Why the distinction? It's an annual breakdown chance, so it's not like it's going to come up in the middle of combat. The most annoying part is it takes ships out of service for a while.
We don't know the severity of the break downs or how they effect things, I'd rather not end up tying up berths with repair projects due to break downs which could be an issue of we have a warp core break down or a powergrid based one. Consider it a fudge factor especially as our fleet becomes larger the number of ships breaking down at any one time will go up. Consider it a mixed concern, I just don't want our patrol/combat vessels out of service.
The Many Loves of Ka'Sharren: Background, Summary, and Recommendations
Report prepared by Palta Entek, Regularization desk
Introduction
Recently, the Obsidian Order has discovered several illegally-published electronic and printed copies of a disturbing work of fiction, entitled The Many Loves of Ka'Sharren. This work undermines Cardassian values, promoting dangerous ideas and normalizing xenophilia. That it does so while directly parodying The Many Loves of Krilla, one of our oldest cultural artifacts, in the process is that much worse. It suggests that our society is already being undermined by contact with the United Federation of Planets. It therefore is essential that we understand the causes of this phenomenon so that we might bring it to a halt as soon as possible, or better yet to redirect it to our own purposes.
'Ka'Sharren' refers to Captain Nash Ka'Sharren of the Starfleet warship Enterprise. She is a known threat to the Cardassian Union, having frustrated our aims on multiple occasions. Introduced to the general public during the trial of Mila Lang, she has been portrayed as a dangerous seducer, undermining Cardassian families for her own ends and serving as the archetypal Starfleet officer - a representation of everything wrong with our new opponent. That a work would be distributed that celebrates her as a romantic figure is most disturbing.
Background The Many Loves of Krilla is one of the oldest surviving works of Cardassian literature, dating back over a millennium. Considered a forerunner to the repetitive epic, Krilla, unlike later works like The Neverending Sacrifice or Servants of the State, centers not on duty, but rather, fatally, on romantic love. Further, as a work written in the pre-unification era, Krilla's political sympathies lie with the People as opposed to the State. The latter is portrayed as ineffectual, self-involved, decadent, obsessed with its own survival over the true welfare of its citizens - a dangerous depiction, as citizenry could confuse it with our own benevolent State. That said, it is difficult to contemplate fully banning one of the oldest surviving pieces of our cultural heritage, especially one as well known and well loved as Krilla. Instead, partial regularization is in place, ensuring that the version available to society is in line with the values of the Cardassian Union.
The novel centers on the Krilla family, in particular on the women of the family - mother Gilora and her sister Nerisi, Gilora's daughters (Prieta, Epir, and Mila), and Nal and Jil, Prieta and Epir's daughters respectively. (You are likely most familiar with Epir, Mila, and Jil, as the stories of these three form the core canon of the regularized Krilla you likely read in secondary school.) Through their relationships, the author depicts the various levels of Cardassian society - everything from the resource-starved orphanage Jil is thrust into, to the grinding street poverty Epir and Jil especially face, to the decadent Oralian temple Nerisi stays at, to the bourgeois middle class origins of Gilora, Prieta, Epir, and Mila, to the heights of republican society that Gilora, Epir, and Nal all reach as courtesans and councillors. Similar patterns of rising and falling through social classes are on display in each generation - albeit not as rigidly as in more-developed epics.
The Many Loves of Ka'Sharren, naturally, is not nearly so interesting as literature. Dissidents are rarely known for their literary talents. While some events and characters do resemble incidents from Krilla, for the most part the larger end is smut, nothing so high-minded. Dissidents themselves are also not known for their literary interests; it should perhaps not be surprising that Ka'Sharren instead fills more prurient urges. There is, unfortunately, a certain allure for the exotic among elements of our population, and a work like Ka'Sharren satisfies that allure.
Summary The Many Loves of Ka'Sharren's opening story centers around the Amarki Senator Leaniss and Nash's attempts to get out of her marriage to the woman. The situation is generally played for comedy - Nash, who had gotten involved with the Senator on a lark and accidentally found herself married to the woman, is forced to undergo increasingly ridiculous rituals (many inspired by incidents in Krilla) to secure her divorce. Ultimately, Leaniss accepts the divorce (for now) and agrees to serve on Enterprise, largely in the hopes of eventually winning Ka'Sharren's heart once and for all. One gets the impression that future chapters will have Leaniss's ploys as comedic subplots. (This does not happen).
The next story centers around a Legate Khev Velim of the Romulan Union. The author, clearly lacking any real knowledge of Romulan culture, essentially treats the foreign Romulans as if they hailed from Culat. Ka'Sharren herself is not much better in this story, reading much more like a Ceterian spacer than an alien from a decadent Federation. These habits can become dangerous, in that they lead to the risk of readers identifying foreigners as resembling Cardassians, rather than properly distancing themselves from the alien. In the course of the story, she courts Khev with the explicit aim of using the Legate and his ships, and indeed, at the ill-defined Battle of Kadesh, he willingly sacrifices his fleet in an effort to impress the Andorian. (This does not work). His fleet used up, Ka'Sharren casually discards Khev.
The third part centers on Gul Penelya Miran's first contact with the Federation. It is at once the best chapter in terms of literary quality, and the worst in terms of subversiveness. Almost from the moment Miran and Ka'Sharren lay eyes on each other, they fall in love. And almost from the moment they begin discussions, they're bickering flirtatiously. Pretty soon, Miran arranges for 'personal talks' in Ka'Sharren's quarters. From here on, the story is, in a sense, a single prolonged argument, occasionally interrupted by sex - a clear parallel to a similar scene with Epir Krilla and Desan Ocett. Initially, the argument is over whether the Federation should be allowed to explore into Cardassian space - but more importantly, whether Nash and Penelya should explore their shared feelings for each other. With Nash seemingly winning this round (or at least with Penelya conceding for the moment), they shift to telling their personal histories - or at least, the versions of events they claim to be true. Nash questions Penelya's claim of being a widow, and the Cardassian acknowledges that her service to the State has effectively widowed her of any possibilities for personal love. In turn, she questions Nash's story about Leaniss, forcing the Andorian to admit she hasn't gotten over her. The two lovers contemplate their future, one or the other living in exile, both likely forced to give up their work, neither really finding a home. In the end, Cardassia and the Federation are just too far apart. When Miran finally departs, it is bittersweet, with only the slight hope that perhaps someday, if they can convince their governments to trust one another, they will meet again.
The writing of this section is dangerously evocative. And seriously subversive. Themes of pacifism, of the value of freedom, and of love being worth more than the State dominate. Nash's hedonism is portrayed as liberating, as letting Penelya express her true self. And, of course, the simple act of comparing an affair with an alien captain to Krilla and Ocett is inherently subversive.
The fourth part, in contrast, is fairly pedestrian in literary quality, but has far superior politics. Here, Ka'Sharren is correctly portrayed as a depraved hedonist, using the people around her (in particular, Mila Lang, though also her own officers) for her own ends. She is shown as seducing Lang despite knowing that the Cardassian is a married woman with a family; they represent merely an interesting obstacle.
The fifth part, meanwhile, reads mostly as (bad and badly written) apolitical wish fulfillment. Nash's lover here is a male Cardassian adjutant attached to Gul Vikeda's mission to Leas Akaam; she happily complies with his every fantasy, including those involving the other female members of her senior staff, and agrees not to ask any greater commitment of him, being simply satisfied by being with a manly Cardassian soldier. Ultimately, Ka'Sharren hands over the information he needs to save Gul Vikeda's mission, whereupon he is sexually rewarded for his services as a juvenile capstone to this section of the canon.
The final part sees Ka'Sharren paired with a fellow Starfleet captain, a man who seeks command of her ship and tries to push her up and out. She frankly admits to the reader that she wants to retain command of Enterprise (rather than accept a promotion) largely for the sake of romancing attractive people. As with other sections, she uses her sexuality as a weapon, seducing her fellow Starfleet captain as well as several senior Starfleet staff officers to prevent him from ousting her.
As should be obvious by the disconnected nature of most or all of these stories, there is no single author. (Incidentally, the same has been proposed of the actual Krilla, but that can be easily dismissed - while the author is unknown, her work is too well-planned, too intricately interwoven with recurring themes, to be the work of multiple people). The question then becomes, who wrote these stories?
It is possible to narrow down the possible range of authors based on certain details present or absent in the various stories. It seems clear that the authors must be Cardassian - they know too much about Krilla, for one, and more importantly, they know too little about the Federation, as a simple comparison to what the Foreign Cultural Assessment desk knows of Federation culture makes clear. It seems equally clear that the authors are probably military. They have certainly seen more of Gul Miran's report (not to mention Gul Vikeda's report) than has been publicly released, which further narrows down candidates. The fifth section in particular can be reduced down to a handful of staff on Gul Vikeda's mission to Leas Akaam.
Recommendations
Multiple courses of action could be recommended. Obviously, certain actions are already under way - known distributors are being arrested and interrogated, and their networks rolled up. Unauthorized publication is highly subversive, no matter the content. That said, there is clearly some prurient fascination with Captain Ka'Sharren. It is possible we might be able to exploit this by distributing our own modified version of the canon as we have done for The Many Loves of Krilla.
It is extremely difficult to entirely eliminate works of this type. Demand exists, and supply expands to meet this demand, in spite of the risk to the dissident authors. Instead, a commonly successful strategy for the Regularization desk has been to fill the niche of a transgressive genre or work with another that conforms to our wishes. In this way, even transgression can be brought under control, and people who might otherwise commit more dangerous acts against the State can be channeled into safer pursuits.
Elements of The Many Loves of Ka'Sharren already are in line with our preferred messages. Ka'Sharren is universally portrayed as a hedonist, for instance; portrayals in line with the fourth story, that show that hedonism as cruel, empty, inherently alien, and ultimately destructive, would undoubtedly serve our ends well.
A sample cut might make various revisions to each section. The modifications to the first section would emphasize how Senator Leaniss has thrown away her honourable service and deprived herself, her family, and her State of her talents to pursue someone who will use and abuse her. The second section would portray Khev Velim as an equally unsympathetic and untrustworthy alien, showing that when dealing with aliens grief is the only outcome no matter who you are. The third section would need to be completely excised, perhaps replaced by a section in which Gul Miran properly ignores all attempts at seduction. The fourth section would mostly stand as is, with mild revisions to remove references to classified materials. The fifth section, after significant revisions to improve plot and (especially) grammar, would nonetheless also remain. And the sixth section would end differently, with both captains consumed and destroyed by the affair, highlighting the self-destructiveness of Federation mores.
Overall I anticipate that regularization of the work at this stage would be relatively simple and inexpensive, especially for the social value that we would achieve. I anticipate that it would take the regularization desk no more than two months to put this project in motion once it is approved. As a secondary concern, it would allow us to insert new material into the canon as events warrant.
1) Do any of the existing ship classes have reliability issues, or is this something only for new ship designs? For ex, I'd expect Gaeni ships to be plagued with issues. Heck, maybe the half-assed Constellation design may have reliability problems.
2) Can these reliability issues be fixed over time, or does it require refitting?
The Jaldun-class is a 1,200,000 ton cruiser, compared to the Constellation has barely half that, so keep that in mind when you compare them. But the refit will help them deal with most Cardassian escorts. ("most", @anon_user did a great job there)
[Caitians is above 300 diplomacy, further integration and resource sharing with the Federation will begin next year]
Maintain Course for the Rennie
- Deactivate San Francisco Fleet Yards Design Bureau - Ship Design (Explorer)
- Deactivate Starfleet Medical Command - Medical
- Deactivate Starfleet Science Academy - Communications
- Tellar Prime Academy of Mineral Science - Minerals
- Utopia Planitia Design Group - Ship Design (Light Cruiser)
- Starfleet Tactical Command - Doctrine (Lone Ranger)
- Daystrom Institute - Computing
- Spock - Xenoanalysis
- Vulcan Science Academy - Sensors
- Starfleet Tactical Command - Foreign Analysis (Romulan Research)
- Andorian Academy - Shields
- Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems - Warp Technology
87 / 9 = 9 rem 6
6rp carries over, 81 used
San Francisco Fleet Yards Design Bureau - Ship Design (Explorer)
--- Inactive
40 Eridani A Shipyards -
--- Inactive
Utopia Planitia Design Group - Ship Design (Light Cruiser)
15 / 15 Cruiser Nacelle Design Improvements I (-2% to Nacelle Penalty on Cruisers)
7 / 30 Cruiser Nacelle Design Improvements II (-2% to Nacelle Penalty on Cruisers) 15 / 15 Cruiser Design Efficiency I (-2% to SR Costs)
12 / 30 Cruiser Design Efficiency II (-2% to SR Costs) 15 / 15 Cruiser Combat Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
7 / 30 Cruiser Combat Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights) 15 / 15 Cruiser Science Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
7 / 30 Cruiser Science Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights) 15 / 15 Cruiser Hull Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
12 / 30 Cruiser Hull Design II (-1% to Cruisers stat weights) 15 / 15 Cruiser Shield Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
7 / 15 Cruiser Shield Design II (-1% to Cruiser stat weights) 15 / 15 Cruiser Presence Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
7 / 15 Cruiser Presence Design II (-1% to Cruisers stat weights) 15 / 15 Cruiser Defence Design I (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
7 / 15 Cruiser Defence Design II (-1% to Cruisers stat weights)
22 / 30 Cruiser Module Design I (-2% to Scale 1 Module Frame Weight) 15 / 15 Cruiser Reliability I (+10 Reliabilty)
0 / 30 Cruiser Reliability II (+10 Reliability)
22 / 150 Cruiser Size I (Scale 7 Cruisers now allowed)
[-2% to Nacelle Penalty, -1% weight to Combat, Science, Shield, Presence, Defence stats, +10 Reliability]
Tellar Prime Academy of Mineral Science - Minerals
17 / 20 Bulk Resource Extraction II (+5br on Resource Extraction missions)
12 / 20 Bulk Resource Identification II (+ 1 to Rolls on Resource Extraction missions)
12 / 20 Bulk Refining Techniques I (+5 to Mining Colony annual production)
12 / 20 Special Resource Extraction II (+5sr on Resource Extraction missions) 20 / 20 Special Resource Identification II (+ 1 to Rolls on Resource Extraction missions)
2 / 40 Special Resource Identification III (boost to SRs found on Resource Extraction missions)
12 / 20 Special Refining Techniques I (+5 to Mining Colony annual production)
29 / 30 Tactical Analysis I (+1% Fed Combat Power vs Romulans) 30 / 30 Doctrinal Analysis I (-1% Rom Combat Power)
4 / 60 Doctrinal Analysis II (-1% Rom Combat Power) 30 / 30 Attack Pattern Analysis I (+2% chance of dodging a hit)
4 / 60 Attack Pattern Analysis (+2% chance of dodging a hit) 30 / 30 Intelligence Analysis I (Improved counter intel)
11 / 60 Intelligence Analysis II (Quicker access to ship details for new classes)
20 / 20 Data Analysis Center I (-1 RP required to activate Tech Team)
23 / 30 Data Analysis Center II (-1 RP required to activate Tech Team (8)) 20 / 20 Targeting Computer I (2% weapon weight reduction)
22 / 30 Targeting Computer II (2% weapon weight reduction) 20 / 20 Ship Computer Core I (2% Science weight/power savings)
22 / 30 Ship Computer Core II (1% Science weight/power savings) 20 / 20 Ship Operating System I (1% warp core power improvement)
27 / 30 Ship Operating System II (1% warp core power improvement)
25 / 30 Portable Analysis Centers (+2 rp annually from research colonies)
[No new techs]
Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems - Warp Technology
20 / 20 Dilithium Efficiency I (Warp Core Weight:SR ratio reduced by 0.1)
15 / 40 Dilithium Efficency II (Warp Core Weight:SR ratio reduced by 0.1) 20 / 20 Warp Core Construction I (Warp Core Weight reduced by 2%)
23 / 40 Warp Core Construction II (Warp Core Weight reduced by 2%) 20 / 20 Warp Core Scaling I (Warp Core Min Multiplier reduced by .5/1/2)
10 / 60 Warp Core Scaling II (Warp Core Min Multiplier reduced by .5/1/2) 20 / 20 Escort Warp Coil Design I (Nacelle Weight Penalty to 1.05) 20 / 20 Warp Core Safety Design I (Reduced chance of Warp Core Breach and reduce crew loss in the event of ship destroyed, improved reliability by 2%)
10 / 40 Warp Core Damage Failsafe Design II (Reduced chance of Warp Core Breach and reduce crew loss in the event of ship destroyed)
10 / 40 Warp Core Operation Safety Design II (Improved reliability by 2%)
14 / 20 Warp Core Power Generation I (+2% to Warp Core output)
[No new techs]
Starfleet Science Academy - Communications
---Inactive
Vulcan Science Academy - Sensors
20 / 20 SR Anti-Cloaking I - (Improved chance of intercepting cloaked vessels)
27 / 40 SR Anti-Cloaking II - (Improved chance of intercepting cloaked vessels) [+10 from recent experience] 20 / 20 Targeting Sensors I - (2% weight savings for combat)
22 / 40 Targeting Sensors II (2% weight savings for combat) 20 / 20 Enhanced Sensors I - (2% weight savings for Science)
27 / 40 Enhanced Sensors II - (2% weight savings for Science) 20 / 20 Long Range Sensors I - (progress to a +1 to Rolls in Mapping Missions)
27 / 40 Long Range Sensors II - (gain +1 to Rolls in Mapping Missions)
6 / 20 Sensor Reliability I (gain +1% to Science Reliability)
[No new techs]
Andorian Academy - Shields
20 / 20 Core Shields I (reduce Shield power requirements by 2%)
4 / 40 Core Shields II (reduce Shield power requirements by 2%) 20 / 20 Navigational Deflector Efficiency I (reduce Defence power requirements by 2%)
4 / 40 Navigational Deflector Efficiency II (reduce Defence power requirements by 2%) 20 / 20 Navigational Deflector Construction I (reduce Defence weight requirements by 2%)
4 / 40 Navigational Deflector Construction II (reduce Defence weight requirements by 2%)
19 / 20 Emitter Designs I (-2% to Deflector Weight)
13 / 20 Emitter Simplification (improve Weight:SR ratio of Deflectors)
19 / 20 Shield Geometry I (+1 to Damage Evasion Attempts) 20 / 20 Shield Regeneration I (No effect yet)
4 / 20 Shield Regeneration II (No effect yet)
4 / 20 Shield Reliability I (+1% reliability for shields)
[Defence Power Requirement reduced by 2%]
Starfleet Medical Command - Medical
---Inactive
Spock - Xenoanalysis
20 / 20 Xeno Architecture I (2% Weight/Power Savings for Presence)
25 / 40 Xeno Architecture II (2% weight/power savings for Presence) 20 / 20 Recruiting Campaign I (Increase Academy intake from Federation Affiliates to 0.05 each)
20 / 40 Recruiting Campaign II (Increase Academy intake from Federation Affiliates to 0.1 each) 20 / 20 Diplomatic Analysis I (Improve the Annual Diplomacy Rolls)
25 / 40 Diplomatic Analysis II (Improve the Annual Diplomacy Rolls) 20 / 20 Universal Translator II (Improve First Contact Scenarios)
30 / 30 Universal Translator III (+1 to Presence tests for non-Explorer Corps ships when in First Contact)
0 / 60 Universal Translator IV (+1 to Presence tests for Explorer Corps ships when in First Contact) 20 / 20 First Contact Protocols I (+1 to attempts by non-Explorer Corps ships at First Contact encounters)
25 / 40 First Contact Protocals II (+1 to attempts by non-Explorer Corps ships at First Contact encounters)
8 / 20 Presence Reliability Research I (Presence Reliability improved by 2%)
[+1 to Presence tests for non-Explorer Corps ships in First Contact]
1) Do any of the existing ship classes have reliability issues, or is this something only for new ship designs? For ex, I'd expect Gaeni ships to be plagued with issues. Heck, maybe the half-assed Constellation design may have reliability problems.
2) Can these reliability issues be fixed over time, or does it require refitting?
Wait, Cardassians have actual known ship designs now? I don't see it in the named ship list or ship classes posts.
1) "For ex, I'd expect Gaeni ships to be plagued with issues."
Oh god yes.
The people that run little tech skiffs with 33 power warp cores? Oh god yes they have problems.
But for the Starfleet ships I'm giving that a pass at this stage rather than making it retrospective.
2) They aren't there because you don't have the full details yet. Foreign Analysis research on the Cardassians helps push along the process of getting formal stat blocks.
Pulsar NOW [xxx m, 1.8m t]
C5 S6 H4 L6 P6 D6
Cost [180br 120sr, 3 years] ????
It's basically a pocket excelsior, little worse in combat little better in shields and presence and also much cheaper, features a ship which is 98% reliable, then we'd have the ability to reuse the saucer section on an explorer design.
Next up the largest possible ship we could build with our current 3m berth size limitation.
After re-reading the comments regarding reliability I'm okay with ships being around 95% reliable as long as the warp core is very close to 100% reliable. Magnetar has the same damage output as an Excelsior with much better shields and science capabilities, it's also a much better ship for diplomatic purposes.
Edit: just noticed the research update post is out which probably invalidates my cruiser design.
Please drop a note when the spreadsheet is updated with new technologies so that we can start playing with it and determine whether we're ready to go after the Renaissance or not.
Interesting note, everybody. We could put literally any tech team on this next time and finish it, and have the Doctrine team start immediately on one of the Offensive or Defensive Doctrines. Something to think about. I know it's almost always a good idea to put a team on their specialty, but in this specific case.....
Please drop a note when the spreadsheet is updated with new technologies so that we can start playing with it and determine whether we're ready to go after the Renaissance or not.
Pulsar NOW [xxx m, 1.8m t]
C5 S6 H4 L6 P6 D6
Cost [180br 120sr, 3 years] ????
It's basically a pocket excelsior, little worse in combat little better in shields and presence and also much cheaper, features a ship which is 98% reliable, then we'd have the ability to reuse the saucer section on an explorer design.
Next up the largest possible ship we could build with our current 3m berth size limitation.
After re-reading the comments regarding reliability I'm okay with ships being around 95% reliable as long as the warp core is very close to 100% reliable. Magnetar has the same damage output as an Excelsior with much better shields and science capabilities, it's also a much better ship for diplomatic purposes.
Edit: just noticed the research update post is out which probably invalidates my cruiser design.
Portable analysis center got the inspiration bonus so it will finish next turn which means RP income will be up to 73, plus any gains from increased affiliation. And we will have 8rp for activation costs so that is amazing for us.
I forget did we take guy that was giving a flat +2 bonus to doctrine research per year and if we did will that research be carried out regardless of whether we have a team working on this?
I forget did we take guy that was giving a flat +2 bonus to doctrine research per year and if we did will that research be carried out regardless of whether we have a team working on this?
@OneirosTheWriter, how permanent are reliability problems then? Are they addressed over time, or does it require refitting?
The reason I'm asking is because if we can improve reliability after-the-fact, I'm wondering if we could accept the risk of like 95% or lower reliability while starting the Renaissance design early. I wouldn't even mind if the fixing reliability requires some sort of "super-refit" project, that would cost PP, resources, AND research time ala addendum ship design project.
I'm still a bit in the dark about doctrines, does research into them result in their immediate implementation or is it merely developing the theory behind said method that we can choose to implement?
Okay, *bam*, the Renaissance in only 15 extra techs, 98% reliability. 5 sr cheaper than the stats given! If we can do this, I say Renaissance NOW.
EDIT: Aaaaaand like a dummy I forgot to put in Reserve Power. Nevermind. Part of the issue is, I have no idea how much Reserve Power the Renaissance is "supposed" to have.
