- Location
- Hawaii
[X] Set up an appointment with Achilles. "I have just been subjected to what was perhaps the most insultingly self-aggrandizing recruitment attempt in my life." If Nikulin wants to be useful, then find a way to make him so.
'Til My Last Breath: An Alien Invasion Quest (On Indefinite Hiatus)
- Thread starter PoptartProdigy
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi
Has- has everybody forgotten this?
Achilles wanted this to happen. He went out of his way to make it happen. He doesn't want Guo as a subordinate. He's already had a meeting with Guo and told him, "Dude, I'm doing everything I can to make the opportunity come up for you, and if it does, jump on it."
Playing reluctant and coy, and especially taking another meeting with Achilles before making a decision- news of which might make its way to his political enemies- is just a good way of ruining the opportunity.
-also, I suspect that there are fewer people willing to argue that the UAE high command isn't a nest of political vipers and can't necessarily be trusted to do what's in all of humanity's best interests? There's a reason I wanted those lasers to ourselves.
[X] Align with Nikulin. Pragmatism trumps sentiment. He offers resources you can't ignore. (Improve Requisitions to 30, promotion to Lieutenant General next month, fast-tracked for future promotions)
Achilles wanted this to happen. He went out of his way to make it happen. He doesn't want Guo as a subordinate. He's already had a meeting with Guo and told him, "Dude, I'm doing everything I can to make the opportunity come up for you, and if it does, jump on it."
Playing reluctant and coy, and especially taking another meeting with Achilles before making a decision- news of which might make its way to his political enemies- is just a good way of ruining the opportunity.
-also, I suspect that there are fewer people willing to argue that the UAE high command isn't a nest of political vipers and can't necessarily be trusted to do what's in all of humanity's best interests? There's a reason I wanted those lasers to ourselves.
[X] Align with Nikulin. Pragmatism trumps sentiment. He offers resources you can't ignore. (Improve Requisitions to 30, promotion to Lieutenant General next month, fast-tracked for future promotions)
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- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Meeting with the commanding officer isn't unheard of. It might trigger suspicion, but it's far from guranteed.
And talking it through with Alexander will give Alexander the chance to share his insights - he's got a lot more experience than Guo. Perhaps there are better offers waiting?
This is pure, vicious, stiletto-in-the-back politics. Refusing the offer so you can talk it over with the enemy of the person making it changes their assessment of you dramatically- and not in a way that is healthy for you. I suspect that there is a reason that Achilles made sure to have that conversation and tell Guo his exact intentions beforehand.
Right now Guo needs agency. That means authority. That means rank. At these ranks that means political patrons. Achilles has already told him that he isn't capable of serving as the necessary patron, and thus wants Guo to attract somebody else's attention. It's not as if Nikulin is even asking Guo to do anything against Achilles now- this call is about kissing the ring.
The problem is the motivation assigned to the action of aligning with Nikulin. It's 'fuck it all, I want more power.' But that's not what Guo's personality has shown itself to be. I mean, he'd find it useful, but for him the goal isn't more power, as was shown in this update. His goal is kicking the Gavarra off the Earth. And we can do that by aligning by Achilles too, the man is not to be underestimated.
I mean, he was the one who set up the UAE, and is a major player still for all that internal politics keeps fucking with him because the politicians are either afraid of his power or of his idealism. Or both.
By playing it more coyly in the manner proposed by the write in we tell Achilles two things; first, that we are not impressed by the internal politicking at the highest levels. Second, that we aren't stupid and are seeing the opportunity for what it is, an attempt by Nikulin to snipe away a promising commander from under Achilles before Achilles can get his claws in us, but that the resources are still really useful. By talking this over with Achilles we imply a third thing; Nikulin's resources are not as valuable to us as Nikulin thinks, because his politics runs counter to our goals.
Power is how you get on a position to kick Gavara. Achilles knows this, hence his plan for Guo to dissociate from him and accumulate the power he can't provide as a sponsor. Achilles already talked this over with Guo, and a client implying that they do not value their patron as much as they think they should is not healthy. Suggesting that you have a conscience, much less one counter to that of your patron? Suicide. He's deciding whether Guo needs to be adopted, ignored, or crushed, and displays of distaste for him or loyalty to his enemy push heavily towards the latter.
You guys voted to play politics instead of tech-foundry. Well, ugly is the nature of the political game. At the very least, accept the offer immediately, and then go talk to Achilles as quietly possible.
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KnightDisciple
Love God. Do Right. Fear No Man.
- Location
- Midwest, USA
If you're talking about the vote we had about where the lasers and other weapons went, that was not the goal behind my vote or many other votes.
The whole point of "no send the tech on" was that this was bigger than us.
Trying to play at being Mad Science Foundry Dudes when we're not equipped or trained for it was folly.
- Location
- Germiston, South Africa
Hmm.
As an alternative to arguing, every company+ unit in RL has a 'fixer' or scrounger.
These ARE people who play the political game with other units fixers - GOOD politics
(OK yeah i've got 20 left front tyres for you, can you get me 2 HAZMAT suits?)
The one in our division probably does not have the info on the higher command levels, but he can get it.
Chain of favors, call to a mentor, whatever.
This is not going to ring any alarm bells, if Nik DOES somehow find out about it, it will only raise his opinion of our utility.
Nik is not going to be the only player at high levels, we can get a run-down on which of them is the strongest anti-birdie.
No-one at high level is going to be innocent of factional leanings - if they were they would not be there.
We can however, with a little research, choose our faction.
I assume that our IC goal is birdie-bashing, lets make sure we wind up with at least fellow-travellers.
As an alternative to arguing, every company+ unit in RL has a 'fixer' or scrounger.
These ARE people who play the political game with other units fixers - GOOD politics
(OK yeah i've got 20 left front tyres for you, can you get me 2 HAZMAT suits?)
The one in our division probably does not have the info on the higher command levels, but he can get it.
Chain of favors, call to a mentor, whatever.
This is not going to ring any alarm bells, if Nik DOES somehow find out about it, it will only raise his opinion of our utility.
Nik is not going to be the only player at high levels, we can get a run-down on which of them is the strongest anti-birdie.
No-one at high level is going to be innocent of factional leanings - if they were they would not be there.
We can however, with a little research, choose our faction.
I assume that our IC goal is birdie-bashing, lets make sure we wind up with at least fellow-travellers.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Vote Closed.
Wow. 33 votes, after this long. Y'all are awesome.
Vote Tally : Original - Sci-Fi - 'Til My Last Breath: An Alien Invasion Quest (Now With Murder-Cyborgs!) | Page 91 | Sufficient Velocity [Posts: 2265-2328]
##### NetTally 1.9.4
[X] Set up an appointment with Achilles. "I have just been subjected to what was perhaps the most insultingly self-aggrandizing recruitment attempt in my life." If Nikulin wants to be useful, then find a way to make him so.
No. of Votes: 17
Mr Tebbs
AvidFicReader
Blonddude42
Chimeraguard
Deathbybunnies
Enerael
eternaleye
Helher
jamie96969
kel
Marlin
MonkeyTypewriter
newgman
Rihtan
Satar
spikethehobbit
Usernames
[X] Set up an appointment with Achilles. "I have just been subjected to what was possibly the most insultingly self-aggrandizing recruitment attempt in my life." If Nikulin wants to be useful, then find a way to make him so.
No. of Votes: 10
Hazard
andrewopk
Cataphract
ComradeH
GardenerBriareus
Genesys
KnightDisciple
Snowfire
taovkool
TheEyes
[X] Remain non-aligned. Frankly, this politicking sickens you. It's conduct utterly unworthy of an officer, and you won't have any part in it. (No change to Requisitions, near-impossible to advance ranks with no sponsors to speak for you)
No. of Votes: 4
Malaquez
always_confused
Erehwon
Nevill
[X] Remain with Achilles. Loyalty for loyalty. You'll take your chances here. (No change to Requisitions, likely difficulty advancing the ranks in the future, commit to trying to circumvent Nikulin on that point)
No. of Votes: 1
veekie
[X] Align with Nikulin. Pragmatism trumps sentiment. He offers resources you can't ignore. (Improve Requisitions to 30, promotion to Lieutenant General next month, fast-tracked for future promotions)
No. of Votes: 1
Lailoken
Total No. of Voters: 33
##### NetTally 1.9.4
[X] Set up an appointment with Achilles. "I have just been subjected to what was perhaps the most insultingly self-aggrandizing recruitment attempt in my life." If Nikulin wants to be useful, then find a way to make him so.
No. of Votes: 17
Mr Tebbs
AvidFicReader
Blonddude42
Chimeraguard
Deathbybunnies
Enerael
eternaleye
Helher
jamie96969
kel
Marlin
MonkeyTypewriter
newgman
Rihtan
Satar
spikethehobbit
Usernames
[X] Set up an appointment with Achilles. "I have just been subjected to what was possibly the most insultingly self-aggrandizing recruitment attempt in my life." If Nikulin wants to be useful, then find a way to make him so.
No. of Votes: 10
Hazard
andrewopk
Cataphract
ComradeH
GardenerBriareus
Genesys
KnightDisciple
Snowfire
taovkool
TheEyes
[X] Remain non-aligned. Frankly, this politicking sickens you. It's conduct utterly unworthy of an officer, and you won't have any part in it. (No change to Requisitions, near-impossible to advance ranks with no sponsors to speak for you)
No. of Votes: 4
Malaquez
always_confused
Erehwon
Nevill
[X] Remain with Achilles. Loyalty for loyalty. You'll take your chances here. (No change to Requisitions, likely difficulty advancing the ranks in the future, commit to trying to circumvent Nikulin on that point)
No. of Votes: 1
veekie
[X] Align with Nikulin. Pragmatism trumps sentiment. He offers resources you can't ignore. (Improve Requisitions to 30, promotion to Lieutenant General next month, fast-tracked for future promotions)
No. of Votes: 1
Lailoken
Total No. of Voters: 33
Wow. 33 votes, after this long. Y'all are awesome.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Hey, all. AT&T's customer service sucks even if their Internet service is basically the same as everyone else's, so I'm out an Internet-enabled computer until they can be arsed to send an installer. I won't have the opportunity to update until that happens. Moving houses continues to be disruptive...
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Obligatory grr monopolies somethingsomething.
Hope it's all fixed soon!
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Does it help telling you that the same is true in Germany, and it doesn't really matter which provider's name you insert into the statement?
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I'm sure somebody, somewhere, has decent customer service.
But yes, it does.
- Location
- Germany
- Pronouns
- He/Him
So, you believe in intelligent life out there? Hope you are right ...
I'm going to note that if we didn't want to play politics, we should have chosen the Post-Human Warrior option, and ascended to military power on sheer obscene battlefield excellence.
So yeah, @Lailoken has a point, much as I have a distaste for this sort of internecine politicking.
My instincts lean towards loyalty regardless, because a reputation for constancy has it's own benefits.
Passing up this vote, though.
We'll wait.
So yeah, @Lailoken has a point, much as I have a distaste for this sort of internecine politicking.
My instincts lean towards loyalty regardless, because a reputation for constancy has it's own benefits.
Passing up this vote, though.
*pat, pat*
We'll wait.
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
It's not that hard. Just own the company.
Yes, I am aware that this does not always work. Leave me alone.
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I HAVE INTERNET AGAIN!
Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
Quick, hide the coup plans!
Malaquez
[MUFFLED EUROBEAT]
- Location
- Singapore
...
*slowly slides plans under pillow*
Going On Official Hiatus
- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Alright, folks, here's the deal. This update has been giving me more and more hell, and I've pinned down the cause.
It's my system.
Ultimately, the system around which I've designed this Quest has ballooned and grown more and more unwieldy. What originally started as a fairly streamlined system for combat between units wound up being hopelessly misapplied when put into the context of the grand army actions towards which we have swiftly developed. It's a nightmare to keep track of, and it's just not fun for me.
Which means that, unfortunately, I'm going to have to do the dreaded deed, and put this on official and indefinite hiatus.
Ultimately, I had fun with the run we had -- and I still plan to continue working with this world as a part of my professional writing career. However, the mechanics required for this quest have just been outgrown by the story so explosively that I can't really stomach the act of applying them anymore. I'm not going to say that I'll never return to, "'Til My Last Breath," because I may come up with a new system that fixes these issues someday. However, I can't really promise anything, and can't recommend that any of you get your hopes up. As it stands, for the nonce I am definitely taking off from this quest. I'm going to set it firmly aside, move onto another project -- I have a self-imposed rule about not having more than two non-professional projects active at a time; I do have to make things that let me eat, after all -- and, once I have a slot in my roster open again, revisit my notes here to see if I can think of a way to revive this, looking at it with fresh eyes.
Important to note is that even at my most optimistic, I won't even reach that point for months or even over a year. Most likely, if I do choose to return, it will be in the form of a from-scratch reboot given that calamitous level of delay.
There's still good news! Those of you who follow the Quest Ideas thread may have noticed that I made a post about a future Terminus Quest, a CKII-style civilization quest set in the universe of Mass Effect, which I hoped to start once one of my other projects cleared up. That quest is now going on the front burner with this one going on hiatus. I'm going to run it through the thread once more to refine the idea down further -- and maybe once again, should I have anything that still needs addressing. For those of you who were drawn by the large-scale management here, and for anybody who enjoys my writing enough to give a quest-style CKII quest by me a shot, keep an eye over there, share your thoughts, and watch the Player Recruitment Thread for the announcement! I'll also post here, should anybody be interested.
I want to thank you all for being such fantastic players. I had a great time with this quest and especially with interacting with you all. The quests are fun for QMs, but without a good set of players they're just one person shouting into the internet. You all have truly helped elevate this experience to greatness in my book.
Many thanks for your continued participation. While I work on Terminus Quest, I feel like throwing out a recommendation for @Snowfire's, "The Practice War." Snowfire was inspired to begin their quest in large part from reading this one -- a fact by which I am endlessly flattered -- and uses a derivation of the CKII quest system originally used -- as far as I am aware -- by @Imrix in their superlative Kingdom of Ulthuan quest. While, "The Practice War," is due to shift to a new dynamic soon, I still recommend it highly for fans of this quest.
Many thanks again to you all, and my apologies for having to leave this quest behind. I hope to see as many of you as possible in my new project, and in any event look forward to seeing you around the forums!
Much love, and signing off,
PoptartProdigy
It's my system.
Ultimately, the system around which I've designed this Quest has ballooned and grown more and more unwieldy. What originally started as a fairly streamlined system for combat between units wound up being hopelessly misapplied when put into the context of the grand army actions towards which we have swiftly developed. It's a nightmare to keep track of, and it's just not fun for me.
Which means that, unfortunately, I'm going to have to do the dreaded deed, and put this on official and indefinite hiatus.
Ultimately, I had fun with the run we had -- and I still plan to continue working with this world as a part of my professional writing career. However, the mechanics required for this quest have just been outgrown by the story so explosively that I can't really stomach the act of applying them anymore. I'm not going to say that I'll never return to, "'Til My Last Breath," because I may come up with a new system that fixes these issues someday. However, I can't really promise anything, and can't recommend that any of you get your hopes up. As it stands, for the nonce I am definitely taking off from this quest. I'm going to set it firmly aside, move onto another project -- I have a self-imposed rule about not having more than two non-professional projects active at a time; I do have to make things that let me eat, after all -- and, once I have a slot in my roster open again, revisit my notes here to see if I can think of a way to revive this, looking at it with fresh eyes.
Important to note is that even at my most optimistic, I won't even reach that point for months or even over a year. Most likely, if I do choose to return, it will be in the form of a from-scratch reboot given that calamitous level of delay.
There's still good news! Those of you who follow the Quest Ideas thread may have noticed that I made a post about a future Terminus Quest, a CKII-style civilization quest set in the universe of Mass Effect, which I hoped to start once one of my other projects cleared up. That quest is now going on the front burner with this one going on hiatus. I'm going to run it through the thread once more to refine the idea down further -- and maybe once again, should I have anything that still needs addressing. For those of you who were drawn by the large-scale management here, and for anybody who enjoys my writing enough to give a quest-style CKII quest by me a shot, keep an eye over there, share your thoughts, and watch the Player Recruitment Thread for the announcement! I'll also post here, should anybody be interested.
I want to thank you all for being such fantastic players. I had a great time with this quest and especially with interacting with you all. The quests are fun for QMs, but without a good set of players they're just one person shouting into the internet. You all have truly helped elevate this experience to greatness in my book.
Many thanks for your continued participation. While I work on Terminus Quest, I feel like throwing out a recommendation for @Snowfire's, "The Practice War." Snowfire was inspired to begin their quest in large part from reading this one -- a fact by which I am endlessly flattered -- and uses a derivation of the CKII quest system originally used -- as far as I am aware -- by @Imrix in their superlative Kingdom of Ulthuan quest. While, "The Practice War," is due to shift to a new dynamic soon, I still recommend it highly for fans of this quest.
Many thanks again to you all, and my apologies for having to leave this quest behind. I hope to see as many of you as possible in my new project, and in any event look forward to seeing you around the forums!
Much love, and signing off,
PoptartProdigy
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Snowfire
Polyglot of Chimera
- Location
- Wordcats
It's sad to see the quest go, but I can understand; if I'm honest, a large part of why Practice War is undergoing its shift is due to the mechanics getting a little much, and yours always seemed more immediately complex given how everything fit together. I'll definitely keep an eye out for a future Terminus Quest, as I've enjoyed this one immensely, both in terms of tone and writing style.
Moving on, I feel I should give a personal thanks to yourself for running this quest, and being such a brilliant example of a QM that it inspired me to take up a similar mantle. It's a wonderful medium and if not for 'Til My Last Breath I'm pretty sure I'd never have given it a shot. The fact that you feel The Practice War is worthy of your recommendation means a great deal, as there's nothing quite like a major source of inspiration acknowledging your work.
If you do happen to reboot into this universe, I know I'll be interested in taking part. And if, or when (hopefully), some of the stories from the universe hit the shelves somewhere, I'd be eternally grateful if you'd fling a link to it my way. This quest has been great, and I'd welcome the opportunity to find out some more about it. If that opportunity happens to put money in your pocket, all the better.
Again, thank you. I really can't properly express for how much.
Moving on, I feel I should give a personal thanks to yourself for running this quest, and being such a brilliant example of a QM that it inspired me to take up a similar mantle. It's a wonderful medium and if not for 'Til My Last Breath I'm pretty sure I'd never have given it a shot. The fact that you feel The Practice War is worthy of your recommendation means a great deal, as there's nothing quite like a major source of inspiration acknowledging your work.
If you do happen to reboot into this universe, I know I'll be interested in taking part. And if, or when (hopefully), some of the stories from the universe hit the shelves somewhere, I'd be eternally grateful if you'd fling a link to it my way. This quest has been great, and I'd welcome the opportunity to find out some more about it. If that opportunity happens to put money in your pocket, all the better.
Again, thank you. I really can't properly express for how much.
Imrix
Periodically Malevolent QM
I originally took it from Gaius Marius' Warhammer Dynasty quest. It may well predate that.
Still, thanks for the compliment, I'm always glad to know people enjoy work.
(Ulthuan Quest will update, goddamnit.)
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- Location
- Rockford, USA
- Pronouns
- They/Them
You had a unique action economy in comparison to his; I count it as a separate subspecies. Take your credit and like it, damn it!