There is, but it's T4 and really, I'd rather go for the Unified Psychological Model first so we can get 400 point Members.
To Boldly Go... (a Starfleet quest)
- Thread starter OneirosTheWriter
- Start date
- Sci-Fi
-
- Tags
- star trek exploration fully automated luxury gay space communism top level canon (canon) #hashtagcontent all-encompassing space amoeba cardassian boy bands cardassian magical girls darkest bureaucracy debate makes the qm cackle like palpatine hoh is an empire quest it has to be foreign infiltrators more ships ship happens singers delenda est starfleet this is not an empire quest ur waifu is collective?
- Location
- USA
There is 2 from tech both under computing and 1 from Lone Ranger, I guess the Admiral does not apply to Prototype research, though it does not matter either way as it will take 2 turns to go through
That is an interesting one as well. But it has three prereqes, two of which have another prereq, 2310 Xenopsych
Still I think one team on 2310s Xenopsychology. Not sure whether the follow up diplomacy or affiliate research would work better for the other team.
- Location
- somewhere
No contest, Diplomacy offers two extra random rolls and some smaller but still significant bonuses, affiliate research offers a free push (so up to 4 times the effect of a random roll and probably directable), helps with crew shortage, new ship parts and is much cheaper on top of that. Also likely to be accelerated by event bonuses. The question is whether to push ahead with 2320s Diplomacy as well or finish the T2 projects with 2310s Xenopsychology first.
- Location
- between Venus and Mars
Sarcasm aside. It's obvious you and others are enjoying this game. However I think it's a poor fit for all involved. Those members here have a style of play that is at odds with mine. The qm also has a style of management i'm not fond of. not bad just a poor fit for me. Oneiros has told an amazing and entertaining story. He has also provided months of fun for his players. This is what a good GM or QM does and takes enjoyment from doing it. For myself I didn't realize these points until I started to read posts besides the threadmarked ones. If I play the game like i wish to, I make other players and the QM unhappy. If i conform to the standards of the other players I don't enjoy the game as much. I've played RP games, both as a player and a GM, for years. If everyone isn't happy with the game someone needs to move on. You have a good dynamic between player and QM. that makes me the weak link. While I will probably continue to read the story. participating would be selfish of me. There are far more quests that are more suited to me on SV. I wish everyone on TBG happy gaming.
Ladies and Gentlemen fairwell and adieu.
[Notes restraint and bows out gracefully.]
Stop: NO
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Apparently, yes they do, Oneiros...In any event, I'm heading off to sleep.
official staff communication People will be mindful of Rule 3 - Be Civil while I am asleep.
But I'm sure you don't need to be told that
no
This? Is not civil. Don't do that again.
thread policy
This is also the point where we say 'That's excessive spaghetti'. Don't post like this again, please.
- Location
- USA
2310 Xenospych unlocks T2 diplo packages though and it is quicker to get through.
Alternative suggestion: Have Spock work on geological sensors so we can get survey sensors in 4 years. I mean, he might like a change of pace?
Pretty certain he's gonna have to fight Straak for that research grant. Continuing with xenopsych let's him build his diplomatic cred faster anyway.
But can't you just see the scene? Straak hears the door open and turns around, rocks in hand. Spock is standing there, cradling his first prototype. The music shifts. And two Vulcans get it (Science) on.
- Location
- somewhere
Spock would only need 2 boosts to finish geological sensors in time for a 2318 Kepler start, compared to VSA needing 3 boosts, but would also finish 2310s Xenopsychology or 2320s Diplomacy a year faster. In general when deciding which of two teams to assign to which of two projects I tend to prefer assigning the higher skill team to the project with more techs.
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- Location
- USA
I am looking ahead and there are a bunch of teams finishing this year, though figuring out what stats we want on the Kepler will help with some of the research paths. I know I want to get to the automated frame techs as soon as we can since each tier also reduces the amounts of one type of crew needed (unless that was changed to the automated frame only )
I generally feel much the same way-you generate more points that way and finish up techs in general quicker. It's more efficient. But dammit, Spock was a damn fine scientist and spent half the 2260s with his face in that thing on the Enterprise's bridge. Surely, he can be given a chance to leave one more mark on future ships' science packages. You know, for old time's sake.
Omake - A Brief Primer on Gaeni History - ClawClawBite
ClawClawBite
Mad Engineering!
- Location
- Seattle, WA
A Speculation on what would motivate the existence of a race of mad scientists and inventors with little regard for personal safety...
A brief primmer on Gaeni History:
To understand the Gaeni, is is important to start with the unusual characteristic of their home-world, Gaen, in that it is not a planet. Gaen is a moon. In particular, Gaen is the second largest of 17 moons around a moderatly sized gas giant (planet) named Dreth (NB: translated as Storm-cloud).
Gaen is a geologically young world, covered by archipelagos, and having a generally temperate climate. However, its complex orbit generates complex seasonal patterns, the tidal forces of the other moons cause occasional spurts of geological activity, and its wobble in orbit causes it to cross the rings of Dreth, causing occasional metor showers.
The birth of civilization on Gaen was closely tied to this. The start of recorded history of the Gaeni was the age of the Mathematician Kings. Individuals and lineages who could read the heavens and chart the wandering moons were able to tell when to plant fast or slow crops, and when to flee the shore to avoid the recurring flood tides and frequent catastrophic weather events.
As these early kingdoms came into conflict, attacks and combat tended to be planned aroud these events, with successful attackers taking advantage of phenomena that the defenders had not predicted. The victors would then take the losers and their records as part of the spoils, and put them to work making farther predictions.
Eventually, this shifted over into the high royal age, where the hereditary nobility no longer participated in observation or study, and instead created their own personal schools and societies of captive or controlled researchers (and yes, the Gaeni do see the parallels with this history and the Licori).
During their industrial age, a second power block emerged, the merchants and traders who dealt between the royal kingdoms. This eventually grew into a network of international corporations.
Then, only a few decades after their first space launch and the digital computer, came the global thermonuclear war.
Most of the populated areas were killed.
Most of the cultivated cropland was tainted.
Major clusters of survivors able to rebuild were centered on remote research installations and private corporate shipping depots that had war material in transit. These corporate and research centers created alliances which eventually grew into the modern Institutes of today.
The desperate situation drove the remaining scientists into high risk technologies to improve the odds of survival; experimental nuclear power plants, trans-genetic crops, gene therapy to reduce radiation damage. Lots of Gaeni died in the process, many more died recovering vital supplies in the irradiated wastelands that were once the centers of civilization, but the success rates were large enough to help survive, and progress rates were fast.
The costs of competition between the institutes was enough to create a general consensus to establish a generalized arbitration system and a corporate council was created (with a complex system of wealth and personal represented as a measure of per institute power). Initially weak, it grew in influence as the more successful institutions saw the benefits of intellectual property protection, and a common independent currency.
In time, non-institution bodies, or Council Offices, were created to oversee educational standards, measurement standards, as well as large scale science and engineering projects too large or two risky for any single institution to support.
During this time, the Gaeni instituted the practice of using their institute in their personal names. Vrock, of the Attu Institute became Attu-Vrock, for example (The first Gaeni to synthesize anti-matter). The one exception to this is Gaeni who work short term or long term for Council Offices in a show of unity and shared loyalty. Any Gaeni with only one name is someone with unusual skills and experiences, and operates on a senior level, but are never actual members of the council itself, which is only filled by institute appointments.
The recovery and reconstruction proceeded with any number of science catastrophes and successes, until an Attu space ship with a prototype anti-gravity drive managed to successfully capture and land a small asteroid, destabilizing the economy, and jump starting in system space exploration. Eventually, the Gaeni stabilized on a monetary system backed by decontaminated land, pushing the institutes to continue the planetary restoration past the point of basic sustainability. In more recent years, this meant the introduction of matter and food replication had only a mild disruptive effect on the economy.
It is only first contact with aliens that resulted in the Gaeni treating its council as a planetary government, and not just a useful place to compete. There are still elderly Gaeni who remember the times before, and the tension between central control and institutes acting independently remain, though competition is shifting to one of status for discovery over resources given the bounty of the modern economy of Gaen.
A brief primmer on Gaeni History:
To understand the Gaeni, is is important to start with the unusual characteristic of their home-world, Gaen, in that it is not a planet. Gaen is a moon. In particular, Gaen is the second largest of 17 moons around a moderatly sized gas giant (planet) named Dreth (NB: translated as Storm-cloud).
Gaen is a geologically young world, covered by archipelagos, and having a generally temperate climate. However, its complex orbit generates complex seasonal patterns, the tidal forces of the other moons cause occasional spurts of geological activity, and its wobble in orbit causes it to cross the rings of Dreth, causing occasional metor showers.
The birth of civilization on Gaen was closely tied to this. The start of recorded history of the Gaeni was the age of the Mathematician Kings. Individuals and lineages who could read the heavens and chart the wandering moons were able to tell when to plant fast or slow crops, and when to flee the shore to avoid the recurring flood tides and frequent catastrophic weather events.
As these early kingdoms came into conflict, attacks and combat tended to be planned aroud these events, with successful attackers taking advantage of phenomena that the defenders had not predicted. The victors would then take the losers and their records as part of the spoils, and put them to work making farther predictions.
Eventually, this shifted over into the high royal age, where the hereditary nobility no longer participated in observation or study, and instead created their own personal schools and societies of captive or controlled researchers (and yes, the Gaeni do see the parallels with this history and the Licori).
During their industrial age, a second power block emerged, the merchants and traders who dealt between the royal kingdoms. This eventually grew into a network of international corporations.
Then, only a few decades after their first space launch and the digital computer, came the global thermonuclear war.
Most of the populated areas were killed.
Most of the cultivated cropland was tainted.
Major clusters of survivors able to rebuild were centered on remote research installations and private corporate shipping depots that had war material in transit. These corporate and research centers created alliances which eventually grew into the modern Institutes of today.
The desperate situation drove the remaining scientists into high risk technologies to improve the odds of survival; experimental nuclear power plants, trans-genetic crops, gene therapy to reduce radiation damage. Lots of Gaeni died in the process, many more died recovering vital supplies in the irradiated wastelands that were once the centers of civilization, but the success rates were large enough to help survive, and progress rates were fast.
The costs of competition between the institutes was enough to create a general consensus to establish a generalized arbitration system and a corporate council was created (with a complex system of wealth and personal represented as a measure of per institute power). Initially weak, it grew in influence as the more successful institutions saw the benefits of intellectual property protection, and a common independent currency.
In time, non-institution bodies, or Council Offices, were created to oversee educational standards, measurement standards, as well as large scale science and engineering projects too large or two risky for any single institution to support.
During this time, the Gaeni instituted the practice of using their institute in their personal names. Vrock, of the Attu Institute became Attu-Vrock, for example (The first Gaeni to synthesize anti-matter). The one exception to this is Gaeni who work short term or long term for Council Offices in a show of unity and shared loyalty. Any Gaeni with only one name is someone with unusual skills and experiences, and operates on a senior level, but are never actual members of the council itself, which is only filled by institute appointments.
The recovery and reconstruction proceeded with any number of science catastrophes and successes, until an Attu space ship with a prototype anti-gravity drive managed to successfully capture and land a small asteroid, destabilizing the economy, and jump starting in system space exploration. Eventually, the Gaeni stabilized on a monetary system backed by decontaminated land, pushing the institutes to continue the planetary restoration past the point of basic sustainability. In more recent years, this meant the introduction of matter and food replication had only a mild disruptive effect on the economy.
It is only first contact with aliens that resulted in the Gaeni treating its council as a planetary government, and not just a useful place to compete. There are still elderly Gaeni who remember the times before, and the tension between central control and institutes acting independently remain, though competition is shifting to one of status for discovery over resources given the bounty of the modern economy of Gaen.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I like it though I'm not sure that "irradiated postwar wasteland Gaen" aligns well with my own headcanon.
ClawClawBite
Mad Engineering!
- Location
- Seattle, WA
Well, it was supposed to be post-cleanup, but having spent a few generations crowded into wastelands and isolated cities, to result in a mix of Cyberpunk cities, and James Bond Villain science outposts.
"Education is expensive but life is cheap compared to results" is an unusual ethos.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
To be fair, it kind of is, and your explanation is one of the best available.
The alternative is that the entire species just has a lower level of risk-aversion than most other intelligent species. It's not unique to scientific results, they just... aren't nearly as afraid of dying as humans. Otherwise you'd see more hostility against people held responsible for someone dying in a "scientific misadventures." If so, you'd expect Gaeni to have statistically higher rates of death by random accident, and statistically lower rates of death by other causes.
Speculatively, you might see this evolve in a species that has excellent healing and regenerative abilities over the long term. Human hunter-gatherers in the ancestral environment tend to be very risk-averse about any risk they can actually mitigate through their own actions, because even one serious injury or disease can cripple a hunter-gatherer to the point of being unable to hunt and/or gather. A broken knee won't kill you, but it can sure stop you from hunting antelopes or climbing trees to get eggs out of birds' nests. A species whose 'scar tissue' just gradually heals up and which it is very hard to inflict lasting injuries on if they don't die outright might well be able to get away with a higher background level of reckless behavior in the ancestral environment.
All the pressures that led humans to evolve intelligence would still be there. Because having a healing factor won't stop you from starving to death if you can't get food, it won't save you if you're attacked by a bear. It doesn't help you have more children if another hunter-gatherer in your band is successful in social-engineering access to the best mates and leaving you out in the cold. But there'd be less need for mindfulness, for the attitude of carefully avoiding accident by meticulous attention to detail.
[EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not talking about Wolverine-like regenerative properties. I'm talking about, say, beings whose joint injuries actually heal without careful reconstructive surgery. Or whose scar tissue actually is as good as new. Even if it takes months or even a few years for that kind of injury to heal, that's a huge step up from the capabilities humans have along those lines.]
The alternative is that the entire species just has a lower level of risk-aversion than most other intelligent species. It's not unique to scientific results, they just... aren't nearly as afraid of dying as humans. Otherwise you'd see more hostility against people held responsible for someone dying in a "scientific misadventures." If so, you'd expect Gaeni to have statistically higher rates of death by random accident, and statistically lower rates of death by other causes.
Speculatively, you might see this evolve in a species that has excellent healing and regenerative abilities over the long term. Human hunter-gatherers in the ancestral environment tend to be very risk-averse about any risk they can actually mitigate through their own actions, because even one serious injury or disease can cripple a hunter-gatherer to the point of being unable to hunt and/or gather. A broken knee won't kill you, but it can sure stop you from hunting antelopes or climbing trees to get eggs out of birds' nests. A species whose 'scar tissue' just gradually heals up and which it is very hard to inflict lasting injuries on if they don't die outright might well be able to get away with a higher background level of reckless behavior in the ancestral environment.
All the pressures that led humans to evolve intelligence would still be there. Because having a healing factor won't stop you from starving to death if you can't get food, it won't save you if you're attacked by a bear. It doesn't help you have more children if another hunter-gatherer in your band is successful in social-engineering access to the best mates and leaving you out in the cold. But there'd be less need for mindfulness, for the attitude of carefully avoiding accident by meticulous attention to detail.
[EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not talking about Wolverine-like regenerative properties. I'm talking about, say, beings whose joint injuries actually heal without careful reconstructive surgery. Or whose scar tissue actually is as good as new. Even if it takes months or even a few years for that kind of injury to heal, that's a huge step up from the capabilities humans have along those lines.]
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- Location
- Panama City
"post-war irradiated wasteland" and "lower natural risk aversion" aren't two incompatible explanations. After all, a lower risk aversion could have led to the deployment of nuclear weapons in the first place!
- Location
- Patriarchova
That's pretty much exactly what I was going to do for my own gaen history omake. The research institutes became the hubs of a new civilization since they were the only administrative centers to survive the postwar and post environmental collapse mad max period. They have since repaired much of that environmental damage.
Great minds think alike.
Regarding gaen xenopsychology, my head canon explanation for their recklessness isn't a healing factor, but being born in litters. Gaeni are more likely than most others to take big risks that have the potential to pay off, because their genetics make it advantageous to risk one unit of resources for the benefit of others that contain those same genes. Almost apiata-like, but without the hierarchy.
That recklessness and weaker survival instinct is the actual "hat" of the Gaeni. The technocracy and super science thing is just an accident of history.
Great minds think alike.
Regarding gaen xenopsychology, my head canon explanation for their recklessness isn't a healing factor, but being born in litters. Gaeni are more likely than most others to take big risks that have the potential to pay off, because their genetics make it advantageous to risk one unit of resources for the benefit of others that contain those same genes. Almost apiata-like, but without the hierarchy.
That recklessness and weaker survival instinct is the actual "hat" of the Gaeni. The technocracy and super science thing is just an accident of history.
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- Location
- The Middle of the Howling Wilderness
I have to say, the part of Gaeni history I was most taken by was the influence that their strange astronomical position was. The idea of war-mathematician competing to see who can predict the next weird orbital perturbation/meteor shower/space wedgie is really quite flavorful.
Omake - Lora - SynchronizedWritersBlock
So, I basically wrote this by going through the battle log looking for significant (as in high damage) hits. It's not entirely accurate to the log, I conceded a lot to narrative description, including re-ordering many hits. I also was kind of eyeballing it, so there will be parts that are just plain mistaken. Have to remember that in the end, the battle program is just a fancy weighted Random Number Generator. Still, I hope someone enjoys this, and perhaps it will help some of you make sense of how 9000 lines of RNG played out. e: Also if I make a mistake, like possibly the name of the planet, I reserve the right to correct it later.
Lora
The ship rumbles slightly as the Abhriec comes out of warp. The viewscreen of the battle bridge is deactivated, soft lightning illuminating the faces of her command and control team as they sit at their consoles. On her personal display, she sees each ship in the fleet quickly flicker green, as their computers signal successful reversion out of warp at the waypoint in the Lora system. Depending on the status of the system itself, they would then execute a precision jump, or fly in under impulse.
"Admiral, message in from our pickets. Scouts report a layered minefield around Lora III."
"Onscreen," Rachel orders. The viewscreen of the Abhreic's battle bridge activates to reveal a black expanse with brighter dot of Lora III in the background. Hundreds of mines are highlighted with tiny purple brackets, invisible to the eye against the background of stars. They are not dispersed, but clumped, disrupting potential approaches and forcing an invader to maneuver.
"Cardassian standard antimatter mine. Slightly higher yield than our model, but a larger dispersal pattern," her fleet tactical coordinator reports.
"The same kind that got the Courageous," Rachel muses.
They were seated on the Amarki battle bridge, less of a backup bridge than Starfleet's and more of a command pit, although it could serve as both. The Riala-class had been designed as a fleet flagship, after all. Admiral Toor had been kind enough to offer his battle bridge, but seemed somewhat disgruntled when she accepted. He had refused the offer of the Avandar's facilities and chose not to move to one of his cruisers, instead operating from the Abhriec's main bridge. He and the knight-captain, Mer Piaric, were well acquainted, and the Amarki command structure meant their admirals often worked closely with their captains, so she had permitted it. Her own command staff man the unfamiliar Amarki consoles with skill that only the best possess.
She pauses for a moment to consider her options. The Sydraxians must have left a path out of the mines for themselves. But finding it would take days if not weeks. She didn't have that kind of time. Her pickets had marked preliminary vectors through the mines. She would have to hope they had done their jobs.
"Contingency epsilon," she says, referencing one of their planned maneuvers for such a situation. "Signal a fleet-wide Red Alert."
Most ships were already on Red Alert, but this removed it from the captains' discretion.
"Anchor Wing, take point," she continues. "Half impulse, angle the hulls twenty degrees downward, increase power to forward shields. Blue Wing, Coral Wing, Seriec Squadron, follow behind and don't stray. We'll clear the path."
She had divided her forces into loose wings, enough organization that they had ships to cover each other and coordinate attacks at the start of the battle. It was not exactly the coordinated attack patterns the theory division preferred, but she knew those broke down in the midst of a furball. Two Connies and two Mirandas in one wing. One Connie and two Mirandas in the other. Those were under Rivers, who commands from the Kumari's battle bridge. Admiral Toor commands the Amarki frigate and cruiser squadron. Ainsworth herself had direct control of Anchor Wing, the three big explorers.
The Abhriec, Kumari, and Avandar accelerate in a delta formation. Sensor operators plot a course through the minefield as best they can. The rest of the fleet trails in their drive shadows, a hundred-kilometer stretch of glittering silver hulls tailing the path of the three explorers. The fleet-wide tactical net shows nearly real-time data from the networked sensors. The chaos of battle will disrupt this cohesion, but for a maneuver like flying a minefield unopposed, it works perfectly.
The next ten minutes are tense as the flying wedge of battleships wheel and spiral a safe path through the minefield. On the battle bridge, a holo-map is projected in the center of the room, with consoles surrounding on each side. She is seated above in a command chair, and the main viewscreen projects over all. Her command team shouts and warbles as green projected vectors are traced on the map, then eliminated in red. On the sides of the room, screens with video from ships bridges and command rooms plays, the audio on the speakers selected by the computer and her comms coordinator. She shuffles her own earpiece between the fleets' frequencies, before settling on the Abhriec's main bridge.
Everything seems to be going well, but then all the green vectors suddenly turn red.
"Brace for impact!" the Captain Piaric manages to call.
Gripping the edge of her chair with her good hand, Ainsworth and the Abhriec are rocked by a tremendous flash of light. The viewscreen futzes into static.
"Shields at forty percent!" the voice of a squire comes over the intercom. "Sensors will return in ten seconds!"
"Kumari has taken over sensor net" Ainsworth's fleet comms officer, an Apiata lieutenant, reports. Good, Rivers reacted quickly.
"Continue," Ainsworth orders, affirming their course of action.
The viewscreen flickers back on. Lora III above them has resolved into a dot of green and blue, and continues to spin around the viewscreen as the squadron maneuvers past another batch of mines. There is a flash of white to their port flank.
"Kumari hit!"
From the starboard side, a dozen phaser beams lance out in rapid succession from the Avandar's hull, setting off a chain of explosions that the Avandar cruises through unharmed.
"Captain zh'Darylth reports Kumari shields at sixty!"
"Avandar reports third field clear. We've spotted the final layer."
Once again the planet spins above them, as the task force sets itself on final approach. The set of arrows on the course plotter being to converge.
"Detecting two armed orbital facilities, Admiral," her fleet sensors coordinator says. "Pickets report all clear so far."
"Signal the trailing squadrons," Rachel orders, leaning forward on the edge of her chair. "Prepare deployment pattern C."
A countdown appears from two minutes. It ticks down twenty seconds in silence before the calm is broken.
"INCOMING!" her sensors coordinator shouts.
Too late, phaser beams shoot from both the Kumari and Avandar, well wide, and then the entire ship skips with a massive thump. Rachel is thrown from her command chair, the viewcreen goes static again, and somewhere in the background there's the telltale sound of at least one console exploding. Her prosthetic arm jolts painfully as the impact rings upwards, the material not quite absorbing shock the same way her body does. Reflexively, she kicks herself free from the tangle of her cloak.
"Report!" she orders as she picks herself up and shakes the ringing out of her ears.
"Shields held," her tactical coordinator says, strapped into his seat with crash webbing. "A close thing, but they held..."
On the video feed from the main bridge she watches Toor pick himself up just as she had a moment ago. Captain Piaric seems to be shouting at his sensors officer.
"Kumari reports we are through the minefield," Lieutenant Guzurri, the comms coordinator says. "Visual confirms one defensive station and one armed dock. Four Kalindraxes and five Hasques."
"Formation C, spread the crescent wide, slow to one quarter impulse," she says as she settles back into her chair. Behind the explorers, the cruisers and frigates are spreading their formation, slowing and turning towards the Sydraxian stations in a lazy arc, giving the Abhriec time to rebuild shields. As each squadron turns, their hulls catch Lora's sun for a moment, before being shaded in their own shadows.
"Any response to our surrender demands?" she asks Guzurri.
"No response, sir."
"This is Admiral Toor," the Amarkian admiral's voice comes over the intercom. "Admiral Ainsworth, Sierec Squadron reports battle readiness."
"Our wings are ready, sir," the voice of Jessica Rivers plays over the speakers.
On the Sydraxian station's docks, the telltale signs of tethers being retracted, EPS systems being started, and warp cores being brought online flash through the Sydraxian fleet. Time seems to slow as the forces array against each other, no one willing to make the first move.
Ainsworth paces a few, then sits down, facing forward on the edge of her seat again. She surveys the board once more, ensuring everything is just so, then gives the order for battle to be joined.
"Advance to contact!"
As a whole, the joint Federation fleet's engines flare, moving from quarter impulse to battle speeds. The wings of the crescent close first, the two wings of Connies and Mirandas shooting ahead, but it is the Amarkian cruisers that lead the charge, being on the closest side to the planet. Behind them all, the wedge of explorers advances steadily, anchoring the fleet with their deadly payload and heavy shields.
The Sydraxian fleet forms into a cruiser squadron and a frigate squadron, both wheeling around the outpost in box formation like predatory birds, then turning to meet the Federation charge at the last possible second. The first shot lances out from one of the Hasques, and the aptly-named Agile dodges with a roll. On the other side, the T'Kumbra and her wing fires on the cruiser squadron, scoring first blood on a Kalindrax. With those shots, the battlefield erupts in a cascade of phasers and disruptors, of orange and purple beams returned with sickly green-brown shots. The Agile dodges and weaves as the Sydraxians attempt to punish it for its daring to evade. Admiral Toor's Amarki squadron centers a charge on the outpost itself.
"Any surprises?" Rachel asks after thirty seconds of fighting, just as the Abhriec's own phasers rumble to life.
"No irregularities," her analytics officer calls. "Pickets continue their all clear. Wait. I'm receiving data from the Odala...it's the outpost, sir. Shields and armor heavily reinforced."
On the viewscreen, the Amarki squadron closes to punching ranges, still doing negligible damage to the outpost.
"Tell them to stop shooting that station!" Rachel orders, sharply. Surely the Amarki know better. "Concentrate on those escorts," she continues.
The fleets are now in melee range, and as the formations overlap suddenly the Agile and T'Kumbra are inside the enemy frigate squadron, spraying torpedoes from their battle modules in every direction. Shields flare as the Hasques take a pounding. The T'Kumbra's wingmate, the Fidelity, is not so lucky and takes the brunt of the Sydraxian counterattack.
"Fidelity reports two thirds shields," her comms officer says in a worried tone, eyes scanning and antennae twitching at the reports pouring down her screen.
The capships and Starfleet cruisers scythe above the battle and unload phaser strikes on the engaged ships. Return fire is heavy, and scorch marks from shield load are made on the Kumari's and Avandar's hulls.
"We're being focused," Commodore Rivers's voice comes over the comm from the Kumari. "Shields holding."
"Covering attack, Cierec Squadron," Ainsworth orders. The Amarki ships have come around from their run on the station and dive into the fray below the explorers. The Abhriec's phasers rumble as she spits purple fire onto the Hasques below, while the Jolintoor shellacks the Kalindrax squadron with a full torpedo spread. Meanwhile, Blue Squadron of the Defiant, T'Kumbra and Fidelity has penetrated the Sydraxian screens and replaced the Amarki with another run on the station.
The next twenty seconds are a chaotic mess as both sides try to disentangle themselves from the melee. Agile is caught dead center by a shot from the outpost. The Fidelity takes several glancing hits from the Kalindraxes.
"Agile is at half shields!"
"Fidelity is hit! One third shields remain!"
"Avandar firing full spread!"
"Jolintoor reports damage!"
"T'Kumbra down to half!"
"Modulating shield frequencies..."
The hands of Lieutenant Guzurri fly over her keyboard as automated messages cascade down her screen. The computer selects those it thinks are relevant for communication to other ships in the fleet, but Guzurri has to tag any it misses. She also calls out any that are relevant but not tagged for any of the other battle bridge officers. Fleet comms was perhaps the most difficult and important job on the command bridge. Guzurri's backup, a nervous-looking Caitian ensign, hovers his hands over the backup console ready to take over at any moment, which only highlights how crucial it was.
Rachel grimaces as her frigates disentangle themselves from the close engagement. Flares of torpedo explosions from the Avandar blanket the enemy frigates. The Hasques were on the brink of shield failure, if they could only hold on to their own frigates for long enough...
"Enemy frigate, shields down!" a cry comes over the comms from the tactical officer of the Korolev.
"Concentrate fire on that ship," Ainsworth orders.
In the chaos, only the Avandar manages to keep a lock on the damaged Hasque. Still, most of her ships reform cleanly, only the Republic trails, and takes several disruptor blasts. Beams of purple light lance out from the sides of the viewscreen as the Abhriec continues accurate and deadly fire across the battlefield.
The Republic forms into an ad-hoc squadron with the T'Kumbra, exchanging fire with the outpost and station. The other Mirandas come about and dive after the damaged Hasque.
"We have breached shields on another frigate," Captain zh'Darylth's voice reports over the comm from the Kumari. Knight-Captain Piaric of the Abhriec follows it up immediately with several glancing phaser hits to the Hasque's armor.
"Third Hasque, shields down!" her tactical coordinator reports. Both ships are tagged in yellow, making it three out of five enemy frigates. The third Hasque is engaged in a fierce duel with the T'Kumbra, and seems to be taking the worse of it. As Rachel watches, the Bantam swoops in and interrupts with phasers of her own, followed by the Odala, and then the Korolev. The Hasque peels away venting plasma from her deflector array. The Agile pursues, but cannot score any major hits.
"Anchor Wing, shift fire to those cruisers," Ainsworth orders. Keeping the cruisers from supporting their frigates would prevent a comeback. The Kumari responds immediately with precision fire on two separate Kalindraxes. The Jolintoor follows up her strike, but takes a hit in return, scorching visible on her engineering compartment.
As the battle shifts, the badly-damaged Hasque spins into the Federation formation, and takes hits from every side. Engines sputter and secondary explosions rock its hull as it claws its way away from the battle and towards the minefield.
Rachel's attention is ripped away from the crippled frigate by a victorious cry from the Abhriec's bridge.
"Cruiser's shields have been penetrated," her tactical coordinator reports with a grin.
"Atorfroil and Republic report Hasque squadron ready to be served," her comms coordinator says. The final two Hasques flicker yellow. Once again the Avandar follows up with a deadly lance of orange.
"Steady," Ainsworth says, attempting to stave off a celebration before the battle was won.
Even as she says that, the Defiant catches the second Hasque to drop shields with a torpedo to the bridge armor. It also peels away from the furball, venting atmosphere. The Kumari meanwhile continues her accurate bombardment of the damaged cruiser. The Abhriec wheels about in a 180 degree turn to take her back over the battle, passing the Kumari as she does, and Rachel notes that despite holding two-thirds shields, the Kumari's armor is scorched in a half dozen places.
"Status report," Rachel requests.
"Station shields down. Outpost remains fully functional. Two Hasques retreating, the rest shields down. One Kalindrax damaged, the rest still holding out. Kumari reports some scratch damage. Our escorts have taken a beating but shields have held so far-"
The tactical coordinator is interrupted as her comms coordinator waves and overrides the comm with an emergency transmission from the Fidelity.
"Admiral! That last hit penetrated the port-side shield generator. One more hit and-"
An explosion rocks the Fidelity's bridge. Captain Oriskany pales considerably.
"Oh, that's torn it! Shields down, Admiral! Get us out of here!"
"Acknowledged," Rachel says. "Fleet, reform squadrons," she orders. "Screen damaged escorts."
The fleet drags itself into a semblance of formation again. Phasers and disruptors still lance across space between the fleets, but the lull allows shields to regenerate slightly.
"Simultaneous turn 90 degrees starboard. Re-engage."
And with that, chaos re-erupts. The Amarkian squadron leaps ahead and bats aside the remains of the Hasque screen, only the Jolintoor taking hits in return. A third Hasque peels off, followed by the fourth and fifth. They follow their companions towards the minefield, where the first to retreat has just gone to warp, a cloud of debris and escape pods in its wake. The second to retreat follows it just moments later, in no better condition despite a visible lack of hull breaches. Lucky for the crew.
"And then there were none..." Rachel mutters. "Mark that hole in the minefield. Coral Wing, pursue those runners."
Above the Abhriec, tan green disruptors leave two more scorch marks on the underside of the Kumari's saucer.
"And tell Captain zh'Darylth to modulate shields again!" she shouts.
"Already did," the voice of Commodore Rivers comes across the comm. On the left screen the video from her battle bridge is showing, the lights dimmed to a dark red. "Something's up, but now's not the time to run diagnostics."
"Acknowledged," Ainsworth says, still annoyed.
On the other side of the screen from the Amarkian squadron, her cruisers were peppering the Kalindraxes, who had caught the Agile and T'Kumbra in a cross-fire. The Republic flew between them to break the frigates out, taking several hits in return but dodging several more.
"Damnit Demora, have some respect for your ship," she hears Rivers curse over the comm. The computer really should have filtered that one out, but Ainsworth feels the same. It was a reckless move that could lose Captain Sulu crew.
Her annoyance is cut off by a genuine cheer from the command deck. She sees a damaged Miranda swoop through an explosion at the far side of the battlefield.
"Fidelity reports pursuit successful," Lieutenant Guzurri calls. "One Hasque down!"
Now that is a report worth cheering.
"Jolintoor, shields down!"
"Republic hit, hull damage!"
But the battle isn't over yet. In the pursuit squadron, the Fidelity is exchanging fire with yet another Hasque. A second Kalindrax flickers yellow for shields down as the four Sydraxians cruisers close ranks around the outpost. The Amarkian escorts plus the Korolev pounce on the vulnerable cruiser and start battering at the armor. In return, their maneuver has boxed in the Jolintoor and the Kalindraxes deliver several deadly hits to her engineering section. The T'Kumbra and Odala attempt to cover, but lose shields for their trouble.
"Blue Wing, punch through and get them out of there," Rachel orders.
"This is the first officer of the USS Fidelity. Captain Oriskany is wounded. I am assuming command."
Ainsworth makes a note to coach that man on succinct battle transmissions.
"Coral Wing returning. Final Hasques gone to warp," her comms coordinator reports.
"Prepare another attack run," she orders. "Target the cruisers."
The opposing cruisers, surrounded in a hemisphere and in a fight for their lives, seem to give up on covering the structures. The Korolev slips past and turns its attention to the outpost and station. Covered at range by the capship squadron, the Korolev shoots the outpost down to half shields and has the station bleeding from multiple wounds. Meanwhile, the Kumari takes two more shield penetrations, which has Ainsworth shaking her head, but more concerning, her shields dip below five percent under fire from three Kalindraxes. As Ainsworth watches, the outpost tags the Kumari with another disruptor blast and her shields flicker and die.
"We better win this fast," Captain zh'Darylth says, transmitted directly to the Admiral's earpiece. There's a tinge of nervousness in her voice, and Rachel can hear her bridge rocked by another explosion as she cuts out.
"Kumari is taking hull damage," her tactical officer confirms. "Armor holding."
Even as damage mounts, the Starfleet frigates and cruisers swoop in and begin to pick apart the damaged Kalindraxes.
"Take Anchor Wing in close," Ainsworth orders, cognizant of the damage to the Kumari. "We need to do more damage."
"Acknowledged," comes the report from the bridge over intercom. She feels the ship accelerate, the Avandar by the Abhriec's side and the Kumari trailing slightly. Bright purple and orange beams lance out in all directions and score hits on almost every opposing ship. A frozen corpse flashes by the viewscreen camera. A spread of torpedoes from the Kumari impacts both the the second and fourth Kalindrax, and they both peel out of their formation, deciding that discretion is the better part of valor.
"Put us between them and their hole in the minefield," Rachel orders. All the enemy ships had fled in the same direction so far.
"T'Kumbra's shields are down!"
She watches as the shieldless Fidelity dances through a deadly crossfire, taking a hit to the port nacelle in the process. The Odala follows after one fleeing Kalindrax, the Icafroil the other, their purple phasers flashing across the growing debris field.
Then the fleeing Kalindraxes are upon the explorer wing. Phaser fire from the Kumari scores direct hits on one ship's engineering deck. It rolls to protect its vulnerable sections, but in doing so exposes them to the pursuing Icafroil, Republic, and Agile. Venting atmosphere and from almost every part of its hull, it begins to drift, the running lights still active.
"Cease fire on that ship," Ainsworth orders, and the pursuing squadron peels off.
The other two Kalindraxes are now turning to flee too, and the outpost's shields are flickering. The second runner in the first group takes a big hit from the Kumari as it passes her not one hundred meters to port, and the Defiant follows up with several shots to the Sydraxian cruiser's underbelly. At that, her hull lights start flickering and she suffers an explosion in the warp nacelles.
"Tag that ship as a priority target," Ainsworth orders.
No sooner are the words out of her mouth than the Kumari blows a hole clean through her hull with aft phasers. The crippled Kalindrax begins to drift.
"Belay that. Tag the station as a priority target."
The squadron surrounding the station begins rapid fire, and power on board flickers and dies. Escape pods begin to spew from the station's hull as the station is taken from the battle.
"Sire, incoming cruisers," she hears, relayed from the Abhriec's bridge.
"I see them," Knight-Captain Piaric says. "Fire torpedoes."
The second pair of Kalindraxes attempts to run the capship squadron. Four torpedoes from each explorer lance out towards them. The Avandar's are dodged, but the Kumari's pepper the lead ship with explosions, and the Abhriec's slam into its engineering section. The telltale subspace crumpling of a warp core breach follows, consuming the ship. A cheer goes up from the Abhriec's main bridge. The other Kalindrax pulls upwards in a dodge, pulling it back towards the outpost. It is tagged by a second volley from the Avandar, and pursued towards the outpost by the Defiant and the Icafroil.
"Captain Sulu reports outpost's shields are down," says her comms officer, fingers still furiously tapping the keys of her console. The flood of fleet status reports has slowed slightly, probably a good sign.
"Take us in close and neutralize that thing," Rachel says. The outpost was much tougher than expected, almost starbase-like in its hull and shield defenses.
As the capship wing closes, the Avandar follows up its torpedo hits on the last cruiser with pinpoint phasers, blowing three new holes through the hull of the last Kalindrax. It too loses power and begins to drift.
A cheer goes up from the battle bridge. Ainsworth stands and smiles slightly.
"Cease fire and open a transmission to that outpost," she orders.
"Channel open, sir."
"Sydraxian outpost. Your fleet is routed. Surrender and your crew will be taken into custody. You will live to fight another day. Continue this pointless battle and you may not survive."
She waits ten seconds.
"They closed the transmission," Lieutenant Guzurri reports.
"Very well," she says as she seats herself again. "Monitor comms for any surrender requests. Fire at will."
It takes the better part of five minutes to render the outpost inoperable. The shields of the fleet tick upwards slowly, and the few blasts from the outpost's disruptors are inconsequential, even with it targeting wounded ships like the Agile and T'Kumbra. The Abhriec and Avandar even lazily evade several shots. Finally, phasers from the Abhriec and Avandar core out its reactor, and the outpost goes dark. Her command crew do not cheer this time, but smile widely, stretch, and pat each other on the back.
"Open a fleet-wide channel," Rachel says. Guzurri nods, giving her an awkward and forced-looking thumbs up.
"Starfleet. Knights and squires. Today we have ended the threat of the Sydraxian Hierarchy, perhaps for years to come. No longer will the shadows of their raiders darken our worlds. The battle was not without its price, but every one of you acquitted yourself with skill and honor. Treat your comrades' wounds, tend to your ships, and bring in our prisoners. We will hold here until we can assess the situation and consult Command for further orders. Well done, everyone. Well done."
"Admiral?"
"Yes, lieutenant?"
"Transmission from the surface. It's a civilian emergency channel."
"What!?"
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- Location
- The Middle of the Howling Wilderness
I liked this. The movement through the minefield was tense, and the battle felt true to Star Trek. I especially liked the detail that Starfleet phasers are orange, while Amarki phasers are purple. That little detail made the battle come alive for me, gave the Federation fleet an interesting character.
lbmaian
a thirsty squirrel
- Location
- USA
I think this is exactly what Oneiros was hoping someone would do when posting all those battle logs
(Instead of us obsessively data mining to figure out mechanics and complain about perceived bugs
)That's surprising, unless this is an exaggeration or RNG favored them more - Amarki Briecas only have 1 more hull than the Miranda/Centaur-A and the same amount of shields and should have comparable evasion %.
That sounds like an oversight. I wonder if shield regen turns show the same retreat-agnostic behavior. Haven't had time to do any battle log analysis myself (and may not until this weekend).
edit: Also what the shit. 26 pages of discussion in less than 2 days after this battle. I don't think even the G&W crisis finale or the Nash's Temporal Fluke generated this amount of discussion.
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- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I still picture ConnieBee phasers as being TOS-era blue-white, myself.
I'm STILL trying to tell Endurance's story at Deva IX, and I'm not sure I'm even half done yet.
Speaking from experience, it is really, really hard to turn those battle logs into good narratives, especially when there are more than one or two ships on each side. And I'm legitimately impressed that SWB managed it so quickly.I think this is exactly what Oneiros was hoping someone would do when posting all those battle logs
(Instead of us obsessively data mining to figure out mechanics and complain about perceived bugs
I'm STILL trying to tell Endurance's story at Deva IX, and I'm not sure I'm even half done yet.
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- Location
- Patriarchova
So, I've had this huge-ass Gaen omake in mind for months now, but I have so many other projects I'm juggling, and @ClawClawBite has already beaten me to the punch with a very similar narrative, that I probably won't bother now. However, here are some other details I was planning to include that you guys can decide if you like:
-As per ClawClawBite's writeup, the Gaeni had nation states ruled by elected politicians or hereditary monarchs before the war. The Gaeni remember these governments unfavorably, seeing them as having been undereducated and underqualified to wield the technologies invented by scientists. This is one of the reasons that the survivors were willing to accept the scientists themselves as the new regime, and to this day they have an aversion to leaders who aren't scientists. This was likely the biggest barrier to Federation membership on their end.
-The Gaeni invented warp drive during the immediate postwar period, much like Humans did in the wake of World War 3. Unfortunately, there were no friendly Vulcans nearby to detect their first warp flight and come over to help them repair their planet. The institute that invented the warp engine lacked the resources to scale it up or mass produce it, and it was some years before any others had the resources to do so either. Once they did though, small warpships were used with increasing frequency to obtain rare materials to help with the restoration project.
-In the postwar period, there was a warrior-cult of former soldiers and military engineers from various fallen nation states who carved out an empire for themselves and raided the nearby institutes ruthlessly. Defeating these techno-barbarians was one of the main bridges that had to be crossed before peace and environmental stability could be restored. When a coalition of warpship-equipped institutes managed to defeat them, the marauders fled the homeworld in stolen warpships of their own and flew coreward, where they raided the newly warp-capable Ked-Padda on their way past. This is the reason for Ked-Padda antipathy toward the Gaeni (ie, the reason why the Gaeni feared that the KP would be at war with them were it not for the more pressing issue of the Licori). These exiled marauders are known for grafting claw-shaped phaser weapons to their arms, and have a strange cultural fixation with tubes.
-With the marauders exiled and the most immediate environmental concerns taken care of, the institutes began vying among themselves for power and influence. As per ClawClawBite's writeup, the Technocracy was established for fear of this competition leading to another war, to provide a nonviolent forum for negotiation and competition. Nevertheless, this "close call" generated some amount of public mistrust of the Institutes, and to this day there is a subculture of "anarchist" Gaeni who think that the cloistered scientists are too far removed from the common man or woman's life to be trusted with power. This stands in opposition with the more mainstream Gaeni sentiment that scientists, however flawed they might be, are still more trustworthy than career politicians. Despite being in the minority, the "anarchist" demographic was vital to the Gaeni joining the Federation, as they used every drop of political influence they could muster to make the technocrats accountable to someone, even if that someone was alien.
Don't have a name or backstory in mind, but:
EDIT: apparently his name is Mer Piaric.
EDIT2: changed the orchid on his armor to a circle and star logo.
-As per ClawClawBite's writeup, the Gaeni had nation states ruled by elected politicians or hereditary monarchs before the war. The Gaeni remember these governments unfavorably, seeing them as having been undereducated and underqualified to wield the technologies invented by scientists. This is one of the reasons that the survivors were willing to accept the scientists themselves as the new regime, and to this day they have an aversion to leaders who aren't scientists. This was likely the biggest barrier to Federation membership on their end.
-The Gaeni invented warp drive during the immediate postwar period, much like Humans did in the wake of World War 3. Unfortunately, there were no friendly Vulcans nearby to detect their first warp flight and come over to help them repair their planet. The institute that invented the warp engine lacked the resources to scale it up or mass produce it, and it was some years before any others had the resources to do so either. Once they did though, small warpships were used with increasing frequency to obtain rare materials to help with the restoration project.
-In the postwar period, there was a warrior-cult of former soldiers and military engineers from various fallen nation states who carved out an empire for themselves and raided the nearby institutes ruthlessly. Defeating these techno-barbarians was one of the main bridges that had to be crossed before peace and environmental stability could be restored. When a coalition of warpship-equipped institutes managed to defeat them, the marauders fled the homeworld in stolen warpships of their own and flew coreward, where they raided the newly warp-capable Ked-Padda on their way past. This is the reason for Ked-Padda antipathy toward the Gaeni (ie, the reason why the Gaeni feared that the KP would be at war with them were it not for the more pressing issue of the Licori). These exiled marauders are known for grafting claw-shaped phaser weapons to their arms, and have a strange cultural fixation with tubes.
-With the marauders exiled and the most immediate environmental concerns taken care of, the institutes began vying among themselves for power and influence. As per ClawClawBite's writeup, the Technocracy was established for fear of this competition leading to another war, to provide a nonviolent forum for negotiation and competition. Nevertheless, this "close call" generated some amount of public mistrust of the Institutes, and to this day there is a subculture of "anarchist" Gaeni who think that the cloistered scientists are too far removed from the common man or woman's life to be trusted with power. This stands in opposition with the more mainstream Gaeni sentiment that scientists, however flawed they might be, are still more trustworthy than career politicians. Despite being in the minority, the "anarchist" demographic was vital to the Gaeni joining the Federation, as they used every drop of political influence they could muster to make the technocrats accountable to someone, even if that someone was alien.
Don't have a name or backstory in mind, but:
EDIT: apparently his name is Mer Piaric.
EDIT2: changed the orchid on his armor to a circle and star logo.
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