Oh, great.It's funny you used that word
At least it wasn't Industrial Fabrication that crit-failed; we've invested a lot of actions into the Sixth Secret, and if that one doesn't pan out they'll all have been an almost complete waste.
The Practice War [Complete]
- Thread starter Snowfire
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
At least it wasn't Industrial Fabrication that crit-failed; we've invested a lot of actions into the Sixth Secret, and if that one doesn't pan out they'll all have been an almost complete waste.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Another moderately creepy thing from my not-on-SV friend!
Naughty naughty
Reaching too far
So quaint.
Did you really dare to dream?
Believe?
It's too late now
The dice are rolled
Pain and loss
Your penance
Is set
Before any of you really start worrying, though, don't. This isn't a Bad End level event. It's just, well, lemme quote someone here.
Naughty naughty
Reaching too far
So quaint.
Did you really dare to dream?
Believe?
It's too late now
The dice are rolled
Pain and loss
Your penance
Is set
Before any of you really start worrying, though, don't. This isn't a Bad End level event. It's just, well, lemme quote someone here.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yesss, and the guilt will make you roll more crits for us ...I have been locked by my dice giving you success upon crit-success upon more success for most of the last eight turns.
Let me take some satisfaction in indulging my evil side, damnit!
The thing is that, statistically speaking, we should have rolled at least one critfail by now (~75% chance), and, given the number of dice rolled, there's a ~43% that we would have rolled two or more by now. When you're rolling a LOT of dice, it shouldn't be terribly surprising to see a 1 in 100 event on occasion.I have been locked by my dice giving you success upon crit-success upon more success for most of the last eight turns.
Let me take some satisfaction in indulging my evil side, damnit!
It's funny you used that word
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
I KNEW WE SHOULD HAVE DOUBLED DOWN.
Ok, I'm done
Next time I get a premonition like that I'll be far more aggressive about it.
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Hold your horses for a bit.
You argued that we needed to double down on our intrigue actions: Blurred Crosshairs / Breaking Chains. You don't get to claim prophetic foresight unless the action we critfailed was one of these two in particular. And judging from Snowfire's hints, it isn't.
(checks) Nope, no update yet.
Ok, so I have a dark feeling about what that 1 might be.
Worst case: If it was on the Blurred Crosshairs or Breaking Chains, we just set off a booby-trap code that signaled the enemy fleet and they're now showing up next turn.
Ok, so I have a dark feeling about what that 1 might be.
Worst case: If it was on the Blurred Crosshairs or Breaking Chains, we just set off a booby-trap code that signaled the enemy fleet and they're now showing up next turn.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Worst case: we rely on the convincing Insight telling us about an Achilles Heel and loose the better part of our defense forces.(checks) Nope, no update yet.
Ok, so I have a dark feeling about what that 1 might be.
Worst case: If it was on the Blurred Crosshairs or Breaking Chains, we just set off a booby-trap code that signaled the enemy fleet and they're now showing up next turn.
...yep, could see that.
And no, I wasn't claiming to have a prophetic insight on stuff, or I would have been far more ...Casandraific about it. I just tend to take the view during these types of quests as to "What is the WORST thing that could happen if we botched these rolls that we REALLY need to succeed on." and then try to hedge my bets.
There were only 3 rolls that botching on would screw us over, those two rolls and the nano-tech roll. And nanotech we could in theory recover from a botch(unless Grey Goo) so I wasn't worried about that one.
Don't worry about me, I'll just be the worried voice in the crowd.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
It's cute that you think that.
*goes back to writing nat 1 interlude*
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
So a quick update. Turn 9 is sitting at about 40% completion, largely due to work being done on this turn's interludes and New Years being a thing.
I'm hoping to finish off the Turn tonight, and then work on the interludes tomorrow. Just thought it would be good to let you know
Happy New Year!
I'm hoping to finish off the Turn tonight, and then work on the interludes tomorrow. Just thought it would be good to let you know
Happy New Year!
Mandabar
Waifu of choice is Rem. Give that girl some hugs!
- Location
- Florida, USA [Yes. Florida *FacePalm*]
Hoh hum, I wonder what I've missed as I generally have been distracted because of... reasons. OH god I have 562 alerts staring at me from the top of the screen. I only get alerts on OP posts, oh god.
Wow, that was quite a bit of updates and things and events and stuff. Yay! Mostly good. And Snowfire seems to be pulling out the catgirls quite a bit. Heck I was even mentioned due to the Rem connection.
Also D'aawwwww!
and in result type posts showing a spoiler at the start showing the winning vote for those who don't read all the intervening posts with possibly a sub-spoiler underneath detailing the actual vote wording/verbose accounting.
On that other matter, all of our success upon crit-success will all come crashing down on us won't it during the Tribute Fleet attack won't it? Strings and strings of crit fails. You can get all the evil laughs in then @Snowfire and revel in our tears!
Wow, that was quite a bit of updates and things and events and stuff. Yay! Mostly good. And Snowfire seems to be pulling out the catgirls quite a bit. Heck I was even mentioned due to the Rem connection.
Also D'aawwwww!
Soo... Does this make it a priority for us to get a catgirl subspecies going after we reacquire use of the second secret then @Snowfire?Have a celebratory catgirl for us getting through all these interludes and mini-turns.
Paging @Mandabar because cg Rem
Yay! \o/ You've started marking new options as new. I really appreciate that. The only other improvements would be not marking them new next time
and in result type posts showing a spoiler at the start showing the winning vote for those who don't read all the intervening posts with possibly a sub-spoiler underneath detailing the actual vote wording/verbose accounting.Well, I have good news and I have bad news. Good news, most of the dice liked you.
Bad news?
Oh god. Nooooo! How could you based dice gods?!I have been locked by my dice giving you success upon crit-success upon more success for most of the last eight turns.
Let me take some satisfaction in indulging my evil side, damnit!
On that other matter, all of our success upon crit-success will all come crashing down on us won't it during the Tribute Fleet attack won't it? Strings and strings of crit fails. You can get all the evil laughs in then @Snowfire and revel in our tears!
Shit, no kidding. This and the last one got my spine tingling.
So it has, so it has. The last victim of 2016 was itself. It was a just event.
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Turn 9 - Results
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Our Guarded Star
This year follows the same trend as the last for general military actions. More upgrades, more ships, including what's expected to be last run of Potential crewed craft, their crew requirements too high to continue construction. Any further vessels would leave other areas vulnerable, and Lina cannot allow that, no matter how powerful the Dauntless and Tower class vessels are. That cannot do everything.
[Everyone loves Upgrades (Nano-repair): 17 + 38 + 15 (Design Action) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 75. Success]
[Rolling Thunder: 48 + 38 + 15 (Design action = 101. Success]
Thankfully, the major refitting projects of the year both go well. With the last year to draw from for experience across the board, and the restabilising of your logistical network, it's not much of a surprise. The yard works steady shifts, coordinating with the Navy so that new ships are available almost as soon as a berth becomes free. That it succeeds in doing so around the most intense and complex training program Lina has ever constructed is a testament to its steadily mounting experience in the finer arts of strategy.
Given that your Practiced craft are brought in for refitting as well, the first time they've had yard work since construction, it's a welcome one surprise when it all goes so smoothly. The extensive plans you've kept of the ships help, but the true masterminds of the process turn out to be the Makers attached to BuSupply.
With the damage control centres replaced with nano-based systems, space is freed aboard all craft for specialised fabbers, to produce ammunition and other vital expendables. Although the construction of those systems is rather complex, building missiles is little more difficult than building starships, and the work is finished on schedule.
[Construct Auxiliary Task Groups: 83 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 103. Overwhelming Success]
Practice Roll: 13 + 50 = 63. Solid Success
[Construct Tower class Squadrons: 15 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 35. Success]
Practice Roll: 5 + 50 = 55. Solid Success
The new year's construction is complicated by the installation of the yard's new fabrication systems, but the uptick in output from the Makers covers the held up material. Given the amount of experience that the crews have had over the years building auxiliary class vessels, both task groups are completed to an excellent standard. Given the increased amount of Practiced components, they're best equipped auxiliaries to have left the shipyards in their history. Still not even close to enough to withstand projected Tribute fleet vessel capabilities, but the new task groups will put up much more of a fight.
There's some quiet talk of entirely new designs for the auxiliaries, now that the production of Practiced components seems to be finally hitting its stride. When asked about it, Lina informs you with some sadness that new design work would only barely be through the planning stages by the time the Shiplord's arrived, assuming you started right away. As such, you're forced to shelve the plans for now, as tempting as their results might be.
The Tower class ships remain a consistent thorn in your side, however, and there Lina is clearly irritated by the results. Barely a full squadron of the graceful craft exit the yard this year, and she speaks quite forcefully on the subject of a future redesign, if for no other reason but to make the vessels easier to build. Several abortive attempts to streamline the construction process have revealed some serious issues with the current design.
[Construct Dauntless class Squadrons: 68 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 88. Greater Success]
Practice Roll: 81 + 50 = 131. Practice Trance! Trance Roll: 99. Practiced Miracle!
There is, however, a much brighter spot to follow in the Dauntless class vessels that finish construction at the end of the year. Even out beyond the Earth's atmosphere you are able to feel the sudden burst of Practiced power that is unleashed on the partially constructed squadron's hulls. The sensitivity granted by your connection with Sidra surprises you, as it's clear from almost the first moment this is no Trance. You took a full week out of your schedule to deal with the shock of the distant nova of power, much of it spent in what you'd almost call communion with your Unison platform, modifying the strength of your perceptions and building defences to protect you from any similar events.
The rest was spent exploring in awe the results of the Miracle conjured by the Potentials who were working on the final Dauntless squadron. Although the original design had always been sleek, built to make the most of its angles for the limited defences it could mount, it lacked the slumbering lethality that clung to these craft. The Dauntless class had been designed to be your sword, and they'd done that job well, but they made poor showing beside the masterworks in craft that were their newest sisters. You're pretty sure Lina almost fainted on finding out what they were capable of, the Miracle taking their form as weapons and enhancing them into something much more. Perhaps understandably, this led to their designation as a new class within the Navy; Ulfberht class.
For the final sword in your arsenal, it's a truly magnificent one.
(Nano-repair and ammunition fabbers installed, 2 Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups constructed, +9 Tower class, +9 Ulfberht class, new Post-war options unlocked.)
Securing the Miracle 61+ needed
Building up the defences around Skylark to a higher level is a major project given the area involved. Pulling down parts of the city is considered to be rather unwise without a firm understanding of everything present in the city, but there are advantages here too. Strongpoints outside of the city's shield will be expensive, but the benefits in terms of how much defensive capacity you can build into them stand to be considerable. It does require more planning, however, and that is what the groups assigned to the project dedicate themselves to for most of the first year.
[Roll: 34 + 38 + 15 (Design action) = 87. Success]
Practice Roll: 82 + 50 = 132. Solid Success
Finding spots to construct the strongpoints goes about as well as one would expect when you have complete orbital scans of an area and considerable experience in picking out spots for planetary defence centres. Constructing them will take a bit longer, but the work gets off to a good start thanks to an infusion of Practiced weaponry that had been slated to be the main armament of what were now Ulfberht class ships. With those acquired, the Potentials assigned to the project are able to focus on accelerating the PDC construction process.
(Locked for 1 year)
Honing the Sword
Orchestrating two sets of training exercises around the need to upgrade capital ships as well as the FSN's auxiliary components would be a trial to even the best, but it's also not a task that is undertaken without a year's experience. The training exercises for the fleet last year were a definite success, and with that experience, Lina is able to refine the process for Fortress Command.
[To Know War: 55 + 38 = 93. Success]
[Walls of Blood and Steel: 87 + 38 = 125. Solid Success]
With Lina's focus on Fortress Command, and the far more considerable refitting work taking place this year, the FSN is less able to mount effective exercises. The year of work is not without worth, but it fails to make as much of an impact as the year before. Fortress Command, however, advances quickly. Although no one is quite sure how they will deal with several Tribute Fleet vessels laying down a siege on an orbital like Icarus, fighting for over a month against simulated and real vessels is excellent experience for the crews.
(Naval experience rising, Fortress Command experience raised to Well Trained)
Industrial Fabrication 61+ needed
Proper testing is seen as vitally important for the larger fabricators, especially given how lethal to your war effort losing your shipyard complex could be. An asteroid close to the sun is designated as a testing site, and freighters move a complex mess of fabricators, failsafes and observation systems into place for use. The plan is to run the test for a full six months, during which the industry on Earth will construct components for the Yard. Assuming a successful test completion, the installation process is expected to take most of the rest of the year. Initial results project only a moderate increase in productivity, but that is to be expected when you're all but hurling nanites at problems that often need a bit more subtlety.
These sort of things are, after all, complicated.
[Roll: 66 + 42 = 108. Solid Success]
It's with no small amount of relief that you read the report six months later informing you that the Home Office will not require a tug to tow their research base into the Sun again. You set it aside, approve the installation process, and then move on. For you it's reasonably simple, another report amongst the many that you read every day, although with a little more in the way of import. It's rather more important for your shipyard staff.
Thankfully, forward planning is something that all of your Ministries have experience with. Even taking into account the construction and refitting currently underway in the yards, there are few snags in the construction process. By the end of the year almost the entire shipyard has been retooled to use the fabbers, and the second report on the subject is much more optimistic.
(Specified actions next year are free. Major changes to Shipyard Operations coming after invasion, further actions held.)
Blurred Crosshairs 76+ needed
The understanding you'd gained of the sensors used by the subnet hub's defensive node was at the heart of the upgrades made to your ships. There were other things that could be done with that understanding, however. If you knew how sensors worked, you could learn to block or hinder them. That was the theory, at least, and a mixed team from the War Office and Ministry of Security were assigned to the task of trying to adapt the FSN's current electronic warfare suites to counter Shiplord sensors.
[Roll: 76 + 44 = 120. Solid Success]
As it turns out, it's an upgrade the systems need instead of an adaptation. Although incredible advanced by the standards of pre-Practice society, what the FSN has right now is sadly unimpressive when compared to what you'll need to break into Shiplord acquisition systems. Thanks to the work of the team assigned to this project, however, you now know what changes you need to make to the current systems to bring them up to spec. It's no guarantee, and your Ministers are honest in their admission that they didn't expect one. Better than nothing seems to be a rather common phrase, these days.
(Actions unlocked)
Breaking Chains
Turning your gaze away from the ships of the Tribute Fleet themselves, what Marcus found in the depths of the design servers was degraded and long inactive, but assuming that there aren't any other hooks in the system doesn't strike anyone as safe. Not with the reference left in the Tombstone files, and the knowledge of what the Shiplords did last time your networks were compromised. Finding and securing any remaining hooks would be to everyone's benefit, even if only for peace of mind.
[Roll: 31 + 44 + 8 (Network Supremacy) = 83. Failure]
Practice Roll: 90 + 50 = 140. Solid Success
As has happened several times in the last few years, the Potentials assigned to the team are those who make the difference. How they end up having made a difference when Marcus briefs you on the results of the search, is more worrying than you would have liked. The network security group discovered several hooks in their deeper search of the infosphere, but only because they now knew a little of what to look for. Knowing what to look for wasn't enough to keep them secure from the consequences of trying to disable them, however. In another example of the strange duplicity that Shiplord assets seemed to direct at their own creations, the hooks were far better protected than most of the Shiplord software you'd come into contact with.
When the security team tried to disable them, they tried to activate. It was only through the swift work of the Potentials on the team that they didn't succeed, and given the placement of some of them, the activation could have been catastrophic. The involved learnt a lot from the interactions, and Marcus is confident that they'll be able to deal with any more system hooks when they find them. The degree of leftover penetration in your systems is worrying, however, particularly when someone like Marcus can only be in one place at a time.
(Locked for 1 year)
Picking the Bones 61+ needed
After the successes of Mary's working group over the last two years, it's with some anticipation that you await the results of their next report on the Shiplord scrapheap they're slowly working their way through. Mary warns you midway through the year that it's unlikely to be weapons based this time, but given the success of the last two years and the launch of the Ulfberht class ships, Lina is content with what they've managed to give her so far. Not that she wouldn't want more, there's no such thing as being too greedy when it comes to survival mechanisms, but she's pacified for now.
[Roll: 16 + 49 = 65. Success]
You're not sure if you're happy or sad about that when the working group files their report. Knowing that they had a little less pressure on them to pursue projects directly related to war, the scientists focused on something else. The drone platforms that it deployed, against you and on the hub station itself. Although all you have of them is a lot of wreckage, enough of it was taken after the hub station action to piece the design back together. What you find is…disturbing.
Like the circuitry of the system hub and other stations, the drones were biomechanical in nature. Unlike the former, however, the combat platforms integrated a far higher degree of that technology into their design. The report from the scientists pointed to several potential weaknesses to the design if they were encountered again, as well as advancing the possibility of constructing your own combat platforms, based off of different components of course.
(Post-invasion actions unlocked. Tactical analysis of Shiplord combat platforms updated)
Energetic Resistance 76+ needed
An extension of your new repair systems, the idea to use an active nanite system to protect your armour from incoming fire is one that came about entirely by accident. A glitch in programming during one of the tests led to the nanites using their own mass to screen against incoming fire. Normally this would just be a waste, as their self-replication capabilities aren't anywhere close to enough to keep up with the sort of continuous use a battle situation would require. The difference here was that that nanomass would energise their physical shells when hit, creating something very close to a true energy shield. With Lina's considerable urging, Mary sets a team delving further into the matter, to make what was an accident repeatable.
[Roll: 46 + 49 = 95. Success]
The main problem was replicating the combination of coded actions, but here the team's helped by the obsessive recording that Mary has successfully made the norm across the entire Ministry. Recovering the code is easy, and with that done the primary challenge is replicating the process it created. That takes more than a few attempts, due to the complex interactions involved, but Lina has another new set of upgrades to install by year's end.
(Actions unlocked)
Hidden Deep
The work of the year before was a good base for your understanding of the Elder's Vault, but there's still a lot of work yet to be done. The searches of the Vault's databanks continued, trying to piece together a proper picture of the place, and maybe find some data that will have more use. The teams assigned to the steady sweep of the open sections of the vault continued the process, working steadily through the vault's floors and cataloguing the artifacts left behind by the Elder First.
That wasn't the most interesting thing done this year, as the final team's discovery the year before of a place that would need you to open it. Although juggling your commitments to the Two Twenty Three and your being President is hard, you make the time. A relic of the Elder First could be powerful beyond belief, but all the strength is worthless if you cannot use it.
[Databank Sweep: 38 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 92. Success]
[Artifact Investigation: 95 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 149. Greater Success]
[Doors and Keys: 65 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 119]
[Inheritor: 93 + 28 = 121]
(See Interlude: Vision)
Fluid Harmony 71+ needed
It was your hope this year that Vega would be able to find time outside of the continued recruitment and training of the Two Twenty Three to work on what she helped create. The contents of the computer system seem relatively benign, but without a proper understanding of it you're still left in the dark as to what it actually does
[Roll: 11 + 50 = 61. Slim Failure]
Unfortunately, her work keeps her away from the project for any meaningful time. She squeezes in a few notes here and there, but nothing that actually brings you or her any closer to whatever the truth might be. She's more than willing to attempt looking at it again next year, but no major resources were committed beyond preparation.
(+5 to next attempt)
Realizing the Soul 81+ needed
Vega is not so required for another of the major projects assigned to her Ministry, however. The techniques they've created are finished, all the remains is to find Potentials. First Awoken are the preferred, the most experienced in many ways in doing what Marcus has done to himself. Although only a few could be said to have reached the same level of internal focus, their Awakening has had the most time to learn how to reach towards it. The parts of the Ministry for Practice not assigned to the Two Twenty Three organise classes and recruit available Potentials to attempt the process.
[Roll: 96 + 50 = 146. Solid Success]
Although it's a complicated one, they do find some success in the first year. The act of taking your Focus into yourself is a complicated one, but more than one of the First Awoken who volunteered were already partway along the path. None of them have reached the level that Marcus has attained, but his own Focus led him to it. But as more reach towards his own understanding, even if it's through time and hard work, that understanding cannot do less but spread.
(Locked for 3 years. Some First Awoken have gained a deeper understanding of Internal Focus principles.)
Eyes in the Dark
Diving into the Void between is not without its risks, but Project Insight is more aware than most of the dangers and possible horror now so close to humanity that some of them can almost feel its fingers reaching out to grasp. They hold to the creations of your presidency, the artifacts recovered and built anew, using it as an anchor as they seek to find more to use against the Shiplords. Some concern is expressed over how little they gained last year, but that is why you ask them to search for a more immediate piece of information, one that will allow your Navy to prepare more exactly.
What will come, you ask, and only once or if that question is answered will they be asked to delve deeper for another weakness of humanity's enemy.
[Our Enemy, Before Us: 36 + 50 = 86. Success]
[Achilles Heel: 1 + 50 = 51. Critical Failure]
It is true that they find the first answer, and far more quickly than you'd imagined. But what follows when they seek the truth of another weakness is terrifying. Phoebe told you that ranging the void could be dangerous, but this…
(See Interlude: Nightfalls)
Becoming
You're still not quite sure at the end of the year how you kept up with the demands of your office whilst dedicating so much time to the Two Twenty Three. It's more likely than you'd like to admit that your administration has simply become good enough at its job by now that they can deal with most minor matters for you, but you cling a little to the notion that Sidra has also helped. The ability to spread the load when working between the two of you, even if they're a little different in how they solve problems, is a gift that just keeps on giving.
[Synchronization Trials: 72 + 50 = 122. Solid Success]
[Learning to Run, Flying Edition: 71 + 50 = 121. Solid Success]
[Integration and Entanglement: 72 + 50 = 122. Solid Success]
[Unison Training: 92 + 28 = 120. Synergy bonus Active]
A gift that you only have thanks to the many days spent with those who you know see as brothers and sisters, Potentials brought together as Unisonbound, and capable of feats that surprise even themselves. Unison Platforms bring with them vast power, and an ability to manipulate reality through Practice that is beyond anything you've seen. Even more impressive is how the Platforms bring you together, allowing for freewheeling debates and learning that would take hours in reality to pass in the space of minutes. Yet teaching those added to your number is only one of the many things you share with the Two Twenty Three this year. And, as shocking as it may seem, without a doubt among the most mundane.
(See Interlude: Wonder and Starlight)
Opinion
Public: United. Serene
Congress: United. Secure.
Administration: United. Fanatical.
Military: United. Secure.
This year follows the same trend as the last for general military actions. More upgrades, more ships, including what's expected to be last run of Potential crewed craft, their crew requirements too high to continue construction. Any further vessels would leave other areas vulnerable, and Lina cannot allow that, no matter how powerful the Dauntless and Tower class vessels are. That cannot do everything.
[Everyone loves Upgrades (Nano-repair): 17 + 38 + 15 (Design Action) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 75. Success]
[Rolling Thunder: 48 + 38 + 15 (Design action = 101. Success]
Thankfully, the major refitting projects of the year both go well. With the last year to draw from for experience across the board, and the restabilising of your logistical network, it's not much of a surprise. The yard works steady shifts, coordinating with the Navy so that new ships are available almost as soon as a berth becomes free. That it succeeds in doing so around the most intense and complex training program Lina has ever constructed is a testament to its steadily mounting experience in the finer arts of strategy.
Given that your Practiced craft are brought in for refitting as well, the first time they've had yard work since construction, it's a welcome one surprise when it all goes so smoothly. The extensive plans you've kept of the ships help, but the true masterminds of the process turn out to be the Makers attached to BuSupply.
With the damage control centres replaced with nano-based systems, space is freed aboard all craft for specialised fabbers, to produce ammunition and other vital expendables. Although the construction of those systems is rather complex, building missiles is little more difficult than building starships, and the work is finished on schedule.
[Construct Auxiliary Task Groups: 83 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 103. Overwhelming Success]
Practice Roll: 13 + 50 = 63. Solid Success
[Construct Tower class Squadrons: 15 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 35. Success]
Practice Roll: 5 + 50 = 55. Solid Success
The new year's construction is complicated by the installation of the yard's new fabrication systems, but the uptick in output from the Makers covers the held up material. Given the amount of experience that the crews have had over the years building auxiliary class vessels, both task groups are completed to an excellent standard. Given the increased amount of Practiced components, they're best equipped auxiliaries to have left the shipyards in their history. Still not even close to enough to withstand projected Tribute fleet vessel capabilities, but the new task groups will put up much more of a fight.
There's some quiet talk of entirely new designs for the auxiliaries, now that the production of Practiced components seems to be finally hitting its stride. When asked about it, Lina informs you with some sadness that new design work would only barely be through the planning stages by the time the Shiplord's arrived, assuming you started right away. As such, you're forced to shelve the plans for now, as tempting as their results might be.
The Tower class ships remain a consistent thorn in your side, however, and there Lina is clearly irritated by the results. Barely a full squadron of the graceful craft exit the yard this year, and she speaks quite forcefully on the subject of a future redesign, if for no other reason but to make the vessels easier to build. Several abortive attempts to streamline the construction process have revealed some serious issues with the current design.
[Construct Dauntless class Squadrons: 68 + 15 (Shipyard Complex) + 5 (Ministerial VI) = 88. Greater Success]
Practice Roll: 81 + 50 = 131. Practice Trance! Trance Roll: 99. Practiced Miracle!
There is, however, a much brighter spot to follow in the Dauntless class vessels that finish construction at the end of the year. Even out beyond the Earth's atmosphere you are able to feel the sudden burst of Practiced power that is unleashed on the partially constructed squadron's hulls. The sensitivity granted by your connection with Sidra surprises you, as it's clear from almost the first moment this is no Trance. You took a full week out of your schedule to deal with the shock of the distant nova of power, much of it spent in what you'd almost call communion with your Unison platform, modifying the strength of your perceptions and building defences to protect you from any similar events.
The rest was spent exploring in awe the results of the Miracle conjured by the Potentials who were working on the final Dauntless squadron. Although the original design had always been sleek, built to make the most of its angles for the limited defences it could mount, it lacked the slumbering lethality that clung to these craft. The Dauntless class had been designed to be your sword, and they'd done that job well, but they made poor showing beside the masterworks in craft that were their newest sisters. You're pretty sure Lina almost fainted on finding out what they were capable of, the Miracle taking their form as weapons and enhancing them into something much more. Perhaps understandably, this led to their designation as a new class within the Navy; Ulfberht class.
For the final sword in your arsenal, it's a truly magnificent one.
(Nano-repair and ammunition fabbers installed, 2 Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups constructed, +9 Tower class, +9 Ulfberht class, new Post-war options unlocked.)
Securing the Miracle 61+ needed
Building up the defences around Skylark to a higher level is a major project given the area involved. Pulling down parts of the city is considered to be rather unwise without a firm understanding of everything present in the city, but there are advantages here too. Strongpoints outside of the city's shield will be expensive, but the benefits in terms of how much defensive capacity you can build into them stand to be considerable. It does require more planning, however, and that is what the groups assigned to the project dedicate themselves to for most of the first year.
[Roll: 34 + 38 + 15 (Design action) = 87. Success]
Practice Roll: 82 + 50 = 132. Solid Success
Finding spots to construct the strongpoints goes about as well as one would expect when you have complete orbital scans of an area and considerable experience in picking out spots for planetary defence centres. Constructing them will take a bit longer, but the work gets off to a good start thanks to an infusion of Practiced weaponry that had been slated to be the main armament of what were now Ulfberht class ships. With those acquired, the Potentials assigned to the project are able to focus on accelerating the PDC construction process.
(Locked for 1 year)
Honing the Sword
Orchestrating two sets of training exercises around the need to upgrade capital ships as well as the FSN's auxiliary components would be a trial to even the best, but it's also not a task that is undertaken without a year's experience. The training exercises for the fleet last year were a definite success, and with that experience, Lina is able to refine the process for Fortress Command.
[To Know War: 55 + 38 = 93. Success]
[Walls of Blood and Steel: 87 + 38 = 125. Solid Success]
With Lina's focus on Fortress Command, and the far more considerable refitting work taking place this year, the FSN is less able to mount effective exercises. The year of work is not without worth, but it fails to make as much of an impact as the year before. Fortress Command, however, advances quickly. Although no one is quite sure how they will deal with several Tribute Fleet vessels laying down a siege on an orbital like Icarus, fighting for over a month against simulated and real vessels is excellent experience for the crews.
(Naval experience rising, Fortress Command experience raised to Well Trained)
Industrial Fabrication 61+ needed
Proper testing is seen as vitally important for the larger fabricators, especially given how lethal to your war effort losing your shipyard complex could be. An asteroid close to the sun is designated as a testing site, and freighters move a complex mess of fabricators, failsafes and observation systems into place for use. The plan is to run the test for a full six months, during which the industry on Earth will construct components for the Yard. Assuming a successful test completion, the installation process is expected to take most of the rest of the year. Initial results project only a moderate increase in productivity, but that is to be expected when you're all but hurling nanites at problems that often need a bit more subtlety.
These sort of things are, after all, complicated.
[Roll: 66 + 42 = 108. Solid Success]
It's with no small amount of relief that you read the report six months later informing you that the Home Office will not require a tug to tow their research base into the Sun again. You set it aside, approve the installation process, and then move on. For you it's reasonably simple, another report amongst the many that you read every day, although with a little more in the way of import. It's rather more important for your shipyard staff.
Thankfully, forward planning is something that all of your Ministries have experience with. Even taking into account the construction and refitting currently underway in the yards, there are few snags in the construction process. By the end of the year almost the entire shipyard has been retooled to use the fabbers, and the second report on the subject is much more optimistic.
(Specified actions next year are free. Major changes to Shipyard Operations coming after invasion, further actions held.)
Blurred Crosshairs 76+ needed
The understanding you'd gained of the sensors used by the subnet hub's defensive node was at the heart of the upgrades made to your ships. There were other things that could be done with that understanding, however. If you knew how sensors worked, you could learn to block or hinder them. That was the theory, at least, and a mixed team from the War Office and Ministry of Security were assigned to the task of trying to adapt the FSN's current electronic warfare suites to counter Shiplord sensors.
[Roll: 76 + 44 = 120. Solid Success]
As it turns out, it's an upgrade the systems need instead of an adaptation. Although incredible advanced by the standards of pre-Practice society, what the FSN has right now is sadly unimpressive when compared to what you'll need to break into Shiplord acquisition systems. Thanks to the work of the team assigned to this project, however, you now know what changes you need to make to the current systems to bring them up to spec. It's no guarantee, and your Ministers are honest in their admission that they didn't expect one. Better than nothing seems to be a rather common phrase, these days.
(Actions unlocked)
Breaking Chains
Turning your gaze away from the ships of the Tribute Fleet themselves, what Marcus found in the depths of the design servers was degraded and long inactive, but assuming that there aren't any other hooks in the system doesn't strike anyone as safe. Not with the reference left in the Tombstone files, and the knowledge of what the Shiplords did last time your networks were compromised. Finding and securing any remaining hooks would be to everyone's benefit, even if only for peace of mind.
[Roll: 31 + 44 + 8 (Network Supremacy) = 83. Failure]
Practice Roll: 90 + 50 = 140. Solid Success
As has happened several times in the last few years, the Potentials assigned to the team are those who make the difference. How they end up having made a difference when Marcus briefs you on the results of the search, is more worrying than you would have liked. The network security group discovered several hooks in their deeper search of the infosphere, but only because they now knew a little of what to look for. Knowing what to look for wasn't enough to keep them secure from the consequences of trying to disable them, however. In another example of the strange duplicity that Shiplord assets seemed to direct at their own creations, the hooks were far better protected than most of the Shiplord software you'd come into contact with.
When the security team tried to disable them, they tried to activate. It was only through the swift work of the Potentials on the team that they didn't succeed, and given the placement of some of them, the activation could have been catastrophic. The involved learnt a lot from the interactions, and Marcus is confident that they'll be able to deal with any more system hooks when they find them. The degree of leftover penetration in your systems is worrying, however, particularly when someone like Marcus can only be in one place at a time.
(Locked for 1 year)
Picking the Bones 61+ needed
After the successes of Mary's working group over the last two years, it's with some anticipation that you await the results of their next report on the Shiplord scrapheap they're slowly working their way through. Mary warns you midway through the year that it's unlikely to be weapons based this time, but given the success of the last two years and the launch of the Ulfberht class ships, Lina is content with what they've managed to give her so far. Not that she wouldn't want more, there's no such thing as being too greedy when it comes to survival mechanisms, but she's pacified for now.
[Roll: 16 + 49 = 65. Success]
You're not sure if you're happy or sad about that when the working group files their report. Knowing that they had a little less pressure on them to pursue projects directly related to war, the scientists focused on something else. The drone platforms that it deployed, against you and on the hub station itself. Although all you have of them is a lot of wreckage, enough of it was taken after the hub station action to piece the design back together. What you find is…disturbing.
Like the circuitry of the system hub and other stations, the drones were biomechanical in nature. Unlike the former, however, the combat platforms integrated a far higher degree of that technology into their design. The report from the scientists pointed to several potential weaknesses to the design if they were encountered again, as well as advancing the possibility of constructing your own combat platforms, based off of different components of course.
(Post-invasion actions unlocked. Tactical analysis of Shiplord combat platforms updated)
Energetic Resistance 76+ needed
An extension of your new repair systems, the idea to use an active nanite system to protect your armour from incoming fire is one that came about entirely by accident. A glitch in programming during one of the tests led to the nanites using their own mass to screen against incoming fire. Normally this would just be a waste, as their self-replication capabilities aren't anywhere close to enough to keep up with the sort of continuous use a battle situation would require. The difference here was that that nanomass would energise their physical shells when hit, creating something very close to a true energy shield. With Lina's considerable urging, Mary sets a team delving further into the matter, to make what was an accident repeatable.
[Roll: 46 + 49 = 95. Success]
The main problem was replicating the combination of coded actions, but here the team's helped by the obsessive recording that Mary has successfully made the norm across the entire Ministry. Recovering the code is easy, and with that done the primary challenge is replicating the process it created. That takes more than a few attempts, due to the complex interactions involved, but Lina has another new set of upgrades to install by year's end.
(Actions unlocked)
Hidden Deep
The work of the year before was a good base for your understanding of the Elder's Vault, but there's still a lot of work yet to be done. The searches of the Vault's databanks continued, trying to piece together a proper picture of the place, and maybe find some data that will have more use. The teams assigned to the steady sweep of the open sections of the vault continued the process, working steadily through the vault's floors and cataloguing the artifacts left behind by the Elder First.
That wasn't the most interesting thing done this year, as the final team's discovery the year before of a place that would need you to open it. Although juggling your commitments to the Two Twenty Three and your being President is hard, you make the time. A relic of the Elder First could be powerful beyond belief, but all the strength is worthless if you cannot use it.
[Databank Sweep: 38 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 92. Success]
[Artifact Investigation: 95 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 149. Greater Success]
[Doors and Keys: 65 + 49 + 5 (Partial Database) = 119]
[Inheritor: 93 + 28 = 121]
(See Interlude: Vision)
Fluid Harmony 71+ needed
It was your hope this year that Vega would be able to find time outside of the continued recruitment and training of the Two Twenty Three to work on what she helped create. The contents of the computer system seem relatively benign, but without a proper understanding of it you're still left in the dark as to what it actually does
[Roll: 11 + 50 = 61. Slim Failure]
Unfortunately, her work keeps her away from the project for any meaningful time. She squeezes in a few notes here and there, but nothing that actually brings you or her any closer to whatever the truth might be. She's more than willing to attempt looking at it again next year, but no major resources were committed beyond preparation.
(+5 to next attempt)
Realizing the Soul 81+ needed
Vega is not so required for another of the major projects assigned to her Ministry, however. The techniques they've created are finished, all the remains is to find Potentials. First Awoken are the preferred, the most experienced in many ways in doing what Marcus has done to himself. Although only a few could be said to have reached the same level of internal focus, their Awakening has had the most time to learn how to reach towards it. The parts of the Ministry for Practice not assigned to the Two Twenty Three organise classes and recruit available Potentials to attempt the process.
[Roll: 96 + 50 = 146. Solid Success]
Although it's a complicated one, they do find some success in the first year. The act of taking your Focus into yourself is a complicated one, but more than one of the First Awoken who volunteered were already partway along the path. None of them have reached the level that Marcus has attained, but his own Focus led him to it. But as more reach towards his own understanding, even if it's through time and hard work, that understanding cannot do less but spread.
(Locked for 3 years. Some First Awoken have gained a deeper understanding of Internal Focus principles.)
Eyes in the Dark
Diving into the Void between is not without its risks, but Project Insight is more aware than most of the dangers and possible horror now so close to humanity that some of them can almost feel its fingers reaching out to grasp. They hold to the creations of your presidency, the artifacts recovered and built anew, using it as an anchor as they seek to find more to use against the Shiplords. Some concern is expressed over how little they gained last year, but that is why you ask them to search for a more immediate piece of information, one that will allow your Navy to prepare more exactly.
What will come, you ask, and only once or if that question is answered will they be asked to delve deeper for another weakness of humanity's enemy.
[Our Enemy, Before Us: 36 + 50 = 86. Success]
[Achilles Heel: 1 + 50 = 51. Critical Failure]
It is true that they find the first answer, and far more quickly than you'd imagined. But what follows when they seek the truth of another weakness is terrifying. Phoebe told you that ranging the void could be dangerous, but this…
(See Interlude: Nightfalls)
Becoming
You're still not quite sure at the end of the year how you kept up with the demands of your office whilst dedicating so much time to the Two Twenty Three. It's more likely than you'd like to admit that your administration has simply become good enough at its job by now that they can deal with most minor matters for you, but you cling a little to the notion that Sidra has also helped. The ability to spread the load when working between the two of you, even if they're a little different in how they solve problems, is a gift that just keeps on giving.
[Synchronization Trials: 72 + 50 = 122. Solid Success]
[Learning to Run, Flying Edition: 71 + 50 = 121. Solid Success]
[Integration and Entanglement: 72 + 50 = 122. Solid Success]
[Unison Training: 92 + 28 = 120. Synergy bonus Active]
A gift that you only have thanks to the many days spent with those who you know see as brothers and sisters, Potentials brought together as Unisonbound, and capable of feats that surprise even themselves. Unison Platforms bring with them vast power, and an ability to manipulate reality through Practice that is beyond anything you've seen. Even more impressive is how the Platforms bring you together, allowing for freewheeling debates and learning that would take hours in reality to pass in the space of minutes. Yet teaching those added to your number is only one of the many things you share with the Two Twenty Three this year. And, as shocking as it may seem, without a doubt among the most mundane.
(See Interlude: Wonder and Starlight)
Opinion
Public: United. Serene
Congress: United. Secure.
Administration: United. Fanatical.
Military: United. Secure.
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Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
So...this took longer than I would have liked, but we got there in the end. I hope you like it, and that my teasing about the nat 1 wasn't too severe.
Also, yes, you also got a Miracle this year. But I wasn't going to go telling you that
I have the basics of all three interludes down, and one of them has had some more major work on it done. I'll see about finishing it up tomorrow. The other interludes may have to wait a bit longer, as all of them are going to be pretty weighty numbers this turn, if I'm not mistaken. A lot of stuff to cover in them.
Also, yes, you also got a Miracle this year. But I wasn't going to go telling you that
I have the basics of all three interludes down, and one of them has had some more major work on it done. I'll see about finishing it up tomorrow. The other interludes may have to wait a bit longer, as all of them are going to be pretty weighty numbers this turn, if I'm not mistaken. A lot of stuff to cover in them.
- Location
- Queensland, Australia
That Nat 1 on Achilles Heel... Ouch...
I am not looking forward to seeing how that effects things... We may need that new class of warships rather than just greatly desire...
Talking of new classes of warships, it seems that one of the effects of all our building actions on warships is all three of our classes, Auxiliary, Tower and Dauntless are going to be upgraded to a new design after the Tribute Fleet...
Auxiliaries because we're basically pushing what they are meant to be, Dauntless because we just superseded them, and Tower because the idea of the class is great... and their effectiveness is magnificent... but the practicality of the design seems to need a bit of work
Also, looks like the Two Twenty Three are going exceptionally well... And we may just need them...
I wonder if the Nat 1 meant we just discovered that all those Pre-Tears and Pre-Secrets ideas about Eldritch horrors were precognition, rather than imagination...
I am not looking forward to seeing how that effects things... We may need that new class of warships rather than just greatly desire...
Talking of new classes of warships, it seems that one of the effects of all our building actions on warships is all three of our classes, Auxiliary, Tower and Dauntless are going to be upgraded to a new design after the Tribute Fleet...
Auxiliaries because we're basically pushing what they are meant to be, Dauntless because we just superseded them, and Tower because the idea of the class is great... and their effectiveness is magnificent... but the practicality of the design seems to need a bit of work
Also, looks like the Two Twenty Three are going exceptionally well... And we may just need them...
I wonder if the Nat 1 meant we just discovered that all those Pre-Tears and Pre-Secrets ideas about Eldritch horrors were precognition, rather than imagination...
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> TURN COMPLETION DETECTED
>> COMPILING TURN RESULTS
>>> GENERATING CATEGORIES
>>>> "Technology Installation Complete!"
>>>> "New Fleet Upgrades Available!"
>>>> "New Designs Discovered!"
>>>> "New Assets Available."
>>>> "Training Improved."
>>>> "Miscellaneous."
>> PRINTING RESULTS
Turn 9 Results
Technology Installation Complete!
- Nano-repair Installed
- Ammunition Fabricators Installed
New Fleet Upgrades Available!
- Point-Defense-Penetration Upgrade
- Ablative-Nanite Energy Shield Upgrade
New Designs Discovered!
- Ulfberht Class Ships
- Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups
New Assets Available.
- (See Interlude: Vision)
- 9 Ulfberht Class Ships
- 9 Tower Class Ships
- 2 Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups
Training Improved.
- (See Interlude: Wonder and Starlight)
- Fortress Command: Trained -> Well Trained
- Naval Personnel: Well Trained -> Well Trained (+)
- Tactical analysis of Shiplord combat platforms updated
- Some First Awoken have gained a deeper understanding of Internal Focus principles
Miscellaneous.
- (See Interlude: Nightfalls)
- Industrial Fabrication Capabilities Improved
>> COMPILING TURN RESULTS
>>> GENERATING CATEGORIES
>>>> "Technology Installation Complete!"
>>>> "New Fleet Upgrades Available!"
>>>> "New Designs Discovered!"
>>>> "New Assets Available."
>>>> "Training Improved."
>>>> "Miscellaneous."
>> PRINTING RESULTS
Turn 9 Results
Technology Installation Complete!
- Nano-repair Installed
- Ammunition Fabricators Installed
New Fleet Upgrades Available!
- Point-Defense-Penetration Upgrade
- Ablative-Nanite Energy Shield Upgrade
New Designs Discovered!
- Ulfberht Class Ships
- Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups
New Assets Available.
- (See Interlude: Vision)
- 9 Ulfberht Class Ships
- 9 Tower Class Ships
- 2 Advanced Auxiliary Task Groups
Training Improved.
- (See Interlude: Wonder and Starlight)
- Fortress Command: Trained -> Well Trained
- Naval Personnel: Well Trained -> Well Trained (+)
- Tactical analysis of Shiplord combat platforms updated
- Some First Awoken have gained a deeper understanding of Internal Focus principles
Miscellaneous.
- (See Interlude: Nightfalls)
- Industrial Fabrication Capabilities Improved
Robinton
Probably petting Schrödinger's cat
- Location
- Scientifically proving a miracle
I only lost about five minutes of sleep over it; don't worry!
Now, slightly inspired by Zork: Grand Inquisitor, in the spirit of "Drat. Christmas is over. Now what?" I present to you...
How to Lose The Practice War, for Fun and Profit
1. In the alternate timeline that ate all our Natural 1's:
Snowfire: "Hmm. Turn 11 begin. Tribute fleet appearing in outer space. Hmm."
*rolls* "A natural 1. Finally! Bwahahaha!"
*2nd roll* "...Natural 1. Again."
*3rd roll* "Natural 1."
…
*5th roll* "Natural 1.
"Ok. I'm using random.org. And… five more Natural 1s.
"...
"...And I just rolled 42 Natural 1's. In a row. With ten different sources, including two dice specifically weighted to never produce Natural 1s. Welp, that does it. I know how the turn goes."
---
"…The Tribute Fleet appears from hyperspace… just in time to meet a freak cosmic ray. The cosmic ray destroys the Fleet, and the entire solar system. The Shiplords spend about three centuries trying to puzzle out how the hell that happened, and finally discover the truth. Sadly, their pondering distracted them from a existential threat, and they were eventually devoured by interdimensional superpower-granting Entities. Several millennia later, their last transmissions reached a distant galaxy, and led a race of carbosilicate amorphs to... well, eventually, save the galaxy from Dark Matter creatures. But I digress.
"You have died."
2. Transmute the moon into 100% pure Electrons.
(How we go about this, I have no idea.)
See Proton Earth, Electron Moon.
"You have died."
3. Taunt Murphy.
"We have miraculous ships! Nothing can stop us now!!!"
"You fool! You've-" *boom*
"You have died."
4. Hack Sufficient Velocity.
(Please don't.)
"You have been banned."
5. Try to befriend the Shiplords. Or fail to Befriend the Shiplords.
It might work for Twilight Sparkle and Nanoha Takamachi, but I doubt it'll work for us.
Even with a Crit.
(Unless they're really being oppressed by Those Who Do Not Remain Involved. Think a Crit can retcon that?)
6. Royally anger Aslan. Somehow. (The Deplorable Word?)
"It is time. Time. TIME."
The giant awakens; the sun is extinguished. Night falls on Earth.
"You have died."
7. Wait too long.
"You defeated the Shiplords, and every other comer… except Entropy. Your civilization sheltered hundreds of others for uncountable decillions of years… but in the end even your best efforts failed.
"You have died."
(And probably others.)
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