The Grand Solar Rush - Asteroid colony management quest
- Thread starter Karf
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
[x] Plan: stuff and things electric boogaloo
[X] Plan Crunch Time
I'm mostly alright with either of these.
[X] Plan Crunch Time
I'm mostly alright with either of these.
- Location
- Fort Worth, TX
[x] Plan: stuff and things electric boogaloo
Also additional points of concern:
-Ricochets and hull damage are seriously scary to anyone inside a spacecraft. There's a lot of incentive not to risk it for either party, especially since any void proof protective wear is almost certainly going to be compromised by any kind of hit in a fight.
-Smuggling control is much easier with limited airlock access points and it being nigh impossible to add additional access points unnoticed. Theres normally more incentive to look the other way for money, but only ideology would inspire someone to overlook a device that might risk everyone on board.
-Most kinds of launchers behave entirely differently in different gravities, hard to aim unless you train and prepare for a specific environment.
Probably the most likely weapons out here would be repurposed power tools(so mostly close range stuff) and electrical weapons that could take down a person without taking down the ship. Probably directed energy stuff too when that shows up, ship hulls are good at dissipating heat energy, people not so much.
technotemplar
(Sleeping Bear)
- Location
- Texas
[X] Plan Crunch Time
It's up, although I'm not sure if I'm happy with it as is. Feels kind of dry and devoid of meaningful content. I was holding off on posting it until inspiration struck, but you might as well have access to it. If there's anything you'd like to see there, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
[x] Plan: stuff and things electric boogaloo
A rough financial estimate for the colony would be nice. You know, imports, exports, cash reserves - it doesn't have to be super detailed like a numerical budget, but knowing whether we're bleeding money and how big that bleed (or income) is compared to how much we have left in the bank is worth keeping track of.
- Location
- Canada
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan Crunch Time
Turn 8 - 2177 - The local bloc
Winner said:
(Roll, introduce yourself to the neighbors, required 40: 44)
This time, instead of blasting people with barely intelligible signal that's little more than background noise, you direct specific pulses of radio waves to each of the four inhabited bodies in the neighborhood. With the packet you include a tightbeam address and timestamp for when your arrays will be available for their replies and within a fortnight receive confirmation messages from all four targets.
"Let's take it in reverse order, boss," Hailey smiles at you, "The private resort crew basically told us 'hey, bye'."
"Nothing else?"
"Well, they said that their parents aren't home right now, but that they'll be back at these and these times and that if we want to actually do business, then call back then. It does make sense, the crew there aren't authorized to make any decisions on their employer's part," she pauses in thought, "Ah, they did congratulate us on handling the colonist crisis, so probably not European."
"Alright, I guess that's good to know, who's next?"
"Prismdust basically did the same, except with more official sounding words. Their headquarters are on Mars, and we can negotiate with them directly. They did say that they'd like to work with us either on fresh food supply or a collaborative silver capacitor project, so if we want to pursue those avenues, then I can get us a good in with their accountants."
"Makes sense, they're probably on rations and nutrient cocktails if they're not buying food locally," you shudder at the thought, "I know I'd like to get off that soonest."
"It's about half an hour to Mars and back right now, so we can see about setting something up, but they didn't mention anything about their transport ship, so we might be out of luck on that front."
"Right, they probably wouldn't like it if we launched rockets at them, full of food or not."
"Yeah, especially if they are working on a nuke reactor. Anyway, on to the cultists."
You sigh, "I wish you wouldn't call them that, they're not hurting anyone with their beliefs."
"Hurts me to listen to them prattle on," Hailey grumbles, "Welcome, Little Klondike. We're excited to invite you to explore our new spiritual mentality in person. We offer a mixture of traditional enlightenment alongside a new age of scientific learning. Give us all your money and time and one day you too can try to taste the vacuum without a suit."
"Did they actually say anything coherent or are you determined to make me question your professionality?" you raise an eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah… They really did invite us to send a representative, and they offered to drive. That means they have access to a ship, possibly more than one. And they did offer to rent it out to us if we want. On the cheap, but it's their property and plastered with their logos."
"Thank you, was that so hard?" you poke the report in front of you, "Moving on."
"Deckard Station is winding down their original mission with New Ireland – more on that soon – and is offering us a contract on pre-fab living modules. We give them money, air and fuel and they'll ship us ready-made apartments."
That gives you pause, "How's their offer look?"
"Decent, it's not some miracle deal, but it would free up our own manufacturing. Ken and you know better than I whether it's worthwhile. Although they did caution us that it's a time-limited offer. It's not a big station and they're not looking to expand too fast; if another client swoops in and signs a different contract they'll have their hands full."
"How likely is that?"
"Hard to say, boss. It sounds like something I'd throw in to entice with a sale, but I'd do that because it just might be true and the suckers wouldn't have any way to find out."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind, talk it over with Ken too. Now you mentioned that they're done with New Ireland?"
"Right," she stands up and starts pacing, "Well, remember how I told you that their icecap would stop existing after a decade or so, and that was half a decade ago?"
"Sure."
"Well, I was pretty right, but it seems they're forward thinking," she taps a few times on her watch and displays a model of a ring station on your holodisplay. "They're finishing their replacement port sometime next year. To celebrate and show off, they're inviting everyone in the vicinity to a summit, us included. It's set for the year after the next, February of 2179, and they're marketing the event as part high class white tie get-together and part diplomatic strategy meeting."
"Sounds like it might be fun and we should go."
"It's also a power play," she turns on her heel, slashing through the air with a scowl. "They're looking to establish a local power bloc with them at the helm. They'll need to, if they're going to remain relevant, so you can be sure they'll push for it pretty hard. It's also a snub at us."
"How so?"
"Our supply freighter is technically theirs, so they know very well that we can't get to them unless we rent a ship from them, which makes us look weak. I'm like eighty percent sure we're their biggest rival around, so if they undermine our authority from the get-go, they'll have an easier time."
You take a moment to digest that, "Right, let me use you as a sounding board?"
She shrugs, still pacing.
"Two basic options, either we go or we don't," you start off, "If we don't go to their summit then we're saying they're not important enough, that we don't need them or their alliance, and that we'll stand on our own. Or we're saying we're too weak to show up, we're not relevant and we won't get a say in things if they succeed in establishing themselves."
"Sounds about right," Hailey nods along
"I'd be most worried about the last thing, but if we could send the EU packing with relatively little trouble, then realistically we are independent of them and we could, in fact, continue to ignore them."
"And column B?"
"We go. Figure out what they're after, what their plans are and how do we factor into them. Getting another rental ship from Venus would be costly and they might not have any available, but it's still an option. Or we have enough time to find something else. Or we can just take the freighter over and rely on their hospitality for some time. All told, a minor problem that we can easily overcome if we try. It'll also mean that we're acknowledging their power play, but there's ways to spin that."
"Well, that's why you're the boss and I'm the messenger. You'll have time to think it over still," Hailey's switched back to cheerful as she turns around again.
"Anything else about them or was the invite all they sent?"
"As expected, NI will buy any of our fuel," she briefs you, "There's also a subtext of 'or else we won't trade at all' in there, but I think that's just empty posturing."
"And what are they offering themselves?"
"High quality steel and iron, oxygen, outrageously priced hydrogen, relatively cheap power."
(Learned about a diplomatic summit happening soonish, easier to establish full relations with other presences.)
(Roll, professional army, required 30: 68)
Much of the work for establishing your burgeoning military force is done by Hailey and Amanda, with only minor input from yourself. The two women and Luke Memphis, Carpenter's second in command, hash out a set of military law, followed by rules and criterions to adhere to, their meetings often starting in the evening to account for the ongoing training of the soldiers.
It's during one such evening that you find yourself with a clear desk and empty inbox, leaving you time to take a break and wander your colony a little. Most people who aren't in their homes tend to spend time in the bar these days, your options for entertainment beyond casual socializing quite limited, but you've found that the place is often too crowded and loud for your tastes. In contrast, the original evening gathering spot – the canteen – see much less traffic past the noon rush, and it's there that your legs take you.
The place is still open, and there's no lock in the complex you're not authorized to open anyways, and you wave to a pair of mine engineers who nod back, then continue wolfing down their evening meal. The two don't look like they're interested in company and you don't feel like playing third wheel to their outing, so you get a tray of rice crisps and tea, then settle down away from them in the sparsely lit room. However, before you manage to pull out your tablet for some light reading, the door opens again and Luke walks in, spots you and makes his way over.
"Evening, sir," he greets you, "Mind if I sit down?"
"Not at all," you motion across the table from yourself, "I thought you were in a meeting, Mr. Memphis."
"I was, but truth be told my presence there is completely unnecessary by now. The training modules are mostly set and the only way to improve them is to see where the kinks are and iron them out in action, not theorizing behind a desk" he sits and pulls out a small case from a thigh pocket of his spotted gray combat pants, "Do you play chess?"
"I know the rules, that's about it," you hedge, shifting your stuff to the side, "but I'm game for a round or two if you want to play."
He flips the checkered board open and starts setting up the pieces, "Amanda taught me to play when we were both rookies in the force on Tranquility. Not sure I've actually beaten her yet, but it's good to have something to thrive towards." He grabs both kings and shuffles them around behind his back, then presents his closed fists to you. You tap the left and he reveals the white piece, giving you the first move.
"The two of you worked together from the start then?" you ask as you push a pawn forward.
"For a brief moment. I was a year ahead of her in the academy and by my last year the whole faculty was singing her praises. I shudder to think of how bad it must have gotten after me," he opens with a knight move. "When she came to the same precinct that I was at, and then assigned to my squad I was worried she'd run roughshod all over us."
You hum and continue playing, neither of you super focused, "I guess that didn't happen?"
"Nah, she did," Luke chuckles as he takes a piece and you trade back, "One of the guys was pretty lax on informants' actions if they cut him in on the amp trade. We all knew, but what's the harm, right? Well, she busted the whole operation wide open, dragged in the supervisor's supervisor and got all twenty of the crooks to testify. And that was the first month." He's trying to fork your bishops but doesn't seem to notice your own offensive. "Good thing she did too, the investigation dug up a minor trafficking ring under the drug op. Get the kids on their first space trip high out of their mind and shoot a flick or send them to be party favors, then dump them by the port once the hit started wearing off. Nothing to see but another tourist going too hard, back to Earth and none the wiser. Still, some things aren't right."
He takes another piece and you suddenly realize that you're down a pawn after the exchange.
"She told us she had one simple rule: follow the rules, they exist for a reason. After that, I figured I'd make the effort to get along with her and do as she said."
"I assume it worked out for you."
"For me, sure. I stuck by her on her meteoric rise. Got to know her beyond the rumors and fame. She was so driven and sure of herself, it was hard not to see things her way. Couldn't have been all sunshine and rainbows for her though, for every arrest she made she got two extra enemies."
"Corruption is a hydra," you quote back at him and he nods. The board is looking much emptier and you're approaching endgame, he's got a rook and a knight to your bishop and one free pawn and he's spotted your plan to win next turn.
"I just wanted to thank you," he says as he takes the bait and captures the offending bishop instead of starting on your backline with his rook.
"What for?" you start on the long path to victory.
"She lost her trust over the years, too many people paying lip service to the rules she held so high, even bending them against her. After she quit, I'd have given her a year tops before someone took her out. When she called me about your venture, I figured I owed her enough to make sure she didn't get stuck in an airlock. That's what the gun was for, by the way," the casual way he mentions planning to kill you makes a chill run down your spine. "She decided to extend her trust one last time and plunge head first into the lawless wild space. You've given her hope again. Those rules she's hammering out right now, with Miss Perez, she needs them. If you wanted to run a mercenary army; well, you hold the purse strings around here, we don't need a thirty page section on rules of engagement but she does. That you've stuck to the ones you make, even in unexpected crises, means a lot to her. I know she's bad at showing it, but it really does, so thanks for that."
He tips his king with a rueful smile, "Checkmate in three, well played."
(Military law formalized, army professionalism and discipline cemented.)
(Roll, farms expansion, required 30: 10)
(Roll, more living space, required 10: 12)
The position of a space freighter captain is a curious superposition of dull grunt-work, akin to the long haul truckers on Earth before they got automated, and a small business owner shouldering massive risk with their assets. The captain is rarely actually the owner of the ship or even able to choose the contracts they take on. On the other hand, they're responsible for thousands of lives and millions of credits worth of goods that must be loaded and unloaded at specific points to optimize profit and minimize risk. It's certainly an unenviable job, but at the moment you're not interested in making this particular captain's life any easier.
"What do you mean, you don't have my steel on board?"
The man spreads his hands, "Someone else bid more for my cargo space, so I haven't stocked my hold full of steel. I'm selling you what I have, can't do any more than that now."
"You're telling me to just accept that my material is currently floating in a cargo bay on L-5, some 180 million kilometers away from anywhere useful to me."
Usually you have an understanding with the liners that come through. You buy the things you need, mostly from Earth, Moon or the surrounding satellites, and have them delivered piece by piece to the deep space launch port floating in the L5 cluster where you first made your fortune. The floating storage is then open to transport and freight firms who can accept the contract to deliver the goods, with a deposit in escrow they'll get back alongside a payment on delivery. Some such containers are tagged as priority delivery, which are taken aboard first; stuff like food with a short shelf-life and medicine. No matter how you might like to justify it, your steel and assorted construction materials don't qualify as a priority.
"I'm not running a charity here, O'Rielly. If they pay me double whatever was offered, I'm hauling empty space, whether you like it or not."
At the moment, you desperately wish you had some form of leverage over the man.
"It's just business. We both know that you can't boycott me until you get an alternative set up and that the second you do, you won't give a rats ass about my 'loyal visits when there was little profit to be had'. So I can take your whole stock at the standard rate; just so happens I have a lot of room this time around. If you want to sulk, I'll be lifting off and filling up my hold at some other rock."
The thought of seizing his vessel to scrap for metal is reluctantly discarded, "Very well, you know the drill: pay up, load up, lift up. Get off my world."
Later you'll forgive the man, he didn't try to scalp you and sold you the stuff he had on board with no arguments about higher rates for deficit goods, but for now, you'll take an afternoon to be pissed.
There's barely enough that with last year's repositioning of the expansion from the aerogel deposit, you can get ahead of the curve and set up another three apartment complexes, housing both the new colonists and have enough left to maybe fit another influx next year. The aeroponics tower you and Ken have designed, however, isn't getting off the ground this cycle.
"It's not a completely lost cause," Ken comforts you, "We can shift around the soil culture and the seeds can be brought to dormancy for a while. If we get things going again next year then half the work will be done already."
(Living space acquired, farm expansion temporarily half-way finished.)
(Roll, schooling, required 30: 38)
The school is a small thing – barely more than half a dozen sets of offices merged together to form four classrooms. Ragnar has hired on four teachers, one for math, one for English and literature, one for science and biology, and one for history, the last of which used to be his daughter's private teacher before coming to Little Klondike. Still, there's a ceremony for the opening and while you're not giving a speech for once, you, Ragnar and Hailey are in the crowd to see Kari Erikson off to third grade.
"They grow up so fast," you smile at the girl, "Soon enough you'll be dying your hair neon green and bringing boys home to be terrorized by your dad."
The child is adamantly refusing to hold anyone's hand, and she scowls and stomps her feet, "No, boys are yucky."
"Hohoho," Hailey fakes a laugh and elbows Erikson, "Notice how she didn't say anything about the hair."
"I like green. Daddy, can you dye my hair green, please?"
The man just sighs and points at you, "I blame you for this. Why are you here anyway?"
"You asked me to come."
"Right."
"Auntie, can you dye my hair green? Daddy didn't say I couldn't." This time all three of you laugh.
There's about thirty kids in your colony by now, most of them roughly Kari's age, but few have been around here for as long as she. The classes will be rather small at first, and some of the curriculum is still given by interactive videos and automated testing, but at least it's a start. The children get to socialize in a tried and true environment and there's an available adult to help them with the more difficult assignments should they get stuck. It's also a groundwork for the future. Erikson has suborned the project to his department and assures you that he'll either expand it as necessary or let you know of any issues that come up.
Privately, you'll expect him to pitch you the idea of an expansion in five or so years, so he doesn't have to send his kid off to a boarding school yet.
(Opened first primary school for children up to the age of 15.)
(Roll, natural aerogel, required 40: 60)
"It's equal parts fascinating and frustrating, sir," Weissmeier has lately taken to delivering her reports at parade rest like Amanda.
"The substance is fundamentally aerogel, with all the properties one might expect from that designation," she pulls up some charts, "Extremely light, to the point of floating in a standard atmosphere when heated for prolonged periods. As perfect a thermal isolator as any solid can be, basically only transferring heat through radiation. As a side note sir, the unprecedented transparency actually works against the thermic property. It's similarly potent as a dielectric, although the alumina doping can deliver extremely precise nano-current doses. This has not been observed in most commercially available aerogels as far as I can tell. Whether it's positive or negative depends on the application."
"Such as?" you've taken to keeping a fist sized cube of the stuff on your table as a curio, and you're staring at it as she speaks.
"Hard to say, sir. Unless you specifically design for it, the effect is negligible, the crystalline matrix has to be just about perfect for the effect to show and other than our supply, no production process achieves this on a large scale. If we're talking about computer chip supercapacitors, you probably don't want it to conduct, but only by classical standards, and my knowledge here is limited."
She takes a momentary pause before getting back on track, "As I said, it's some of the most transparent material available if the surface is polished and kept free of scratches and dust. It's biologically inert, meaning it's safe to handle and could be tailored to function as a delivery mechanism for a number of drugs. The usual warning of lightweight, brittle materials leaving behind irritants to the mucus membranes or eyes apply, but it's less of an issue than with regular aerogel. It's extremely durable, more so than anything comparable that I've read about. But now we reach the end of the fascinating and enter the frustrating part."
She loads up a video of what looks like pinkish carbonated water flowing in a mold, obviously shot through an extremely dim filter, "Normal aerogel either cracks and turns to powder as it's cooked or melts at about 1200 degrees, specially made heat resistant forms can go up to 2700. This stuff basically doesn't expand as it's heated and I was worried I'd need to stop the experiment before my hafnium carbide receptacle gets damaged. You're looking at a 4000 degree liquid that seems to retain its previous properties. Worse yet, the crystalline structure underpinning the material remained intact almost all the way to the melting point. You could work this stuff like metal if you brought it up to the high three thousands range in temperature and had a way to keep it contained."
She sounds like she wants to pull on her hair in frustration, "For all I know, you could anneal it to be even more durable. Chemically, it's just a silicone lattice doped with some copper and silver particles. There's no reason for it to have any of these properties. It's purely material, not chemical, but it keeps them after completely breaking down the structure: when that sample cooled down it was indistinguishable from the other ones. Material properties can't do that."
"What would you, personally, recommend we do with it?"
"There's enough to flood the world market with cheap aerogel products many times over, sir, but as a scientist I don't think we should be trying to compete with already existing products. The fact that we can make almost arbitrarily large structures from it is what truly makes it unique. It might be possible to weld two pieces together even. Forget heat plating for spaceships, we could make the whole thing with this. We could use it as an industrial scale heatshield that would outperform anything available by magnitudes. We could mix it with some regular fiber and have essentially zero mass, vacuum rated clothes. Hell, access to the site of its discovery alone could be sold to research teams throughout the system."
(Learnt of the special properties, value of deposit rises significantly.)
"Alright, people, long term concerns for today. What's in store for next year?" you kick off the annual meeting.
"Summit prep, finding a reliable trading partner, placating mad Euros. Take your pick, boss," is Hailey's succinct summary of her work.
"The surplus seeds we have won't last forever, and we're still gaining people, so you know where I'm at," Ken continues, "Other than that, our mining and refining facilities out-produce our infrastructure capacity. Metal won't spoil in space, but we can't increase our income from it without better means of transport off-world."
"Honestly, security is pretty adequate for the moment. We'd need to work out a detail for VIP escort if we go to the summit, but that should be easy enough, sir. Nothing else to report. Well, other than that we're a tiny community floating in space with no way off this rock, but that's been humanity for most of the time," Amanda smiles at you.
Weissmeier bursts into giggles while you pick your jaw off the floor, "Did you just make a joke, sheriff?"
"Of course not, sir. Merely stating facts."
"Right. Ragnar, first priority is finding her happy pill stash, but do you have something else for me?"
"Much depends on the summit, and we might want to know more about our neighbors regardless of our decision. Beyond that, the usual projects remain for your consideration."
"Miss Weissmeier?"
"We are ready to pursue theoretical options. As usual, I'd like to begin work on the medical nanites as something that relates to my skillset. Alternatively, we could further research applications for the aerogel or probe more traditional avenues."
Rumor mill:
The Wall Street Journal: US closes shipyards, cites national security interests.
Tensions continue to mount over the Space Trash Treaty as US suspends all foreign orders from naval yards. The move is decried by private owners as totalitarian and repressive, citing the ban as the first step towards nationalizing assets under a fascist regime. The embargo hits hardest for Europe; the EC is yet to comment on the decision, but retaliatory edicts are expected in the near future.
The Indian Express: Red Planet – Red State; Chinese bank agrees to fund Martian expedition.
In an unexpected move, the Chinese Party leadership has agreed to a joint venture with Olympus government to the outer asteroid belt. Some experts opine the program is a test run for colonizing the gas giant moons and signifies a shift away from terrestrial focus on metals production and towards a light element economy focused on supplying the new belt.
Die Welt: lessons from centuries past: Lunar decolonization movement gathers steam.
Following a weak response in the Rousseau incident, Lunar secessionist factions are gaining traction as election season starts. Supporters believe it's time to cut ties with the planet and bring an end to the exploitative practices and high class crime, comparing the present to the age of colonialism and its tumultuous end, urging powers to learn from history and step back responsibly.
Russia Today: Black Sea Launch Site delayed again, contractor charged with sabotage.
ECJ moves forward with the court case against Canada based manufacturer for carbon coil as the finish date for the renovations of the first space elevator are pushed back again. Accusations were first levied when a climber shot off the line and snapped the counterweight cable, resulting in 15 deaths. EU investigators claim the material failure was so far below tolerance as to be only possible by purposeful action.
The Iliad: superpower meddling at an all-time high – Troy commission reports on satellite repositioning.
L4-Troy based watchdog group released report on movement of satellite stations, showing a whopping 43% increase in causes related to Earth superpower politics. More than half of all such cases involved direct monetary transfer to switch orbits. In the same report, the commission has found a significant drop in freighter regulatory law and a loosening of migrant labor laws coupled with cuts to safety nets.
Hailey Maria Perez, or just Hailey, as she insists, is an energetic and empathic woman. Prone to some daydreaming with a short attention span and with a habit of talking to herself, she nonetheless has an uncanny insight into what people are feeling around her. A masterful poker player and a great shoulder to cry on, the latter by her own words at least, she's probably best suited to face-to-face meetings and positive contacts. Also proficient in astrology. Choose 1 task to send her on.
[ ] Diplomacy
-[ ] Advertise your colony
You'll pretty much always have potential room and jobs (provided they don't mind the cramped quarters) for people willing to put in the effort, but you won't get all that many colonists if no one knows of you. Place ads, make unreasonable and vague promises and put up flyers, whatever works. You'll probably get people to come, but they won't be… overqualified, to put it optimistically. On the other hand, maybe a bit of grunt work is exactly what you need right now, and occasionally you might – might – find rough diamonds with the slop. DC 15
-[ ] Establish relations with…
Subtly put out feelers for a patron, someone to legitimize your claim. Nothing overt, just find out who might be interested in your little rock and see what they might offer you in return. Nothing permanent or committal of course, your first partner will always be special and just the act of choosing will make you enemies as well as allies, even if they won't show it. Geez, this is like high school all over again, except now you need to worry about nuclear warheads instead of hurt feelings. Recent events have also not made you a more attractive target for courtship. DC 45
-[ ] Seek corporate deals
You can sell your output on the open market as it gets launched out, but the prices will fluctuate and rarely in your favor. Likewise for supplies of food, air and water, all of which can be scarce this close to the sun. After all, you can't very well not buy the necessities if deliveries come by once a year. Instead, you could find one of the many middle-man businesses that exist just to prevent that from happening. See what they'll offer you and make sure you can fulfill your part of the deal. DC 30
-[ ] Take the freighter to New Ireland for the summit
Well, the simple and straightforward approach has served you thus far, why fix what isn't broken. You're due a little vacation anyway, so you'll go on the freighter that arrives in NI a few months before the actual date. (Note that this will not cost you a diplomatic action but an engineering action instead, this option is in this category just because it fits better here.) DC 5
-[ ] Buy modest living modules from Deckard Station
The steel mill and asteroid mine has offered to sell and ship you completed housing units for a reasonable price, plus they'll buy some of life's necessities from you if they're making the trip to you anyways. A win-win for everybody involved, you'd say. DC 20
-[ ] Visit the Children of Dreamers
They've extended an open invitation to you to go and see how their colony differs from yours. Hailey has told you in clear terms that if she's going then you're coming with and she wants a case of Ken's original Felix along for the ride. Also, perhaps you can negotiate a better deal for getting access one of their transports. DC 10, can be taken with Rent from the Children of Dreamers for DC 20
-[ ] Rent from the Children of Dreamers
Right, cultists or not, they seem to have a spaceship. You find yourself needing access to one. Better yet, they're offering it for dirt cheap. There's no need to read further into this, you're not subscribing to their beliefs just because you're flying around in 'The Chariot of the Dreaming Gods'. DC 15, can be taken with Visit the Children of Dreamers for DC 20
-[ ] Set up a joint research project with Prismdust
You can't sell them food without transport, but you can trade data just fine. Get to work on a nice experimental capacitor complex, maybe you'll even get your own patents out there, start to build a name for your brand products. Plus it's sure to help you with your own potential power storage solution. DC 55
-[ ] Call back to the private resort
If it's some trillionaires party house, then something as exotic as locally sourced fruits and vegetables might very well fetch a price that would be ridiculous elsewhere. And the security staff have needs too, maybe you can undercut their current supplier. DC 15
-[ ] Smooth relations with the EU
The whole 'your colony, my colony' thing was so long ago, who even remembers these things anymore. Surely we can all just let bygones be bygones and start on a blank page. DC 75
Miss Carpenter projects an air of confidence and her no nonsense attitude backs up her demeanor. Perhaps a bit headstrong and stubborn, but as long as you don't act against her she'll likely be quite competent. After a successful operation under her belt and her necessity in the colony thoroughly proven, there's no doubt that she's in her element as a commander of your executive branch. Choose 1 security action to focus her on.
[ ] Security
-[ ] Armor improvement
Your troops are kitted out with light power armor, but there's plenty of things to improve. A better compound material for shielding, an improved power profile for increased recon range, maybe even comms equipment for increased bandwidth. In addition to general enhancements, you might want to start work on specializing the light armor for different purposes. DC 50
-[ ] Squads
Your colony has a surprisingly professional and well liked security force, largely thanks to the expertise of your sheriff. While you probably don't need more right this instant and lack the means to equip them, looking ahead can't hurt. See if more people might be interested in joining the forces. Plus you're just one squad short of a full platoon, which would be nice to complete. DC 50
-[ ] Ships
Buying anything better than a tugboat attached to a fuel tanker is expensive. Really, really expensive. But you need to be able to project your power beyond your immediate colony. Whether as a statement to accompany your diplomats or as strike craft against asteroids or pirates, you'll be on the market for a proper spacecraft. DC 75
-[ ] Weapon patents
The guns you have are still in limited supply, no one wants to arm every random space rock after all. Do some shopping and convince a manufacturer to grant you access to their design specs so that you could start producing your own ammo and weapons. Or, failing that, try to build your own. DC 50
-[ ] Better armaments
Turns out neither you nor anyone on your immediate staff is a trained soldier, so the weapons you got were probably more flash than bang. Not that they are completely useless, just that they could be so much better. Hunker down with your sheriff and find a better set of offensive equipment for your troops. DC 40
-[ ] Heavy armor
Instead of the mobile suits you have for everyday work, you want Power Armor with a capital letter, the real space marine stuff. You'll try to buy it, but most governments are unlikely to sell what basically amounts to a personal tank to people, so be prepared to start your own designs. DC 60
-[ ] Jetpacks
Combat mobility is key and especially in a zero gravity environment you want your troops to have all the possible tactical advantages. The basic ship maintenance stuff has tiny thrusters to control yourself, but the combat variant would be much stronger and come with proper dampening software and trajectory control. DC 40
-[ ] Armored personnel carrier
A support vehicle for ground based combat, capable of light fire support, however its main purpose is to serve as a safer way to get infantry into combat zones. Its current usefulness to you is questionable, but you never know. You've been on both the unprepared and over-prepared side and you know which you'd like to be on. Whether there's someone out there that produces APCs for a microgravity environment is a different matter. DC 55
-[ ] Drones
Just imagining combat inside a spaceship gives you the chills. Information is worth more than bullets in many cases and a tiny camera can't be too hard to stick on some legs. The classic flying approach from Earth doesn't work without an atmosphere, but some skittering spiderbots should be within your means of development and production. DC 50
You and Ken often find yourselves working together; engineering as an honest means of work is something you're both intimately familiar with. Likewise you both know that a space station's engineers are her lifeblood, so you've hit it off quite well with the man. Far from being a simple farmer, he does have a solid base in nearly all things mechanical and you shore up the electric side of things. While he's still shy, his beer is to die for. Choose 2 projects to start building.
[ ] Engineering
-[ ] Farms expansion
You've a solid culture of different plants, but as you continue to grow it's just not enough. Build another tower next to the first one and get more food. Ken is always happy to try new strains and cultures of plants and growing more of the old stuff is just as fine with him. For the moment you even have an excess stockpile of soil and seeds. DC 15
-[ ] Aerogel quarry
Now that you know the special properties of your find, you can price your work accordingly, and you know for a fact that if you carefully chisel out massive sheets of the stuff then you can get far more massive amounts of dosh for them in exchange. Can't go wrong with massive amounts of dosh. DC 50
-[ ] Fuel refineries
Instead of trading away leftover oxygen as a low quality, low yield fuel replacement, get proper cooling towers and better filtration systems, start importing larger amounts of hydrogen and maybe even water for industrial electrolysis. Sure you'll be intruding a bit on your neighbor's market, but they'll be out of the production business soon enough anyways. DC 50
-[ ] Luxury living space
The current apartments are adequate, but not luxurious. Expand the existing ones by including more floors and extra amenities. DC 40, can be taken with More living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
-[ ] More living space
Now that actual money is rolling in and you're firmly established, more and more people will be coming. It's a good idea to stay ahead of the curve, maybe even set up a whole new town, as it seems that this is something you're in constant need of. DC 30, can be taken with Luxury living space for DC 55, counts as 1 action
-[ ] Docks
Your launch facilities are in a word pathetic. Refueling takes ages and is wasteful, you need to cart the supplies way too far and there's still a very real risk of something crashing directly into your domes. Set up something resembling a dock, instead of having a nice flat patch of rock some half a kilometer away serving as a launch site. DC 40
-[ ] Transportation
Moving to and from any installation on the surface is perilous. Low G walks under the blackness are scary and slow and you have almost no redundant cars. Ken pointed out that while you're small now, a robust metro network is never set up soon enough. The lack of unoccupied mining equipment is but a minor concern he assures you. DC 50
-[ ] Industrial capacitor bank
A massive array of capacitors that can be used to fully charge a spaceship's batteries in a few hours. While bigger vessels have means of generating their own power, they can occasionally carry empty cells to reload and sell. Smaller ships meanwhile need a recharge almost as often as a refueling. Also, there are other possible uses for massive and sudden energy releasing, namely railguns and mass drivers. Alas, this stuff is really, really, expensive. DC 65
-[ ] Industrial battery bank
A marginally cheaper alternative to capacitors, an oversized battery bank means that even if some disaster wipes out your energy farms, you'll have a month or so to do repairs before the air cyclers stop running. And you won't be wasting energy most of the time if you have a good reservoir to pump it into. DC 55
-[ ] Communal space
How's a dictator supposed to give rousing speeches to their people without a wide plaza and a balcony. Jokes aside, the harvest festival brought to your attention the fact that people don't have a sufficiently large area for gathering. Fostering a strong sense of community is something Hailey is constantly on your case about, and a space should be set aside for it. DC 35
-[ ] Aquaculture
Ken has come to you with a rather strange idea. The water cisterns you currently have are filled with distilled, pure H2O and you regularly add mineral content to it between the tank and a tap. What if you instead switched the injectors for filters and opened up the tanks. And then, he tells you, put fish in them. Most mammals and birds fare poorly in the super-low gravity, but supposedly fish mostly do fine and the stuff humans like to drink is an ideal environment to grow them. DC 60
-[ ] Bakery
The closest thing to fresh bread you've had in years are the dry crackers from the ration packs that, rumors say, expand when you apply moisture. You now have a variety of grains, things like rye bread and rice cookies would definitely sell like hot cakes. Also, muffins, 'nuff said. DC 20
-[ ] Fission power plant
Sure you've a good system developed for powering your stuff, but diversity is a strength. Unlike the free sunlight, you'd need to import uranium, possibly refine it too, not to mention the difficulty of developing and constructing a plant from scratch. On the plus side, waste isn't a problem when you've the world's biggest incinerator staring down on you and no pesky gravity to stop you from chucking things in. DC 80
-[ ] Fusion power plant
This is what the big boys use. There's a total of three functional ones on Earth, one on Mars and probably a few on some cutting edge satellites and military cruisers, so it might be worth it to build one just for the prestige alone. It'll also mean that as long as you have access to the most abundant element in the world you can produce power. Not to mention the potential scientific benefits. DC 95
A quiet individual, it took you months to find out that one of the children in your colony was the daughter of your personnel manager. When Ragnar Erikson does contribute to the conversation, it's usually a well thought out response or an insightful comment and his action plans are clear and concise. Perhaps this is just his way of separating his occasionally thankless job and his private life, as he seems to get along with Hailey at least. Choose 1 action.
[ ] Internal Affairs
-[ ] Background checks
Sure, you've vetted everybody important on board, but can they spot the lies on their underlings' resumes? Didn't think they had any? Maybe, but now you're thinking about it. Look into the staff of your staff, maybe they let someone accidentally slip through. If you intend to maintain control of your colony you'll need all the info you can get. Sic your spymas- set internal affairs to finding out about the people here, see what they'll dig up. DC 25
-[ ] Census
Take stock of your current populace. Where do they come from, what do they think of life here, familial status, religious affiliation, occupations, etc. DC 35
-[ ] Thorough check – Hailey Maria Perez
Well, your intelligence officer claims there's nothing there, but you're beginning to entertain the possibility that he's compromised on this matter. Still, he has staff you can tap while he tends to his day-to-day issues and you can do some investigating yourself. Try to see if Miss Perez truly is all sunshine and rainbows. DC 65
-[ ] Thorough check – Amanda Carpenter
The conversation with Luke Memphis got you to wonder – did she really never take a bribe, or was she already bought and paid for all along? Or perhaps you've inherited her enemies and they're just biding their time to strike. Either way, dig a bit deeper into her past than is strictly polite and find out. DC 40
-[ ] Thorough check – Ken Hiragi
There's something about the nice, quiet ones. Erikson brought to your attention the barest of possibilities, but you should still follow up and reassure yourself. DC 50
-[ ] Thorough check – Ragnar Erikson
Hah, only a fool would take the master of intrigue at his word. Dig into Erikson's story and see what there is to see. Either you don't get caught and there can be no harm done to you or you do, in which case you'll give good odds that he'll understand anyway. Indeed, he probably expects you to have already done so. DC 55
-[ ] Thorough check – Lena Weissmeier
Why is she so secretive, what sinister motives could she have? Remember, it's only rude to pry if you get caught doing it. And no, this does not count as stalking or harassment, you're doing this for security reasons. DC 60
-[ ] Emergency generators
Your current power supply is awfully vulnerable to forces of nature and targeted attacks alike. Set up well hidden, well shielded and separately supplied backup generators that would at least sustain basic life support around your compound should something happen to the solar fields. DC 30
-[ ] Poke the black site
Alright, so you're not going to launch a probe to knock on their front door, but if a casual solar wind analyzer happens to pass by, they'd surely have more to lose by reacting to it. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but it gave man the stars and if you've built a house next to a wolf den then you should make sure to guard your sheep. Err, bad analogy, you definitely don't think of your people as sheep. Anyways, try to find out anything about your secret neighbor. DC 75
-[ ] The colonists
Why did Europe come after your rock so insistently? Sure it's a lovely rock, but as you sent them packing, it clearly wasn't worth fighting over. Was it just an overzealous officer? Find out what you can about the expedition to Little Klondike and the lead officer, one Lisette Rousseau. DC 50
-[ ] Schooling expansion
A glorified kindergarten is fine and all, but being a center of learning in the New Belt could certainly be beneficial. Having access to more scientists, not having to send your brightest off the base and getting that sweet influx of new taxpayers and customers for your businesses. Still, you've taken baby steps, now you'll need to walk before running. Set up a general purpose high school focused on university preparation for the students. DC 45
-[ ] Global WIFI
With generally expanded data transfer equipment set up in your central complex, you can fix the issue of having communication on your proverbial backside. At the moment you need to route through your silver mine tower and the single mobile antenna you have. Set up towers all over Little Klondike to grant adequate internet connection to every nook and cranny. DC 50
-[ ] Study New Ireland
Your biggest neighbor is gearing up for a power play, and information is the purest form of power translatable to distances measured in light-time units. Find out about the background, leadership and whatever else Erikson manages to dig up on New Ireland. DC 40
Miss Weissmeier is a younger, more conventionally beautiful and feminine version of Miss Carpenter. Even in zero G she wears a dark business skirt and heels, her reports are thorough and drier than a vacuum, but you can't fault her data or methods. She might be the youngest on your council, and in rare moments her lack of life experience shows, but you're quite glad to have someone with medical expertise on standby at all times. Choose 1 subject.
[ ] Research
-[ ] Mineral surveys
The general readings claim that your rock should have a good balance of light and heavy metals, silicates and oxygen rich rock, and who knows what else. You've gone over the surrounding top soil, for lack of a better term, but there's more to the asteroid both in depth as well as further out, keep looking for more minerals. DC 40
-[ ] Medic Training
The people in your colony come from various backgrounds and educations, but lifesaving knowledge is something everyone should have. Expand the rudimentary programs currently set up and make it a mandatory part of life on this rock. It will cut into productivity a bit but it'll be worth it to literally save lives. DC 20
-[ ] Oncology ward
The next step towards a fully-fledged space hospital is a cancer ward. Cosmic radiation can be mitigated quite well these days, but ultimately the human cell is still the same as it was thousands of years ago. For most colonists, there's the option of flying back to Earth for treatment if the tumor is detected on time, but you'd like to be better than that. DC 55
-[ ] Silver nanites
Miss Weissmeier has charmed you into supporting her research on silver nanomachines for medical purposes. It'll be easier now that you have proper mining set up for the silver, your refining options are greatly expanded and you actually have a lab; thus she assures you that she can start her work now, if you give her the green light. DC 60
-[ ] Solar wind capture
The lighter the element, the less likely you are to find a good supply of it around here. Unfortunately hydrogen is one of those, yet you need a constant supply of it. It's used in many, many chemical reactions and synthesizing processes, it's a prime component of rocket fuel and the only component of fusion fuel. It's also hard to keep recycling it, as the tiny gas can leak through most seals in time. Thus, try to catch some of the material that the Sun constantly bombards you with. DC 80
-[ ] Magnetic field research
A key component of fusion, magnetic fields can be used to direct a stream of particles. Similarly, Earth enjoys a protective shell shielding her from harmful radiation thanks to a massive iron core generating immensely big fields. Could there be anything you can do to replicate these effects? Or perhaps probing one of the fundamental forces of the universe might reveal some new applications that people haven't thought of or haven't needed so far. DC 70
-[ ] Primitive AI
They always say that true artificial intelligence is ten years away at most. They've been saying it all your life in fact, so it must be true. Mostly, the nonexistence of AI is attributed to a treaty known as the Tokyo Convention, but upon even a cursory glance at the text, there's clearly still room for research. The forbidden parts of AI have more to do with the moralities of developing something with feelings and ill-defined motivations than actual AI. Try to skirt that line and see where something barely smarter than a goldfish can take you. DC 50
-[ ] Life extension
Sure, you'll probably live to see a hundred and fifty, barring some accident. But if you want to enjoy eternal youth not eternal life, then you might want to put in your own contribution to the development of various life extension technologies. DC 60
-[ ] Patent encryption breaking
There's several techs in your colony that you'd be able to produce yourself, in theory. From guns to motors to radios and lasers you should be able to make the components as prototypes in your lab. It's not industrial scale production and if someone caught wind of you using or worse yet, selling cracked products you'd be in trouble. But if you don't get caught then you'd be able to sustain your own needs just fine. DC 60
-[ ] Aerogel production
Surely you must be able to figure out a way to manufacture the stuff wholesale. You have all the materials needed in abundance. Plus it'll let you patent the process, so your deposit truly will remain the only source in the world. Or if it turns out to require some cosmic process not replicable by humans, at least you'll have a prestigious paper to publish. DC 80
-[ ] Aerogel structures
See-through? Paint it. Light enough to float in Earth winds? No weather in space. You've survived one steel shortage, but this stuff could be your solution for the foreseeable future. Work with Lena to figure out a way to make use of aerogel for construction purposes, perhaps even sell your own habitat modules. Also, you'd expect that similar techniques can be used to construct spaceship chassis'. DC 60
-[ ] Aerogel armor
Those ceramics in your light power armor you wanted to upgrade? Well, this could be it. The gel doesn't shatter on impact like normal silicates do, it's probably possible to make it bendy by doping it with normal fibers, it's not air-permeable and can totally withstand the pressures. And it's lighter than any other armor, or clothing for that matter, so you might even be able to sell it to planetary markets. DC 60
-[ ] Aerogel classics
Sometimes you don't need to come up with something new, just do the old thing better than anyone else. The usual aerogel markets are trivially easy to break into with your new edge; start a test run of optics for telescopes or weapon sights, make heatshields for ground to orbit craft or exhaust cones, produce sports gear. DC 40
Votes for the image of William O'Rielly standing as follows:4 for image 1
2 for image 2
1 for images 4, 5
First to 5 wins, refer to turn 5 for the options. If we don't hit 5 votes for any image then I'll give it two more turns (this and the next) until the image with the most votes wins.
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- Location
- Pennslyvania
- Pronouns
- She/They
Dear God that Aerogel is utter bullshit. As someone with cursory knowledge of material science, what you just said makes it incredibly valuable. We're going be rich!
So for research we got to poke at aerogel, I recomend structures before production to see if it'll lower the DC.
On martial we should look for a ship so we aren't so dependant on others for mobility.
On engineering farms and whatever else.
IA though, I'm wavering between census and gather info, probably the latter.
On diplomacy I honestly have no idea, though it's important to note that the DC for mending fences with the EU has lowered.
On martial we should look for a ship so we aren't so dependant on others for mobility.
On engineering farms and whatever else.
IA though, I'm wavering between census and gather info, probably the latter.
On diplomacy I honestly have no idea, though it's important to note that the DC for mending fences with the EU has lowered.
I think we need to set up more infrastructure before trying to build a ship, it has a very high DC of 75 right now, we probably need to build a dock first. Also something to consider is that if we build fuel refineries we're going to be cutting into New Ireland's market which can make their power play less likely to be successful and give us a more direct economic way to contest with them.
Yeah, we should probably do docks alongside farms this turn.
But I don't really want to directly compete with New Ireland. If we compete directly it will make them more hostile which would suck since they are basically our biggest potential ally. I think if we develop our agriculture and manufacture we can grow our political power while still keeping them on the negotiation table.
But I don't really want to directly compete with New Ireland. If we compete directly it will make them more hostile which would suck since they are basically our biggest potential ally. I think if we develop our agriculture and manufacture we can grow our political power while still keeping them on the negotiation table.
[X] Plan: Buildup
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Buy modest living modules from Deckard Station
-[X] Security
--[X] Ships
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Farms expansion
--[X] Docks
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Background checks
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
Ok, it looks like we can do in person negotiating at the summit next turn so no need to do any communications dip actions so I am using diplomacy to buy living space giving us more time before we need to do that engineering action again. I am trying to buy ships because they would be very nice to have not only for the summit but for diplomacy and trade in general. Plus even if we fail it tends to reduce the DC or give more options so I think it is worth is. No other security action seems urgent. Farms so we do not need to import food and finish up what we started last turn. Docks for our hopeful new ship and to encourage trade. I want background checks so we do not have any surprises among our current crew. We have a good deal of people here and growing every turn. I would not put it past the EU or another group to slip in a spy or fur us to start attracting troublemakers looking for a place disappear to.
Now for AI, Karf has previously stated the Watsonian reason for us only having one action per turn is due to our managers only having so many hours in a day. I am hoping that if we start cracking open AI we can start delegating to said AI giving us more time and therefor more actions. I also do not want to go to far into the aerogel yet because I do not think we are ready for if it gets out. Right now no one cares about us to much because we are just one rock in space, a nice rock but there are many others. But if people learn we have a seemingly unique recourse like the aerogel? I think we will attract a lot more attention than we can handle. I expect at least the EU to come back with more force if they learn how useful it is.
Edit: Forgot to vote on image previously
[X] Image 1
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Buy modest living modules from Deckard Station
-[X] Security
--[X] Ships
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Farms expansion
--[X] Docks
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Background checks
-[X] Research
--[X] Primitive AI
Ok, it looks like we can do in person negotiating at the summit next turn so no need to do any communications dip actions so I am using diplomacy to buy living space giving us more time before we need to do that engineering action again. I am trying to buy ships because they would be very nice to have not only for the summit but for diplomacy and trade in general. Plus even if we fail it tends to reduce the DC or give more options so I think it is worth is. No other security action seems urgent. Farms so we do not need to import food and finish up what we started last turn. Docks for our hopeful new ship and to encourage trade. I want background checks so we do not have any surprises among our current crew. We have a good deal of people here and growing every turn. I would not put it past the EU or another group to slip in a spy or fur us to start attracting troublemakers looking for a place disappear to.
Now for AI, Karf has previously stated the Watsonian reason for us only having one action per turn is due to our managers only having so many hours in a day. I am hoping that if we start cracking open AI we can start delegating to said AI giving us more time and therefor more actions. I also do not want to go to far into the aerogel yet because I do not think we are ready for if it gets out. Right now no one cares about us to much because we are just one rock in space, a nice rock but there are many others. But if people learn we have a seemingly unique recourse like the aerogel? I think we will attract a lot more attention than we can handle. I expect at least the EU to come back with more force if they learn how useful it is.
Edit: Forgot to vote on image previously
[X] Image 1
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[X]Plan: Power Play
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Call back to the private resort
-[X] Security
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Fuel refineries
--[X] Docks
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Study New Ireland
-[X] Research
--[X] Aerogel armor
This plan is all about preparing to try to be at the head of the local power bloc or preventing New Ireland from being it. We contest them in their market and start building docks so we can build a ship to go to the summit with and get a read on them and their leader with the internal affairs action. Also starting up trade with the resort sounds good, we produce a lot of food so we'd be good trade partners for them. Drones and Aerogel armor is just getting our military up to snuff.
-[X] Diplomacy
--[X] Call back to the private resort
-[X] Security
--[X] Drones
-[X] Engineering
--[X] Fuel refineries
--[X] Docks
-[X] Internal Affairs
--[X] Study New Ireland
-[X] Research
--[X] Aerogel armor
This plan is all about preparing to try to be at the head of the local power bloc or preventing New Ireland from being it. We contest them in their market and start building docks so we can build a ship to go to the summit with and get a read on them and their leader with the internal affairs action. Also starting up trade with the resort sounds good, we produce a lot of food so we'd be good trade partners for them. Drones and Aerogel armor is just getting our military up to snuff.
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technotemplar
(Sleeping Bear)
- Location
- Texas
[X] Plan: Buildup