In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people cried out as one and those that would see them ground underfoot were silenced.
Since those seven days in May and the Adenium Revolution that followed, much has changed on Helghan...
It is the year 2364, and the Helghan Republic has emerged from the fires of war and chaos to an uncertain future.
Four years ago, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl industries accidentally unleashed a weapon of genocidal potential on the inhabitants of Helghan during a coup against his rivals.
With a flash of emerald light that blinded thousands of terrified Helghast and irradiated tens of thousands more, Stahl's abhorrent weapon detonated above the ruins of Phyrrus city --the assembled might of the Helghast navy simply evaporating as arching lines of energy devoured their ships and closed off the sky. Despite the loss of their navy and the death of their leaders, the council of cronies, strongmen, and corrupt nobles that made up the so-called leadership of the Helghan empire held on for a time --countless thousands murdered in secret and in the open as a panicked populace raged against an ever-more inhuman regime. Eventually, however, something had to give; and like the Russian monarchy in the 20th century, the council soon found itself on the wrong end of its own soldiers' guns.
Since those seven days in May, much has changed on Helghan.
Having overthrown the last remnants of the Visari regime, the people of Helghan have formed a new, more democratic nation founded on the principles of peace, justice, and freedom. The left and centre-factions of Helghan politics --once brutally suppressed by the fascist Visari regime and the corpocratic governments before it-- have stepped back into the light; the freedoms of a new era resulting in a wild proliferation of political parties. Furthermore, the storms of irradiated petrusite energy that filled the skies of Helghan have finally dissipated to reveal a new and unfamiliar starscape --a thorough examination revealing that Helghan has somehow transitioned to a solar system more than 400 light-years Rimwards from its previous home in Alpha Centauri. To say this was shocking would be an understatement. The panic that followed threatened to topple the newly formed government and plunge the Helghan people back into chaos and war. It did, however, serve to silence those calling for Helghast supremacy in the face of the ISA's apparent apathy toward helping. After all, you easily can't blame someone for not helping when they're over 400 light-years distant.
You are the government of the Helghan Republic. You will choose the actions to take and you will be responsible for their consequences. You will choose whether to go to war or stay at peace. You will choose the path for the Helghan people.
General Stats: Population: 3.70 Billion Recruitable population: 35.3 million out of 37.0 million. Stability: 99% War Support: 83% Recruitable Pop Percentage: 1% Action Points: 18 (+2 from Spencer and Cassilda joining when High-Gain Tranceivers is researched), (-1 AP due to voluntary donations to the ORDIHCR) (-1 due to assisting the Taurian Concordat. Ends EOY 3060 at the earliest ) C-Bill Income: $-134,529,167 (-200,000,000 from Lyran command circuit rental) Available C-Bills: $3,080,826,123.00 Research Teams: (AP/2 rounded down) = 9 Military Requisition: (AP/4 rounded down) = 4
National Ideas:
Fieldset:
Taurian Engineering Graduates: With Helghan citizens studying at Taurian universities, our research into Inner Sphere Engineering is sure to benefit!
+5% Engineering Research Speed
Fieldset:
Magistracy Medical Graduates: With Helghan citizens studying at Canopian universities, our social research is sure to benefit!
+5% Social Research Speed
Fieldset:
Teachers to the Magistracy Change is the end result of learning...
Removed when the education deal is cancelled
Fieldset:
Teachers to the Aurigan Coalition Change is the end result of learning...
Removed when the education deal is cancelled
Fieldset:
Unlocking Star League Physics It's exciting to discover electrons and figure out the equations that govern their movement; it's boring to use those principles to design electric can openers...
+25% Physics Research Speed for Star League-era Physics items
Fieldset:
Unlocking Star League Engineering From here on out, it's all can openers.
+25% Engineering Research Speed for Star League-era Engineering items
Fieldset:
Supra Memnonia Space Elevator Optical Computers, Warp Drives, Energy Shields --forget all of that. It's when you see a megaton of steel suspended over your head by a thread the thickness of a human hair that you really find God in technology.
Removed if you no longer control the Space Elevator
+200% Trade Value.
+100% Colonization Speed
Fieldset:
Liberty Ships (Noctis) By streamlining the production of our warships we can ensure the defence of liberty against all challengers.
Noctis-class Cruiser production increased by 100% per AP.
Fieldset:
Zulim Taw Battlemech Factory A colossal factory complex buried under a mountain range, Zulim Taw is a good first step… And its expansion is a second.
Allows the Helghan Republic to build 8 battlemech battalion/turn (6 from Zulim Taw, 2 from Fisher Industrial Centre on Detroit)
Fieldset:
Advanced Petrusite Theory At atrociously high energy states, the properties of matter change subtly and new miracles become possible...
+1.5 Research Point for All Petrusite Research
Fieldset:
ORDI Research Agreement. For years now, research institutes and universities across the Inner Sphere and beyond have conducted their efforts alone. This has changed.
+5% base research speed, -0.25 influence/turn (Aurigan Coalition)
+5% base research speed, -0.25 influence/turn (Magistracy of Canopus)
+5% base research speed, -0.25 influence/turn (Taurian Concordat)
+5% base research speed, -0.25 influence/turn (Capellan Confederation)
+5% base research speed, -0.25 influence/turn (Alphard Republic)
+25% base research speed, -1.25 influence/turn
Fieldset:
Helm Memory Core (Copy) Shit. - Professor David Elba, Tharkad University Physics Department Staff Room, 3028
+50% base research speed for all Star League era techs while access is maintained
Fieldset:
ORDI Customs Union Human behavior is economic behavior. The particulars may vary but competition for limited resources remains a constant. Need as well as greed has followed us to the stars and the rewards of wealth still await those wise enough to recognize this deep thrumming of our common pulse.
Simplifies all trade deals into a single entry whose total value is dependent on the economies of all ORDI members.
Current Value: 40,000,000 C-Bills/Year
Fieldset:
Blooded MechWarriors Superior training and superior weaponry have, when taken together, a geometric effect on overall military strength. Well-trained, well-equipped troops can stand up to many more times their lesser brethren than linear arithmetic would seem to indicate.
Helghan MechWarriors now have noteworthy levels of combat experience
Fieldset:
TOPGUN Program Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone.
Outworlds Alliance personnel have begun training Republic aerospace pilots various tactics and strategies to take back to their units.
Fieldset:
Helghan Bureau Of Ship Procurement (BuPro) Helghan has ships if you have C-Bills...
Gain influence whenever an ORDI ally purchases a ship from BuPro. [2 ships/year max]
Fieldset:
GNOSTIC Semper Occultus
An inter-ORDI watchdog made up of ORDI counterintelligence operatives established to protect the secrets behind Petrusite Synthesis. GNOSTIC oversees all security for the facilities in question, and represented the another step towards ever-tighter integration between ORDI nations.
Fieldset:
Clan Science Instruction Stravag!
+10% Research Speed for all Clan Technologies
Factions:
Note: If it doesn't have anti- in front of it then that means they're pro whatever.
Influence gains are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Legend Issue Addressed Positively Issue Addressed Negatively (or not addressed)
One point of Nuclear power is sufficient to wipe out an area the size of Belgium.
One point of Chemical or Biological power is sufficient to kill 1 million people.
One point of Irradiated Petrusite power is sufficient to wipe out a continent the size of Australia.
Tech Tree Note: Items in green have been completed while items in yellow are currently being researched.
Also, Draw.IO has a max resolution/zoom factor on linked items for some reason. To view in full resolution, just open the diagram in a new tab by clicking on the icon in the top right of the image.
Available Hasta IIId-class Destroyers: 0 (Transport Capacity: 0.0) [0.4 Capacity Per Squadron]
Locked Hasta IIId-class Destroyers: 10 Anti-Piracy Patrols, 10 (Transport capacity: 2.8) [Defending FAS/URC], 27 (Transport capacity: 3.6) [Defending Capellan Confederation], 6 (Transport Capacity: 0.8) [Defending Magistracy of Canopus]
Available Hasta IIIc-class Destroyers: 0 (Transport Capacity: 0) [0.33 Capacity Per Squadron]
Locked Hasta IIIc-class Destroyers: 9 [Anti-Piracy Patrols]
Available Parthian-class Mobile Shipyards: 1 (Transport Capacity: 0) [0.0 Capacity Per Squadron]
Locked Parthian-class Mobile Shipyards: 0 (Transport Capacity: 0) [0.0 Capacity Per Squadron]
MAWLRs:
MAWLR-Is
MAWLR Pack #1: 100%[Ground Support Usage: 1.25]
MAWLR-IIs
MAWLR Pack #2: 100% [Ground Support Usage: 1.25] [Deployed to Lyran Commonwealth]
MAWLR Pack #3: 100% [Ground Support Usage: 1.25] [1 MAWLR Deployed to Free Rasalhague Republic]
MAWLR Pack #4: 100% [Ground Support Usage: 1.25]
MAWLR Pack #5: 100% [Ground Support Usage: 1.25]
Forge-Class production Cruisers:
Forge Pack #1: 100% [Ground Support Provision: +1][Deployed to Free Rasalhague Republic]
Forge Pack #2: 100% [Ground Support Provision: +1]
Forge Pack #3: 100% [Ground Support Provision: +1]
Cybernetic Infantry:
Battalions: 0
Regiments: 2
An army is, when fully manned and equipped, a combined arms force of 10 divisions (100,000 soldiers/5 Transport Capacity) with the following characteristics:
MARS Gauss Rifle: A clear backronym, the Modular Assault Rifle System, or MARS for short, is a revolutionary assault rifle developed by Hephaestus Ltd.'s small arms division for use by the regular Helghan army. Using ultracompact electromagnets developed in 3044, the MARS is a 6mm gauss assault rifle able to swap between several different firing modes at the press of a button. While the usual safe, semi-automatic, burst-fire and automatic firing modes are naturally included, the MARS also features a unique 'DMR' firing mode. Trading rate of fire for range and power, the DMR mode uses the entire energy load of the capacitors to launch a single projectile at devastating speeds.
H405 Keyzer: A worthy successor to the venerable StA-52, the Keyzer continues with Helghast weapon design tradition by melding a bullpup rifle with a high-capacity drum magazine to create something halfway between an assault rifle and a light machine gun. Taking into account feedback from the Helghan military, Hephaestus has motorized the magazine to allow for faster reloading and have introduced a variety of attachments ranging from ACOG scopes to underslung missile launchers.
Squads are composed of 12 soldiers.
Squads have access to (but aren't guaranteed):
HDC 'Torrent' Gauss SMG: Developed by the Helghan Defence Corporation out of Bloemfontein, the HDC 'Torrent' is a personal gauss weapon developed for by pilots, MechWarriors, combat vehicle crew, and anyone else who may find themselves in the middle of the battlefield and in need of a compact weapon. Firing 5mm tungsten alloy darts, the Torrent is designed to send ungodly amounts of metal downrange extremely quickly, albeit at the cost of long-range accuracy.
Light Machine Guns
One StA-X3 W.A.S.P micro-missile launcher
PnV06 Voltages
Irradiated Petrusite Grenades
VC5 Arc Rifles
Kader ACR-11 'Kerberus': An entry developed by newcomer Kader Industrieen, a Portland-based company formed by former rebels, the Kerberus is a single-shot gyrojet rifle that fires a 40mm HEDP rocket at frankly excessive velocities. Designed to take out infantry and vehicles, the Kerberus is an interesting entry in Helghan field trials.
T7 Arc Cannon: Based on a recovered design first made by Stahl Arms, T7 Arc Cannons fire a short-ranged, highly-charged bolt of irradiated petrusite which can vaporise full-grown adults through steel plating.
H11 Accelerator Rifle: Redeveloped by Hephaestus Ltd. after acquiring copies of the VC39, the H11 Accelerator Rifle energizes and fires a burst of Irradiated Petrusite at targets up to 300 meters away to devastating effect.
RD-1 'Hund': Developed by members of the Arrasate Worker Cooperative, the RD-1 'Hund' is a lightweight, semi-autonomous, doglike drone designed to be carried and deployed by infantry units to boost their in-field intelligence-gathering capabilities. Featuring an impressive collection of sensors and a deployable single-rotor UAV with a three-hour battery, the Hund can detect explosives, spot threats, and provide real-time mapping for its operators, though this comes at the cost of little armour and no weaponry.
RD-3 'Wolf': A successor to Arrasate Worker Cooperative's RD-1 'Hund', the RD-3 'Wulf' is an armed version of the same general platform intended to directly aid squad members in combat. Retaining both the sensor package of the Hund and its single-rotor UAV, the Wolf carries a back-mounted, integrally-silenced 9mm SMG capable of pitching up 70 degrees and rotating 360. While still rather fragile as far as combat automata go and not too deadly compared to those armed with heavier arms, the addition of an SMG grants the wolf more options for dealing with hostile infantry than just running away.
HDC 'Harbinger' Rotary Machine Gun: Developed by the Helghan Defence Corporation out of Bloemfontein, the Harbinger Rotary Machine Gun is a massive multi-barrel machine gun designed for power armour-equipped infantry and dropship platforms. Firing standard rifle rounds at over 2000 RPM, the Harbinger is a devastating weapon to bring to bear against infantry and light vehicles but can only fire when its barrels are in full spin and therefore requires a brief windup period before firing.
RAV-N 'Raven' Special Operations Drone: Developed by the automata design house Sidarov & Muller for use by Helghan special forces units, the Raven is a compact support automata able to do almost anything. Equipped with high-power anti-grav drives, an electromagnetic grappling hook with a 200m line, a 5mm gauss SMG with 200 rounds of ammunition, next-generation sensors, tasers, deployable energy shields, and more, the Raven is the very definition of multi-purpose. Intended more for operations requiring stealth and infiltration than firepower or armour, the Raven is ill-suited to a knockdown fight but can make all the difference in a sabotage operation.
Personal Energy Shields: A long-promised technology finally brought to fruition after years of effort, personal energy shields are form-fitting energy shields that operate in much the same way as their bigger brothers on battlemechs. Though requiring power armour to wear due to the heavy generator systems and heavy power draw requirements, personal energy shields more than makeup for their costs thanks to the dramatic increase in survivability they offer users.
CD-1 'Bjorn': A next-generation combat automata developed by the Arrasate Worker Cooperative using knowledge garnered during the development of the Ktesibios system, the CD-1 'Bjorn' is a nearly fully-autonomous humanoid combat system intended to act in concert with human infantry. Standing six feet tall, the bearlike Bjorn is designed for use in urban environments where ranges are short and danger lurks around every corner. Designed to operate weaponry intended for ordinary humans, the Bjorn also features myomer musculature, titanium-alloy bones covered by a bulletproof 'skin', armour-piercing teeth, extendable claws, advanced sensors and networking systems, and the ability to wear body armour. Though expensive enough that replacing human combatants is a non-starter, the Bjorn will no doubt save lives even if it is only operated in limited numbers. Bjorn (Original art by Aaron Beck) Bjorn, again
'Mace' Squad Support Platform: Designed by Pharaoh Automata Solutions, the Mace SSP is a largely autonomous weapons platform designed to support squads of infantry with heavy weapons fire from afar. Roughly humanoid in shape, the Mace can provide accurate fire support on the move while keeping up with dismounted infantry. More heavily armoured than ordinary infantry, the Mace features advanced target discrimination systems and can wield weapons intended for power armour units. While too expensive to replace human infantry, the Mace's strength, accuracy, and lack of ability to complain make it an excellent heavy weapons platform. Mace (Original art by Ben Mauro)
Shoulder-mounted micro-missile launchers (MiML): Developed by Lacus Odii State Enterprise for ordinary infantry, shoulder-mounted micro-missile systems are intended for use against power armour systems, other infantry, and battlefield automata. Able to use fragmentation, anti-vehicle, Petrusite, and numerous other warheads, MiMLs offer infantry increased lethality against hard and swarming targets, though at a price high enough that only one or two members of a squad can be outfitted with the system.
EX-017 "Auger": Loaded with especially irradiated Petrusite cartridges, the Auger does not fire Petrusite . Instead, an electrical charge causes the release of a small but incredibly intense cloud of radioactive particles. This bolt of radiation has been observed to bypass any and all physical matter, though it moves at different speeds though gas, liquid or solid matter. Even energy shields only slow the bolt. The results of this bolt passing through a living being or sensitive electronics are catastrophic, and needless to say, deadly. However, the bolt is slow, and has picked up the entangling effect, meaning the bolt stays together. Not only can an unaugmentated human dodge one of these bolts if they see it coming, it is possible to see it emerging as it passes through cover. Whatever its flaws, having a weapon capable of simply passing through armor is simply invaluable.
EX-108 "Wildfire": A next-generation rocket launcher, this weapon is made with portability and weight of fire in mind. While shoulder fired, the weapon is light enough to be carried by nearly any model of power armor, cyborg, or even an unusually strong human. Its ammunition is also lightweight, though somewhat bulky. Reloading is a simple task that can be done by one person in under ten seconds. Where other experimental weapons have tried to bypass armor and shields, the Wildfire seeks to overwhelm. While only capable of holding two rockets at a time, the Wildfire loads next-generation warheads that split soon after launch, saturating the target location with high speed armor piercing high explosives. The charred remains on the testing grounds speak for themselves.
EX-003 "Bullseye": Petrusite has many odd properties. One of the oddest, and before now least useful, was a tendency to engage in its own form of entanglement. Recent studies have found ways to control that entangling, and have Petrusite molecules chase their entangled pairs. On a practical, military level, this means that a specific cluster of charged Petrusite , referred to now as a Tag, can be fired at a target, and shot fired from this weapon will home in on the tag. This can be used to bypass cover and strike at a single location on a target consistently, stripping away armor. Oddly, the shots do not cause a release of thermal energy. Instead, bullseye rounds gouge and crush impact sites. Practice targets are torn and ripped, not burned.
Pn-83 Anti-Material Beamer: A further development on the path first set down by the EX-017 'Auger', the Pn-83 Beamer is a fifteen-kilogram anti-material rifle designed for use by infantry against armoured foes. With an effective range of over 1 kilometre, the Pn-83 fires a compressed beam of Irradiated Petrusite that features exceptional penetration characteristics against modern armours.
Support Irradiated Petrusite Cannon: A man-portable variant of the Irradiated Petrusite Cannons used by the Republic's combat vehicles and mechs, the Support IP Cannon dramatically improves the ability of conventional infantry to combat their power-armour-equipped counterparts and light vehicles. Supplied by a backpack-mounted canister of Irradiated Petrusite, the Support IP cannon is traditionally mounted on a tripod for stability, but exceptionally strong personnel (or those wearing power armour themselves) can fire it on the move.
Infantry-scale Irradiated Petrusite Projector: Substantially smaller than the mech-mounted variant that has left infantry so worried in wargames, the infantry-scale IP Projector is a short-range but incredibly deadly weapon able to clear rooms and vapourise living material using short-lived bursts of Irradiated Petrusite.
HDC 'Ursus' Squad Cannon: Developed by the Helghan Defence Corporation out of Bloemfontein, the Ursus Squad Cannon is a gyro-stabilised semi-automatic recoilless-rifle designed specifically for use by power armour equipped soldiers. Firing a 60mm shell at 400m/s, the Ursus substantially increases the already considerable AT firepower of power armour troopers.
In addition, you have the base version of the mechs listed below due to those being ubiquitous (as much as mechs can be) + the faction-specific variants of those factions you traded with. E.G you have the MAD-3R and the MAD-3L.
In the case of the Aurigans, however, their faction specific variants are royals because of Outpost Nautilus.
Taurian Designs:
Locust
Stinger
Wasp
Toro
Clint
Phoenix Hawk
Talos
Griffin
Wolverine
Thuderbolt
Warhammer
Marauder
Marauder II MAD-4G
Trooper Carriers: agile, four-legged semi-autonomous robots armed with a flamethrower and mortar or a heavy machinegun.
Agile Tactical Air Component (ATAC): VTOL ground attack craft. Armed with a 20mm autocannon and ATA/ATG missiles.
Scarab All-Terrain Scout: A four-legged, full-autonomous scouting machine capable of long-range, independent operations. Armed with a heavy machinegun and 40mm grenade launcher.
Support drones: Lethally effective, squad-level combat UCAVs. Armed with a handful of SRMs and a HMG.
Khopesh: Heavily armed, modular, mobile weapons platform intended to defend key points from a variety of targets.
Aerospace Combat Options:
Conventional Bombers with a variable payload. Can hit Mach 1 reliably while accurately delivering the payload.
Conventional Fighters that can hit Mach 2 reliably. Armed with missiles and cannons.
Strike Fighters. Can operate in atmospheres or in space. Can hit Mach 1 in atmosphere. Armed with missiles, bombs, and cannons.
Self-propelled 155mm artillery piece. Fires guided rounds with variable payloads at ranges of ~60km with a CEP (I.E scatter) of 5 meters.
MAWLR:
280-meter tall Guided Missile Destroyer on legs.
Have multiple PD guns, multiple VLS pods in the top of the superstructure, and a side-mounted weapon pod featuring a particle beam capable of hitting a cruiser sized target in low orbit.
200-meter long superheavy hovercraft with a spinally mounted Gauss artillery piece that fires 10 ton slugs. [DESIGN]
Forge-class Production Cruiser:
210-meter long superheavy hovercraft intended to reduce logistics strain by production some number of arms and ammunition using materials recovered in situ. [DESIGN]
An unremarkable system located roughly 50 lightyears north of the New Helghan System, long-ranged observations taken from the outer system reveals a single habitable world with a warm, dry climate and small oceans.
Given the pristine state of the atmosphere, it's unlikely that any heavy industry is present on the planet.
There appears to be little in the way of human habitation, with only one continent inhabited and the majority of its population located in a single city. Analysts estimate there being only 100,000-200,000 people on the entire planet.
A large dry planet with three continents.
Located roughly 100 lightyears north-west of the New Helghan System.
Long-ranged observations have revealed jumpships arriving in-system at a rate of one every two weeks.
Atmospheric analysis has revealed contaminants indicating a moderate to high level of industrialization. Visual inspection has revealed a relatively high-tech civilization spread across all three continents of the planet.
Analysts estimate that Fronc supports a population of more than 500,000,000 people --roughly half that of Helghan!
Data entered manually into the pirate's database mentions that the planet was jointly colonized the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat and that the fragile peace between the two colonial nations has been periodically broken by terrorism, and local brush wars.
===================================
The next nearest system, Fronc, proves to be something of a uniqueness to the Helghan Republic. Settled by both the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat at roughly the same time (but not jointly, it should be noted), Fronc is a heavily developed, populous system whose two colonial governments have existed in a state of uneasy peace since their founding states washed their hands of the system more than a century ago. Home to more than 100 million people each, the two colonial states have had periods of warmer and colder relations over the centuries since the planet's colonisation with harsh rhetoric, terrorism, and the occasional brush war breaking the peace. An export economy powered by the rich mineral deposits scattered across the Earth-like world, Fronc's well-developed industries supply neighbouring systems with a substantial amount of high-tech (for the region) components which in turn allows both governments to support high (for the region) standards of living. Unfortunately for the Republic, while acquiring the system would no doubt be an impressive feather in the government's cap, it seems that the local response to the retreat of the Magistracy and the Concordat was to become more Canopian than Canopus and more Taurian than Taurus, respectively, and neither government seems all that interested in losing their independence.
[X] Plan Spies, Selene and Socialization mk 2 https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/threads/the-lords-of-ruin-battletech-killzone.52819/page-676?post=23187816#post-23187816 =============================== -[x] Have a conference call with the other ORDI members, and inform them of the...
Former Commander of the Markham's Marauders mercenary unit
Exiled Lyran Noble born 3000
Served as Inner Sphere Mercenary for a time
Established relationship with the Helghan Republic
Duchess of Ward
Married to Lady Adelina Laredo (M.D.)
Mother of Maria Josefina Laredo (born 11/03/3049)
First Prince Morgan Davion née Hasek-Davion
Born to Michael Hasek and Marie Laura Davion-St. Claire in 3005, the First Prince of the Federated Suns inherited the throne following the tragic death of his uncle, First Prince Hanse Davion, in a Capellan plot. A graduate of the New Avalon Military Academy, Michael Davion served in the AFFS for only a year before duty called; the young man was forced to take up the crown and scepter after only a year's service in the Davion Heavy Guards. While many initially doubted the First Prince's abilities due to his age and lack of experience, such criticism was soon cut short when, in 3028, he simultaneously revealed to the galaxy the hand Maximillian Liao played in the death of First Prince Hanse Davion and declared war on the Capellan Confederation.
Leading the Federated Suns to victory after victory (with no small amount of help from the Free Worlds League), Morgan Davion oversaw the declawing of the Federated Suns's centuries old enemy in a war that culminated with the capture and execution of Maximillian Liao. Having decapitated the Confederation and either seized or precipitated the independence of numerous industrial centres, Morgan Davion proceeded to install Tormano Liao as the not-quite puppet ruler of the Confederation and began a large scale reeducation and rebuilding campaign for former Capellan planets that is still ongoing. Additionally, following the successful conclusion of the Fourth Succession war, First Prince Morgan Davion has overseen the rebuilding of the Federated Suns' economy through still-growing trade with the Free Worlds League.
As of 3035, First Prince Morgan and Colonel Ophelia Stephenson --commander of the 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs and a member of the Stephenson noble family-- have married.
As of September 12th, 3036, Morgan Davion and Ophelia Stephenson are the proud parents of George Hanse Davion.
High Lady Kamea Arano
One-time exiled nobility and leader of a (successful) rebel army, High Lady Kamea was born in the closing months of 2999 to Tamati Arano II and Serena Espinosa. The sovereign ruler of the Aurigan Coalition, the story of the fall of the Coalition, the rise of the Directorate, and the war of Restoration is a story of two intertwined families: the Arano family, ruled by High Lady Arano, and the Espinosa family. Though groomed for the throne from a young age, the unexpected death of Kamea's mother and father in a jumpship accident left the young noble without guidance at a critical point, and the Espinosas seized the opportunity created by her inexperience and naivete to take power for themselves.
Escaping capture and certain death at the hands of the Espinosas through the sacrifice of others and no small amount of luck, Kamea Arano spent the years between her exile and return building up allies and resources across the Periphery; her eventual return to the Reach spearheaded by Commander Darya Sigurdardottir and her Marauders. The Kamea that emerged from the fire of the Restoration is a wiser, more cynical woman better prepared to lead a fractious and tenuous alliance of planetary systems. Owing much to the Helghan Republic's support during the war of restoration, Kamea Arano has notably refrained from the more heavy-handed actions that typically accompany the restoration of a monarch to power and has done much to restore the democratic systems of her nation (though many within the Republic still criticise her lack of alacrity).
Following the end of the Aurigan Civil War, High Lady Kamea Arano has since spent much of her time focusing on rebuilding the shattered worlds of the Aurigan Reach and developing the nation's economic and military power in an effort to guarantee the region's continued stability and security. Thanks to friendly relations with the Helghan Republic, a number of high profile trade deals have been struck which have already resulted in significant improvements to the industrial capabilities of Mechdur and Coromodir with other systems soon to follow.
In 3029, to the ill-disguised relief of their close personal friends, High Lady Kamea Arano and Lord Alexander Madeira finally married in a small ceremony in Cordia City. In 3035, Kamea Arano gave birth to Keona Arano II and Tomas Arano --fraternal twins born in November.
Victoria Espinosa
Member of the Screaming Eagle's mercenary unit
Exiled Aurigan Noble
Daughter of Santiago Espinosa
Lady Marina Liao
Formerly a Mercenary Liaison Officer for the Capellan Confederation's Ministry for the Military, Lady Marina Liao fled the Confederation following the state's catastrophic loss to the Federated Suns during the 4th Succession War. With political instability rife throughout the Capellan Confederation following the loss and the potential for civil war visible (albeit somewhat distant), Lady Liao elected to flee the Confederation with her close family and house troops in favour of the Aurigan Reach. Having handled the day-to-day business of liaising with mercenaries in the region for over a decade and thus having numerous contacts in the Reach, Marina Liao was well placed to leverage the strength of her personnel forces and the weakness of the Aurigan Coalition in order to secure the governorship of Gangtok; one of the Coalition's boomtown colonies.
A pragmatic ruler, Lady Liao has managed to secure investment into Gangtok from the Helghan Republic despite her suspected participation in the raid on Portland by pirate forces in 3025 and done much to draw Capellan immigration to the planet. Furthermore, Lady Liao has spent no small amount of effort arguing for the Aurigan Coalition to take action against the Celestial Mandate; describing the authoritarian state as a direct threat to her adopted homeland and backing calls to assist the Helghan Republic against the Mandate.
Lord Alexander Madeira
The husband of High Lady Kamea Arano and father to her two children, Keona Arano II and Tomas Arano, Lord Alexander Madeira has been a loyal supporter of Lady Kamea since long before her exile and eventual return to the Aurigan Coalition --the two having become friends during their childhoods. Having fled the Reach during Esponisa's successful coup due to his close ties to the Arano's, Lord Madeira assisted his childhood friend in building up the allies and resources needed to prosecute the War of Restoration; the man proving instrumental in securing the support of the Magistracy of Canopus and the copious funds it could provide. Upon the start of the War of Restoration, Lord Madeira served as a vital go-between between Kamea Arano and the Marham's Marauders mercenary unit and also convinced a number of Aurigan nobles to through their lot in with Lady Arano.
Following the end of the Aurigan Civil War, Alexander Madeira has spent much of his time repairing and restoring those vital government systems damaged by Santiago Espinosa and only recently stepped back in order to spend more time with his family. The Emir of Guldra, Lord Madeira frequently visits the Earth-like planet to view the system as close to ground level as is possible for one of his rank; his self-perception of being more of a mechanic than a figurehead leaving him remarkably approachable and hands-on considering his status.
Melissa Steiner
Archon of the Lyran Commonwealth
Married Thomas Frederick Bradford, the Duke of Coventry, in 3037
Gave birth to Alexander Harrison Arthur Steiner on 1st of December 3042
Amir 'Dekker' Kowalski
Born 2995 in the Capellan Confederation
Commander of the Markham's Marauders mercenary unit
Marauders are an elite, company-sized battlemech force.
In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people...
In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people...
In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people...
In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people...
A system containing a lush garden world covered in sapphire oceans and emerald fields.
Following standard exploration procedure, Helghast explorers ascertained that no human beings were living on the surface of the planet and that there were no remnants of past habitation. A followup biological survey discovered nothing exceptionally harmful in the planet's biosphere.
Given those facts and the fact that the planet was not present in the navigational database retrieved from the pirate's dropship, it is assumed that the planet was never colonised during the Star League era.
Mir was settled by the Helghan Republic in the year 3023
==================
From Turn 21 Update
To the concern of agricultural groups throughout the Republic, the cereal blight on Mir has continued to spread across the planet despite the enforcement of numerous control protocols. While the food situation on Mir remains under control thanks to the planetary government importing foodstuffs from Portland and Independence, the citizenry has nonetheless seen a significant increase in food prices as a result of reduced harvests. Given the severity of the situation, the local government has tightened biosecurity protocols significantly to prevent the disease from spreading off-world --a move which has been mirrored by the governments of the Republic's other worlds.
Genetic analysis to identify the exact cause of the blight is underway, however it'll likely be some time before there are useful results due to the limited scientific resources available on Mir. Furthermore, while the planetary government has yet to formally call on the Republic to assist with the disease, they are in close contact with the Republic's upper echelons.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update
The blight on Mir continues to recede thanks to the astounding effort put into its eradication by farmers, scientists, and the local government. Once threatening the entire Republic's food security, the toxic mould which killed so much of Mir's cereal harvest has been on the backfoot since last year and has yet to recover the initiative. Though fears remain of an eventual adaptation to the Republic's regime of powerful fungicides, for now, it seems as if the blight will simply be something that farmers are mindful towards rather than fearful of.
A large temperate planet much like Earth or Vekta.
Again located roughly 50 lightyears north of the New Helghan System, long-ranged observations have revealed jumpships arriving in the system at a rate of one every three months or so.
Atmospheric analysis has revealed contaminants indicating a low to moderate level of industrialization. Visual inspection has also revealed colossal fields of wheat and other crops being grown all across the planet.
Analysts estimate that Portland supports a population of roughly 1,500,000 people, the majority of whom are involved primarily in agricultural activities.
Portland has been recently joined the Helghan Republic.
==============================
The Federated States of Portland has a government composed of an elected Senate, Parliament and largely powerless president. Amongst other things, the Federated States has a very strong constitution that enshrines basic human rights such as freedom of speech, universal suffrage, and a right to life, rest and leisure. Furthermore, the Portland government has stripped many of the surviving families of their power and wealth as recompense for the war and has restricted the kinds and amount of weaponry that can be purchased.
Currently, much of the land on Portland is de facto owned by the government thanks to the collapse of the Council families, but moves have been made to sell parts of it off. That said, significant amounts of land remain in the hands of both the Hatfield and McCoy families, though both have been significantly reduced in power and influence.
The rest of the planet's fertile regions are either owned by various minor family clans comprising of the majority of the planet's population or are unclaimed wilderness.
Portland has two notable landmasses: the developed continent of Maine and the largely uninhabited Oregon.
==============================
Capital: Columbia Other Cities: (multiple) Population: 6,554,485 Socio-Industrial Levels: B-B-B-B-A
Article:
From Turn 17 Update
Portland has officially joined the Helghan Republic as its first extrasolar member planet. It largely retains its existing political organization, though changes will be made to fit within the Helghan Republic's political structures.
Article:
From Turn 21 Update
In a widely-viewed ceremony on the planet Portland, the Precentor of the Comstar HPG station has officially declared the communication building open for business --the reception of a greeting from Terra being broadcast throughout the Republic. Though the Helghan Republic has maintained fairly constant communication with its neighbours, the transmission of such communiques has thus far been handled by courier craft due to the lack of a working FTL comms system. As a result of this, there has always been a minimum delay of several days or weeks between a message being sent and that message being received; something which has imposed significant restrictions on areas as diverse as business and art, and which has kept the Helghan Mark at a remove from the currencies of other nations and Comstar's own currency, the C-bill.
With the opening of Portland's HPG complex, however, analysts expect to see a major shift in how people communicate with recipients in the Republic's neighbours, how often they communicate, and with whom they communicate. Additionally, some speculate that the strength of the Helghan Mark versus the C-bill may vacillate as it moves towards its true value; though by how much it will shift and to what effect, none can confidently say.
Capital: San Angeles Other Cities: (Multiple) Population: 936,827 Socio-Industrial Levels: B-C-B-C-B
==============================
Article:
From Turn 18 Update
A captured satellite in a retrograde orbit, hence the name, Rogue is an interesting little ball of dirt for several reasons.
First and foremost is the fact that Rogue is a moon with its own (breathable) atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biology; its deep blue seas, fluffy white clouds, and emerald green forests immediately obvious to any visitor to the Portland system. Secondly, at only 4,945 kilometres wide, Rogue is a little larger than the planet Mercury and has a similarly strong gravitational pull indicating that its core is oversized compared to the rest of the planet, and thus that what is now the crust used to be part of the metal-rich mantle of a larger planetoid shattered during the formative years of the solar system and later captured by Portland. Thirdly, Rogue has a very active magnetosphere and geology which, combined with the strong gravity, means that its core must have an abundance of radioactive elements to still be liquid so long after the formation of the solar system. Fourth and finally, the biosphere of the moon is complex and highly developed with the water-rich, low gravity environment supporting a variety of megafauna from three-meter-tall armoured hopping lizards to the garishly-coloured megaparrot; a bird the size of small aircraft.
Article:
From Turn 19 Update
With the addition of the Argo to the convoy of ships carrying Republic citizens to their new home on the Off-World Colony of Rogue, the trickle of immigrants transforms into a flood in a matter of months. Thanks to the continued construction of the Supra Memnonia space elevator and the presence of a developed world in the form of Portland, more than 100,000 Republic citizens are transplanted to the moon from Helghan; a number only surpassed by the amount immigrating to Mir instead.
Speaking of Rogue's rival colony, in a mirror image of it's earlier colonization, a large number of families moving to Rogue choose to stay in the city of San Angeles rather than take up tools and farm the moon's fertile valleys and plains --the appeal of building your own home not quite beating out the luxuries of high-tech civilization, for many. However, like Mir, an equally large number choose to brave the untamed wilderness of the moon; farmsteads and cabins springing up like mushrooms across the chilly world. Interestingly, with Portland present to provide a readily available and affordable source of food for Rogue, many of the farmers have turned instead towards cash crops such as coffee, tea, sugarcane, cocoa, and various oil-producing plants.
With the moon competing with numerous, better established planets throughout the Inner Sphere and Periphery, only time will tell how successful the farmers of Rogue will prove.
Article:
From Turn 21 Update
With the Supra Memnonia space elevator completed last year and the flow of colonists doubled from what it was previously, the colonization of Rogue progresses rapidly. Across the surface of the largely pristine moon, fields, paddocks, and ponds spring up like mushrooms as countless new colonists join in the colony's most profitable industry: cash crop farming. Having achieved good results last year, the various farming cooperatives have expanded and diversified their efforts dramatically; kelp, carp, salmon, indigo, bananas, and oranges joining their existing crops and further additions planned for the future.
Unfortunately, it's not all roses. Though Rogue has proven to be a largely idyllic world whose native species are more annoying than antagonistic, it is still an alien world to which humans are outsiders. With more colonists arriving every day and farms expanding their boundaries into formerly wild areas, interactions between human and native life increase dramatically. While most such interactions are nothing to write home about and some are rather annoying, see the roosting of megaparrots in San Angeles' Nakatomi Plaza, others are rather more concerning.
While carrying out an environmental impact assessment on areas bordering some of the moon's oldest farms, a team of ecologists working for the colony's Environmental Monitoring Unit discovered a herd of dead Thumpers lying scattered throughout a nearby forest. Fearing that the deaths might be due to a pathogen, the EMU team spent more than a week analysing both the herd and the environment around them only to discover that the giant herbivores had been fed grain poisoned with large amounts of a Thiochromenone derivative. Given the recent troubles between Thumpers and farmers, the EMU is certain that someone intentionally fed the Thumpers poisoned grain and is seeking assistance from the Republic government to identify and punish the perpetrators.
A lush world covered by vast oceans and jungle-covered volcanic islands, Independence is significantly more interesting than its western neighbour.
Again located roughly 50 lightyears north of the New Helghan System, long-ranged observations have revealed significant numbers of jumpships arriving in the system at a rate of one every month or so.
Given the pristine state of the atmosphere, it's unlikely that any heavy industry is present on the planet. That said, observation of the islands and oceans has revealed large numbers of oceangoing craft plying the waves so there is, at least, some industry going on.
Unlike McEvan's Sacrifice, the population of Independence likely exceeds one million people spread across countless island chains.
=========================
Unlike Portland, which has an oligarchical system of government wherein the wealthiest families rule, the aptly named Independence uses a highly atomised democratic structure where each island is a state unto itself, and all inhabitants over the age of 14 are required to vote. While this structure would nominally leave islands vulnerable to hostile neighbours, the unique circumstances of Independence keep things in a kind of balance as no one island has the area needed to support the industry to do so and survive the resulting isolation.
On the topic of land, the sheer lack of dry land available on Independence means that most industrial goods have to be imported from off-world with much of what little industry exists dedicated toward feeding renewable energy production. While some fossil fuel reserves exist, the climatic and geological structure of the planet has prevented the formation of significant deposits. As a result of these factors, the assembled leadership of Independence's islands are very eager to trade in exchange for power sources.
==============================
Capital: Lanai Other Cities: (Multiple) Population: 16,481,165 Socio-Industrial Levels: C-C-C-C-C
Capital: Salonica Other Cities: (Multiple) Population: 786,110 Socio-Industrial Levels: D-D-C-C-C
==============================
Article:
Turn 16 Update
Located over forty lightyears from Helghan, the candidate planet, nicknamed Charybdis by the exceedingly bored crew who discovered it, is a moonless world which orbits its K-type primary at an average distance of 0.7 AU. Orbiting once every 264 days and featuring a 21-hour day, it shouldn't take too long for a person to grow adjusted to the day-night cycle. With an average temperature several degrees higher than that of Earth's Mid-Holocene Warm Period, Charybdis is a warm but not uncomfortable world located squarely within its star's Goldilocks zone.
A Mars-sized planet, Charybdis has a gravitational strength of 0.42G, presumably due to an extremely dense core, as well as an atmosphere only half as dense as Earth's. Though there were some concerns that the low atmospheric pressure would disqualify the planet from consideration, the high concentration of oxygen revealed during the preliminary surveys suggests that human life on the planet will be more than possible; the high concentration in-effect counteracting the low pressure.
Another point in Charybdis' favour is its abundance of water; a full 85% of its surface covered by saltwater seas which range in depth from continent-sized shallows barely a meter deep to chthonic depths. Given the age of the solar system, estimated at several billion years, it's likely that these seas feature a complex and highly developed food chain; an assumption backed up by orbital images taken of one hundred-meter long squid-analogues breaching the surface. While it's unknown just what these gargantuan creatures eat, their very presence points to the existence of multiple strata of lifeforms lying unseen beneath the waves.
In contrast to the seas, however, the few landmasses present on Charybdis appear relatively barren. Though covered in vast forests of ferns and hardwood trees and featuring the occasional colossal fungus, little to no evidence could be found of terrestrial animals beyond oversized insects. In the opinion of Helghan xenopaleantologists, it seems as if life on Charybdis hasn't quite made the evolutionary leap necessary to colonize the land; though further survey work will be required to confirm that theory.
However, it's not all roses when it comes to the watery world.
Due to a combination of low atmospheric pressure and relatively close orbit, evaporation from Charybdis's seas is extremely high and so gargantuan tropical storms are a common sight. While it would be possible to colonize the planet while these storms are still present, it would doubtlessly be a costly endeavour to ensure buildings could stand up to the high winds and furious downpours, and such efforts would proceed slowly. However, the Ministry of Colonisation's working groups have suggested a potential solution for the problem: that being to deploy a massive solar parasol between the planet and its primary to reduce the amount of sunlight received.
Conceived of as a massive diffraction grating placed in the L-1 Lagrange point, the parasol would reduce the rate of evaporation from Charybdis's seas and so reduce the intensity and frequency of its storms. Unfortunately, what effect this would have on the planet's broader climate and its lifeforms is unknown at this time and potentially unknowable.
Article:
From Turn 20 Update
As November rolls over into December, citizens of the Helghan Republic following a fringe historical philosophy known as Objectivism have declared themselves independent of the Republic and its laws. Normally this would be both A) laughable and B) meaningless, but this particular group managed to scrape together enough funds to hire a private spacecraft to deliver them to the virgin world of Charybdis. Renaming the planet Galt's Haven in a ceremony on Christmas Day, the Objectivists have parked themselves along the coast of the northernmost continent of the planet; their so-called settlement located between the shallow saltwater sea and the primordial rainforest.
Numbering roughly 50 people, these wildcat colonists are a profoundly irritating problem for the Helghan Republic for a number of very dumb of reasons. For one thing, it's doubtful that they bothered doing even a cursory survey of the planet's biochemistry, flora, or fauna; potentially exposing themselves to countless diseases, parasites, and predators. Secondly, it's profoundly unlikely that these people have the resources needed to handle any kind of medical emergency. Thirdly, legally speaking, the planet isn't free territory to settle as it collectively belongs to the people of the Helghan Republic. Fourthly, fifty people is not a colony, it's a campsite.
As such, the Helghan Republic has a very annoying decision to make.
Article:
From Turn 21 Update (Choice)
Engaging in a media campaign to discredit the Objectivists proves easier than initially suspected --the already quite disapproving public's attitude turning to irritation towards the wildcat settlers after modest efforts. While the idea of upping stakes and settling on some wild untamed frontier is appealing to many, hence the success of the Republic's off-world colonies, the overwhelming majority of said romantics are quite satisfied with the opportunities offered by Rogue and Mir. While some of the more libertarian elements of Republic society find themselves annoyed at a government presuming to tell them where they can and cannot settle, even they agree that the actions of the Objectivists have been stupid at best. As a result, few people raise more than the mildest objections when the Republic announces that it will be dispatching law enforcement to simultaneously arrest and quarantine the lawbreakers.
The actual enforcement of this decree goes relatively smoothly, all things considered. Though it was never in question that the Republic would succeed in its efforts, how well the wildcats would take their arrest was up in the air and many in the government feared that they might collectively make an armed stand. However, upon arriving on Charybdis, law enforcement officials were greeted with relief by most of the would-be settlers; the time between their arrival on-planet and the arrival of law enforcement having apparently been extremely difficult despite the relative shortness of it. In the two months since first-landing, the wildcats experienced floods, fires, crop failures, interpersonal conflicts, and all manner of minor and not-so-minor medical issues. A philosophy that has pithily been described as 'Fuck You, Got Mine' incarnate and which is largely reliant on the exploitation of others by a select few, Objectivism, it turns out, is ill-suited to forming a sustainable society.
That said, while forty of the original fifty settlers elected to return to the Republic without much in the way of rancour, the remaining ten did not. Two such colonists engaged in (separate) armed standoffs with Helghan law enforcement which eventually ended when they were convinced to surrender peacefully. Another colonist decided to vanish into the wilderness rather than submit -- the man leaving behind a long-winded note in his cabin decrying the Republic's government and claiming that the planet would provide for him. The remaining seven, meanwhile, died before the Republic arrived due to a range of pre-existing medical issues exacerbated by the stresses of living on Charybdis without adequate medical care.
A manhunt is currently being organized to find and rescue the man who decided to stay behind, and the survivors of the would-be colony are expected to face a variety of charges ranging from the simple to the rather more serious.
Article:
From Turn 21 Update (News and Rumour)
To the sadness of many, the manhunt launched for the last remaining Objectivist on Charybdis has been called off after several months due to the continued failure to find the man and the steadily worsening summer weather. Having fled Helghan authorities when they first arrived, the man in question retreated into the planet's primordial forests in a foolhardy attempt to stay true to his principles (not to mention to avoid the consequences of his actions). Given the paucity of survival knowledge shown by the other Objectivists and the overall environment of the planet, the man has had his status changed from 'missing' to 'missing, presumed dead' and will no longer be looked for.
Article:
From Turn 22 Update
Having had its last colonization effort end ignominiously thanks to both ill-preparedness and the Helghan government looking poorly on wildcat colonists, Charybdis is regarded as something of a priority to colonize lest someone else attempt to claim jump. As such, it comes as no surprise to anyone when, in December of 3030, the Helghan government announces that the planet will be opened to citizens seeking new horizons come the new year. A hot, stormy, low-gravity world whose low atmospheric pressure neatly offsets its high oxygen concentration, Charybdis is one of the less appealing worlds ever opened for colonization by the Republic, though that still places it above Helghan itself.
Dispatched ahead of time to pave the way for the expected flood of colonists, Republic construction crews site the planet's capital of Salonica within only a few hundred kilometres of the wildcat colonist's old home. Though it may annoy some to admit it, the far north location provides relatively cool temperatures and peaceful weather compared to the broiling, storm-wracked equator and the southern desert reaches, and so was the natural choice for a first city/spaceport. That said, despite the relatively agreeable location, the environment is still harsh enough that the construction of Salonica occurs at merely an acceptable pace despite the experience of the Republic's work crews and the resources available to them.
Regardless of the difficulties involved in its construction, however, Salonica is able to expand at a rapid enough pace to meet the needs of the colonists who arrive throughout 3031 --two squadrons of cruisers, a Bellerophon-class colony ship, and innumerable private vessels bringing more than 150,000 hopeful colonists to the planet.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update
The second year of Charybdis' colonisation got off to an inauspicious start when a massive low-pressure system drifted over the coast a fair distance south of one of the planned colony expansion sites. Travelling over the warm coastal waters of the region, the pressure system drew in hundreds of megalitres worth of seawater every day and spun off storms that rampaged their way north-east. Much to the irritation of planetary colonists and administrators alike, Charybdis' chief meteorologist, well aware of the planet's… aggressive weather, ordered a weather warning for the region and directed her office's multifarious sensors towards the system.
Monitoring the pressure cell, the Charybdis Bureau of Meteorology spent countless hours tracking the movement of wind, water, and air in and around the region; concern growing in synchronicity with the cell's size and ferocity. Though initially hoping that the system would burn itself out or head back south, within a matter of days the chief meteorologist was forced to conclude that her office had spotted a hypercane mid-formation --one that was heading directly towards a planned expansion region. To the credit of those in charge of such matters, colonization of the area was halted as soon as the BOM announced its warning, with countless thousands of expectant colonists forced to wait out the encroaching storm in vast (and vastly uncomfortable) dormitories. Less than two weeks after the pressure cell formed and eight days after the chief meteorologist ordered the pressure system to be monitored, the vast churning mass of clouds was officially declared a hypercane and given the name Typhon.
With gale-force winds reaching only 40 kilometres from its centre, Hypercane Typhon was a compact but frighteningly powerful mass of air and water; sustained winds of over 800 kilometres/hour measured by satellites and orbitally deployed sensors. Estimated to contain more than 400 gigalitres of water, Hypercane Typhon threw entire lakes into the upper stratosphere, uprooted forests from the earth, and turned boulders into missiles. Surrounded by a flock of storms the size of Australia, the small but deadly mass marauded towards the planned colony site in a long curve; its outriders dumping millions of tons of rain and causing widespread landslides and flash floods.
Thankfully for the Republic, Typhon never made landfall in the Helghan colony regions.
Rebuffed by Charybdis' own climate, the ravaging storm curved away from the planned colony like a bullet deflected by armour; the intense knot of wind never getting any closer than a few hundred kilometres from the expansion zone. However, though Typhon itself never hit the region, its enormous flock of storms did, and for three weeks an expanse of territory the size of Germany was subjected to punishing gales and lashing rain; sheets of lightning as big as mountain ranges illuminating a perpetually black sky in stuttering flashes. By the time the skies had cleared, the region was all but drowned and the forests and jungles bent and broken.
All told, Hypercane Typhon delayed the colonization of Charybdis by more than two months, removed an entire colonization zone from consideration, and killed more than 400 people.
20% reduction in pop growth this year due to hypercane approaching a colony site. 400 dead.
From Turn 23 Update
Well aware of Tiverton's status as something of a pirate port, albeit one that has never interfered with the Republic before, and having discovered evidence that it is receiving smuggled weapons, the Helghan Republic finally decides to reach out to the system and open formal diplomatic relations. Somewhat annoyingly, however, when the vessel dispatched to make contact finally arrives, it finds itself dealing not with a single united planetary government or even a few dozen competing nations, but instead a confusing morass of independent groups with no clear leader amongst them. While most inhabited systems in the Periphery have managed to organize themselves into (semi) functional states, the planet of Tiverton seemingly hasn't bothered; it's five million or so inhabitants living in widely scattered towns and villages totally independent of one another.
A pleasant ocean world strewn with volcanic archipelagos and covered in shallow, salty seas, Tiverton lacks most forms of industry beyond the fishing and algae farming which sustains its population, and imports nothing of value from those few legitimate traders who pass through the system. Located roughly halfway between the Magistracy and the Concordat and lacking any sort of police force, Tiverton's only real value to the wider galaxy is as a meeting place for pirates and smugglers; the two groups often trading in broad daylight without concern. Though the Aurigan Coalition has expressed an interest in absorbing the system in the past, nothing remotely along those lines has occurred for many years and that pattern seems unlikely to change anytime in the near future.
Effect
Not even united enough to be dealt with politically. Basically, just a few million people living in a smattering of villages and towns with pirates and black marketeers using the planet as a place to rest and trade.
Honestly, with minimal effort and diplomacy, you could probably justify nation-building there and just… take over.
Article:
From Turn 25 Update
--[X] Annex Tiverton (-5 influence): By deploying numerous civil, military, and diplomatic resources, the Republic should be able to annex the system of Tiverton with minimal protest from our neighbours. [Progress: 0/2 turns] [Action Point Locked Until Complete]
As part of an effort to roll up the Haystrom Association's network of contacts, better secure the Republic's borders, and resolve the general headache that was the system's continued lawlessness, the Helghan Republic finally put in motion long-held plans to formally annex the independent system of Tiverton. Contacting their neighbours via the newly constructed FTL communication network, the Helghan Republic spent much of the year dealing with the diplomatic necessities required to formalize new borders with the Aurigan Coalition and Taurian Concordat --neither state particularly surprised by or disapproving of the Republic's actions given the system's reputation as a pirate port. Even as the Republic was reaching out to its neighbours, however, the first of many Helghan personnel were busy stepping onto the volcanic soils of Tiverton's numerous islands; the vanguard of the Republic's nation-building efforts making contact with dozens of towns and villages.
Incredibly poor, largely independent of one another, and primarily reliant on fishing and algae farming for survival, the overwhelming majority of settlements contacted proved open to the Republic's message of unity and prosperity. All across the planet, protected by Helghan peacekeepers, humanitarian aid groups spent countless hours providing inoculations, clean water, electricity, and more to the people of Tiverton; all while Helghan diplomats talked up the benefits of joining the Republic. Though hardly a flawless process, several pirate gangs made to fight and had to be talked down with the help of a squadron of warships, by the year's close, the process of Tiverton's annexation was already well underway and was predicted to conclude by the end of next year.
[Progress: 1/2 turns]
-5 influence
Effect:
Diplomacy with neighbours goes well, as do visits to communities across the planet.
Aid groups and police forces are deployed as soon as the okay is given and meet little resistance. The occasional pirate band makes to fight, but it turns out that a squadron of cruisers and an incredible number of aerospace assets is good at persuading them to back down.
Within another year the Helghan claim should be solid and the work of bringing Tiverton up to scratch can begin.
Article:
From Turn 26 Update [X] Annex Tiverton (-5 influence total): By deploying numerous civil, military, and diplomatic resources, the Republic should be able to annex the system of Tiverton with minimal protest from our neighbours. [Progress: 1/2 turns] [Action Point Locked Until Completed]
Having landed in force last year, Helghan diplomats on Tiverton continued their efforts to convince the people of the planet to throw their lot in with the Republic with an almost painful zeal. Pointing to newly-built desalination plants, sewage treatment facilities, medical clinics, and schools as signs of the Republic's largesse and mere fractions of the benefits they could enjoy, Helghan diplomats travelled from town to town to talk up the benefits of joining the Republic to all who would listen. With those pirates too bold or too stupid to leave being beaten back by Helghan peacekeepers and the lives of almost everyone improving on an almost daily basis, the men and women of the Helghan diplomatic service found fertile soil for their oration; town after town agreeing to join.
By the time Christmas came and went, the last of Tiverton's scattered locales had formally petitioned to join the Republic and the once-lawless backwater system became the latest addition to the Helghan Republic.
[Progress: 2/2 turns]
Effect:
Tiverton is now officially a member-planet of the Helghan Republic
Capital: Echo Base (Provisional) Population: 308,303 (Estimated) Socio-Industrial Levels: D-D-C-D-C
Article:
Location: 30 Light-years 'east' of New Helghan
A desiccated world composed of a single massive continent girt by shallow, salty seas, Caliban is listed in your databases as a wealthy trading outpost inhabited by over 200,000 souls. Unfortunately, as the last update regarding the planet was registered in the 2600s, that designation seems woefully out of date.
Nowadays, Caliban seems less 'wealthy trading outpost' and more 'post-apocalypse'.
Through remote sensors, your explorers watch as roving gangs of battlemechs and other vehicles terrorise dilapidated villages huddled around the occasional oasis. Furthermore, though the lights of cities are visible on the night side of the planet, thermal imaging reveals the largest to house no more than 30,000 people, and telescopes show many of them involved in backbreaking labour to grow what crops survive in the sandy soil.
Total population estimates cap out at roughly 300,000 people spread across the entire planet.
Article:
From Turn 17 Update
Within minutes of the standardised greeting being received, the diplomatic vessel is bombarded with messages from dozens of sources. Some of the responses are warnings telling them to stay away from the claimed territory on penalty of death, some are laughable demands for tribute, others are requests for trade inventories, and yet more are messages begging for aid both for and against a figure called "The Khan". Under the cover of their escort cruisers, the diplomats onboard the courier vessel communicate with numerous settlements across the surface of the planet and piece together a better image of what's going on down below --though it's still fragmentary and incomplete.
At some point roughly two years ago, a MechWarrior emerged from the eastern wastes of Caliban in her now-iconic Black Knight; her first act to challenge the ruler of one of Caliban's few cities to a fight to the death. Killing him in a --according to legend-- absolutely one-sided slaughter, she took control of the city and the man's gang and began a campaign of conquest against neighbouring settlements. From then on, she was dubbed "the Khan" by her followers and proceeded to take over numerous other settlements via both violence and diplomacy until a broad coalition formed to oppose her.
What little information Republic diplomats have managed to acquire paints a picture of a despot in the classical sense; a woman whose word is considered law. By all accounts, she rules with an iron fist enforced by sheer strength of arms and the loyalty of her followers, the ultimate backstop on her power being the assault-weight mech she somehow manages to keep in perfect working order despite Caliban's remoteness. Accordingly, she is both willing and able to put cities and villages to the torch should she feel she has to, however, why she burns places to the ground depends on who you ask. Some describe her as a bloodthirsty tyrant who responds to any refusal by peaceful villages by slaughtering able-bodied men, while others describe her as only resorting to violence as a last resort and personally executing any of her warriors who proves too bloodthirsty.
Making matters worse, a similar lack of clarity exists as to the nature and reputation of those who oppose her. According to some, the collection of cities and tribes opposed to the Khan is composed solely of brutal warlords, slavers, and scavengers who have banded together to kill the Khan so they can continue dominating the rest of the populace in peace. According to others, however, they're a disparate collection of peoples who, while fractious and occasionally warring amongst themselves, are ultimately less tyrannical and bloodthirsty than their enemy. In both cases, they've dubbed their group the Prospero Pact after the city that first organized it.
Article:
From Turn 18 Update
With the situation on Caliban unlikely to spread far beyond the planet's own solar system, the Republic elected to take things slowly and engage in an intelligence-gathering campaign to ensure that their future actions are better informed. Communicating via high-speed FTL comms, the diplomatic team already present was instructed to speak with both the Properso Pact and the forces of the Khan, and ascertain which appeared most trustworthy --or, at least, which was least untrustworthy. Ordered to avoid seeming to favour one side over the other, the diplomatic mission made inroads with both powers over the course of several weeks of radio communication while making clear that they were also talking to the other. Though it was touch and go at times, the Republic's experienced diplomats eventually prevailed and were granted permission to dispatch a representative to both territories to formally meet.
Rather annoyingly, opening lines of communication has done little to clear up the murky reputation of either the Pact or the Khanate despite the greater access it has granted the Republic.
According to reports from those in the Khanate, its leader, a woman by the name of Apollonia Khulan, is a dictator in the classical sense, however, she has surrounded herself with the representatives from those cities and towns she conquered to act as advisers. Furthermore, Settlements which resist her armies are looted and put to the torch, however, those that surrender are spared from even the apparently traditional looting and any soldiers who attempt to do so anyway are suitably punished. According to several men and women from Caliban's smaller settlements, it's the Khan's armies who drove away the bandits that once roamed the countryside, and she has apparently freed many from debt-bondage they'd been placed under by city-states on the border between the two powers.
Meanwhile, reports from the Prospero Pact are equally clouded.
Having recently lost several battles against the Khanate, a number of city-states in the Prospero Pact have been forced to hire mech gangs to act as much-needed mercenaries in their war --the gangers acting as auxiliaries for the Pact's own forces and prevented from raiding villages so long as they are employed. Furthermore, while some city-states do practice debt bondage, many others do not and have even imposed a series of laws aimed at reducing abuses amongst those that do. Additionally, in contrast to the Khanate, the members of the Prospero Pact proudly follow a kind of Athenian democracy in which all men and women above a certain level of wealth have the vote and are allowed to participate in government, though this franchise obviously excludes the vast percentage of their populations.
In short, it's a real SNAFU on Caliban and both sides want your help --in the form of material support, military power, financial aid, etc-- to defeat the other.
Article:
From Turn 19 Update
With the situation on Caliban remaining stubbornly grey and people on all sides suffering from the ongoing conflict, the Helghan Republic bows to the wishes of its citizens and begins an aid program similar to that conducted on Portland years earlier. Dispatching multiple squadrons of cruisers bearing supplies and personnel, the Republic claims several large areas of Caliban composed of mostly-barren desert to serve as places of refuge for those displaced by the fighting; thousands of men, women, and Automata working tirelessly to assemble prefabricated structures. These camps are, for convenience and safety's sake, located near-to existing settlements --though it takes no small amount of effort to avoid angering or threatening both sides of the war.
Given the post-apocalyptic nature of the planet's society and the constant conflict going on across its surface, similar to some regions of post-WW3 Earth, a full half of the Republic's 1st Army is deployed to act as security forces for the humanitarian camps --a military base the size of a small city constructed to act as a primary logistics hub for the force. With the first camp opening barely two months after the decision was made and the second and third following soon after, it comes as no surprise when first dozens and then hundreds of families arrive seeking shelter --many making the dangerous trek on foot or via beasts of burden.
For the most part, both the Prospero Pact and the Khanate seem… cautious about the camps. While some member-states of the Prospero Pact --namely, those whose territories border the camps-- object to their placement and claim that they've intruded on claimed territory, such objections are brushed under the rug by those members whose lands are further away and who wish to maintain good relations. Similarly, though the Khanate doesn't complain about the camps located near its territory, minor elements of the Khan's forces probe the edges of the security zones; either fleeing before Republic troops arrive or else leaving peacefully once requested. However, one issue of note is that, towards the end of the year, a handful of families arrive at the refugee camps who weren't displaced by the war but are instead seeking access to the better conditions within. While this is hardly objectionable given the situation on the planet, if this trend continues, it's likely to antagonize both major powers as few nations would tolerate its citizens leaving in droves for another.
Interestingly, those on Helghan belonging to the Imperialist and Progressive camps both support these actions --though, one would imagine, for very different reasons.
Effect
Refugee camps set up in unclaimed areas across the planet Caliban.
Prospero pact complains about border violations while the Khan is more reserved. Some elements of Khan's forces probe edges of the claimed territory but scatter before being challenged or else leave peacefully.
Article:
From Turn 20 Update
While war may be raging in the heavens, the war on Caliban has cooled somewhat. Though skirmishes between the Khanate and the Prospero Pact continue in numerous places across the planet, for the most part, there have been no large-scale battles or sieges since Republic forces arrived on Caliban. Given the history between the two groups, it's like that this is merely a lull in the fighting as both sides wait to see what the Republic does rather than a sudden outbreak of peace, but either way, it's led to fewer peoples being displaced by war in 2039 than in previous years.
That said, though the stream of refugees has slowed down it hasn't entirely stopped; a steady trickle of people arriving to Republic camps over the course of 3029 in search of food, water, and shelter. Given the relatively high quality of life enjoyed by those living in the aid camps, it comes as no surprise to learn that many of the people arriving weren't displaced by war, but are instead simply seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children. Though this does lead to tensions with both powers on Caliban as they find the idea of losing workers rather annoying, the thing that makes the situation truly complex is the issue of debt-slaves who escape to the camps.
While many city-states in the Prospero Pact have ended debt-bondage and are working to convince others to do the same, a number of cities, including some of the Pact's most militarily powerful, have retained their expansive systems of debt-bondage and rebuked efforts to change. Naturally, many debt-slaves respond to this system by fleeing as soon as they have a chance. Most such people end up getting caught by patrols of slave-catchers, but some manage to elude their pursuers long enough to make it into Republic aid camps. Given the Republic's repudiation of any form of slavery or forced labour, this has lead to worsening tensions with the Prospero Pact as slave-catchers find themselves being politely (and not so politely) escorted away from the gates under armed guard. Recognizing the delicate nature of the situation on Caliban, several of the more liberal city-states have offered to mediate a negotiation between the Helghan Republic and the slave-owning city-states in question.
Article:
From Turn 21 Update (Choice)
Deciding that its commitment to human rights and the rule of law is more important than the egos of Caliban's city-states, the Helghan Republic informs the offending cities that it will neither be returning the refugees nor paying reparations. While the mediating city-states react with the kind of resigned acceptance expected from people who know what the answer will be before they ask the question, those city-states which wished the return of those they enslaved are rather more upset. Though no member of the Prospero Pact goes so far as to use military force in an attempt to recover those who escaped them, several Pact mechs are spotted close to the camps and numerous cities declare additional punishments for debt-slaves caught escaping or even thinking of escaping. The Archon of one such city, one Drakon McKenzie, goes so far as to declare that any debt-slave found planning to escape to the Republic will be killed by exposure alongside their next-of-kin.
Naturally, these sorts of decisions both help and hinder the Republic's newborn efforts to subvert the debt-slavery system. While on one hand, it becomes easier than ever for rumours of the Republic's effectively-utopian civilization to spread across Caliban, something Helghan's intelligence service greatly enjoys as it formulates such rumours, on the other hand, the penalties for sharing them grows increasingly severe. As a result, while setting up an 'underground railroad' style system for moving former debt-slaves around the planet is easy enough, the number of people escaping bondage drops precipitously as word spreads from city-state to city-state.
Seeing the response from the Pact's more regressive states, the Helghan Republic accepts that a rather more permanent solution will have to be sought for Caliban lest the status quo be perpetuated indefinitely; subversive activities beginning almost immediately…
Effect:
Offer rejected. Some City-states are greatly upset.
The tide of former debt-slaves slows dramatically, but those already present are given new identities and shuffled around the planet to avoid being discovered.
Subversive activities begin on Caliban. Options will be available next turn.
Imperialist bloc gain 'Strong Diplomacy'
Progressive Bloc Popularity gained
Article:
From Turn 21 Update (News and Rumours)
Forces belonging to the Khan have engaged those of the Prospero Pact in their first major engagement since the arrival of Republic forces to Caliban. Occurring on the border between the two nations and located near a town loyal to the Pact, the conflict seems to have evolved organically from a meeting between two scouting forces. Intriguingly, though they fought like lions against one another, both Pact and Khan forces gave the nearby town a wide berth. Given that this flies in the face of how previous engagements have gone, the idea that this was the result of deliberate orders to avoid angering the Republic has been given a high probability and is being hailed as a positive development in the war between the Khanate and the Pact.
As if in counterpoint, Khan and Pact forces in the form of horse-mounted infantry supported by fusion-powered vehicles have been spotted within the DMZs established around the refugee camps. While forces were dispatched to dissuade the intruders and guide them away, in five out of six occurrences they had already crossed back into their respective territories and in the sixth, they left without attempting to challenge Helghan security forces. Given that said Khan and Pact forces lacked over the horizon radar, the only way they could have known that Helghan soldiers were dispatched is via embedded observers with radios. As a result, the on-site commanders have increased observation of the camps to find and identify opposition agents.
Article:
From Turn 22 Update (News and Rumours)
Since their first major clash last year, the forces of the Prospero Pact and the Khanate have engaged in a steadily escalating series of battles up and down their shared border until at last, it became clear to all that the war was back on. According to reports from embedded personnel, having had time to rest, recuperate, and train, the non-mech forces of the Khanate have been able to close the skill gap between them and their equivalents in the Prospero Pact quite significantly --the infantry and vehicles in question now able to hold their own against similarly sized forces.
In an interesting twist, the discretion shown towards civilians last year has continued into this year with both the Khanate and Pact giving towns and cities a wide berth. That said, while civilians, their homes, and their crops have become verboten thanks to the presence of the Republic, the flow of people seeking a better life has only increased in line with the Republic's commitments on the planet. Unsurprisingly, this seems to be driving something of a wedge between member states of the Pact.
While the more liberal city-states have seen minimal emigration to the Republic, those that maintain the practice fo debt-slavery have apparently experienced an ever-increasing number of escape attempts. Keeping true to his word, Archon Drakon McKenzie has had a number of enslaved people executed alongside their families for apparently trying to flee to the Republic; their public executions by exposure to the elements a warning to all.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update
Having already seeded agents throughout the cities and governments of the Prospero Pact, the Republic's next step was clear. Giving orders by way of hidden radios and other subterfuge, the Republic tasked it spies with establishing agents and contacts within the Pact's military; the rewards of such an act viewed as more than outweighing the potential consequences should it be discovered. Fortunately for the Republic, the fractious nature of the Prospero Pact combined with its already extensive infiltration rendered the military forces of the Pact's city-states uniquely vulnerable, and numerous catspaws were cultivated throughout the ranks.
Ranging from debt-ridden nobility in positions of command to greedy militiamen at the bottom of the food chain, these agents are well placed to feed the Republic information on the movements of the Prospero Pact's forces. Additionally, while the loyalty of any person willing to sell out their nation for money is inherently questionable, Republic intelligence reports high confidence in its ability to stage certain incidents; though the more obvious an act is the more likely they are to be discovered and burned.
Effect
Success. Having the agents who infiltrated earlier bribe members of the Pact military has resulted in a number of catspaws willing to do something heinous for cash.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update (News and Rumours)
The Khan of Caliban has suffered a significant defeat at the hands of the Prospero Pact; several hundred warriors killed and many more captured in an ambush. Though not a decisive blow, the loss of so many trained fighters is doubtless a major setback for the woman who has made it her mission to conquer Caliban. According to reports from Republic spies within the Pact's military forces, the victory was won thanks to the Pact's own spying efforts --some unknown agent (or agents) slipping the Pact information on the Kahn's next target in time to plan an ambush.
In further news, the number of escape attempts by enslaved people has only increased despite the brutal punishments some city-states have put into place. With the Republic offering a good life to refugees and having made its position on slavery clear, and with the Khan offering a free if difficult life, numerous people have been inspired to escape to freedom. From what the Republic has learned via, this has lead to a great deal of unrest within numerous city-states with those that maintain debt-slavery the worst hit, but even relatively egalitarian cities seeing unrest.
Article:
From Turn 36 Update
With Caliban's water seeding project bound for completion by the end of 3045 and with the planet seeing ever higher population growth, the Republic's parliament quietly passed a bill to support the growth and development of planetary industry; the equivalent of 6,000,000 C-Bills earmarked for the effort. Well-versed in operating such programs thanks to prior experience, the Helghan Republic quickly established multiple credit unions, loans, and grants for Caliban natives to apply to, the resulting sugar rush of cheap credit triggering an explosion of development across the planet. Considered middling in terms of technological sophistication at the start of the year, twelve months of careful funding saw the manufacturing capabilities of Caliban's factories improve substantially and the planet jump up a level in ComStar's Socio-Industrial Levels Chart.
Effect
-6,000,000 C-Bills
Flush with infrastructure thanks to the terra group and with industrial investments granting them easy cash, the technological sophistication of Caliban rises to B tier
Capital: N/A (Lillehammer serves as the capital of the Polar Association) Population: 3,337,899 (Approximately only 202,300 are subjects of Republic-protected states) Socio-Industrial Levels: D-D-C-D-C
Article:
Location: 25 light-years 'south-west' of New Helghan
A large planet much like Earth or Vekta, New Oslo is currently in the middle of an extended ice age mainly due to the cold temperature of the system's sun. As with Caliban, the information you have is wildly out of date with said info limited to a cheery textbox advertising the tropical environment and vibrant nightlife of those cities heated by light concentrated by orbital mirrors.
With explorers in the system, however, a different picture emerges.
Immediately apparent is the glittering ring of debris which marks out the former orbit of the mirrors that made life on the planet bearable. Whether their destruction was accidental or intentional is unknown and unknowable, but the result was the same --no more summer days.
Distant atmospheric analysis has revealed little to no industrialisation on the planet, and a visual examination has shown that Human civilisation on the planet appears to have backslid to the late feudal era. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of said civcivilisation located along the planet's equatorial band where temperatures range from 'freezing' to merely 'bloody cold'.
Given the information you have at present, your analysts estimate that New Oslo supports a population of perhaps 3,000,000 people, the majority of whom are involved in backbreaking physical labour to survive. Given the circumstances, it's unlikely that they have a particularly democratic mode of government.
Article:
From Turn 22 Update (News and Rumours)
An independent merchant jumpship taking the long southern route through the Helghan Republic has reported on some unusual events occurring on the planet of New Oslo in recent months. A planet largely trapped in the late feudal era, the lords of New Oslo are almost always engaged in some kind of conflict with one another and have been since the planet's descent into barbarism. Engaging in only a modicum of trade with the wider world thanks to the planet's poverty and its distance from trade route, the general technology level of the planet has hovered around the swords and horses level for many years with only the húskarls of the lords being equipped with modern weaponry.
Unfortunately, it seems that that is no longer the case.
According to the merchant in question, one particular lord, a man by the name of Ragnar Morgenson, seems to have acquired a large number of modern weapons at some point during the year and has begun conquering his neighbours in rapid succession. Though this would not normally be an issue worthy of being brought to the attention of the upper levels of government, the fact that these weapons are Helghan surplus renders it rather more sensitive.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update
The Helghan Parliament, pressured into action by the discovery of Helghan arms being sold to at least one king on New Oslo, elects to finally make contact with the frozen world. Once a resort world whose cities were kept warm by orbiting arrays of mirrors, New Oslo is now a planet of jagged icefields and frozen deserts thanks to their destruction some time ago. As a result, the approximately 3,000,000 inhabitants of the planet are largely limited to the icy world's equatorial band and a few geologically active areas besides; places where the temperature hovers around the -10 degree celsius mark year-round.
After a week-long journey involving a dozen warp-jumps, the Hasta-class cruiser dispatched to contact the inhabitants of the planet and lay the groundwork to resolve this issue finally arrives. Forgoing typical protocol due to New Oslo's general lack of technology, the vessel's captain orders the cruiser into orbit while the Republic's diplomats broadcast a message of greeting using standard radio-protocols. By the time the cruiser slots itself into position above the frozen world, the diplomatic team it bears are already pouring through the numerous hails they're received; all of which have one thing in common: a desire for weapons.
Ruled by a number of fractious feudal aristocracies who maintain positions of power thanks to military might, New Oslo is no stranger to war. Conflict over resources, honour, glory, and more abound across the planet, and the victor is typically decided by whoever has most recently purchased weapons from those few merchants who pass through the system. While this has historically resulted in a chaotic equilibrium as overly successful lords saw themselves the target of coalitions designed to freeze them out of the merchant trade and bring them low, recent history has seen one Ragnar Morgenson rise to a position of prominence over his peers.
While the full report on Morgenson's rise to power is available elsewhere, suffice to say he was the lord of a relatively hospitable but mineral-poor region of the planet destined to be absorbed by its neighbours thanks to his military's lack of arms. However, approximately two years ago, a group of strangers landed their vessel on the outskirts of his capital city and requested an audience with him. While no one knows what was said at that meeting, what they do know is that King Ragnar's army soon sported a number of very dangerous, very well made weapons and began a spree of conquests which has continued to this day.
While Morgenson is far from taking over the planet, he has more than doubled the size of his realm within a matter of years and the remaining lords and ladies are desperate for a response. While the details differ from realm to realm, most rulers are offering precious metals and salvage reclaimed from those abandoned cities that remain above the snowline in exchange for ordnance up to and including 80mm mortars. Meanwhile, Morgenson has invited the Republic to send diplomats to his court and passed on wished to purchase additional supplies.
Effect
Can now talk to various leaders of New Oslo kingdoms. All of them want Helghan weapons to counteract the guy conquering them all.
Ragnar Morgenson invites the Republic to his court and wishes to purchase more weapons.
Article:
From Turn 24 Update
Eager to learn more about the situation on the ground and hesitant to do something they can't take back, the Helghan Republic dispatches negotiators and agents to both sides of the conflict on New Oslo in order to suss out the facts. Arriving via cutter a matter of weeks later, the teams involved make contact with both Lord Morgenson and his rivals and are treated to lavish (by the standards of New Oslo) attempts to woo them --song, dance, food, and drink plied upon them as a welcome intended to get them on side. After the greetings are all said and done and the (intentionally dead-end) negotiations begin, the spies attached to the teams get to work gathering information; a number of them posing as the kind of middling traders who deal with the common folk and others disguising themselves as itinerant wanderers simply hitching a ride. After numerous visitations over the course of the year, the Republic's picture of Lord Morgenson and his opponents begins to fill out.
According to those who met with him and those who've merely picked up on his reputation via word of mouth and rumour, Lord Morgenson is a dour man concerned primarily with the defence of his realm against those he sees as thieves and enemies of his house. An ardent believer in the divine right of kings to rule over the common folk, Morgenson apparently began his conquests in order to recover land that once belonged to his great-grandfather before mismanagement saw the realm's neighbours swoop in to seize the territory. According to reports, this reconquest swiftly spiralled until a coalition emerged as a counterbalance and he's been fighting to keep what he grabbed ever since. How the lord has been able to afford the equipment necessary to fight such a war is still something of a mystery, however, Helghan agents have reported rumours about some kind of valuable treasure being found in the far north of his territory.
Opposing Morgenson, meanwhile, are a number of lords from the surrounding territories led by his own great-nephew; one Edgar Howl. While the makeup of this group is rather varied, their leader, Howl, is well-liked by his subjects and known for his even temperament and excellent stewardship. The ruler of a (comparatively) warm and sunny land, Howl is noted to be an excellent swordsman and a brave fighter and by all accounts has only reluctantly gotten involved in the war to stop Morgenson's expansion due to the risk it poses towards his own lands. The central figure in the coalition, Howl's death would no doubt significantly weaken them, though if Morgenson has sent assassins none have succeeded thus far.
Somewhat surprisingly, though both men are primarily concerned with securing equipment for their militaries both are also interested in whatever civilian technology Helghan has to offer --anything to do with farming and heating receiving attention on par with the Republic's arms. Naturally, Morgenson is the most concerned with securing weapons, but even he has expressed interest in the Republic's other products. To pay for such goods, every ruler Republic agents spoke to offered a combination of valuable metals and jewels, and technology recovered from those frozen cities that remain unplundered. Given the fact that many such cities are located in the frozen wilds of the planet in areas too cold for regular habitation, it can only be assumed that such resources are recovered at an incredible cost to human life and could potentially be impressive sources of LosTech
Complicating matters, however, is New Oslo's religion.
Originally settled by Swedish immigrants who brought with them their particular brand of Lutheranism, the centuries since New Oslo's collapse into neo-neo-feudalism has seen the once tolerant religion morph into something decidedly less so. According to agents on New Oslo, this particular branch of Lutheranism is incredibly misogynistic with women forbidden to read or write, own property, or even hold money. While forbearance is generally given to women from off-world, a necessity given the ruler's need to trade with the wider galaxy, more conservative areas of the planet are less forgiving. Additionally, New Oslo's heresy holds that the destruction of the solar mirrors keeping the planet's cities warm was a punishment from God for the sins of the people and only through fealty to your church and divinely appointed ruler will warm days return. While this is hardly the only religion on New Oslo, it is the dominant one and is followed by both Morgenson and Howl.
Effect:
Made formal contact with both Morgenson and his competitors.
Both groups are interested in military and civil tech and promise to pay with salvaged LosTech.
The local politics and religion is pretty yikes.
Article:
From Turn 25 Update
--[X] Sell Weapons to Lord Morgenson's rivals: By selling to his rivals, we can counterbalance the sale of weapons to Lord Morgenson.
Eager to stabilize the situation on New Oslo and well aware that allowing Morgenson to run rampant would not be in the best interests of the planet, the Helghan Republic made the difficult decision to arm Lord Morgenson's rivals with similarly advanced weaponry. Having obtained a rough idea of how much was sold to the man by the Haystrom Association, though not for what, the Helghan Republic empowered agents disguised as interstellar merchants to sell a similar quantity of goods to Lord Edgar Howl's coalition. Delivered over a number of months to locations the Republic was assured were well out of reach of Lord Morgenson's spies, the shipments proved to have the desired effect on the war. By mid-August, Morgenson's steady advance across his neighbours had slowed to a crawl before finally halting in late September.
Though fighting is still ongoing across the planet, the kind of dramatic gain made by Morgenson earlier on in the conflict have all but vanished as weapons filter throughout the militaries of Howl's coalition, and several times the lord's armies have been forced to give up territory to avoid being encircled or outflanked. How this situation will develop in the future remains to be seen, however, the stabilization of the New Oslo conflict has granted the Republic a bit more breathing room when it comes to dealing with the neo-feudal world.
Effect:
Sale of weapons goes through easily enough. Morgenson doesn't react to the sale, so it's unlikely that he's picked up on it.
Addition of new weapons in larger quantities goes a long way towards stabilising the conflict. While the neo-feudal system of New Oslo means that conflicts are less common during the harvests, anyway, bringing the forces to near parity appears to be helping as neither side has a massive advantage over the other.
There's a fair number of updates I didn't bother putting here. Sorry.
Article:
"Oh, thank fuck." - Chief Inspector Jürgen van de Winter in response to the subdivision of their area of operations.
With Republic security forces on New Oslo dangerously overstretched by early July and the Brotherhood of the Righteous growing more popular and organised with every passing month, the Republic parliament quickly authorised a massive increase in personnel —fully five divisions of Republic troops dispatched to aid those already present. Arriving in late July courtesy of the Republic Navy, the approximately fifty-thousand-strong deployment was swiftly scattered across New Oslo; dozens of cities and towns across the planet suddenly found themselves nearby a small but potent military force. Unsurprisingly, the heightened military presence, increased patrols, and the freeing up of resources to dedicate toward investigating old crimes resulted in an immediate glut of arrests; August saw more arrests than had been made in the six months prior.
Well-versed in the skills associated with civil affairs and humanitarian assistance thanks to the Republic's by-this-point-long history of humanitarian intervention, Republic troops did much to ingratiate themselves with the local population; various community outreach projects, combined with the immediate repression of Brotherhood cells, helping to establish a rapport between themselves and the locals. Wounded but hardly killed by the spate of arrests, the Brotherhood of the Righteous responded by intensifying efforts to rally their supporters, the five months to December seeing Brotherhood recruitment become ever-more covert and their previously open harassment adopt more subtle tactics. By the close of the year, with the Brotherhood's reach at least temporarily restricted and many cells outright annihilated thanks to widespread arrests, many New Osloites felt a glimmer of hope for the first time in many years, while others remained sceptical that such peace would last.
Effect
5 divisions from Army 2 moved to New Oslo.
The Brotherhood of the Righteous is forced to go to ground by the year's end, but still remains a threat.
Elected Ruler: President Samuel Winslow
Star Type (Recharge Time): G1V (182 hours)
Position in System: 3
Time to Jump Point: 9.75 days
Number of Satellites: 2 (Livonia & Tecumseh)
Surface Gravity: 1.03
Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)
Equatorial Temperature: 33°C (Temperate)
Surface Water: 78%
Recharging Station: None
HPG Class Type: None
Highest Native Life: Reptile
Population: 200,000,000 (est.)
Socio-Industrial Levels: C-B-B-B-A
==============
Article:
From Turn 25 Update
--[X] Contact Detroit, and the RazorBack Company if possible, and offer support, military equipment/training etc, at a good price.
Wary of the Trinity League's expansionist policy and concerned about how the pirate-state may act in the future should it be allowed to grow unchecked, the Helghan Republic entered the year by opening formal diplomatic relations with the independent system of Detroit. A wealthy system for the Periphery, highly populated, and located relatively close to the Trinity League's territory, Detroit is seen by many within the Republic as a likely target for the League's next invasion and so it comes as little surprise when Detroit's government does the diplomatic equivalent of throwing open all the doors and shutters and welcoming the Republic in. So worried is Detroit's leadership about the future the system faces that they preempt the Republic's offer of aid by lodging an inquiry about possible arms sales with Helghan's delegation mere weeks after they arrive; a heartbeat in terms of national diplomacy.
Eager to slow the Trinity League's expansion and earn goodwill with its neighbours, the Helghan Republic agreed to Detroit's inquiry with brisk cheer and an arms deal worth several million C-bills. In exchange for 3,000,000 C-Bills, the Republic agreed to ship a significant quantity of surplus weaponry, ammunition, and equipment to the independent system and provide the training necessary to use it effectively; the last shipment arriving just a week prior to Christmas. In parallel with the effort to train and equip the system's militia, the Helghan Republic also reached out to the leadership of Razorback Company --a small but capable mercenary outfit under the employ of Detroit-- and offered to discreetly sell them a number of specialist ammunitions. A company-sized unit of Medium mechs, Razorback Company had earned no small amount of notoriety by defending Anti-Capellan Secessionists from Capellan reprisals shortly prior to the 4th Succession War and had spent much of the time since rebuilding and rearming. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the commander of Razorback Company, one Sigyn "Sawtooth" Elliathy, accepted the offer and purchased a significant quantity of the proffered goods.
Effect:
Detroit accepts and purchases several million C-bills worth of gear and training for its militias.
Detroit is aware that the Trinity League is looking at it for expansion opportunities and is busy broadcasting its association with the Republic.
Razorback company is fitted with a large number of specialist ammos
Article:
From Turn 26 Update
-[X] Negotiate Naval Resupply Rights: By negotiating with the Detroit government for the right to construct and maintain a resupply cache in the system, we can keep a (minimal) fleet presence in and around the area to help discourage pirates.
With the Trinity League growing more and more powerful and ambitious every year and its neighbours growing more and more nervous in response, the Helghan Republic made the decision to dissuade the piratical nation from looking rimward for the near future. Determining that fleet patrols in the region would serve their purposes well, the Republic dispatched a diplomatic team to the independent system of Detroit in order to convince the system's leaders to grant the Helghan navy resupply rights. Though naturally cautious of the request and requiring a number of assurances before they would even consider it, the planetary government nonetheless agreed to the Republic's offer after only a few months of negotiation; the final document permitting the Republic to establish a resupply base on the night side of Detroit I --an airless, rocky world tidally-locked to the system's sun.
Effect:
Small Resupply base established in Detroit.
Helghan anti-piracy patrols now operate in the area
Article:
Halfway complete at the year's start due to the dedicated labour of Helghan personnel, work on Detroit's orbital shipyards continued apace as December turned into January. Assisted by legions of next-generation automata whose cephalopodic forms proved ideal for manoeuvring heavy equipment through zero-gravity environments, work on slipway internals progressed zealously. Though beginning the year as little more than empty cages a thousand metres long and two-hundred wide, the three hexagonal slipways were soon filled with all manner of devices as the days ticked by, the semi-automated machinery transported from factories across the Helghan Republic by dedicated hauliers.
Nine months after starting, work on the slipways was completed in early September, and the shipyard's control systems followed suit soon after. Attended by dignitaries from the planet below, the wider Helghan Republic, and several of the Republic's allies, the opening of the shipyard was met with great interest both at home and abroad. According to best estimates, millions of people across the Periphery watched the head of the Republic's Bureau of Ships and the president of Detroit simultaneously press the button to activate the shipyard's running lights; exactly three of whom were engineers tasked with the actual activation process.
A substantial achievement for the Helghan Republic, the shipyard's ability to construct vessels massing as much as 1,000,000 tonnes will no doubt improve the state's ability to project power dramatically. Similarly, completion of the orbital shipyard now grants Helghan naval vessels the opportunity to undergo mid-level repairs and refits without having to undergo the stresses of landing on a planet, a move that has provided notable impacts on the Republic's ability to maintain naval vessels. A significant employer, Detroit's new shipyard also binds the planet ever closer to the broader Republic; the 30,000 or so jobs it provides nothing to sneer at.
[Progress 2/2]
Effect
Orbital shipyard is completed.
Helghan can now build ships massing as much as 1,000,000 tons (limited to 3 every 2 turns due to slipway capacity)
A mid-sized temperate world much like Earth.
Located roughly 100 lightyears north of the New Helghan System.
Long-ranged observation has revealed jumpships arriving in-system at a rate of one every month --thrust analysis of the attached dropships showing them leaving much heavier than they arrive.
Atmospheric analysis has revealed contaminants indicating a moderate to high level of industrialization. Visual inspection has revealed a relatively high-tech civilization spread across all three continents of the planet.
Analysts estimate that Rockwellawan supports a population of more than 70,000,000 people. Given the large size of the planetary industries relative to its population, it's likely that Rockwellawan exports significant quantities of raw materials and finished goods.
===============================
Article:
From Turn 20 Update
Contact with the independent system of Rockwellawan goes remarkably smoothly in comparison to that of other worlds, all things considered. Arriving in-system without incident, the diplomatic vessel dispatched to the system broadcasts a standard greeting to the planetary government and is granted permission to land in a mere three hours. Dropping through the atmosphere of the remarkably Earth-like planet four days later, the diplomatic team aboard the vessel is greeted at the spaceport by Rockwellawan's elected governor, Addison Deveaux, several members of her staff, and a handful of security personnel.
Though quite a distance away from Republic territory, the steady flow of jumpships heading to the Magistracy and the Aurigan Coalition have passed on a fair amount of knowledge about the Republic to the people of Rockwellawan in addition to selling them numerous consumer goods. A former Magistracy colony, the approximately 50,000,000 inhabitants of Rockwellawan are known throughout the region as being fiercely independent and justifiably proud of their homeworld and its democratic mode of governance. Reasonably prosperous in comparison to other planets in this section of the Periphery and quite stable politically speaking, Rockwellawan supplies neighbouring systems with valuable rare earth metals as well as assorted common materials and imports high-tech goods.
Unfortunately, and rather expectedly, as a result of its comparative wealth, Rockwellawan often finds itself the target of pirate groups seeking to seize its riches for themselves. Though most such raids end in failure when they encounter the system's better-than-usual militia forces, pirates are a constant thorn in the side of the planetary government and require it to spend C-bills on defence that would be better spent developing Rockwellawan's native population.
Effect:
Contacted Rockwellawan. Additional diplomatic options are now available
Article:
From Turn 21 Update
A strategically important world located near numerous pirate enclaves and a potential target for wandering pirate groups, Rockwellawan's desire for additional armaments is considered and acted on with remarkable speed by the relevant authorities. Eager to build positive relations with its neighbours (and to expand into the region to its North-West), the Republic extends an offer to sell a variety of high-quality arms at rock bottom prices to the system; in effect trading C-Bills for goodwill. Accepting the deal with alacrity, the Rockwellawan militia soon becomes the proud owner-operator of numerous highly advanced weapon systems not seen in the Periphery since the Star League's collapse.
The next pirate who thinks that stealing the system's mining output is a good idea will certainly be in for a rude awakening...
Effect:
Rockwellawan's militia are reinforced.
Improved relations with Rockwellawan
Article:
From Turn 23 Update
With the pirate-state triptych to Rockwellawan's north-west busy raiding its neighbours and building up its military forces, the pressures on the system's planetary government to provide protection for its people are no doubt immense. Though already quite highly skilled compared with those of its neighbours, the planetary militia of Rockwellawan undoubtedly cannot stand up to the might of ex-CCAF pirates --even ones forced to rely on Periphery-level industry and poorly trained auxiliaries. A relatively wealthy system with a developed economy and a history of being targeted by pirates, Rockwellawan is well aware of all these facts and so it comes as no surprise when they accept the Republic's offer of training.
Arriving in mid-June alongside a veritable tsunami of modern military equipment, the trainers dispatched by the Republic, largely composed of former Raven Interstellar personnel with a smattering of the Republic's own mech battalion involved, immediately get to work. Having participated in the Portland Civil War, the Aurigan Civil War, and the 4th Succession War, these men and women prove to be an invaluable source of information for the Rockwellawan militia. Already considerably better than their counterparts in neighbouring systems, every aspect of the Rockwellawan militia is augmented with all manner of new equipment and training.
In less than six months, the bog-standard Rockwellawan infantry squad is transformed from a well-drilled but under-equipped force of riflemen to a unit equipped with modern C3 hardware and a number of anti-armour weapons. Not to be left out, the system's mech force were similarly trained on and equipped with specialist ammunition types, as was its vehicle force.
Effect
Eagerly accept. Doubtless, the pirate state to their north is the reason why.
Rockwellawan militia greatly improved thanks to helghan gear and tactics.
Article:
From Turn 23 Update (News And Rumours)
Pleasantly surprising many within the Republic's military, Markham's Marauders have taken on a contract to defend the world of Rockwellawan from pirates for the next two years. Arriving in late November, the Marauders arrived just in time to catch the tail end of the year-long training program provided by the Helghan army; the experienced mercenary company approving of the combined arms nature of the affair. According to those present, the mercenaries have done well for themselves since they last operated in the region with their dropship appearing entirely operational and their mechs almost as good as new.
Article:
From Turn 24 Update
With the Trinity League providing ample, albeit unintended, encouragement and the Helghan Republic willing to give the system a great deal of control over the resulting rights, negotiations with the government of Rockwellawan for patrol and passage rights begins and ends to the mutual satisfaction of both parties within a matter of weeks. Though no doubt wary of ceding any amount of power to another nation, the Republic's treatment of nearby systems combined with the growing threat of the Trinity League appears to convince the system's leadership that it is in their best interest to allow Helghan vessels to operate in and around their space; the presence of so many heavily armed vessels sure to deter the League from looking to Rockwellawan.
Effect:
+3 Hasta-class cruisers Anti-Piracy Patrols
Helghan naval vessels can pass through Rockwellawan and patrol space nearby
Article:
High Noon on Highwater
If there was ever a planet that wasn't worth fighting over until recently, it's Highwater. Named for the favourite phrase of the earliest colonists, "Come Hell or Highwater", it's an irony that Highwater is an arid, dusty ball of rock. Even dryer than Caliban, the water necessary for human life is buried deep underground or extracted from the planet's atmosphere, and many a town has turned to dust when the water failed.
The family of Santa Anna were some of the original colonists that settled the planet in 2355 as part of a mining operation run by Magistracy Metals. The Santa Anna's rose to prominence through shrewd investment and exploitation of the planet's resources (including the colonists themselves) and swiftly came to own some of the largest parcels of land on the planet. This easy life lasted until the Reunification War when, in 2588, the Magistracy of Canopus surrendered to the SLDF and Magistracy Metals abandoned the world of Highwater. Many colonists left, but the few that remained were determined to make a living on the world and the Santa Anna's were among them.
When war came again in the form of the Periphery rebellion of the 2770s, Highwater's resources became valuable enough to bring more growth and prosperity to the planet. Unfortunately for those banking on the new gold rush, an unexpected outbreak of peace occurred when Stefan Amaris launched his coup and the Star League Defence Force found itself at war in the Inner Sphere instead. During the carnage that followed, many SLDF units were destroyed, and others fled for the relative safety of the Periphery.
Major John Hamilton and his lancemates were some of these deserters, arriving on the planet in 2781. Though they were greeted with mistrust by the people of Highwater, they nonetheless used their BattleMechs to fight off a group of pirates; all but John dying in the effort. After the heroic battle, he married the daughter of a major land baron and his family became an important force on the world.
No one knows exactly how it started, but in 2801, during a duel of honour over a miner's daughter, Enrique Santa Anna killed Phillip Hamilton in a pistol duel. The history of the feud that ensued is long and storied, but suffice to say that the centuries-long family squabble had long since become a part of the background radiation of the planet's culture and would have remained that way had it not been for the town of Tombstone.
Discovering Gallium-rich ore in the mountains west of town, the lucky strike would have laid the foundations for a third goldrush... were it not for Don Antonio López de Santa Anna and, self-proclaimed, Brigadier General George Hamilton. Launching simultaneous coups against the planet's government inJune of 3041 and imprisoning the survivors, both men have hired mercenary mech companies to augment their own forces and are busy trying to kill each other. New on the scene and with similarly inexperienced pilots, these mercenary outfits nonetheless boast an impressive lineup of mechs with both fielding 450 tons of metal spread between two lances.
While the Helghan Republic would normally be willing to let things play out, the proximity of Highwater to the Republic's borders represents both an embarrassment and an opportunity. Liberating the surviving members of government, annexing the planet, or simply blowing up the forces of both feuding families is on the table, and the Republic has a plethora of ways to carry out its decision.
In 2360, at the end of a blood-soaked war started by a martyred dictator, the power-hungry CEO of Stahl Industries unleashed a genocidal weapon on the inhabitants of Helghan. In the months that followed, blood and water flowed in equal measure as tyrant battled tyrant until, at last, the people...
forums.sufficientvelocity.com
Article:
From Turn 35 Update
With all three asteroids in orbit over Highwater and the vast assemblage of strip miners, boilers, and separators operating without issue, Republic workers moved onto the final stage of Highwater's water seeding project: Delivery. Garbed in their armoured suits and assisted by countless strange automata, personnel from Helghan and a half-dozen other Republic worlds began work on the mass drivers needed to deliver ice to the surface almost immediately. From January till October, these workers laboured in the harsh and unforgiving vacuum above Highwater, the gun-like forms of the mass drivers slowly coming into existence under their tender care.
Sunk into the very surface of the asteroids they intended to consume, the three mass drivers were longer by far than many interstellar spacecraft and twice as ugly. Built with a mind towards efficiency rather than aesthetics, they resembled nothing less than a railway track fifteen metres wide and more than a thousand long; their sole reason for being to launch slugs of ice massing thousands of tons at the planet below.
Fearsome devices capable of great destruction, it came as little surprise when their first ever firing was met with bated breath; the ordinarily jubilant atmosphere riven with anxiety as the countdown approached zero. In a ceremony broadcast live throughout the Republic and rebroadcast dozens of times afterwards, thousands watched as the first of the three mass drivers fired, the electromagnetic catapult launching its water-ice slug towards the planet at a kilometre per second. Four hours later, those same thousands watched as a spit of fire detonated above Highwater's north pole with a sound audible from a thousand kilometres away.
[Progress: 3/3]
Effect
Delivery mass drivers complete. Begin bombarding highwater's polar regions with huge boulders of pure water ice.
Isn't an immediate improvement, but each asteroid will deliver a caspian sea's worth of water per metre of surface ice harvested with there being decades of ice to harvest.
Future mass drivers will be built in the background
Article:
From Turn 36 Update "Ha!" - Ms Edna M. Fusca, senior basisschool teacher when offered a role on Highwater.
In contrast, Helghan efforts to establish a formal education system on Highwater ran into problems from the word go. Though the Republic's population of teachers had recovered significantly after being given several years, the overall population of primary and secondary level educators remained low well into 3045, and few proved willing to uproot their lives for a planet like Highwater. According to reports from the relevant departments, out of every three teachers offered a role on Highwater, two rejected the move regardless of the enticements offered; the minuscule size of the population and their sheer dispersal across its surface working against it to a mind boggling degree.
Nonetheless, the Republic persevered in its efforts to educate, numerous schools built throughout Highwater's towns and radio education services offered for those they couldn't reach. Doubling down on attempts to attract teachers, those tasked with staffing said schools declared victory in late October of 3045; more than a few described it as the toughest battle of their careers despite previously having had to build tens of thousands of schools in under a year. Effect
Attempt to establish formal schools on Highwater runs into the problem that very few people who are free to actually move there. While it's ultimately completed after a great deal of effort and some concessions made to class sizes, Helghan teachers unions warn that no more major education projects should be run until 3047 to give the labour pool time to recharge.
Article:
From Turn 32 update
Ever willing to expand the reach of the Helghan diplomatic service in the face of a galaxy riven by war, Republic envoys soon find themselves guests of the Mantharaka government; the cold, dry world accommodating for a people used to Helghan's extremes. Warmer than Helghan and with lower gravity, fewer dangerous animals, a less foetid atmosphere, and significant quantities of valuable minerals, Mantharaka is very much the more pleasant sister of Helghan and is considered marginally habitable by the galaxy at large. Settled in the mid-28th century to feed the industries of neighbouring systems, the fortunes of Mantharaka have had several ups and downs over the centuries with many local industries allowed to fall farrow to better extract the planet's mineral wealth.
Originally named Don't (understandably so due to its lack of habitability), Mantharaka was part of the two-planet Duchy of Don't for less than 100 years before the Duchy's dissolution as a result of political strife. Having maintained the familiar neo-feudal government structure so common across the galaxy, Mantharaka has managed to scrape by over the years without much in the way of major disruption; the largest cause of instability being the occasional pirate raid and the steadily worsening wealth inequality. Home to roughly five million people, of which more than 250,000 are transient workers from out-system, Mantharaka's economy is almost entirely dependent on the export of ores to companies like Majesty Metals and Manufacturing, and its titanium appears as far afield as Belle Isle in the Taurian Concordat. Though rich in mineral wealth, much of the money produced by the export and use of said materials is never seen by the average Mantharakan; most C-Bills stay off-world and only 1 in 100 of the remainder filter down to street level.
Technically food-independent thanks to hardy native plants able to survive the planet's low temperatures and aridity, Mantharaka nonetheless imports a great deal of food from neighbouring systems thanks to said plants' universally bland taste and fibrous texture. While local farmers have spent centuries trying to crack the market, Terran plants find much of the planet unpleasant without expensive genetic alterations that are only available off-world, and a soletta array like the kind above New Oslo remains in the realm of dreams.
Effect
Made contact with Mantharaka (Prev. Don't). Has population of ~5 million and resembles a slightly more habitable version of Helghan.
Article:
From Turn 34 Update
Having recently come into ownership of a number of terraforming technologies and hoping to further cement its control of the local region, the Helghan Republic launched a diplomatic assault on Mantharaka come the new year. Dispatched aboard swiftly flying cutters, Helghan diplomats met with their Mantharakan opposites and used every trick in the book to make friends and influence people; swimming pools of alcohol drunk and feasts worth of food devoured. Keeping the Republic's politics on the down low, Republic envoys showcased everything from the Republic's advanced technology to its varied (and delicious) foodstuffs until, by June's end, all suspicion had been thrown to the wind and the mining world's rulers agreed to join the Republic.
Though eager enough to sign over control of Don't and become part of the Republic, the planet's ruling family nonetheless had a precondition to their signature. Colder and dryer compared to those Earthlike planets comparatively common in the Inner Sphere, Mantharaka's farmers had forever struggled to grow terran crops in their own soil. Though hardy native plants and animals meant that few people starved, most found them bland and unappetizing to eat, and thus the planet's imports were dominated by food imports from the Aurigan Reach and beyond. Informed that the Republic could help rectify that issue, doing so was quickly made a precondition of Mantharaka's admission into the Republic, and the Republic agreed just as quickly.
Effect
Mantharaka agrees to join the Republic in exchange for the Republic helping develop better xenofarming [Progress: 0/2] and a small soletta array [Progress: 0/1]
-3 influence (Mantharaka)
-2 influence (Contrilla)
Note: Contrilla has 0 info about it available anywhere, so I rolled up a planet using the planet-gen rules and got the follow results:
Gravity
Water
Toxicity
Density
Temperature
Highest Life
1.35
60%-79%
Breathable
Thin
30-39 °C (Mild-Temperate)
Reptilian
Article:
From Turn 34 Update
Having recently come into ownership of a number of terraforming technologies and hoping to further cement its control of the local region, the Helghan Republic launched a diplomatic assault on Mantharaka come the new year. Dispatched aboard swiftly flying cutters, Helghan diplomats met with their Mantharakan opposites and used every trick in the book to make friends and influence people; swimming pools of alcohol drunk and feasts worth of food devoured. Keeping the Republic's politics on the down low, Republic envoys showcased everything from the Republic's advanced technology to its varied (and delicious) foodstuffs until, by June's end, all suspicion had been thrown to the wind and the mining world's rulers agreed to join the Republic.
Though eager enough to sign over control of Don't and become part of the Republic, the planet's ruling family nonetheless had a precondition to their signature. Colder and dryer compared to those Earthlike planets comparatively common in the Inner Sphere, Mantharaka's farmers had forever struggled to grow terran crops in their own soil. Though hardy native plants and animals meant that few people starved, most found them bland and unappetizing to eat, and thus the planet's imports were dominated by food imports from the Aurigan Reach and beyond. Informed that the Republic could help rectify that issue, doing so was quickly made a precondition of Mantharaka's admission into the Republic, and the Republic agreed just as quickly.
Effect
Mantharaka agrees to join the Republic in exchange for the Republic helping develop better xenofarming [Progress: 0/2] and a small soletta array [Progress: 0/1]
-3 influence (Mantharaka)
-2 influence (Contrilla)
Article:
"Ahh, the Holbrook Starling. Neither native to Rogue's Holbrook region nor related to the Terran Starling. Fascinating birds. Distantly related to the moon's megaparrots, but a hundred times smaller and driven to eusociality.
My order? What do y- Oh yes. A small latte, please." - Doctor Ivan Flemming, Helghan Ornithologist, ordering coffee.
Continuing last year's efforts with aplomb, Helghan's research teams arrowed in on those species of plants and animals that showed the greatest potential and doubled down on them, trial farms doubling in size by mid-February and doubling again a few months later. Aided by minuscule automata and next-generation observation systems, Helghan scientists and agronomists monitored the growth of all manner of flora and fauna in excruciating detail; the gigabytes of data produced used to judge their viability as food sources. Subjected to the most exacting standards by the harshest critics, this data saw dozens upon dozens of species rejected from use on Mantharaka over 3045, flaws both minute and colossal seeing them removed from the running.
By the time the year drew to a close, Helghan research teams had not only produced a list of twenty species that would thrive on Mantharaka if introduced but had also done much of the work of acclimating them to the environment. Able to survive Mantharaka's cold temperatures, dry landscapes, wild weather, and dangerous parasites, farming these species would dramatically change the nature and quantity of the planet's imports while also benefiting native farmers substantially. The news that the research teams on Helghan had successfully identified and acclimated species that could thrive on Mantharaka was met with great enthusiasm by Mantharakites; those involved in the project were reportedly unable to sober up for a week for all the free drinks slung their way.
Quite understandably, the prospect of being able to produce more of their own food and reduce their reliance on imports was incredibly appealing to the people of Mantharaka, and they eagerly awaited the introduction of the new species. However, not everyone proved happy to receive the news. Food importers, no doubt seeing their profits threatened by future increases in the amount and quality of food grown locally, scrambled to extract what wealth they could by dumping their stocks at low prices. Many such importers were also vocally upset with the Helghan Republic, though generations of making money by selling overpriced food had left few people with sympathy for them.
[Progress: 2/2]
Effect
Project completes. Mantharaka really happy about it since it proves you were being honest
Food prices decrease notably and everyone is happier except those who made a killing (quite literally, in fact) off exploiting people's need for food (and who cares what they think. Everyone hates them.)
Article:
From Turn 35 Update
Seeing yet more ocean worlds bereft of Helghan assistance, or perhaps just desiring new beachside conference locations, the Helghan government began 3044 by graciously reaching out to the worlds of Spencer and Cassilda and offering technical and industrial aid in exchange for joining the Republic.
Arriving aboard a diplomatic cutter by mid-March, Helghan diplomats to Spencer were met with a small but powerful delegation from the planetary government; the head of aquaculture greeted them in person before inviting them to speak directly to the ruling council. A backwater planet in terms of both population and industry, Spencer's farmers had long been locked in a struggle against the local wildlife; foodstuffs from Earth and other systems were the beloved targets of the largely inedible native fish. Constantly fighting to expand their aquaculture efforts to feed the growing population, Spencer's farmers had previously benefited from Helghan's outreach efforts and the insular yet powerful group once more proved willing to hear out the Republic.
Speaking with their peers for many weeks, Helghan diplomats extolled the potential benefits of joining the Republic like they were going out of fashion, the men and women making sure to emphasise recent breakthroughs in terraforming and planetary development. Stony-faced, the council listened as negotiators spoke of automated factories, vertical farms, alien crops, and other technologies that could lessen the burden on Spencer's people. Finally, after dozens of back-and-forth negotiations covering every topic that could be imagined, a deal was struck.
In exchange for Spencer joining the Helghan Republic as a full-fledged member with all the rights and responsibilities entailed, the Helghan Republic would have to pledge to do two things. Firstly, the Republic would have to begin identifying alien species suitable for farming on Spencer and developing the necessary infrastructure to grow them by the end of 3046. And secondly, the Republic would have to start work on clearing out native pest species using targeted plagues the year after the technology became available. Failure to carry out either one of these pledges would, naturally, result in the planet leaving the Republic, with all the loss of face that would incur.
Effect
Spencer agrees to start the process of joining the Republic so long as it starts work on figuring out what alien species could be farmed safely and on killing local species by the end of 3046 (I.E a xenofarming project and gene-plague project).
-2 influence
Article:
From Turn 36 Update "Them Helghan fellas'r powerful odd, their rhum ain't worth damn, and they talk all funny like, but they ain't liars. Ain't too proud to admit it." - Native Spencerite, speaking in an interview to local media.
A pleasant and habitable world that nonetheless struggled to produce adequate food from native piscine sources, the world of Spencer had agreed to join the Republic only on the condition that the state assisted in developing alternate food sources ASAP. A more or less reliable sort, the Helghan Republic quickly followed through on this promise; parliament authorised a substantial xenofarming project to figure out what life forms could thrive in Spencer's warm and shallow seas. Moving with almost unseemly haste due to the prodigious budget included in the authorisation, Helghan scientists and aquacultural farmers naturally turned to the Ministry for the Future for its list of farmable organisms.
Cloistered in a quintet of research stations scattered across the paradisiacal planet, these research teams soon identified three hundred or so species rejected for use on Helghan due to their temperature sensitivity; examples of every one ordered from their, by-now, very wealthy suppliers. Arriving via Jump and Warpship only a few months later and deposited at said research stations, these organisms were prodded and poked in countless experiments, with many rejected and many more passing muster.
With twenty species selected from a list once numbering over three hundred strong, Republic research teams ended the year quietly preparing for the first large-scale aquacultural tests; curious Spencerites eager to see if the Republic would come through.
[Progress: 1/2]
Effect
Work on farming species able to grow in Spencer's waters begins.
Quick start sees the people of Spencer very happy (presumably)
Article:
From Turn 37 Update "Remember, genes are NOT blueprints. You cannot, for example, insert "the gene that makes cows cow-sized" into a salmon and get cow-sized salmon steaks. There are no genes for that. What you CAN do with genes is chemistry, since DNA codes for specific chemicals. We can, for instance, replace the genes responsible for producing the arsenic-binding proteins that give the Silver Tang its lustre with ones that bind Calcium instead. The fish's beauty will suffer, but whoever eats it won't." - Doctor Ava Morgan (Konstantine Institute of Technology). Visiting Lecturer, University of Luxen.
To the mild displeasure of Republic scientists halfway through their experiments and the extraordinary interest of local Spencerites, January 3046 saw the Helghan Republic put a hold on efforts to develop a xenofarming programme on the planet thanks to recent developments in the field of genetic engineering, new gene tailoring tools having rendered all other processes largely obsolete. Undeterred by the disappointment of its scientists and keen to fulfil its promise to the people of Spencer, the Republic naturally turned to this new toolset to carry out its obligations; late February seeing the quintet of research stations established over 3045 transformed into centres for experimentation on Spencer's native life. Forced to discard their previous list of hopefuls in acknowledgement of the fact that native species are perfectly suited to the ecosystem, Helghan scientists instead turned to the catalogue of well-known and utterly inedible fish that Spencer's inhabitants developed over the centuries, a few weeks of effort resulting in a shortlist of a dozen species appearing on the relevant desks.
Containing everything from the near-transparent Zephyr Eel to the bizarrely named Hyperspace Goby, the list of species represented an irresistible challenge for Helghan biologists and genetic engineers, one attractive enough to draw them out of their slump. Rapidly picking up interest and morale as a result of the questions posed, Republic scientists entered June with an almost unseemly interest in seeing what they could make happen with their new tools; a startling array of lifeforms filling the research station tanks of the research stations in a matter of months. So enthused were the personnel involved that, by the close of 3046, they had created fifty species from the initial list of twelve, each completely edible, highly nutritious, and incapable of breeding with their progenitor species.
Understandably, the response by Spencerites to the programme's success has been nothing short of jubilant; those involved in the nitty-gritty of food production hail it as the greatest revolution in local aquaculture since the discovery that the endemic blisterweed could be used as feedstock for Terran fish with sufficient boiling. That the Republic capped the project off by making the resulting organisms freely available to any aquaculture centre that asks has only gilded the lily, enthusiasm for joining the Republic spreading like wildfire. While this will have little impact on Spencer's ongoing integration into the Republic, Spencerite enthusiasm has spread the news across the Periphery, earning the Republic some goodwill.
Effect
+2 influence
Xenofarming project autocompletes. Spencer will grow to an A agricultural rating in <5 years.
Article:
-[x] Contact the inhabitants of Cassilda
In contrast to the political complexities of the Lyreton and Herotitus systems, Helghan diplomats find Cassilda to be a walk in the park by comparison. Having arrived in early November to a quiet welcome by the planet's ruling noble house and its vassals, Republic diplomats found themselves walking the streets and boulevards of an oceanic world much like Independence. Dotted with volcanic islands that form vast archipelagos in the warm tropical seas, Cassilda is a pleasant world with a population of approximately 11 million and average industry for its location in the Periphery. Though gravity on Cassilda is heavier than that on Earth, it is merely uncomfortable for a time rather than actively unpleasant at only 1.2Gs.
Though the planet's volcanism is often problematic for its inhabitants due to the occasional shower of pumice from the sky, the planet's largest cities have been built on islands whose volcanoes are either long extinct or dormant and so are not at risk of sudden destruction. In addition, while eruptions often cover the ground with a layer of ash thick enough to choke plants of sunlight, the majority of the planet's food is sourced from the oceans and as such there is little hunger. However, while this may all sound idyllic, Cassilda does have one very big thing stopping it from being a second Independence: that being the fact its oceans are filled with a vast and bewildering array of predatory animals.
Ranging from armour-plated fish reminiscent of the Dunkleosteus to things more akin to the Megalodon, Cassilda's seas are full of terrible monsters that primarily feed off the bounty of the sea. While not often responsible for attacks on humans due to reasons of habitat and preferred prey, attacks are hardly uncommon and can often disrupt both fishing expeditions and aquaculture. Not the most pressing issue by any means, losses to Cassilda's sea creatures are nonetheless irritating and costly to replace and can often disrupt sea-travel in the worst instances. Unsurprisingly given the circumstances, much of the planetary nobility's claim to fame comes from hunting down and slaying a particularly deadly predator who displays (or seems to display) a taste for humans.
Effect
Made contact with Cassilda
Article:
[X] Both Spencer and Cassilda face significant difficulties with native undersea life. Offer to distribute Helghan's wildlife control technologies under subsidized license to improve relations with those planets.
Already supplying Spencer and Cassilda with subsidised foodstuffs, it was almost anticlimactic when the Helghan Republic elected to extend its goodwill policy to include subsidised wildlife control technologies. With the primary concern of both ocean worlds being the production of foodstuffs, the Republic initially assumed that it would be a simple matter of adjusting existing technologies to account for the conditions particular to each planet and ensuring they remain affordable. Unfortunately for all involved, however, things proved to be rather more complicated than they first appeared.
On Cassilda, farmers saw some success deploying control technologies with the various ultrasonic, subsonic, and electromagnetic deterrent devices able to keep most coastal terrors away from their kelp and fish farms. The resulting drop in predation of both animals and humans naturally ensured that their end-of-season yields were substantially higher than that of previous years and saw a similar drop in food prices. Unfortunately for those hoping for an easy win, this success was not replicated by inter-island cargo ships equipped with the devices.
Starting in late July and continuing until September, a series of highly publicised vanishings plagued ships traversing the deep-sea routes between the planetary capital and its second-largest island-city. Occurring only to ships equipped with deterrent devices and even then only those ships whose route took them within a few dozen kilometres of the Caranthas Abyss, it was eventually determined that the frequencies in use by these devices were aggravating some of Cassilda's largest predators and causing them to attack the vessels. While numerous experiments were conducted to try and find the frequency (or frequencies) that would work to dissuade the leviathans, this effort proved to be in vain as frequencies that triggered flight in one species would trigger fight in another.
That said, even with the deterrents having to be removed from oceangoing ships heading through deep water, the population of Cassilda view the Republic with increased positivity compared to the same time last year. Having significantly lowered the price of food through increased yields and subsidised imports and also having dramatically lowered the number of injuries and deaths in water off cities and towns, the population values their relationship with the Republic quite highly.
Similarly, while the deployment of these technologies to Spencer did much to reduce yield loss from native life, it was hardly a cure for all their ills. Farmers on Spencer, though now able to produce greater yields from the same amount of ocean and coastline, nonetheless were still required to drive out native life before they could expand their farming operations. A difficult and time-consuming process even with the assistance of wildlife deterrents, the result has been only a gradual improvement in relations with the Republic and not the dramatic shifts seen elsewhere.
Effect
Cassilda grows much happier with the Republic
Spencer grows a little happier with the Republic
While hardly a permanent solution in either case, it's better than nothing (further efforts will require the Targeted Gene-Plagues research)
Article:
-[X] Recruit Spencer and Cassilda: in exchange for joining the nation, the Helghan Republic offers to use its terraforming technology and industry to improve the quality of life on both worlds.
Seeing yet more ocean worlds bereft of Helghan assistance, or perhaps just desiring new beachside conference locations, the Helghan government began 3044 by graciously reaching out to the worlds of Spencer and Cassilda and offering technical and industrial aid in exchange for joining the Republic.
Arriving aboard a diplomatic cutter by mid-March, Helghan diplomats to Spencer were met with a small but powerful delegation from the planetary government; the head of aquaculture greeted them in person before inviting them to speak directly to the ruling council. A backwater planet in terms of both population and industry, Spencer's farmers had long been locked in a struggle against the local wildlife; foodstuffs from Earth and other systems were the beloved targets of the largely inedible native fish. Constantly fighting to expand their aquaculture efforts to feed the growing population, Spencer's farmers had previously benefited from Helghan's outreach efforts and the insular yet powerful group once more proved willing to hear out the Republic.
Speaking with their peers for many weeks, Helghan diplomats extolled the potential benefits of joining the Republic like they were going out of fashion, the men and women making sure to emphasise recent breakthroughs in terraforming and planetary development. Stony-faced, the council listened as negotiators spoke of automated factories, vertical farms, alien crops, and other technologies that could lessen the burden on Spencer's people. Finally, after dozens of back-and-forth negotiations covering every topic that could be imagined, a deal was struck.
In exchange for Spencer joining the Helghan Republic as a full-fledged member with all the rights and responsibilities entailed, the Helghan Republic would have to pledge to do two things. Firstly, the Republic would have to begin identifying alien species suitable for farming on Spencer and developing the necessary infrastructure to grow them by the end of 3046. And secondly, the Republic would have to start work on clearing out native pest species using targeted plagues the year after the technology became available. Failure to carry out either one of these pledges would, naturally, result in the planet leaving the Republic, with all the loss of face that would incur.
Helghan Diplomats to Cassilda, meanwhile, had a very different experience.
While treated with the same respect as their colleagues on Spencer, those diplomats dispatched to Cassilda found less fertile soil for their arguments despite their best efforts. At the cost of countless liver cells and many sleepless nights, Republic negotiators tried and failed to sway the ruling houses of Cassilda to consider joining the nation; only a handful of nobles proved supportive of the idea and the rest doubtful at best. Though the general public's opinion of the Republic was high thanks to the nation's assistance in the fight against the myriad sea monsters that plagued the planet, some among the nobility viewed the relative failure of wildlife deterrents as a symbol of the Republic's inability to truly help.
In a final statement to the negotiation team, Cassilda's rulers declared outright that a union with the Republic would only be considered if the creatures of the Caranthas Abyss were killed off, or, they joked, the Republic developed guard sharks.
Effect
Spencer agrees to start the process of joining the Republic so long as it starts work on figuring out what alien species could be farmed safely and on killing local species by the end of 3046 (I.E a xenofarming project and gene-plague project).
-2 influence
Cassilda will only consider joining if the Republic either wipes out the uber predators with targeted plagues or figures out some way of driving them off with domesticated species (they say the latter like a joke, but…)
Article:
[x] Xeno-Domestication (Cassilda): Technically offered as a joke, developing a species of domesticated ocean predator for the people of Cassilda would allow them to drive away creatures from the Caranthas Abyss and earn a great deal of (confused) goodwill and earn their vote to join the Republic. [Progress: 0/3]
Initially presented as a joke by a member of the Cassilda diplomatic team, the idea of training native species to take on the role of guard dogs took hold among one low-ranking member of the Helghan party; the man commissioned a study into the matter in January of 3045. Granted a limited budget and expected to eliminate a joke option, Helghan scientists involved in the study were very much surprised by early results that suggested training guard sharks would be both technically possible and reasonably cost-effective. With the initial study proving oddly positive and efforts to otherwise negotiate Cassilda into the Republic stalling out by March, those involved raised the matter with their incredulous superiors, who, in turn, raised it with their incredulous superiors in a chain that replicated itself a half dozen times.
Finally arriving on the desk of Yan Inaros, the head of the Republic's Ministry for Biological Development, in late August, matters seemed to take on a life of their own. Pressured for over a year by a diplomatic service desperate for any enticement they could offer Cassilda, Inaros grudgingly approved a greatly expanded study whose intent was to rigorously examine the workability of the idea and expose any flaws. Once again, all involved were surprised when the five-month follow-up study indicated that training native shark analogues to act as guard dogs was both technically feasible and potentially cheaper than other, still hypothetical, solutions.
While the study raised several potential issues relating to the ethics of genetically manipulating native species to domesticate them, the potential environmental impacts, and the potential for said animals to disobey or ignore orders in stressful situations, the lack of better ideas forced the Republic's hand. Bringing the matter to the attention of the Cassildan diplomatic party in late November, the Republic was unsurprised when their opposites proved dubious of the proposal. Nevertheless, desperate for an in with the ocean world and with evidence suggesting that it might work, Republic personnel successfully convinced the Cassildans to let them try by mid-December; the independent systems agreed to let the Republic run a pilot study so long as they pay for everything.
Sheepish but unwilling to back down, the Helghan Republic ended 3045 preparing to do something either incredibly stupid or incredibly clever.
[Progress: 1/3]
Effect
Solid progress made. No one can believe it, but they're willing to see if you can pull it off.
Article:
-[X] Xeno-Domestication (Cassilda): Technically offered as a joke, developing a species of domesticated ocean predator for the people of Cassilda would allow them to drive away creatures from the Caranthas Abyss, earn a great deal of (confused) goodwill, and gain their vote to join the Republic. [Progress: 1/2] [Reduced from 3 due to 25% Gene-Tailoring Tech] "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" - Graffiti written on Behaviour Monitoring Tank 5, Wolf Shark Domestication project. Author unknown.
Initially offered as a joke by a member of Cassilda's diplomatic team before being picked up by a lone Helghan scientist and, later, progressively more bewildered Republic officials, the unwillingness of anyone on the Republic's side to back down saw the programme officially start on January 1st, 3046; a substantial budget given over to bemused Republic scientists. Though somewhat embarrassed that it seemed to be achievable, the twenty or so scientists assigned the task began their work by honing in on what they considered the ideal species to start work with; the three species initially studied quickly reduced to one —a mid-sized pack hunter whose chromatophore-laced skin is a communication tool. Primarily known as Wolf Sharks due to their behaviour, these pack hunters are well-known on Cassilda for taking down prey much larger than themselves; stories abound in Cassildan harbour taverns of their endurance and intelligence.
With the Wolf Sharks selected as the foundation for the experiment, the Helghan team embarked on a first-of-its-kind journey to turn the deadly predators into partners for Cassilda's many ocean-going vessels; the ultimate hope being to dissuade the creatures that call the Caranthas Abyss home from attacking. Armed with the same tools that proved so disruptive on Spencer, the project staff quickly got to work; a breeding population of Wolf Sharks secured by March's close, and the real work began shortly after. Over mere months, the research team achieved results that would have previously taken countless painstaking years, vast leaps in the sharks' ability to communicate with humans and their willingness to work for food seen after only a single generation. As the project gained momentum and achieved milestone after milestone, the Republic's broader scientific community soon started following the experiment, with dozens of research papers hitting scientific journals across the Periphery thanks to the ground-breaking work performed.
Coming as a shock to all involved in okaying the project, few of whom expected it to pan out and even fewer who thought it'd succeed so quickly, the end of December saw the first batch of domesticated Wolf Sharks released into the waters outside the research station; the eight hermaphroditic creatures able to obey complex gestural and pictorial commands. While testing in the wild has thus far proven limited, initial testing with some of Cassilda's smaller sea monsters has proven encouraging thus far. For its part, the government of Cassilda has responded to the move with confused appreciation, a mood shared by the population at large. With everyone on both sides of the diplomatic battlefield simultaneously happy and confused, it doesn't take long before Cassilda's government agrees to join the Republic... after a year-long Cassildan-run study into the Wolf Sharks' efficacy to start in early 3047.
[Progress: 2/2]
Effect
Genetic engineering of one of Cassila's native shark-analogues succeeds in producing a viable species of companion… shark?
+2 influence
Cassilda will join the Republic pending the final result of the 3047 study.
Action points are used to carry out actions every turn (duh).
You get a limited number of Action points per turn, and they do not accumulate.
You get 2 Action Points to start, and an additional action point for every billion people in your civilisation.
Additional Action Points may be granted at my discretion, and the total may be capped in the future.
Actions:
You have 3 Action Points to spend.
[] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating] OR
[] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye] OR
[] Turn a blind eye: Purposefully giving Helghan's planet-wide black market some breathing space will make your population happier, but it'll also let it expand into more objectionable operations. [Not possible if crushing the black market]
[] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[] Upgrade an army: Produce enough support drones to supply one per squad in one army.
[] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[] Decontaminate the Pyrrhus City ruins: Evacuated of civilians and nuked by the most devoted followers of Scolar Visari during the darkest days of the 2nd Extrasolar War, the ruins of Helghan's capital are a stark reminder of the costs of war. Splattered with pockets of irradiated Petrusite and other deadly materials, Pyrrhus must be detoxified before it can be rebuilt. [This is a long-term project with an unclear end date. The assigned action will be locked in place until completed]
[] Fund Medical Research
[] Fund Physics Research
[] Fund Automation Research
[] Fund Irradiated Petrusite Research: Irradiated Petrusite brought you here, now it's time to find out how it can get you back to Alpha Centauri. Unfortunately, it seems that during the chaos of the transitional period, mus of Jorhan Stahl's research into the mysterious substance was destroyed by the vying factions and we'll have to begin again.
[] Send out Explorers: With the irradiated petrusite storms having cleared, you can now send out exploration craft to map the surrounding systems.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
FYI, longterm actions like the cleanup of Pyrrhus city will lock the assigned action until the project is completed. Sorry about that, I totally forgot to mention it earlier.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
Reasoning :
1) Don't feel like crushing the unions immediately, we're low on stability as it is, so let's try negotiation first.
2) I'm not picking an option of the Black Market, because both options are terrible. Cracking down is going to result in disruptions. There are currently people relying on the black market (for some reason, that we need to find and adress), so a violent crackdown will cause serious issues and destabilization. Turning a blind eye however is inviting crime. Therefore, I ignore till we have the option to deal with the structural issues that cause the problem.
3) Getting the factory back online is good. Petrusite is not only the driving system behind our weaponry, but also a potent energy source. We'll need it for our industry.
4) Invest in automation as the best proxy to getting our economy back on track.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
Adhoc vote count started by King50000 on Jan 20, 2019 at 10:15 AM, finished with 9 posts and 8 votes.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Decontaminate the Pyrrhus City ruins: Evacuated of civilians and nuked by the most devoted followers of Scolar Visari during the darkest days of the 2nd Extrasolar War, the ruins of Helghan's capital are a stark reminder of the costs of war. Splattered with pockets of irradiated Petrusite and other deadly materials, Pyrrhus must be detoxified before it can be rebuilt. [This is a long-term project with an unclear end date. The assigned action will be locked in place until completed]
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
Adhoc vote count started by King50000 on Jan 20, 2019 at 1:01 PM, finished with 10 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Decontaminate the Pyrrhus City ruins: Evacuated of civilians and nuked by the most devoted followers of Scolar Visari during the darkest days of the 2nd Extrasolar War, the ruins of Helghan's capital are a stark reminder of the costs of war. Splattered with pockets of irradiated Petrusite and other deadly materials, Pyrrhus must be detoxified before it can be rebuilt. [This is a long-term project with an unclear end date. The assigned action will be locked in place until completed]
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
Can we please not go for Impose Rationing? We're already having 1 union strike, if we start rationing food we're most likely going to have open revolts against us, which would not be a good thing.
Can we please not go for Impose Rationing? We're already having 1 union strike, if we start rationing food we're most likely going to have open revolts against us, which would not be a good thing.
And when people start going hungry because you voted to not ration food, they'll definitely revolt. At least by rationing we'll avoid people starving to death like you seem to want.
Can we please not go for Impose Rationing? We're already having 1 union strike, if we start rationing food we're most likely going to have open revolts against us, which would not be a good thing.
That means that people who're buying their food from the black market, will suddenly find both their normal food rationed and their black market supply destroyed. It's a very bad disruption, which will cause localized starvation.
And when people start going hungry because you voted to not ration food, they'll definitely revolt. At least by rationing we'll avoid people starving to death like you seem to want.
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
We currently have three plans with three votes each, so I'm leaving the voting period open for another hour.
Adhoc vote count started by prometheus110 on Jan 21, 2019 at 3:22 AM, finished with 14 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Decontaminate the Pyrrhus City ruins: Evacuated of civilians and nuked by the most devoted followers of Scolar Visari during the darkest days of the 2nd Extrasolar War, the ruins of Helghan's capital are a stark reminder of the costs of war. Splattered with pockets of irradiated Petrusite and other deadly materials, Pyrrhus must be detoxified before it can be rebuilt. [This is a long-term project with an unclear end date. The assigned action will be locked in place until completed]
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
I'll do the tally and start writing. With luck, it should be out tomorrow afternoon.
Adhoc vote count started by prometheus110 on Jan 21, 2019 at 4:42 AM, finished with 17 posts and 11 votes.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Impose Rationing: Rationing food lowers the risk of starvation due to interruptions to the food supply but will impact our support amongst the people.
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research
[X] Send an army to the Maelstra region to suppress union strikes: Use whatever means are necessary to get those factories running. [Not possible if negotiating]
[X] Pursue the black market: Significant quantities of essential supplies are disappearing off of trains from Helghan's few fertile regions and are appearing on the black market. Hunting down the criminals responsible will ease the food-security situation. [Not possible if turning a blind eye]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
Tiebreaker roll:
Roll of 1, 2, or 3 on a D6 = option 1. Roll of 4, 5, or 6 = option 2
Option 1: Negotiate with unions, pursue black market, impose food rationing.
Option 2: Negotiate with unions, repair Tharsis refinery, fund automation research.
Roll = 4. Option 2 wins!
[X] Negotiate with unions in the Maelstra region: The striking workers only want to be able to provide for their families. [Not possible if an army is sent]
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery: The Tharsis refinery was once the pride and joy of the Helghan Petrusite industry before being destroyed during the 2nd Extrasolar War. Capable of refining thousands of tons of Petrusite per day, the Tharsis refinery provided the bulk of the petrusite used by the Helghast military. [3 turns to complete. Will begin limited operations after 1]
[X] Fund Automation Research Number of voters: 4
With the productivity of the region dropping precipitously as more and more workers strike, you swiftly dispatch your best arbitrators in an attempt to resolve the root causes post haste. Unfortunately, while your negotiators are able to bring the various factions to the table --or barricades, as is the case in several places--, they're currently unable to devise an accord that satisfies everyone. As such, negotiations between the workers and industrialists have stalled with small groups on both sides calling for force to be used to resolve the conflict.
Luckily, however, things stalled shortly after several of the striking factions agreed to return to work; so the free-fall of the region's productivity has been arrested --though who knows for how long. Additionally, while your arbitrators have not yet been able to come up with a solution, the fact that the Helghan government made the dispute such a priority did win you some support on both sides.
Effect: -- No change in economic situation
-- +2% popularity for the Helghast Workers Union Party
[X] Repair the Tharsis Petrusite refinery.
With the assent of the government and a frankly ludicrous budget, repairs on the Tharsis Refinery begin at once.
Within the first few months of the year, the engineers involved are able to restore large parts of the refining system thanks to tireless efforts and several spots of good fortune. By June of 2364, and flying in the face of even the most generous estimates, the first trickle of Petrusite flows into the storage yards of Constantine City ready for redistribution to power-hungry industrial and civilian sectors.
While Tharsis isn't producing even a fraction of the Petrusite it did during the height of the war, your engineers promise you that it won't be long now before it's back up and running at full capacity.
Effect: -- Major Repair Progress (2/3)
[X] Fund Automation Research.
Unfortunately, it seems as if the old adage that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" holds true even today.
While your engineers were able to work miracles by restoring the Tharsis refinery back to life, the scientists involved in your automation research efforts were not quite so lucky. After a spate of boondoggles such as misappropriated funding, automata going haywire, patent disputes, and more, the state of Helghan automation is effectively unchanged.
Effect: -- Embarrassment
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Events and Rumors:
A dozen homeless former inhabitants of Phyruss city attempted to retrieve personal belonging from the ruins. Three were vapourised when they stumbled upon a pocket of irradiated petrusite and another two suffered severe burns --radiation, chemical, and thermal. A nearby aerial patrol discovered them shortly after and was able to call in a recovery team. The two burn victims are expected to make a full recovery, though odds are that they will endure some kind of cancer in the next few years.
Stahl Arms has finally gone into administration. After Jorhan Stahl's attempted coup, the destruction wrought by the irradiated Petrusite weapons, and the viscious conflicts that followed; the company accrued vast debts that it has so far been unable to pay off. Due to the importance of the company to the Helghast military, the government has elected to take over Stahl Arms and install a slew of new --and hopefully less evil-- managers.
Farmhands in Kvenland set fire to the offices of a mid-sized agricultural enterprise. During their arrest, the farmhands claimed they were driven to it by the company's criminal neglect and a recent spate of workplace deaths.
Several VC5 Arc Rifles have been produced using Petrusite from the newly repaired Tharsis refinery. While the refinery complex can't produce enough Petrusite to enable full-scale production, the thought that the Helghan military may be armed with Arc Rifles in the future is a heady one.
