Possibly but I just remembered that the main benefit of proper 3E alloys is that our current methods of boosting to 3E also makes the resultant item incredibly fragile which is bad for anything we're not going to keep in a hermetically sealed science bunker.
I've been going back over prior turns, and wondering how much better we could have done with what-we-now-know.
This most likely wouldn't quite work, because Turn 5 didn't have enough Favor. The listed value in Turn 5 Planning is wrong, because it ignores our Favor for Ruin Library, but most likely the plan as stated here would fail. I'm also not completely sure we could study Meta Flux on Turn 7 as suggested.
Still, fascinating to think about - and something I probably obsess over far too much.
Turn 5 - instead of building a Calc-Heart, we could have bought 6 Simulation-Arrays and 50 Calc-Hearts for 75*6 +~150 = 600 Favor.
Turn 6 - we could have started the turn with "trade 2-6 Calc-Hearts for +5 Favors - and immediately spend at turn-start for +5 Learning"; instead of building the first of 2 Calc-Hearts, we could have done future Designs (+10 Learning) as early as possible for 60 Learning when we Broke; instead of building the second of 2 Calc-Hearts, we could have done Information. Also, "Heart Forge" should have completed at turn's end, ensuring it wasn't a locked-in Action.
Turn 7 - we could have skipped Alloys and Nanotech and Homeworld Trade and the was-locked-in-in-the-actual-turn Heart Forge and instead put those 4 Actions on "Study Meta Flux if we Unlock It." We did, of course, unlock it. So boom: Meta-Flux. I'll add that, by my best estimates, due to the way Information and +Learning interact with Simulation Arrays, I believe we'd 1-turn the whole sequence with 4 Actions given 60 Learning and Information. So we'd earn 5x Exatari Wishes.
Turn 8 - instead of our actual Trade, we could spend the Exatari Wishes. We would need to spend the two Actions on Nanoplague and Alloys (or skip Alloys - but let's assume we do it anyway). Instead of anything else locked-in (Rebuilding the Schools), we could have grabbed +1 Diplo Assistant.
Turn 9 - We now have a 3E Calc-Heart, Information, 60 Learning, 20 Personal Actions, +1 Diplo Assistant, and a metric ton of options. We can do a bunch of things here. I'd suggest grabbing 3 more Diplo Assistants (to max that out), use a ton of Free Actions, and perform Streamline the Code of Law (plus the ton Diplomacy required to survive that; having 1 Epic-Level Diplo Assistant should be helpful).
Turn 10 - We have all the prior (except only 6 Personal Actions), hopefully 4 usable Diplo Assistants, and +1 Action per Category (Code of Law). More Diplomacy - this time to pay for the Sus-cost of Crucible of War.
As the Witness' Light exited from the warp into the outer system of Thord, I could see the growing swarm of vessels in orbit of the local shipyard. It was a small affair to the one that was located in the Shogi system, but it was large enough to handle the private vessels of the sector lords it seemed. Akiona was with me, although she was wandering the ship seemingly curious about its construction more than anything else.
Hopefully bringing her would not result in any problematic issues due to the influence of her nature as a prodigy. Regardless, moving inward towards the shipyard was required and it would only take several days according to my calculations, an acceptable amount of time. If I could have simply translated into the system closer in I would have, but now that I know more of how the warp functioned during navigation doing so with this much importance would have been suicide.
Sensors that I had added to the ship in a moment of random wonder activated suddenly dumping petabytes of data into my mind in moments. Something was bending space in a way akin to gravity but also not, it was clearly relativistic but also faster than light. Data bound by causality slowly came to me showing that a new ship was in orbit of the shipyard, not human that was clear for it was wide and flat more akin to how we might one day build our vessels.
The energy readings were also similarly beyond my understanding; by all my measurements there was more energy being used and produced within the ship than Shogi produced within a century even after all my improvements. The reactor core must be something beyond imagining and even worse just how potent are the weapons of something that has an appreciable fraction of a star's output. The sensor readings shifted in a manner that I could barely understand, the unknown ship had began to emit a gravity field of precision and strength that would effectively provide faster than light travel for any ship moving inward towards the shipyard.
Compared to the grav sphere and our technology to manipulate gravity, the mastery being shown is uncountable eons beyond even the most optimistic assumptions of technological progress possible. A single core directing a system wide gravity field of vector aligned with suc precision that nothing could be harmed and yet would cut days of travel to mere moments, such a feat was impossible, yet it was also clearly not.
Recording the data as much as I could, I let the engines flare slightly to active the field and let it draw me into the station. In moments stellar distances were crossed that would have taken days without this assistance, as I drew closer it became clear that the ship was forged from the primordial metal, the same as that which made Shezu's form. So it was a Necron dynasty that had arrived it seemed, if they were hostile I did not see much that any could achieve against them.
The mastery of gravity on display could just as easily rend apart every ship in orbit with but a flicker of power. Perhaps, the Witness' Light would survive for a few seconds longer, but even that would be unlikely, in the end it was a hostage situation of sorts. As I docked with the shipyard and disengaged from the core of the ship, Akiona found her way to the door and was jumping up and down for an unknown reason.
Regardless of her oddities, it would be a challenging event to get through it would seem with the advent of two alien races that could reveal my true nature to the Imperium. What would be would be I suppose as I reach the docking ramp and open it to the starport. It was chaotic as expected with the unexpected arrival of a massive battleship that was currently parked above the port unmoving and emitting a gravity wave.
Moving through was simple enough, although I did have to place Akiona on my back otherwise she might have gotten lost or trampled in the chaos. She was a bit small compared to most humans it seemed now that I paid more attention to things.
"Planetary Govenor Atraxas of Shogi and Diplomat Akiona." I stated to the station attendant, even as he stared up at me with surprise clear on his face. I sighed lightly as air escaped the openings on my sides, Akiona just laughed softly in amusement; I did not understand what was so funny about this inefficiency. Yet, she was better at working with humans so perhaps there was some humor here I was missing, no matter the information had been marked and recorded and thus there was no need for me to remain here.
I squeezed past the gate and into the starport proper, noting the abundance of humans that could be squished by any careless movement. A flicker of green energy that was the same as what powered Shezu sparked next to me as a figure emerged from teleportation. A form akin to Shezu but far better made with a head ornament of some sort, even from here I could feel the sheer energy that filled the frame of the being before me.
If Shezu was able to crush me with effort than the one before me could unmake this entire starport with a mere thought. The eyes of the figure drifted over me and then in a flicker of time below a humans ability to process one of the burning eyes faded, I understood the implicit statement made there. The necron knew what I was and would not reveal me to the humans. "Your ferroid augments are intriguing for a primitive such as yourself. They do not use the typical life reactive alloys which makes them marginally less insulting to see in person, I can not believe just how awful your conception of viable technology is. It sickens me to walk among this primitive starport." The figure then simply vanished in a flash of green once more, leaving me to process the details inherent to their words.
The first and obvious is that they are aware that I am not human, second that they want to speak with me in private about my biology, third they find this annoying and wish not to be here, fourth they are being hunted by at least one tech priest.
As expected a group of tech priests from various forge worlds emerged from the crowd holding a wide array of sensors some that even seemed to be made from toaster parts and had blinking lights on them and others that actually seem worth the metal used in them. As I peer at the so called sensors I suddenly understood the necron better; these things were almost painful to look at they were so poorly made.
Gravity arced and ripped the tools from the incompetent mechanics as I quickly remade them into something less atricously awful. "I am unsure of the reason, but I am sure that using a heating element from a local bread warming device is not a viable electronic transmission cord fit for a high fidelity sensor unit." I said as the tech priests got their improved systems and I quickly left to go find the others at hand, the Eldar were interesting to me of course since I have had no interaction with them at all so far.
I am unsure why but there was a note left in my office telling me to bring the Emperor Seed with me for this meeting, it was a simple enough thing and carrying it inside my flesh is enough to ensure that its safe and won't be stolen by anyone.
Another tech priest from cursory observation eighty six percent by volume cybernetics emerged from the chaos around us. The interesting aspect of this newcomer was how she had retained some of the human form even with her augments, which were of a notably higher quality than those I had seen even upon Shogi in the possession of the Conclave. "Go clean some servo motors you incompetent wastes of metal. I saw your so called designs and I have half a mind to evict you from our ranks Tech Adept Zeta One Simga 710 and the rest of your allies are not much better. I better not catch you risking our reputation in the future, now leave." The binary was a strange language considering just how little information it could carry per burst, but it was useful in hiding words from the others.
The woman twisted towards me from watching the others leaving post haste, their technological improvements intact. Hopefully I wouldn't catch them trying to make an explosive from a remote for an electronic device in the future that would be annoying, but then again their displayed competence left much to be desired. "Governor Shogi, Thos thanks you for the quick interception of the tech adepts and disrupting their attempts to taint themselves with xeno secrets. We are aware of certain, particulars of interaction, shall we call them and would desire a meeting in the future to better discuss certain topics." I tilted my body in acknowledgment of the statement even as I processed the information at hand.
She was clearly the Fabricator General of Thos, that would explain the higher grade cybernetics even if they were paltry compared to what I could craft with time and effort. Regardless, she did seem truly interested in meeting with me in the future, of course it would be a social failure to offer to meet now for reasons I am not entirely understanding of. "Shogi welcomes Thos' offer and returns in kind. We would be willing to speak with you regarding those particulars in time."
The fabricator general nodded slightly, "Thos is pleased by Shogi's acceptance and awaits for future interaction for the betterment of the Imperium and Mechanicum." I shift slightly noting the variance on how she pronounced the name of her order, it was a slight modification and yet I could tell that there was something more implied with that single word. I could see how her optical augments noted my shift in posture and thus indicated the realization, in turn proving that she had gotten the result she had sought. It was strange, I had never interacted much with the Scholars of Shadow, but this was similar it seemed.
I wish that I knew more of the history of the Imperium, but perhaps I could learn more from this event than otherwise possible in time. It would only serve to further my understanding of the wonders of Creation and how the Trinity held true across the species of humanity. The Fabricator General slipped away into the crowd as easily as she had arrived; it would be interesting to interact with her in the future, but I followed her inward towards the meeting hall.
There were a few other worlds already in attendance, but few of them were of note to me. They were worlds that I had found in my perusal of sector records, but they were minor overall, which I knew had caused some degree of strife with regards to Shogi. I am unsure why the worlds of Abharyu and Thord, hated and had a one sided rivalry with Shogi respectively. Well that is not entirely true; I did know that Abharyu for whatever reason desires to have a superior political stratum, but that does not directly lead towards hatred of Shogi. I do not possess any direct political authority over the sector beyond that given to all critical fortress worlds, although I do admit that there is a degree of increased soft power due to my position as controlling several warplanes heading into Solar, but beyond that there is little that separates me from the norm of fortress worlds.
Thord is even stranger, in many ways it would be above me. It is the sector governor and it is obvious enough that if it did ever become critical to sector infrastructure it would be removed from its position. Although, humans do tend to be poor at understanding complex and long term fallout of actions, and I do know that the Imperium is at least partly based on the desire to accumulate ever more authority and power. It is a sad state of affairs I feel that a world that is well run and has the greatest political authority spends effort on trying to eclipse a world that has a singular task that is critical and yet very low in authority.
Perhaps a discussion with the planetary govenor of Thord would assist in this matter, but no matter. As we reach the meeting hall, I find that the door is too small for me to enter easily even if the room beyond is large enough to host my bulk. I tap into the station's systems for a moment and reave through the various data that had been stored since the construction of this station until I found the blueprints and quickly processed the architectural data. It was interesting to a degree how different human construction could be; their ships were bulky and inefficient constructions with extraneous matter that did little beyond disrupt the performance, while this station was relatively well designed.
Of course it was in my favor for a time as I spun up the matter forges and phase systems, after of course ensuring that no one was around to be harmed by any of this. I did not particularly want to step on any humans or have to dig them out of metal cocoons. It would be wrong to simply expand this doorway, that would be both problematic and simply a disruption of the creation made by human hands. I would have to ensure that it would function for me yes, but also remain human in design and be better than I found it.
Gravity and quantum systems reached out and the wall quickly lost stability as it phase changed to liquid without heat. This slurry was how we worked with metals; I am unsure why humanity never invented this system due to how obvious it is, but it enabled the sculpting of metal in a way impossible normally. The metal of the wall shifted and flowed as I guided it into a new form, an archway that would be large enough for me to enter without fear. Of course that would be problematic for humans to work with and would be undesired beyond this meeting, thus I made it so that it had several doorways built into it, each an archway of course. The smallest that could be opened was merely human scale all the way to the full scale. This would ensure that once I left I would be able to close the doors and they could open or close what was needed.
Of course that would not be enough, as I quickly embossed the surface of the metal with images from the history of the Imperium. Warriors charging into battle and slaying other aliens, orks being roasted by the astartes and other such events, of course I snuck in a few other images such as where Eldar I believe and Humans had beneficial agreements of a fight or event, where assistance from other races had aided humans in some way.
In a matter of minutes the doorway was completed and I installed the shield that I had created from the air into the socket in the top of the archway, the emitters quickly aligning and coming on line. It would serve as a force field that could be tuned to stop wanted people from entering or leaving, it was not strong enough sadly to hold against determined forces, but against mundane weapons it would be enough. I could have put an antimatter reactor in it, but that might have been beyond the local mechanicus to maintain. Instead it was a simple fusion reactor.
I quickly compiled the various data and design details into a mind slate, which I then translated into the Imperial code and into a dataslate. I would give it to Thord's governor of course once I met them. I hope that this would not be taken as an insult.
Entering through the new doorway, I noticed something on the edge of my senses, but it was a moment too late. A strange colored liquid spilled down on me, somehow bypassing my phase shields and drenching me in a sickening color. I could hear Akiona squeak as she got some of the stuff in her hair another thing to fix it would seem when I redesigned my advisors wardrobes. Auto sizing and reshaping systems, along with a full body protection system, would be required it appears. Hmm, it would not be that difficult to include a full protection scheme into their clothes, energy fields after all are one of our specialities, interfacing it with my quantum mastery would make it easy enough to include a quantum destabilizer to prevent any liquid from reaching them.
Of course, that did not change the current situation meaningfully. Gravity lashed out to the source of the liquid spill, and found someone under a cloak distorting their appearance. Dragging them out of the shadows and into the light for the other humans, I could tell that it was a humanoid being but the cloak remained active.
I let my eyes refocus on my natural spectrum and the cloak failed. Human in form, slighter than most and with slightly pointed ears. "Are you an abhuman with a desire for punishment or are you a xeno that has a death wish?" The words were what was expected from an imperial and that was what I had to show for the others around. Even if it was clear to me that they were an alien, most likely one of the Aeldari I had seen references too in the records. "The Laughing God sends his regards and an invitation to a play in your honor. Of course, my dance card is open if you wish to fill it, little human you are such a treat." I let a hum vibrate the local area as I peer into the Aeldari's face connecting various aspects together, even as Akiona hunkered down into my back.
In the end it was a harmless being to me at least, and it was a perfect case to test something. I stepped closer and as I expected it quickly danced away, the warp shred that I held was unpleasant in the extreme to it. That is an oddity, it could not handle my warp shred and yet I am no closer in truth than when it had dumped the liquid on me. Indicating something more had been going on here, most likely something to do with this so called Laughing God of its.
I do not know enough of the Aeldari faith to determine who that is, but it is clear enough that something is happening beyond the norm here. With a final wave the being simply vanished into the warp, The moment its absence registered to my mind, Akiona groaned in agony as her hands held her temples. "What in His name was that?" Her words were laced with pain that was clearly fading, yet I peered into her flesh to determine if there was any damage and found none thankfully. "I assume teleportation of some sort." My words were pitched low to not cause her any more strain, but I could tell that she was already shaking her head in negation. "I have two memories, one of us getting painted by a tech priest and one by that xenos." I twisted my head towards the point where the Aeldari had been and quickly noted that there was indeed an absence of certain markers.
So, it seems that this Laughing God is able to meddle with time or perhaps, not so much time as much as the events that occur. We are still painted and the only change was the source thereof, therefore it stands to reason that my warp shred and perhaps the resistance to metaphysical aspects is why I am unaffected, and if that is true then my presence could have protected her at least in part.
In the end it changed little as I moved on, shifting the phase shield to remove the liquid from our bodies through quantum destabilization. I do really need to investigate just why the Imperium doesn't make use of quantum destabilization technology in more cases due to the sheer versatility of the technology; they appear to use it solely for melee weapons which is about the least imaginative usage I can think of for it.
Other ships were entering the system and being caught by the Necron induced gravity well enabling a vastly quicker arrival rate for the newly arrived, which would reduce the meeting start point from anywhere within a matter of days to mere hours. Of course the other governors might find this a problematic situation due to having less time to mingle with each other, but for me it is a boon for it will enable me to return to Shogi sooner than otherwise feasible.
As I entered the meeting room proper, I found the aliens in question. The Necrons were standing to the side tall and confident, fitting for beings that could annihilate all in this system in an instant if they so choose. Across from them were more Aeldari who stared at me with pain in their eyes, but only I could see that even if one of them had their eyes drawn to where the Seed was held inside my body.
Pre Meeting Options, choose 2
[] Interact with the Aeldari
[] Interact with the Necrons
[] Choose to speak with a world governor from this list: Strides, Abharyu, Moriya, Yoca, Thos, Thord
-[] offer gifts
-[] offer technology
-[] flatter
-[] intimidate
[] Plan with Akiona for the meeting and what you will contribute (write in a general line of thought)
[] Do nothing and just wait until the meeting begins in truth (takes 2 actions)
Strides is an Agri-world, and Neutral to us. Moriya (Shrine-world) considers them an Ally. They seem unusually likely to consider other worlds to be Ally - Moriya might actually like their charitable treatment of others.
Abharyu is a Mining-world, one of the Three Troublemakers. Unfortunately, Moriya also considers them an Ally. (Fortunately, Moriya is Neutral to Valvadus and Dislikes Ingig. Oddly enough, Valvadus is the only Troublemaker that considers Moriya an ally; this might tell us something?) They consider Ioanakos an Ally, as well as Alcippe - both Industrial Worlds. Nobody (in this conference) really hates them, though Thos (Forge-World) considers them a Rival.
Moriya is a Shrine-world, and Neutral to us. Talking to them would almost certainly reduce Suspicion (if anything here would). They consider Strides, Abharu, Tsonis, Yamhah, and Thos to be Allies - I believe only Strides, Abharu, and Thos will be appearing in this meeting. They apparently hate Halane and Berd, which will also not be appearing.
Yoga (or Yoca?) is a Fortress-world, and Neutral to Shogi. Allies with Xandros (the one world Friendly to us - though they're not here yet), and a few non-appearing. Doesn't seem to Hate anyone. Considered an Ally by Orilia and Angelos (Industrial Worlds soon to arrive), Strides, Valvadus (The Three), and Konkolia (Mining). Considered Friendly by Xandros, fwiw - so that's at least close to a mutual alliance.
Thos is a Forge-world, and Neutral to Shogi. Allies with... nobody who is planning to appear (or maybe Kyra will appear?), and Hates nobody at all.Considered Ally by Valvadus and Ingig of the Three, but Rival by Abharyu. Considered Ally by Moriya - which makes sense I suppose.
Thord is the world we're on. Implied to be an Industrial World in the Discord. They Hate Strides, and consider us Rivals. Xandros considers them an Ally, as does Agri-World Autora. (They also seem to be considered Ally by Regribe and Aeonon.)
If Fortress-world Kyra is spec'd to show up - I'm hopeful but can't tell for sure - they consider us an Ally.
Quoted from Discord:
As it might be helpful to people, here's a thing Froggy wrote up earlier:
Worlds of Note:
Shitlist:
Valvadus and Co (destroy them and take their Blackstone)
Trade/Befriend:
Halane and Phistos (Life Particle Fodder)
Neha or Saleqan (Infinitite seems like a neat warp or veil adjacent material)
Phisho (samples of both Exotic and Death World biology? Nice.)
Ingrim (good to get a good spread of bio samples)
Valfis and Regribe (get data on general sciences. There's tons of fields we have Jack shit on, such as astrophysics. Don't trade calc hearts unless we're sure they're chill, but the DAoT Computing tech from the Mechanivore is probably a good bargaining chip)
Thos (Big Kahuna of the local Forge Worlds so good to get on their good side, even before getting into trading for relics to analyze)
industrial worlds are in the range of 1000 production on the upper end, average closer to 250, [and low end 50]
so 50 to 1000 is their range and tend to be in the more average range of 100 - 300
Agri worlds tend to not be attractive targets
for anyone barring the orks
and orks arent a major threat in this sector
in short the capitals were chosen for how little attention they would have
...
Hive worlds are mostly edifices of stupidity and inefficiency
the worlds of Erimyst quickly learned to be economical with things after the first few black crusades
there were Hives in the past, but the hive worlds were simply indefensible and thus died
I kind of want to set up what's basically on the fly tech support for anyone and everyone who speaks, providing proper lighting, music, and supporting technical/statical figures (in probably Space Power Point Format) for whatever their talking point is.
It's silly, it's bizaare, it's an amazing prank depending on how well we pull it off, and since we weren't provided with IC details about what this meeting is actually about, beyond probably involving the upcoming invasion, it's probably our best bet for something vaguely productive to do if we don't decide to go entirely all in on politicking.
Strides is an Agri-world, and Neutral to us. Moriya (Shrine-world) considers them an Ally. They seem unusually likely to consider other worlds to be Ally - Moriya might actually like their charitable treatment of the world.
TODO: Abharyu, Moyria, Yoga, Thos, Thord
If we want to open dialog with Thord and actually try to ease relations with them, we should probably approach them before Strides.
We don't have an immediate sense of the various political factions in play (which is to say the Planetary Relations links are tiny on my phone and I'm not going to both trying to squeeze info out of them right now), but my gut says that Moyria and Thord are centers of two different political blocks, and approaching Strides first could signal that we're either aiming to join them or are shopping around.
Of course conversely, approaching Thord without any sort of easing in, after we reconstructed their front door right in front of them without asking for permission, is really ballsy, especially depending on the approach we take.
The Eldar are here because they have been in a collective panic since Emps started acting directly with the Prophecy in response to Chaos' planning the invasion of Shogi. Their craft world rolled a nat 100 last turn for force assistance which resulted in them forcing a dialogue with the sector to ensure no one tries to backstab them or other inanity when they try to help the Imperium against Chaos in turn 11. The local Necrons showed up after they realized the perfidious Aeldari were showing up to talk with the primitives, to convince the primitives to not work with god worshipping idiots such as the Aeldari.
The local Necrons showed up after they realized the perfidious Aeldari were showing up to talk with the primitives, to convince the primitives to not work with god worshipping idiots such as the Aeldari.
Man, so many people I want to talk to. Thord is the sector capital, Thos is the most important Forge World (likely in terms of influence but more relevantly in terms of trading for relics to study) we should probably tell Moriya about our new Saint, the Eldar and Necrons both have information we desperately want both in and out of character (Eldar: "What the fuck was with that clown shit?" and "any tips on this warptech I cobbled together?" Necrons: "gib tech please" and "please remove the space AIDS before I get space cooties from your space gods" OOC) but we can probably leave that for later.
[X] Plan: Presentation!
-[X] Choose to speak with a world governor from this list: Strides, Abharyu, Moriya, Yoca, Thos, Thord
--[X] Thord
---[X] offer gifts
-[X] Plan with Akiona for the meeting and what you will contribute (write in a general line of thought)
--[X] Obviously the best thing we can accomplish here is to facilitate better communication and clarity of information. Set up devices, speakers, info packets, and holograph projectors, to help elaborate on anyone's and everyone's talking points and present their information in the most correct light for whatever points they're trying to make. Surely nothing will go wrong by helping everyone equally!
I've updated the earlier post with some helpful Discord info.
I've also got a pair of omakes in the works for this meeting: one for the meeting itself, and one for the planning-with-Akiona beforehand. The first one is, I believe, nearly good to post. The second - I have no idea.
If we can handle it tactfully - Bribery. We have a few k Resources that we can spare (assuming we spend Atraxas 2x and Gravus 8x and Calc-Hearts 451x next turn getting Gravity and 2x Large Barges and a ton of planets), and they have an estimated production of <500 Resources per turn.
@Leon12431, just to double-check - with Nameria now fully read in on our secrets, can she tell us how much Suspicion we'll take for Planetary Acquisition?
@Leon12431 Also, can we offer knowledge from projects that we're finishing this turn? Nanotech and Alloys, particularly?
[X] Plan: Presentation 2: Disregard Politics, Acquire Relics!
-[X] Choose to speak with a world governor from this list: Strides, Abharyu, Moriya, Yoca, Thos, Thord
--[X] Thos
---[X] Offer Mechanical Gellar Field
-[X] Plan with Akiona for the meeting and what you will contribute (write in a general line of thought)
--[X] Obviously the best thing we can accomplish here is to facilitate better communication and clarity of information. Set up devices, speakers, info packets, and holograph projectors, to help elaborate on anyone's and everyone's talking points and present their information in the most correct light for whatever points they're trying to make. Surely nothing will go wrong by helping everyone equally!
@Leon12431, just to double-check - with Nameria now fully read in on our secrets, can she tell us how much Suspicion we'll take for Planetary Acquisition?
@Leon12431 Also, can we offer knowledge from projects that we're finishing this turn? Nanotech and Alloys, particularly?
Unfortunately it's not exactly something that Nameria is well versed in. Ironically adding planets to a solar system is not something that happens enough for people to know how the Inquisition would react to it.
Somewhat doable, you can offer it and will have to send it out when you complete the work, so its less impressive than handing it directly since there is a degree of "yeah right, you are just trying to curry favor with some idiot." going on with them in light of the fact that 99% of the Imperium doesn't even really know nanotech every existed and the alloys are DAoT stuff.
Charitable Conspirators Conspire - Akiona and Atraxas Plan their Public Reaction
"Well, the first requirement is obviously 'we can't afford to make everyone into enemies, or bring down the Inquisition on our heads,'" stated Atraxas.
Akiona nodded gravely.
"The Inquisition deciding to do a full audit might stop us from preparing for battle, here with only two decades to spare. In any other circumstances it would be a minor nuisance - as we have little to hide. But right now, we can't predict the response and should make a point of avoiding it for the moment."
"You could probably apply some leverage to the corrupt Inquisitor, to delay a full audit until after the invasion?" she suggested.
"That seems logical. I will search the legal code, but with the sheer labyrinthine complexity of the Imperial Legal Code, there is almost certainly a law on the books that would let her delay any audit until after the invasion," Atraxas agreed.
"Other than that - I'd suggest we don't commit to any one faction or governor too closely. Unless we're sure we've got a bargain deal. If we're trying to avoid making enemies, we should avoid interacting too closely?"
"Perhaps," replied Atraxas, "That would work, for the most part, I believe - but we do already have enemies. While I don't understand their reasoning, what they think they stand to gain from Shogi's downfall, it is clear that the governors of Abharyu, Valvadus, and Ingig are all seeking harm to Shogi."
"I'm under the impression they just dislike us 'upjumped menials,'" Akiona interjected, doing a rather good job of faking an ultra-posh accent for the 'upjumped menials' line.
"That is likely true, for what it is worth. Yet, they seem to have schemed against our planet even before I became governor. And my criminally incompetent predecessor was certainly of noble birth, whatever else you may say about him."
"Point," Akiona frowned. "Do you have any idea what's up?"
"I have dozens of ideas. They might be seeking to install a puppet governor. They might be reacting to an old insult from our planet. They might be jealous of our success. They might have some grand long-term plan. They might just want to demonstrate their superiority by crushing someone else into the ground. Or any number of other possibilities, too numerous to enumerate. But, on the whole, I doubt their approach is truly logical."
"So we probably can't talk them down with logic?"
"That would seem a logical conclusion, Akiona: we probably cannot."
They both considered that in solemn silence for a few moments, before Atraxas spoke: "If we can discover the causes of their enmity, we might be able to defuse it, and could almost certainly better predict their actions. So that is a goal to work towards. But, we must not fail to consider our options with other governors that will be present."
"Indeed," replied Akiona gravely.
"Indeed," Atraxas replied back, and waited the 3.6 seconds his studies had indicated would cause the repeated word to be treated as a joke - marking the attempt as a success when Akiona's lips quirked up - before continuing, "Ideally, we would impress them with the uniqueness of Shogi, in a way that would not seem like arrogant bragging to them."
"Hmm…" Akiona's face scrunched up in concentration for several long moments. Atraxas gave her time to think - he would not employ her in nearly such a high position if he didn't think her advice had potential merit. Finally, she hesitantly suggested, "…You could show off your Technological mastery. Build something there. Or… You could even try coordinating, hmm… Professional speakers have lights and sometimes background slides - occasionally even music - but I bet you could supply those on-the-fly, even as the speaker is figuring out what they want to say. And I bet you could make the lighting and everything better than just about anyone else could."
Atraxas shifted and crossed his two front legs, turning the idea over in his head, before stating, "Your suggestion may have merit. Though I shall have to avoid the appearance of posturing or arrogance - I am well aware that such are negatively viewed by the Imperium, and with excellent reason, as I understand it."
"I'm with you, either way, boss!" Akiona smiled.
Atraxas considered that a moment, and ultimately replied, "And I appreciate it. Now, let's go out and impress them."
"Five Strange Fingers Form Fate's Hand" - aka the Governors Omake
Fortress World Xandros is our only "Friendly" here. But there are several Neutral worlds, plus we could probably bribe Industrial World Ioanakos.
Also note that I'm probably still not writing the governors as quite "initially standoffish" enough. I've amended things in that direction, and it's definitely closer than the first draft, but that's probably still a bit off.
When Atraxas, governor of the Forge/Fortress World Shogi, entered the room, most eyes turned to him. It's not every day that you see a human governor look more alien than the Aeldari or Necrons! Also, it's not every day that you see a 25-foot metallic tarantula (with 10 legs, and a small cute human riding on its back).
That said, only a few moved to interact - or, really, paid the new arrival more than a few seconds of notice. Governor A. Abharyu III (of Abharyu, as if his name didn't make it impossible to forget) was probably not the best option: "Ah, I'd wondered what that racket was. You."
"Me," calmly replied Atraxas, countering the governor's attempt at intimidation by the simple exploit of being nearly five times his height.
He said several additional insulting lines ("Lowly" being a favorite insult), each calmly countered by Atraxas, before his wife quietly (and politely) pulled him away to a different conversation. He caught them exchanging careful words - and, in particular, he noted that the governor's wife quietly said, "He wasn't intimidated directly. Treat him as a particularly emotionless Mechanicus - but I bet he'll react if you can get Moriya questioning his faithfulness to the Emperor. If that fails - probably wait. He's accomplished a lot of late, though; I'm not sure we can win the waiting game."
Akiona felt your thoughtful consideration, and asked, "What did…?"
You quietly replied, "I think… I think she's his common sense?"
A few lookups revealed Governor Abharyu III was fairly capable at persuading men, and fairly good in a fight at a pinch. Huh.
A minute later, Akiona flinched again, as another pulse of - well, of Cegorach - swept through the timeline, just seconds before it was time to greet the gold-covered Governor H. Short of Fortress-World Yoca. This flinch was apparently interpreted negatively by Short - who was indeed, every bit as short as her name would indicate, and not part of a long line of aristocrats besides. Indeed, she was one of those rarities who had earned her position, and was perhaps a bit touchy over certain things because of it.
"So, the new governor of Shogi?" she asked. "And your diplomat, I suppose?"
"Indeed," calmly nodded Atraxas.
"Hi, Governor H Short - I'm Akiona Mino," replied Akiona.
There was a bit of small-talk before she asked, brusquely: "Here, why exactly have you abandoned the perfection of the Human Form for… this?" She gestured up and down the full height of Atraxas, with her ever-present golden coffee mug.
Atraxas considered commenting, but let Akiona respond - with a disarming smile and a quip of "Better piggy-back rides!" It… worked, sort of. She snorted, sniffed, and turned to leave in a huff - but Atraxas saw the faintest laughing microexpressions, buried beneath her gruff exterior.
Atraxas, looking up information from the station as usual, saw a few notes on Short. She had her life saved from an assassination squad, by a mysterious interloper, several decades ago - shortly before being appointed governor, actually. There was an extra note, however, that self-destructed an instant after Atraxas read it: "She owes me one, now. If I ask, she would support you, once - but that would draw a few eyes."
Governor E. Ragorn V of Strides greeted Atraxas with over a minute of pointless drivel and flattery - "your superlative skill, great strength, etc. etc." and arguably came out of it having said nothing at all.
A bit of searching revealed nothing about the Agri-World of Strides of any note at all - aside from their basic produce and penchant for considering others in the best light (which actually earned them the friendship of Moriya). Particularly, there was nothing notable about Ragorn V. Nothing. Nothing at all.
…Except a few hypotheses that she had to be hiding something, to be that bland and normal.
Yet Atraxas' sharp senses left him certain of one thing at least: She enjoyed blathering on and on, with no end in sight. She actually liked it - but he wasn't sure why. There was a sort of art to it, he supposed. Humans sometimes had defensive mechanisms, and this might be one. Perhaps she… had "enjoys boring others" the same way certain Humans (or Clowns) had "enjoys pranks"? Who knows, really, ultimately. But maybe she was normal - because she enjoyed it?
The next to arrive - after Atraxas - was Governor H. Xander XVII of Fortress-World Xandros, most recent (and most martially experienced in half a millennium) of his name. A tall figure, by human standards, and pleasant enough to speak with. Atraxas' eye on the local data-net revealed that he'd been frantically parsing through every bit of info he could get on their interactions - and someone in his party had proven capable of accessing the recordings of the station.
Atraxas saw a split-second of indecision in his eyes, before he made a choice - the choice to be friendly to this newcomer, and see what came of it: "Greetings, Atraxas, old chap. And your diplomat, Akiona, I think? Ah, yes, quite pleased to meet you both. I don't think we've met before, but your shake-up of the Interplanetary Guilds was the funniest thing I saw that decade."
"Greetings, likewise, Governor H. Xander XVII of Fortress-World Xandros," Atraxas nodded formally.
"Indeed," added Akiona. "Your reputation for competence and integrity precedes you." This was, by Atraxas' judgment, partially flattery - but only partially.
"As does your reputation, for impressive success," here, he smiled up - slightly intimidated, internally - at the massive form of Atraxas. "I hear that this room has a new door…"
"Oh, yes," smiled Akiona adorably, "Atraxas couldn't exactly fit through the old one, but he's not the sort to complain about problems when he has the power to fix them. He-"
As she left a pause, Atraxas filled in "Combined certain gravitic and quantum effects to phase-change the metal into a liquid - to turn the metal into a liquid without heating it - and, with that process active, it was just a few minutes of work and some careful gravitic work to shape it into its current form. I have written down full blueprints of my construction to ensure Thord can easily maintain it, of course."
Akiona interjected at this point, "And didn't you like the murals?"
Xander was a touch bemused, but he was old enough to have seen comparable oddities before - upon rare occasion, but still. He handled it well enough that few would have seen the internal confusion, replying, "Absolutely! I have a particular grudge against Orks - nasty creatures those, brutishly effective - hope you never get within hearing range of one, fair lady - and the scene of the Azure Guardians, I think?, slaughtering a Waagh of them was most appreciated. Good artistry, too.
"Now, what did you make of the time Enides' governor's nephew was caught in bed with Strides' third cousin? …"
After a couple of minutes, Atraxas could see Xander slowly making up his mind. 'Shogi's worth siding with - no massive investment, but the new governor's got potential. Get a foot in the door, but no more - if he succeeds, ride his coattails; if he fails, jump off right quick. … Also, best not be his enemy…'
Eventually, when they reached a breakpoint in the conversation, Xander said, "Here, come along," and waved them to come with him. (Indeed, Atraxas got the impression Xander would have dragged him by the arm if he'd been less than twelve feet tall.) "Haven't you met…"
At one later point, during the smalltalk, Governor W. Impiy XLVII of Industrial-World Ioanakos stated that his world "has suffered a temporary economic setback" and "he is interested in a loan - a small loan, to be repaid quickly, of course."
Governor Xander whispered in your direction, "Impiy's never repaid a loan he wasn't forced to at gunpoint. But if you tie it to his voting in this session - oh, that, he'll honor. Cash on delivery, of course."
You carefully signal your thanks by emulating a grateful nod - which is easier said than done, when you don't have a head exactly, but you make do by bobbing your body and outright stating "Appreciated."
"Any time old chap. Do keep shaking up these parts, eh? Without tying it to me, of course." He gave a wink that was probably intended to be attractively roguish - Akiona seemed to think it so - and continued the conversation.
Well, hopefully those two will pad rolls a bit, and either let us make a bit more progress or make us a bit less likely to draw down an Exterminatus for saying the wrong thing. Thanks, Leon, for the quest and the feedback!
I vote that we not interact with both Necrons and Aeldari. Or not unless we can stack Suspicion reductions through the roof - if someone has a proposed Sus-reduction Omake (or preferably two), then I could be convinced to change my mind.
If we can handle it tactfully - Bribery. We have a few k Resources that we can spare (assuming we spend Atraxas 2x and Gravus 8x and Calc-Hearts 451x next turn getting Gravity and 2x Large Barges and a ton of planets), and they have an estimated production of <500 Resources per turn.
[X] Plan: Presentation 2: Disregard Politics, Acquire Relics!
-[X] Choose to speak with a world governor from this list: Strides, Abharyu, Moriya, Yoca, Thos, Thord
--[X] Thos
---[X] Offer Mechanical Gellar Field
-[X] Plan with Akiona for the meeting and what you will contribute (write in a general line of thought)
--[X] Obviously the best thing we can accomplish here is to facilitate better communication and clarity of information. Set up devices, speakers, info packets, and holograph projectors, to help elaborate on anyone's and everyone's talking points and present their information in the most correct light for whatever points they're trying to make. Surely nothing will go wrong by helping everyone equally!
@Leon12431 What is the interplay of my Omakes and the choices we make? Do we get limited progress in the actions listed by my Omakes even if we vote for something unrelated? Do we get a buff to our rolls if we take Actions related to said Omakes? Thanks!
@Leon12431 What is the interplay of my Omakes and the choices we make? Do we get limited progress in the actions listed by my Omakes even if we vote for something unrelated? Do we get a buff to our rolls if we take Actions related to said Omakes? Thanks!
They mostly give minor bonuses to various things even outside of the actions taken. Basically giving me some idea of how to write certain characters and in turn giving slight interaction points so to speak with them. Sorry, but this is rather a wooly zone for this kind of thing, but it will be helpful.
If I were confident we had the Suspicion to survive it, I'd pick Thule's plan.
I feel it would be unwise to court only one Ancient Power.
So then. Speak to governors, or plan for the meeting.
After some consideration, I like Presentation 2 but want to add a few minor tweaks to it.
[X] Plan: Presentation 3: Avoid Politics, Acquire Relics!
-[X] Choose to speak with a world governor from this list: Strides, Abharyu, Moriya, Yoca, Thos, Thord
--[X] Thos
---[X] Offer Mechanical Gellar Field
---[X] Ask for a long-term arrangement that lets us easily make trades of "solve a relic and get stuff" in the future. (I'm thinking of the pair we will inevitably solve this very turn, the likelihood we'll get Gravity Advanced next turn, and the sheer insanity that will be our life after getting the 3E Calc-Heart.)
-[X] Plan with Akiona for the meeting and what you will contribute (write in a general line of thought)
--[X] Obviously the best thing we can accomplish here is to facilitate better communication and clarity of information. Set up devices, speakers, info packets, and holograph projectors, to help elaborate on anyone's and everyone's talking points and present their information in the most correct light for whatever points they're trying to make. Surely nothing will go wrong by helping everyone equally!
--[X] As far as keeping the meeting together, we should be able to use our supreme stature - and tag-team with Akiona - to shut down the worst of the idiots.
--[X] Chaos is everyone's enemy, right? Maybe use that as a rallying cry of sorts?
