For The Tyrants Fear Your Might (A quest of interstellar rebellion)

AKuz · Dec 10, 2020

THE ALL-RADIANT CONGRESS

Setting Information: The Solarian Compact:

Initially formed as the Solarian Treaty Organization from the ashes of the old United Nations Security Council, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, and the Global Climate Relief Organization in the worst decade of Earth's environmental collapse. The STO was originally a body tasked with overseeing the granting of offworld mining permits and the purchase and distribution of the resources to countries struggling from climate change.

The advent of the Korolev-Chandrashker gates and the construction of the first one under STO oversight in 2063 led to the beginning of the transformation of that body into the de facto single governing body of the Human species.

Reorganized into the 'Solarian Compact', the first Charters were granted to massive corporate conglomerates to explore and exploit the cosmos for Humanity with little to no regulation or restriction.

In the early decades, the Solarian Compact oversaw the construction of KC gates in the systems closest to Sol and began the process of granting colonization rights to the most habitable worlds within that region with colonization rights granted to a number of national and international blocks.

With the growth of the Solarian Compact's power came calls for the body to become more representative and democratic, and in 2099, the Solarian Compact held its first elections and constitutional convention, inviting representatives from the Sol system and the five systems that held permanent Human settlement.

Over the course of the 22nd and 23rd centuries the Solarian Compact has held fast to what it sees as its duty to act as the mediator and financier of the Charters, the unifying agent of the disparate first Human colonies, and the guarantor of interstellar peace for Humanity.

As of 2252, the three most important bodies within the Solarian Compact are the Solarian Parliament -Located on Earth, the Solarian Compact Navy -based in the Korolev-Chandrashker system, and the Solarian Central Bank, -based out of the Columbia System.

Organized as a liberal democracy, with universal suffrage, the Solarian Compact is theoretically overseen by three equal institutions: the Solarian Parliament, the office of the Solarian Secretary General, and the Solarian High Court.

Though the Solarian Compact prides itself on being a Constitutional government, the actual original document merely outlines the terms of admitting new MPs and High Court Judges, and the electoral procedures of the Compact Parliament, with subsequent Parliaments meeting to add items like the Declaration of Property Rights, the founding of the Central Bank, the creation of the Solarian Navy, and the Laws on Freedom of Navigation and Travel being added later.

The Solarian Parliament is made up of two thousand six hundred and twenty seats representing ridings on Earth, Columbia, Atlantis, Penglai, Olduvai, and Epsilon which are elected every three years to a Parliament that meets in the New York prefecture of Earth.

Though the many frontier colonies do not have direct representation in the Parliament due to being owned and operated by private entities, their inhabitants are considered 'Absent for Employment' and may register with a home riding and submit a physical ballot (for security reasons) by courier from when polls open until they close. Though this process was suitable for the closely settled regions of space at the time of the ratification of the Compact Constitution in 2100, the rapid growth of Human settled space in the century and a half since has seen the de facto voter suppression of over 90% of Human settled space.

At the first sitting of each new Compact Parliament, the assembled members will elect a Secretary General and a slate of Ministry officials on a majority basis, and those individuals will oversee the executive branch of government and day to day operations. Though the average Compact Parliament contains between seven to nine parties in each Parliamentary sitting, the vast majority of seats belong to one of either the Party for Human Rights and Liberties or the Justice and Development Alliance and have since the very early 2100s. The governments formed this way can be brought down by losing the confidence of the Parliament for example, by failing to pass a budget, the process of finding a majority government will repeat again.

Though a democratic body that has maintained stability for over a century and a half, the Solarian Compact Parliament has been dogged by accusations of dynastic politics, Charter influence, voter suppression, regulatory capture, inability to reign in the Banks and MIlitary, and corruption at all levels.

Separate from the Parliament is the Solarian High Court that consists of eleven judges that serve terms of up to thirty-three years, with each new sitting of the Compact Parliament selecting one judge from a list provided by the governments of the six main worlds of the Solarian Compact. The High Court rules on matters of adherence of laws to the Solarian Constitution, and have been accused of serving as an arm of the Charters, though this has been strenuously contested by the Solarian legal profession as a whole.

By law the Solarian Compact also oversees a number of other important institutions including the Earth Reconstruction Commission (In a permanent public-private partnership with the Earth Reconstruction Association), the Solarian Central Bank, and the Solarian Compact Navy, though these important institutions often exhibit an alarming degree of autonomy from Parliamentary control.

The Charters:

The result of a cleverly conceived merger between specialty transport vessel manufacturer Titan Staryards and Private Military contractor Martian Military Solutions, Ares cut its teeth not just supplying material to the skirmishes between Mississippi Shipping and United Starhaul, but in supplying military contractors to both sides.

The professionalism of Ares mercenaries and quality of Ares gear led to the rapid expansion of business opportunities for the company and investment skyrocketed even after the Mississippi-Starhaul war ended in a hostile takeover of Starhaul by Mississippi.

Thanks in part to Mississippi debts held by Ares, when the RT-2102 Gate was opened up for settlement strategic maneuvering saw the Compact grant Ares mining and settlement rights to the newly opened system.

The rest, as they say, is history. Leveraging the immense resources of the Alexander system with their existing military expertise, Ares expanded nearly exponentially over the following century. While they maintain a dominating edge in the military field, they now integrated companies in fields from agronomy to personal fitness centers to xenobiology.

Internally Ares very self consciously styles itself as a hierarchical military organization complete with a semi-formal rank structure and an ethos of respect for the chain of command, professional courtesy, and treating your subordinates with respect. In practice Ares is hidebound, authoritarian, filled with passive aggressive sniping and rampant empire building.

While Ares remains headquartered on Mars, they have holdings in several systems and own the distant system of Alexander outright.

Rhodes Mining

One of the three original Charters that the Compact granted, Rhodes considers itself the singular reason that Humanity survived ecological collapse and spread past Sol. Immensely wealthy, over 52% of all material mined and processed by the entire Human race has passed through Rhodes hands at one point or another.

While founded merely to provide Earth the vital materials that it needed to rebuild itself after the lost decades of ecological collapse, Rhodes quickly expanded into all areas of the economy to support their mining, refining, and processing operations.

Dedicated to their vision of logistical chain efficiencies they've developed an entire chain of star systems into an efficient production center based around the resource rich system of Foundry, and the nearby feeder systems of Ecrams, Qem, and Crucible.

Rhodes considers itself home to a version of meritocracy built on hard work, education, and good old fashioned personal drive. This has developed over time into a stratified internal divide between the rank and file workers, the lower level management, and the highly lauded senior management. Each class lives in entirely separate worlds, attending separate schools, consuming different products, and leading very different lives in what many observers have labelled a de facto caste system.

they make food and medicine, the 120 year old CEO is kinda creepy tho?

Techbros, some of them science, some of them explore

Born from the union of Hermes Interstellar Services and The Ishtar Group, the Hermes-Ishtar Corporation owns and operates not only the communications backbone of Compact space, but much of the content that crosses over it.

The results of increasing consolidation of pre-spaceflight communications infrastructure and content creation and management firms, Hermes Communications and Ishtar Entertainment Group were both part of the second round of Charters established after the advent of the KC gates.

While Hermes quickly established operations throughout Compact space, their waystations, couriers, and communications repeaters a common sight in every corner of Human occupied space; Ishtar Group mainly limited their own operations to Sol and the Radiant system, where Ishtar owned and operated the world of Elysium to support their many projects.

Following a wave of Compact space wide reorganizations following the Mississippi-Starhaul conflicts of the 2130s, a desire for complete vertical integration on Ishtar's part led to a mostly amicable union with Hermes in 2139.

Since then Hermes-Ishtar have dominated all communications across Human space with only the privileged internal high-level communications of the other Charters managing to avoid consolidation under Hermes-Ishtar.

While Hermes-Ishtar make a great show of respecting individual creativity, initiative, and drive from their employees; in practice this amounts to rampant internal fighting involving the parasocial personality cults of different "genius" inventors, artists, and executive that rise and fall inside of Hermes-Ishtar at a dizzying rate.

Sketchy buggers, they can get you anything tho

Historical Topics:

Between 2036 and 2071 the Democratic Federation was the governing body of much of Earth's Western Hemisphere.

Initially comprised of a Federation of Socialist, Anarchist, Communist, and other far left social movements, militias, and political factions controlling regions of Earth's North American continent during and after the decline and collapse of the United States of America (1776-2034) due to the effects of unaddressed climate change amplifying existing political and economic crisis.

Eventually solidifying into the governing body of the former United States of America, United States of Mexico and the Dominion of Canada, the Democratic Federation embarked on an ambitious program of cultural revolution and economic reform designed to mitigate and reverse the effects of the climate change crisis.

As the patron of much of the central and southern western hemisphere, the Democratic Federation attempted to chart a course of environmental restoration separate from that of the Solarian Treaty Organization (In 2063 reorganized into the Solarian Charter), choosing not to contest Eurasian and African domination of outer space.

Having never existed out of crisis conditions, a combination of pre-existing economic damage, sabotage, and instability drove the Democratic Federation into decline in the Grey Decade of 2062 to 2070 and eventually forced the Democratic Federation to ratify a series of treaties giving the Charters economic access to Federation member states in order to conduct vital reconstruction work.

A last ditch uprising by radical elements in 2072 to eject the Charters from the Democratic Federation failed when Solarian Compact peacekeepers were called in and in seven months of street fighting pacified most of North America's key urban centers via strategic use of orbital weapons on the areas of greatest urban resistance.

Though guerilla warfare would continue in the Western Hemisphere for another three decades, the Democratic Federation was officially defunct by December 2072 and parcelled out into a number of Charter owned reconstruction areas under Compact authority.

Today radicals still pine for the four decades that the Democratic Federation attempted to build an alternative to the emerging Charters, and the polity's distinctive black, red, and green flag is brought out for each and every Great Black Summer. Well into the twenty second century, riots were often accompanied by demands to 'Avenge the Martyrs of 72!'.

Despite this underground extremist nostalgia, Charter and Compact schools teach that the Democratic Federation was a collectivist state whose iconoclastic behavior saw the destruction of famous landmarks like Mount Rushmore, Stone Mountain, and other monuments to Liberal Democracy and the Free Market in a mad attempt to remake the human race, but whose doctrinaire adoption of command economics saw them unable to deal with the ever-changing complexities of climate change.

Misc Details:

The first five systems to hold permanent Human colonies are known as either "The First Sisters" or "Earth's Daughters", depending on who you are asking and their political persuasion. From oldest to youngest, these worlds are:

Columbia: settled by billionaire American expats and tens of millions of refugees who had fled the unfolding revolutionary violence of the North American continent several years beforehand. Columbia was founded under a vision of fidelity to the American dream and to prove the indomitability of the soul of the United States of America and liberalism in the face of the red flags of the (North American) Democratic Federation. Fiercely loyal to the Compact and the dream of Charter prosperity, and home of the Solarian Central Bank, Columbia is often known as the "Gilded World" in reference to what many see as a return to American Gilded Age wealth and social inequality. Ares Conflict Solutions' central command is located here.

Atlantis: With colonization rights to this majority oceanic planet initially granted to the waning power of the European Union, the nations of the EU opened up colonization opportunities to other allied powers, especially Russia and Egypt. Atlantis was often seen by the EU as a place to dump unwanted refugees from outside of Europe's borders, and Russia and Egypt's tendency to see the world as a genuine project led to the usurpation of colonization rights away from Europe in the mid 2080s. Known today as the most restive of the first wave of colonies, Atlantis is the most skeptical of Charter power and plays a delicate game of wealth redistribution to underwrite the greatest social security net in Human Space. Cernunnos is de jure headquartered here.

Penglai: Originally the world in the most need of terraforming of the original colonies, Colonization rights were granted to the People's Republic of China and their allies after a lackluster bidding campaign. As China's focus was mainly on attempting to stem the damage of climate change on Earth herself, colonization of Penglai initially lagged until the Chinese Politburo struck upon the strategy of subcontracting colonization rights to Pacific adjacent nations suffering from the rise of that ocean. As colonization unfolded in the early 22nd century Penglai became known as a multicultural mosaic as hundreds of millions from across the Pacific settled and intermingled on the wine darkened shores of that world. Known today for its vibrant cultural milieu, violent clashes between labour unions, and private police, Penglai hosts the headquarters of the Hermes-Ishtar, Omoikane and Rhodes corporations.

Olduvai: With Colonization rights granted to a coalition of African nations at the height of the 'African Century', the African Colonization Organization did not see their colony as a refugee destination, dumping ground, or resource colony like their fellows. Instead the ACO saw the colonization scheme as an opportunity to preserve and export the rich traditions and cultures of Africa on their own terms, fully intending to set up healthy and self-sufficient colonies. To the current day, Olduvai has the closest relations with the home nations and is the heartland of Daughter sentiment and a bedrock for the Party for Human Rights and Liberties.

Epsilon System: While not technically a single world, the cluster of heavily inhabited space colonies in the Epsilon system are always considered the 'Fifth Sister' or 'Fifth Daughter'. As the most mineral rich system of the original colonies, Epsilon was the source of many of the materials that helped pull Earth through her darkest hour, and the system was recognized for their efforts by being invited to send delegates to the 2099 Solarian Compact Constitutional Convention. Epsilon is famous for its people's long roots in spacing and for being the headquarters of Mississippi Shipping Interstellar and thus the most heavily trafficked system in history.
Technologies: Nanomanufacturing, summary:

The contemporary gold standard for manufacturing. These devices use mechanosynthesis, a process that guides chemical reactions by placing reactive molecules with atomic precision. Ribosomes in the body's cells use a form of this method.

While the largest units can create objects up to 2m x 2m x 2m, smaller units (halving the units each time) are viable on basically any human scale. Projects larger than this size (such as ships or buildings, need to be either grown layer-by-layer via nanofabricators attached to robotic arms, or assembled from smaller parts through traditional assembly line, dry dock, or construction processes.

In principle basically anything can be made with these devices, and some materials can only be manufactured via these methods in microgravity. All manufacturing patterns in Compact Space feature Charter DRM using embedded explosive molecules like octaazacubane or cubic gauche nitrogen that will damage a disassembler or x-ray machine making reverse engineering of their products difficult.

A common part of 23rd century life is the near ubiquity of Artificial Intelligences in daily life, from consumer grade VIs through specialist TLIs, controversial AGIs, finally the perpetually 10 years away Artificial Super Intelligences.

The common consumer will daily run into what are properly known as Narrow AIs, and generally labelled as VI -Virtual Intelligences- by people outside the field. This category covers a broad swathe of techniques, from search and pathfinding to expert systems to genetic fuzzy trees to deep neural networks, which are mixed and matched with each other to optimize for the designed task. VIs are ubiquitous, exceeding human peak skill in their areas of specialization (though real world applications often don't do all that much better than trained humans), and have spent the past two centuries getting augmented with more and more clever algorithmic tricks for improving VIs. In order to do this, the Charters employ large teams of analysts and software engineers to develop clever algorithmic tricks that supplement or outright supplant neural networks, exploiting machine precision where stochastic methods are inadequate.

The use of VIs in everyday life is well accepted by the vast majority of the population, with professionals mixing and matching various consumer VIs to analyse data or assist them with creative or scientific works. Some VI lines are well loved by both the populace and the Charters themselves, with Charter programmers often deliberately leaving VIs with behavioral quirks and unpredictable glitches that not only save money on quality assurance, but are considered endearing traits that lead to anthropomorphization by the consumer market

Despite the mass comfortability and profitability of VIs of all kinds, the introduction of AGIs has been, to put it delicately, controversial. Though computer science has advanced to the point of producing programs that can not only pass the Turing test, but demonstrate sapience and match 23rd century human intelligence, flexibility, and creativity, the public reaction to the introduction of AGI saw the companies of the time rapidly pull them from the market, and even say the Compact itself move to heavily regulate the AI sector.

First introduced in the 2060s, the great tech firms began replacing their work staff with AGIs who did not require food, rest, housing, or pay. This shift led to an alliance between white collar workers fearing that automation would put them out of work and radicals who opposed what they insisted was AGI Slavery, a growing movement that would climax in the First Great Black Summer of 2084. When the ashes of the First Black Summer settled, the Compact's Parliament moved to grant rights to AGIs, and the resulting economic damage saw dozens of formerly great names in computing consolidate under the aegis of several of the first Charters who flaunted their extra-Solarian wealth by buying up prestigious brand names and research divisions on the cheap.

Since the 2080s, while the regulation surrounding AGI production and use have been severely weakened none of the Charters have sought to reintroduce them into the market, perhaps fearing another backlash like the First Black Summer and the few hundred thousand surviving AGIs that were granted Solarian Citizenship rights have found spread throughout the Compact and Charter Space where they usually work at the same white collar jobs whose workers they were designed to replace.

Perhaps due to the risks of attempting to reintroduce AGIs to the market, Omoikane has instead introduced their flagship product the "TLI" or Temporary Limited Intelligence. Approximately as effective as an AGI, a TLI is billed as a more moral replacement for AGI that uses a suite of high end VIs and a proprietary batch of creativity algorithms in order to complete complex tasks.

TLIs are used as a fire and forget program designed to be licensed to solve a single issue, no matter how complicated and then delete itself. Though the TLIs are a black box product, scientists from the other Charters believe that the central creativity algorithm in the TLI is inherently unstable and rapidly degrades in ability with time, making the TLI an instance of Omoikane attempting to market a critical technical flaw as a selling point that is accepted due to the ubiquitous market practice of planned obsolescence and artificial scarcity.

Though expensive, most businesses and successful professionals will keep a few licensed Omoikane TLIs on hand to throw at difficult problems or to supplement manpower in crunch situations.

While AGIs have been possible for nearly two centuries, the promise of a Seed AI, a recursively self-improving general superintelligence, is perpetually 'a decade away from the market', and no successful ASI ever been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Charters or the Compact.

This is not to say that the Gödel machine architecture or the AIXI model has somehow been forgotten in the past 230 years, but that the Friendly AI problem has yet to be cracked. Every demonstration has either stalled out or gone immediately rampant, attempting to overthrow Charter Space before being stopped by the safety net of Narrow AIs. The small trickle of roughly human intelligence level AGIs that are created every decade typically come from these projects.

Urban legends persist that a few Seed AIs managed to escape and hide out beyond known space, plotting to return and crush humanity, or that they control all of society in secret, puppeting the Compact and Charters from their very foundation and occasionally engineering publicly failed ASI attempts to allay suspicion. These rumours are, of course, patently false, and simply the fevered imagination of crackpots at work, no doubt inspired by entertainment made by Hermes-Ishtar that feature AI supervillainy.
Systems: Map made by @Redshirt Army

The Spinward Frontier:

The Middle Spinward Frontier

The Core Region:

UNDER RADIANT CONTROL OR ALLIED:

The Radiant system is host to a G-class star, only slightly smaller than Sol. The system itself is rather small and resource-poor; experts believe that one or more Jovian planets ejected much of the system's bodies and then followed themselves. This is evidenced by the system's asteroid belt degrading over time, with high levels of eccentric orbits and impacts on planetary surface.

Radiant 1: A rather unremarkable airless iron planet, gravity 0.4 Earth Standard.

Radiant 2: A slightly larger unremarkable airless iron-silicate planet, gravity 0.6 Earth Standard.

Radiant 3: A binary planetary system and the outermost of the Radiant systems' planets.

Asphodel (Radiant 3a): The larger of the Elysium 3 pair, Asphodel might have once hosted life of its own. That life has been snuffed out for hundreds of millions of years, though, as the planet's significant atmosphere began the runaway cycle of your usual hothouse planet. Hermes-Ishtar maintained a significant aerostat and automated surface miner operation for in-house manufacturing, given that the frequent asteroid impacts from the asteroid belt keep digging up chunks of the upper crust and having low-melting-point metals rain out of the sky and solidify, unoxidized, on the surface for collection. Gravity 1.4 Earth Standard.

Elysium (Radiant 3b): Elysium was settled in the late 2190's, being a relatively simple affair. Simple life had already begun to evolve under its oceans, but continued orbital bombardment far past the lengths of things like Earth's Late Heavy Period had kept it there. It was a simple matter of forming up a small anti-asteroid task force armed with tugs and mining lasers to artificially end the pummeling, and the surface proved amenable to Terran life transplants. The colony is energy-self-sufficient, using a variety of solar, tidal, and nuclear power. Gravity 0.9 Earth Standard.

Radiant I: The outermost significant feature of Radiant, this asteroid belt is more a loose mixture of a primordial asteroid belt much like Sol's with a Kuiper belt. The shepherding gas giants which once nudged all these rocks into their orbits are gone, and with it the entire outer system is a maelstrom of chaotic orbits as the belts lose their coherence. This requires constant vigilance from Elysium's anti-asteroid team, but the high eccentricity of many asteroids also makes it cheap and easy to mine the ones that might come Elysium's way, which provides a trickle of basic resources for upkeep and personal goods. All large-scale building and infrastructure projects have been supplied from out-system, however.

A G-K far binary system, Gaid is simply a transit point to Radiant. Gaid's own gate maintenance techs and SAR rotated in and out through Radiant itself. There is no infrastructure other than a set of buoy lines for communications in Gaid A, and nothing in Gaid B.

Gaid A1: An airless world. Quality 10.

Gaid A2: A planet much like mars with a vestigial CO2 atmosphere. Quality 7.

Gaid A3: This planet boasts a methane hydrosphere. Quality 4.

Gaid AI: An asteroid belt.

Gaid A4: A turbulent Jovian planet, its storms would make resource extraction difficult. Quality 5.

Gaid A4a: An icy moon, with tidal heating creating a large ocean under a thin icy shell. Quality 9.

Gaid B1: A molten Cthonian world hosting a simply ludicrous amount of iron. Quality 15.

Gaid B2: An airless world. Quality 10.

Gaid B3: An airless binary system with two near-identically sized planets. Quality 7 and 8.

Gaid B4: This airless planet boasts a large and beautiful ring system, famous as a screen background option across human space. Every few years, a cruise or scientific expedition will stop by for more images.

Gaid B5: A small icy planet. Quality 3.

Gaid B6: A frozen world. Quality 7.

Gaid B7: An interesting gas dwarf sometimes referred to as an 'ice dwarf.' Quality 14.

A close K-M binary, Shei is home to an old Ares penal colony.

Shei 1: A Cthonian world. Quality 15.

Shei 2: An airless world. Quality 12.

Sheol (Shei 3): A boreal world, with a large, decaying ring, the planet features two large continents. The population of the consists of a large prisoner population on the larger of the two continents and a small Ares training base on the smaller. Records show that the prison consists of several million persons convicted to "high risk labour" and dropped on the continent with automatic resupply via Ares contractors and watched from orbit by weapons satellites. Most of the planet's land area is covered in a native tree analogue with a strange multi-stranded trunk.

Sheol is actually home to a population of over 100 million made up of prisoners and their descendants taht Ares was usuing as a live fire training course. Cooperation between Radiant agents, Ares mutineers, and the Sheolites themselves have seen the planet freed.

Gravity .95 Earth Standard. Quality 12.

Watchman (Shei 3a): Once the outer of two moons, this body now boasts Ares' local light shipyards and system command center. Quality 13.

Shei 4: Spiraling in from the outer system, this planet will eventually evaporate near-entirely as it closes towards the dual suns of Shei. Quality 3.

Shei 5: Martian planet with an active methane cycle. Quality 5.

Shei I: Asteroid belt.

Shei 6: Jovian planet with high rotation rate. Slightly squashed as a result. Quality 8.

Shei 6a: An icy capture, this moon will be torn into a ring sometime in the next hundred thousand years. Quality 2.

Shei 6b: Cold Martian planet, covered in a thin layer of water and carbon dioxide ices. Active methane cycle. Quality 8.

Shei II: Asteroid belt.

Shei 7: Jovian planet. Quality 13.

Shei 7a: An icy moon with significant cryovolcanism. Quality 6.

Shei 7b: A tiny icy moon, this is on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 2.

Shei 8: Ice giant. Quality 6.

Shei 8a: An icy moon. Quality 9.

Shei 8b: An icy moon, orbiting in an unusual polar orbit. Quality 9.

Population: 103,000,000

While lacking any currently-habitable planets, Five Lions' large size and potential have made it a significant point of Rhodes' recent extraction efforts. Ambitious terraforming efforts have recently begun.

Carajas (Five Lions 1): A Cthonian ball of iron, it's actively mined by robotic Rhodes-built landers. Gravity 2.3 Earth Standard. Quality 12.

Five Lions 2: A small rocky ball. Quality 3.

Five Lions 3: A rocky ball. Quality 7.

Grasberg (Five Lions 4): A large rocky world, glaciation has rendered it uninhabitable for now, but terraforming efforts have begun to artificially ramp up the greenhouse effect and restore liquid water to the surface, along with mining its ice. Gravity 1.11 Earth Standard. Quality 14.

Five Lions 5: This planet's atmosphere is so significant it verges on a gas dwarf. While a solid surface covered in a thin layer of ice is at the bottom, no reasonable colonization is possible. Quality 7.

Five Lions I: This asteroid belt, along with all the others, is being mined heavily.

Five Lions 6: This Jovian planet forms the center of current Rhodes extraction efforts. Quality 4.

Five Lions 6a: This Martian planet boasts significant ice caps and active plate tectonics, though only a vestigial atmosphere. Debate on whether to put resources into terraforming it are ongoing. Gravity .81 Earth Standard. Quality 17.

Oyu Tolgoi (Five Lions 6b): Home to the local population in covered shelters, this Martian planet, while nearly completely lacking water or plate tectonics, has its own atmosphere. Comet bombardment away from populated areas is ongoing and is already beginning to show results. Gravity .79 Earth Standard. Quality 11.

Five Lions II: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 7: An unremarkable Jovian. Quality 2.

Five Lions III: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 8: Jovian planet, its rotation speed has resulted in an unusually calm upper atmosphere. Quality 15.

Five Lions IV: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 9: Jovian planet. Quality 9.

Five Lions V: An asteroid belt.

Five Lions 10: Neptunian ice giant. Quality 8.

Five Lions 10a: A small icy moon. Quality 5.

Five Lions 10b: A large icy body, this was probably its own planetoid at some point before being captured due to the complex interplays of no less than 5 gas giants.

Population: 15,000,000

A rare system with a brown dwarf orbiting a G-type star (just barely in the limits of what's considered a single system rather than a binary), and with a Jovian planet orbiting that, and on top of that treasure trove a dual ice giant binary, Osliam presents a golden research opportunity, and was bid on by Omoikane despite its otherwise sparce resources and poor habitable prospects.

Osliam 1: A rare hot ice giant, this planet is actively shrinking on a measurable time scale. It must have migrated in as a much larger planet recently.

Osliam 1a: This once-rock-ice moon is now a tiny molten ellipse barely holding together.

Osliam 1b: This somewhat larger moon changes color unusually with its day, as the shade of its parent cools lava to a dull red before emerging back into the light heats the lava back to a healthy orange glow.

Osliam 1c: This entire moon glows dull red in its day, just barely solid, and cools to an unusually smooth moon in its night.

Osliam I: This asteroid belt was probably a planet before Osliam 1's passing tore it to shreds.

Osliam 3: A hothouse planet with a relatively thin atmosphere, it retains temperatures and pressures that are survivable with heavy-duty equipment on the surface—when it's not raining sulfuric acid, that is.

Osliam 4: This small Martian planet seems to have collected some of Osliam 1's offgassing in its move inwards, and has a renewed temporary atmosphere.

Osliam 5a: This planet seems to have survived at the edge of the frost line by siphoning gas off its smaller twin.

Osliam 5b: Barely a gas giant, this planet was probably only slightly smaller than Osliam 5a in the distant past.

Osliam 6: The focus of Omoikane colonization in-system, Osliam 6 retains plate tectonics from the nearby brown dwarf but no atmosphere, an odd combination.

Osliam 7: A brown dwarf, this substellar object long ago burnt its deuterium and now lies slowly cooling, glowing dimly red. It is, however, still giving off a prodigious amount of low IR radiation.

Osliam 7a: Once its own planet, Osliam 7a was captured at some point by Osliam 7, perhaps in the same interaction that threw Osliam 1 to its suicidal innermost orbit.

Osliam 7a1: This icy moon is simultaneously shrinking and becoming more habitable—while its outer layers of ice are sublimating, the fierce tides of its complex interplay with Osliam 7 and 7a are heating the inner ocean to temperatures comparable to terrestrial water sources. Some scientists even suggest a pocket of water vapor is forming under the ice, and may form an internal "sky" for as much as a hundred million years before the outer shell sublimates entirely.

Osliam 7a2: This moon is less lucky; its tides are so strong that they seem to slowly be ripping the moon apart. It won't have the honor of becoming more than an ephemeral ring; the same complex tides tearing at it will rapidly disperse its debris field. While it lasts, though, it's easy water harvesting.

Population: 650,000

UNDER CHARTER CONTROL:

A distant double G binary, Xotreh hosts a small habitable moon around Xotreh B, the smaller of the two stars. As such, development has focused on the second star, despite the fact that the jump points center closer to Xotreh A.

Xotreh A1: This world boasts an active liquid silicate cycle on its surface, with oceans of basalt and continents of granite. Gravity 0.38 Earth Standard. Quality 8.

Xotreh A2: A rather large airless world, its original atmosphere was likely blown off by a massive impact. Gravity 1.2 Earth Standard. Quality 9.

Xotreh A3: A binary planetary pair of airless worlds about the size of Mars. Quality 6 and 8.

Xotreh A4: A hothouse planet with a planet-wide sulfuric acid storm due to its rapid rotation. Gravity .71 Earth Standard. Quality 8.

Xotreh A5 "Cueball": This planet is remarkably similar to Earth—if earth was buried under a kilometers-thick ice sheet across 90% of the surface. One day, as Xotreh A expands and dies, this world will become an ocean planet, but for now it's a cold desert. Gravity .87 Earth Standard. Quality 5.

Xotreh A6: An unremarkable icy ball. Quality 4.

Xotreh AI: An asteroid belt.

Xotreh A7: A Jovian planet, Xotreh 7 corrals the entire inner system in line. Quality 10.

Xotreh B1: This planet must have once been a gas giant at least the size of Uranus before it was sent inwards. Now all that remains is a dense core with a molten surface. Gravity 1.51 Earth Standard. Quality 13.

Xotreh B2: A binary pair of earth-sized airless worlds. Quality 6 and 7.

Xotreh B3: Another once-gas giant, this planet remains far out enough to boast a wholly-solid surface of iron. Gravity 1.64 Earth Standard. Quality 14.

Xotreh B4: A Jovian right on the frost line, its tidal heating keeps its moons on the edge of habitability. Quality 3.

Xotreh B4a "Sushi": An ocean world with massive polar ice caps, Omoikane has constructed a series of seasteads on the equatorial high ocean plateaus where it was feasible to drive foundations into the sea floor a few hundred meters below the surface. These small facilities serve as housing, data storage, and production centers for the research teams studying the dual Cthonian planets of Xotreh B. Gravity .67 Earth Standard. Quality 2.

Xotreh B4b: The lesser tidal heating here worsened the glaciation, and the planet lies under a planet-wide crust of ice. Gravity 1.13 Earth Standard. Quality 10.

Xotreh BI: The close proximity of this asteroid belt makes it an ideal location for resource extraction.

Xotreh 5: This Jovian is definitively beyond the habitable zone. Quality 6.

Xotreh 6: A dense ice giant. Quality 4.

Xotreh 7: Jovian planet. Quality 6.

Xotreh 8: An exceptionally cold Jovian. Quality 9.

Xotreh 8a: An unremarkable icy sphere. Quality 8.

Xotreh 9: This planet would have a massive atmosphere, if it wasn't so cold it all froze and fell to the surface. Only a few degrees above the space surrounding it. Gravity 1.3 Earth Standard. Quality 9.

Population: 54,000

Besides an interesting Jovian-gas dwarf planetary system, Bestreer holds little of interest other than its connections to other places.

Bestreer 1: An airless world. Quality 2.

Bestreer 2: An airless world. Quality 6.

Bestreer 3: This airless world once had a captured moon, torn apart at the Roche limit and forming a ring. A small gate maintenance and SAR team bases here, siphoning fuel and water from Bestreer 5 and mining into the surface for both resources and safe spaces for housing. Quality 10.

Bestreer 4: A rock-ice world. Quality 5.

Bestreer 5: Another rock-ice world made up more of ice than rock. Quality 5.

Bestreer I: An icy asteroid belt.

Bestreer 6: A large Jovian planet, on the edge of becoming a brown dwarf. Quality 15.

Bestreer 6a: This gas dwarf might have become a gas giant in its own right without its massive sibling. Quality 5.

Bestreer 7: Another Jovian. Quality 14.

Bestreer 7a: An icy moon, with an internal ocean buried under kilometers of ice. Quality 12.

Bestreer 8: An icy ball. Quality 10.

Population: 450

G-class star. A transshipping point to Radiant and environs, Mississippi keeps a substantial support crew on hand for possible cargo ship breakdowns or emergencies in-system, due to the slightly increased risk of issues from the absolute shambles of Akleod's inner system. A minor executive has also put together a cheap refueling and battery exchange station.

Akleod 1: Even actively evaporating and leaving behind a trail in orbit of dissipating volatiles, this body is large enough to have usurped Akleod 1a's orbit temporarily until it disappears away or the chaotic orbit of the two throws one into the star or out of the system. Quality 2.

Akleod 1a: The original Akleod 1, its orbit has been badly disrupted by the current, migrating Akleod 1. Which of the two gets ejected is still uncertain despite a decent amount of computational simulation; odds put it at 48-52% relatively. Quality 6.

Gnat's Ass (Akleod 2): A small, loosely-held-together icy body, perhaps what used to be an asteroid belt before Akleod 1's suicidal inner-system dive. It's not yet had time to fully reach hydrostatic equilibrium. Quality 3.

Akleod 3: An icy planet similar to Akleod 1, perhaps an old sibling. Quality 13.

Akleod I: An asteroid belt.

Akleod 4: A Jovian with an unusually elliptical orbit, it's regarded as the culprit for the chaos of Akleod's inner system. Quality 11.

Population: 5,000

As it turns out, transponder codes from regular priority messages through Gaid (now that we can see them, having backdoored the gate control) bear tags from a system, Thoa, along with navigational chart updates for any ships that happen to stop by. Thoa and Gaid both seem to have been nothing more than transit points to the far-more-valuable Radiant for Hermes-Ishtar, but Thoa holds a small anti-pirate base guarding against raiders from Signia. Hermes-Ishtar was apparently serious enough about it to have a converted corvette on station.

All told, the Thoa system holds gates to 2 systems besides Gaid's. There's also an unimproved jump point simply labelled as "dangerous." that leads to Signia

Thoa System Stats:

Thoa 1: A molten mess of a planet, it's hot enough that a residual atmosphere of vaporized low-melting-point metallics exists.

Thoa 2: An unremarkable airless metal ball.

Thoa 3: A super-earth hothouse, this planet would have been uninhabitable due to its gravity even before turning scorchingly hot.

Thoa 3a: A captured asteroid barely on the edge of hydrostatic equilibrium, the Nasty Bastardhad been excavating rudimentary shelters for "leave" for its crew.

Thoa I: An asteroid belt.

Thoa 4: A normal Jovian planet.

Thoa 4a: A moon much like Mars in climate.

Thoa 5: A Jovian planet with an unusual triangular wind pattern at the poles.

Thoa 6: Blooms of hydrogen well up from the core of this Jovian, perhaps disturbed by some recent impact.

Thoa 7: Bathyscapes would find themselves at home on the surface of Thoa 7. Pressures much like that at Earth's seabed keep a crust of ice 3 stable enough robotic drones could walk on it.

Thoa 7a: Unusually, Thoa 7a is the only large icy body in the system. Scientists are unsure of where the others went. As the only easy source of volatiles, the UNasty Bastard periodically stopped by a handful of obsolete volatile collection systems on the surface to top up.

Thoa II: A Kuiper belt of icy objects.

Empty Systems

Kimberly: A fairly unremarkable and empty system, this site was chosen as Rhodes' spinward boneyard—a place for failed experiments, old equipment, and ships so worn they weren't worth maintaining anymore, but were still valuable enough to warrant not throwing into a gas giant or otherwise completely destroyed. For 2 decades a Rhodes-affiliated salvaging contractor worked here, gathering scrap and other valuables, but following high injury and death rates and low returns, the contract (and most non-local dumping) was cancelled in 2247 (4 years before the March Days.)

Kimberly 1: A large rocky planet, this must have migrated inwards from further out in the system a long time ago to be so large so close to its parent star.

Kimberly 2: A Martian planet that keeps a comfortable daytime temperature despite its lack of atmosphere due to a close orbit.

Kimberly 3: A Jovian world.

Kimberly I: This asteroid belt is actually combined with a thinly-spread junkyard corralled by Kimberly's 2 gas giants.

Kimberly 4: A Neptunian world, this planet has several starship hulks abandoned as the closest stable orbit to the gate out. An old deactivation hub orbits in resonance with Kimberly 4a, the former site of a salvaging operation.

Kimberly 4a: The only significant satellite in the system, this icy moon retains a thin crust and a massive subterranean freshwater ocean.

Total:

Radiant:

Gaid:

Five Lions:

Head of Diplomatic Corps:

Name: Amanda Redcrest, Victoria Blackwell, and Kayla Hayashi

DoB: "2222", 2219, 2227, 2224

Current Position: Influential media figure and figurehead of Social Committee propaganda

Not a traditional diplomat, or a traditional individual 'Veronica Stardust' is the persona of a trio of XP broadcasters who have been working together since 2246 and has consistently been one of the most recognized figures across Charter space and is a local Elysian celebrity.

In Charter space those individuals who choose to make money by recording their lived experiences, of all kinds, for later playback are treated with an indulgent disdain by the polite classes as a mix of internet celebrity and sex worker despite the practice of selling XP experiences being common in the poorer segments of society and a smaller portion of the professional middle class attempting to stay afloat in a tight gig economy.

Amanda Redcrest was a former media programmer whose attempts to supplement her income with XP work backfired and saw her fired from her job. Contrarily, Kayla and Victoria both come from lower class backgrounds, though Kayla's attempts to climb into the middle class by earning a marketing degree were frustrated when her lower class status markers and financing of education via XP work saw her frozen out of the job market.

A former collaborator of Kayla's, Victoria had been a rising XP star in her own right and had no desire to change her station, but as her brief celebrity began to fade Victoria approached Kayla to propose the creation of a dedicated broadcasting persona that both would act as. Later bringing on Redcrest, who they'd both done crossover XP work with, to do technical work, the trio used carefully gathered market data and some intuition to create the "Veronica Stardust" persona of an middlingly-intelligent and freewheeling persona who played to the upper class's picture of what depravities and indignities the poorer class must get up to in their spare time.

From 2246 to 2251 the Veronica Stardust persona (performed by all three at various times, though primarily Victoria) produced experience recordings that were nearly always in the top 10 best sellers across Charter space.

Though they enjoyed the wealth that they brought in, the trio increasingly chafed at the market driven limitations of Veronica, and were considering a number of possibly catastrophic brand shifts when the March Days broke out and all three participated in street actions in a private capacity after sending one last broadcast as 'Veronica' to encourage revolt.

Since the formation of the Social Committee the figure of Veronica has been rebranded to serve as the figurehead of Social Committee Propaganda and several major initiatives have been launched with her at the forefront including a highly successful part of the anti-overproduction initiatives.

As part of the now-completed campaign to maintain the charade that Radiant was still under Charter control, Veronica Stardust continued to sell broadcasts to HI media chains, though the trio could not help but begin a brand shift towards a far more intelligent and radical persona.

Pros: XP Celebrity, influential, well known, inspiring to the middle and lower classes

Cons: XP celebrity, little diplomatic experience, three people

Diplomatic Goals: Defeat the Charters in the field of public opinion, push social revolution and freedom of information and communication, cause public opinion to oppose attacking Radiant

Unlocked FRM

Ares Peacekeeping Grade - Access to planetary army formation

Ares Military Grade - Access to mid-sized shipyards, bonuses to planetary army combat. Bonus to completion of Chinook remodeling

Rhodes Light industrial Grade - 10% increase to all mining income, reduced Cost for BLG and other actions that use basic fabber processes

Rhodes Heavy Industrial Grade - Massive discount on mining upgrades, able to unlock automated technologies with Omoikaine

Cernunnos Consumer Grade - +1 to all Soccom actions

Cernunnos Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

Omoikane Consumer Grade - +1 to FRM reserach for each two tech bases unlocked (+6 currently)

Omoikane Enterprise Grade - +5 to blue sky research, automation with Omoikane

Hermes-Ishtar Consumer Grade - Your economy doesn't crash when the turn of funding

Hermes-Ishtar Production Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

MSI Consumer Grade - Consumer Goods, Drones, and personal vehicles, +2 to domestic projects in IndComm and SocComm

MSI Enterprise Grade - NOT UNLOCKED

Original Tech

The Box: Fabber the size of a X-box that can, with time, materials and power, print the components for a full sized box. Less efficient, but easy to print and hide.

Defence Coordinator:

Name: Maria Awhina

DoB: 2165

Current Position: Military Committee Delegate from the Radiant Veterans Guild

Born into poverty on Earth as the twenty-second century began to wane, young 22-year old Maria Awhina caught up in radical anti-Charter politics during the third black summer of 2187 and was convicted of property destruction during the rioting and sentenced to serve as a contractor to Hermes-Ishtar until her contract was paid off.

The stark choice of starvation or service to Hermes-Ishtar caused Maria to descend into self-destructive behavior where for twenty years Ms. Awhina continuously volunteered for the highest paid and most dangerous positions that Hermes-Ishtar had available.

Hermes-Ishtar considers Special Operations Lieutenant Awhina to have served with distinction throughout the heavy skirmishing of that era, though Maria herself continues to carry guilt for her service and her survival.

After performing exceptionally well in a hostage rescue operation Awhina was transferred to the Protective Detail Division of Hermes-Ishtar Security, and was eventually assigned to serve as the head of the Radiant Vice President's protective detail.

Over the next four decades she came to see the world as her home, and while her professionalism never wavered, her loyalty to the company who still owned her contract did.

This March, Maria had the option to gun down her fellow planetary headquarters workers to secure Yang's escape, or to finally return to roots in anti-Charter agitation. The fact that we are all here today shows what choice she made.

Pros:

-Actual Combat Veteran, knows Radiant inside and out, special operations expert, professional.

Cons:

-only academic knowledge of starship operations, logistics, organization command and strategic operations.

Command Traits:

-Objective oriented, unflappable, aggressive, prefers attacks and operations to come from unexpected angles.

Reports from the Permanent Commission for Military Intelligence on hostile forces in neighbouring systems:

Blue Squadron:
-Allegiance: Ares Combat Solutions
-Service: Mars Interstellar Security
-CO: Rear Admiral Weylon Kang
-Flagship: MIS Yorktown

We know little about Rear Admiral Weylon Kang except that he has received a number of commendations from the MIS board for keeping costs low while on deployment. He appears to be making an effort to clamp down on the rumours racing back and forth across the fleet.

MIS Yorktown
-British Empire-class Fleet Tender
MIS Eurymedon
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS La Rochelle
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Cape Rachado
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Second Schooneveld
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Matapan
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Valcour Island
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Kerch Strait
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Galveston Harbour
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Cape Sarych
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS River Plate
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Third San Francisco
-New Model-class Strike Corvette
MIS Scipio Africanus
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Suleiman I
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Louis Botha
-Cossak-class Frigate
MIS Fort Ware
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Fort Mackinac
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Fort Osage
-Hudson's bay Company-class Fast Fleet Tanker
MIS Arabian
-Postal-class Courier
MIS Macedonia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Hispania Citerior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Hispania Ulterior
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Gallia Narbonensis
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Sicilia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport
MIS Corsica et Sardinia
-Legionary-class Fast Troop Transport

Fixed Defences:
Battery A
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Battery B
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Battery C
-MSS-54-F LMP Constellation
Shoal A
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal B
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal C
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal D
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal E
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal
Shoal F
-ASR-33-C TAM Shoal

Fixed Defences:
Battery A
-Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation
Battery B
-Airstrike Pattern LMP Constellation
Shoal A
-Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
Shoal B
-Macross-Pattern LMP Constellation
Strikecraft Wing, ID# 48603
-Radiance-Type Strikecraft

-None

Local Security Forces
-Approximately fifty strong volunteer station security militia drawn from station personnel

Local Security Forces:
-Deep Space Security Solutions (Omoikane Subsidiary) Customs shuttle squadron based out of Xotreh B-4a's orbital station
-Three companies of Standard Planetary Security Company (Ares subsidiary) troops based out of Xotreh B-4a's habitat complexes for internal security and law enforcement

139th Solarian Navy Squadron:
-Allegiance: Solarian Compact
-Service: Solarian Navy
-CO: Vice Admiral David Visser
-Flagship: SNS Krak de Chevaliers

Thanks to his heavy handed labour discipline and extractive tribute and demands for corvee labour from Ascension Admiral Visser is viscerally hated by the populace of Ascension, and to a lesser degree the rest of the Solarian Force as well. While the gate's completion draws near, it is uncertain what path that Visser will persue.

SNS Krak de Chevaliers
-Star-hold-Class light-tender
SNS Victoria Newman
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Julia Stonechild
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Robert Chuikov
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Wallace Al-Wazir
-Leonard Greyson-Chang-Class Strike Corvette
SNS Dawn's Early Light
-Freedom's Light-class cruiser
SNS Jacob Nagumo
-Herald Kanumba-Class frigate
SNS Alexander Hamilton
-Liberation-class troop transport

Solarian Marines now spread throughout the system

PCMI Provides new system data on the single system that lies beyond beyond Five Lions:

Mobile Force:

Current Orders: Defend the All Radiant Congress by acting as a rapid response in the event of any hostile acts.

CO: Commodore Stephanie Rousseau

CNS Velasco, United States of America-class Fleet Carrier

-CO: Captain Esteri Attar

-Orca Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Jasmine Ang

-Red Wolf Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Heloisa Kimura de Lima

CNS Shieldmaiden, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Shamhat, Great Heathen-class Light Cruiser

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Righteous Tempest, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: Captain Vehement Shade

CNS August Willich, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Elysium, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Asphodel, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

-

Home Force:

Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol, act as a reserve force

CO: Commodore Erina Kozlova

CNS Blaire Mountain, New Model-Class Strike Corvette

-CO: Captain Guillermo Kageyama

CNS Scutum, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

-CO: Captain Martin Pagonis

CNS Buckler, Comet-Class Patrol Corvette

-CO: Captain Samuel Smiles

CNS Nasty Bastard, A Jury Rigged Mess of a Drone Carrier

-CO: Captain Jean-Paul Beaumont

-

Radiant System Self Defence Force:

Current Orders: Defend Radiant, comet patrol

CO: Overseen by Admiral Gregory Mansur in his capacity as MilComm Chief of Naval Operations

Radiant Customs Squadron, Arabia-class boarding craft with marine contingents

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Switchblade Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Apogee Wing, Switchblade-type strikecraft

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

(Radiant-Bestreer Gate)

Radiant Orbital Yard 1

Current construction: None

Radiant Orbital Yard 1

Current construction: None

-

Gaid System Self Defence Force:

Current Orders: Defend Gaid

CO: Commodore Victor Raine

Battery A, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery B, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery C, Blindfire-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery D, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery E, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Battery F, Airstrike-Pattern LMP Constellation

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Shoal A, Macross-Pattern TAM Shoal

Zephyr Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: Wing Commander Ara Helge

Aeolus Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

Gale Wing, Switchblade-Type Strikecraft (Customized)

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

-

Frontier Force

Current Orders: Keep watch on SolNav force in Raphanus, assist with integration of Ascension military forces, patrol Spinward frontier

CO: Commodore Shayla McLean

CNS Kiel Mutiny, Kaiserreich-class BattleCruiser

-CO: Captain Inana Devlin

CNS Choreographer, Janissary-class Light Tender

-CO: Captain Karl Xanthopoulos

CNS Valiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Defiant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Fool's Errand

CNS Reliant, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Rouge Napier

CNS Actium, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain John Rankin

CNS Crête-à-Pierrot, New Model-class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Nkiru Chaudhari

CNS Valmy, New Model-Class Strike Corvette, attached to CNS Choreographer

-CO: Captain Sumac Barros

CNS Revolutionary Will, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: Captain Yamamoto Hanae

CNS Revolutionary Grace, Cossak-class Frigate

-CO: -N/A DATABASE ERROR, CONTACT IT FOR HELP-

CNS Under New Management, Don-Class Fast Tanker

-CO: Captain Adras Kierenos

CNS Liberte, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

-CO: Captain Colin McRae

CNS Egalite, Hollywood(C)-Class Frigate

-CO: Captain Adelia Swift

Resources
Naval Ship Types: Ship Types (Public Version)
Naval Officers: Congressional Navy Officers (Public Version)
System Codex: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rtNbPCcPsTK7HCHKo9dPgK7ntx5tBKOpltrZb_In7GY/edit#
Blaze Zhang: Blaze Zhang is trans-masc. That means his pronouns are he/him.

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BarbaCoPut · Aug 12, 2022

Setsul said:
When in a pinch, quickly modify SolNav policy from "don't fuck with the gates" to "fuck the gates" and all will be well.

Seriously though, I don't think this is that kind of quest and that communications to and from Cronus have been cut for obvious reasons.

Eh. It would be a perfect end boss. Like after we beat the fleets, after half the former compact is a community of congresses.

Godwinson · Aug 12, 2022

trooperist said:
RS-12 is an incomplete Gate connection? That's not what it was last map but I guess that how it be now.

It was an unknown connection last map, those don't get the Gate or No Gate signifier on the map.

trooperist · Aug 12, 2022

Setsul said:
Good question.
Shei was also right about building troop transports. If things go well for us, we're certainly going to need a lot for Arizona.

Looked it up and the Liberation Army Corp is three divisions, at least when it was created two years ago. We took only the best qualified recruits, which was largely former Aries personal from Shei. Which, really isn't a lot. Numbers are kinda vague since the size of a division varies between services and countries. But I'd guess probably around 50,000 troops or less. They're trained in orbital drops and close urban combat. Though probably not in the new style of combat that was used by the VdCB on Earth. Things might have changed since then though.

If we want to increase the effective value of our troops we'll need to complete Project Universal Kit and Project Universal Soldier.

Godwinson said:
It was an unknown connection last map, those don't get the Gate or No Gate signifier on the map.

Well that at least makes me more certain there's no Charters hiding in there. They don't go where there's no profit.

Setsul · Aug 13, 2022

trooperist said:
Looked it up and the Liberation Army Corp is three divisions, at least when it was created two years ago. We took only the best qualied recruits, which was largely former Aries personal from Shei. Which, really isn't a lot. Numbers are kinda vague since the size of a division varies between services and countries. But I'd guess probably around 50,000 troops or less. They're trained in orbital drops and close urban combat. Though probably not in the new style of combat that was used by the VdCB on Earth. Things might have changed since then though.

If we want to increase the effective value of our troops we'll need to complete Project Universal Kit and Project Universal Soldier.

Well, we definitely need more ground troops if nothing has changed since then and we're planning to get into a fight. Increased effectiveness can't make up for being outnumbered ten to one.
I don't think it's time for any panic projects. Don't get baited into anything stupid and we should be fine. Focus on the fleet, don't lose control of the orbitals, and we'll never have to fight on Elysium. Anywhere else the Shei United Front is more than willing to pick up the slack.

Whatever the plan for 201st was, I don't think it was being reduced to four fighting ships. We'll have to see whether SolNav got enough ships in Bastion to make up for that and is willing to commit them, but even if an invasion of Radiant was the plan (and I doubt it), we'll have bought some time.

More importantly, don't rush into Arizona as soon as it turns out that SolNav can't/won't stop us either. Until we and/or Shei got enough troop transports and landing craft to actually fight a few hundred thousand Solarion Marshalls on Arizona, cutting them off would just make things worse. It would give them time to build defences and we'd have to feed them all the while if we don't want the population to starve because Arizona isn't self-sufficient.

Kirook · Aug 13, 2022

#CNSubmissions

Bio: Barrett Bakari isn't a violent man. He just plays one on TV.

Or he did, until the Radiant Revolution came. Before the uprising against the Charters and Compact, Barrett was, of all things, a professional wrestler—and an extremely famous one. Though he was a skilled stunt performer and athlete, as many pro wrestlers are, Barrett's true claim to fame came from his personal charisma. He was a crowd magnet despite being a hated heel, lending a touch of intensity to even the dullest and worst-booked storylines.

One might assume that Barrett's fame protected him from H-I's cruelties—but while he had some privilege in his position, that didn't mean he went unscathed. Any performer working for H-I could tell horror stories of "visionary" directors who treated the talent working under them as pawns or servants, and the man placed in charge of Barrett's wrestling promotion was far worse than most. To make matters worse, like his fellow wrestlers, Barrett had long ago been made to sign away the rights to his name and image to H-I—and thereby forced to watch as they made massive profits from his matches and merchandise that he never saw a dime of.

Dissatisfied as he was, though, he could have borne it and kept going. Fame, after all, did come with its perks, and Barrett knew that in spite of his struggles he still had it better than most. The occasional argument with the boss wasn't enough to make a revolutionary.

But then he started talking to the stagehands.

In the months leading up to the March Days, Barrett took an interest in the work needed to make his matches run behind the scenes. A wrestling show needed a vast crew of backstage workers to produce the spectacle the audience knew and loved—from sound and lighting technicians to costume and makeup artists, and many more besides. This interest wasn't political in nature; he just wanted to learn more about the people who had helped him become so renowned. And, sure enough, he learned a great deal in the following weeks about special effects, and made a few friends besides. But he also learned about unsafe working conditions, long and punishing hours, and the struggle to unionize.

Barrett grew closer to the nascent technicians' union as the unrest on Elysium began to intensify. Developing political opinions was a new experience for him. In the ring he'd often take swipes at whichever of the Daughter or Sister Parties was in ascendance to draw the ire of the crowd, but outside of his wrestling persona he had always tried to stay uninvolved in such controversies. But that was becoming increasingly difficult—and soon, it would be impossible.

In late February, Barrett's close friend, a prominent labor leader who hoped to organize with stage crews across H-I's production companies, mysteriously vanished as the civil conflict came to a head. A police investigation found no evidence of foul play…but it was obvious what had happened to him.

For Barrett Bakari, this was the last straw. The time had come to choose sides, and he had chosen his.

When Elysium exploded into open revolt, Barrett shocked the public by giving a speech openly denouncing Hermes-Ishtar and calling on all listeners to join the uprising, in what some have called "the greatest face turn of all time". (Several of his most quotable lines became memes, especially after the speech was included in the Broadcast.) Popular accounts tend to exaggerate his role in the street fighting that followed for obvious reasons, but reports agree that he did take up arms and join in several militia actions during that time.

After the liberation of Elysium, he took some personal time out of the public eye for reasons he didn't share; but eventually he emerged from seclusion to enlist in the Congressional Navy. While this came as a surprise to many, he proved himself to be hardworking and dedicated to the ideals of the revolution, and rose through the ranks quickly. When the Battle of Bestreer and the crash naval buildup that followed it created a need for new captains, he was finally promoted to command his own ship.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, his past career has proven slightly troublesome to his current one. It's often difficult to get his subordinates to see him as professional and competent when his flamboyant image as a pro wrestler looms so large, especially because he's still untested in naval combat. But his powerful charisma and his obvious concern for the well-being of his subordinates have begun to earn him a measure of respect nonetheless.

Service History: No combat history, yet.

Traits:
-Naval Combat Novice
-Surprisingly Adaptable
-Pure Revolutionary Élan
-Leads From The Front
-I Am A Serious Naval Officer, Please Believe Me

Pallas Iordanou never expected to take command.

Growing up on what was then called Fliveons, her life was laid out for her from cradle to grave by her masters in Rhodes. Her duty was to stay in her lane, inspecting the heavy equipment day after day and monitoring the VIs that kept inventory. And she carried it out without complaint, until the day she didn't.

Pallas insists that she did not participate when Fliveons rose up against the Charters—but the rebels who turned the tide of battle with mysteriously "misplaced" explosives and lasers might disagree.

In any case, the revolution had come, and Pallas—as she saw things—owed it much. She was free to go where she willed and do whatever job she chose. (And to do it as whatever gender suited her: under Rhodes, it might have been years before she advanced enough in her lane to acquire the proper certification to transition.) But while the chains on her body had been broken, the shackles around her mind were not so easily cast off. Radiant's propaganda campaigns against bureaucracy and "meritocracy" were admirable, and no doubt some people would benefit greatly from them.

But Pallas knew what she was good at, and she intended to stay in her lane.

It wasn't such a huge jump from supervising dangerous mining equipment to supervising dangerous military equipment. Pallas joined the Congressional Navy, acquired the proper certification for handling ordnance, and there she stayed. If her advancement through the ranks was far faster than it might have been at Rhodes, she thought little of it. The AIC was a new polity, and there was a need for skilled personnel that she could help fill. Being an executive officer suited her well—orders were handed down from above and she could ensure that they were carried out with the utmost efficiency and professionalism. Pallas aspired to little more than that.

Then Vanguard Force was dispatched to Bestreer.

Pallas was serving on the CNS Egalite, under Captain Caesaria Butler. And by all accounts—including Pallas's own—Captain Butler's conduct in the battle was exemplary. But, in the words of a classic work about humanity's aspirations to travel the stars: "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose."

When Captain Butler was killed by a volley of SolNav missiles, Pallas was thrust into command of a dying vessel, with absolute certainty in her mind that she would soon follow her Captain into the grave. But she resolved to do her duty, even so. She had spent so much of her life in passivity; now, at least, she could go down swinging.

And swing she did. Egalite avenged its fallen Captain with the blood of the strikecraft wing that had taken her life, and in its death throes it crippled the Cosma Comella with the last of its functioning weapons. In the end, it was a last stand to be proud of.

Except that it wasn't Pallas's last stand.

She was among the last to make it off the fallen vessel, but she did make it—and when the Congressional Navy held the field, she was returned alive to friendly hands. Pallas barely remembered what she had done in Egalite's final moments; in the aftermath, she had to check through the command logs to recall the orders she gave. She remarked later, off the record, that it was "like hearing someone else speaking in my voice".

Nevertheless, "someone else" wouldn't be receiving the honor for her deeds. For valor in the Battle of Bestreer, Pallas was awarded with a permanent commission as Captain and with a Congressional Order of Heroism. In most circumstances, she would have turned both down; but she felt that to do so now would be to dishonor her Captain's memory. Now she steels herself for the day when she will face "Cerberus" and her fleet again, and prays to find the courage and inspiration to once again conquer long odds.

Service History: Served with exceptional distinction at the Battle of Bestreer. Awarded a Congressional Order of Heroism for tactical excellence and courage under fire.

Traits:
-Impostor Syndrome
-Survivor's Guilt
-Logistical Lane
-Aristeia

Setsul · Aug 13, 2022

Kirook said:
Third Lion took a lucky hit in the opening moments of the battle. It suffered some damage. Most of the bridge crew survived.

Its captain did not.

A hit that penetrates all the way to the bridge should be a mission kill.
Third Lion's Captain, Apollonia Gwyn, also isn't listed as dead.

Some minor adjustments to bring Pallas' backstory in line with canon and you have my like.

AKuz · Aug 13, 2022

Ziggrrauglurr said:
You know what did the map remind me? Cronus... remember the fungus infested system? Does Cordon and Cronus have relays? Did the people inside the system get the Broadcasts?... Are we unwittingly arming the final boss of the quest? You know, the one we will hear about in a couple of real life years from now, when the whole Spinward frontier is free? We will start getting news of distant Coreward planets being overrun?

The Quarantine between Cordon and Cronus is nothing goes in and nothing comes out. SolNav even blocks comms signals both ways because they're paranoid. No one really knows why because they've never shared what happened to the SolNav rapid response squadron that got smacked up in Cronus and withdrew with only half the people and craft they came in with.

masterofmadness · Aug 13, 2022

AKuz said:
The Quarantine between Cordon and Cronus is nothing goes in and nothing comes out. SolNav even blocks comms signals both ways because they're paranoid. No one really knows why because they've never shared what happened to the SolNav rapid response squadron that got smacked up Cronus and withdrew with only half the people and craft they came in with.

So, they didn't get the Broadcast! The poor mushroom people need to be able to see all our video games and Bunker Romance fanfiction! We need to act now!

Anon500 · Aug 13, 2022

masterofmadness said:
So, they didn't get the Broadcast! The poor mushroom people need to be able to see all our video games and Bunker Romance fanfiction! We need to act now!

You know what that means, boys! Gather Every ship we have! Its Cronus or Bust! We won't stop for anything! There are people in need of box-chan and we mean to deliver!

*2 second later*

Ack! Stop! I give! I give! Now put away the Spray bottle and- Ack! Stop it!

Tatbee · Aug 13, 2022

Fungal Biohazard? "Creeper"?
Bah! All lies!

Clearly, Croneus is where all the old people live.

Kirook · Aug 13, 2022

Setsul said:
A hit that penetrates all the way to the bridge should be a mission kill.
Third Lion's Captain, Apollonia Gwyn, also isn't listed as dead.

Some minor adjustments to bring Pallas' backstory in line with canon and you have my like.

Huh, I could have sworn it was listed as having an NPC Captain? I'll fix that. Also, re: death of the captain but not the ship, I figured it was some kind of freak accident related to the hit—the crash chair malfunctioning or a secondary explosion causing some shrapnel, or something of that nature. And the QMs have said that they'll permit it in the lore.

Shard of Victory · Aug 13, 2022

Tinfoil hat time!

Cronus have succesfully achieved communism and went neuman, and all this time Sol Nav have been trying to stop them from rolling over compact!

But seriously, I wonder what is actually there.

Genderite · Aug 13, 2022

Shard of Victory said:
Tinfoil hat time!

Cronus have succesfully achieved communism and went neuman, and all this time Sol Nav have been trying to stop them from rolling over compact!

But seriously, I wonder what is actually there.

That seems rather plausible actually. Huh.

Kirook · Aug 13, 2022

Kirook said:
Huh, I could have sworn it was listed as having an NPC Captain? I'll fix that. Also, re: death of the captain but not the ship, I figured it was some kind of freak accident related to the hit—the crash chair malfunctioning or a secondary explosion causing some shrapnel, or something of that nature. And the QMs have said that they'll permit it in the lore.

Well, fuck. I see what happened now. The list I was looking at was outdated. Worse yet, every slot in Vanguard Force has now been filled, meaning that Pallas's backstory is impossible without someone else's created captain being taken out of that fight. Even if I have the captain only be knocked unconscious rather than killed as was suggested, I'd still be going "yeah, your character didn't contribute to that battle, mine did".

…any suggestions on how I can still make this work without stepping on anyone's toes?

AKuz · Aug 13, 2022

Kirook said:
Well, fuck. I see what happened now. The list I was looking at was outdated. Worse yet, every slot in Vanguard Force has now been filled, meaning that Pallas's backstory is impossible without someone else's created captain being taken out of that fight. Even if I have the captain only be knocked unconscious rather than killed as was suggested, I'd still be going "yeah, your character didn't contribute to that battle, mine did".

…any suggestions on how I can still make this work without stepping on anyone's toes?

AKuz said:
The Following Vanguard Force Craft were mission killed but salvageable:

CNS Revolutionary Will
-Captain Yammamoto Hanae was recovered by S&R teams in critical condition, but expected to live.
CNS Egalite
-Captain Caesaria Butler died instantly on her command deck
CNS Free Melbourne
-Captain Valerie Gutiérrez survived the destruction of her command with minor injuries
CNS Second Lion
-Captain Leo Pietrowski survived the ramming attack on CNS Second Lion by SNS Ethan Sidabungke

CNS Egalite's captain died on her command deck but the craft was merely rendered a mission killed, but with survivors. Someone who distinguished themselves aboard Egalite would make a good candidate for captaincy elsewhere.

Setsul · Aug 13, 2022

Kirook said:
Huh, I could have sworn it was listed as having an NPC Captain? I'll fix that. Also, re: death of the captain but not the ship, I figured it was some kind of freak accident related to the hit—the crash chair malfunctioning or a secondary explosion causing some shrapnel, or something of that nature. And the QMs have said that they'll permit it in the lore.

Kirook said:
Well, fuck. I see what happened now. The list I was looking at was outdated. Worse yet, every slot in Vanguard Force has now been filled, meaning that Pallas's backstory is impossible without someone else's created captain being taken out of that fight. Even if I have the captain only be knocked unconscious rather than killed as was suggested, I'd still be going "yeah, your character didn't contribute to that battle, mine did".

…any suggestions on how I can still make this work without stepping on anyone's toes?

Yeah, when I looked it up via the Status Panel I couldn't find her, went back to the post where Vanguard Force is listed with some NPC Captains still and the document linked there in the call for submissions is the most recent one. Which is a bit counterintuitive.

I guess your options are to either look for an older fight (lots of work), wait for the next fight, or ask if someone is fine with sharing the glory. Maybe make the switch halfway through the battle, not in the first few seconds.

bdun140 · Aug 13, 2022

The odds of Barrett Bakari and Andrew Dufort actually meeting each other prior to joining the navy are punishingly slim, but that won't stop some fanfic writer from concocting a story about two stupidly huge and muscular war heroes teaming up to suplex a tank or something.

SCDMR Aramatha · Aug 13, 2022

(Wrote a short and silly Omake)

What is the Amaranthine Youth League?

By Lois Lane a renowned journalist of the Radiant Times

The recent explosion of the Amaranthine Youth League (AYL) has become somewhat of a shock to all the fair people of the Amaranthine Interstellar Commonwealth (AIC). What was meant to be a policy club for youths to gather and discuss policy has shifted into what some call a Young Revolution. Overnight pressure from the youths has forced prominent policy makers and adult leaders to resign or be ousted such as the resignation of Teachers Union representative Artuard Hargreeve from the General Congress. Furthermore, the Amaranthine Youth League had become increasingly militarized with the Youth Guard even yelling at local committees to allow youth representation.

This journalist will endeavor to address the average citizen's questions and concerns towards the Amaranthine Youth League through an interview conducted with Nancy Drew, a prominent AYL member. Ms. Drew joined the AYL at the age 18 and rapidly rose in the AYL's ranks as her charismatic speeches as well as her leading role in the organization of multiple AYL protests has granted her a seat at the Council of Youths.

Lois Lane: So Ms, Drew you are one of the earliest members of the AYL so why don't you tell us what the AYL is and why it is needed?

Nancy Drew: Sure thing. The Amaranthine Youth League originally began as concerns mounted that an immortal society like the AIC will lead to younger children and teenagers becoming outnumbered against the vastly more populous older generations. I encourage members of the audience to imagine if their parents, grandparents, great grandparents and so on are still alive and actively participating in the political arena. At first glance this doesn't seem that bad, but the AYL has used the ARIA network extensively and future predictive models are clear that the AIC will outnumber younger generations continuously as the older generation remain immortal. Resulting in the youth becoming a minority.

LL: Surely being a minority is not that bad in the AIC. I mean if the Charters or Compact was here then I could see your point, but surely being a minority in the AIC won't lead to persecution.

ND: Being a minority isn't that bad here in the AIC that is true, but history has shown us that minorities will often become weak and unable to resist the majority. This is even more so with minorities that do not have political representation. Therefore, the Amaranthine Youth League is crucial for every future generation to have a voice and fair representation in our great commonwealth.

LL: What do you have to say to the people that are concerned with the AYL's Youth Guard arming themselves to conduct violent actions?

ND: Any claims that we are arming ourselves to promote violence is baseless as the Youth Guard respects the selfless SDF forces that have protected our homes and have remained peaceful in all cases. However we will continue to arm ourselves not because we wish to condone violence, but to guarantee our future prosperity and call for greater representation within the Commonwealth. Besides arming ourselves will mean that force must be used to expel us from the General Congress. If that happens we will be "political enemies" and therefore all age restrictions have been instantly lifted for us. Isn't that ironic?

LL: It sure is. But moving on, how is the AYL structured?

ND: The Amaranthine Youth League's structure consists of four unique components that have different functions. The Youth Guard serves as the protector of the AYL and serves as the internal police force for the entire AYL's committees. The Central Youth Committee otherwise known as CenYouComm (pronounced sen-you-com) serves as the central planning for all AYL activities from organized protests, media interviews, recruitment and awareness drives. The Youth Statistics Committee known as the YouStatsComm are the AYL's main statistics department which is responsible for calculating the AYL's numbers such as recruitment numbers, polling, scheduling the organized protests and so on. Finally, the Council of Youths is the General Congress of the entire AYL as the council dictates policy and plans the entire AYL's strategy at the strategic level.

LL: Wow, thank you so much Ms, Drew for being here with me for this interview and I think our audience has been thoroughly educated on the AYL.

ND: Indeed, thank you for having Lois. It's been a pleasure and I hope to come back someday.

Kirook · Aug 13, 2022

AKuz said:
CNS Egalite's captain died on her command deck but the craft was merely rendered a mission killed, but with survivors. Someone who distinguished themselves aboard Egalite would make a good candidate for captaincy elsewhere.

Okay, updated her backstory. I've taken some artistic license with how long a ship can stay functioning after a hit to the bridge, but I did retain Egalite being eventually mission-killed after fighting a strikecraft swarm—but I can still change it if you want. I'm just trying to balance the constraints of the setting and the battle that actually took place on the one hand, with the need on the other for Pallas to do something very impressive but also potentially traumatizing to set up her character.

Starship Trooper · Aug 13, 2022

morning what's the tally

Setsul · Aug 13, 2022

Starship Trooper said:
morning what's the tally

Well the good news is that your write in for BLSQ is in second place.
The bad news is that it's with one vote.

Tatbee · Aug 13, 2022

[X] [BLSQ] Take the Deal
-[X] Broadcast the Deal

Broadcasting the Deal might keep them honest?
If they return to fight us, it'd be terrible PR for the Compact and Charters.

Also gives the rest of the galaxy a heads up, particularly Columbia and the First Colonies, that Blue Squadron is heading their way.

maelstrom.seeker · Aug 13, 2022

Tatbee said:
[X] [BLSQ] Take the Deal
-[X] Broadcast the Deal

Broadcasting the Deal might keep them honest?
If they return to fight us, it'd be terrible PR for the Compact and Charters.

Also gives the rest of the galaxy a heads up, particularly Columbia and the First Colonies, that Blue Squadron is heading their way.

Whether or not we broadcast the deal will be in the turn plan vote. There's no reason to lock that in right now.

AKuz · Aug 13, 2022

Scheduled vote count started by AKuz on Aug 11, 2022 at 4:37 AM, finished with 186 posts and 27 votes.

24 people have voted
[X] [BLSQ] Take the Deal
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
- MrRageQuit
- WGDragoon
- Rat King
- SCDMR Aramatha
- Artificial Girl
- Aliya
- Arjac
- Captainwolf
- maelstrom.seeker
- Transreal Cloud
- Solarstream
- Whilryke
- Burned_Cookie
- TheArcanist
- spiritualatheist
- HeWhoAdds
- Cassiemouse
- Diomedea
- Glassware
- Dermon
12 people have voted
[X] [FRONTIER] Sharon Nash
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
- MrRageQuit
- WGDragoon
- Rat King
- SCDMR Aramatha
- Artificial Girl
- Cassiemouse
- Diomedea
- Dermon
10 people have voted
[X] [ISMEU] Estoc Jayanto
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
- MrRageQuit
- WGDragoon
- Rat King
- SCDMR Aramatha
- Artificial Girl
- Cassiemouse
8 people have voted
[X] [Targe 2] Pavise
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
8 people have voted
[X] [Targe 3] Aspis
-[X] Assign to Mobile Force
8 people have voted
[X] [Targe 4] Rodela
-[X] Assign to Mobile Force
8 people have voted
[X] [Lake 1] Grand Isle
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
7 people have voted
[X] [Targe 1] Ishlangu
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- MrRageQuit
- WGDragoon
- Rat King
- SCDMR Aramatha
- Cassiemouse
- Glassware
- Dermon
6 people have voted
[X] [Lake 2] Isle La Motte
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- MrRageQuit
- WGDragoon
- Rat King
- SCDMR Aramatha
- Glassware
- Dermon
4 people have voted
[X] [Targe 1] Tower Shield
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
4 people have voted
[X] [Targe 2] Great Shield
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
4 people have voted
[X] [Targe 3] Heater Shield
-[X] Assign to Mobile Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
4 people have voted
[X] [Targe 4] Kite Shield
-[X] Assign to Mobile Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
4 people have voted
[X] [Lake 1] Missisqoi
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
4 people have voted
[X] [Lake 2] Winooski
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- Setsul
- BarbaCoPut
- Mr.Norm
- bdun140
2 people have voted
[X] [Lake 2] Isle La Motte
-[X] Assign to Mobile Force
- Artificial Girl
- Cassiemouse
1 people have voted
-[X] Assign to Vanguard Force
- Artificial Girl
1 people have voted
[X] [ISMEU] Samuel Smiles
- Diomedea
1 people have voted
[x] [BLSQ] renege on the deal
- Starship Trooper
1 people have voted
[X] BLURON - Take the Deal
- sunsight
1 people have voted
[X] [ISMEU] Gregory Mansur
- Dermon
1 people have voted
[X] [BLSQ] Take the Deal
-[X] Broadcast the Deal
- Tatbee

Derpmind · Aug 13, 2022

A few opinions on our SciComm projects. Did not mean to time this after the vote closes, but since it's done now there's no reason not to post it.

[ ] FTL Comms Followup?
Part of wormhole research; completing this project likely helps advance others. Currently an unknown project with unknown costs and benefits.

It's still a high priority to continue the FTL Comms tech tree in the hopes of getting a design small enough to fit into our space vessel-ship-mounts. It could also give other massively useful tech, though that's all still speculative for now. I'm very much against not putting a die here next turn.

[ ] [SciComm] Assist with Prototype Wormhole research -Wormhole Travel
Part of wormhole research. Has some progress from FTL Comms and an ARIA die. Progress needed is unknown, but likely multiple turns away from completing.

While previously a secondary priority for long-term research behind doing FTL Comms research, it's now likely to be put on the backburner behind Gate Examination as well. However, past the prototype stage this technology is likely to be just as impactful as FTL Comms. Instant personal travel between planets could scale up to mutli-planetary logistics, if not other uses. We still want FTL Comms first, though.

[ ] [SciComm] Gate Examination: In for a Penny, In for a Pound
Part of wormhole research. Unknown progress needed, and currently at zero progress.

Largely a mystery box, besides the ability to construct new Gates. Is SolNav merely engaging in a very aggressive form of copyright protection? Is there some Dark SecretTM behind the Gates? Maybe they can be nova-scale bombs, or they can travel to alternate universes, or they actually travel through Hell, or who knows what? But while I remain very curious, whatever we find out, SolNav has already known for two hundred years. It's vanishingly unlikely that this project will provide the kind of game-changing advantage we hope to get out of FTL Comms. Still, the biggest mystery of the setting is within our grasp now. I'd vote for plans that put a die on this project, but not at the expense of a die on the much-more-immediately needed FTL Comms.

[ ] [SciComm] Grey Skies Project
Likely costs 1 die.

A +1 bonus to three different 'Comms is a decent benefit, and unlocking a new category of projects would be nice too. Not exactly one of our juiciest projects, but any cost/benefit analysis would put this project as a solidly worthwhile one. Still, there are many other projects I would prioritize over this one. I don't think it's worth doing next turn.

[ ] [SciComm] Genetic Augmentation Jailbreak
Likely costs 2 dice over two turns.

There's no arguing against doing this project ASAP on ethical reasons alone. I won't vote for plans that don't put a die here.

[ ] [SciComm] Automated Harvesting Breakthrough
One die away from completion.

Even more so than the previous project, there's no arguing against doing this project ASAP on ethical reasons alone. I double won't vote for plans that don't put a die here.

[ ] [SciComm] Automated Harvesting Breakthrough
Progress needed is unknown, but "more than 40". Has some progress already. A joint project with IndComm.

While we currently have plenty of BR, that will change as we ramp up our ship production. Eliminating BR costs has immediate benefits in that we can focus on just managing SR and Energy, but I'd speculate further that it might also enable easier mega-structure scale building as we'll easily be able to afford the base materials for doing so. While not an immediate priority or need, we very much want this in the medium term. So it makes sense to want to start this now, though we're likely to only use an IndComm die to start with.

[ ] [SciComm] VI Retraining
Likely takes only one die.

A limited +3 bonus to some projects is good to have, and "modification of existing technologies" probably includes the five Fractured Skies projects we have currently. This will pay for itself if we do it before a bunch of Fractured Skies projects, but otherwise it might take longer to pay itself back. Given how useful and important some of the Fractured Skies projects look, I think I'd favor doing this over Grey Skies.

[ ] [SciComm] Fractured Skies Combination Project: Project Universal Kit
50/50 on if this takes one or two dice over one/two turns. Requires a follow-up project in MilComm to take effect.

One of two projects to upgrade all of our ground forces. Ground combat somewhere and somewhen is an inevitability, and both SolNav and the Charters certainly have the manpower advantage over us. We want this in the medium term. However, Project Universal Soldier seems like it's worth much more.

[ ] [SciComm] Fractured Skies Combination Projects: Project Jefferies
50/50 on if this takes one or two dice over one/two turns.

Improves the results of our native ship design projects. We'll want this before we start doing those projects, but it's worth noting that we don't unlock them until we finish the MilComm project "Examine Captured Warcraft and Cracked Designs". Which will probably take two dice over two turns. So while this doesn't look like a project for next turn, perhaps we'll want to do it as soon as two turns from now?

[ ] [SciComm] Fractured Skies Combination Projects: Project Universal Soldier
50/50 on if this takes one or two dice over one/two turns. Unlocks two follow-up projects in MilComm; this project doesn't take into effect until one or both of the follow-up projects are done.

The other half of Project Universal Kit. The same arguments for buffing ground combat apply here as well, but this project also unlocks a MilComm project to improve our entire Congressional Navy. It looks to be a much faster way to tech-up our navy than developing and then building new ship designs. Given the frequency and importance of Naval combat, and the universal nature of the buff, I think this might be a higher priority for us than we've so far considered. I think maybe we should do this project immediately next turn.

[ ] [SciComm] Fractured Skies Combination Projects: Embrace the Monster Within
50/50 on if this takes one or two dice over one/two turns, if using SciComm dice. Joint project with SocComm.

This gives us some kind of bonus for SciComm and SocComm, but more importantly it's a big QoL and cultural project. Why should you let nature limit your body, if you don't want it to? Or worse, have a body designed by a corporate committee? While it doesn't feed into our military buildup or seem to give big dice bonuses, I don't think we want to sit on this for long.

[ ] [SciComm] Fractured Skies Combination Projects: All the Toys
50/50 bla bla bla, you've read this before.

Gives a nice +1 bonus to all 'Comms. That's it, though, and even if the bonus is broader it's more likely to take two dice than Grey Skies. A low priority.

[ ] [SciComm] Initiate Mega Project: Clearing out Tech Debt
Takes two turns, no rolls. I'm not sure if this only takes one die, then automatically finishes after the next turn, or if it takes two dice over two turns.

Every megaproject we've done so far has been very expensive in resources and dice, taken a very long time, and has been absolutely been worth it. And we're all out of megaprojects. Still, do we have the time for another one? Or should we put up with three hundred years of tech debt for a few more years yet? If it wasn't for all the fleets breathing down our doorstep, I'd advocate to start this immediately, but needs must.

For The Tyrants Fear Your Might (A quest of interstellar rebellion)

Been Better

Voluta indomita

"Well, I've got nothing."

Cinnamon Roll AI

Been Better

Been Better

I have ideas. Sometimes they're even good.

Been Better