I missed that completely.
In light of that, I hope noone has any issues with my swapping out []Valkyries for []Tinker.
Since we are doing Clairvoyant this season, and improving Practice as well, there should be some synergy with looking at our existing unexplored artifacts.
I agree it's important, but is it imminent?
Yes. Because we are not primarily building numbers, but we are revamping the base technology of the navy.
This is what it says:
* [] Blades of Infinity: Before you stepped down, you promised Lina that you would help her with the full expansion of the FSN's technological base into one that could not just fight, but defeat a Regulars formation. You make good on your promises.
What we're doing is the equivalent of going from a steam navy to nuclear-electric. Major things need changing.
Furthermore, we do not have a firm timetable either for when the Shiplords/other hostiles may show up, or for how much time it will take to complete this project.
If you look back to Turns 1-10, you'll notice we put off actually building anything for a good while, because every year we delayed we had better tech to put in our ships, and the moment we start diverting R&D funds to warship design that high rate of research stops.
That's inaccurate.
We started the process of designing and building ships and upgrading orbitals and city defenses to combat standards in Turn 4, as soon as we could.
The Haft 31+ needed
Even with the sensor net under construction, there is plenty of yard space available for other projects, and Lina approves the SDC proposal this year. She'd have preferred an option that brought Practice and people a little closer together, but the need for a dedicated auxiliary fleet is something that she can't deny.
[Roll: 59 + 36 = 95. Solid Success]
Resources start moving, and engineers pore over the SDC plans. It's a sizeable fleet they're looking to build, and it's easy to see why. Their own analysis of Shiplord weaponry leaves them with little choice when limited to standard human technology. Although it takes some work, Lina manages to tease out the truth that even those who support the project most believe that Practiced ships are their only real chance of matching the Shiplord vessels in a meaningful fashion. They insist that an auxiliary fleet will be immeasurably useful against an unsupported group of capital ships like the Shiplords deployed during the Week of Sorrow, however, and there is credence to this.
(+5 to The Blade, locked for 1 year)
The Aegis +51 needed
With an excellent foundation to build on, and help from the Potential teams who did a considerable amount of the work remaking the cities that they now have to protect, the Aegis teams are confident as they begin their work.
[Roll: 43 + 36 + 5 = 84. Success]
Thanks to the ease of construction, things go far faster than Lina had ever hoped for. Interceptor arrays are dug into place, ground to orbit battery locations scoped out, but the biggest accomplishment comes from the combined work of the two Ministries and the Potentials who supported them. By the end of the year, every one of the cities has completed its shield generators and barrier ring. It's a massive step forward in protecting your people, and with that done the planetary network only needs a few junction centres to achieve full functionality.
(Locked for 1 year)
We certainly had the first set of auxiliary naval vessels out in time for the strike on Tombstone in Turn 6.
Yes, we had to go through multiple upgrade cycles; once RnD would roll out a workable set of combat upgrades, we'd run everything and everyone through the shipyards again. That's easier now that Sixth Secret tech will allow for field upgrades.
Note that we did this despite discovering that there was a Shiplord espionage operation in Sol space as of Turn 3; we didn't have the time to wait to root out Tombstone first before we began building up.
The same principle applies here: what's our sweet spot for when to stop working on R&D and start throwing into production? I don't know; Amanda and
@Snowfire haven't told us when exactly the Fleet is coming, unlike last time when we had direct access to Project Insight's information.
Remember, we're not running the government anymore, just a highpowered research institute. THE highpowered research institute, but still RnD, not policy or intel. We do not have access to the most classified threat estimates by design. That was part of the tradeoff when we deliberately voted for not being a Minister and went into RnD.
Sure, we'd get a headsup a year or two in advance, because as co-head of the 223, we're a pivotal combat asset.
But I don't think it's reasonable to expect to have the sort of detailed roadmap of impending threat now that the President of Earthgov was able to enjoy during the Emergency Years.
I mean, we have no way of knowing what exactly we are going to uncover in the course of research.
But it's not..wise to expect that things will work out in a way to give us significant headsup time.
Tribute Fleet didn't obscure their advent; we don't know if Regular Fleet do, or can, but we know that the Shiplords CAN hide stuff from Insight.
And note that Insight didn't give us a firm timeline on Contact Fleet arrival; just that they'd show up after the Tribute Fleet.
So yeah, I'm operating on the basis of what I think a rational threat assessment with limited info would suggest. Which means industry, then military as priorities, with counterintelligence/diplomacy going at the same time.
Else I'd have chosen to do the Fifth and Third Secret RnD actions first. Because they seem like fun.
