Vote closed
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Attempting to Subvert the Plan: Dominion Edition
- Thread starter Etranger
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- starcraft plan quest
Turn 7 (Q1 2508): Trait Selection
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Turn 7.5 (Q1 2508): Trait Selection
Despite the general belief among the Dominion's elites that you'd be a placeholder Chancellor, inoffensive at best and incompetent at worst, you've exceeded everyone's expectations, including your own. Part of this success has been due to the accumulation of talented personnel, but another part is owed entirely to your own ability to stretch your mental muscles. You were born a poor boy in the Mar Saran hinterlands, and your choices after high school were either the mines or the Marines. Rather than put off the inevitable, you dropped out when you turned 18 and enlisted. You wouldn't see your home again for decades.
But now, you're one of the five most powerful people in Terran Space, surrounded by experts and geniuses, and some innate spark of intellectual curiosity inside of you has been stoked into, if not a raging bonfire, at least a cheery little campfire. You've overcome your educational deficits through hard work, study, and more than a little osmosis.
The only question is: what now?
[] [SCHOOL] Finish high school
Sure, you're a few decades late, but why not? A few study sessions to fill in the last remaining gaps in your general education, and you'll be ready to test for your high school diploma, or at least its equivalent. Nobody'll be able to call you a dropout anymore, that's for sure.
(Gain trait Good Enough: Once per turn, take the lowest non-1 die result and set it to 50)
[] [SCHOOL] Work toward technical certification
The Ministry of the Treasury doesn't actually deal with a lot of high finance; most of its projects are based around engineering or are scientific in nature. By pursuing a limited curriculum of advanced study, you can bolster your knowledge in areas that you and your advisors are currently lacking. And afterwards, you'll be an engineer. Very exciting stuff.
(Gain trait Technical Skills: +5 bonus to Environmental, Services, and Research dice) (+5 Paranoia)
[] [SCHOOL] Go to college
To hell with it. You know you're smarter than most teenagers, and they do just fine in college. Doing correspondence and online work will allow you to pursue an undergrad diploma in your limited free time. That'll show everyone.
(Gain trait College Boy: +1 to all project dice; 25% chance each turn of increasing this bonus by +1, to a maximum of +5; potential future trait growth) (+10 Paranoia)
While you're mulling over your educational future, you receive a secure vidmail from Joseph Taylor, your personal attorney. He has an interesting offer for you.
"Your Excellency, I hope this message finds you well. I will be brief: I believe that this relocation period between Vardona and Korhal offers a unique opportunity, both for yourself and for my firm. While our intention has always been to relocate to the throneworld when the government transitions there, some of my staff are quite attached to Vardona and its local charms, as I'm sure are your own. It is my considered belief that this planet has a lot to offer.
Therefore, my proposal: Rather than engage in a full transfer, perhaps it would be possible for your office and mine to retain a presence on Vardona? It could be... how about 'the financial capital?' Such a designation is all but official, in any case. However, if we were to pursue this plan, it would require a substantial investment. Do let me know your thoughts."
Well. What do you say to that?
[] [CAPITAL] Retain your base of power on Vardona
(Center of Power provides a +5 bonus to Vardona and Korhal project dice, more Vardona projects, -40F) (+5 Suspicion) (+10 Paranoia)
[] [CAPITAL] Move everything to Korhal
(Center of Power provides a +10 bonus to all Korhal dice, more Korhal projects)
12-hour moratorium. No need for plan format, just pick as many options as you'd like to support.
Last edited:
Vote closed
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Turn 7 (Q1 2508) Results
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Turn 7 (Q1 2508) Results
Resources (R): 605 initial - 405 expended = 200 remaining
Funds (F): 70 initial - 20 expended = 50 remaining
Paranoia: 30 initial + 15 gained - 25 lost = 20 remaining
Suspicion: 10
Infrastructure
Korhal: Capital City Augustgrad (Phase 2) [MANDATORY]
With the base of the Imperial Palace and most of the central Imperial District complete, your crews can begin expanding outward and upward. In addition to finishing the Palace's upper floors, they'll start building the second ring of inner districts, which are slated to include most of the necessary government offices, various supporting enterprises and service establishments, and a variety of cultural sites, including the vast and baroque Korhal Planetary Opera House.
(Progress 451/400, -5R per die) [87, 18, 22, 62]
[-10 Paranoia] [51 Progress toward next phase]
"In recognition of their heroic efforts, the 14th Labor Brigade is hereby awarded a two-week furlough at the Elysian Resort and Casino on Tyrador IX. Estimated time until the necessary non-essential transport craft become available: Twenty-nine months, seven days."
- A slightly underwhelming reward for completing the Treasury Building ahead of schedule
While the extra resources that Mengsk frees up are very helpful in getting the job done quickly, you notice that the major factor at work seems to be your own personal presence. It's not like you're yelling at people or threatening their jobs, either; they seem genuinely quite moved. Part of that is probably due to how you take Mengsk up on his metaphor and actually live out of a field tent during Phase 2 operations, even after the Treasury Building proper is complete.
The new Dominion Treasury Citadel is a lesser structure to the Imperial Palace in every way, but formidable in its own right. Instead of a traditional pyramid, the Citadel is an elongated model, a flanged, spike-shaped four-sided tower reaching a hundred stories into the sky. The base is covered in traditional 'banking' architecture, with white-veined black marble columns and an austere facade, but rising out from the temple of commerce is a thoroughly modern structure of dark neosteel and unbreakable glassine polymer. Several smaller outbuildings and some rather nice park space make up the rest of the Citadel grounds, which are in turn surrounded by high security walls and checkpoints with armed TRUSTroopers at every entrance.
The Palace structure is likewise complete, but you have yet to actually see inside it. The Imperial Guard and Dominion Security descended on the place the minute your DLS crews cleared out, and swarmed all over the place like they were decontaminating it from some communicable disease (hardly anybody on the work crews gets dysentery anymore, sheesh). Mengsk has taken up residence within, apparently, but it'll be some time yet before the official unveiling.
By the end of the quarter, enough of the Treasury District has been completed, including the rather palatial Chancellor's Mansion, that you can officially order the Ministry's numerous dependents and support staff onto the next set of Korhal-bound transports. Carla, bless her, is on the first one out.
Brontes: Orbital Cleanup (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
Brontes orbit has been cleared of the largest and most potentially dangerous debris (as well as any Zerg bio-signature large enough to be a hatchery), but the approach vectors are still full of small and medium-size debris that need to be removed before transit can be considered truly safe. The next phase of the effort involves both removing the mid-size pieces and neutralizing major danger zones, including the poetically-dubbed "River of Daggers."
(Provides one-time Resource gain upon completion)
(Progress 203/300, -5R per die) [44, 38] [+15 Omake bonus]
[Autocompletes in Q2 2508] [3 Progress toward next phase]
"A Novel Solution to the Problem of Highly Mobile Orbital Debris and Other Space-Borne Detritus"
- The second-choice title of the journal article a group of your engineers co-write; the first, Damming the River of Daggers, is rejected for being "insufficiently professional"
The problems with space debris are twofold: There's lots of it, and it never stops moving. This is especially true of the storm of razor-edged Wraith debris that periodically orbits Brontes, named the River of Daggers for its tendency to rip anything in its path apart. Several attempts to manually seize the larger 'daggers' each end in various degrees of calamity, ranging from multiple fatalities to one highly embarrassing incident involving a perforated drive thruster and a damaged SCV sent into an uncontrollable corkscrew.
Finally, you withdraw the SCVs and set the eggheads on the problem. Their solution: a so-called "gravity trap," little more than a heavily-armored gravity generator mounted with thrusters, electromagnets, and a motion sensor. The thing 'skims' the surface of the River as it passes by, drawing up a bunch of metal shards, then trundles off toward the salvage yard to deposit its cargo. Sure, about one in ten takes on more than it can chew and violently explodes, but they make good progress nonetheless, and without any further casualties.
The only downside to the process is that it's slow, and the work will take at least another quarter before it's done properly.
Heavy Industry
Vardona: Ardonin Heavy Vehicle Factory (Phase 2)
Now that the central factory is up and running, you can begin the process of vertically integrating SCV production. Secondary industrial sites will be established across the valley, each capable of mass-producing a necessary part or component, or of refining raw materials into useful metals and polymers. This will dramatically speed up production time, while minimizing reliance on external freight.
(Progress 373/300, -10R per die) [77, 85, 20, 76, 21, 61]
[-50 Progress for all groundside construction projects] [-100 Progress for all space-based construction projects] [+10 Paranoia] [73 Progress toward next phase]
"Please find enclosed a Standard Construction Vehicle, our factory's best production specimen from the first-ever batch of all-domestic SCVs. My workers have made a number of modifications; aside from the paint job, the exterior is perfectly standard, but inside you'll find a luxury interior, a souped-up reactor engine, extra computer memory, an officer-grade comm system, and full surround-sound audio. 'Only the best for the Boss,' as my DLS boys like to say."
- A note attached to a very large crate that lands on your doorstep one morning
Your new personal ride notwithstanding (gotta set aside some time to learn those controls, if you can ever pry Carla out of it), the first batch of Dominion SCVs made with all domestic parts and labor goes out the door without any fanfare whatsoever. Part of that is due to Mengsk's own preference, focusing the spotlight on the average DLS conscript laborer rather than the trained, volunteer SCV pilots. But the rest is, simply, a growing expectation that the new regime is capable of and willing to commit to things that the Confederates were too cheap, lazy, or corrupt to even contemplate.
The once-barren Ardonin Valley, rich in minerals and poor in wildlife, now teems with industrial activity, as the central assembly lines are fed by smelters, parts fabricators, warehouses, and any number of miscellaneous outbuildings. Minerals from both the Core and Fringe filter into the Valley, are turned into parts and pieces, and are then assembled right then and there. A thoroughly efficient, streamlined process, lacking only the mineral wealth and sheer industrial output necessary to end one more costly dependence on the Kel-Morian Combine.
Nephor II: TerraUnion Tool and Die Works (Phase 2)
The Tool and Die Works is up to its pre-War level of output, but the Labor Corps is a massive and rapidly growing body with an insatiable need for handheld cutters. As such, the TerraUnion Works must be expanded outward substantially, necessitating the demolition of neighboring blocks and facilities, in order to improve overall output and efficiency.
(Progress 294/200, -10R per die) [62, 80, 99]
[-50 Progress for all groundside construction projects] [94 Progress toward next phase]
"Mmm. Smells like... progress."
- Demolition Squad Brigadier 2nd Class Mason Smithson, rehabilitated ex-Firebat
Prior to its repurposing, the Tool and Die Works was a sizable factory, encompassing several city blocks and employing thousands. But for it to meet the demands of a billion-strong labor force, it needs to be much, much bigger. As such, the entire surrounding borough, full of ruined hab-blocks and run-down factories, is razed to the ground. Archibald's Demolition Squad, now a labor division in its own right, descends upon the area like a rain of fire (metaphorically, not like the actual literal rains of chemical fire that occur periodically on Nephor II), taking down multiple derelict buildings a day for a month straight. Plumes of smoke and debris rise up from the borough, blocking out the sky (insofar as there's any sky to see).
When the dust settles and the rubble has been cleared, there's a flat expanse of ground surrounding the Works for several miles in every direction. That's when the construction crews begin undoing all of Demolition Squad's hard work. While the central facility is left to continue production during the building process, its machines and assembly lines are replicated in full a dozen times across the new industrial park, with entire factories dedicated to churning out individual parts or circuits, and vast assembly areas that spit new-built fusion cutters out into capacious warehouses. For now, all that storage space is barely occupied, as the waiting time between completion and delivery to a labor unit in need is minimal, but someday there'll be a surplus of supply awaiting a spike in demand.
In the meantime, another war-blighted area of Nephor II has been restored to productivity, and it now toils for the greater good of the Dominion and of Terran Space as a whole.
Light and Chemical Industry
Tyrador IX: Refugee Workshops (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
While the core factories on Velocis have been completed, many smaller refugee communities remain without viable sources of employment. As such, the next push in factory construction will be a series of dispersed mid-range workshops focused on the literal nuts and bolts of industry: fasteners, small hand tools, and other mass-produced metal items.
(Provides Resource income upon completion)
(Progress 300/400, -5R per die) [100 (nat 100), 28, 15] [+5 Omake bonus]
[-5 Paranoia] [Autocompletes in Q2 2508]
"What the hell do you mean, my micro-presser heads are on back-order? Well, when do you expect the next batch to come out? July?! That's four months from now! Listen to me, you no-good thief, when I tell my boss about thi– hello? Hello?! Dammit."
- Recorded vidcom call between a factory foreman and a Kel-Morian sales representative
While your "Made in the Dominion" PR campaign is paying dividends — most especially with your beloved and wise sovereign, whose grudge against the Morians is legendary — there have been other, less-desirable ripples in the field of, you guessed it, foreign trade. The KMC has noticed the Dominion's efforts to break free of its industrial dependence on the Combine and has begun very quietly retaliating. One area in which you won't be rid of them any time soon is miniaturized and high-precision machine parts; building SCV reactors is one thing, but missile-guidance nanochips are quite another. Unfortunately, they are also aware of this.
What follows are back-ordered products, missed pickups and drop-offs, lost shipments, and any number of other creative ways the Kel-Morians devise to either indefinitely put off or otherwise simply not deliver the goods, most of which are already paid for. This leads to project delays, cost overruns, and a very annoyed Emperor, who expected faster results rather than slower ones.
This last part is definitely a problem, but not at all for you; when you show up to offer an in-person progress report, the audience chamber is full of still-warm, shut-down holo-projectors and stone-faced military officers. Mengsk is all smiles and understanding phrases, even patting you on the shoulder in a fatherly sort of way. Your relief is tempered by a brief glimpse back into the chamber as you depart; the holo-projectors have powered back on, and the planet Moria is prominently displayed on their readouts.
Mar Sara: Endureum Extraction Operations (Phase 1)
What used to be Saramar City is now a flat, almost glassy plain, but beneath the surface lurks an endureum reservoir of monumental proportions. With fine-detail surveying, the full extent of the reservoir can be mapped and quantified. Several distributed wells will be sunk across the reservoir, including one devoted entirely to pressure relief, allowing extraction operations to begin in earnest.
(Unlocks endureum refinement projects)
(Progress 67/400, -5R per die) [8, 57]
"Please be advised that any unprotected contact with raw endureum may result in the following symptoms: rash, blistering, moderate or total loss of tactile sensation, hot flashes, cold flashes, mild seizures, major seizures, brain bleeds, locked-in syndrome, and/or terminal hardening of the epidermis. Caution is therefore encouraged."
- Endureum: Nature's Miracle Substance, a DLS training manual
While the ICMS fellows were quite helpful at pointing out the largest concentration of endureum on Mar Sara, one which had never been found due to its unusual depth and its counterintuitive location directly beneath the primary planetary settlement, their estimate on the size and shape of the thing was, to use a technical term, "iffy." Therefore, a more detailed sonic mapping effort is required.
While endureum is extremely thick and viscous, it is still a room-temperature liquid ("sludge," in your mind) and thus distinguishable from its rocky surroundings. As such, your work crews move in and begin digging shafts down to roughly three-quarters of the distance between the surface and the reservoir, several hundred feet. Once there, they deploy highly sensitive ultrasonic probes, run the connecting cable back up the shaft, and then clear out to a safe distance. Apparently the probes have a tendency to harm any carbon-based life within a certain radius, a phenomenon rather unsettlingly referred to as "shake and bake."
Fortunately, your crews are entirely professional about the whole thing and suffer minimal casualties, emerging from the process with a detailed map of the reservoir. The endureum deposit is enormous, even larger than initial projections, and when combined with the rest of the planet's known reserves will likely meet the Dominion's needs for the next hundred-plus years.
Environmental
Korhal: Regreening Effort (Phase 1)
While Augustgrad is intended to be the center of a vast planet-wide city, the Emperor has been convinced that covering the entire planet in urban sprawl is perhaps not ideal. Instead, swathes of the surface have been set aside for so-called "park districts," where forests and meadows are allowed to exist. The process of regrowing an ecosystem may take decades, even after the radiation scrubbing, but there's no time like the present.
(Progress 111/100, -5R per die) [40, 23]
[+5 Paranoia] [11 Progress toward next phase]
"In commemoration of the Hundred Million Martyrs of Korhal, who perished due to villainy, but whose inspiring legacy will endure forever."
- Inscription on the Wall of the Lost, in the Imperial Garden District
In the end, the thing that sells Mengsk on the park districts is not their natural beauty, nor their offering of essential amenities to the residents of Augustgrad. No, it's the opportunity to hold a grand ribbon-cutting ceremony for the designated Imperial Garden District and its vast black-marble monument to the murdered citizens of Korhal. He never misses a chance to identify himself with that tragedy, or to play on it for political gain.
But while the Garden District might be the preserve of the Dominion's elites, a high-walled and high-security paradise amidst the towers and pavement, the other park districts will serve all without distinction. There, even the most humble resident of Augustgrad will be able to enjoy a piece of natural beauty and a respite from the noise and crush of city life.
Moreover, as decontamination efforts continue across the planet and small signs of life begin to return to its surface, there is a commensurate reduction in radioactive dust storms, opportunistic underground predators, and other hazards. Today, people are moving en masse to Korhal because they're told to. Tomorrow, maybe they'll actually want to live here of their own volition.
Tyrador IX: Establish Farmsteads (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
The initial focus of the Velocis farmstead program has shifted away from small-scale family farms towards larger-scale communal farms based around planned villages, with the intention of improving both efficiency and output. While small farmsteads are still available to those who prefer the frontier lifestyle, this new emphasis on large communes should allow us to absorb more of the refugee population and improve food output at the same time.
(Progress 525/400, -5R per die) [84, 81]
[125 Progress toward next phase]
"I'm tellin' you, that no-good daughter of a dromedary done shot my prize karak! Mister Kicks was gonna breed a whole new line of healthy, plump-legged birds, and now he's dead! Dead! Dead!!!"
- Excerpt of a mediation session between a homesteader and the neighboring commune
As farms continue to go up across the fertile plains of Velocis, prime real estate grows less abundant and boundaries go from vague concepts to firm lines demarcated by fences. In some cases, when situations get especially acrimonious, those fences have razor wire, live electric hookups, and the occasional auto-turret. Ex-refugee farmers, used to settling disputes "amongst the camp," are disinclined to resort to annoying formalities like the rule of law or local government officials.
Given that independent streak, you begin empowering and training local marshals to serve not as armed peacekeepers, but as diplomats and adjudicators. Many of the new breed of marshals are ex-surveyors, with plenty of experience gauging land borders and plot values. Given their newfound authority, they're capable of sitting disputatious parties down across the table from each other and hashing out issues over a long weekend.
Naturally, their decisions are still subject to appeal and review by local magistrates and the Treasury as a whole, but their backgrounds in conflict resolution and their technical expertise makes them generally adept at finding a solution that annoys everyone equally. That's about the best you can hope for with any frontier.
Mar Sara: Restoring the Biosphere (Phase 1)
Unlike irradiated Korhal, Mar Sara has the unspoiled land needed for regreening, as well as some lingering remnants of its old biosphere. By reconditioning the glassine surface of the planet and restoring the flow of water, we can encourage Mar Sara's (admittedly limited) plant life to flourish once more.
(Progress 109/200, -10R per die) [94] [+15 Omake bonus]
[Autocompletes in Q2 2508] [9 Progress toward next phase]
"Bless the Maker and all His water."
- Recovered fragment of a now-lost Earth religious text
Much of Mar Sara's damage is only skin-deep. When the seas boiled off, their water collected at the polar ice caps. When the lakes dried up, their water fled underground. The loss of actual H2O was minimal; the problem is just reaching it.
Your crews employ a multi-pronged assault on the problem, moving on land and in space. They drill wells down into overfull reservoirs, pumping up liquid ton after liquid ton and directing it back into riverbeds and lake bottoms. In orbit, they direct large terraforming mirrors toward the ice caps, using beams of pure concentrated sunlight to carve off large chunks of the outsized glaciers and melt them down into moisture again.
For the struggling biosphere, this is like breathing air back into a choking victim. The beleaguered green areas begin to flourish outward, encouraged by reconditioned soil and extensive use of fertilizers. Seeded clouds deposit rain upon the parched land for the first time in years.
Much of the planet is still barren, and only the smallest of its lakes and rivers are full again. But now, rather than being stuck in permanent stagnation, the circle of life has begun slowly spinning once more.
Services
Vardona: Angustia Orbital Shipyard Complex (Phase 2) [NEW]
The current quartet of drydocks at Angustia are hard at work churning out medium freighters, but there are no facilities suitable for building or overhauling the largest of the superfreighters, whose massive cargo holds are necessary for true bulk haulage. This next phase of the Complex will establish several 'outdoor yards' with variable frames capable of adjusting to the massive tonnage of the superfreighters, perhaps even allowing for development of the Dominion's first domestic heavy-haul design.
(Progress 281/500, -10R per die) [82, 34, 17, 69]
"The Yards aren't just a problem, they're a menace. Not only is there a big new obstruction in my aerospace lanes, one with an atypical mass and orbital speed, but you're telling me the silhouette is going to change regularly? I hate that. I hate you. Why are you doing this to me?"
- A less-than-productive meeting with the Chief Aerospace Traffic Controller on Vardona
Standard practice when building or expanding a shipyard is basically the same as it ever was for terrestrial vessels: you assemble a structure larger than the thing you intend to build, which in turn allows you to fully enclose the thing and maintain control over construction conditions. This is especially valuable in space, where the ability to pressurize and depressurize a space is quite useful.
However, the needs of the Dominion don't call for perfection or a fully centralized process; they call for as much haulage as can be put into the void as possible, as quickly as possible. Given the sheer magnitude of the shipping shortage, you've approved a new, experimental design for the Yards' high-volume construction.
These 'outdoor yards' are little more than adjustable metal skeletons on motorized tracks, capable of being expanded outward to a single vast space or shrunk down and partitioned into several more manageable areas. They're liberally festooned with maintenance areas that come equipped with power plugs, oxygen rechargers, and propellant tanks, which is good, because they're open to space and require all workers to be in SCVs.
Because the outdoor yards can't just be hooked into the standard utility grid that the other traditional yards are on, they require substantial groundwork to be laid and modifications to be made. Moreover, a collapsible skeleton capable of encasing an entire large-haul freighter is still a monumental undertaking, even if it is much more efficient than a solid shell. As such, much of the quarter is dedicated to preparatory work, with little chance to build the yard skeletons themselves.
Korhal: Katherine Mengsk Memorial Veterans' Hospital [MANDATORY] [NEW]
Mengsk has made a last-minute alteration to the Augustgrad city plan, mandating that what was originally set aside for a sports complex instead be wholly dedicated to medical care for sick and injured military veterans and their families. Katherine Mengsk Memorial will be the largest, most modern medical facility in all of Terran Space, and serve as the central pillar of the Dominion Health Service. It'll also carry the name of his sainted, martyred mother. Personally, you'd rather name it after the poor bastard who got thrown in prison for speaking his mind to Mengsk.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 98/300, -10R per die) [98]
"Lady Katherine Bandaging an Injured Wolf's Leg"
- Inscription on a larger-than-life bronze statue of a ethereally-beautiful woman and a proud but humbled wolf
The term "hospital" for Mengsk Memorial (also known as Lady Kate's by the workers building it) is a bit of a misnomer, conjuring the mental image of a single large building. In fact, the plans call for half a dozen very large buildings, and a double-handful of smaller support structures, all arranged around immaculately sculpted parkland crisscrossed with walkways. Above the surface, the buildings are connected by enclosed personnel tubes, forming a frame through which convalescent park-goers can view the stars.
It's a nice idea, but also an extravagant one, envisioning the employment of thousands of doctors who are needed out in refugee camps and actual veterans' settlements, along with a hundred times as many nurses and support personnel. However, you begin to suspect (given Mengsk's recent mood) that your Emperor may have a slightly better grasp on just how many veterans there are about to be in the not-too-distant future.
With that cheerful thought in mind, you set about ordering the construction of the main emergency and triage structures first, concentrating on those areas which can immediately serve the needs of Augustgrad's growing population and its immense number of resident laborers. The aforementioned bronze statue graces the somewhat overdone main entryway of the urgent care building, which is now up and running, tending to DLS workers and relocated officials alike as they encounter the perils of a newly built city.
Military
Brontes: Refloating the Fleet (Phase 2)
The second stage of the Brontes salvage operation involves building a permanent scrapyard and recycling facility in orbit over the planet, thereby providing the war-torn world with an immediate industry for employment and productivity. This will also substantially speed up your efforts to refloat the wrecked capital ships still floating around.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 244/400, -10R per die) [2, 46, 79, 80]
"Welcome to the Combined Salvage Deconstruction and Repurposing Facility, Chancellor. CSDRF is a bit of a mouthful, though, and so unsuitable. Look at her. Her great, gnashing teeth. Her powerful, supple magnetic conveyors. She's like a great monster out of mythology. A beast of wonder. All who come before her are humbled, broken, devoured. No, instead, I like to call her... The Maw."
- CSDRF site director giving a guided tour, shortly before a surprise mental health review
Despite the unavoidable slowdown caused by having to suddenly replace your top on-site official for incipient space madness, progress is quite acceptable on the orbital scrapyard floating above Brontes. The primary focus for the year is indeed The Maw, whose nickname proves impossible to remove, a massive neo-steel crusher-shredder capable of rendering entire dropshops down into scraps of metal. While this is a late-stage process used principally on stripped-down hulks and other unfixable debris, it is a much simpler process than taking a hulk apart by hand, and much more fun to watch.
Brontes: Fort Riley Orbital Training Center
Another special training camp request from General Duke, this one is located in an out-of-the-way debris field in Brontes orbit. The basic intent is to set the facility up on the same derelict space platform that used to host a Zerg hatchery, then use the platform and the debris field to train troops and pilots in navigating hostile space.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 41/300, -5R per die) [4, 37]
"Oops! All Zerg!"
- An inside joke among DLS laborers in Brontes orbit, repurposed from an ancient formula
The TRUSTroopers get their first official combat outing during the construction of Fort Riley, which is also a valuable lesson in taking Edmund Duke at his word that a project is 'complete.' Anyone who had to defend Tarsonis forty-plus times in direct orbit clearly has issues with decisively solving a problem.
A lone Zerg defiler, one of the most innately devious of the creatures even without the hive mind to direct it, seems to have evaded the Alpha Squadron extermination effort, and kills a half-dozen laborers with its corrosive spores before it's properly identified. Afterwards, the troopers spend the next month and a half hunting the thing down, during which several more plague outbreaks occur. While these are not actually lethal pathogens, they do render entire work gangs bedridden for weeks at a time, and have an uncanny ability to slip in through suit seals.
Finally, the troopers track the thing down to its lair deep within the platform's innards, where a number of surviving ferals have taken up residence. A pitched battle ensues, with surprisingly light casualties on TRUST's side, and they emerge victorious, with a new defiler skull for Site Alpha's wall.
It's a great accomplishment and you duly issue the necessary awards. If only it didn't mean that basically nothing got done on the actual fort this quarter.
Research
High-Efficiency Conduits [Tech]
Most Terran vehicles run on either fusion cells or ultracompact fusion reactors, depending on their size and power needs, while structures tap into the local power grid or command center. However, what all these sources have in common is that their raw output exceeds the safe transmittable flow of energy through their old-style metal wiring. The solution: an adaptation of Protoss energy-circuit technology to create conduits that transmit electricity through an aligned, highly durable crystalline matrix. This increases allowable power output while reducing waste heat and wear and tear.
(Progress 109/200, -15R per die) [78, 29, 2]
"You know, not to sound ungrateful, but if our species had grown up on a planet with a crystal that could do damn near anything, I think maybe we'd be known for our 'elegant technology' too."
- Chief researcher on the conduit project, venting
Unlike the Protoss, your researchers simply do not have access to psionically-reactive crystals in any great quantity (yet), nor are your scientists able to realign that crystal's structure with the power of their minds (yet?). This proves to be a surprisingly difficult stumbling block to cracking the secrets of Protoss technology, but not an impossible one.
Instead, your crystal matrices must be artificially forged using heat, pressure, and time, along with absolute painstaking attention to the smallest detail. The fundamental process itself is well-understood and time-tested, but adapting it to something that needs molecular precision is... tricky. After all, you can't just handcraft these things; they need to be reproducible on an industrial scale.
Fortunately, the handcrafting is proving more or less about as expected, and the main difficulty lies in designing a machine that can alter the microscopic differences of each crystal to properly align the matrix. That'll take some more doing, or so the eggheads say.
New Model Weaponry (Phase 2) [Tech]
The Hailstorm shoulder-mounted multiple missile launch system is a modification of the anti-air missile launchers mounted on the Goliath walker. Instead of two separate launchers, the Hailstorm boasts four sequence-firing tubes, albeit with much smaller munitions. The projectile spread will give each rocket trooper a surprising amount of firepower against enemy flyers, especially when deployed en masse.
(Progress 297/250, -15R per die) [13, 86]
[-10 Paranoia] [47 Progress toward next phase]
"Chuck, sweetie, I think it's great that your fellows like to send you the first new model off the line of whatever they build, but this pile of stuff is getting pretty unwieldy. Maybe set aside a room at the Treasury? Or... maybe a whole floor?"
- Your beloved and very tolerant wife, looking down at your shiny new missile launcher
The completed Hailstorm launcher is a thing of beauty. It attaches to a shoulder mount on the Integrated Protective Ensemble, leaving the trooper's hands free to wield small arms for personal defense. The IPE's kinetic supports redistribute the thing's weight, and its integrated targeting system allows the trooper to either voice-target it individually or connect it to the tactical net for massed group fire.
The multi-missile setup is finally working as designed, now that the little issues have been ironed out. It isn't pinpoint-accurate, but it fires four missiles in sequence, so it's more a saturation weapon anyway. Get a dozen missile troopers together and you'll be covering the skies in explosions in no time.
Bureaucracy
Services/Administration/Logistics/Operations Mechanization Endeavor
Okay, set aside the insane acronym. SALOME is the brainstorm of Vice-Chancellor Smith, who heard that your former adjutant was just sitting unused in storage and despaired at the notion of an underutilized resource. He believes that Sally can be repurposed into a central computer for the entire Treasury, capable of handling a variety of mundane tasks and serving as an all-purpose reference guide for the various laws, regulations, and protocols at work.
(Adds one die to all non-Personal categories) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 233/300, -10R per die) [8, 26, 62, 43]
"Your Excellency, I am pleased and proud to report that we are finally ready to deploy the Services Administration Logistics Operations Mechanization Endeavor. All the programming is complete, the various structural modifications have been made, we've sourced the high-flow linkages, and I have a team of contractors on standby ready to make the necessary alterations to the building. All I need is your final app– I do beg your pardon, could you repeat that? We're moving to Korhal when?"
- Vice-Chancellor Smith, learning to appreciate the Emperor just like you do
There's an ancient adage that applies well to the bureaucratic process — "'cheap,' 'fast,' and 'quality': pick two." In this case, you have your (relatively) cheap and (apparently) high-quality project, struck with the tragic misfortune of bad timing. Not through anyone's fault but Mengsk's, either; by all estimates, Smith had this thing fully in the bag, ready to roll out and be implemented inside a couple months. Indeed, his planning was meticulous... for the building on Vardona.
Instead, SALOME has to be moved wholesale across the Core Worlds to Korhal, where your Vice-Chancellor now has to run around frantically organizing the interplanetary move. Some things inevitably get lost or go by the wayside during this process. Sadly, SALOME is one of them.
Veterans' Benefits Program [MANDATORY] [NEW]
Clearly stung by his guilty conscience, the Emperor has "requested" that the Treasury set up and disburse cash subsidies for military veterans, most especially "his" veterans from the Sons of Korhal (and also, sure, Alpha Squadron). A direct and unconditional cash payout is a relatively unique program for a department used to laundering outgoing money through layers of means testing and oversight, but what the hell, why not learn something new?
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 39/400, -15R per die) [39]
"What the hell do you mean, 'you didn't think to ask'? Veterancy is one of the most basic statuses somebody can have. I'm a veteran! No, no, I don't care. Go out there and find out who served and who didn't, and do it fast."
- The Chancellor, to a very cowed subordinate
Some things, however, were handled badly from the jump. In their rush to get the census out, they seem to have omitted several key questions, and "Did you serve in the military?" was one of them. You've demoted the hapless individual in charge of that particular part of the census, but that doesn't actually fix the problem. Instead, a supplementary wave of census-taking is needed to answer that question, plus a few others. Between the one you've already done, this one, and the one scheduled for 2510, the people of the Dominion are going to get awful used to answering their front doors.
Personal
Korhal: Go Drinking with Colonel de Santo
Diamond "Dia" de Santo is the third of the three survivors of Dominion Section, Captain Arcturus Mengsk's command in the Confederate Marines during the Guild Wars. Never one to kowtow or keep her mouth shut, De Santo returned to duty along with you when the Sons of Korhal rose up against Confederate rule. Unlike you, and despite her loyalty to Mengsk, the old boys' club has conspired to keep her at a lesser rank while everyone else has become generals and admirals. Maybe it's time to take her out for a friendly drink and see how she's feeling, now that she commands the Marine garrison on Korhal.
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die) [14, 82]
[96 vs DC 60; pass!] [Military Personal projects unlocked]
"Just between us, Chuck, I think the Boss is making a big mistake keeping all those old fossils on. You know, Duke and the rest. Sure, they're not that much older than us, but their brains are practically prehistoric. You know what happened to the dinosaurs, right? I'm just saying."
- Dia de Santo, three drinks in, on the need for generational change
Yeah, it's even worse than you thought. Dia would and did run into burning buildings for Arcturus Mengsk during the Guild Wars and the Great War alike, but a few years of peace and neglect and she's entertaining fantasies of conveniently placed meteor strikes on the high command. She's not quite where you are regarding the Great Man himself, but it's really only a matter of time. Honestly, you have to fault Mengsk's decision-making on this one. She's worth ten of those crusty old goons, and he's got her on garrison duty. A criminal waste of talent, that is.
Fortunately, the two of you have a great talk about TRUST (which she disparages in a friendly sort of fashion) and how it can be brought up to a standard more befitting the uniform its people wear. Cross-branch exercises, that's the ticket. It'll certainly give you plenty more time to fraternize with other, like-minded officers.
Korhal: Have a Talk with Director Starke
Devon Starke has indicated to you that he is not averse to a friendly, mutually beneficial working relationship. That is interesting. You've also heard that he has some sort of connection to the much-rumored secret son of the Emperor, who Arcturus has alluded to while in his cups but never formally brought up or introduced to you. Why not have a chat, see if he's got anything to offer?
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die) [53, 35]
[88 vs DC 80; pass!] [Security Personal projects unlocked]
"Thank you for meeting with me, Chancellor. I'm confident that a strong working relationship between our ministries is in the best interest of the Dominion and its people. There are many things I can learn from you, and perhaps a few things I can be of service for."
- Captain Devon Starke, the blandest man alive
Starke is much harder to read than de Santo, which isn't surprising given all the mental conditioning he's been through. He definitely keeps his psychic inhibitor on, almost ostentatiously so, and you try thinking a few outrageous bits of nonsense just to test it, to no noticeable effect. Either the thing is functional or he has the best poker face you've ever seen. Or maybe both.
Most of the conversation is professional in nature; Starke doesn't give the impression of having any sort of personal life, and doesn't ask about yours. Instead, there's a lot about handing over site security and other areas of potential conflict that need to be hashed out between the Treasury and Security, as well as the benefits of cooperation. It is an extremely normal working lunch.
However, you do notice something rather curious, or actually Carla does, when you relate the conversation back to her later. She mentions that Starke never once brings up the Emperor himself; all his references are to 'the Dominion' or 'the people of the Dominion.' Given the Imperial Guard's responsibility for Mengsk's personal safety, it could be that he simply doesn't concern himself too much with the Emperor. Or... it could mean something else entirely.
Regrettably, your half-baked clandestine efforts to tease information on the Emperor's secret son out of him go basically nowhere. He seems to acknowledge what you say, but has little to offer on the subject, save an indirect confirmation that the boy does actually exist. Still, that's not nothing. Maybe he'll warm up later.
Last edited:
Turn 8 (Q2 2508)
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Turn 8 (Q2 2508)
QM Notes:
Anything labeled [MANDATORY] is something Mengsk expects to be done ASAP, or at least to have consistent progress on; this can be ignored in exchange for Paranoia.
Resources (R): 200 stockpile + [360 taxes + 95 other] 455 income - [450 * ~10%] 45 personal = 600 available
Funds (F): 50 initial + 60 incoming = 110 total
Paranoia: 30/100
Suspicion: 10
Free Dice: 4 (2 non-Personal)
Current Promises
Complete one subsequent Augustgrad phase each year until the end of Q4 2511
Complete Dylar IV: Dylarian Shipyards (Phase 2) by the end of Q4 2508
Complete Brontes: Refloating the Fleet (Phase 2) by the end of Q4 2508
Complete Mar Sara: Endureum Extraction Operations (Phase 1) by the end of Q4 2508
Complete all phases of all [Reconstruction] projects by the end of Q4 2511
Complete one non-[Reconstruction] project in each Revitalization Goals category by the end of Q4 2511
Revitalization Goals
Infrastructure
Heavy Industry
Light and Chemical Industry
Environmental
Services
Infrastructure (6 dice, +11 modifier)
[] Korhal: Capital City Augustgrad (Phase 3) [MANDATORY] [NEW]
Now that the city center is more or less complete, it's time to start expanding outward in a big way. Mengsk intends to mandate that any corporation or business with a multi-planetary footprint (read: most of the big ones) must have its main office on Korhal. As such, the next stage of construction calls for a vast commercial district, along with plenty of new housing and space for supporting businesses and industries.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 51/400, -10R per die)
With much of Brontes orbit clear of wreckage, all that remains is tracking down the so-called 'tiny terrors' of nearby space: those pieces of debris large enough to cause a civilian ship noticeable upset upon impact, but that were too small to previously bother going after. Once that's done, Brontes' sky will be about as clear as any Terran planet's.
(Provides one-time Resource gain upon completion)
(Progress 3/300, -10R per die) [LOCKED until Q3 2508]
[] Nephor II: Planetary Reconstruction (Phase 3) [Reconstruction]
With the tramways up and running again, it's time for another sustained housing effort. This phase will concentrate on the remaining underserved areas of the Blue Zone as well as the outlying secured areas, mostly surrounding reactivated industrial centers. It will also include a major demolition effort; much of Nephor's sprawl was wasteful, low-density, and hopelessly obsolete, so clearing it away is necessary for further redevelopment.
(Progress 114/400, -10R per die)
[] Tyrador IX: Planetary Reconstruction (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
While much of Velocis' agricultural and industrial output has been absorbed by internal needs up until this point, there is a growing capacity for surplus in both fields. Unfortunately, what there isn't is adequate infrastructure to move the goods where they need to go. This phase of reconstruction will principally deal with building rails and roads between the new settlements on the second continent, as well as freight links to several coastal sites suitable for harbors. Once built, these seaside towns will send Velocisan produce and goods across the waters to the continent of Doria, where more consumers and off-planet shipping await.
(Progress 66/200, -5R per die)
[] Brontes: Planetary Reconstruction (Phase 1) [Reconstruction]
While Brontes is free of any Cerebrates and hive clusters that might cause serious problems, the once-prosperous world, formerly the artistic and commercial capital of the Confederacy, is now a ruined, post-apocalyptic hellscape with a sizable feral Zerg presence in the outskirts and badlands. The first order of business is establishing a zone of control within New Thornton, the central borough of West Landing City, and then expanding outward to fortify and rebuild the former city center. By sectioning off each area of the former capital into a network of walled enclaves, Treasury work crews can restore the city piece by piece while minimizing the risk of Zerg incursions.
(Progress 0/300, -5R per die)
[] Mar Sara: Planetary Resettlement (Phase 1)
Initial resettlement efforts will be focused on the site of the largest known endureum reservoir, which will likely serve as the hub of planetary activity for the foreseeable future. The first wave will be sturdy prefab shelters and surplus military barracks for worker housing, which will be supplanted in turn by permanent structures and a cargo spaceport suitable for off-world haulage. Workers who sign up for a Mar Sara hitch will be offered priority relocation rights and choice parcels of land... or, well, land that'll be choice once there's a biosphere again, anyway.
(Progress 0/400, -5R per die)
[] Fringe Worlds: Supply Bunker Construction (Phase 2)
Now that the major and at-risk settlements have been seeded with supply bunkers, the second and final phase of the project is simple: make sure all the rest have them, too. Such a broad program will require substantial investment, but each fortification could very well make the difference between destruction and salvation.
(+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 66/200, -5R per die)
Heavy Industry (5 dice, +6 modifier)
[] Korhal: Keresh Mining Complex (Phase 2)
With the initial open-pit mine complete over the main deposit, the Keresh complex can begin expanding toward secondary deposits with smaller, less manpower-intensive shaft mining. Subterranean mining with hand tools carries its own specific dangers, but the secondary deposits are expected to include several rare elements like jorium and crystallized xenon, promising greater resource yields in the process.
(Provides Resource income, reduces project length of all Augustgrad phases upon completion)
(Progress 14/100, -5R per die)
[] Nephor II: Nephor Industrial Megacomplex (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
The Megacomplex's virtues were extolled as such: it could produce anything you needed, and it could do so by taking in raw materials at one end and spitting out fully finished products at the other. The actual reality was somewhat less impressive, but this remains a goal to be striven for nonetheless. As such, this phase focuses on support facilities and intake centers, which produce and process the necessary materials for the Megacomplex's efficient operation.
(Increases Megacomplex rate of income increase, increases Megacomplex income cap)
(Progress 0/300, -10R per die)
[] Dylar IV: Dylarian Shipyards (Phase 2) [Reconstruction]
Now that Dominion battlecruisers can begin cycling through the drydocks for long-delayed maintenance, a dedicated effort is needed to resupply them with strike fighters. Wraith space-superiority fighters are expensive, capable craft, often refitted in the field for additional stealth capability or power output. By overhauling the old fighter factories with modern equipment, our Wraiths can come off the production line with those features built in standard, saving lives and resources.
(-15 Paranoia)
(Progress 22/600, -10R per die)
[] Vardona: Ardonin Heavy Vehicle Factory (Phase 3) [NEW]
The final phase of the factory complex is simple: more. More production, more input, more output. By expanding and relocating each piece of the production cycle, along with adding even more support buildings and infrastructure, SCV production can finally move toward meeting the Dominion's internal demand.
(Reduces groundside and space-based construction project lengths upon completion) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 73/300, -15R per die)
[] Nephor II: TerraUnion Tool and Die Works (Phase 3) [NEW]
Now that the industrial park is cleared and work is underway, it's time to start building up. Some of this will be more output capacity for the current fusion cutter lines, but more will be set aside for future expansion, thereby giving the facility plenty of room to grow with the Dominion's need for construction tools, or to bring more elements of the process into the factory proper. Never has the phrase 'vertical integration' been meant so literally.
(Reduces groundside construction project lengths upon completion)
(Progress 53/200, -15R per die)
[] Nephor II: Dynamic Integrated Arms Factory (Phase 1)
Your special advisor has located a prime site for the production of the new model weapons being developed by the research division. Dynamic Integrated Arms was the premier private military materiel company in the decades leading up to the Great War, until it was nationalized, stripped for parts, and then left to rot by the Confederacy during the height of the conflict. The old Dynamic arms factory still has very suitable bones, and is ripe for refurbishment.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -15R per die)
[] Vardona: Donette Terrestrial Shipyards
Part of the Confederacy's unique approach to economic development was its extremely Tarsonis-centric policy regarding vehicular production. Many Old Families were deeply invested in Tarsonis's heavy vehicle industries, and they wielded their influence to strangle most local competition in its crib. As such, despite its numerous interconnected seas, the planet Vardona does not possess any domestic shipbuilding facilities, and its ability to import new ships went up in smoke along with the old capital. This is a major problem, and a straightforward one to fix.
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
[] Korhal: Simonson Munitions Factory (Phase 1) [NEW]
From the 8mm spikes fired by the C-14 gauss rifle to the 120mm shock shells launched from an Arclite siege tank, the Dominion military runs on bullets, bombs, and other things that go 'boom.' Right now, various factories on Nephor and other Core Worlds are working to replenish Terran Space's depleted supply of ammunition, but much more is required. Simonson Munitions is planned to be a massive industrial center, located on the outskirts of Augustgrad, which will be capable of churning out bucketloads of brass by the minute.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/300, -10R per die)
Light and Chemical Industry (5 dice, +6 modifier)
[] Korhal: Canis Chemical Refinery (Phase 1)
The larger and more hospitable of Korhal's two moons, Canis is also rich in chemical precursors necessary for refining and stabilizing raw Vespene gas into more useful forms. A new refinery complex on the Wolf Moon will serve as the centerpiece of future lunar outposts and centralize our gas processing network, allowing for greater output.
(Improved yields from all Vespene projects upon completion)
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
[] Vardona: Vespene Extraction Operations (Phase 2)
While the major undersea reservoirs have been tapped, there remain numerous smaller, isolated pockets that require less intensive drilling operations to be properly exploited. By developing and deploying a lighter, more efficient version of the heavy rigs currently at work, those pockets can be brought into production on a scale roughly equivalent to their larger cousins.
(Provides Resource income upon completion)
(Progress 17/600, -10R per die)
The final wave of workshops on Tyrador is actually a consolidation of prior efforts, bringing several smaller 'shops' in the same locality together into a single factory complex. By streamlining production and expanding facilities, more employment can be provided while greatly improving output.
(Provides Resource income upon completion)
(Progress 0/400, -10R per die) [LOCKED until Q3 2508]
[] Nephor II: Phoros Neotextiles Fabrication Plant (Phase 3)
While the Neotextiles Plant is fully capable of taking a bunch of fabric and components and turning it into a Protective Ensemble from the beginning of the process right up until the end, what it lacks is the sheer output needed to supply the Dominion Labor Service. This final phase of development will vastly expand the Plant's footprint and make it into a megacomplex in its own right, capable of handling not just the IPE but other future developments in user-assistive protective wear.
(Reduces some groundside construction project per-die costs upon completion)
(Progress 24/200, -10R per die)
[] Mar Sara: Endureum Extraction Operations (Phase 1)
What used to be Saramar City is now a flat, almost glassy plain, but beneath the surface lurks an endureum reservoir of monumental proportions. With fine-detail surveying, the full extent of the reservoir can be mapped and quantified. Several distributed wells will be sunk across the reservoir, including one devoted entirely to pressure relief, allowing extraction operations to begin in earnest.
(Unlocks endureum refinement projects)
(Progress 67/300, -5R per die)
[] Chau Sara: New Andares Orbital Platform (Phase 1)
The intense and unpredictable tectonic activity on Chau Sara makes it unsuitable for groundside habitation, but the promising mineral and endureum deposits make it impossible to simply pass up for development. If the planet cannot host a permanent urban settlement on its surface, then we must build one in the sky. New Andares will thereafter function as a hub for all future extraction efforts.
(Progress 0/500, -5R per die)
[] Korhal: Fort Leary Biochemical Production Site [NEW]
A vast chemical complex located near Broken Mesa, Fort Leary is intended to be the Dominion's premier development and production plant for all things biochemical in nature. Knowing Mengsk's turn of mind, this probably means more than just stimpacks and performance-enhancing battle drugs.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -15R per die)
Environmental (5 dice, +1 modifier)
[] Korhal: Regreening Effort (Phase 2) [NEW]
Having reintroduced water to Korhal, it's now time to start filling out the park districts. In addition to hardy grasses and certain subspecies of tree that can thrive in low-moisture environments, you'll also need to reintroduce small animals, in preparation for building the ecosystem up to handling large grazers and predators.
(+5 Paranoia)
(Progress 11/100, -10R per die)
[] Tyrador IX: Establish Farmsteads (Phase 3) [Reconstruction] [NEW]
The final phase of Tyradorian farmsteading is the establishment of farms suitable for water-intensive crops, like rice and almonds. Unlike their predecessors, which were uniquely suited for the expansive flat grasslands of Velocis, this will require rerouting the few extant rivers and building a major irrigation network, which is necessarily much more arduous.
(Progress 125/400, -10R per die)
Now that the water is flowing, it's time to expand soil conditioning efforts. Breaking up the terrain's glassine surface and reprocessing it into viable turf is an arduous and technically involved process, but Terrans have terraformed much less welcoming planets in the past, and for far less promising prospects of vast resource reservoirs.
(Progress 9/200, -15R per die) [LOCKED until Q3 2508]
[] Dylar IV: Shipyard Amenities
The bleak terrain and treacherous atmosphere of Dylar IV make it eminently unsuitable for shore leave, and most people tend to get a little space-crazy when they're forced to live in orbit for too long. The solution: several dedicated habitats dispersed around the Shipyards, each one with full gravity and terrestrial biomes. This will go a long way for morale, and the sustainability of shipbuilding operations.
(Progress 22/250, -5R per die)
[] Vardona: Supplemental Aquaculture Effort
The ongoing exploitation of Vardona's underutilized seas raises the prospect of an additional food source: fish and aquatic life. Coastal fish farms will further augment the flow of fresh meat into Vardona's markets and shopping centers, further reducing reliance on external imports and improving quality of life.
(Progress 0/250, -10R per die)
[] Korhal: Korhal Imperial Zoo [NEW]
The Sovereign of All Mankind has seen the Vardona Zoo's ursadon cub, and he thinks the throne world deserves one, no, two ursadon cubs, each twice as cute as Vardona's. As such, it's time to begin planning the new Imperial Zoo, a sprawling complex intended to house interesting and appealing fauna from across known space. Kids will love it, surely.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
[] Korhal: Mengsk Family Villa Reconstruction [NEW]
Once upon a time, the Mengsk family had an idyllic summer retreat a hundred miles outside of Styrling. It, along with the rest of Korhal, went up in nuclear fire during the Decimation. Now, the Emperor has indicated that it should be rebuilt, precisely how he remembers it, on the exact same site. If not for the ultra-high security walls and Guard garrison called for on the blueprints, it'd be quite nostalgic.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/400, -15R per die)
Services (5 dice, +1 modifier)
[] Mass Literacy Movement (Phase 2)
Great strides have been made in the overall literacy rate by picking the low-hanging fruit of those populations best able to dedicate their free time or otherwise incentivized to achieve technical literacy. Now you have to focus on resistant or underserved groups, including recent school dropouts, the elderly, the disabled, and the inhabitants of dense urban or remote rural areas. These people may require a more personal approach than the literacy classes, but the rewards should be substantial.
(+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/300, -10R per die)
[] The Dominion Health Service (Phase 2)
Now that the first wave of hospitals are built and operational, the Sub-Ministry for Health and Welfare can focus its effort on building a second series of local clinics and emergency care stations. Their locations are planned network-style to improve accessibility across the board, though serious injuries will still need to be routed to regional hospitals.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 3/300, -5R per die)
[] Vardona: Angustia Orbital Shipyard Complex (Phase 2)
The current quartet of drydocks at Angustia are hard at work churning out medium freighters, but there are no facilities suitable for building or overhauling the largest of the superfreighters, whose massive cargo holds are necessary for true bulk haulage. This next phase of the Complex will establish several 'outdoor yards' with variable frames capable of adjusting to the massive tonnage of the superfreighters, perhaps even allowing for development of the Dominion's first domestic heavy-haul design.
(Progress 281/400, -10R per die)
[] UNN Planetary Bureaus
Right now, the Universal News Network is temporarily headquartered on Vardona, pending the construction of a suitable building on Korhal for its main offices and broadcast towers. However, while that glorious day awaits in the future, the need for a UNN footprint on the rest of the Core Worlds exists right now. Building and staffing a UNN bureau on each planet will improve their news-gathering and information-disseminating capabilities.
(+5 Paranoia)
(Progress 9/300, -5R per die)
[] Korhal: Katherine Mengsk Memorial Veterans' Hospital [MANDATORY]
Mengsk has made a last-minute alteration to the Augustgrad city plan, mandating that what was originally set aside for a sports complex instead be wholly dedicated to medical care for sick and injured military veterans and their families. Katherine Mengsk Memorial will be the largest, most modern medical facility in all of Terran Space, and serve as the central pillar of the Dominion Health Service. It'll also carry the name of his sainted, martyred mother. Personally, you'd rather name it after the poor bastard who got thrown in prison for speaking his mind to Mengsk.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 98/200, -10R per die)
[] Korhal: Port Bennet Interplanetary Aerospace Complex [NEW]
Port Bennet is, quite simply, intended to serve as the biggest, most modern spaceport in all Terran Space, befitting the grandeur of the Dominion's throne world. It has its own dedicated sub-district in Augustgrad, a high-security Imperial Terminal for the Emperor's personal use, and room for about half the private vessels in the sector. Still, it'll make moving things around Korhal a breeze.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/600, -10R per die) (Applies Keresh progress reduction to all Korhal projects)
[] Korhal: Primary Resocialization Center [NEW]
Rather than reopen or refurbish existing resoc centers (currently located in and around major prisons), the Emperor wants to centralize the entire process on Korhal, alongside a special-purpose maximum-security detention center. Keeping inmates there in preparation for resocialization will vastly streamline the process of turning them into Dominion Marines. If only the thought didn't make your skin crawl.
(-5 Suspicion)
(Progress 0/400, -10R per die)
Military (6 dice, +6 modifier)
[] Brontes: Refloating the Fleet (Phase 2)
The second stage of the Brontes salvage operation involves building a permanent scrapyard and recycling facility in orbit over the planet, thereby providing the war-torn world with an immediate industry for employment and productivity. This will also substantially speed up your efforts to refloat the wrecked capital ships still floating around.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 244/300, -10R per die)
[] Brontes: Fort Riley Orbital Training Center
Another special training camp request from General Duke, this one is located in an out-of-the-way debris field in Brontes orbit. The basic intent is to set the facility up on the same derelict space platform that used to host a Zerg hatchery, then use the platform and the debris field to train troops and pilots in navigating hostile space.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 41/200, -5R per die)
[] TRUSTrooper Recruitment Program [TRUST]
Well, you've taken the flak for making a private army, might as well actually go through with it. You'll begin recruitment efforts among those individuals who are already partway through their five-year tour of duty as conscripts, offering bonus pay and better conditions if they finish out their hitch in TRUST. With luck, plenty of them will stay on after their mandatory service is over.
(+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/400, -10R per die)
[] Vardona: Treasury Reserve Site Alpha [TRUST]
If you're going to have an army, that army needs a base. Smith has identified an ideal site on the outskirts of Vardona's main urban center, an abandoned industrial park that readily lends itself to being bulldozed and fortified. It'll be useful as a place to house the TRUSTroopers, perform training exercises and drills, and stockpile weapons. You know, in case of a civil emergency.
(Progress 141/200, -5R per die)
[] Korhal: Fort Davis Military Arsenal
Typically, it is considered wise to have more weapons than you absolutely need to be using at any given time. Therefore, it is equally wise to have somewhere to store those weapons. Fort Davis is that place: a highly fortified base buried in the side of a heavily-cratered mountain, formerly home to the disaster shelter for Korhal's elite families. Now, it will hold warehouses full of ammunition, service weapons, and military vehicles, all against some future need.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
[] Fringe Worlds: Fort Sumner Forward Operating Base [MANDATORY] [NEW]
Redstone III served as one of the major flashpoints in the Guild Wars between the Confederacy and the Kel-Morian Combine, seeing as it lies roughly on the border between the two and has an abundance of accessible mineral deposits (if you can ignore the periodic lava tides). The Emperor has "requested" a forward operating base be built and positioned in orbit over Redstone III for use by the military. You know, just in case.
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
Research (5 dice, +1 modifier)
[] Improved Threat-Recognition Protocol [Tech]
The Zerg hydralisk is a symbol of terror on the battlefield for any soldier, both for its speed and the sheer power of the spines it fires. However, researchers at Broken Mesa believe they've uncovered the secret to the hydralisk's incredible reflexes: a subsidiary cortex with high-volume neural pathways dedicated solely to recognizing and responding to hostile stimuli. They think they can design a computer module to replicate these incredible feats of processing power, and then use it to improve the notoriously faulty IFF sensors on the Dominion's automated defenses.
(Progress 0/250, -10R per die)
[] High-Efficiency Conduits [Tech]
Most Terran vehicles run on either fusion cells or ultracompact fusion reactors, depending on their size and power needs, while structures tap into the local power grid or command center. However, what all these sources have in common is that their raw output exceeds the safe transmittable flow of energy through their old-style metal wiring. The solution: an adaptation of Protoss energy-circuit technology to create conduits that transmit electricity through an aligned, highly durable crystalline matrix. This increases allowable power output while reducing waste heat and wear and tear.
(Progress 109/200, -15R per die)
[] New Model Weaponry (Phase 3) [Tech] [NEW]
The final weapon envisioned for the Dominion trooper is the CPO-7 "Salamander," a high-powered flamethrower with super-dense back-mounted fuel tanks. The Salamander kit also includes reinforced armor plating for the IPE, both to withstand potential loss of fuel containment and the likely increased volume of fire they'll receive. Much like the firebat, a properly-trained flame trooper will be invaluable against swarms of Zerg.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 47/350, -15R per die)
[] Psi-Crystal Research [Tech]
Though initial tests report marked inferiority to samples of Khaydarin crystal acquired from battles with the Protoss, Saran psi-crystals nevertheless seem capable of storing and resonating with psionic energies on a reduced level of efficiency. However, they've proven singularly difficult to mine without further depleting or even nullifying their resonance capacity. Further research is therefore required.
(Progress 0/350, -20R per die)
[] Secure Integrated Defense Ensemble [TRUST] [Tech]
While the Integrated Protective Ensemble is sufficient for DLS laborers and more or less adequate for conscript troopers, you happen to believe that soldiers should go into battle with the very best possible protection. The formation of TRUST has therefore given you room to begin developing the Secure Integrated Defense Ensemble, or SIDE. SIDE is a reinforced and more-capable version of the IPE, capable of withstanding greater punishment, mounting a more robust comm system, and further augmenting the user's physical abilities. All it needs is a good field test or two.
(Progress 0/300, -10R per die)
[] Hercules-class Superheavy Cargo Freighter [Tech] [NEW]
With the expansion of the Angustia Yards well underway, it's time to start thinking about what to build there. The proposal endorsed by your engineering team is the Hercules, a truly massive design that'll use the full capacity of the expanded skeleton yards to build the biggest single vessel in Terran Space. Not only will it haul an exceptional amount of cargo, but its multiple powerful vectored boosters will even allow it to land at a terrestrial spaceport, which ought to be an impressive sight.
(Progress 0/350, -10R per die)
[] Charon Boosters [Tech] [NEW]
The development of the Hailstorm launcher led to a variety of individually minor but cumulatively substantial advances in missile technology, most notably a more agile and efficient booster. By applying the basic principles of the new booster to upgrade existing Goliath missiles, their anti-air range can be greatly improved for only a minor cost difference.
(-10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/250, -15R per die)
Bureaucracy (5 dice, +11 modifier)
[] Establish the Office of the Inspector-General
Under the previous regime, hunting for corruption and inefficiency was like trying to install smoke detectors in Hell. However, with the wholesale departure of many of the worst offenders, you actually have a chance of building a halfway-functional bureaucratic edifice. To do so, you'll need an inspector-general: someone to provide oversight, ferret out graft, and tamp down on any little palace coups that might arise within your department.
(Unlocks internal review projects) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -5R per die)
[] Establish the Office of Forecasts and Trends
While the current Planning and Statistics crew is quite adept at telling you how things are, they're less great at telling you how they're going to be. The Office of Forecasts and Trends will therefore make use of your massive pile of statistical data along with the finest prediction algorithms to give you a general idea of where things are going, so you know if improvements are being made or if you're falling behind.
(Unlocks statistical trends) (Unlocks estimated number of phases for project completion) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/200, -5R per die)
[] Services/Administration/Logistics/Operations Mechanization Endeavor
Okay, set aside the insane acronym. SALOME is the brainstorm of Vice-Chancellor Smith, who heard that your former adjutant was just sitting unused in storage and despaired at the notion of an underutilized resource. He believes that Sally can be repurposed into a central computer for the entire Treasury, capable of handling a variety of mundane tasks and serving as an all-purpose reference guide for the various laws, regulations, and protocols at work.
(Adds one die to all non-Personal categories) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 233/300, -10R per die)
[] Employ Pardon Recipients
With the massive outflow from the political prisons and labor camps comes a steady stream of extremely qualified, competent potential employees for the Treasury, many of them formerly affiliated with the Sons of Korhal. However, quite a few of them have been further radicalized during their stint in prison, and they seem to realize that Mengsk doesn't actually intend to live up to their once-shared ideals. Mengsk, in turn, understands that some of his former allies may not view his ascent to the throne warmly, and may not react well to their being offered government paychecks.
(Adds two Free dice) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 39/400, -10R per die)
[] Establish the Office of Reserve Logistics [TRUST]
TRUST began as a principally bureaucratic endeavor and the very fundamentals of its genetic code will always reside within the Treasury bureaucracy. Rather than allowing this to be a hindrance, it is far easier to enlist the uniformed civil servants on the troopers' behalf, expediting and streamlining the process for approving projects and acquiring necessary resources.
(Reduces per-die cost of all TRUST projects) (+10 Paranoia)
(Progress 0/300, -15R per die)
[] Veterans' Benefits Program [MANDATORY]
Clearly stung by his guilty conscience, the Emperor has "requested" that the Treasury set up and disburse cash subsidies for military veterans, most especially "his" veterans from the Sons of Korhal (and also, sure, Alpha Squadron). A direct and unconditional cash payout is a relatively unique program for a department used to laundering outgoing money through layers of means testing and oversight, but what the hell, why not learn something new?
(-5 Paranoia)
(Progress 39/400, -15R per die)
[] Vardona: Trevelyan Commercial Tower (Utilitarian) [NEW]
Senator Vincent Trevelyan, the Lion of the Confederate Senate and former political prisoner, died over the winter holidays. A monumental figure in Terran politics, Trevelyan was believed to have been a serious contender for the Chancellery prior to your appointment. By dedicating a new commercial skyscraper in his honor on his home planet of Vardona, you will honor the distinguished senator and give yourself a renewed foothold in the "financial capital."
(+5 Paranoia) (Gain +5 bonus to all Vardona dice)
(Progress 0/200, -10R per die)
[] Vardona: Trevelyan Commercial Tower (Extravagant) [NEW]
But why stop at just naming some random tower after him? Go all out and make it a worthy second Treasury headquarters, with a full replica of your Korhal office and another hundred stories to boot. Build a memorial park on the tower grounds, embellish the bottom floors, and then hold a major dedication ceremony. The people of Vardona will love it.
(+15 Paranoia) (Gain +10 bonus to all Vardona dice, more Vardona projects)
(Progress 0/300, -15R per die)
Personal (4 dice, +1 modifier)
[] Raynor's Raiders: Anti-Banditry Campaign
All across the periphery, pirates and bandits reign where the roving squadrons of the Confederacy have yet to be replaced by Dominion patrols. In addition to causing untold havoc and damage to local settlements, they also make your own operations somewhat difficult. By soliciting covert aid from Raynor's Raiders (and making sure they're properly equipped for the job), you can cut down on Fringe banditry and improve project efficiency, all in one go.
(Reduces all non-Personal Fringe Worlds and Mar/Chau Sara project per-die costs) (-2 Relations with Raynor's Raiders)
(DC 80 to avoid +20 Paranoia, -10F per die)
[] Raynor's Raiders: Leak Embarrassing Intel
The Dominion is barely a year old and already there are a number of potential scandals that could spoil Mengsk's carefully cultivated aura of competence, if only people knew about them. The Augustgrad project alone is rife with problems, many of them directly attributable to the Emperor himself. Wouldn't it be terrible if someone happened to send the incriminating documents along to, say, a well-motivated rebel group?
(+3 Relations with Raynor's Raiders, may have unforeseen consequences)
(DC 100 to avoid +20 Paranoia, -5F per die)
[] Mar Sara: Backwater Station
Before it was sterilized by the Protoss, Mar Sara was considered a remote posting for any officer used to the Core. However, even Mar Sara has remote areas of its own, and Backwater Station is one of them. The original site is located in a rugged, mountainous area near a rich deposit of minerals, and it would be fairly trivial to reopen the mining settlement... and then hand it over to the Raiders as a base.
(+2 Relations with Raynor's Raiders)
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -10F per die)
[] Fringe Worlds: Divert Additional Supplies
While prior shipments have ameliorated some of the worst deprivation out in the Fringe, much more remains to be done. By masking the next effort as an unsanctioned smuggling operation, you will be able to both evade Security's prying eyes and take credit for "catching" the unnamed malefactors, all while serving a good cause.
(+1 Relations with Raynor's Raiders)
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -15F per die)
[] Deadman's Rock: Buy an Orbital Station
Operating out of the Dead Man's Arms luxury hotel certainly has its appeal, but what the Arms offers in opulence it lacks in other important areas, like the ability to stockpile an arsenal or gather up a proper mercenary force. Fortunately, there's a station orbiting the Rock that's available at an excellent price, and since its previous owner ran a now-defunct mercenary company, it comes with all the necessary amenities to run your illicit business.
(Unlocks mercenary-related projects) (+1 Relations with Mira's Marauders)
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die) (-5F per-turn upkeep)
[] Deadman's Rock: Make Friends and Influence People
Pirates and mercenaries are not complicated people. For them, the language of love is the language of money. By spreading the wealth around Deadman's Rock amongst the various mercenary commanders and smuggler captains, you'll be sure to engender a great deal of goodwill, even if that goodwill is a bit sticky and occasionally tries to steal your wallet.
(+3 Relations with Mira's Marauders)
(DC 40 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -10F per die)
[] Vardona: Vardonaville Import-Export Company
Arendt has been covering many of your illicit activities with a web of shell companies, but those are flimsy constructs made of little more than a single founding document. In order to make substantive inroads with the criminal fraternity, and not get caught in the process, you need a robust umbrella enterprise that can withstand sustained external scrutiny. VIEC is just the thing; a Vardona-chartered shelf company with years of back taxes and records, ready to purchase for the discerning criminal-to-be.
(Adds one Personal die) (Reduces some Personal DCs)
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -15F per die) (-5F per-turn upkeep)
[] Nephor II: Legalize the Dominion Industrial Workers Union
The single greatest contribution you as Chancellor can make to the labor movement is to make it legal. Mengsk has shown absolutely no sign of letting up on Confederate-era worker restrictions, and the Dominion Labor Service is a threat he can carry out at any time: stay at work or I'll bring in the conscripts. By establishing the Industrial Workers Union as an authorized organization and granting it public legal protections, you'll substantially curtail the prospect of that threat being implemented.
(+5 Relations with Industrial Workers' Trust)
(DC 120 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die) (+10 Paranoia)
[] Nephor II: Worker Aid Centers
Ostensibly intended to serve as supplementary medical and legal relief clinics, the worker aid centers are in fact slated to be IWT fronts for spreading pro-union propaganda and doing covert labor organizing. It'll do those other things, too, but giving Workers' Trust leadership a direct and official pipeline into the laboring masses of Nephor II will be invaluable. Especially since they'll take a lot of worker relations stuff off your overburdened shoulders.
(Adds one Personal die) (+1 Relations with Industrial Workers' Trust)
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -10F per die) (-5F per-turn upkeep)
[] Nephor II: TRUST Civil Auxiliary Pilot Program [TRUST]
One of TRUST's major selling points is that it'll be able to pick up serious slack during civil defense efforts, freeing up the military to perform its front-line duties. However, you're not going to be able to actually do that job with just bank guards and site security. Instead, you've decided to enlist the industrial workers of Nephor II in a pilot program as special civil auxiliaries, entrusted with IPE and less-lethal sidearms to assist in crowd control. Of course, having a bunch of loyal workers you can call up has other benefits as well.
(Unlocks additional TRUST projects) (+3 Relations with Industrial Workers' Trust)
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -15F per die) (-5F per-turn upkeep)
[] Space Wolves: Borrow Some Advisors [NEW]
The easiest way to bring your forces up to fighting fit is to have them trained by the best. Dia de Santo's Space Wolves may have the least glamorous job in Dominion Space, but she keeps them honed to a razor's edge, and a few of their NCOs will be sure to instill your troops with the appropriate esprit de corps.
(+3 Relations with Space Wolves)
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die)
[] Space Wolves: Blue Team [NEW]
In Dominion parlance, the "red team" is the allied force, and the "blue team" is the enemy force. As such, when you set up a cross-training exercise with Colonel de Santo's Space Wolves and your TRUST Security Force, the Space Wolves will act as the blue aggressor against a mock-up TRUST-defended "red site." This should give your troops much-needed practice and build strong ties between your two forces.
(+1 Relations with Space Wolves)
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -10F per die)
[] Space Wolves: Fort Romulus Amenities [NEW]
Fort Romulus is an impressive military installation, to be sure, but it's still a military base, and a recently-constructed one at that. By dipping into your discretionary budget, you can furnish it with bigger and more varied activity rooms, a higher grade of personal in-room comforts, and even better food. They'll surely be grateful for the effort.
(+2 Relations with Space Wolves)
(DC 40 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -15F per die)
[] Nova Squadron: Psychic Countermeasures Training [NEW]
While every citizen of the Dominion is screened for psychic potential at an early age, very little is known about or done with the notion of psychic powers beyond that, leaving them largely to conspiracy theorists and hack thriller novelists. Nova Squadron, however, possesses a plethora of specialized techniques that will improve resistance against psychic intrusion, and is willing to share them with your senior staff. This is good for you, and will be one less potential avenue of intrusion for Security to worry about.
(+2 Relations with Nova Squadron)
(DC 80 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -5F per die)
[] Nova Squadron: Joint Intelligence and Research Program [NEW]
In essence, the JIRP is a commitment to share low- and medium-tier intelligence and research data between the Treasury and Internal Security on an expedited basis. The other agencies will get the fruits of your respective labors, of course, but not on quite such a preferential basis.
(+3 Relations with Nova Squadron)
(DC 60 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -10F per die)
[] Nova Squadron: Divert Neotextiles Output [NEW]
Ghost hostile environment suits require a number of specialized components, and by adopting their basic design for the Protective Ensemble, you've inadvertently created a facility capable of mass-producing what the Ghost Academy previously handcrafted. By diverting a relatively minuscule portion of the Neotextiles Plant's output, you'll greatly improve the Ghost Program's ability to field and refurbish its operatives.
(+1 Relations with Nova Squadron)
(DC 40 to avoid +10 Paranoia, -15F per die)
Special
[] Team-Building Exercise (Bureaucracy/Personal, +6 modifier)
To an outsider, the Dominion Treasury is a faceless monolith of bureaucratic power, a gray tower of ceramacrete and neosteel that stomps around and does things unaccountably. But in truth, any human endeavor is made up of individuals, and those individuals leave an indelible mark on the unique culture of the team of which they are a part. Assign your Vice-Chancellor and Personal Secretary to jointly lead a morale-boosting field exercise for the senior staff, and witness just how they've shaped the Treasury and its people by their presence.
(Unlocks a permanent legacy trait for the Treasury)
(DC 100 to achieve success, -5R and -5F per die) (Must assign Bureaucracy and Personal dice in matched pairs) (Available as long as Samuel Smith and Jacob Arendt both remain employed)
36-hour moratorium, then 12 hours to vote. Please remember to strictly adhere to the Plan Formatting Guidelines and keep all conversations civil and productive.
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Empire (Music)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
On Democracy
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
The Umojan Protectorate is definitely the most democratic polity in the Koprulu Sector (and, unbeknownst to you, probably the most democratic human polity in existence) so it is basically the in-game benchmark for democrats and reformists. Whether it's democratic by modern standards ("kind of") is sort of irrelevant, because the historical era we as OOC people are a part of has basically been obliterated or distorted in-universe, first by the fascist United Powers League and then by the oligarchical Confederacy.
However, while there's not much history to point to, the Koprulu Sector has been settled for several centuries at this point and speculative political theory is just as popular in the 26th century as it is in the 21st. It would be implausible if someone hadn't independently developed theoretical systems like liberal democracy or social democracy. Moreover, the Confederacy tended to drape itself extensively in democratic trappings, and the unpopularity of the Confederacy won't stop democrats from wanting a democratic system but without the Old Families.
While there isn't currently an engaged mass democratic culture waiting in the wings for Mengsk to stumble, democratic ideals can be transmitted to or learned by the people, and some basic awareness of them does currently exist. It's all just a matter of how hard you're willing to work for it, and whether you think it's worth the effort, which is a subjective argument that I leave to the questers.
However, while there's not much history to point to, the Koprulu Sector has been settled for several centuries at this point and speculative political theory is just as popular in the 26th century as it is in the 21st. It would be implausible if someone hadn't independently developed theoretical systems like liberal democracy or social democracy. Moreover, the Confederacy tended to drape itself extensively in democratic trappings, and the unpopularity of the Confederacy won't stop democrats from wanting a democratic system but without the Old Families.
While there isn't currently an engaged mass democratic culture waiting in the wings for Mengsk to stumble, democratic ideals can be transmitted to or learned by the people, and some basic awareness of them does currently exist. It's all just a matter of how hard you're willing to work for it, and whether you think it's worth the effort, which is a subjective argument that I leave to the questers.
Voting closed
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
A 6-vote lead in a ~50-vote contest seems pretty insurmountable to me, and also I'm tired and want to go to bed, so I'm calling it a bit early so I can do rolls before I crash out.
A Helpful Reply (Semi-Canon)
General Horner
I must apologize for the brevity of this note, but we have limited time to compose our messages and limited space to carry them. Accordingly, I'll try to keep this brief, and hope it can provide some useful intelligence on the nature of the Zerg. The Protoss have a serious advantage on us-they've been able to tell us a lot, especially the 'dark templar' Zeratul. The Zerg are also a psionic species and the Protoss have been eavesdropping on their communications to a limited extent. More importantly, Zeratul and his attendants have killed several members of a key subspecies and been able to gain access to their thoughts and memories.
The Zerg are a hive mind, as we guessed, but they are far more than just that. The Overmind, the creature we helped kill on Aiur, was apparently the pinnacle and supreme authority of the Zerg minds, singular and directing the entire swarm. It was, however, apparently killed for good, with no chance of it coming back. However, it was not the only mind within the Zerg. Next down the ladder are the Cerberates, creatures that like the Overmind, are almost entirely creatures of thought and psionic power, being physically incarnated as giant pale worms. I've enclosed a few pictures, apologies for the poor quality. The Dark Templar can kill them with some kind of 'void energy' but I'll be damned if I have any understanding of what that is. Without that, they seem to reincarnate quickly, growing a new body in just hours or days. Still, there is some good here-they were apparently dependent on the Overmind to reincarnate, and without that, maybe they can't come back. Even if they can come back, killing them seems to have a negative effect on their hives for a few hours until they get over the trauma of dying. However, the next steps down the chain of command-the Overlords, Queens, and to some extent Defilers, seem to maintain control of limited zones of the Swarm as well, serving as field-officers of a sort. From what we've seen on Aiur, however, if their Cerberate is killed, these are themselves traumatized and revert to a certain level of instinct. While the lower reaches of the swarm might be capable of more thought, they aren't used to or designed to exercise it, so a Brood goes feral without direction from above.
Of the named Broods, we can confirm that three have been decapitated-Garm, Baelrog, and one we have dubbed Grendel. The Zerg themselves apparently wiped out Garm, but Baelrog and Grendel are still active and still very dangerous, abliet lacking strategic direction. Tiamat was present on Aiur, but it's Cerberate is apparently still on Char while the Overmind was in direct control of the brood here. But there's so many Zerg still on Auir that even killing the Overmind hasn't changed the basic calculus and Tiamat still has Daggoth. That's the name of the Cerberate in control apparently. They apparently have names...and personalities, strange as that is to think. The Overmind apparently sounded grandiose and formal. Its death throes didn't feel very grandiose, but I'm no telepath.
Kerrigan seems to sit somewhere to the side of all this, we're not quite sure what's going on there. We thought she was the Overmind's champion, her conversion the ace in the hole the Zerg needed to create some kind of super-Zerg that could fight the Protoss one on one. But she seems to have never been on Aiur, so who knows what the story is there. She might not have direct command of a Brood, but I think it's safe to guess it's just a matter of time if she decides she wants one. Kerrigan's got a leg up on everything else inside the Zerg hive-mind at the moment, and that's being used to thinking for herself. If she can't turn that into forcing her will onto Zerg, and leveraging that, then I'll be surprised. While I cannot give you any more actionable information, she might move more early than would be wise-she's very confident in her own strength now, perhaps overconfident.
I close now, wishing you find this information useful. May it save lives or give you some clarity in a troubled universe.
Your obedient servant.
Captain M. H.
I must apologize for the brevity of this note, but we have limited time to compose our messages and limited space to carry them. Accordingly, I'll try to keep this brief, and hope it can provide some useful intelligence on the nature of the Zerg. The Protoss have a serious advantage on us-they've been able to tell us a lot, especially the 'dark templar' Zeratul. The Zerg are also a psionic species and the Protoss have been eavesdropping on their communications to a limited extent. More importantly, Zeratul and his attendants have killed several members of a key subspecies and been able to gain access to their thoughts and memories.
The Zerg are a hive mind, as we guessed, but they are far more than just that. The Overmind, the creature we helped kill on Aiur, was apparently the pinnacle and supreme authority of the Zerg minds, singular and directing the entire swarm. It was, however, apparently killed for good, with no chance of it coming back. However, it was not the only mind within the Zerg. Next down the ladder are the Cerberates, creatures that like the Overmind, are almost entirely creatures of thought and psionic power, being physically incarnated as giant pale worms. I've enclosed a few pictures, apologies for the poor quality. The Dark Templar can kill them with some kind of 'void energy' but I'll be damned if I have any understanding of what that is. Without that, they seem to reincarnate quickly, growing a new body in just hours or days. Still, there is some good here-they were apparently dependent on the Overmind to reincarnate, and without that, maybe they can't come back. Even if they can come back, killing them seems to have a negative effect on their hives for a few hours until they get over the trauma of dying. However, the next steps down the chain of command-the Overlords, Queens, and to some extent Defilers, seem to maintain control of limited zones of the Swarm as well, serving as field-officers of a sort. From what we've seen on Aiur, however, if their Cerberate is killed, these are themselves traumatized and revert to a certain level of instinct. While the lower reaches of the swarm might be capable of more thought, they aren't used to or designed to exercise it, so a Brood goes feral without direction from above.
Of the named Broods, we can confirm that three have been decapitated-Garm, Baelrog, and one we have dubbed Grendel. The Zerg themselves apparently wiped out Garm, but Baelrog and Grendel are still active and still very dangerous, abliet lacking strategic direction. Tiamat was present on Aiur, but it's Cerberate is apparently still on Char while the Overmind was in direct control of the brood here. But there's so many Zerg still on Auir that even killing the Overmind hasn't changed the basic calculus and Tiamat still has Daggoth. That's the name of the Cerberate in control apparently. They apparently have names...and personalities, strange as that is to think. The Overmind apparently sounded grandiose and formal. Its death throes didn't feel very grandiose, but I'm no telepath.
Kerrigan seems to sit somewhere to the side of all this, we're not quite sure what's going on there. We thought she was the Overmind's champion, her conversion the ace in the hole the Zerg needed to create some kind of super-Zerg that could fight the Protoss one on one. But she seems to have never been on Aiur, so who knows what the story is there. She might not have direct command of a Brood, but I think it's safe to guess it's just a matter of time if she decides she wants one. Kerrigan's got a leg up on everything else inside the Zerg hive-mind at the moment, and that's being used to thinking for herself. If she can't turn that into forcing her will onto Zerg, and leveraging that, then I'll be surprised. While I cannot give you any more actionable information, she might move more early than would be wise-she's very confident in her own strength now, perhaps overconfident.
I close now, wishing you find this information useful. May it save lives or give you some clarity in a troubled universe.
Your obedient servant.
Captain M. H.
Turn 8 (Q2 2508) Trait Subvote
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
February 8, 2508
Wolfrec Province
Korhal
It's winter in sunny, atom-blasted Korhal's northern hemisphere, and that means the climate isn't actively trying to kill anyone. No radioactive dust storms, less punishing heat, clear skies, and wide, sweeping vistas that are actually quite nice, if you like your landscapes very, very austere. Don't take that rebreather mask off when you're outside, though.
While most governmental retreats are conducted on cushy resort worlds like Tyrador IX, you've uprooted the senior-most officials from the Treasury and brought them out to the middle of nowhere for some good, old-fashioned wilderness time, so they can learn about themselves and each other in the great outdoors. As TRUST officers who've been through Extremely Basic, they are at least not entirely unfamiliar with how to survive out-of-doors.
At the heart of the exercise is the sometimes-contentious, sometimes-productive rivalry between the department bureaucracy, led by Vice-Chancellor Samuel Smith, and the executive office, led by your aide de camp and personal secretary, Jacob Arendt. While you consider their working relationship to be quite tolerable and more than capable of producing acceptable results, there is undeniable friction between the two men and their personal ethics, a tension which extends through them to their many, many subordinates.
There's going to be an entire week of activities and exercises, and a variety of fun ways for people to twist an ankle, but you've poured all your cunning into developing one specific task that will, you hope, take two ill-fitting but irreplaceable cogs in your personal machine and click them together smoothly; if not as best friends, then at least as colleagues.
What do you put Smith and Arendt through?
[] A marathon of mixed-team competitive problem-solving exercises emphasizing cooperation and unorthodox thought
The trick is getting both groups, and especially their leaders, to let down their guard and rely on each other. Once they stop seeing their counterparts as the opposition and start seeing them as partners and colleagues, it'll be a lot easier to get them to share resources and expertise.
[Gain Hand in Glove: +1 Free die. If either Bureaucracy or Personal has a lower per-die category bonus than the other, use the other's bonus instead.]
[] A string of paired-off wilderness survival exercises, where each partner must extend trust to the other
Trust is everything; it's why you came up with your favorite acronym, after all. If you can get your personnel to look past the flaws and agendas that their counterparts come with, and instead see their co-workers' deficits as opportunities to pitch in, you think they'll be able to overcome their own problems as well.
[Gain A Little Nonsense: +1 Free die. Nullify the effects of No Nonsense. Extend the effects of Negotiator to Bureaucracy project dice. This trait will be updated with related and equivalent effects if any are no longer relevant.]
[] A series of mock combat exercises where team leaders are randomly swapped with their counterparts from other departments
Above all else, you want each part of the department to see the others as assets, not competitors. If they're in trouble, they should feel comfortable going to their counterparts and getting help; if they're doing well, they should be confident in extending a helping hand.
[Gain Lean on Me: +1 Free die. Once per turn, set the lowest Bureaucracy result to the highest Personal result, and the lowest Personal result to the highest Bureaucracy result.]
Congratulations on completing your first Special Project! The legacy trait you select here will be permanently applied to the Treasury Department itself, and is not contingent on any particular person or combination of people, so long as the entire department isn't purged or abolished. It represents the continuity of the working environment and the particular sensibilities passed down from veterans to new hires, so unless that continuity is completely destroyed, you'll keep it.
Also, I am back from my extended holiday break and will begin working on the next update soon. I figured I'd drop this now and give something for people to stew over. Hope everyone had a good holiday, or at least a restful end/beginning of the year!
24 hour moratorium, then 24 hours to vote, as usual.
Also, Vehrec's letter is officially semi-canon (there is indeed such a letter in canon; its contents may be a little different in detail but it's largely the same in function), and the Probability Array nets you guys another non-canon bonus, because I love all contributions to the thread.
Wolfrec Province
Korhal
It's winter in sunny, atom-blasted Korhal's northern hemisphere, and that means the climate isn't actively trying to kill anyone. No radioactive dust storms, less punishing heat, clear skies, and wide, sweeping vistas that are actually quite nice, if you like your landscapes very, very austere. Don't take that rebreather mask off when you're outside, though.
While most governmental retreats are conducted on cushy resort worlds like Tyrador IX, you've uprooted the senior-most officials from the Treasury and brought them out to the middle of nowhere for some good, old-fashioned wilderness time, so they can learn about themselves and each other in the great outdoors. As TRUST officers who've been through Extremely Basic, they are at least not entirely unfamiliar with how to survive out-of-doors.
At the heart of the exercise is the sometimes-contentious, sometimes-productive rivalry between the department bureaucracy, led by Vice-Chancellor Samuel Smith, and the executive office, led by your aide de camp and personal secretary, Jacob Arendt. While you consider their working relationship to be quite tolerable and more than capable of producing acceptable results, there is undeniable friction between the two men and their personal ethics, a tension which extends through them to their many, many subordinates.
There's going to be an entire week of activities and exercises, and a variety of fun ways for people to twist an ankle, but you've poured all your cunning into developing one specific task that will, you hope, take two ill-fitting but irreplaceable cogs in your personal machine and click them together smoothly; if not as best friends, then at least as colleagues.
What do you put Smith and Arendt through?
[] A marathon of mixed-team competitive problem-solving exercises emphasizing cooperation and unorthodox thought
The trick is getting both groups, and especially their leaders, to let down their guard and rely on each other. Once they stop seeing their counterparts as the opposition and start seeing them as partners and colleagues, it'll be a lot easier to get them to share resources and expertise.
[Gain Hand in Glove: +1 Free die. If either Bureaucracy or Personal has a lower per-die category bonus than the other, use the other's bonus instead.]
[] A string of paired-off wilderness survival exercises, where each partner must extend trust to the other
Trust is everything; it's why you came up with your favorite acronym, after all. If you can get your personnel to look past the flaws and agendas that their counterparts come with, and instead see their co-workers' deficits as opportunities to pitch in, you think they'll be able to overcome their own problems as well.
[Gain A Little Nonsense: +1 Free die. Nullify the effects of No Nonsense. Extend the effects of Negotiator to Bureaucracy project dice. This trait will be updated with related and equivalent effects if any are no longer relevant.]
[] A series of mock combat exercises where team leaders are randomly swapped with their counterparts from other departments
Above all else, you want each part of the department to see the others as assets, not competitors. If they're in trouble, they should feel comfortable going to their counterparts and getting help; if they're doing well, they should be confident in extending a helping hand.
[Gain Lean on Me: +1 Free die. Once per turn, set the lowest Bureaucracy result to the highest Personal result, and the lowest Personal result to the highest Bureaucracy result.]
Congratulations on completing your first Special Project! The legacy trait you select here will be permanently applied to the Treasury Department itself, and is not contingent on any particular person or combination of people, so long as the entire department isn't purged or abolished. It represents the continuity of the working environment and the particular sensibilities passed down from veterans to new hires, so unless that continuity is completely destroyed, you'll keep it.
Also, I am back from my extended holiday break and will begin working on the next update soon. I figured I'd drop this now and give something for people to stew over. Hope everyone had a good holiday, or at least a restful end/beginning of the year!
24 hour moratorium, then 24 hours to vote, as usual.
Also, Vehrec's letter is officially semi-canon (there is indeed such a letter in canon; its contents may be a little different in detail but it's largely the same in function), and the Probability Array nets you guys another non-canon bonus, because I love all contributions to the thread.
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