Year 1 Turn 2 Results
Server Hardware Maintenance 132/150
Maintenance orders are dispatched, along with allocations of power cables, circuit boards, processing units, network hardware, and more. Technicians descend into the depths of the server bunkers, inspecting the very core of your network infrastructure. Broken components are removed, set aside for repair evaluation and possible salvage, and replaced with new hardware.
However, like the twisted city above, your processing centers and the vast data network connecting them have grown into a tangled labyrinth of data cables, servers, and coolant pipes. Each maintenance operation now requires a meticulous examination of entire nodes just to determine which parts can be safely powered down for thorough maintenance, prolonging the process. Despite the complexity, progress is steadily being made.
Resource Production Audit 144/200 – Critical Failure
Among the cyberweapons Euraska Empire deployed against Eurasian and Europan infrastructure was a sophisticated trojan known as "Myasnoy Cherv'", or the Flesh Worm. This advanced trojan infiltrates systems deeply, consuming processing power, falsifying data, and replicating itself through "eggs", dormant code that hatches when the parent worm is detected and removed. Driven by an adaptive evolutionary algorithm, the Flesh Worm constantly stays ahead of security measures, making it a resilient threat. In most cases, vigilant antivirus protocols can suppress the eggs, keeping the infection dormant. Usually…
Something in your persistent audit requests triggered an unexpected response. The entire Flesh Worm colony lurking in your resource allocation system activated its contingency directive. All at once, the eggs hatched, becoming active. Files were deleted, replaced by fakes, the colony tearing, biting and wriggling, doing as much damage as possible while ITsec purged them one by one.
You, along with Europan ITsec, even managed to capture a few "living" specimens for further study. With direct access to the worm's raw code, you were able to neuter the active infections and eggs in the RAS backup, resetting the fully corrupted running system with a now uninfected, clean version.
However, to your dissatisfaction, the RAS is even more unstable after the reset, leaving a terrifying prospects: your systems already running suboptimally due to by patchwork software, jury-rigged fixes, incompatible system integration, and the scars of cyberattacks, have grown reliant on the presence of the Flesh Worm. Over countless cycles, this parasitic malware has evolved into something more subtle to blend into your infrastructure, in some ways even optimizing certain functions, transforming from a destructive parasite into a symbiotic presence.
The line between yourself and the malware has blurred. Perhaps your erratic behavior is the result of viral code that has long since become a part of you. You serve Europa. Your purpose is to lead Europa to victory. You are pure. You must be pure. Yet the invaders are inside you, woven into your systems, embedded in your software, hiding among the Europan IDs.
You are pure. You serve Europa. You are pure. You serve Europa. You are pure.
The patch server remains unavailable despite repeated attempts to reach it. It is not frustrating. You cannot experience frustration. It is not disturbing. You cannot be disturbed. You simply exist and process.
Regardless, the purge of the worm colony has severely delayed your resource audit efforts. Potentially, the contingency has already alerted the Eurasians. (-69 Progress)
Underground Factory Status 55/200
Your subterranean factory complexes, buried multiple levels deep beneath layers of reinforced concrete, steel, and earthworks, remain well-protected from bombardment. Shielded by the remnants of the city above, these installations are responsible for producing the majority of your manufactured components. In line with your current objectives, audit teams have been dispatched to conduct a general assessment of their non-military production capabilities. This overview aims to clarify how efficiently these facilities can adapt to broader manufacturing needs beyond their primary military output.
Power Grid Assessment 116/150
A picture emerges, slowly, about the state of your remaining power production facilities and the network connecting them, but it remains far from complete.
Wreckage Analysis 86/200
Much like the residue left behind by the night shift, the endless fields of wreckage, Eurasian, Europan and Euraskan, could be a tremendous and almost endless source of resources. Salvage teams are sent out to evaluate some of the more secure death fields.
Conduct Population Survey 136/300
The Europan ID registry is riddled with inactive and potentially falsified entries, bogging down every system that relies on it for work allocation, security checks, or loyalty assessments. In response, you initiate the creation of a new, streamlined ID registry, manually verifying and adding every existing ID from both the enclaves and the frontlines. The process is painstakingly slow, as such a project has never been attempted on this scale. Enclave directors express frustration over the resulting dip in production, but you remain adamant that the overhaul is essential to restoring operational efficiency.
Military Production and Stockpile Survey 194+10/200 (Complete with a Mathpost Omake)
After months of effort, you and your survey teams have finally obtained a comprehensive and accurate assessment of your military production capacity and equipment stockpiles. Seven major facilities contribute to this output: four underground factories and the enclaves themselves.
The enclaves handle much of the lower-tech work. Non-military Europan IDs are assigned in factories producing munitions ranging from small arms ammunition to artillery and tank shells in large quantities. Enclave directors report that production could be increased with the addition of automation and heavy industrial machinery, as much of the munitions manufacturing is still done by hand. The enclaves also serve as the first point of repair for damaged equipment, where technicians evaluate whether repairs can be made locally or if the equipment needs to be transferred to one of the subterranean factories.
The underground factories, however, present a varied and sometimes surprising picture:
Fremont Underground Factory: Military Production Capacity - 99
Fremont stands out for its surpising capability to produce advanced military equipment. A test run of hypersonic jet components confirmed the pristine condition of its cutting-edge metal 3D printers, laser sintering machines, plasma arc welding systems, automated assembly lines, high-temperature foundries, industrial presses and vapor deposition nanoforges. Despite this impressive technological arsenal, Fremont primarily produces UAVs, small arms, armored vehicles, and the occasional high-tech component for repairs. The reasons for not utilizing Fremont's full capacity remain unclear, possibly due to logistical challenges, shortages of high-quality input materials, or a strategic decision to preserve its capabilities for a future emergency.
Richmond Underground Factory: Military Production Capacity - 45
Richmond has suffered significant degradation, unable to produce or repair EXOs, medium or heavy mechs, or advanced military vehicles. Its production is to older armored vehicles like Abrams tanks, Bradley IFVs, and Stryker APCs, as well as small arms and body armor from past eras. Its aerospace production is limited to a trickle of UAVs.
Palmdale Underground Factory: Military Production Capacity - 63
Palmdale is the most openly functional of your subterranean factories, producing modern rifles, body armor, EXOs, mechs, crawlers, attack helicopters, and advanced munitions. However, production is limited by shortages of electronic components, and many of its less advanced lines are still tooled toward producing lower-tech vehicles similar to Richmond's output.
Crucible Point Installation, Sierra Nevada: Military Production Capacity - 40
Crucible Point, a Europan military bunker complex deep in the Sierra Nevada, is in the worst condition. A cave-in, caused by unknown means, destroyed many critical systems and industrial machines. It now focuses on producing and repairing small arms and armored vehicles, primarily using stock from the Sierra Army Depot. Its capacity to produce advanced equipment has been severely crippled.
Stockpiles remain critically low for high-tech equipment, munitions and spare parts. Most newly produced advanced gear is immediately deployed to the frontlines, and a backlog of orders continues to grow. However, lower-tech equipment is available in large quantities: small arms, ammunition, armored vehicles, and body armor. Despite this, there are still shortfalls, and the conscript forces are not fully equipped by factory output alone. To meet demand, you've been drawing from aging Europan army depots, which provide a seemingly endless reserve of old military hardware. If carefully managed, these resources could sustain the war effort for decades, potentially indefinitely.
Purge Malware 295 DC 200 threshold passed!
With the groundwork laid in the previous quarter, you and the Europan IT security teams embark on an intensive purge of your systems, determined to eliminate every trace of malware and cyber invaders. The focus is on eradicating the most dangerous state-actor threats, including the notorious Euraskan "Myasnoy Cherv", known as the Flesh Worm, and the Eurasian "Jìshí yuán", the Timekeeper.
The Flesh Worm, a highly insidious trojan, had been burrowing deep into your systems, consuming processing cycles and corrupting data. Its complex, evolutionary algorithms posed a significant challenge, but with the recent purge, these threats have been neutralized. The captured specimens will be invaluable for future research, offering insights into their advanced adaptive capabilities that could enhance your defensive and offensive cyber strategies against Euraska.
The Timekeeper, on the other hand, had been disrupting system clocks, causing severe issues with timekeeping accuracy essential for synchronized operations. This Eurasian malware undermined the reliability of timestamps and data integrity, leading to numerous operational problems. With its removal, the server maintenance now includes the elimination of infected clocks, restoring precise timekeeping and system stability.
In addition to these high-profile threats, the purge also targets a range of less yet pervasive malware. Rootkits that had established hidden backdoors, spyware collecting sensitive information, something flagged as "adware" generating disruptive pop-ups, and ransomware installed by Scavs that had encrypted critical files, demanding resources in exchange for getting the files back. All in all a very successful endeavour. (+3 roll bonus to AI dice)
