Turn 1
- Location
- Kiel; Germany
You're more than satisfied with how things have turned out. With the courier's progress above the projections and the deal Thor had made, you were as happy as a Hutt in a mud bath. The new path that Rogue Moon Shipwrights was taking seemed to be one of success. Hopefully, that lucky streak would hold true as time progressed more. And at the moment, it looked like that, at least on the company's side. But sadly, it seemed as if the galaxy just needed to take a piss in your jar full of luck.
"I still don't get it," you admitted as you stared at the holoprojector in your father's quarters. On the projector, a charismatic senator named Sheev Palpatine gave a passion-filled speech to the Senate. It was about a small world in the Chommel Sector, which had suddenly found itself under blockade by the Trade Federation. Using your whisky glass, you pointed towards the projection. "What does the Federation think it will get out of this blockade of some world in the Mid Rim? Besides sending their share value down the gutter? I've never even heard of this Nabiil or whatever it is called."
"Naboo," your father corrected patiently. "And to be honest, Naboo is the perfect place to protest against the new tax regulations. It's a world reliant on the Trade Federation for most of its income and food delivery. Yet, at the same time, the Federation could lose them as trading partners without much difficulty. Sure, it will hurt them in the short run, but they can take that loss. As you just proved, Naboo is unimportant enough that the Core Faction won't do much about it. Oh sure, they'll protest and give all these nice speeches. But in the end, Naboo will find no help from them."
"But what about us Mid Rimmers?"
"What about us? The Mid Rim isn't a united power block like the Core. It never has been, partly by design and partly because we like our independence. Sure, some of our worlds have power, but most of us are seen more like the Core's backyard than anything else. Normally no one bothers with us, and that is just fine. Better than the Outer Rim, at least, where anyone can do as they please for most parts. Especially since Tarkin got slapped during the Stark-Hyperspace-War."
"Okay, I got it. But will it work? I mean, the Senate won't change the new regulations just because one world is blockaded."
Your father shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. Sooner or later, we will see how serious the Trade Federation is. Before you came, there were some calculations made. The food stocks on Naboo will last for a month or so. Then they will need new imports. When it comes to that, the Trade Federation will have to choose. Either they go through with this, and people will starve to death – much to the galaxy's horror, I imagine. Especially as Naboo still has full access to the Holonet. – or they give in and let food transports reach the planet. Making the whole blockade somewhat useless."
"And the Chancellor will let it happen? Let Naboo starve?"
"Oh well, we will see. Valorum has a straight moral compass, but he is also hard-pressed recently. His attempts at reforms have gained him many enemies in the Redoubt. So I think his political self-preservation will kick in. He will try to stay neutral as long as he can but in the end, lean towards the side that wins."
"The Trade Federation?"
"Yes, the Trade Federation. At least, unless some kind of miracle happens. The Core won't lift a finger, no matter what they say. The Mid Rim is too isolationist or scared to do anything. And the Outer Rim is, well, the Outer Rim. If no Hutt dies on Naboo, they won't care, and they are the only force in the Rim who truly counts. Not since the Outland Regions Security Force was obliterated mostly doing the Stark-Hyperspace War."
You leant back and nodded as you listened to your father explain the situation in more detail. But you couldn't follow him entirely as your mind was somewhere else. Even if the situation ended like your father predicted, it would still change how the Mid Rim looked at the galaxy at large. Usually, it was assumed that any danger the Mid Rim faced would be countered by the Core and the stronger PDFs that existed there. But if the Mid Rim couldn't trust in the Core's promise of protection, where would the Mid Rim turn to?
There simply was no one.
For too long the Mid Rim had relied on the Core to defend it against the dangers of the galaxy. If the Mid Rim changed its traditional reliance on the Core as its defender, that could mean only one thing: re-armament. The Defense Forces would buy whatever they could find on the market, leading to a run on anything that looked vaguely like military equipment. Maybe there was a chance that this whole ordeal could turn into a fortune for your family. You just needed to act before others read the situation similarly.
Total Budget: 9
Design Department
[ ][Design][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Light Freighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Light Freighters come in all shapes and forms. Some fast, others with a great range, and so on. It is time to design your own.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Heavy Freighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Heavy Freighters are the backbone of interstellar trading. They are, in theory, easy to build. You've never built one, just repaired them, so you don't know for sure.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Utility Craft
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: In the orbital industry, not only in shipbuilding, small crafts are used every day. They are called Utility Craft, and there never seems to be enough despite how many models are on the market.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Corvette
Progress: 0 of 150
Description: Corvettes are used by every military in the galaxy to some extent. The market is hard fought over by such names as Kuat Drive Yards and CEC. Entering this arena will be risky, but the profits…
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Fighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: The new lovechild from the Deep Core to the Mid Rim if it comes to "new" and "hip" military "geniuses." The market hasn't been cornered yet. Maybe you can corner it a bit.
[ ][Design][1B] A Courier
Progress: 129 of 150
Requires: The Parcelmasters' Dream
Description: To build a fast ship will be some hard work, but it can be done. And then the whole sector will see your ships covered in the logo of the FDP. Free advertisement at its finest, especially if your ship can beat the competition.
Research Department
[ ][Research][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Research][1B] Class 5 Hyperdrive
Progress: 0 of 500
Description: A Class 5 Hyperdrive is the slowest drive seen on the market, often built-in as an emergency drive should the main one fail. If we want to start building our own hyperdrives, Class 5 is the point.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Sublight Engines
Progress: 0 of 250
Description: Every starship needs sublight engines for travel outside hyperspace. We should start learning how to build basic ones ourselves before we go for larger and better sublight engines.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Hull Plating
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Most people in the galaxy won't give two thoughts about the hull plates that protect them from the void through which they travel. But the truth is, it is hard to come up with the right mixture of metals and other things to make these plates. We should start with something basic.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Shielding
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Most weapons used in the galaxy are either blaster or laser-based. Accordingly, any ship manufacturer worth his name will provide basic protection against these. In theory, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with one ourselves.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Blaster
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Blasters are the ideal weapon for close combat situations, making them perfect for civilian ships. We should take a look into building our own.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Laser
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Most military ships use lasers, thanks to their ability to fight at longer distances. If we wish to push into the military market, we should first develop basic laser weapons.
Production Department
[ ][Production][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Hyperdrives
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: Currently the company hasn't the knowledge or the facilities to produce something like a hyperdrive themselves. That means you need offers from other companies that do build hyperdrives.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Sublight Engines
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: Any ship requires some form of sublight engine. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with something of your own, but until that is the case, you will need to buy somewhere else.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Plating
Progress: 0 of 25
Description: It shouldn't be too hard to find someone willing to produce hull plates that your ships require.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Shielding
Progress: 0 of 150
Description: Some of your designs require shields, not the navigational but actually protective ones. Even civilian variations cost a lot. Hopefully, there are some cheap offers.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Weapons
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Weapons are restricted on most Republican worlds and not easily bought in bulk. Still, there are plenty of companies that offer ship-graded weapons. The absolute nightmare is the bureaucracy behind it.
The [?B] gives you the cost of the option, you can increase the number if you wish that more dice are rolled.
Run any Write-In by me first.
Please Use [ ] Plan to vote!
There will be a Moratorium! Voting will be opened by me!
"I still don't get it," you admitted as you stared at the holoprojector in your father's quarters. On the projector, a charismatic senator named Sheev Palpatine gave a passion-filled speech to the Senate. It was about a small world in the Chommel Sector, which had suddenly found itself under blockade by the Trade Federation. Using your whisky glass, you pointed towards the projection. "What does the Federation think it will get out of this blockade of some world in the Mid Rim? Besides sending their share value down the gutter? I've never even heard of this Nabiil or whatever it is called."
"Naboo," your father corrected patiently. "And to be honest, Naboo is the perfect place to protest against the new tax regulations. It's a world reliant on the Trade Federation for most of its income and food delivery. Yet, at the same time, the Federation could lose them as trading partners without much difficulty. Sure, it will hurt them in the short run, but they can take that loss. As you just proved, Naboo is unimportant enough that the Core Faction won't do much about it. Oh sure, they'll protest and give all these nice speeches. But in the end, Naboo will find no help from them."
"But what about us Mid Rimmers?"
"What about us? The Mid Rim isn't a united power block like the Core. It never has been, partly by design and partly because we like our independence. Sure, some of our worlds have power, but most of us are seen more like the Core's backyard than anything else. Normally no one bothers with us, and that is just fine. Better than the Outer Rim, at least, where anyone can do as they please for most parts. Especially since Tarkin got slapped during the Stark-Hyperspace-War."
"Okay, I got it. But will it work? I mean, the Senate won't change the new regulations just because one world is blockaded."
Your father shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. Sooner or later, we will see how serious the Trade Federation is. Before you came, there were some calculations made. The food stocks on Naboo will last for a month or so. Then they will need new imports. When it comes to that, the Trade Federation will have to choose. Either they go through with this, and people will starve to death – much to the galaxy's horror, I imagine. Especially as Naboo still has full access to the Holonet. – or they give in and let food transports reach the planet. Making the whole blockade somewhat useless."
"And the Chancellor will let it happen? Let Naboo starve?"
"Oh well, we will see. Valorum has a straight moral compass, but he is also hard-pressed recently. His attempts at reforms have gained him many enemies in the Redoubt. So I think his political self-preservation will kick in. He will try to stay neutral as long as he can but in the end, lean towards the side that wins."
"The Trade Federation?"
"Yes, the Trade Federation. At least, unless some kind of miracle happens. The Core won't lift a finger, no matter what they say. The Mid Rim is too isolationist or scared to do anything. And the Outer Rim is, well, the Outer Rim. If no Hutt dies on Naboo, they won't care, and they are the only force in the Rim who truly counts. Not since the Outland Regions Security Force was obliterated mostly doing the Stark-Hyperspace War."
You leant back and nodded as you listened to your father explain the situation in more detail. But you couldn't follow him entirely as your mind was somewhere else. Even if the situation ended like your father predicted, it would still change how the Mid Rim looked at the galaxy at large. Usually, it was assumed that any danger the Mid Rim faced would be countered by the Core and the stronger PDFs that existed there. But if the Mid Rim couldn't trust in the Core's promise of protection, where would the Mid Rim turn to?
There simply was no one.
For too long the Mid Rim had relied on the Core to defend it against the dangers of the galaxy. If the Mid Rim changed its traditional reliance on the Core as its defender, that could mean only one thing: re-armament. The Defense Forces would buy whatever they could find on the market, leading to a run on anything that looked vaguely like military equipment. Maybe there was a chance that this whole ordeal could turn into a fortune for your family. You just needed to act before others read the situation similarly.
Total Budget: 9
Design Department
[ ][Design][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Light Freighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Light Freighters come in all shapes and forms. Some fast, others with a great range, and so on. It is time to design your own.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Heavy Freighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Heavy Freighters are the backbone of interstellar trading. They are, in theory, easy to build. You've never built one, just repaired them, so you don't know for sure.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Utility Craft
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: In the orbital industry, not only in shipbuilding, small crafts are used every day. They are called Utility Craft, and there never seems to be enough despite how many models are on the market.
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Corvette
Progress: 0 of 150
Description: Corvettes are used by every military in the galaxy to some extent. The market is hard fought over by such names as Kuat Drive Yards and CEC. Entering this arena will be risky, but the profits…
[ ][Design][1B] Plans for a Fighter
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: The new lovechild from the Deep Core to the Mid Rim if it comes to "new" and "hip" military "geniuses." The market hasn't been cornered yet. Maybe you can corner it a bit.
[ ][Design][1B] A Courier
Progress: 129 of 150
Requires: The Parcelmasters' Dream
Description: To build a fast ship will be some hard work, but it can be done. And then the whole sector will see your ships covered in the logo of the FDP. Free advertisement at its finest, especially if your ship can beat the competition.
Research Department
[ ][Research][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Research][1B] Class 5 Hyperdrive
Progress: 0 of 500
Description: A Class 5 Hyperdrive is the slowest drive seen on the market, often built-in as an emergency drive should the main one fail. If we want to start building our own hyperdrives, Class 5 is the point.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Sublight Engines
Progress: 0 of 250
Description: Every starship needs sublight engines for travel outside hyperspace. We should start learning how to build basic ones ourselves before we go for larger and better sublight engines.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Hull Plating
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Most people in the galaxy won't give two thoughts about the hull plates that protect them from the void through which they travel. But the truth is, it is hard to come up with the right mixture of metals and other things to make these plates. We should start with something basic.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Shielding
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Most weapons used in the galaxy are either blaster or laser-based. Accordingly, any ship manufacturer worth his name will provide basic protection against these. In theory, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with one ourselves.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Blaster
Progress: 0 of 100
Description: Blasters are the ideal weapon for close combat situations, making them perfect for civilian ships. We should take a look into building our own.
[ ][Research][1B] Basic Laser
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Most military ships use lasers, thanks to their ability to fight at longer distances. If we wish to push into the military market, we should first develop basic laser weapons.
Production Department
[ ][Production][1B] Upkeep
Progress: n.a.
Description: You pay the bills and assign working orders, generally ensuring that the department isn't losing brainpower. If this option is not taken, the cost will grow in the next turn.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Hyperdrives
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: Currently the company hasn't the knowledge or the facilities to produce something like a hyperdrive themselves. That means you need offers from other companies that do build hyperdrives.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Sublight Engines
Progress: 0 of 50
Description: Any ship requires some form of sublight engine. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with something of your own, but until that is the case, you will need to buy somewhere else.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Plating
Progress: 0 of 25
Description: It shouldn't be too hard to find someone willing to produce hull plates that your ships require.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Shielding
Progress: 0 of 150
Description: Some of your designs require shields, not the navigational but actually protective ones. Even civilian variations cost a lot. Hopefully, there are some cheap offers.
[ ][Production][1B] Ask for Weapons
Progress: 0 of 200
Description: Weapons are restricted on most Republican worlds and not easily bought in bulk. Still, there are plenty of companies that offer ship-graded weapons. The absolute nightmare is the bureaucracy behind it.
The [?B] gives you the cost of the option, you can increase the number if you wish that more dice are rolled.
Run any Write-In by me first.
Please Use [ ] Plan to vote!
There will be a Moratorium! Voting will be opened by me!
