[X] Plan Conference Call against the World
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...
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International Aid
--[X] Accept offers of assistance from ORDI nations (Pyrric Rabies Vaccine costs 0.1 Research points)/Prototype Gauss Rifle [0.4/--]
With Republic citizens and leaders desperate for protection against possible future attacks utilizing Pyrric rabies and the more medically inclined among them aware that rabies can lie in wait for years before symptoms manifest, the pressure to develop a vaccine for the virus was immense. However, though aware that Pyrric rabies is of minimal use as a planet-killing bioweapon, Republic leaders were nonetheless wary of the idea of allowing third parties access to the virus for fear that it may be used elsewhere and stain the Republic's hands red. As such, though inclined to accept all offers of aid in developing a vaccine from across the Inner Sphere, the decision was eventually made to only accept offers from the member-nations of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative --the Republic's close ties to the Magistracy, Concordat, and Coalition engendering a trust that does not extend to largely opaque groups such as Comstar or the Successor States.
In the months that followed, researchers from across the Periphery poked, prodded, and tore apart the virus responsible for Pyrric rabies; the data they generated proving invaluable to the effort to produce a vaccine. By the time the project came to a close, the nearly 5-month estimate had been slashed in half thanks to the tireless efforts of all involved and many on all sides had learned some useful trick or interesting mode of thought.
Effect:
- Pyrric rabies vaccine cost halved to 0.1 RP.
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Caliban:
--[X] Weaken Economy (Pact) [Easy]: By utilizing agents seeded throughout Caliban, we can weaken the economies of target by debasing their currencies with forgeries.
With the war on Caliban heating up with every passing year and the Prospero Pact earning the ire of the Republic due to their slaving nature and increasingly draconian punishments for escaping slaves, the decision was made to hinder the Pact's ability to fight the Khan by debasing the currencies of the worst city-states. Having fallen further than all save the people of New Oslo and with the Republic having already seeded a number of cities with Republic operatives, the act of debasing the currencies of the Pact's worst offenders was almost too easy to carry out --the Pact's low level of technology leaving rulers unable to do more than the most cursory analysis of their currencies and completely unable to keep track of the Republic's agents. Over the course of 3034, at the behest of the Republic's rulers, hundreds of kilograms of gold and silver made their way to Caliban's surface in the form of cleverly forged coins, and hundreds more were debased with heavy metals.
Though somewhat limited by the extant barter economy of the planetary society, the impact of the Republic's actions were soon felt far and wide with prices for a number of goods, including food, rising steadily over the course of the year as the value of each currency dropped. Naturally, discontent with the rulers of a number of Pact cities, already present thanks to the long war against the Khan and the increasingly heavy punishments for enslaved people and their families, grew significantly in this period with a number of riots occurring over the price of commodities. Indeed, the impacts have been so keenly felt that an increasing number of freemen have elected to simply up stakes and move to Helghan camps where, thanks to the rationing systems in place, no one has to worry about food or water, and a number of Pact troops have had to be pulled from the frontlines in order to maintain order on the homefront.
Effect:
- Agents embedded throughout the Pact debase currencies with forgeries.
- Inflation is starting to have an effect on the price of a variety of goods including food and extant discontent is worsening.
- As a side effect, slight uptick in the number of non-slaves moving to helghan controlled camps.
New Oslo:
--[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.
Aurigan Coalition:
[X] Joint Research Program Groundwork: Having already developed close business ties with the Aurigan Coalition's industrial centres, now is the time to grow those bonds into something meaningful. While it's too soon to approach the Coalition with the idea of a joint research program, efforts can be made towards laying the groundwork… [Progress: 1/2 turns] [Action Point Locked Until Completed]
Having successfully negotiated a proper successor to the old ad-hoc system of academic cooperation in 3033, administrators and head researchers across both the Aurigan Coalition and the Helghan Republic, most often the latter rather than the former, spent much of 3034 quietly implementing the necessary changes in their respective organizations. Though this sort of groundwork is rather dry to read about, it is nonetheless of vital importance when it comes to supporting researchers and their work, and it is to the credit of both nations that the process proceeded smoothly. Indeed, despite the complexities involved in setting up dedicated channels of communication and information sharing across tens of lightyear of empty space and an international border, the fastidious nature of the bureaucrats involved ensured that the effort was completed exactly when it was predicted to.
[Progress: 2/2 turns]
Effect:
- Final groundwork is laid for a joint research program.
- With the groundwork all laid and all the i's dotted and t's crossed, everything is good to go to make a formal research sharing agreement.
Outer Rim Defence Initiative:
--[X] Write In: Invite all ORDI members to a 2nd ORDI Conference: a great deal has happened in the last 6 years since the ORDI was founded, having a formal meeting where defense goals can be discussed, coordination hammered out, intelligence shared, and Military surplus traded/sold in bulk would be more useful than trying to do it with each nation individually.
With the Celestial Mandate the prime suspect in the viral bombing of Pyrrus and public mood toward the state starting at hostile and dropping from there, the Republic government made the decision to call the second conference of ORDI states. Intended to assuage the public's fears on one hand and gauge the feelings of the other members of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative on the other, the second ORDI conference was a much leaner and swifter event than the first --the forum wrapping up in only a handful of months. An entirely virtual affair conducted via the FTL comm network, the conference saw distinguished members of the Taurian Concordat, Magistracy of Canopus, Aurigan Coalition, and Helghan Republic engage in high-level talks regarding the situation in the Periphery with almost all talks, both public and private, dominated by the actions of the Celestial Mandate.
With a full 73% of Republic citizens believing that the Mandate was behind the attack and 42% believing that the government isn't doing enough to protect them, the first item on the conference agenda was, naturally, how to handle the viral bombing of Pyrrus. While all four member-states of ORDI agreed that the viral bombing could be interpreted as an attack on a member and thus trigger the organization's mutual defence pacts, each state proved to have a different view on what to do about it. The Celestial Mandate's most exposed neighbour, the Aurigan Coalition, raised the idea of placing sanctions on the rogue state; damaging the rogue state's economy by preventing any company operating in ORDI space or any citizen of an ORDI member from doing business there. Meanwhile, the Taurian Concordat, having conquered a spate of Mandate planets in the recent past, raised the idea that ORDI nations should cooperate to assassinate several high-level members of the Mandate's government as a tit-for-tat response. The Magistracy of Canopus, perhaps smelling blood in the water, one-upped the Taurians by proposing that the ORDI take the systems of Hurik and Ward as recompense and see how things develop from there. The Helghan Republic, meanwhile, had a number of ideas ranging from dramatically reinforcing the Aurigan Border to outright regime changing the Mandate.
As the nation most likely to be on the frontline of any potential conflict, the Aurigan Coalition is strongly opposed to any plan involving war and most supportive of those which are either non-military or purely defensive in nature. Outraged by the attack on Helghan but having sated its appetite for conquest in the 4th Succession War, the Taurian Concordat likewise is hesitant to do anything liable to trigger a war, but also feels that purely economic measures aren't strong enough. The Magistracy of Canopus, meanwhile, is almost eager to invade the Mandate but would accept a less kinetic response for the time being. Finally, the Republic's people want to see the Celestial Mandate severely punished for the attack and will only accept a delay of, at most, a few years before making their displeasure known at the polls.
The second priority of the conference, that being to hammer out an intelligence-sharing agreement between the various ORDI powers, proceeded much smoother in comparison to the reprisal talks. With the attack fresh in everyone's minds, relations between the nations warmer than they've been in decades, and with a similar agreement in place for matters of law and order, it was almost trivial for the Republic to convince the other ORDI nations to create a formalized framework under which to share intelligence regarding potentially hostile spy actions. This framework, having been conceptualized, designed, and agreed upon quite early in the forum, bore fruit almost immediately with the Taurian Concordat confirming that one of the captured agents, Subject Iota, was known to them as a low-level government functionary within the Celestial Mandate; her presence on Helghan indicating that she is, in fact, an agent of the Mandate's Maskirovka.
An organization that has historically been quite loyal to House Liao, the Capellan Maskirovka (then the only Maskirovka) underwent a sizable schism when Romano Liao declared the Mandate independent of the Capellan Confederation. While few people outside the Confederation know just how much of the organization chose to throw their lot in with Romano, estimates range from as low as 10% to as high as 40% choosing to join Romano Liao in the Celestial Mandate. The much-feared intelligence service, retaining the name Maskirovka, has seemingly continued its tradition of being used for both internal and external security and played a vital role in the purges of several years ago.
Even as the various member nations of ORDI discussed potential responses to the Mandate's attack on the Republic and devised an intelligence sharing agreement designed to protect each nation against foreign spies, yet more talks occurred in the background of the conference. With the Aurigans rebuilding their strength post-civil war, the Taurians quietly rearming after their brief conflict with the Confederation/Mandate, and the recent attack on the Helghan Republic bringing the thought of war to the forefront of everyone's minds, many conceded that there was no better time to talk arms deals than during the conference. The Helghan Republic, having already expended much of its surplus gear from the second Extrasolar war, divested itself of a great deal more by negotiating a 5 year extension to the existing Aurigan-Helghan arms deal, and convincing the Taurian Concordat to purchase an additional 250,000 C-bills worth of weapons and ammunition each year for the next 4 years. For their part, the Taurian Concordat and Magistracy of Canopus offered the Helghan Republic a good deal on battlemech forces; the only caveat being that delivery would occur several years after the deal was agreed upon due to a combination of production times, pre-sales, and the internal needs of the states.
With interstellar transport capacity so rare in this day and age and with the Helghan Republic holding a veritable fleet of outdated cruisers in drydock, a number of one time-transfers were drawn up to help build up the logistics capacity of the Concordat, Magistracy, and Coalition. In exchange for 160,000,000 C-bills each, the Magistracy of Canopus and the Taurian Concordat agreed to purchase a squadron of cruisers each --the Helghan Republic supplying a number of spare parts and technical resources in addition to the vessels themselves. Capable of FTL travel, requiring relatively low crew counts, and able to shift a large amount of goods, these vessels --though outdated from a Helghan point of view-- will no doubt ease a great deal of the logistical burden placed on the TDF and MAF. Meanwhile, the Aurigan Coalition, while accepting the deal in principle, have asked for some time to assemble a payment-in-kind.
However, with the Celestial Mandate the clear focus of the conference, even if the specifics were kept secret, the authoritarian state did not remain silent. Decrying the 2nd ORDI conference as both needlessly inflammatory and based on a brazen and disgusting lie given the Mandate's innocence in the matter of the Pyrrus attacks, the Mandate nonetheless reinforced its rimward borders with additional troops and announced a series of training exercises involving the MAC. Coincidentally, the Mandate also announced a significant increase to its already sizeable military budget.
Effect:
- Response plans discussed. You'll select which one to go with at the beginning of the next turn.
- International intelligence sharing agreement hammered out between ORDI nations. Information on known hostile agents will be shared with other powers.
- +5 years to the Helghan-Aurigan arms deal.
- +250,000 C-Bills per year for the remainder of the Concordat-Republic arms deal.
- +320,000,000 C-Bills. -6 cruisers. Aurigan coalition ship purchase in 3036.
- Mech trade deal offered. You'll select which one to go with at the beginning of the next turn.
- Celestial Mandate is not happy about the conference.
General:
--[X] Write In: Found State Sponsored Terraforming Corporation: The Republic has had access to Terraforming technologies and mega construction for some time now, but has been unable to do anything with it do to other issues requiring its attention. By founding a corporation focused on meeting this local, and possibly foreign, market the Republic can focus on other things while still reaping the benefits of said technology.
With the Republic having access to the kinds of resources and knowledge needed to carry out megaprojects across interstellar distances but forced by circumstance to focus on matters smaller in scope but no less important, it comes as little surprise when the Republic's ruling government finally elects to create a state-run corporation to handle matters such as planetary terraforming. Commonly known as the Terra Group, though officially referred to as the Helghan Republic Terraformation And Planetary Engineering Group, the Terra Group is a nationally-owned and operated organization whose primary mission is to directly alter planetary bodies in order to improve habitability and allow access to valuable resources. Funded by grants from the Republic government and administered by a board directly appointed by said government, the Terra Group is nonetheless empowered (and expected) to accept contracts with other nations to partially or fully cover its operating costs.
That said, in an effort to ingratiate themselves with those politicians who remain dubious of their utility, the Terra Group elected to make its first action directly beneficial to the Helghan Republic; taking on a contract to demolish a mountain range situated on top of (and blocking access to) a major Petrusite reservoir. Though state-owned and (currently) entirely state-funded, the Terra Group does not have the kind of unlimited authority and money available to the likes of Zulim Taw and, as such, though work begins with gratifying haste, the completion date for the project is estimated as 3039. However, though progress is predicted to be much slower than it would if the project was directly under the auspices of the state, it is also predicted to not impact the normal functioning of government; a trade-off which may prove valuable in the future.
Effect:
- Terra Group formed.
- Terra group begins task: [] Mountain Range Removal (Helghan). Estimated completion date is 3039.
[X] Survey Helghan for Additional Petrusite Deposits: With the news that Petrusite deposits will eventually regenerate, now is the time to resurvey old mining sites and look for new ones. [Progress: 1/5 turns] [Action Point Locked Until Completed]
Continuing from last year, survey teams dispatched by the Helghan Republic focussed their efforts on the historically poorly mapped region of Minusinsk-Thoth in the hopes of uncovering easily tapped Petrusite resources which had been missed by earlier generations. Host to a mix of frozen steppes and alkaline deserts, Minusinsk-Thoth is a difficult place to live at the best of times and has naturally been ignored by those seeking Petrusite in favour of easier to access and more hospitable locations. Trekking across the vast and empty basin with the help of their rugged vehicles and their heavily modified trooper carriers, more than a dozen teams of miners and surveyors get to work drilling and blasting --months of effort eventually culminating in the discovery of several noteworthy reservoirs of the still-mysterious substance.
Simultaneously, and in an equally isolated region on the opposite side of the planet, a survey of historically exhausted smokers revealed that a number of the rock towers have returned to life thanks to the strange processes driving Petrusite flow. Studied by a number of scientists from Helghan premier institutes, the ebb and flow of Petrusite from the smokers to their still-unknown origin has generated a number of interesting scientific reports --some of which prove useful for those attempting to understand the physics of Petrusite.
[Progress: 2/5 turns]
Effect:
- Surveying works continues with several once tapped sites identified as having returned to productivity in the intervening years and a relatively unexplored basin found to have a number of petrusite reservoirs.
- Analysis of some survey results has also produced some valuable data on the underlying physics of Petrusite (+1 RP to Advanced Petrusite Theory this year)
--[X] Target Smuggler Network: We cannot allow Helghan military equipment to be stolen and sold to the highest bidder by criminals. As such, we should make the destruction of this network a priority. [Progress: 3/???]
With the aftermath of the biological attack on Helghan still ongoing and the government willing to dedicate extreme amounts of resources to unravel the thread of conspiracy, the Haystrom Association's network of smugglers and ner do wells all but falls apart under the scrutiny of the state. In a series of strikes timed down to the minute and occurring all across Helghan, Gendarme assault teams raid homes, warehouses, and businesses and arrest over a dozen mid-ranking members of the cartel in connection to the crime of smuggling. Already running scared thanks to last year's successes, the sudden apprehension of so many by Republic forces drives several of those arrested to throw themselves at the mercy of the courts and turn state's witness --the act fueling a further spate of arrests. Making matters worse for the criminal organization, in late July, citing the recent attack as the driving reason for their appearance, a number of members from throughout the association's hierarchy turned themselves in to the police --the men and women bringing with them a vast hoard of information pertaining to the sale of weapons across the Republic.
With so many members of the organization arrested or turning themselves in and the Helghan state now aware of the breadth of the cartel's efforts, many view the criminal organization as being on its last legs. Though the leadership of the group still remains frustratingly unknown, many suspect that it's only a matter of time until they're found out and brought to justice.
[Progress: 5/6]
Effect:
- A number of Association members are arrested with several voluntarily appearing before the Republic's police force in the aftermath of the attack --at least one volunteering information due to losing a friend in the attack.
--[X] Construct a Damascus-Class Carrier Squadron: Task your shipyards with constructing a squadron of Damascus-Class Carriers. x2
Effect:
- +6 Damascus class carriers produced
--[X] Construct two Battlemech Battalions: Task Zulim Taw with constructing two battalions worth of mechs.
Effect:
- +2 Battlemech battalions produced
--[X] Colonize Charybdis [Progress: 461,342/500,000] [Action Point Locked Until Completed]
To no one's surprise, the new year brought with it a new series of Hypercanes to the tropical world of Charybdis. Vast in scope and incredibly powerful, these Hypercanes nonetheless failed to impact the planet's colonization effort thanks to procedural changes made in the aftermath of Hypercane Typhon; the colossal engines of destruction failing to advance far enough north to impact the colony regions. With the colony unaffected by the raging storms and, in fact, aided quite dramatically by the addition of a Horus-class mobile factory to the ongoing effort to develop infrastructure, the Republic saw a massive spike in interest from people willing to up-stakes and move. Indeed, so massive was the rise that, by the close of the year, more than 200,000 Republic citizens had chosen to settle on the world --a number so large that it triggered the transition from frontier planet to full-fledged member of the Republic with more than 150,000 people to spare.
However, as with the addition of Rogue to the Republic, Charybdis' elevation to member-planet status has brought with it significantly fewer benefits than that of Mir, Portland, or Independence. Though still increasing the overall wealth and industrial capacity of the state, the administrative burden of managing nearly two billion people across five planets is such that the costs of expansion are beginning to match the benefits. While further expansion of the Republic is without-a-doubt possible, improvements to FTL comm speed, computing resources, and administrative efficiency will be required to improve the government's ability to act on a federal level.
[Progress: 677,357/500,000]
Transport Breakdown:
72,000 from cruisers
108,000 from Bellerophon
26,400 from private transit
9,615 births
Effect:
- Colonization complete!
- +1 AP
- No more AP gains for the time being as the cost of expanding the Republic's territory is matching the benefits. Can still colonize without issue, but don't expect the administrative burden to ease.
--[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.
--[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
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Research:
--[X] DHS [5.96/6]
[Progress: 5.96/6] → + 1 (base research) + 0.05 (5% Taurian Engineering Graduates) + 0.05 (5% Vandenberg Mechanized Industries) + 0.25 (25% Star League Engineering) + 0.17 (17% Experimental Research Program (DHS)) → [Progress: 7.48/6]
Completes with 1.48 overflowing.
A joint research programme between the member nations of the Outer Rim Defence Initiative, the initial decision to try and rediscover the principles behind the construction of double heat sinks was, at the time, decried as a foolish waste of resources by a number of figures within the Periphery. However, with the successful completion of the programme not 6 years later, those who believed that it could not be done have been shown up in a major way; a team of scientists from the OTK design bureau, the University of Luxen, the University of Corromodir, and the New Vandenberg Institute of Technology unveiling the fruits of their labour to much acclaim. Making use of a crystalline polymer less thermally conductive than graphite but far stronger for a given weight, these newly redeveloped heat sinks are twice as effective as earlier counterparts despite weighing the same (hence single versus double), but take up three times the space due to the greater size of their radiators. Additionally, due to necessary changes in the chemical composition of the working fluid used to carry heat to the heat sinks, double heat sinks and single heat sinks cannot be used within the same mech.
Effect:
- All ORDI nations can now build DHS and DHS equipped fusion engines
--[X] Advanced Petrusite Theory [5.8/6]
[Progress: 5.8/6] → + 1 (base research) + 1 (event) → [Progress: 7.8/6]
Completes with 1.8 overflowing.
One of the few advantages Helghan has over other planets and nations, Petrusite has forever been a substance worthy of study due to its rarity in the universe and unique properties; countless millions of person-hours devoted to researching the strange material since its discovery. Vital to numerous industries due to its incredibly energetic nature and arcane physics, Helghan's monopoly on Petrusite has brought wealth and ruin to the nation in equal measure and finding ways to break it has consumed the waking thoughts of Earth's politicians for centuries. While it has long been known that Petrusite forms via natural processes deep within the core of Helghan, the exact mechanisms behind its creation have remained unknown… until now.
According to the latest research by scientists working very carefully in Helghan's premier Petrusite lab, Petrusite is formed when precursor substances are exposed to a combination of incredible heat, pressure, and radioactivity such as that present in and around Helghan's superdense core. These precursors are themselves naturally created by Helghan's wildlife, random chance and natural selection driving them to make use of certain principles of quantum mechanics to efficiently extract energy from the planet's harsh environment and creating the precursors as a byproduct. Once buried, these precursors migrate through the planet's crust and mantle until the prior combination of heat, pressure, and radioactivity mentioned previously transmute them into Petrusite. Furthermore, while the migration of Precursors to the core takes many millions of years, the transmutation itself occurs after only a few years of exposure to these conditions.
Now understood to be a purely natural process with understandable and replicable conditions, Helghan scientists are confident that they can develop a method to synthesise Petrusite provided that they are accorded sufficient resources. While no doubt incapable of matching the output of a planetary process, developing methods of synthesising Petrusite would enable the Republic to add Petrusite production capacity to other worlds in the nation. That said, with the conditions required to form Petrusite now understood, it's become clearer than ever that parties outside the Republic may discover their own source of Petrusite as the combination of a superdense core and native life is rare, but not unique.
Effect:
- Gain national idea: Advanced Petrusite Theory. +1 research point to all petrusite research.
- Understand conditions under which petrusite forms. Specific and require life, but purely natural so could occur elsewhere in the galaxy with the right conditions
- Can now research Petrusite Synthesis.
--[X] Petrusite Space Weaponry [2/5]
[Progress: 2/5] → + 1 (base research) → [Progress: 3/5]
--[X] Standard Power Armor [2/6]
[Progress: 2.0/6] → + 1 (base research) + 0.05 (5% Taurian Engineering Graduates) + 0.08 (8% Power Armour Research Initiative) + 0.25 (25% Star League Engineering) + 0.05 (5% Vandenberg Mechanized Industries) → [Progress: 3.48/6]
--[X] Selective Defoliation [1.4/2]
[Progress: 0.3/2] → + 1 (base research) + 0.05 (5% Magistracy Medical Graduates) + 0.05 (5% Tao Biomedical) → [Progress: 2.5/2]
Completes with 0.5 overflowing.
Developed by biologists and chemists on Mir as part of an effort to develop new counters to the ever-evolving blight there, these procedures and tools will allow the Republic to pick and choose which plant life its people have to live alongside with exacting precision. Built around the use of made-to-order substances which are highly selective, difficult to evolve counters to, and utterly harmless to everything but the target, selective defoliation will allow the Republic to deal with everything from toxic kelp to addictive grasses without issue.
Effect:
- Can clear planets with plantlife quicker and more efficiently and do so without creating herbicide-resistant weeds/fungi. Bonus to planet growth.
- Can also clear planets with toxic plant life easily, though it hasn't come up yet.
--[X] Vaccine/Prototype Gauss Rifle [0.4/--]
Vaccine: [Progress: 0/0.1] → + 0.1 (from leftover) → [Progress: 0.1/0.1]
Research complete!
Prototype Gauss Rifle: [Progress: 0.0/5] → + 1 (base research) + 1.25 (25% Major Gauss Rifle Research Boost) + 0.05 (5% Taurian Engineering Graduates) + 0.3 (from leftover) + 0.25 (25% Star League Engineering) + 0.05 (5% Vandenberg Mechanized Industries) → [Progress: 2.90/5]
Remove Major Gauss Rifle Research Bonus (10% bonus)
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Requisition:
-[X] Burst-Pattern Launchers: The product of a pair of machinists who have since turned to producing units for sale to Periphery militias under the Alter Stiefel label, a Burst Launcher is designed around the usefulness of high powered strikes with a minimum of tonnage invested.
--[X] 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.
--[X] Design write-in: Lawbringer: Marshal Dropship
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...
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News And Rumor:
Helghan
Having developed a vaccine against Pyrric rabies in only a matter of months and confirmed that it was safe, production of the substance was given crash prioritization by the Republic government in an effort to provide protection to Republic citizens as soon as feasible. All across the Republic, state-owned pharmaceutical manufacturing centres got to work producing many hundreds of litres of the vaccine; uptake amongst the civilian population surpassing 95% in some areas with completion estimated for sometime in early 3035. The development of the vaccine came just in time, too, as more than a dozen cases of Pyrric Rabies flared up across Helghan as a result of the virus's ability to lie latent; the infected identified and quantified before they could hurt anybody.
The four civilians responsible for halting Subject Iota's attempted hijacking of a train heading to Pyrrus have each been awarded the Order of Merit of the Helghan Republic in a ceremony in March. Often referred to as Red Rosa due to the award's red enamel rose on a gold sunburst, the Order of Merit is the highest decoration that can be given by the Helghan state and is awarded based on eminent merit. Having selflessly thrown themselves in harm's way in a singular act of valour, Damian L., Alexis K., Mohammed F., and Iana S. will forever be remembered by the nation.
Protests against the Celestial Mandate have been held throughout the Helghan Republic with hundreds of thousands calling on the Republic to take action against the authoritarian regime. Though largely peaceful, there were some minor scuffles when pro and anti-war elements of the protests clashed and several parks were left covered in garbage after the marches dispersed. In related news, a number of bystanders and protesters were attacked over the course of 3034 due to their racial background and origins --perceived or otherwise. While police were able to arrest the majority of the perpetrators, a number were able to avoid arrest due to the circumstances of the case (namely the fact that they were random attacks/crimes of opportunity). Eager to avoid cultivating the same kind of racial animus which plagued the 21st century, the Republic's minister for Justice encouraged federal prosecutors to pursue hate crime charges against the perpetrators --the idea being to make clear that there would be no tacit support for hate crimes from the government.
A number of politicians associated with the less savoury parts of Helghan's political spectrum have taken advantage of the Mandate's sudden elevation to national rival to boost their own careers and political standing. Taking an aggressive stance against the Mandate, these politicians have formed their own, minor, political block and have spent much of 3034 walking the very fine line between conservative warhawk and racist firebrand; carefully staying on just the right side of the law to avoid censure and possible arrest. With the attack of Pyrrus so fresh in people's minds and the desire for action so strong, these politicians have seen a (for them) significant uptick in popularity as hate conquers reason, and a number of media outlets have served up fawning coverage of their speeches.
In less grim news, some slight progress has been made in the interrogation of those spies captured alive during the Pyrrus affair. Though Subject Lambda has been intractable on the matter of who he was working for and has attempted to kill himself via voluntary dehydration and starvation necessitating emergency life-saving measures, Subject Iota has proven more responsive to Helghan methods of information gathering. In exchange for minor creature comforts aimed at making her life in Helghan custody that much easier, Iota has confirmed that the primary goal of the spy ring was to secure information on Petrusite, its exploration, mining, and military uses with the terror attacks serving purely as distractions. While the information available to her was limited due to her role and the design of the spy ring, she and the members of the ring she knew personally were required to forward any public information on the substance to Subject Alpha.
To the grim frustration of many in the Republic's drug counselling/recovery programs, 3034 saw a number of people from Helghan enter the system addicted to Benzoylmethylecgonine --otherwise known as cocaine. A substance that has never been seen on the planet in any sort of quantity due to the nature of its production, discovery of the substance raised all sorts of red flags with Republic Intelligence due to its relationship to the spies involved in the Pyrrus attack. Luckily, however, with much of the criminal network involved in the operation already captured and awaiting trial, discovering the sellers of the substance was easy enough and a raid by police wrapped up the operation less than a month after the first user entered the recovery program. While there were some initial fears that a spy had slipped the net, a follow-up investigation revealed that the operation had been carried out by a member of the criminal cartel on his own initiative.
He is currently awaiting trial and is expected to serve quite a significant sentence.
Begun last year and continuing despite the attack on Helghan, the wargame portion of Exercise Rohan has finally concluded and in the process produced reams of information which will likely keep Helghan and Coalition officers busy for a long while yet. In a series of simulated battles fought across the northern border of the Aurigan Reach, men and women from both nations fought bitterly to keep suspiciously Mandate-coloured forces from securing a foothold in the region --more than 30,000 tons of real and virtual munitions dropped in the process. While ORDI troops were able to hold the line long enough for simulated forces from the Magistracy and Concordat to counterattack into the Mandate, there were a number of moments where the situation was on the razor's edge and the casualties suffered by allied forces were far higher than initially predicted. With that said, cooperation between both Coalition and Republic troops improved dramatically over the 12 month period the exercise was conducted and a number of interesting anti-mech tactics were developed as a result. With additional wargames and the strenuous analysis of the data produced by the exercise, Republic analysts are confident that the results of the exercise can be improved upon dramatically.
Rounding out the news on the homefront, Mir saw a resurgence of blight during the closing months of 3034; several farmers reporting that the fungal disease had adapted to the usual formulations. Luckily for the planetary economy and the Republic as a whole, recent developments in the fields of chemistry and farming spurred by the previous outbreak of blight enabled the planetary government to respond to the matter in a manner that was both more precise and more overwhelming. Mere days after the first report of blight was confirmed, a custom-engineered fungicide was deployed on the afflicted fields and their neighbours with complete destruction of the fungal menace achieved in only a few hours to the relief of all involved. While Mir will continue to be monitored for signs of blight, many are already hailing the latest developments in plant management as revolutionary.
Caliban
Growing discontent amongst the lower classes inspired by the rising price of food has done little to slow the war between the Prospero Pact and the Khanate with numerous skirmishes occurring across the planet during 3034. Though both sides are still holding to the self-imposed avoidance of civilian casualties, military casualties have been heavy throughout the year with routing forces routinely chased down and annihilated to the man. Furthermore, while forces from both sides have continued to give Helghan camps a wide berth, several skirmishes between the two powers have seen their troops cross into secured zones necessitating the deployment of quick response forces to escort them out again.
A riot over the price of food in Archon Drakon McKenzie's city-state was bloodily put down by forces loyal to him; several dozen killed and many more injured in the process of restoring order to the city. Decrying the riot as being instigated by agents of the Khan, Archon McKenzie ordered the supposed ringleaders of the riot put to death by exposure to the elements as a warning to others. Locked into iron cages, in many cases alongside their families, the half-dozen men and women identified by McKenzie as causing and leading the riot were placed on the outer walls of the city alongside a number of debt-slaves who attempted to escape to Helghan camps that same year.
New Oslo
The war between Howl and Morgenson has reached something of a stalemate thanks to the recent shipment of Helghan arms to those opposed to Morgenson. While the war will likely continue for some time, analysts expect that the return to equilibrium will likely force a peace sometime in the near future given the setup of New Oslo's society and the nature of feudal farming and economics.
Trinity League
According to reports from merchant jumpships operating in the region plus the intelligence agencies of the Republic's fellow ORDI nations and the League's own broadcasts, the Trinity League has successfully conquered the system of Aquagea in a conflict that lasted all of two weeks. Deploying three full battalions of mechs, one of which apparently contained a number of heavy mechs, the League crushed Aquagea's minuscule militia force in only a handful of engagements and forced the planetary government to sue for peace. Officially absorbing the system into their league, the Trinity League has acquired a relatively resource-rich desert planet for its nation and has no doubt upset the self-proclaimed Empire of Zathras in the process. Though only a single system and a Periphery one at that, the ruling government of the Empire has been building up to invade Aquagea for some time and will likely turn those resources against the League in the near future.
Aurigan Coalition
Having dedicated a large portion of Mechdur's aerospace industry to the matter for several years now, it comes as no surprise when the Aurigan Coalition announces the opening of a second jumpship maintenance slipway over the planet in mid-july. Almost overnight, the increased yard space draws more merchant jumpships from the Taurian Concordat than ever, with several having never made the journey this far rimward before. Following close behind the venerable vessels, large numbers of C-bills and trade goods are dragged into the system of Mechdur as the merchants seek to make a profit while undergoing necessary maintenance.
With the new maintenance slipway seeing almost instant success, one would be forgiven for assuming that the Aurigan Coalition might want to rest on its laurels for a time. However, having now developed a great deal of experience constructing large structures in zero gravity, the Coalition has announced plans to construct a dropship manufacturing yard in orbit over Mechdur. With an estimated completion date set for sometime next decade, this new yard would grant the Coalition the ability to design and build their own jumpships using parts sourced from Mechdur and elsewhere; something only the wealthiest and most advanced Periphery nations can boast.
Marina Liao, seemingly invigorated by the attack on Helghan, has become one of the strongest backers of military action against the Mandate --the former Capellan attracting a number of like-minded figures around herself. While avoiding saying anything publically for obvious reasons, by all accounts she's spent the past year encouraging High Lady Arano to back the Republic should it elect for an aggressive response to the viral bombing of Pyrrus. Why Liao is supporting the more aggressive position is still unclear, however, her continued support would likely make the Coalition more open to such a response.
Magistracy of Canopus
Kyalla Centrella, no doubt embarrassed by the events of last year, has quietly removed the marriage law which saw a Helghan citizen briefly imprisoned for gently rejecting his noble girlfriend's proposal. Pushed towards this act by both internal groups seeking equal rights and opportunities for men and a Helghan public distinctly uncomfortable of being reminded of their allies' less savoury aspects, Kyalla has been alternatively praised and criticised for the act; progressing calling on her to do more and conservatives complaining about her changing the foundations of the nation. A popular leader due to her personal financial support of universities and schools across the Magistracy and her treaties with the Republic, Kyalla Centrella can undoubtedly survive whatever negative press her acquiescence to civil rights groups may produce.
Taurian Concordat
Purchased last year by a mix of companies operating in partnership with the Concordat government, two Horus-class mobile factories have been deployed to the industrial world of New Vandenberg to help cleanup the centuries-old landfills dotting the planet. Arriving in Q1 of the year, the Pharaoh engineers who arrived alongside the vast machines spent two months reassembling and testing the squid-like robots before setting them loose on the planet's largest landfill under the watchful eyes of their owners. Over the course of several months, the pair of mobile factories crawled their way across the more than 40 square kilometres of garbage; each one consuming tens of thousands of tons of waste material per day without rest. While much of the consumed matter had to be transformed into homogenous blocks for later storage, a great deal more could be transformed into useful goods; ingots, wires, girders, and more pouring out of the robotic factories as they blazed a trail through towering stacks of garbage.
While the process of cleaning up centuries of waste will likely be the work of decades, especially with more of it being produced by the day, the initial reports of the Horus' efforts are quite positive. In an announcement praising the speed of the Horus' work, Fyodor Malvena, the ruler of New Vandenberg, has committed to expanding the budget of his government's ecological recovery service to help them cope with the greatly improved ability to reclaim areas used as landfills.
Comstar
In recent news out of Hilton Head, Julian Tiepolo, the Primus of Comstar, has announced his retirement from service citing a recent heart attack suffered while in office. Known as a calm and patient man as well as an able administrator, the former Primus oversaw Comstar during a period of history that was extremely tumultuous even by Inner Sphere standards and, by all accounts, played no favourites in his decisions. Though naming the Precentor of Tharkad, Ulthan Everson, as his chosen successor, the decision as to who will lead Comstar into the future ultimately lies with the First Circuit. Regardless of who Comstar's ruling body chooses to lead the organization, however, Julian Tiepolo leaves behind a legacy of statesmanship and piety that many rulers are sure to envy well into the future.
Celestial Mandate
Almost certainly doing so in response to the 2nd ORDI conference and the conclusion of Exercise Rohan, the Celestial Mandate has announced that its already sizable military budget will receive a significant boost in the new year. In a pre-recorded speech from her palace on Victoria where she remains in seclusion with her son, Celestial Empress Romano Liao has praised the loyalty and fighting skills of Mandate soldiers and announced the creation of so-called special warfare battalions. While information on the number, makeup, size, or even purpose of these battalions is impossible to come by, analysts within the Republic are predicting the worst. In related news, a number of Republic agents embedded on Mandate border worlds have reported seeing a buildup of forces in-system, as well as work beginning on quite sizable fortifications.
Federated Suns
In a message carried throughout the Inner Sphere via HPG and merchant jumpship, The Office of the First Prince of the Federated Suns has formally announced the engagement of First Prince Morgan Davion to Colonel Ophella Stephenson. Commander of the 1st New Ivaarsen Chasseurs and a member of the Stephenson noble family, Ophella Stephenson achieved a measure of fame during the 4th Succession War when her unit played a key role in pinning down and wiping out Warrior House Kamata over the course of a gruelling 6-hour battle. Oft considered 'new money' and 'upstarts' by those families who can trace their lineage back to the founding days of the Federated Suns, the Stephensons rule one of the wealthiest planets in the Federated Suns, New Ivaarsen, and are firm patrons of the arts; something which has made their world a centre for learning and culture for many years. Staunchly loyal to House Davion, the Stephenson's are seen by many as a safe choice from which to draw a marriage partner, and the fact that they have been extremely anti-Combine for many years is unlikely to hurt.
Set for December 1st, 3035, about as far away from the anniversary of Hanse Davion's death as it is possible to get, the marriage of First Prince Morgan Davion to Colonel Ophella Stephenson will be sure to bring much-needed stability to the internal politics of the Federated Suns; especially if an heir is produced soon.
In other news out of the Federated Suns, reports from across the star-nation point towards the rapid recovery of the nation's economy due in no small part to the massive expansion in trade with the Free Worlds League. Having fought alongside the League against the Capellan Confederation in order to bring Maximilian Liao to justice for his crimes against both nations, relations between the two Successor States have warmed significantly in recent years. Able to trade (almost) freely with one another due to the Tikonov Free Republic charging minimal fees for jumpships passing through its space and with their borders separated by rump states, both nations are benefiting immensely from their improved relations.
What the future holds for the two nations remains unknown despite the best prognostications by Helghan analysts. However, the removal of a major threat from both their flanks has led many analysts to predict that the two states may turn their attention towards their historic enemies; the Lyran Commonwealth and the Draconis Combine for the Free Worlds League and the Federated Suns, respectively.
Free Rasalhague Republic
In news out of the Free Rasalhague Republic, Haakon Magnusson, former freedom fighter and political prisoner, has been elected as the first Riksforestandare of the FRR. Though translating to Prince and, indeed, having a role as a member of the nobility, the role of Riksforestandare of the FRR, along with every other governmental position and even the nobility, is an elected one. Though not directly elected by the people of the FRR being elected by the parliament, the democratic nature of the position has seen many Republic citizens praise the newborn nation for its wisdom.
In rather more grim news, a number of DCMS units have refused to withdraw from the worlds of the Free Rasalhague Republic in direct contravention of Coordinator Takashi's orders; numerous units declaring that they would rather fight to the death than fail the Dragon. Refusing to recognize the existence of the FRR, these units have already begun fighting the newly-formed KungsArmé in vicious battles across the newborn state with thousands of innocents already killed in the crossfire. More experienced than the KungsArmé and many of the mercenary companies under the Republic's employ, these units have reportedly reaped a fearsome toll against their opponents already.
In response to this act of insubordination, however, Coordinator Takashi has declared the regiments involved
Ronin, simultaneously granting the conflict a proper title and splitting much of the rebelling units down the middle. Further turning the situation against the so-called
Ronin, the Coordinator has also dispatched his heir and only son, Theodore Kurita, to bring the
Ronin to heel with the aid of the Legion of Vega and several other free-floating regiments. Additionally, Riksforestandare Magnusson, well aware of the precarious nature of his position, has extended the open call for mercenary units for another year. Still offering rather hefty sums of C-bills and, in some cases, newly created titles, the Free Rasalhague Republic has already acquired the services of numerous additional mercenary groups to aid the nation in defending itself.
Free Worlds League
Tensions between the Free Worlds League and the Lyran Commonwealth have worsened recently over the League's historic claims to worlds along their shared border. Long a point of contention between the two powers due to their loss to the Commonwealth centuries ago, the recent removal of the Capellan Confederation as a threat to the League has seemingly emboldened the nation. Addressing Parliament in late November, Captain-General Janos Marik made several references to the lost worlds alongside veiled references to old foes.
Lyran Commonwealth
Lyran nobles, apparently acting in response to rising tensions with the Free World League, have launched a number of raids against their rival; a half-dozen worlds hit by forces of varying sizes and weight. Amongst others, the worlds of Nockatunga, Epsilon, and Uhuru have all been hit, with the units responsible torching supply depots belonging to Marik militia forces.
Meanwhile, the Isle of Skye has seen a notable increase in civil disobedience throughout the region with instances of pro-independence graffiti, rallies, attacks on police skyrocketing over the course of 3034. Seemingly inspired by the successful efforts of the Rasalhagians, numerous groups have emerged into existence and are busy jockeying with the Free Skye Movement for public support. How the Lyran Commonwealth will react to this act of insubordination is unknown, however, many on Helghan imagine that the Successor State will not be gracious.
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National Idea Changes:
Advanced Petrusite Theory
At atrociously high energy states, the properties of matter change subtly and new miracles become possible...
+1 Research Point for All Petrusite Research
Influence Changes:
-5 Influence (Tiverton)
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Updated Info Posts
Helghan Republic
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...
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Helghan Republic Order of Battle
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
Helghan Republic Systems
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
