Are Penelope's star/Duzahk unexplored like in game? And if so, could we send an expedition to see if there's any decent usable planets in those systems, since they're still in the sector core?
Also, are any Mod Factions going to make an appearance or is this the vanilla experience?
Yeah, many of them don't really make sense in the context of the actual game but I'd argue that some of them add a little extra flavour to the shockingly underpopulated sector.
Are Penelope's star/Duzahk unexplored like in game? And if so, could we send an expedition to see if there's any decent usable planets in those systems, since they're still in the sector core?
Also, are any Mod Factions going to make an appearance or is this the vanilla experience?
none of the three unpopulated systems are unexplored in the quest, both Penelope's Star and Tia-Ta'xet have canon events that happen long after the Domain-era Collapse, and Duzahk is one of the more central systems in the sector so it wouldn't make sense to have it unexplored. don't start salivating about the possibility of terran planets in the core though. both Duzahk and Penelope's Star only have a single partially terraformed desert planet with little in the way of resources and Tia-Ta'zet has no habitable planets. they are officially terra nullius.
as for modded factions... no, the possible breaches in canon between multiple modded factions and lack of reliable information for most of them means that it would generally be a clusterfuck. also I don't really play modded so I would be kinda writing in the dark. not saying new factions are not possible, they just won't be there at the start.
as for modded factions... no, the possible breaches in canon between multiple modded factions and lack of reliable information for most of them means that it would generally be a clusterfuck.
you... have a bit of a conundrum. with your recent discovery that the {REDACTED} are still loose in the outer sector, the simple fact is you cannot remain in the dark about what they're doing, and you do have plans to deal with that - but they are plans made without your right hand man. Hannigan is still not in the know about just what transpired with your meeting, and Intelligence Commander Artemis Sun has been quite adamant that only those who need to know should be in the know. but your the Hegemon, in the end it is you who decides who needs to know, and having your old companion assisting you would be useful.
[ ] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
[ ] do not inform him, you need to keep this of utmost secret.
…..
Shipwrights Union walkout ended: the two year long walkout by the shipwrights union has finally reached its end. originally sparked after the Olympus Shipyards company changed payment from the Domain credit to the much more volatile Chicomoztoc dollar, the company has agreed to the unions terms. many have sighed in relief as the last Capital sized Shipyard autofactory in the Hegemony was stirred from its slumber and already new ships are being built, Olympus Shipyards has assured investors that this was a onetime issue and will not happen again.
Nortian trade routes infringed!: over the last few weeks several traders traveling from Nortia to the rest of the sector have been forced to pay tariffs by Sindrian patrols near the Salus jump point, when questioned about the reasons for these tariffs Grand General Phillip Andrada stated "the Sindrian Dictat has the right to enforce its laws in the Askonia system, including the Salus jump point, the fact of the matter is that these traders have been transporting goods from a Sindrian planet without paying the required taxes." Andrada has not clarified this statement at present time.
…..
Diplomatic (2 Actions)
[ ] The enemy of my enemy: the mining world of Cethlenn remains hostile to the Tri-Tachyon corporation, and while things have definitely cooled down between the Hegemony and Tri-Tachyon in recent years more friends is always good. Set up a Diplomatic venture to the mining world and see if you can't turn your mutual dislike of the Megacorp into something useful. DC: 40 Cost: 1000 Reward: diplomatic connections made with Cethlenn.
[ ] Daily Reminder: like fuck your going to let that narcissistic prick Andrada get his way in this, the Askonian Emergency Government is guaranteed by the Hegemony and he is going to be reminded of that. publicly reinforce your continued support of the Nortians and condemn the Diktats recent actions. Get the bastard to back down. DC: ? Reward: independence of Nortia secured.
[ ] To boldly go: while Hegemony expeditions to the outer worlds stoped a century ago, that is not true of everyone. the Galatian Academy has been sending out survey expeditions since the collapse without pause, if there's anyone who knows anything about the threats and hazards in the outer sector, it's them. Ask very nicely if they could give you a few of their star charts. DC: 60 Reward: patchwork modern star charts, bonus to exploration rolls.
[ ] Echoes of the past: a ship has a long memory, navigational data, Combat logs, and damage reports can tell a tale more vividly than any other. The Ko Combine of Agreus makes work on hundreds of ships of varying age each year with the patchwork info of the hulks scraped along with the ship, request that the ship data of hulks suspected to of travelled in the outer sector be sent to Hegemony intelligence. With luck, you'll find some valuable information on what to expect. DC: variable Reward: information
[ ] What do you learn from a drunken miner?: Garnir is a very special spot at the moment. The planet was only recolonised a few decades ago, the very same people who surveyed and settled the planet are still alive to this day, they've done something no one post-collapse has ever done before, they built a colony from the ground up. Getting some info on how they did it from the horses mouth would help not just in rare chance the Hegemony founds a new colony, but also mining worlds in general. DC: 30 Reward: bonus to surveying rolls, new Domestic actions.
Military (2 Actions)
[ ] Supply and Demand: you have been waiting for this, the moment when you can finally start your reforms. Daud may have been a brilliant Admiral and genius Marshall but a supply officer he was not. It's finally time to deal with the thousands of problems both minor and major that constantly hindered your career. DC: 40 Time: 5 turns Cost: 1000 Reward: Hegemony supply chain modernized
[ ] Lessons Learned: while the pirate hunting campaign was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, there must be something that can be learned from it, you don't just have an entire navy mobilised and in combat for several months without some knowledge being obtained. DC: 20 Cost: 1000 Reward: new options, Bonus to background pirate hunting rolls.
[ ] A soldiers rights: ah, the army. The least famous branch in the Hegemony, while the Navy soars through space forever the first line of offence and defence and the elite Marines in massive power armour suits fight through command bunkers and massive battleships the army is just... There. That's not to say they aren't important, it's the army that deals with local insurrection and enemy marine landings after all, It's just that proper planetary invasions don't happen anymore. You simply can't transport the troops required to capture and then occupy a planet. So the army just sits there and doesn't really register in the minds of many, apparently some Eventide generals used this lack of oversite to enforce their own view of what a "civilised army" looks like E.G: they threw out all the Luddic chaplains. Your going to love how the fuckers try to excuse their actions when you bring the hammer down. DC: 40 Reward: problematic officers dealt with, army recruitment pool increased.
[ ] Instructions unclear: language can change a lot in a couple of century's. new words, meanings, and contexts make what once was clear instructions completely illegible to a modern reader. you've had a quick read of the instruction manuals on some of the older ships and there's no way someone in a emergency situation would be able to figure out what its saying. you need them modernised yesterday. DC: 20 Cost: 500 Reward: hidden malus on older ships removed
[ ] A chink in the fence: the Corvus system is vital to the Hegemony, if Jangala were blockaded you would have to rely on food exports from the Luddic church to keep your people from starving. recent events have shown that in spite of Corvus being deep in your territory a desperate enough opponent could invade the system without being detected, you need that garrison reinforced. DC: 0 Cost: 10000 Reward: Corvus garrison upgraded from low to medium
Fleet Construction
[ ] Construct a Conquest-class Battlecruiser: The Conquest-class battlecruiser is the embodiment of firepower. Developed in the period just preceding the popularization of fighter craft, the class emphasizes firepower and speed over protection. it is very much a fleet killer with separate batteries on port and starboard inspired by the broadsides of old seafaring warships. its capability in a capital duel however is lacking due to a inability to bring its full firepower on a single target. DC: 0 Time: 3 turns Cost: 80000 Reward: Conquest-class Battlecruiser + escorts, -1000 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Onslaught-class Battleship: the first capital ship ever designed by the Domain, several modernisations where made pre-collapse to the ship to keep it up to date with more recently developed capitals. king of the Battleship duel, only a Paragon could reliably beat the lumbering armoured behemoth alone, its forward-facing shields however leave it with a terrible weakness to small fast ships that can get through its point defence. DC: 0 Time: 4 turns Cost: 100000 Reward: Onslaught-class Battleship + escorts, -1500 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Carrier group: traditionally the Hegemony has relied on its gunships instead of its carriers to do the leg work, this doesn't mean Carriers are useless. most Hegemony carriers are equipped with air superiority fighters, hoping to engage enemy bomber wings long before they can strike the fleet. while with little in the way of pure firepower carriers are a vital part in the Hegemony's battles against large frigate and carrier forces. DC: 0 Time: 2 turns Cost: 40000 Reward: two large carriers + escorts, -500 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Cruiser group: a battleship without support is a dead battleship, cruisers are required to prevent flanking manoeuvres and to fill gaps in a battle line and can easily duck and dive into capital duels themselves to give their battleship an advantage. having said that it would take at least four cruisers to stand up to a proper battleship alone. DC: 0 Time: 2 turns Cost: 40000 Reward: two cruisers + escorts, -500 a turn in maintenance
The following briefing is cleared for officers at Hegemony COMSEC level ALABASTER. If this document has come into your possession outside of protocol 20 then you must destroy this document and report immediately to your unit intelligence officer for enhanced debriefing.
[ ] Prepare an outer sector expedition: you know you don't have the resources for it, you know you don't have any clue where to start. but to defeat your enemy you must know your enemy and you know nothing about what the AI bastards have been doing at the moment. you at the very least need numbers. send something to at least scout out what's going on. DC: varies Cost: 1000 minimum Reward: expedition planned
Domestic (1 Action)
[ ] Anyone else?: okay, you've listened to the politicians, now for the other half of the invitations and meetings. Although not exactly prominent parts of the Hegemony there are a few people and organisations with interesting sounding ideas, but you can't be entirely sure if they're just spouting nonsense until you've actually met them. DC: 20 Reward: new options
[ ] Encourage Trade: for the first time in decades, trade flows safely in Hegemony space, well, as safely as you can get in the Persean sector. Already merchants are making riskier investments and taking more valuable loads as the costs of protecting those loads is reduced significantly, If there ever was a time where this would work, it's now. Grant some minor subsidies to the small fish in the mercantile industry to help them get back up on their feet. DC: 40 Cost: 2000 Reward: trade income increased.
[ ] Finding the source: it wasn't external, it wasn't Tri-Tachyon or any of your opponents on the galactic stage that hired these assassins. Someone from Chicomoztoc itself hired these killers, whoever it was cannot be allowed to go freely, continue the investigation without the possibly complicit Chicomoztoc police force, into just who hired these guys. DC: 50 Reward: investigation started into who hired the assassins.
Intelligence (1 Action)
[ ] Communication Error: it's no secret that Tri-Tachyon has access to Hegemony military communication relays. The "counter" to this during the Second AI war was to send military information physically via courier ships. This was a bloody nightmare. Requests for fuel or ammunition or medical supplies would take weeks to get to you and then weeks to get back, if the courier even made it to you at all, you're going to get the best counterespionage experts in the Hegemony and either get working on a way to protect your relays or you're going to smash each courier ship to bits and use the damn relays anyway DC: 60 Cost: 5000 Reward: major wartime communication security bonus
[ ] Black market blues: it probably shouldn't be surprising to you that the less moral markets have also grown with the lack of pirate activity, its actually started to become a problem. so much so that Artemis Sun has asked for additional resources to be given to the Hegemony Civilian Investigations department to help expand the overloaded agency. DC: 30 Cost: 500 per turn Reward: black market smuggling problem smothered in its crib.
[ ] Persuasive negotiation: you currently have several prisoners from the hunting campaign rotting in their cells. While interrogations are already ongoing what prisoners that are willing to talk about their compatriots have requested severely reduced sentences in exchange, while you doubt the more gung ho in Hegemony space would appreciate the necessity of this form of realpolitik you need every link you can get. Accept the offer, see what they've got. DC: 40 Reward: information, possible anti-pirate actions. Bonus to background pirate hunting rolls
.....
you gain Net 6500 Domain Credits a turn due to taxes and tariffs, you currently have a treasury of 70000 Credits, please plan accordingly
Micheal Erbert currently has 1 Personal Focus to spend, to spend a personal action simply put the name of the character at the end of the action, like so [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert
Jack O'Hannigan Currently has 1 Personal Focus to spend, Jack O'Hannigan is an Aide and as such his stat bonus is halved when used on an action.
THIS IS PLANNED VOTING
if you have any questions, be it on lore or voting, don't be afraid to ask.
VOTES CLOSED
.....
all right, tutorials officialy over. the gloves are off.
[ ] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
[ ] Daily Reminder: [ ] Echoes of the past:
[ ] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [ ] A chink in the fence:
I don't know if there is a limit to how much Fleet building actions we can take so I chose two: [ ] Construct a Conquest-class Battlecruiser: [ ] Construct a Cruiser group:
I don't know if there is a limit to how much Fleet building actions we can take so I chose two: [ ] Construct a Conquest-class Battlecruiser: [ ] Construct a Cruiser group:
Okay so 1: Fleet construction is a sub category of military action and you've overspent military ap by two and 2: those two construction options cost 120000 Credits, you currently have 70000, your overspending your funds by 50000 on that alone.
Okay so 1: Fleet construction is a sub category of military action and you've overspent military ap by two and 2: those two construction options cost 120000 Credits, you currently have 70000, your overspending your funds by 50000 on that alone.
Okay that will teach me writing on phone while walking, so lets modify it a little.
[ ] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
[ ] Daily Reminder: [ ] Echoes of the past:
[ ] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [ ] A chink in the fence:
[ ] Encourage Trade:
[ ] Black market blues: Jack O'Hannigan
Since the fleet options cost quite a lot and I would like to both finish the Supply action and up the defences in that system I will wait with construction till we have more cash and less actions to do.
[X] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
I agree with this wholeheartedly, we can't do everything by ourselves and we might well need his bonus to rolls at some point
Diplomatic (2 Actions)
[X] Daily Reminder [X] The enemy of my enemy: the mining world of Cethlenn remains hostile to the Tri-Tachyon corporation, and while things have definitely cooled down between the Hegemony and Tri-Tachyon in recent years more friends is always good. Set up a Diplomatic venture to the mining world and see if you can't turn your mutual dislike of the Megacorp into something useful. DC: 40 Cost: 1000 Reward: diplomatic connections made with Cethlenn.
We need to act on this first since other factions also have actions, and we need to captialise on the worlds we can get influence over this is one of the more time sensitive actions so we should do it ASAP
Military (2 Actions) [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [X] A chink in the fence:
Domestic (1 Action) [X] Encourage Trade
Intelligence (1 Action) [X] Black market blues: Jack O'Hannigan
Are there any options for building destroyer packs or something akin to that for general fast reactions to situations, plus it would be cheaper and almost feasible to use these for some outer system patrolling where they're small and fast enough to avoid big fleets, but strong enough to discourage oppotunistic attacks.
[X] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
Diplomatic (2 Actions)
[X] Daily Reminder [X] The enemy of my enemy: the mining world of Cethlenn remains hostile to the Tri-Tachyon corporation, and while things have definitely cooled down between the Hegemony and Tri-Tachyon in recent years more friends is always good. Set up a Diplomatic venture to the mining world and see if you can't turn your mutual dislike of the Megacorp into something useful. DC: 40 Cost: 1000 Reward: diplomatic connections made with Cethlenn.
Military (2 Actions) [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [X] A chink in the fence:
Domestic (1 Action) [X] Encourage Trade
Intelligence (1 Action) [X] Black market blues: Jack O'Hannigan
Are there any options for building destroyer packs or something akin to that for general fast reactions to situations, plus it would be cheaper and almost feasible to use these for some outer system patrolling where they're small and fast enough to avoid big fleets, but strong enough to discourage oppotunistic attacks.
You don't have that option beacause of your current doctrines. if you want outer system patrols the garrisons deal with that allready, so if you want more thorough patrols, just keep increasing those garrisons. If your talking about outer sector expeditions, don't worry, a destroyer group sectioned off from the AI investigation fleets is one of the options. Besides, even if you did have the option it would still cost around the same amount as the cruiser/carrier options beacause you would be building a dozen destroyers minimum.
[X] inform Hannigan of the current situation, allowing his personal action to be spent on all future ALABASTER security level actions
[X] Daily Reminder [X] The enemy of my enemy: [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [X] A chink in the fence [X] Encourage Trade [X] Black market blues: Jack O'Hannigan
We have actions to assign Hannigan's personal action to already. I don't think reading Hannigan in on ALABASTER secrets does much other than expand the list of people who know about it, which isn't good for keeping it secret. I think we ought to investigate with just ourselves aware of it, at least until our investigation gives us reasons to believe there's urgency to the problem and we actually need the extra actions to solve and investigate faster.
[X] do not inform him, you need to keep this of utmost secret.
[X] Daily Reminder [X] The enemy of my enemy: [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert [X] A chink in the fence [X] Encourage Trade [X] Black market blues: Jack O'Hannigan
you sigh into the air "so, that's about it, any questions?"
Hannigan stares into the wall behind you, opening his mouth several times before finally figuring out what he wanted to say "well, shit."
a hollow chuckle escapes your lips "yeah, that about sums it up." you offer Hannigan shot of Fediech, which he takes gladly "your taking this awfully well"
Hannigan smirks "yeah, I knew something was fucked. the way Commander Sun was going on when we were organizing the meeting and your... reaction after it really didn't help, just didn't think it would be this." he takes a small sip of his drink, before looking contemplatively "shits really fucked isn't it? at the numbers we've got at the moment"
"we'd barely scratch a proper holdout" you finish for him "but we can think about that after we find them, which is what I'm trying to do. I need your help with this, if there's anyone I can trust, its you." you need all the help you can get, really.
"don't worry, its just another fire for us to put out. I'll make sure no one hears about this meeting either." your companion glances at the four guards in the room "except for you guys, don't worry."
your reply is completely monotone "Hannigan, their earmuffs are on."
he glances back at the guard, then the empty glass in his hand "yeah, I think that's enough for today. point is, you can count on me."
you let the last of the tension ebb out "never doubted that, not once." with that, the conversation ends, and you find the dread that settled over you at the start of the year abating just a little bit.
Hannigan can now use his personal action on ALABASTER level options.
…..
The enemy of my enemy: the mining world of Cethlenn remains hostile to the Tri-Tachyon corporation, and while things have definitely cooled down between the Hegemony and Tri-Tachyon in recent years more friends is always good. Set up a Diplomatic venture to the mining world and see if you can't turn your mutual dislike of the Megacorp into something useful. DC: 40 Cost: 1000 Reward: diplomatic connections made with Cethlenn. Rolled: 85, success
there was no small amount of worry in this, you knew that Cethlenn is fiercely anti-Tri-Tachyon, its part of the reason your doing this in the first place. but that in itself could have been a problem with your increasingly peaceful relation with the megacorp in the last couple of decades. it is with nervous diplomats and tense guards that you meet the local officials.
in the end, they were almost understanding of your new relations with Tri-Tachyon, and you can see why. the cryovolcanic world only has a couple thousand permanent residents, the other forty thousand are seasonal workers from Eochu Bres lower classes. the unfortunate fact is that any open hostility to the Megacorp ends in a dead world, but foreign relations with another power is not, in and of itself, hostilities. the miners of Cethlenn have agreed to allow an embassy and accepted non-aggression and trade deals.
Success, diplomatic relations with Cethlenn obtained, +500 from trade income a turn.
Daily Reminder: like fuck your going to let that narcissistic prick Andrada get his way in this, the Askonian Emergency Government is guaranteed by the Hegemony and he is going to be reminded of that. publicly reinforce your continued support of the Nortians and condemn the Diktats recent actions. Get the bastard to back down. DC: ? Reward: independence of Nortia secured. Rolled: 35, success
there's nothing quite like watching the sector slow to a crawl as you choose the lives of seventy thousand over the possibility of a bloody war that could kill that tenfold. you know the risks, but you refuse to let some narcissistic strongman destroy the last embers of a society he annihilated in the first place. Andrada wouldn't take such an even fight, the only thing bigger than his pride is his intellect on the battlefield. its a bluff, obviously, has to be.
you send a public message explicitly disapproving of the Diktats actions in free space, and reinforcing that Dauds Guarantee of the Nortians independence still stands. a week goes by with no change in the Diktats position and you go one step further, you start sending Hegemony ships to escort the trade fleets. under Admiral Soloman herself, its four hours of nervous silence as the first trade fleet explicitly under your protection is physically blocked by the Diktat patrols before the Diktats ships seem to break off. five months later and the Diktat is still complaining about "the Hegemony supporting terrorist elements" but besides that its gone back to normal.
which leaves you questioning what the point of it was? a bluff like that is usually a negotiating tactic, but nothing was requested in exchange. it was a good propaganda victory you suppose, but that couldn't have been worth the risk of some stupid captain firing in a panic and starting a war they'd lose as much as you would. then you realise, Dauds Guarantee. with Daud dead there was the possibility that the new Hegemon wouldn't agree with Dauds policy on the Askonia system. the bastard was checking to see if you would respond, and if not how much he could get away with.
Success, the Diktat has backed down, anti-Hegemony propaganda is at an all time high in Diktat space.
Supply and Demand: you have been waiting for this, the moment when you can finally start your reforms. Daud may have been a brilliant Admiral and genius Marshall but a supply officer he was not. It's finally time to deal with the thousands of problems both minor and major that constantly hindered your career. DC: 40 Time: 5 turns Cost: 1000 Reward: Hegemony supply chain modernized. Rolled: 55+24+5=84, Success
all right, you will admit, you've been thinking about this the wrong way. part of your failure last time you tried to prepare this is the multitudes of options available to you once you modernise the supply system, but after the first month of ideas and arguments and contradictory evidence its obvious that this is leading nowhere. in the end you decide you can get to work on making a good supply chain once you have a serviceable supply chain, which you already have the basis of. for the rest of the year you spend your time explicitly stating what you intend to do to the Logistics chain, and where you expect things to change. of course this is too big to happen in just a few months, the current logistics machine is a lethargic beast, and any major doctrine change takes time. but you hope your personal word and explicit orders will help prevent things from getting too tangled.
success, modernisation in progress, results will occur in 5 turns.
A chink in the fence: the Corvus system is vital to the Hegemony, if Jangala were blockaded you would have to rely on food exports from the Luddic church to keep your people from starving. recent events have shown that in spite of Corvus being deep in your territory a desperate enough opponent could invade the system without being detected, you need that garrison reinforced. DC: 0 Cost: 10000 Reward: Corvus garrison upgraded from low to medium. Automatic Success
this was simple in and of itself, two enforcers and a hammerhead are commissioned as well as a few more frigates, the ancient shipyards of Chicomoztoc get to work, and the required crew are being transferred from volunteers in the auxiliary forces. By the end of the year the dinky patrol fleet of magnificent lunatics finally have some ships that are expected to face the odds of the previous battle.
Automatic Success, Corvus garrison fleet upgraded from low to medium
Encourage Trade: for the first time in decades, trade flows safely in Hegemony space, well, as safely as you can get in the Persean sector. Already merchants are making riskier investments and taking more valuable loads as the costs of protecting those loads is reduced significantly, If there ever was a time where this would work, it's now. Grant some minor subsidies to the small fish in the mercantile industry to help them get back up on their feet. DC: 40 Cost: 2000 Reward: trade income increased. Rolled 79, success
this was close, far to close for comfort. you have another group of entitled pricks to deal with.
in the last six months since the hunter campaign, trade has been truly free flowing, before then you had a few large shipping companies that could afford a mercenary guard. there were of course the occasional independent merchant captain crazy enough to go out their own but they were a rare sort. you had hoped that with the pirates dealt with things would get better, they have to a point, the point where its no longer profitable to the shipping companies. the various corporations are already taking advantage of their head start to create little planetary monopoly's, with some shipping lanes being filled with only a single companies ships. and smaller vessel either being bought outright or suffering from "accidents". its gone past corporate ambition into that infamous avarice most commonly related with Tri-Tachyon.
out of all your decisions as Hegemon, you never expected this to be the first with proper opposition. the Megacorps - you feel comfortable in calling them that at this point - start hiring pundits and lobbyists to try and bring popular opinion against the decision, in spite of the money spent in their attempts to make the new laws a political issue the campaign fails to get proper grip before the laws are passed and the political circus quickly goes on to other issues. But the mere fact they even attempted to do that is troubling. At least you've stopped the bleeding.
Success... almost too late. instead of taking advantage of the new space travel situation, all you did was make the few independent merchants have roughly equal success as they should have with the pirates gone. +1000 credits a turn in trade income.
Black market blues: it probably shouldn't be surprising to you that the less moral markets have also grown with the lack of pirate activity, its actually started to become a problem. so much so that Artemis Sun has asked for additional resources to be given to the Hegemony Civilian Investigations department to help expand the overloaded agency. DC: 30 Cost: 500 per turn Reward: black market smuggling problem smothered in its crib. Rolled 3+7=10, Failure
you look through the file Hannigan put on your desk "i don't see what I'm supposed to look at" all you saw were the HCI's admittedly poorly organised budget, nothing that should be worth your note.
Hannigan smiles, then puts a finger on his forehead with the most smug grin on his face "I believe that's the point sir, if you could look at page seventeen and then page ninety it should become apparent."
you slowly raise your eyebrow before continuing to the suggested pages, page seventeen is a list of where all the current funding for the HCI goes, it all seems sensible to your admittedly quick analysis, page ninety on the other hand is about the specific funding used in organisation administration and - son of a bitch "the numbers are different" roughly enough money to by a large house is missing from page ninety's specifics compared to what the funding for admin was on page seventeen. you steeple your hands in thought "I'm guessing this isn't the only one you found?"
the satisfied smile on the old Tigrans face turns a bit more serious "its just the most obvious, there's roughly quintuple that missing in the rest of the document. one alone could be an error, but all at the same time?." there's just the faintest amount of irritation in his voice "something seemed odd about the directors desperation for more funding, it was a bit too desperate even for an overstretched department. low and behold it seems it was already stretched for another reason."
there's a scowl on your face "tell the HIC their funding increase is cancelled, and get me commander Sun."
Failure, thanks to O'Hannigans Personal action a critical failure was prevented, all action involving the HCI are unavailable until the corruption is dealt with.
.....
And it's finished ahead of time! Been using my iPad to edit this time, going to see how well it works. Next turn should be up in a couple of days, schedule willing.
corp are being corp again i see.
and dictator got to be dick as well.
and wow ppl who make a living of not being found where not found who would have thought that.
you sigh into the silence of a midmorning day on Chicomoztoc. in the last year you dealt with a diplomatic crisis, a pirate assault into the inner systems (bless those magnificent bastards in the 4th defence fleet), and have laid the ground work of a complete rebuilding of the century's old logistics chain. and yet you still have three internal corruption issues, a dictator prodding for whatever he can gain from you, the {REDACTED}, and now this. you turn your chair to the main window, where a viscous sandstorm is billowing across the small town of Tashkent. has it always been like this? Or is it some incompetence on your part?
you look in the distance, and can see the remains of the military bases hastily established during the Sindrian wars, now half-buried under piles of sand. you raise your head to the ceiling and in your minds eye can see the battle-scared surface of Coatl in the distance. you turn around, hearing a security patrol thump their way through the hallway of a building more command bunker than Executive house. yes, its always been like this.
that disgusting normalcy of misery is why you fight, why the Hegemony and everyone in it fights. There's no point in doubting your judgement now, when all of this has happened before.
You put the report on the latest pirate raids on your desk "Get me space Marshall Stelks, I want her opinion on the pirate resurgence." There's always more work to do.
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Pirates returning to Hegemony space: while many have felt safe in the last year in Hegemony space it seems that several of the more ambitious pirate bands have begun plying the trade lanes once again. While these pirate fleets are nothing compared to the norm in the sector their presence has forced many merchants to once again hire mercenary escorts. -500 a turn in trade income.
Old Maxios survivor group rescued!: it is common knowledge that many could not or would not leave during the Maxios collapse, and that many people still roam the ruined cities of the dead planet living a desperate decivilised existence. But should the forgotten of old Maxios call, Nova Maxios will answer! A daring operation by the Maxios militia navy has successfully evacuated over three-thousand survivors from the planet after they contacted Nova Maxios via the humble radio. The city of Maxios has already set up temporary living space for their long lost brethren and expect permanent lodgings to be constructed by the end of the year.
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Diplomatic (2 Actions)
[ ] To boldly go: while Hegemony expeditions to the outer worlds stopped a century ago, that is not true of everyone. The Galatian Academy has been sending out survey expeditions since the collapse without pause, if there's anyone who knows anything about the threats and hazards in the outer sector, it's them. Ask very nicely if they could give you a few of their star charts. DC: 60 Reward: patchwork modern star charts, bonus to exploration rolls.
[ ] Echoes of the past: a ship has a long memory, navigational data, Combat logs, and damage reports can tell a tale more vividly than any other. The Ko Combine of Agreus makes work on hundreds of ships of varying age each year with the patchwork info of the hulks scraped along with the ship, request that the ship data of hulks suspected to of travelled in the outer sector be sent to Hegemony intelligence. With luck, you'll find some valuable information on what to expect. DC: variable Reward: information
[ ] What do you learn from a drunken miner?: Garnir is a very special spot at the moment. The planet was only recolonised a few decades ago, the very same people who surveyed and settled the planet are still alive to this day, they've done something no one post-collapse has ever done before, they built a colony from the ground up. Getting some info on how they did it from the horse's mouth would help not just in rare chance the Hegemony founds a new colony, but also mining worlds in general. DC: 30 Reward: bonus to surveying rolls, new Domestic actions.
[ ] Jolly Cooperation: Garnir and the Arcadian coalition are currently the Hegemony's closest allies, but they have little to do with each other outside of that. While you can do no more than suggest that the two meet and act as an arbitrator between them, maybe it will amount something? DC: 20 Reward: Arcadian-Garnir relations increased, possible agreements/deals between the two polities.
Military (2 Actions)
[ ] Lessons Learned: while the pirate hunting campaign was relatively minor in the grand scheme of things, there must be something that can be learned from it, you don't just have an entire navy mobilised and in combat for several months without some knowledge being obtained. DC: 20 Cost: 1000 Reward: new options, Bonus to background pirate hunting rolls.
[ ] A soldiers rights: ah, the army. The least famous branch in the Hegemony, while the Navy soars through space forever the first line of offence and defence and the elite Marines in massive power armour suits fight through command bunkers and massive battleships the army is just... There. That's not to say they aren't important, it's the army that deals with local insurrection and enemy marine landings after all, it's just that proper planetary invasions don't happen anymore. You simply can't transport the troops required to capture and then occupy a planet. So the army just sits there and doesn't really register in the minds of many, apparently some Eventide generals used this lack of oversite to enforce their own view of what a "civilised army" looks like E.G: they threw out all the Luddic chaplains. You're going to love how the fuckers try to excuse their actions when you bring the hammer down. DC: 40 Reward: problematic officers dealt with, army recruitment pool increased.
[ ] Instructions unclear: language can change a lot in a couple of centuries. New words, meanings, and contexts make what once was clear instructions completely illegible to a modern reader. You've had a quick read of the instruction manuals on some of the older ships and there's no way someone in an emergency situation would be able to figure out what its saying. You need them modernised yesterday. DC: 20 Cost: 500 Reward: hidden malus on older ships removed
Fleet Construction
[ ] Construct a Conquest-class Battlecruiser: The Conquest-class battlecruiser is the embodiment of firepower. Developed in the period just preceding the popularization of fighter craft, the class emphasizes firepower and speed over protection. It is very much a fleet killer with separate batteries on port and starboard inspired by the broadsides of old seafaring warships. Its capability in a capital duel however is lacking due to an inability to bring its full firepower on a single target. DC: 0 Time: 3 turns Cost: 80000 Reward: Conquest-class Battlecruiser + escorts, -1000 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Onslaught-class Battleship: the first capital ship ever designed by the Domain, several modernisations where made pre-collapse to the ship to keep it up to date with more recently developed capitals. King of the Battleship duel, only a Paragon could reliably beat the lumbering armoured behemoth alone, its forward-facing shields however leave it with a terrible weakness to small fast ships that can get through its point defence. DC: 0 Time: 4 turns Cost: 100000 Reward: Onslaught-class Battleship + escorts, -1500 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Carrier group: traditionally the Hegemony has relied on its gunships instead of its carriers to do the leg work, this doesn't mean Carriers are useless. Most Hegemony carriers are equipped with air superiority fighters, hoping to engage enemy bomber wings long before they can strike the fleet. While with little in the way of pure firepower carriers are a vital part in the Hegemony's battles against large frigate and carrier forces. DC: 0 Time: 2 turns Cost: 40000 Reward: two large carriers + escorts, -500 a turn in maintenance
[ ] Construct a Cruiser group: a battleship without support is a dead battleship, cruisers are required to prevent flanking manoeuvres and to fill gaps in a battle line and can easily duck and dive into capital duels themselves to give their battleship an advantage. Having said that it would take at least four cruisers to stand up to a proper battleship alone. DC: 0 Time: 2 turns Cost: 40000 Reward: two cruisers + escorts, -500 a turn in maintenance
The following briefing is cleared for officers at Hegemony COMSEC level ALABASTER. If this document has come into your possession outside of protocol 20 then you must destroy this document and report immediately to your unit intelligence officer for enhanced debriefing.
[ ] Prepare an outer sector expedition: you know you don't have the resources for it, you know you don't have any clue where to start. but to defeat your enemy you must know your enemy and you know nothing about what the AI bastards have been doing at the moment. you at the very least need numbers. send something to at least scout out what's going on. DC: varies Cost: 1000 minimum Reward: expedition planned
Domestic (1 Action)
[ ] Anyone else?: okay, you've listened to the politicians, now for the other half of the invitations and meetings. Although not exactly prominent parts of the Hegemony there are a few people and organisations with interesting sounding ideas, but you can't be entirely sure if they're just spouting nonsense until you've actually met them. DC: 20 Reward: new options
[ ] Finding the source: it wasn't external, it wasn't Tri-Tachyon or any of your opponents on the galactic stage that hired these assassins. Someone from Chicomoztoc itself hired these killers, whoever it was cannot be allowed to go freely, continue the investigation without the possibly complicit Chicomoztoc police force, into just who hired these guys. DC: 50 Reward: investigation continued into who hired the assassins.
Intelligence (1 Action)
[ ] Communication Error: it's no secret that Tri-Tachyon has access to Hegemony military communication relays. The "counter" to this during the Second AI war was to send military information physically via courier ships. This was a bloody nightmare. Requests for fuel or ammunition or medical supplies would take weeks to get to you and then weeks to get back, if the courier even made it to you at all, you're going to get the best counterespionage experts in the Hegemony and either get working on a way to protect your relays or you're going to smash each courier ship to bits and use the damn relays anyway DC: 60 Cost: 5000 Reward: major wartime communication security bonus
[ ] Black market blues: it probably shouldn't be surprising to you that the less moral markets have also grown with the lack of pirate activity, it's actually started to become a problem. So much so that Artemis Sun has asked for additional resources to be given to the Hegemony Civilian Investigations department to help expand the overloaded agency. DC: 30 Cost: 500 per turn Reward: black market smuggling problem smothered in its crib. Impossible due to internal corruption
[ ] Persuasive negotiation: you currently have several prisoners from the hunting campaign rotting in their cells. While interrogations are already ongoing what prisoners that are willing to talk about their compatriots have requested severely reduced sentences in exchange, while you doubt the more gung ho in Hegemony space would appreciate the necessity of this form of realpolitik you need every link you can get. Accept the offer, see what they've got. DC: 40 Reward: information, possible anti-pirate actions. Bonus to background pirate hunting rolls
[ ] Corruption obstruction: the department dealing with civilian corruption is currently full of the very corruption they were created to deal with, whether it's just the man keeping the books or the agency as a whole someone is using government funds to their own ends, or the ends of others. This needs to be dealt with. DC: 30 Reward: corruption found and dealt with, actions involving the HCI available again. Artemis Sun is using her personal action on this option.
[ ] Eyes and ears: The planet of Cethlenn simply cannot even attempt open resistance to the Tri-Tachyon corporation, but there is other methods they can use to help you against the megacorp. Even Tri-Tachyon's fleets use transponders to identify themselves in a system, and Cethlenn is willing to give you as much info on Tri-Tachyons fleets as they get. Of course this will have to be done discreetly, if Tri-Tachyon were to find out this could become interesting very fast. DC: 20 Cost: 500 a turn Reward: partial information on Tri-Tachyon fleet numbers in the Hybrasil system each turn.
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You gain Net 7500 Domain Credits a turn due to taxes and tariffs, you currently have a treasury of 62500 Credits, please plan accordingly
Micheal Erbert currently has 1 Personal Focus to spend, to spend a personal action simply put the name of the character at the end of the action, like so [X] Supply and Demand: Micheal Erbert
Jack O'Hannigan Currently has 1 Personal Focus to spend, Jack O'Hannigan is an Aide and as such his stat bonus is halved when used on an action.
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