- Pronouns
- He/Him
Updated, with some added tags to the projects where I felt they were relevant.
Age of Strife
Updated, with some added tags to the projects where I felt they were relevant.
DarkLight140
Credit to Team
- Location
- Lost in my thoughts
@Academia Nut, I'd appreciate answers to the above. Thanks.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Start with Materials Science I, and that should unlock the project... but there is a faster way that you'll have to figure out on your own. Parts of the tech tree I won't reveal because you wouldn't have any idea of what might be hiding in parts of it.
Wait so if we research it, could we mount the Compact Fusion Reactor or the Compact Power Cells to the mechs? I assume the former can give pretty much unlimited energy for it and the latter is just an order of magnitude better than the batteries already in use?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Not quite an order of magnitude, but you could get a solid 24 hours operation out of a mech with the compact power cells, which puts it solidly into the "can be used offensively without being a logistics nightmare" range, since you wouldn't be as worried about running out of power in the middle of a pursuit.
And yes, with Compact Fusion Reactors the mechs would be range restricted by ammunition and maintenance concerns far more than fuel.
There may be a Mech Militarization project if you finish certain projects.
Omake
Kurt was pretty firmly convinced that people were, institutionally, pretty fucking stupid. Smart people were the worst, because dumb people were at least pretty consistant with their stupid. It was the eggheads that you could count on for the really bad ideas. "You want to what?" He asked the two scientists incredulously.
The middle aged woman with the curly hair mistook his statement somehow. "We want to tap the pile trees for energy. Our current theory is that, once we punch a hole in the bark and insert the rods-"
The woman was insane. And the somewhat balding man behind her with the thick glasses nodding enthusiastically behind her was also insane. "I don't care what you're doing to them, everyone knows that pile trees are death to come within sight of! We're lucky to be as far away from them as we are, and you want me to lead an expedition so you can get closer to one? There's easier ways to commit suicide you know."
Kurt wasn't a terribly ambitious man. He was, however, a man with expensive tastes. The taste of apples after so long on the Lady's Meal of tree sap and rice was a heady one, which his meager pay as one of Lady Stone's jeagers didn't support as well as he'd like. Put bluntly, he was a man with debts, and these cunts were dumb enough to try tapping a pile tree (presumably for the yummy candy that they'd find inside), but smart enough to talk to his creditors first. If he wanted another juicy sweet apple, he was going to need to go along with this madness.
Okay, yes, he was the best woodsman in the outfit, and yes they had authorization from the Grand Captain to requisition what personnel they required, but that just meant that there were more smart idiots out there working to ruin everything. He sighed and stood up. "Fine. What do y'need?"
"Well, this trip would just be to take some readings, soil samples, that sort of thing. Oh, and mapping the best routes to get from there to here and back again, and-"
The things he'd do for some apples.
Kurt was pretty firmly convinced that people were, institutionally, pretty fucking stupid. Smart people were the worst, because dumb people were at least pretty consistant with their stupid. It was the eggheads that you could count on for the really bad ideas. "You want to what?" He asked the two scientists incredulously.
The middle aged woman with the curly hair mistook his statement somehow. "We want to tap the pile trees for energy. Our current theory is that, once we punch a hole in the bark and insert the rods-"
The woman was insane. And the somewhat balding man behind her with the thick glasses nodding enthusiastically behind her was also insane. "I don't care what you're doing to them, everyone knows that pile trees are death to come within sight of! We're lucky to be as far away from them as we are, and you want me to lead an expedition so you can get closer to one? There's easier ways to commit suicide you know."
Kurt wasn't a terribly ambitious man. He was, however, a man with expensive tastes. The taste of apples after so long on the Lady's Meal of tree sap and rice was a heady one, which his meager pay as one of Lady Stone's jeagers didn't support as well as he'd like. Put bluntly, he was a man with debts, and these cunts were dumb enough to try tapping a pile tree (presumably for the yummy candy that they'd find inside), but smart enough to talk to his creditors first. If he wanted another juicy sweet apple, he was going to need to go along with this madness.
Okay, yes, he was the best woodsman in the outfit, and yes they had authorization from the Grand Captain to requisition what personnel they required, but that just meant that there were more smart idiots out there working to ruin everything. He sighed and stood up. "Fine. What do y'need?"
"Well, this trip would just be to take some readings, soil samples, that sort of thing. Oh, and mapping the best routes to get from there to here and back again, and-"
The things he'd do for some apples.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Short, but it's the little things like people being in debt over wanting to eat apples again that really makes things pop and come alive, you know?
Meh, the energy storage requirements are not as high as they first appear when you consider that most of the energy is conserved from swing to swing and air resistance is the largest source of energy loss. Battle maneuvering where you are directly opposing your own energy in aggressive maneuvers without some kind of regenerative system would crank energy use up dramatically, but in terms of cruising you are looking at something like a 2 horsepower engine.
Human terminal velocity is ~55m/s, so maintaining 55m/s would require a constant acceleration of ~10m/s^2, which means about 1kJ per meter traveled for a 100kg human. A 55kW engine is doable, but power requirements scale by the third power with velocity, so reducing the soldier's cruising velocity from 56m/s (200kph) to a more sedate 10m/s (36kph) cuts the necessary engine power to 1.25kW. Add in a regenerative pneumatic brake and short-term storage system capable of adiabatically holding a deceleration or two's worth of energy for a few seconds and you have removed much of the additional battle energy draw and most of the surge necessity.
Control is more of a pain, but not that much of one for a civilization with even vacuum tube level electronics. The operator uses their rough idea of where they need to lay their next line to start waving their launcher towards that target, a simple computer compares the detected range, inclination, and elevations, possibly while giving basic feedback to the pilot of how they can adjust their navigation to get a good firing solution, and then the computer fires the wire when it detects that everything is within ranges which will result in a good swing while adjusting the motor's draw rate to account for the specifics. Everything else is just a level of skill less than what human trapeze artists have shown is possible.
If we use the dynamic fracture toughness of rolled homogenous armor (~1,200MPa) getting a 0.25cm^2 probe to penetrate by 1cm requires about 75J, which is about the energy of a .22 short round. Use a pair of prongs with the drawing force directed to pulling them together as well as outwards and the target's material strength works in your favor to hold them in until you release the clamp and pull them out.
-and, of course, all of the energy and computational issues become easier when the thing swinging around the forest at highway speeds like the goddam Batman is not a soldier, but a five-meter tall fusion-powered mech. Bwahaha.
Or, y'know, helicopters. I have been meaning to write up a very crude Bell 47-style design they could slap together out of scrap capable of carrying a SAW on a turret directed by the AI-assisted pilot using a synthesis of the survey and archive eyepieces allowing for effortless identification and targeting of anything in the area regardless of camouflage or evasive maneuvering given the velocity of the SAW projectiles. Unfortunately, they would be of much less use on this planet than they would be on most.
Hardboiled noir detective drama tracking down reports of zombies haunting Glenshade Manor and the woods around it. The distracted authorities believe that the disappearances are simply ordinary undocumented emigration, but Sam has been paid with the wedding band of a grieving mother to get to the root of her daughter's disappearance during a journalistic investigation, providing him only tearful pleas and a graduation photograph of a very attractive young woman who painfully reminds him of someone he once knew. He ultimately discovered that some of the purification attempts by the original inhabitants resulted in a food whose use over time caused a progression from euphoria and enhanced attentiveness to grandiosity, to sociopathy, to paranoia, to hallucinations and delusions, to sloughing flesh, inability to sleep, photophobia, and compulsive predatory mastication. The criminal gang whose leader was responsible for the death of Sam's fiance during the assassination of her father stumbled upon the old equipment and notes while sneaking through the neglected underbelly of Glenshade, and further refined the results into a drug with delayed effects which has been quietly becoming a common vice throughout the lower classes.
It is a little trite if every omake is about the discovery of something desirable.
You could probably get us the 100RP meat purification/animal domestication tech just from the decision of bored, drunken soldiers to slap saddles on and race giant scarab beetles ultimately producing a popular pastime with significant amounts of money being bet on the outcomes.
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- Location
- Pilipinas
believe it or not, but the noir-thing is what my crime lord idea is!
also both of my new omakes actually are not in favor us. they are actually the local losers in our choices...
This is pure speculation, but what could make our success in infiltrating the Dragonflies secret police a farce is that Maxwell already has agents in place there. To make it even more of a farce they are the same people we turned.
@Academia Nut when is the rubble that is the armoury cold enough to safely start digging through it for weapon lockers that could still be intact?
Another question about the trucks we have. Are they safe to use in the forest? That is are they as armoured as the forestry mechs? If not could we use tree bark to give them some armour? And could our machine shops add a mount(s) for a SAW(s)?
@Academia Nut when is the rubble that is the armoury cold enough to safely start digging through it for weapon lockers that could still be intact?
Another question about the trucks we have. Are they safe to use in the forest? That is are they as armoured as the forestry mechs? If not could we use tree bark to give them some armour? And could our machine shops add a mount(s) for a SAW(s)?
Hm... the only two things I could think of that would be faster than Material Science, but might also lead to body armor, are the Barracks or the Local Meat Purification.
The barracks because it might mean more though put into the equipment of our soldiers, including things like body armor, communication, and so on. Might lead to the development of lower-tier body armor that's useful against chemical slugthrowers, like our enemies and rivals use for their forces.
Local Meat Purification, on the other hand, hints that we might be able to get more benefits than just additional food; given that we're living on a Deathworld, maybe the skins and shells of the local animals could be used in body armor, if properly worked?
- Location
- Pilipinas
here's my third omake... a disgruntled researcher...
hopefully this receives a good reception like The Peddler...
------------
The Turncoat
Subject: Verbal Transcript of Pict Recorded Document
Date: <redacted>
Location: Greengraft Manor
Security Protocol: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
++ Extracted From Tunnel Security Camera B feed to Monitor Station Kappa by Gendarme Officers <redacted> and <redacted> - all other copies EXPUNGED ++
> [RECORDING STARTS]
[Stationary Pict-source] Wide angle view of primary tunnel to Shattersaw Proper. Ground is clean with some flickering lights to the side. Several benches, ornamental plants and trash cans are also present. Some joggers can be seen in the distance. Several maintenance tunnel mouths can be seen and are well-lit. A uniformed gendarme can be seen on patrol.
[Image and sound remains same for 40 seconds]
Sounds of movement. Man [Subject 1] in grey nondescript trench coat and wide brim hat,"furtively" enters the pict-screen's field of vision from a side tunnel. He is sweaty and nervous looking. [Subject 1] looks at both ends of the primary tunnel and wrings his hand. He raises his collars and glances downward when a passing jogger greets him. [is this guy for real?]
[Subject 1] walks over the tunnel and into the area with flickering lights. [Pict-source begins auto-tracking movement of subject due to poor lighting.] [This guy has obviously seen too much spy movies][*hush* shut up Ned!][No, you shut up Larry!] <short scuffle in the background>
*beep* paused...
A second man [Subject 2] emerges from the direction of Shattersaw. He is ordinary looking and wearing some jogger's clothes. [Subject 1] sees the man and waves him to his direction. [Subject 1] raises his head - pict source positively identifies him as 1st Rank Botanical-Chemist Myron "Jet" Mordino*. [verified]
Voice (2): Wow... you really dressed up for the occasion, huh? [Did you notice his accent?][*hush!*]
Voice (1)[MYRON]: What's wrong with it? anyway, I'll agree to the deal... but I want to eat your finest steaks and bang your hottest chicks! no! wait! I want my own harem! and all of them must be so hot, as in smoking hot! and I want them replaced with new ones when I get sick of them or when they get too old and -
Voice (2): *chuckles* Of course! we always pay our debts... but how about on your side of the deal?
Voice (1)[MYRON]: errr... no one's gonna get hurt by this right? we're allies right?
Voice (2): Yes, definitely. This is all just some harmless corporate espionage, no big deal really. Now, can we proceed? [Subject 2 fishes something from his pocket, his hand covering it, I can't identify it][Subject 1 reaches for it and quickly pockets it.]
Voice (1)[MYRON]: Alright. i'll just plug this into one of our secondary workstations in the Research Center, no one will notice it.
Voice (2): And? the other thing?
Voice (1)[MYRON]: Oh yeah! ummm... I'll find one of the power lines and temporary weaken it and ensure that a power surge will occur near the Detention Center.
Voice (2): Very good! we have an accord. We'll send you the extraction details once Phase 1 is complete. [Subject 2 is turning around and... HOLY SHIT! What the hell happened!?] [Yup, his facial features cannot be captured on film, its obscured by The Smiling Man logo! I've heard of this tech but wow... used here? this is some serious spy-stuff!]
Subject 1 [Myron] looks around the tunnel. He sees nothing suspicious and walks over to the tunnel where he emerged.
> [RECORDING ENDS]
*Myron "Jet" Mordino is a brilliant chemist yet he is quite abrasive. He is a loner and tends to have a very large ego. It was reported that when the Star Bombs fell, he mellowed down but it seems like the increasing stability have made him more of a malcontent. Intelligence believes that he has a secret lab hidden somewhere where he is experimenting on local fauna and flora to create recreational drugs. If true, interrogation and a raid may be necessary to capture illegal and unsanctioned research.
+ The two Gendarmes in this recording have been properly 'rewarded' for their diligence+
++Awaiting further orders++
----
Well? what do you guys think?
Myron is of course from my favorite post-apocalyptic game, and the Laughing Man is from the Ghost in the Shell, here:
hopefully this receives a good reception like The Peddler...
------------
The Turncoat
Subject: Verbal Transcript of Pict Recorded Document
Date: <redacted>
Location: Greengraft Manor
Security Protocol: FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
++ Extracted From Tunnel Security Camera B feed to Monitor Station Kappa by Gendarme Officers <redacted> and <redacted> - all other copies EXPUNGED ++
> [RECORDING STARTS]
[Stationary Pict-source] Wide angle view of primary tunnel to Shattersaw Proper. Ground is clean with some flickering lights to the side. Several benches, ornamental plants and trash cans are also present. Some joggers can be seen in the distance. Several maintenance tunnel mouths can be seen and are well-lit. A uniformed gendarme can be seen on patrol.
[Image and sound remains same for 40 seconds]
Sounds of movement. Man [Subject 1] in grey nondescript trench coat and wide brim hat,"furtively" enters the pict-screen's field of vision from a side tunnel. He is sweaty and nervous looking. [Subject 1] looks at both ends of the primary tunnel and wrings his hand. He raises his collars and glances downward when a passing jogger greets him. [is this guy for real?]
[Subject 1] walks over the tunnel and into the area with flickering lights. [Pict-source begins auto-tracking movement of subject due to poor lighting.] [This guy has obviously seen too much spy movies][*hush* shut up Ned!][No, you shut up Larry!] <short scuffle in the background>
*beep* paused...
A second man [Subject 2] emerges from the direction of Shattersaw. He is ordinary looking and wearing some jogger's clothes. [Subject 1] sees the man and waves him to his direction. [Subject 1] raises his head - pict source positively identifies him as 1st Rank Botanical-Chemist Myron "Jet" Mordino*. [verified]
Voice (2): Wow... you really dressed up for the occasion, huh? [Did you notice his accent?][*hush!*]
Voice (1)[MYRON]: What's wrong with it? anyway, I'll agree to the deal... but I want to eat your finest steaks and bang your hottest chicks! no! wait! I want my own harem! and all of them must be so hot, as in smoking hot! and I want them replaced with new ones when I get sick of them or when they get too old and -
Voice (2): *chuckles* Of course! we always pay our debts... but how about on your side of the deal?
Voice (1)[MYRON]: errr... no one's gonna get hurt by this right? we're allies right?
Voice (2): Yes, definitely. This is all just some harmless corporate espionage, no big deal really. Now, can we proceed? [Subject 2 fishes something from his pocket, his hand covering it, I can't identify it][Subject 1 reaches for it and quickly pockets it.]
Voice (1)[MYRON]: Alright. i'll just plug this into one of our secondary workstations in the Research Center, no one will notice it.
Voice (2): And? the other thing?
Voice (1)[MYRON]: Oh yeah! ummm... I'll find one of the power lines and temporary weaken it and ensure that a power surge will occur near the Detention Center.
Voice (2): Very good! we have an accord. We'll send you the extraction details once Phase 1 is complete. [Subject 2 is turning around and... HOLY SHIT! What the hell happened!?] [Yup, his facial features cannot be captured on film, its obscured by The Smiling Man logo! I've heard of this tech but wow... used here? this is some serious spy-stuff!]
Subject 1 [Myron] looks around the tunnel. He sees nothing suspicious and walks over to the tunnel where he emerged.
> [RECORDING ENDS]
*Myron "Jet" Mordino is a brilliant chemist yet he is quite abrasive. He is a loner and tends to have a very large ego. It was reported that when the Star Bombs fell, he mellowed down but it seems like the increasing stability have made him more of a malcontent. Intelligence believes that he has a secret lab hidden somewhere where he is experimenting on local fauna and flora to create recreational drugs. If true, interrogation and a raid may be necessary to capture illegal and unsanctioned research.
+ The two Gendarmes in this recording have been properly 'rewarded' for their diligence+
++Awaiting further orders++
----
Well? what do you guys think?
Myron is of course from my favorite post-apocalyptic game, and the Laughing Man is from the Ghost in the Shell, here:
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Hazardine
Asura of Darkness
- Location
- Somewhere in Florida
Okay from looking at these posts, it would seem that the taming the wildlife, aka using the local flora & fauna tech is probaly one of the easy, for a given term of easy, routes to get armor for both our buildings and our military.
@Academic Nut
Also could the barracks allow us to research certain military technologies at it, or just open up new military tech options.
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Hay what happened to 'Plasma Physics I', I looked on the 'Finished Research' List and It's missing?
Kornet
Quite possibly a sloth abomination
- Location
- Mother Russia
We traded it to 504.
I'm talking about the list on the index that shows all the research that we have finished. Just because we gave the 504 the information does not mean that we don't know how the do it anymore.
Kornet
Quite possibly a sloth abomination
- Location
- Mother Russia
It was a joke.
Aright then, you might want to indicate that in the future. It's a little hard to tell when someone is telling a joke when your not physically in the room with them.
SuperSonicSound
Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal
11.1
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Ask Maxwell for help on this (0.9x)
[X] Start challenging her yourself
For the first time in a long time, you admit that you are at a loss and ask Maxwell for help with how to Anna. He chuckles and assures you that he will take the matter well in hand. You're not entirely certain that is such a great idea, but Max assures you that it will be fine.
As for Mirande, you decide that if she is not going to back down from a challenge then you are going to step up to the plate. Nothing overly aggressive, you just want to demonstrate that there are some challenges she can't win - now - and that she should think more carefully about what she accepts or simply work harder so that one day she will be able to rise to the challenge.
Mirande seems to enjoy stepping up to the challenges you present and quickly became a hard worker, always seeking to excel at what she goes. Anna on the other hand... well, your first response is telling.
"MAX! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" You scream at your husband.
"It wasn't me!" He responds reflexively.
"Then you just left Anna alone, then?" You demand acidly.
"Oh. No, but that also wasn't me either. At least no directly. I tried carefully, emphasis on carefully, explaining to Anna that other people can think just the same as she can and she needs to consider her words with caution every time I caught her lying - which, to be honest is a lot since I'm really good at catching lies - but she seems to have taken that as everyone lies the same as her and is out to get her," Max explained.
"And that's how she became as skittish and - I try not to use the word on a five year old - paranoid as she has been seeming?" You demand.
"Well, it could also be the doctor's report," Max notes.
You sigh at that. The doctor's have finally managed to work out why Anna was so sickly - she had a congenital immune system defect that had left her with a weakened immune system. While she had grown enough that the worst was over, she would be small and weak for the rest of her life without radical treatment. The UHM at the hospital in Glenshade Manor could probably do the corrective surgeries, but you couldn't do that sort of radical alteration to a child and when she was an adult Anna might not be up for the incredibly invasive and recovery intensive procedures that basically involved replacing most of her red marrow and muscles with gene tweaked cloned tissue. It was not a pleasant prospect to have to go through, and while Anna hadn't heard that, you do suppose that could feed into a persecution complex. You had told her that she was going to get stronger one day, only for it to turn out that she wouldn't.
There is of course a curled up knot of suspicion and guilt. Did you run into the armoury all those years ago have something to do with Anna's poor health, some radiation damage only manifesting in her? Or something else you did?
You stomp it down and instead ask, "Wait... what was the thing that you were denying?"
"I can definitively say that I have not been sleeping with Karen, although I do think she is trying to find a date and thus exhibit behaviour that might be construed of as being suspicious," Max says proudly.
You punch his shoulder and then shake your head.
Turn 10 Results
Despite almost best efforts, you also are not yet pregnant again. Maybe when you get the hospital up and running that will make things easier.
On the economic front, things are going well, although despite the fact that the Free Volunteers demand for food increases the value of the resource considerably, the opening of the hospital and the expense paid on the memorial has considerably drained your treasury. Fortunately you encounter no new economic wrinkles.
Government Income: 1367
Treasury: 3660
Income Paid: 50
Armin also gets back to you on the operations for the year. On the "good" side, he intercepted a trader trying to get away with a datapad containing technical information among barrels of sap sugar. The trader was found to have contacts among the Dragonflies.
The bad news is though that infiltrating the Dragonflies secret police is turning out to be tricky since only the nobility can hold a position like that. The Baron is apparently consolidating some of the property ownership but compensating by introducing salaried positions among the lesser nobility, one of the biggest ones being the management of their Secret Police. Getting a mole into anywhere of importance is going to be trickier than anticipated.
On the research front, things are going well-ish. A peddler came in recently from out... well, if he was to be believed, ultimately the capital and among the artifacts he had with him was a data storage system that radically accelerated your knowledge of miniaturization. By all accounts research into the SAWs has gone about exactly within the middle of the projected timelines, while the research into the archival tool stalled for a time before a labourer who had been a personal electronics app designer before the War - a thoroughly useless job now - had stepped forward and lent his expertise to, greatly accelerating the project although not quite completing it. Your own work on barracks design had come to such a successful completion that you had also spent some time on doodling out more specialized versions of the idea.
Oh, and a pair of idiots had tried to launch an expedition to the pile tree grove nearby (as in within a hundred kilometres, downwind thankfully) and rope one of your jaegers into it before Sammael smacked them upside the head. Their initial research was valuable, but it really wasn't worth getting an expedition killed over since they didn't have funding for the amount of PPE they would need.
Other than that, things had been mostly quiet, most people just preparing for the ten year anniversary memorial.
A few weeks later your find yourself in Shattersaw attending the ten year memorial commemoration. Your contribution to the sombre occasion was an art installation made from shattered pieces of building armour, useless for anything other than rubble, that you used to bear the names of everyone that could be remembered by the living who disappeared in the apocalypse. It had taken up an enormous amount of UAM time to laser and plasma scribe in the super tough material in tiny lettering, but by the estimate of your scientists the names should remain readable for a minimum of ten thousand years, assuming they aren't deliberately destroyed by someone with a plasma cutter and waaaaaaaay too much time on their hands.
The Dragonflies had contributed a very interesting bronze sculpture of... well, you're not entirely sure since it seems to be a blend of a person in mourning, a person defiant, and a mushroom cloud... maybe. It is certainly thought provoking at the very least. Certainly not something you could ignore. Hard to figure out whether it really works or not though. You will admit that they certainly put thought and effort into their work.
The 504s erected in their part of the abandoned building that had been designated the memorial centre a series of black monoliths arranged in a series of concentric circles. There are no words, but the artificial rock has been polished mirror smooth, such that where the light is just right you can see yourself in the stone. It's even more abstract than the Dragonflies, but also significantly more sombre and contemplative. Only at the centre of the formation is anything written, carved into a stone set into the floor: Remember.
All told it is very... not what you would have expected. You suppose it is also a reflection of the nascent cultures. The Greengrafters want to remember the people, the Dragonflies are exulting a singular and yet plural abstract person - similar to the idea of an institutional nobility/monarchy - in their remembrance, and the 504s are at once removing all individual context while also leaving it up to the individual to create their own context.
You do however note that President Stearns is not present. Despite the antipathy for two of the factions for each other, you had all agreed that this was important and that you would set aside your problems with each other on this day. You can see Baron Aetos wondering if the 504s are going to pull something with their president not in attendance. You doubt it since the guards on this place are impressive, including one of your active SAWs and Knight Darren Yaros, freshly complete from his retraining from Janissary to Mech Pilot.
For all their bastardry, you had to admit that the Dragonflies knew how to work the most ambitious among them to their own advantage
Plus there are several important figures from the 504s, although you do note that they seem nervous. What could...?
And then Michael appears and a gasp goes up throughout the crowd. Leaning heavily on a cane, he limps his way into the memorial, much of his body covered in bandages or burns. His face is a twisted ruin, one eye bandaged shut and drool leaking out of one side of his mouth from where he couldn't close it properly. He has a large folder tucked under the armpit not supporting the crutch, and once he walks up to where you and Baron Aetos are examining the gallery of individual projects submitted to the memorial, he drops it at your feet with a hand missing two fingers.
"What... what is this?" Baron Aetos demands, looking down at the folder and at the ruin of a man standing before.
"Oh, you should know," Michael slurs.
Realizing that the folder is actually two, both identical other than one being tucked inside the other, you pick one up while the Baron's aides go over to pick up the other one. Your eyes arch up as you read over the assassination attempt involving a datapad that was supposed to contain technical information loaded with explosives delivered to President Stearns for review as part of your tech trade. You open your mouth to say something but Stearns waves dismissively at you, telling you to keep reading.
Okay... so the datapad was delivered properly and inspected by his customs people and then was to be sent to him to unlock it... only it got lost for a day or two in the paperwork... and then almost got thrown out when it ended up in a waste bin before it was recovered as something you obviously don't want to dispose of... and then... wow, this datapad went on a ridiculously convoluted path before reaching Michael's office and exploding in his hand. It was then identified that an internal dissident faction had intercepted the datapad and loaded it up with explosives - not enough clearly - and it had then been discovered that they were being aided and abetted by a member of the 504s internal security... who was in turn discovered to be a Dragonflies mole.
This... this was a declaration of war, by the Dragonflies on the 504s, if true. You don't get to attempt to assassinate a head of state and then try to call in defensive allies when the aggrieved party came after you. Well, okay, they could, but you were under no obligation to answer their call for help.
"In memory of those who died when the starbombs fell, I am holding back my wrath until the end of the day. After that I will answer this as it demands to be answered," President Stearns states coldly. He then peers at some of the art on display and notes happily to himself, "Oh, that's lovely."
Baron Aetos spluttered for a second before his face went puce and he stormed off.
Well, fuck.
Diplomacy
It looks like the Dragonflies and 504s are going to war over the attempted assassination of President Stearns by a Dragonflies agent. Since a device you gave the 504s was used in the attempt, it could also be construed as an attempt to pin the blame on you. While technically the 504s are declaring war on the Dragonflies and the marriage treaty calls for you mutual defence against aggressors, no one is going to read the 504s as the aggressors, although the Dragonflies will still be upset if you don't help, and will be supremely angry if you lend any sort of aid to the 504s.
Select up to 2 actions
[] Attempt to improve relations with the Free Volunteers
[] Attempt to broker a peace agreement between the Dragonflies and the 504s (2 actions)
[] Support the Dragonflies (incompatible with Support the 504s)
[] Support the 504s (incompatible with Support the Dragonflies)
Military
Well, you have been readying for this eventuality, although perhaps not quite like this. Although if you choose to sit this one out you might be able to just pick up the pieces after.
Select up to 3 options
[] Train Soldiers - Selecting the better candidates from the militia, train them up to your standards, creating a squad (10) of Soldiers (Light Jaegers). REPEATABLE (Repeats are individual votes, label as x2 or x3) Cost: 250C per action (need to buy guns now)
[] Train Militia II - You can drill your less experienced militia up to proper standards
[] Subjugate Raiders II - The worst surprises are probably over and it is unlikely anyone will stir up shit while you are away, and your logistics just got a lot easier. No assistance from the other factions this turn
[] Proving Grounds Design - While designing the barracks you remembered the more specialized buildings for testing out military hardware and tactics, especially experimental hardware and tactics, from your military history lessons. Perhaps something like that would be useful?
[] Military Academy Design - Barracks can train up soldiers, but you are going to need officers soon enough. A military academy is a far more specialized centre, but it could have major advantages
[] Shattersaw War (2 actions) - If you declare support for a side in this war you will send out military support
Economic
With the hospital built, you now have some options open. The citizens are currently privately building a Chemical Refinery and a Temple in Greengraft, but with your new industrial knowledge you have a lot you could build.
Select 1 option
[] Install solar plant in Shattersaw. Cost: 300C
[] Construct sawmill - With the gear you have, you could set up a relatively small scale sawmill, although it would stretch your energy supplies thin, even augmenting with the hospital's back up fusion reactor, but you could start cutting down trees and turning raw materials into refined ones. WARNING: Will be housed in locally sourced material building and can suffer attrition Cost: 200C/turn*2 turns
[] Construct new building - You can copy an existing building now (please specify). Time required: 2 years WARNING: Will be housed in locally sourced material building and can suffer attrition
[] Build new Backup Fusion Reactor - It will take quite a lot of your industrial output, but you can build a new Backup Fusion Reactor to provide more power here or in Glenshade Manor or even in Shattersaw. Cost: 750C, 3 turns
[] Build a Forestry Mech - These are complex machines requiring a lot of parts, so building one from scratch is not easy. Cost: 600C
Security
With a spy network fully in place, there are now more options for interacting with your neighbours, although some of them aren't exactly friendly options.
Pick up to 2 options
[] Infiltrate the Dragonflies Secret Police - The Dragonflies have a sophisticated internal security network for keeping their own people in line, it might be a good idea to try to get your own operatives inside if you want to perform further operations with them
[] Dig into the 504s - The 504s have secrets, you just need to get at them
[] Destabilize the Dragonflies - You have agents in place, you know they have problems, and you have evidence of how screwed up nobility can be. Also, they have a lot of new 'citizens' who aren't exactly the nicest of people
[] Destabilize the 504s - You're not quite sure how, but you might try to rock their boat
[] Investigate Dragonflies technology
- [] Specifically target Cloning Tank Design
[] Investigate 504s technology
[] Counter-intelligence - Considering what you did last year, it may be a good idea to actively defend against anyone trying the same on you
Research
All locked in for now
Personal
You have received a request from Maxwell to try to have more kids to expand the dynasty out a bit, which you suppose he has a point there, although there would be the issue of having to stick around your territory through much of the year, prohibiting major expeditions lead by you.
Select up to 2 options
[] Make a pilgrimage to the Restful Sepulchre
[] Work on Stewardship - Chance of increasing your base Stewardship score
[] Spend time with your daughters
[] Spend time with one of your councillors
- [] Specify which
[] Try to have more kids. REPEATABLE. Each time selected gives another chance to get pregnant and gives a +10% odds (1 choice gives two chances at +10% each, 2 choice gives three chances at +20% each) WARNING: Cannot go on expeditions if this choice is selected
Also, with your daughters now five and turning six soon enough, you are going to have to figure out how to proceed with their formal education soon enough.
AN: The dice sure do hate Anna
[X] Start challenging her yourself
For the first time in a long time, you admit that you are at a loss and ask Maxwell for help with how to Anna. He chuckles and assures you that he will take the matter well in hand. You're not entirely certain that is such a great idea, but Max assures you that it will be fine.
As for Mirande, you decide that if she is not going to back down from a challenge then you are going to step up to the plate. Nothing overly aggressive, you just want to demonstrate that there are some challenges she can't win - now - and that she should think more carefully about what she accepts or simply work harder so that one day she will be able to rise to the challenge.
Rolled 1
Gained Paranoid trait
Gained Paranoid trait
Rolled 83
Gained Diligent Trait
Gained Diligent Trait
Mirande seems to enjoy stepping up to the challenges you present and quickly became a hard worker, always seeking to excel at what she goes. Anna on the other hand... well, your first response is telling.
"MAX! WHAT DID YOU DO!?" You scream at your husband.
"It wasn't me!" He responds reflexively.
"Then you just left Anna alone, then?" You demand acidly.
"Oh. No, but that also wasn't me either. At least no directly. I tried carefully, emphasis on carefully, explaining to Anna that other people can think just the same as she can and she needs to consider her words with caution every time I caught her lying - which, to be honest is a lot since I'm really good at catching lies - but she seems to have taken that as everyone lies the same as her and is out to get her," Max explained.
"And that's how she became as skittish and - I try not to use the word on a five year old - paranoid as she has been seeming?" You demand.
"Well, it could also be the doctor's report," Max notes.
You sigh at that. The doctor's have finally managed to work out why Anna was so sickly - she had a congenital immune system defect that had left her with a weakened immune system. While she had grown enough that the worst was over, she would be small and weak for the rest of her life without radical treatment. The UHM at the hospital in Glenshade Manor could probably do the corrective surgeries, but you couldn't do that sort of radical alteration to a child and when she was an adult Anna might not be up for the incredibly invasive and recovery intensive procedures that basically involved replacing most of her red marrow and muscles with gene tweaked cloned tissue. It was not a pleasant prospect to have to go through, and while Anna hadn't heard that, you do suppose that could feed into a persecution complex. You had told her that she was going to get stronger one day, only for it to turn out that she wouldn't.
Rolled 9
Lost Sickly, gained Weak
Lost Sickly, gained Weak
There is of course a curled up knot of suspicion and guilt. Did you run into the armoury all those years ago have something to do with Anna's poor health, some radiation damage only manifesting in her? Or something else you did?
You stomp it down and instead ask, "Wait... what was the thing that you were denying?"
"I can definitively say that I have not been sleeping with Karen, although I do think she is trying to find a date and thus exhibit behaviour that might be construed of as being suspicious," Max says proudly.
You punch his shoulder and then shake your head.
Turn 10 Results
Despite almost best efforts, you also are not yet pregnant again. Maybe when you get the hospital up and running that will make things easier.
Rolled 60 + 10 = 70
Rolled 50 + 10 = 60
Not pregnant
Rolled 50 + 10 = 60
Not pregnant
On the economic front, things are going well, although despite the fact that the Free Volunteers demand for food increases the value of the resource considerably, the opening of the hospital and the expense paid on the memorial has considerably drained your treasury. Fortunately you encounter no new economic wrinkles.
Government Income: 1367
Treasury: 3660
Income Paid: 50
Rolled 54
Stable
Stable
Armin also gets back to you on the operations for the year. On the "good" side, he intercepted a trader trying to get away with a datapad containing technical information among barrels of sap sugar. The trader was found to have contacts among the Dragonflies.
Rolled 81
Rolled 64 + 40 = 104
vs.
Rolled 90 + 36 = 126
Dragonfly agent identified among traders
Rolled 64 + 40 = 104
vs.
Rolled 90 + 36 = 126
Dragonfly agent identified among traders
The bad news is though that infiltrating the Dragonflies secret police is turning out to be tricky since only the nobility can hold a position like that. The Baron is apparently consolidating some of the property ownership but compensating by introducing salaried positions among the lesser nobility, one of the biggest ones being the management of their Secret Police. Getting a mole into anywhere of importance is going to be trickier than anticipated.
Rolled 41 + 40 + 20 Secret Police = 101
vs.
Rolled 38 + 36 = 74
Failure, but uncaught
vs.
Rolled 38 + 36 = 74
Failure, but uncaught
On the research front, things are going well-ish. A peddler came in recently from out... well, if he was to be believed, ultimately the capital and among the artifacts he had with him was a data storage system that radically accelerated your knowledge of miniaturization. By all accounts research into the SAWs has gone about exactly within the middle of the projected timelines, while the research into the archival tool stalled for a time before a labourer who had been a personal electronics app designer before the War - a thoroughly useless job now - had stepped forward and lent his expertise to, greatly accelerating the project although not quite completing it. Your own work on barracks design had come to such a successful completion that you had also spent some time on doodling out more specialized versions of the idea.
Oh, and a pair of idiots had tried to launch an expedition to the pile tree grove nearby (as in within a hundred kilometres, downwind thankfully) and rope one of your jaegers into it before Sammael smacked them upside the head. Their initial research was valuable, but it really wasn't worth getting an expedition killed over since they didn't have funding for the amount of PPE they would need.
EM Squad Automatic Weapon Design
Rolled 50 + 60 + Rolled 16 + 10% = 139/300
Archival Tool Design
Rolled 35 + 40 = 75/150
Random Roll
2d30 - 5, 25
Archival Tool Design
75 + Rolled 62 = 137/150
Miniaturization II
Rolled 88 = 88/1100
Barracks Design
68 + Rolled 93 + 46 = 207/100
Overrun bonus!
Proving Grounds +7
Military Academy +7
Omake bonus
Pile tree cultivation
Rolled 12 = 12/650
Rolled 50 + 60 + Rolled 16 + 10% = 139/300
Archival Tool Design
Rolled 35 + 40 = 75/150
Random Roll
2d30 - 5, 25
Archival Tool Design
75 + Rolled 62 = 137/150
Miniaturization II
Rolled 88 = 88/1100
Barracks Design
68 + Rolled 93 + 46 = 207/100
Overrun bonus!
Proving Grounds +7
Military Academy +7
Omake bonus
Pile tree cultivation
Rolled 12 = 12/650
Other than that, things had been mostly quiet, most people just preparing for the ten year anniversary memorial.
Rolled 47
Nothing interesting
Rolled 55
Nothing interesting
3
Nothing interesting
Rolled 55
Nothing interesting
3
Occupied/Total
Prisoners: 205/205
Labourers: 1045/2222 (Militia: 1089/1089, 691 Hardened Gendarmes) (Non-assigned are gathering sap)
Artisans: 150/241 (Non-assigned are gathering sap)
Academics: 110/141
Soldiers: 30/100 (Supplies: 100) (Jaegers 40, Light Jaegers 60)
Prisoners: 205/205
Labourers: 1045/2222 (Militia: 1089/1089, 691 Hardened Gendarmes) (Non-assigned are gathering sap)
Artisans: 150/241 (Non-assigned are gathering sap)
Academics: 110/141
Soldiers: 30/100 (Supplies: 100) (Jaegers 40, Light Jaegers 60)
Occupied/Total
Labourers: 750/885 (Militia: 200/200; 50 Militia, 150 Hardened Gendarmes)
Artisans: 150/160
Academics: 70/72
Soldiers: 10 (Supplies: 10) (10 Light Jaegers)
Labourers: 750/885 (Militia: 200/200; 50 Militia, 150 Hardened Gendarmes)
Artisans: 150/160
Academics: 70/72
Soldiers: 10 (Supplies: 10) (10 Light Jaegers)
A few weeks later your find yourself in Shattersaw attending the ten year memorial commemoration. Your contribution to the sombre occasion was an art installation made from shattered pieces of building armour, useless for anything other than rubble, that you used to bear the names of everyone that could be remembered by the living who disappeared in the apocalypse. It had taken up an enormous amount of UAM time to laser and plasma scribe in the super tough material in tiny lettering, but by the estimate of your scientists the names should remain readable for a minimum of ten thousand years, assuming they aren't deliberately destroyed by someone with a plasma cutter and waaaaaaaay too much time on their hands.
The Dragonflies had contributed a very interesting bronze sculpture of... well, you're not entirely sure since it seems to be a blend of a person in mourning, a person defiant, and a mushroom cloud... maybe. It is certainly thought provoking at the very least. Certainly not something you could ignore. Hard to figure out whether it really works or not though. You will admit that they certainly put thought and effort into their work.
The 504s erected in their part of the abandoned building that had been designated the memorial centre a series of black monoliths arranged in a series of concentric circles. There are no words, but the artificial rock has been polished mirror smooth, such that where the light is just right you can see yourself in the stone. It's even more abstract than the Dragonflies, but also significantly more sombre and contemplative. Only at the centre of the formation is anything written, carved into a stone set into the floor: Remember.
All told it is very... not what you would have expected. You suppose it is also a reflection of the nascent cultures. The Greengrafters want to remember the people, the Dragonflies are exulting a singular and yet plural abstract person - similar to the idea of an institutional nobility/monarchy - in their remembrance, and the 504s are at once removing all individual context while also leaving it up to the individual to create their own context.
You do however note that President Stearns is not present. Despite the antipathy for two of the factions for each other, you had all agreed that this was important and that you would set aside your problems with each other on this day. You can see Baron Aetos wondering if the 504s are going to pull something with their president not in attendance. You doubt it since the guards on this place are impressive, including one of your active SAWs and Knight Darren Yaros, freshly complete from his retraining from Janissary to Mech Pilot.
For all their bastardry, you had to admit that the Dragonflies knew how to work the most ambitious among them to their own advantage
Plus there are several important figures from the 504s, although you do note that they seem nervous. What could...?
And then Michael appears and a gasp goes up throughout the crowd. Leaning heavily on a cane, he limps his way into the memorial, much of his body covered in bandages or burns. His face is a twisted ruin, one eye bandaged shut and drool leaking out of one side of his mouth from where he couldn't close it properly. He has a large folder tucked under the armpit not supporting the crutch, and once he walks up to where you and Baron Aetos are examining the gallery of individual projects submitted to the memorial, he drops it at your feet with a hand missing two fingers.
"What... what is this?" Baron Aetos demands, looking down at the folder and at the ruin of a man standing before.
"Oh, you should know," Michael slurs.
Realizing that the folder is actually two, both identical other than one being tucked inside the other, you pick one up while the Baron's aides go over to pick up the other one. Your eyes arch up as you read over the assassination attempt involving a datapad that was supposed to contain technical information loaded with explosives delivered to President Stearns for review as part of your tech trade. You open your mouth to say something but Stearns waves dismissively at you, telling you to keep reading.
Okay... so the datapad was delivered properly and inspected by his customs people and then was to be sent to him to unlock it... only it got lost for a day or two in the paperwork... and then almost got thrown out when it ended up in a waste bin before it was recovered as something you obviously don't want to dispose of... and then... wow, this datapad went on a ridiculously convoluted path before reaching Michael's office and exploding in his hand. It was then identified that an internal dissident faction had intercepted the datapad and loaded it up with explosives - not enough clearly - and it had then been discovered that they were being aided and abetted by a member of the 504s internal security... who was in turn discovered to be a Dragonflies mole.
This... this was a declaration of war, by the Dragonflies on the 504s, if true. You don't get to attempt to assassinate a head of state and then try to call in defensive allies when the aggrieved party came after you. Well, okay, they could, but you were under no obligation to answer their call for help.
"In memory of those who died when the starbombs fell, I am holding back my wrath until the end of the day. After that I will answer this as it demands to be answered," President Stearns states coldly. He then peers at some of the art on display and notes happily to himself, "Oh, that's lovely."
Baron Aetos spluttered for a second before his face went puce and he stormed off.
Well, fuck.
Diplomacy
It looks like the Dragonflies and 504s are going to war over the attempted assassination of President Stearns by a Dragonflies agent. Since a device you gave the 504s was used in the attempt, it could also be construed as an attempt to pin the blame on you. While technically the 504s are declaring war on the Dragonflies and the marriage treaty calls for you mutual defence against aggressors, no one is going to read the 504s as the aggressors, although the Dragonflies will still be upset if you don't help, and will be supremely angry if you lend any sort of aid to the 504s.
Select up to 2 actions
[] Attempt to improve relations with the Free Volunteers
[] Attempt to broker a peace agreement between the Dragonflies and the 504s (2 actions)
[] Support the Dragonflies (incompatible with Support the 504s)
[] Support the 504s (incompatible with Support the Dragonflies)
Military
Well, you have been readying for this eventuality, although perhaps not quite like this. Although if you choose to sit this one out you might be able to just pick up the pieces after.
Select up to 3 options
[] Train Soldiers - Selecting the better candidates from the militia, train them up to your standards, creating a squad (10) of Soldiers (Light Jaegers). REPEATABLE (Repeats are individual votes, label as x2 or x3) Cost: 250C per action (need to buy guns now)
[] Train Militia II - You can drill your less experienced militia up to proper standards
[] Subjugate Raiders II - The worst surprises are probably over and it is unlikely anyone will stir up shit while you are away, and your logistics just got a lot easier. No assistance from the other factions this turn
[] Proving Grounds Design - While designing the barracks you remembered the more specialized buildings for testing out military hardware and tactics, especially experimental hardware and tactics, from your military history lessons. Perhaps something like that would be useful?
[] Military Academy Design - Barracks can train up soldiers, but you are going to need officers soon enough. A military academy is a far more specialized centre, but it could have major advantages
[] Shattersaw War (2 actions) - If you declare support for a side in this war you will send out military support
Economic
With the hospital built, you now have some options open. The citizens are currently privately building a Chemical Refinery and a Temple in Greengraft, but with your new industrial knowledge you have a lot you could build.
Select 1 option
[] Install solar plant in Shattersaw. Cost: 300C
[] Construct sawmill - With the gear you have, you could set up a relatively small scale sawmill, although it would stretch your energy supplies thin, even augmenting with the hospital's back up fusion reactor, but you could start cutting down trees and turning raw materials into refined ones. WARNING: Will be housed in locally sourced material building and can suffer attrition Cost: 200C/turn*2 turns
[] Construct new building - You can copy an existing building now (please specify). Time required: 2 years WARNING: Will be housed in locally sourced material building and can suffer attrition
[] Build new Backup Fusion Reactor - It will take quite a lot of your industrial output, but you can build a new Backup Fusion Reactor to provide more power here or in Glenshade Manor or even in Shattersaw. Cost: 750C, 3 turns
[] Build a Forestry Mech - These are complex machines requiring a lot of parts, so building one from scratch is not easy. Cost: 600C
Security
With a spy network fully in place, there are now more options for interacting with your neighbours, although some of them aren't exactly friendly options.
Pick up to 2 options
[] Infiltrate the Dragonflies Secret Police - The Dragonflies have a sophisticated internal security network for keeping their own people in line, it might be a good idea to try to get your own operatives inside if you want to perform further operations with them
[] Dig into the 504s - The 504s have secrets, you just need to get at them
[] Destabilize the Dragonflies - You have agents in place, you know they have problems, and you have evidence of how screwed up nobility can be. Also, they have a lot of new 'citizens' who aren't exactly the nicest of people
[] Destabilize the 504s - You're not quite sure how, but you might try to rock their boat
[] Investigate Dragonflies technology
- [] Specifically target Cloning Tank Design
[] Investigate 504s technology
[] Counter-intelligence - Considering what you did last year, it may be a good idea to actively defend against anyone trying the same on you
Research
All locked in for now
Personal
You have received a request from Maxwell to try to have more kids to expand the dynasty out a bit, which you suppose he has a point there, although there would be the issue of having to stick around your territory through much of the year, prohibiting major expeditions lead by you.
Select up to 2 options
[] Make a pilgrimage to the Restful Sepulchre
[] Work on Stewardship - Chance of increasing your base Stewardship score
[] Spend time with your daughters
[] Spend time with one of your councillors
- [] Specify which
[] Try to have more kids. REPEATABLE. Each time selected gives another chance to get pregnant and gives a +10% odds (1 choice gives two chances at +10% each, 2 choice gives three chances at +20% each) WARNING: Cannot go on expeditions if this choice is selected
Also, with your daughters now five and turning six soon enough, you are going to have to figure out how to proceed with their formal education soon enough.
AN: The dice sure do hate Anna
Last edited:
Dream Logic
An offseason swallow
- Location
- In transit
Well, shit. That's something.