mere tank or supply shuttle. Your dream of rebuilding your onboard division of Castigator Class Heavy Walkers is one step closer to reality, though attempting to build it back to its full size as of the moment might bankrupt Cantara. A true shame.
Effects: More new military unit types available for construction. All military related costs and DCs have been adjusted. All existing ground military units now have their technology levels apply correctly in line with current research levels. One extra level of Subsidiary Industrial Zones has been produced.
Decrypt Psionics Records (PR-01 - Ministry)
DC 100
43 + 20 (Tech) + 25 (Learning) + 20 (Eccentric) + 15 (Innovative) = 123. Success.
Further time to crack the infuriating encryption paid off rather well this year as you finally can pilfer the knowledge of the Intelligence Corps as you please. As ever with topics covering the Warp, any glee you obtain in the act of clever lock breaking is dispelled by the discoveries that the records contain. The majority and perhaps the least concern are simply the classified records of the many psykers sentenced to Vareena IV, hundreds of years of dedicated and in depth knowledge on people who were treated as experimental guinea pigs. While you can respect the depth of knowledge gained by such action, the blatant violation of Confederal law that this represents disappoints you greatly. You already knew the broad strokes of this affair and you can even understand the reasoning behind it, but nevertheless you feel deeply disappointed in your long dead countrymen.
Observations into the formation of psykers and anti-psykers is the much more concerning and interesting side of the records however, as it raises altogether too many questions for your liking. Anti-psykers specifically seem a genetically bound occurrence due to the effects of a specific recessive and hideously complex gene that causes the brain to effectively reject the energies of the warp in the body and which in effect dispels the potential for those with the gene to form any connection to the Warp and its denizens. Dedicated genetic research into ancient remains requested by the Intelligence Corps seems to indicate that they were able to find evidence of this specific gene all the way back to some of the earliest variations of modern hominids and definitive proof of anti-psyker Neanderthals and early Homo Sapiens. How exactly the gene was introduced and how it gained its complex features are unknown but speculated to be due to early alien interference or crossbreeding that left light enough of a touch that their further efforts were unnoticed as the millenia continued on. Given the gene's lack of mutations over such a period and complex effects it's likely that it was genetically engineered into being either for Humans or from a genetically engineered species that passed it down to their descendants. Uniquely, no other observed living species in the galaxy seems to bear the exact gene, though the Rangda seem to have a similar trait that their rather biologically flexible forms created.
Psykers meanwhile are a wholly different story. While a psyker parent is capable of passing down their inherited status to their children and descendants the actual creation of most psykers seems to instead be bound to exposure to the warp. Unless they contain Anti-psyker genes it seems clear that nearly every strain of humankind and sapient alien life is capable of developing psionic abilities when left exposed to its energies, though most also find themselves twisted and destroyed by these energies when overexposed. This is not overly surprising given your knowledge of navigators and your general observations on the subject already, but what is more curious is the results of searching for genetic evidence of psykers in the past and how they line up with observed warp storms in archived forms from Eldar sources.
What they found was worrisome. Genetic evidence showed that for the majority of human development, even prior to the arrival of the anti-psyker gene, that the creation and spread of psyker genes were common following warp storms around Earth. Worse Warp storms seemed to have created more psions and over time it seems the general percentage of the human race that held such powers was around 5-10% at its peak around 9000 BCE, before it dropped dramatically across the entire planet in following millenia. By the start of the common calendar occurrences of these genes never breached 1% even during the strongest recorded warp storms and universally amongst all recovered psyker bodies it seems they died early and usually brutal deaths. Records examined from eras of greater data preservation seem to indicate the majority of cases to be mysterious murder and missing persons cases that seem to have never had a confirmed perpetrator. This case of identified psyker serial killings seemed to been confirmed to occur until roughly the 18570's CE, only a few decades after the creation of the first convenient Warp Drives. Given that the Solar Federation of the time would soon encounter the various and rare sorts of human psykers that were present in the rest of the human settled galaxy ever since they had first settled their new worlds it seems clear that something specific to the Solar system had intentionally been killing off nearly the entire psyker population and before most could even pass on their psyker nature through genetic inheritance.
How exactly psykers and their counterparts seem to function is simple but in a way that seems frustrating to both you and the old researchers that left these documents. Simply put, once they are exposed to the energies of the Warp they become tiny gates through which its energies creep through. Said gates seem limited in scale but seem to generally grow with use and mentally require the exertion of specific thoughts to manifest, though to the danger of most even simple bursts of intense emotion can connect to the Warp and its emotive existence. Anti-Psykers by comparison seem to close these gates with their presence and emit their own field of anomalous energy that dispels the presence of warp energy and which may unbalance the emotional states of those nearby when they come into contact with it. Given that Anti-psyker capabilities to dismiss the energies of the warp are bound to their own sources of energy generation they likely cannot have their powers quantified on a similar scale to that of psykers, who are able to simply siphon power from the dimensions of the Warp. Confirmation of Anti-Psyker emissions does open the door on potential weaponization of the technology, but you'll need to look much deeper into the subject before you'll be making anything too amazing with that knowledge.
More key in the era of Old Confederation was the discovery of just exactly how the Warp worked. While it had been speculated on for millennia by the 21st Millennium the more thorough and direct contact with the Eldar that was gained in that era allowed for an understanding of it as a dimension of idealism, a dimension opposite in function to the material universe and with radically different laws of existence. Its form and inhabitants are inherently shaped by the thoughts of psionically capable creatures, and seems to be something of a parasite realm for the material universe. The influence of thought in this realms seems capable of creating monsters or spirits, though in effect these creations are little more than amalgams of thought and belief that seem to only have stable characterization when possessing sapient forms. Somewhat worryingly, most of the described characterization of psionic creatures within the documents seems to paint them as being rather less active or aggressive as they have already appeared within your experience. It seems highly possible that multiple of the Warp Entity Strains may have been pushed into more rabid action with further degradation of galactic living standards, especially if psyker populations have become unmanaged on most worlds.
An ability of note with Warp entities seems to be that they are perfectly capable of dividing their essence amongst multiple beings, with the exact sort of being possessed by them seemingly only somewhat influencing the forms Warp Entities will morph into. Occasions of these entities reuniting hasn't been observed, but you wonder if that is a simple issue of their function being radically changed within material realms. After all, with so few ways to directly observe the warp it is certainly likely that any amalgamations of these entities there would be totally unknown, and in your opinion the very fact that strains seem to unite around some some specific variation of memetic ideals may indicate that they are in truth part of larger entities. That remains all speculation, but something to keep an eye on for now.
With the application of some of this new psionic knowledge and a few millennia of research on these new, albeit pitifully weak galactic psykers the navigator gene was engineered to create humans capable of observing Warp currents with a much deeper eye for the landscapes of the Warp than the base observations of machines might. Being able to both travel to new systems without nearly as much fear of flying entirely off course and being psionically able to simply see Warp Beacons made them a key requirement for the spread of Humanity across the entire galaxy in only a few short centuries. With more time to prepare and ultimately ended by the "Controller" outbreak, Vareena IV was designated as a world fit for navigator production by the Intelligence Corps for whatever plan they seemed to have for this whole system. Attempts to reproduce their efforts should be possible with the scattered remains of equipment they left within their labs, but you'll likely need to source the psyker genetics yourself.
Effects: 2 stages of Psionics and 1 stage of Anti-Psionics Research gained. Actions unlocked to create your own navigators gained once Biology / Warp related infrastructure is created. Further understanding of the Warp and its Entities acquired. Disturbing trends in Human history relating to pyskers noted.
Occult Investigation (PR-01)
DC 60
18 + 20 (Tech) + 25 (Learning) + 20 (Eccentric) + 15 (Innovative) = 98. Success.
The work of occult research has been a slow and frustrating one, though you've made some key discoveries along the way. Most key among them is the answer to your concerns over just exactly is after you and the identity of the Warp Entity that you so brutally banished. It is clear that the two while of the same strain are of totally different identities, and seemingly, natures.
The entity seemingly attempted to be summoned both within your depths and that of the mining station seems tied to the realms of information or perhaps some other aspect of scholarly pursuits in some key way. Each of the rather disturbing books tied to the ritual seemed to have been twisted into half alive monstrosities that only revealed themselves when cracked open. You lost a good number of puppeted androids to their appearance but thankfully you were able to dispatch the attempted escape with further reinforcements. Better restrained the next time you examined them the information gleaned wasn't particularly clear, though they each did seem to hold to a certain set of common characteristics. Faces and facial features were common within the pages of the book, each with different temperaments as you flipped through the pages. Some spoke courteously, some attempted to destroy your androids with tongues of ink and blood while a rather curiously indescribable face attempted to release emanations of scrap code. Ripping out that page and setting it aflame with your weapons seemed to cow the rest of the book-faces as much as it amused others, and it became rapidly clear that there was nothing worthwhile to be gained from ambivalent observation. You moved quickly into a stage of autopsy of the books and attempted to observe the effects of separation of pages from the spine. It took far, far more effort than should have been possible for a book of parchment to rip apart, but with industrial strength mining equipment on hand you were able to sever the bond between parchment and what you suspected may have been some sort of human leather. The pages seemed to wilt as they were removed from their binding medium, face reverting to readable pages seemingly each covered in thousands of names. With hundreds of different scripts the names are incredibly varied and no two seem to be spelled the same. Further deconstruction of the covers also produced small and nearly undetectable stones embedded in the material, few larger than grains of sand but all with an oily black sheen to them.
With such little information gleaned from the books themselves you turned to the fetish specifically to figure out what else you could, and with time generally succeeded in this task. Analyzing the various runes rewarded you with the knowledge that many of the very same names were written within the fetish as the book. Other runes meanwhile seemed to form a structure that only barely resembled that of a circuit or something similar. Without much to go on and with very little information gained you simply chose to finish this matter by destroying what remained of the evidence, and in this action caused your only worthwhile revelation.
Somewhat carelessly you destroyed the fetish with gravitational weaponry, in order to test its effects against tainted items. It worked rather well, with it punching the material together and destroying the runes in but a moment, but seemed to have caused some sort of temporary rift in the warp as it did so. As that occurred you were bombarded with visions that you shouldn't have been able to have, of blasted and black fleshy lands you'd never seen before, while residing in a fleshy body not of your own. As you looked about every surface in this place awakened with eyes and mouths, all gibbering and devouring and which seemed to spear the brain of the body you had been residing in with their tentacles in but a few mere moments. All that remained of this experience was the memory of another, of a being that wore a thousand faces and a fractal symbol that spread across his vision in the very last moments of his life, as his brain was turned into whatever base the fetish had been built into.
You're not quite sure how to feel about all of this.
Effects: Fractal symbol identified to be that of the infector. Its titles seem to be related to multiple identities that it has adopted and specifically to that of the face. The use of brains and faces in their practice indicates some sort of focus on either morphing its identity and manipulating thought. Eccentric Trait upgraded to +/- 25.
Examine the Eldar (Sila)
DC 100
70 + 50 (Tech) + 14 (Learning) + 25 (Biokinesis Master) = 134. Success.
The work of analyzing the dead Eldar was something that unsettled Sila greatly. It wasn't as if she hadn't ever seen a dead body before, since she had accidentally killed others herself, but it still wasn't something she was very experienced with encountering. Death was not a common thing to encounter in her old home, and while her developing her powers almost assuredly guaranteed it'd be something she'd quickly become accustomed to in time, there still remained a certain taboo to her around corpses. Unfortunately, it'd have to be resolved if she were to do her job right and no amount of creepy alien corpses would be in the way of her accomplishing that.
The main two things she noted with the bodies were both odd. The first she had known about, that of the Eldar's psionic nature, but despite this these specific Eldar seemed to lack any growth to their psionic organs. Detailed anatomical data she was able to harangue from the ship and the captain both indicated that any of their kind that commonly used these powers should have them continue to grow throughout their lives. And yet among these Eldar it was pitifully small, as if it hadn't been used for decades or centuries. This was generally something that worried her less, after all the Eldar despite their age were generally a peer civilization of the Confederation and clearly seemed to be unable to call upon their most powerful abilities. A good turn of event for everyone that the raiders were malformed.
The rest of the body remained very curious however, especially in how well constructed the genetic and physical structures of the Eldar are. In nearly every part of the body there was clear evidence in her mind of some sort of either technical modification or psychic manipulation of their bodies. Their muscles and digestive organs were remarkably efficient, their brains using less energy than most did despite the presence of inbuilt psionic organs and the organs themselves each well formed and with no defects. Clearly even with them being unused these Eldar were capable of passing down these traits to their descendants far better than most attempts at gene editing would usually do for Humans. With that in mind she wondered if potentially these Eldar may have once been similar to navigators as a separate psionic species of their kind, but which in their case may have come to dominate. Overall there wasn't too much more to figure out without descending into their psychic powers, a sort of work she generally refused to do. In very least though it revealed a good set of traits to imitate and experiment with in her work in Biokinesis, and with time she would begin tinkering with her own body to imitate the best adaptations she observed.
Effects: To the best of your knowledge the Eldar appear to be Bioengineered beings, likely at their own hands. 1 Research stage in Biology and Eldar research gained. Mimicked Eldar adaptations grant Sila +3 Prowess and +1 learning.
Surveil Local Space (PR-01)
DC 60
95 + 40 (Tech) + 10 (Intrigue) + 15 (Xenophilic) = 160. Critical Success.
The work of comparing star charts with current star positions, known settlements and other such documents would have been a far more dreary task for one without your great computational capabilities. The sheer repetition of work ground on even you but the discoveries made were well worth it, those both horrifying and grand.
The bad news is you have clear confirmation of severe destruction in this section of the galaxy. While your range of analysis of stars is only accurate to about 7000 light years or so within that range you have evidence of at least 15 major inhabited systems that appear either totally destroyed or rendered into uninhabitable nebulas. Dozens more of less inhabited systems have seemingly been destroyed as well. Analysis of destroyed locations with your own knowledge seems to indicate that most fully destroyed systems were those used as central administrative and military hubs, though a number of other known industrial systems seem to have been destroyed as well. Given the Confederal Navies technological capabilities the destruction of whole systems like this would not be impossible, though would likely require new superweapons to destroy them at scale. The exact circumstance as to how these may have been destroyed is still unknown, but that a less settled region of the galaxy suffered such significant destruction does not bode well for further settlements near the galactic core and around the solar sectors.
The good news at least is that a number of worlds still seem in the very least inhabitable even within the Ghost Stars. A dozen or so world's designated for environmental protection should make for ideal colonization targets, either in pristine condition or if they've been settled since your records were last updated. When it comes to systems likely to still inhabit some level of sapient life, Thex Prime should be within a simple and short jump from your current location and according to Warp records from this system should have calm currents to travel over. Stygia, a somewhat new colony by your reckoning, is very close to Vareena and may have developed a fully new civilization with thousands of years of separation. Atargatis is similarly nearby and while it was only a minor mining world in its heyday it should make for a good system to supply Vareena's growing wealth with. You've looked over a good number of other minor systems within a single warp jump for features of note, but for the most part you intend to explore your nearest systems first.
Of the more distant locations the one of greatest note however is Nostramo, a ludicrously rich mining world for which its system is named, on the border of the Ghost Stars. With it both being the entrance to this region from the core and with the most notable natural adamantium reserves of any planet in the galaxy it would be well worth a visit, even if it's unlikely that any surviving population inhabits the hellish world. Acquiring the system should make for a perfect staging ground into the wider galaxy and it is well positioned for your expansion regardless of what direction you intend to consolidate control over first. The only real problem is that it's at the edge of your current Warp jumping capabilities
Effects: Four high priority systems for settlement, diplomacy, extraction or trade noted. Untouched worlds noted nearby for exploration. Multiple new actions available for travel once the Prometheus's warp drive is fixed or other Warp capable vessels are constructed.
Surveil the General Population (Sister Amara - Ministry)
DC 80
20 + 50 (Tech) + 18 (Intrigue) = 88. Success.
While spying upon vast populations reminded Leena of her years in work prior to the civil war, it wasn't particularly disagreeable to her either. Tending to the spiritual and physical well being of the population fit right in with her usual plans for missionary and medical work and in both duties she was expected to be discreet with any discoveries made or revelations given. Expanding that out to a broad case of surveillance really only changed the scope of the work, not the type.
For the most part she and the Ministry of the Interior focused on merely trying to tie up what loose ends remained with the noble plot while keeping an eye out for anything that might seem out of place.
Wrangling them was as easy as herding cats, but with most of the worst already imprisoned it took little work to finish tying up loose ends and finish getting around to imprisoning those that had escaped to the countryside. Most had been tracked all the way out by reconnaissance equipment, but given how far away from the cities and the various problems they could easily get up to in them few had bothered to keep many eyes on them in person.
The conspiracy against the confederation seems dead for now, even if Dero Jelik and what few of his men that remain are still on the run. Little else was of concern otherwise, as it seems far too many are busy with having their lives radically reformed from the ground up to be busy with flights of rebellious fancy.
The world first election was quite the affair, with the Followers of Prometheus taking a vast majority of the seats in the Confederations parliament. Leena's own Merchant, Trader and Scholars Association had done well enough in securing a number of rich constituencies, while the noble members of the new assembly have taken to simply running as independents. The elections themselves were a mess, with most voters not having a particularly great idea of how everything was supposed to work and with the addition of the Xakathri domains right before the election but few things really went wrong with the process. With time and better timed negotiated accessions to provincehood future elections should prove better organized, and with better festival celebrations to be held around the newly established holiday.
Of note however is the fact that the emerging sapient AI of the New Confederation seem somewhat alienated from the rest of the Confederation as of yet. Many of those first to be upgraded from lower level Stone class intelligences to their current near-Iron level of intelligence have developed reasonably well in their first years of sapience but also seem to have issues fitting in and adapting to their roles, especially in civil service. Those in the military seem perhaps the most well adjusted due to their rather singular focus on the efficient resolution of conflict and the higher inherent level of intelligence their forms previously required to be effective. Becoming more humanized has certainly changed the military synthetics greatly, but aside from the few that have been swapped around into new disciplines most seem to be taking after their creator as well disciplined automatons that are focused on their duties. By contrast civilian AI have had something of a crisis of purpose, as most of their former duties have been shuffled over to unupgraded drones, leaving most without much to do. Add on to that some fears of pushing these experimental younglings too far and they've mostly been left to figure their plans for the future themselves. With mostly good intentions Leena spent some time this year directing those with talent and strong goals into the various other ministries, hopefully reducing any potential synthetic alienation further down the line.
Effects: All is well in the general population. Non-Chaos, factional or Dero Jelik related plots have been eliminated.
Turn 7 Events:
Welcome to the Ghoul Stars:
A cruiser sized vessel has arrived in the Vareena system, distant to the systems center but quickly accelerating towards the inhabited planets. Long distance reconnaissance has had a hard time determining the exact type of ship it is however, especially with most of your sensors on the fritz. With a distinct trident prow and with many obviously patched up sections it's clearly quite old and was likely commissioned as part of a local defense fleet some time in the distant past. However the various amounts of changes added to the base design make its exact model hard to discern. The hideous damage to its structure would not make this likely barely functional wreck of a cruiser a great concern on its own however. Under normal circumstances you would simply engage with this vessel through means of diplomacy or war, and hopefully resolve the issue quickly.
However, this is no usual case. This cruiser is currently covered in a writhing pitch black substance that seems to bubble up from the holes and damage in the ship's hull and which seems to cover everything but the aft of the ship. Remarkably for how damaged of a ship it is and in the state that it has arrived the ships emissions are incredibly low from the immersed sections, likely dampened by whatever capabilities this substance has. The aft, increasingly being devoured by this substance, seems to be releasing multiple sorts of distress signals though nearly all of them are unintelligible. Closer investigation seems to reveal that the substance is no peaceable material as limbs and organs of unknown origin and typing seem to erupt from its surface routinely, as if growing into its true form. These limbs vary greatly in task, some hauling materials and broken bodies from the depths of the ship to be cast aside into space, while others are formed into weapons which are then plunged back into holes they came from.
You haven't a clue what sort of monster is infecting that ship, nor do you have any sort of records that match up with its features in the slightest. But what it holds in its grasp is clear proof of continued human civilization, of Warp capable ships that are still capable of crossing stellar distances, an ember of hope that you wouldn't dare see extinguished in front of you.
Deployments: In this combat, and most others you will have the choice of deciding which units and heroes you would like to deploy to this conflict. PR-01 counts as both a hero and dreadnought unit. Otherwise all heroes used must be assigned to a unit of your choice. You also have tactics that you may assign, either from options presented, written in tactics or a combination of non-mutually exclusive actions of either type.
Heroes: All Available for assignment.
Units: One unit of Fighters and Two units of Infantry available for assignment.
Tactics:
[ ] Bombardment Focus: As it stands you have far too few assets for the safe invasion of another vessel and no idea of the capabilities of this anomalous infection it bears. The safest option in this case would be to fight this ship with direct fire from your main guns and whatever other options you can spare to the fight. (Space focused operation, will only use space assets and will likely leave little to salvage or save. Will kill it quicker but at the cost of losing whatever might be within. Mutually exclusive with Boarding Focus.)
[ ] Boarding Focus: If you do desire to properly board the vessel it may be worthwhile to engage in a pronged offensive with your space assets bombarding the infected sections and your infantry assaulting those few sections that lack any presence of this infection. How exactly your soldiers might fare is rather ambiguous given the unknown nature of this entity but given that it seems focused on purging the hull of the living for some reason it seems clear something of importance is inside. Even if your ground forces cannot fight it well, they might be able to evacuate and save whatever or whomever still lives in the ship's depths. (Space and boarding focused operation, will use space and ground assets and will likely leave much to salvage or save if executed well. Mutually exclusive with Bombardment Focus.)
[ ] Write In:
AN: This was a very, very long chapter. Quite literally the longest I've ever written. Anyhow I'm testing out some ideas for combat that involves a bit more player involvement and narrative interest than just units going pew pew at each other when nearby. Gives an excuse to do a bit shorter chapters as well. I'll probably start breaking up results pages into blocks that get posted separately from here on out tbh, I'm much better at getting content out on time if its in smaller chunks. Has been very busy for me recently and I'm very tired from also running my weekly Pathfinder game tonight so I'm going to probably get back to this like tomorrow and do my edits to the various other pages then.
