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They have several hundred pilots and several thousand mechanics and support staff in Commonwealth PoW camps waiting for the civil war to end, not counting the handful that can be demonstrated to have committed war crimes, who do not get to go home.
Once they return to Victoria?
The jet pilots can convert to new jet fighter aircraft within six months to two years; the propeller not!Cessna aircraft pilots will probably take significantly longer.The mechanics will take roughly the same time as the jet pilots, plus they'll need more of all categories.
As for planes, Little Nicky will undoubtedly sell or loan them some with payment plans, just like North Korea and North Vietnam got planes from the Soviets in the Cold War, or how the US supplied aircraft to South Korea and South Vietnam and others.
Victoria has the resources to have a wealthy First World standard of living; they can pay for rearmament.
It's hard to think of any direct military uses for those airplanes when facing any kind of enemy more dangerous than a random warlord's militia. But I feel that the civilian uses for these airplanes would have benefits that, like a lot of civilian things, eventually benefit the military.
Can we get someone in the Commonwealth Congress to propose the creation of the Pan-American Postal Service in-universe? It seems like something that could have broad support across party lines, the only thing controversial would be what sort of resources are worth devoting to it, and since the the plan would be contingent on contributions from other governments that would hopefully be modest.
EDIT: Actually, is it possible to have the Pan-American Postal Service proposed by Congressman Jack Nguyen of the American Constitutional Restorationist Party? I have some ideas for the Conservative-Revivalist opposition now that we're going to be admitting a large number of refugees from across the country as voting citizens.
They have several hundred pilots and several thousand mechanics and support staff in Commonwealth PoW camps waiting for the civil war to end, not counting the handful that can be demonstrated to have committed war crimes, who do not get to go home.
Several hundred? I think that may be an overestimate unless there were even MORE pointless redundant prop planes deployed to Toledo than I'd thought.
(200 is already a lot, much more than 200 is just dumb given that the entire area of operations for the whole campaign was less than a hundred miles on a side; there isn't room to get any real benefit from having such a stupidly dense coverage of scout aircraft in one place...)
It's hard to think of any direct military uses for those airplanes when facing any kind of enemy more dangerous than a random warlord's militia. But I feel that the civilian uses for these airplanes would have benefits that, like a lot of civilian things, eventually benefit the military.
It's just that civilian uses for the airplanes are officially Not My Problem from the perspective of the Commonwealth Air Force, when it comes time to ask "so who's going to fly these things?" Which was the original context of the discussion.
Yes, I think people are rather aware of the power that a clear and reliable line of Communication brings for a nationstate, it gives people the ability to lodge both grivances and praise to the Government in a reliable manner.
Mail Trains...Post Office Planes...men on the ground.
We should invest in this post office, build connections hearts and minds and even reliable working relations.
You think that the Devil's Children should be our first contact points?
@PoptartProdigy could you poke me the next time state submissions are open? Because I've had an idea or two, and I would like to get a chance with them.
It's just that civilian uses for the airplanes are officially Not My Problem from the perspective of the Commonwealth Air Force, when it comes time to ask "so who's going to fly these things?" Which was the original context of the discussion.
Gotcha, agreed. I was shifting discussion to civilian uses of the planes, since as you note the CAF isn't going to want to do much with them (other than hang on to a few as trainers).
Yes, I think people are rather aware of the power that a clear and reliable line of Communication brings for a nationstate, it gives people the ability to lodge both grivances and praise to the Government in a reliable manner.
Mail Trains...Post Office Planes...men on the ground.
We should invest in this post office, build connections hearts and minds and even reliable working relations.
In any case I agree with Cyberphilosipher, they make sense as partners for the mail service. At least the bigger ones do- Crockett and Powder River Counties are small and isolated. The Oklahoma Free State can't cut any deals unless their warlord "protector" agrees, and the Shreveport might take some convincing, but I expect they'd come in as participants.
Several hundred? I think that may be an overestimate unless there were even MORE pointless redundant prop planes deployed to Toledo than I'd thought.
(200 is already a lot, much more than 200 is just dumb given that the entire area of operations for the whole campaign was less than a hundred miles on a side; there isn't room to get any real benefit from having such a stupidly dens
Currently on mobile, so I can't give you sources.
But to my recollection, the Vics brought 150x F16s and several hundred notCessnas on the Detroit campaign.
They lost 50x F16s at Leamington.
Lost another 50x F16s to Darla's SAM ambush. And we captured 50x on the ground at Toledo airport, of which weve only been able to put half of them back in working order.
Now in addition to that, there were notCessna combat losses, which are not specified but are implied to be significant. We also captured two hundred and thirty of them on the ground. Assuming they only suffered 33% losses, that points at a pilot corps in excess of four hundred and fifty pilots, two thirds of them flying notCessnas. Plus at least 300 spotters/ assistants in the prop aircraft's passenger seat.
As for numbers, loathe as I am to defend Vics, thats actually reasonable.
Do remember that they were attacking across both lower Ontario and southern Michigan. And they then intended to push this campaign over almost five hundred kilometers of land to Chicago. With 14 divisions of men.
In a situation where your only sensors are Mark One Eyeball, you want many eyes up there scouting ahead and covering your flanks. And you want your scouts fresh and attentive, so you want enough to watch while others are resting and undergoing maintenance, as well as a decent reserve in the event of unforseen complications and combat losses.
One day on, two days off would mean around a hundred aircraft available each day, translating to maybe seven recon planes per division/ two recon planes per brigade, which is reasonable levels of aerial recon. The rest are directly controlled by VAF tactical command or doing mail/communication runs to Buffalo since I assume the Vics are going to prefer physical mail to radio which can be intercepted.
Maybe use a small number of the planes to set up a small passenger route to New York. It would be expensive but allow us to source experts we lack to help with things like setting up education/schooling and rebuilding/modernising industry. The relevant people probably wouldn't want to move to the Commonwealth from New York but could be hired for 6/12 month tours if the price was right.
You have no intelligence on the size of the Victorian Air Force. Cali made them about forty planes.
You had fifty combat-capable fighters. You now have four. Seven more survived to return their pilots but will almost certainly never fly again.
Dear Madame President:
We have met the enemy and they are ours. Six divisions, three brigades, one navy, and approximately two hundred and thirty assorted aircraft.
Yours with great respect and esteem,
R. J. Burns
When the Victorians come, it is slow and steady, flying perfectly level and straight, and in radar signatures that appear to denote absolutely massive airplanes. Twelve of them.
General Burns's jaw drops slightly. "I don't believe it."
"Victorian doctrine calls for this for AA evasion," says Franks, eyes fixed on the radar display. "Four or more planes fly in diamond or box formation, close enough that they return as one radar signature. The idea is that radar-guided missiles seek the center of the formation and miss the planes." She snorts. "It's stupid, makes them sitting ducks. They're right on top of one another in order to keep this effect, so a single missile is going to knock several of them out of the air. And wouldn't you know it, it was Rumford's idea in the first place." She scowls. "Really tells you that they never fight anybody who can make them pay. Nobody whose job actually prepares them to interface with the ground would have this dumbfuck idea."
Four or more in each return.
Im assuming an average of 6 to 8 in each radar return, which would amount to 72-96 aircraft.
Plus however many are deadlined for maintenance.
I will let General Franks explain in full, but thanks to her extensive study of Victorian air doctrine, she helped us conceive a truly brutal trap for the VAF during the fighting over the Raisin Line, one which saw the vast majority of their scouting and air superiority forces grossly overextended over our lines before we opened fire on them. Their air force has been dealt a heavy blow, and it is doubtful that they'll have the confidence to field planes over our forces for a long time. We believe they have twenty or fewer jets remaining operational. Our count of downed air craft is estimated, and includes air frames lost to circumstance rather than our action, as stated earlier, over two hundred and thirty air craft removed from action.
The VAF is split between people spitting fire and venom at their captors and those who are desperately confused about what they should be doing (under Geneva standards, no less!) and have defaulted to being as helpful as possible (this is what happens when you don't train your people to be captured, Victoria). The latter group has been able to say that they have identified twenty-one fighters as cleared for flight. A further twelve are downed for maintenance. Mostly engine problems.
And frankly, some of the twenty-one are only cleared because they're starting to run low.
As for Cessnas, hoo boy. Strictly speaking, not Cessnas. The R-3 Vulture currently is represented by 214 planes in various states of repair or disrepair.
It's also a piston-engine, unarmed scout plane with a low ceiling, horrible maneuverability, no speed, and with a structure that an M4A1 Carbine could savage, but you now can say that you own 214 of them.
230 aircraft casualties by the time of the Raisin Line(both F16s and Vultures) + 21 flight capable F-16s + 12 F-16s down for engine maintenance + ?? more F-16s with sabotage/combat damage + 214 R-3 Vultures = 477 aircraft.
So yeah, I think its safe to say they had at least 500 pilots at the beginning of this campaign.
21 flight capable F-16s + 12 F-16s down for engine maintenance + ?? more F-16s with sabotage/combat damage + 214 R-3 Vultures = 250+ pilots at Toledo airport when the Toledo military stormed it.
Plus however many were captured as PoWs after being shot down or who made it back to friendly lines.
Maybe use a small number of the planes to set up a small passenger route to New York. It would be expensive but allow us to source experts we lack to help with things like setting up education/schooling and rebuilding/modernising industry. The relevant people probably wouldn't want to move to the Commonwealth from New York but could be hired for 6/12 month tours if the price was right.
They're Cessnas.
Two or four seat aircraft that have no radar or avionics. Why would a First Worlder board such a thing for a 800km(Detroit to NY) or 1200km(Chicago to NY) flight? Why would you let them if they are valuable experts?
FCNY can run a passenger service to Chicago or Detroit just fine should they choose to. They can afford it, as can California. Or we can build or buy something safer than a VFR-only Vulture. Even a military C-130 is essentially a 1950s design, and is a more reasonable choice.
Hell, a V-280 tiltrotor can do that distance in less than two hours, compared to the 4-6 hours of a Cessna, and by the 2070s its a 50-year old design.
Alternatively, buy a VSAT terminal and run Zoom or whatever video-messaging service of choice is currently available and dont have the person actually travel unless its absolutely necessary.
Maybe use a small number of the planes to set up a small passenger route to New York. It would be expensive but allow us to source experts we lack to help with things like setting up education/schooling and rebuilding/modernising industry. The relevant people probably wouldn't want to move to the Commonwealth from New York but could be hired for 6/12 month tours if the price was right.
The planes are tiny puny single-seat single-engine jobs. They probably don't have room for more than, like... one passenger, or a sack of mail or something.
We'd do better to use our Garbage Birds, the only domestic-built planes in Chicagoland, and probably the only ones in the damn world to run on diesel fuel and be made out of recycled beer cans. At least those can handle a few tons of cargo.
But we'd do much better to use literally any plan that the New Yorkers would pick out for us.
Well shit. I thought they were more reasonably sized. That sounds barely useful, even for mail. Keep some for scouting/training and scrap the rest for parts.
EDIT: someone mentioned the cessna in question was the 172, if that is the case it could operate a cheap passenger line and is very modifiable
The planes are tiny puny single-seat single-engine jobs. They probably don't have room for more than, like... one passenger, or a sack of mail or something.
We'd do better to use our Garbage Birds, the only domestic-built planes in Chicagoland, and probably the only ones in the damn world to run on diesel fuel and be made out of recycled beer cans. At least those can handle a few tons of cargo.
But we'd do much better to use literally any plan that the New Yorkers would pick out for us.
The Garbage Birds are a source of national pride! Because while diesel aircraft are a actual thing The Birds are probably among the largest to exist and even more impressively are fairly long ranged too, but yeah what ever form of cheap bush plane that developed anywhere would be a massive improvement over anything we have. Hell fuel might not even be a issue with sustainable power sources like solar and the tears of Victorian slaves being the norm.
[X] Plan Gunboat Diplomacy
-[X] More Gunboats (Department)
-[X] More Gunboats x2 (Free)
-[X] Michigan Mediation (Department)
-[X] Intervention In Minnesota (Free)
-[X] Census Office (Dedicated)
-[X] Census Office x2 (Free)
-[X] Refugee Crisis (Free)
-[X] Refugee Crisis x2 (Free)
-[X] Economic Legislation (Free)
-[X] Farming Equipment (Department)
-[X] Green Energy (Department)
-[X] Midwest Economic Summit (Department)
-[X] Into Victoria (Department)
-[X] Libraries (Department)
[X][MEET] Yes. Risks are made to be taken, and the potential gains are nearly priceless. Besides, Nikolai has already shown that he intends to be antagonistic.
[X][SCHEDULE] Seven years. Moderate military, foreign arms with domestic ammo and parts production. Stretch goal of some domestic weapons production. Pessimistic timeline, or else assumes declaring early to hit the Vicks with a stronger force before they're ready.
Turn Five
Spring 2076 Results
More Gunboats x2
Needed: 2. Rolled: 98, 91. Two Successes.
It has been a few years since your shipyards spun up to the task of putting out a new run of Des Plaines-class gunboats, but they take up the task with aplomb. In fact, they pick up as though they'd never left off. In the lead-up to the Erie War, Ron instructed yards suited to it to prepare to build new ships or take in existing ones for repair, as became necessary. The prep work, it seems, hasn't yet worn off. Materials and extra workers acquired for the work were never set aside, and your orders come in during a slack period in shipbuilding, to boot, arriving to yards with little civilian demand to compete and bursting over with resources that need putting to work.
A Des Plaines is not a difficult ship to make. The hardest part is sourcing the munitions for it, and again, with the prep work done already, much of that has already been sourced. Moreover, your shipyards know the designs, having built the first run. It's the largest order you've ever placed, but the yards take to it with aplomb.
As summer comes to a close, the next eleven gunboats join their sister ships, crewed by a complement of fresh recruits and commanded by the junior officers of the Erie War. Not the level of quality you expect from your navy on a normal day, but you still have the core of your fleet trained to their old standards -- and as the new ships roll straight into fairly intensive patrols, it is a problem that should, given time, resolve itself.
Commonwealth Navy doubles in size to 22 vessels. You can now, albeit with some stretching, fulfill your patrol commitments. As you have doubled the branch's size in six months, the new additions are not up to your usual standard, but time and work should address that to some extent.
* * *
Michigan Mediation
Needed: 31. Rolled: 99. Success.
The conflict between the Michigan Soviet Republic and Traverse City, ultimately, stems over a dispute regarding control of the cities of Manistee and Ludington.
Both Traverse City and the MSR are some of the more stable and powerful polities on the Lower Peninsula, and both have been working to expand. In the chaos of the Country, after all, the only kind of security is greater strength, even if that courts Victorian attentions. Furthermore, both are polities which thrive by their access to Lake Michigan, especially relative to the underdeveloped interior of the peninsula inland of them. Both looked to expand along the shoreline -- but, between them both, stood Manistee and Ludington.
Manistee and Ludington have never been large cities, nor have they been terribly influential. On this topic, though, they found some unexpected degree of influence. With two growing powers both jockeying for their favor in order to abet their expansion, the cities realized a measure of prominence never before accorded to them. They swiftly realized the bargaining power they wielded, and started coordinating in playing the larger powers against each other, seeking a good offer.
They did not grasp the amount of tension in the situation until the first armed standoff between Traverse City and the MSR took place just south of Ludington.
That, then, is the shape of it: two small players attempting to play large ones against one another and gravely underestimating how seriously those large players took the situation -- and how ready they were to go to war, if necessary, to secure the next stage of relative advantage. And, from there, it has escalated.
Still, now a larger player still has taken interest, and you do not have an equal and opposite party to counterweight your opinion here. It is your opinion that this dispute should be resolved.
It's not even that hard, truthfully. Both Traverse City and the MSR value their alliance with you and fear the consequences of abandoning it. They both recognize the degree to which power in the region has shifted. As for Manistee and Ludington, they were never opposed to joining with either party; they just wanted a good deal. After the tension from the standoffs, they are willing to accept nearly any deal that doesn't see them used as a front line as a good one. You divide them between your allies, and all parties consent to that solution. Everybody can claim it as a win, see, and make the local power happy while doing so.
Dispute resolved; Traverse City annexes a corridor up to Manistee and the MSR annexes a corridor up to Ludington, with the consent of all involved parties. Egos and strategic qualms salved all around, and your reputation as a power broker grows all the stronger.
* * *
Intervention In Minnesota
Needed: 11. Rolled: 24. Success.
Your intervention in Minnesota is less clean-cut.
There are, you are aware, two Minnesotas. One is the State of Minnesota at Bemidji -- the remnant of the old state government, evicted in the chaos of the Collapse but maintaining their claim to the state's name. The other is the State of Minnesota at Minneapolis, which commands the state capitol and a smattering of territory surrounding it, and occasionally checks in to receive the appropriate protestations of loyalty from the remainder of the state.
Minnesota is an odd one; much of the state's old territory still eagerly professes loyalty to the state government, and most will acknowledge the government at Minneapolis -- which is far more powerful, possessing as it does the services of the remnant of the state National Guard. In practice, the vast majority of it is the same anarchic scrum the Country has grown accustomed to, but the acknowledgement of what they once were and could once again become is far more pointed in Minnesota than elsewhere. It's an easy observation to make, and several Minnesotan cities attending your conference to observe point it out explicitly in any event: in Minnesota in particular, the way you come down on this issue could have serious consequences regarding the area's potential reorganization.
In terms of the dispute in question, of course, Bemidji wants you to recognize them as the legitimate state government, and they have the support of Manitoulin, the State of Superior at Duluth, and the Armstrong Clique in that endeavor. The only caveat is that they are not claiming Duluth itself, recognizing it as the rightful territory of the State of Superior; for themselves, they claim legitimacy only in the remainder of Minnesota. And, frankly, by any reasonable metric they are the legitimate government. They were violently displaced, but have continued functions of government insofar as they're able to. Furthermore, they've demonstrated a capability with politics and diplomacy just by having arranged this mediation.
On the other hand, Minneapolis has proven capable of violently displacing a legitimate state government and establishing a loose hegemony over the state in question. They command a semi-intact National Guard apparatus, they did not ask for this mediation and in fact greatly resent it, and you do not have great faith that they will quietly accept what you have to say. They are most likely to be able to hold the state, if granted it, and most likely to violently object to being stripped of it in some relevantly disruptive manner. Finally, they have mustered the support of...the State of Superior at Duluth, confusingly, with similar guarantees as with the Bemidji government. It transpires that Duluth is not precisely politically unified in a way that lends itself to clean foreign policy positions; you anticipate upheaval regardless of your decision here. Upheaval that the Minneapolans unquestionably have more ability to cleanly resolve than the government at Bemidji.
This is not the situation up in Michigan; neither party is willing to seek a compromise. Bemidji wants recognition; Minneapolis wants you to recognize them and go home. Your choices are to recognize one or the other as the legitimate state government of all of Minnesota barring Duluth.
Mediation conducted; options below.
* * *
Census Office x2
Needed: 31. Rolled: 47, 98. Two Successes.
Secretary Wilson put you in a corner by offering her resignation if the Census Office was not established; you don't really appreciate that. Nevertheless, you do appreciate the urgency of the matter. She is right, even if you're unhappy with her tactics. So you set to work and forward her office funding. You do need the data this Census would offer.
Congress rubber-stamps approval for this office swiftly enough, and you set to work. The stated aim is to have roll calls every ten years, but the office is granted authority for spot checks in response to, "imminent need." It is code for annexations or mass population movement events, of course.
You start with the census offices of your states. Most of your member states have censuses of their own, after all. They are of variable quality, but they are there. Congress's approval stretches to you folding those organizations into your own whole cloth, federalizing the matter entirely -- after all, as the matter of a national census is not laid out specifically in your constitution, it is reserved to the federal government. Your work begins by collating their numbers and assimilating their personnel. It is an intensive process that eats up a lot of the Department's spare time.
Then, you need to actually conduct a sweep of your own, both to fill in the gaps and to supplement departments with...less-than-stellar work or methodology. For this, you hire temporary workers. Similar methodology to the old Census; get people out going door-to-door, asking questions. You're glad that your refugee population is politically mobilized and welcome to reside, rather than hiding in terror from immigration officers; you really need to know as much about them in particular as possible.
Finally, there is putting all the data together. This is an intensive process; you need to hire huge amounts of new personnel while pulling in veterans from other departments, all set to sweeping through the data. You drop massive amounts of funding, by your standards, on getting it all together in time.
But it does come together.
Your updated estimate of your population is 17,492,832 +/- 800,000, with an estimated 2,500,000 non-citizens. This represents a massive leap in your level of certainty; it also indicates both that the influx of refugees continued, or possibly accelerated, throughout the Erie War practically unabated, and has certainly grown since. Furthermore, it suggests that you were always undercounting your population, both citizen and non-citizen. The sheer magnitude of the refugee influx in particular stuns you; you were at war with Victoria, and travel in the Country is not safe. This is an almost impossible degree of immigration under normal circumstances; under these ones it is astounding. You knew that much of the Country lived in bad circumstances, but considering how many people opted to come to you, you are wondering if it was somehow even worse than you thought, if you represent so obvious and massive an improvement. You are also wondering if this indicates a stronger Revivalist foundation across the Country than you had initially planned for, and if you have attracted more of it than you had already accounted for.
You also have a more detailed view of your population's distribution. It's very centered on Chicago just given how your infrastructure is set up to receive immigrants, and the city is bursting at the seams at this point. You've been converting lots of office space in old skyscrapers to housing space to deal with the influx, not that you've exactly been ejecting thriving businesses to make it work. The Department of Development is exploring means to spread the population around now.
In general, this suggests troubling things for your ability to deliver on the guarantees of food, housing, and water your government so confidently signed into law. Your coalition talks with the Christian Socialist Party have abruptly become far more contentious regarding the long-promised issue of healthcare, as you are at this point seriously questioning your ability to pay for it, given how rapidly your population is rising and how much higher it is than expected. You have never been more acutely aware of how poor you are. You will need to plan specifically to deal with those issues, balancing them against the ongoing demands of your armament strategy. Options across the board will be updated or added to reflect this new information. Censuses will continue at an advanced pace as long as the frankly unprecedented refugee flows continue.
* * *
Refugee Crisis
Needed: 36. Rolled: 97, 94. Two Successes. One Overflow Success.
With the DoDAf practically at maximum capacity dealing with the matter of the census, you attend to this personally. You get back out on the Congress floor pushing for your bill, swaying Representatives and Congressfolk to yourself. You make speeches. You meet with prominent refugees. You get out on radio and television.
You push. You don't just settle for the bill as it is; you go out and make yourself the wild-eyed radical, pushing for more aggressive legislation than is already under consideration. You press the Congress to modify the bill, in fact, pushing for retroactive citizenship for refugees who meet the new, far more accommodating, provisions laid out in the bill. You push hard so that the cancer left by Sperling and his Unionists has to fight with all its might just to bargain back down to the bill you actually drafted. You make it public. You make it noisy. You snatch the national spotlight and drag it onto this bill. You even succeed in sending your revision for a vote that it will surely fail.
You were not expecting it to pass.
President Johnson aggressively and personally advocates for the refugee legislation, and in fact pushes even farther than already drafted, making its provisions retroactive. By a single vote, the CFC's new citizenship policy passes, granting citizenship status to many outright and otherwise both speeding and easing the process for others. This is largely viewed as an accomplishment for Johnson's administration in particular given her personal role in ramming it through. This has cost you some support in the Assembly; while you are confident that your role in this will result in gains for your party in the next election from the refugees, thereby aiding your Commonwealth Progressive Party and solidifying your position, at the moment you've rammed through a bill that some Congressfolk hated very much.
Your efforts here, however, end in failure. Congress does not approve the bill you submit to them, objecting to some of its particulars. They remain committed to clarifying the DoDev's role in your economic reorganization, but are concerned with the potential of poorly-drafted temporary solutions becoming permanent. They want to take time to draft more concrete legislation on their own timetable. They assure you that, in the interim, they will be happy to abet the DoDev's specific requests.
Just sloppy work. Congress is not satisfied with the bill as presented and is going to re-draft on a slower timetable. They remain committed the plan, but things will be slower until you can get the laws passed.
* * *
Farming Equipment
Needed: 31. Rolled: 38. Success.
You continue your work at streamlining the production and distribution of farming equipment. It is clear enough that you cannot distribute from Chicago mainly, as you have been doing out of simple convenience of late. Instead, you promote the expansion of production on a more distributed basis, assisted by the slowly-solidifying picture you even have of those areas. Combined with subsidies, you manage to ease the flow of goods enough to raise yields to the point that you no longer fear local shortfalls as the weather begins turning. The Commonwealth is fed -- and unless something actively goes wrong, it should stay that way.
Food situation resolved. Improved production and distribution networks should keep up with expanding demand for the next while.
* * *
Green Energy
Needed: Auto-Pass. Rolled: 95. Success.
Your work with the Climate Action Foundation actually goes quite well.
The workers and representatives who arrive to work on greenifying your power grid, sent into a panic by the change of leadership in Russia and clearly expecting you to be indifferent at best to their work, come after you pretty aggressively.
And, well, as Roberto Aguilar later told you, that kind of pissed him the fuck off.
In general, the response of your Department of Development to the condescending and ready-for-arguing attitude the CAF's representatives arrive with is offense. Your people agreed to this deal, and you're hardly going to object to free power infrastructure.
It is in that fit of pique that the DoDev throws itself into the work of revamping your power infrastructure, drawing up a plan to bring electricity to areas that have long gone without. As lights come on in rural Indiana for the first time in decades, there is a slight shift in the tone from the CAF's representatives.
Slight. Not enough to make you hesitate at all at the scam you still fully hope to put them through later on.
Work begins. The CAF's representatives offend your DoDev and are surprised by the response. And yeah, of course I had you roll, even if you were being given enough funding to brute-force it. You didn't think I'd derive any useful information for how well the dice would think you'd work on this sort of issue?
* * *
Midwest Economic Summit
Needed: 16. Rolled: 54. Success.
This one, blessedly, is easy to organize. You put out feelers via embassies and direct messaging, and drawn by the promise of the ground floor of a fresh new market, the companies come. You, of course, have conditions. You have no intention of indenturing your country, no matter the master. You break down different spheres of interest investors can hope to gain, emphasizing the gains while being very clear on the limitations.
There is none of the pushback you expected. Oh, you're entirely certain that their bosses already have plans to circumvent you, but the deal you are offering is good. You're about to become the nexus for an explosive renewal of trade into the American interior. It would be a rare business owner who declined the chance to get in on that.
As your plans go forward, you will have plenty of people willing to slot into your designs.
It succeeds. All DCs related to the Seven-Year Plan decrease by 5.
Your first attempt at inserting agents into Buffalo to cultivate informants fails miserably, the entire team vanishing without a word. Your second team finds better success, managing to make the friendly acquaintance of a locomotive engineer temporarily reassigned to the work of rebuilding rail infrastructure. From there, you manage to get introductions to rail workers from all over Victoria. Your handlers need to work on a challenging schedule -- coming in and out on trading ships, interfacing with their contacts only in brief, innocuous conversations in bars while laying over in port -- but they lay the seeds.
Victoria runs on rail. Any long-distance travel outside of the social elite -- and often within it -- is done by rail. The rail workers see everything. And, remarkably enough, they're held to less suspicion than other such trades. They hold a privileged position.
But they are the ones bearing the brunt of the Crusaders' wrecking efforts. They are the ones being pushed into dangerous supply runs in territory they cannot be sure is safe, and being forced to rebuild their tracks and stations on a punishing timetable by suddenly-forbidding Inquisitors. They are resentful. They talk.
Slowly, some agree to accept radios they can use to receive or -- in emergencies -- send messages. Some agree to tell more than simple gossip would permit. To some, you give codes, to better pass on information the Inquisitors would rather remain hidden.
Some, in a phrase, turn traitor.
You have cultivated a network of contacts in the Victorian rail industry, at the cost of some unrecoverable casualties. You now have fairly broad access to information in Victoria, albeit not particularly deep access. Rumor mills will be more complete, in the future.
* * *
Organize the Libraries
Needed: 31. Rolled: 81.
You put the finishing touches on the branch library system. Individual branches make use of their funding and the Seaway to flesh out their inventories with a flood of material from the wider world. They diversify programs, expand the services they can offer, and you fill in the last few districts that need coverage.
It is not the branch library system that once spanned the Country. But, frankly...you are, genuinely, proud of this. Literacy is something Americans value. While it has declined in the Collapse, parent-to-child instruction has kept it broadly alive, albeit in a lesser form. And you have provided, for the first time in decades, a state-sponsored tool to maintain and even foster it. People can read technical documents again. People can get the news. People can read their laws.
People can just...read books.
Ron told you once that his proudest achievement was feeding the Commonwealth. You agree with him on that. You wouldn't call this your proudest achievement; you did beat Victoria in a war. But this feels...special. You remember spending time at your local library, as a girl.
Now you can again.
Branch library system fully established. Local branches will now be responsible for organizing programs and acquiring inventory. You have developed the basis for supporting the CFC's remaining literacy rates, and established infrastructure for expanding them.
All DCs reduced by 5.
* * *
-Chicago, Illinois, United States of America-
-Commonwealth of Free Cities-
-Thursday, June 25, 2076, 11:00 AM-
-President Sara Johnson-
You look up as Ron enters your office, giving him a warm smile. "General Burns. Pleasure to see you again." You climb to your feet.
Ron salutes you. "Madame President."
You return the salute, then gesture at the chair in front of your desk. "Please, Ron, have a seat."
He smiles at you around his moustache, relaxing. "Thank you, Sara." He grunts quietly as he sits. "Been a long day already."
"It's not even noon yet, old man," you snort, sitting down.
He rolls his eyes. "I've earned some pains."
You laugh quietly. "Fair enough." You set aside your pen. "So, Ron, what's this about? I'm busy with the planning stages for the upcoming conference."
He nods. "I know. Promise, this'll be brief." He reaches down to his briefcase, opening it up and taking out a folder. "I...have a proposal, of sorts." He sets the folder down and slides it across to you. "As the Pacific War drew to a close, I and a few other officers from various branches of service consulted with one another about how to respond. At the time, we were not confident that Russia and Victoria would honor their part of the peace agreement. Certainly, they expected the Republic to disarm enough that it wouldn't be able to feasibly object to any breaches. So, we dispersed. We officially notified the Republic that we were leaving. We then did so." He winced. "It...was disruptive. We all took a fair amount of casualties in the breakout, and the lines we were leaving were thrown into chaos by our departure. I'm sure you remember the NCR envoy's personal antipathy, when they presented their bargain to us. I served with her; her unit would have been one of those affected by our departure."
You sigh. "Jesus Christ, Ron. You took a hell of a risk."
He nods. "I don't know if I'd do it the same way, given another chance. But, we did." He takes a breath. "After we broke out and broke contact, myself and the other officers broke apart. We exchanged codes and swore to keep ahead of Victoria as best we could. If one of us found another successor state we thought stood a chance of surviving and thriving, we would send out contact to notify the others." He glances down at the folder. "In the aftermath of the Battle of Detroit, I sent out a broadcast on open radio channels, identifying myself and listing my codes for that signal. Last night, I received a courier with one of the other officers' response codes." He taps the folder. "Major Jack Aubrey, US Air Force. At the time of the breakout, he was in command of a squadron of F-22s. I suspect he's behind the rumors of a group operating some, but I don't need to tell you how little credence to give that; we would know if he was actually flying them around. I suspect he's been sitting on them this entire time. In any event, he's contacted me now and indicated that he has assets to contribute to the fight. He's invited me to come out and talk." He sits back, watching you carefully.
You stare at the folder, and, after a moment, open it. It's a map of the western United States; there's a spot in Utah marked out as the 388th Fighter Wing. You slap your hand down on it, your blood boiling. "You kept this from us," you murmur. "Victoria was coming for all of us and you kept it from us."
"I didn't know if we were going to win," he replies. "If I sent out the call, they came, and we lost-"
"We could have fought at Detroit with F-22s!" you snap. "Do you want me to call Daria in here so you can justify all the pilots who died for your secrets?"
Ron's nostrils flare. "It has been decades since those planes last flew, I guarantee it. I don't even know if any would be in working condition. Certainly, we could not have gotten pilots ready to fly in them by the time the war began!"
"You could have called the others in," you persist, gritting your teeth. "Who knows who else has heard the news, and is slowly getting word to you? You could have gotten us reinforcements, Ron!"
He takes a deep breath. "I did not think it would have made a difference," he says, biting out each word. "The Big Red One didn't win Detroit for you. I don't think the others' gear would have done it, either. The Commonwealth as a whole won. I was not going to drag those soldiers into a fight that they might have lost. It's been decades. I don't even know if their equipment is still good. It wasn't a risk I was willing to take. Either we were going to win, or we would have lost anyway. The equipment would not have helped. We would have frittered it away in the hands of soldiers who couldn't work it properly."
You take a long, deep breath. "...you still should have told me."
He stares at you for a long moment; then, at long last, his eyes flicker away. "...I should have," he says, sighing. "I wasn't sure that I trusted you yet. But that wasn't my call to make. I understand if you feel you can't trust me, in light of this."
You're already shaking your head as he says it. "You're irreplaceable," you say, bluntly. "And you're telling me now. But I swear to god, Ron, if there are any more secrets-"
"None that aren't purely personal," he says.
"Good," you say. Slowly, you unclench your fingers and look down at the map. "...you want me to send somebody to talk to this man?"
"I'd like you to send me to talk to him," says Ron. "Aubrey knows me. He was always a squirrely bastard. I don't want to spook him. I'd like to take my battalion for security and go speak to him."
Despite the heat still pounding through your veins, you snort. "Your battalion?" you ask, smirking.
He laughs quietly. "You know what I mean."
You shake your head, sighing and looking down at the map. "Aubrey," you murmur, touching the marker. "I feel like I know that name. Something about a bandit?"
Ron sighs. "I couldn't say. I didn't know the man that well. I know that I was tempted by the lure of banditry more than once...can't say I really evaded it entirely. I was just stingy with my targets." He seems to deflate a bit. "We can't rely only on those who've kept their hands clean, Sara."
You glare at him. "I'm well aware. Ever hosted Andrew Division, Ron?"
He flushes slightly, bowing his head in acknowledgement.
You look at the map again. "...I'm not sure about this. I don't know this man. And I'm not thrilled by how you're bringing this to me."
He stares at you, unblinking. "I understand. But I still need you to make a choice."
Burns has brought you an opportunity.
Burns is requesting to go with an escort to Utah, to investigate reports of a possible stockpile of advanced Old Country weapons in the hands of an ex-USAF officer. Do you approve his request?
[ ] Yes. The chance of acquiring this hardware is too great to pass up, and Aubrey requested Burns specifically.
[ ] Only if Burns remains behind. You do not appreciate this surprise, and frankly, you don't trust him enough for this.
[ ] No. Aubrey has been in that desert this long; he'll be fine. You have more pressing concerns.
You have conducted your mediation in Minnesota, and now have a choice to make: Minneapolis or Bemidji?
[ ] Bemidji. They're legitimate, they've demonstrated the ability to play the game, and frankly, they'd owe you way more. Of course, Minneapolis is supremely unlikely to take this lying down...
[ ] Minneapolis. They're strong, and can get the state in line far more swiftly, and likely without an outright civil war. This would also give you an in with them; they've given you the cold shoulder thus far.
[ ] Neither. Damn the sunk costs, you know better than to stick your hand into this mess. Make some noises, propose a compromise neither will agree to, and then back out.
All right, folks, here we go! There'll be a couple of interludes after this to deal with some of the final things we need to address; the Revivalist Conference in particular. Hope you enjoyed the update! Have fun! Lemme know if I missed something.
[ ] Bemidji. They're legitimate, they've demonstrated the ability to play the game, and frankly, they'd owe you way more. Of course, Minneapolis is supremely unlikely to take this lying down...
[ ] Minneapolis. They're strong, and can get the state in line far more swiftly, and likely without an outright civil war. This would also give you an in with them; they've given you the cold shoulder thus far.
[ ] Neither. Damn the sunk costs, you know better than to stick your hand into this mess. Make some noises, propose a compromise neither will agree to, and then back out.
Burns is requesting to go with an escort to Utah, to investigate reports of a possible stockpile of advanced Old Country weapons in the hands of an ex-USAF officer. Do you approve his request?
[ ] Yes. The chance of acquiring this hardware is too great to pass up, and Aubrey requested Burns specifically.
[ ] Only if Burns remains behind. You do not appreciate this surprise, and frankly, you don't trust him enough for this.
[ ] No. Aubrey has been in that desert this long; he'll be fine. You have more pressing concerns.
One failure, and a whole host of successes. Even with infiltrating Victoria, as slim as that was. We did good, folks. (though the one outright failure with the economy is gonna sting later, I just know it.)
I vote yes on the planes- if someone's reaching out to us, we should poke out head out. And we're not likely to need the Devil Dogs any time soon. (fingers crossed) Worse comes to worse, we let Burns burn a use of the Big Red One so he can come home safe. And if it's legitimate, maybe some of the other wayfaring soldiers can come in from the cold.
As for Minnesota... I dunno. I say legitimacy, but is there any compromise we could propose that would work? Seems to me like this is a good time to forge a bilateral assembly, and accept both the strengths of legitimacy and realpolotik.
[ ] Yes. The chance of acquiring this hardware is too great to pass up, and Aubrey requested Burns specifically.
[ ] Bemidji. They're legitimate, they've demonstrated the ability to play the game, and frankly, they'd owe you way more. Of course, Minneapolis is supremely unlikely to take this lying down...
Burns is requesting to go with an escort to Utah, to investigate reports of a possible stockpile of advanced Old Country weapons in the hands of an ex-USAF officer. Do you approve his request
Well now that was a good update and I'm glad to see the Libraries are done! Anyway while I can understands Sara's anger at Ron I feel we should let him go the chance at having a squadron of fighters is too good to pass, and even if there junk having a cadre of professional fighter pilots to train our air force is a boon we can't pass up. And for the Minnesota problem I say we wash our hands of it and say neither that's a thorny mess and we really can't afford to stick our hand into given how much is going on for us as is. And if we pick one or the other it could very well lead to a conflict that we can't afford to get dragged into so yeah I really don't feel like picking a side there.
And if we pick neither for the Minnesota problem we won't have to worry about sending our exhausted military up there and will allow us to safely gain the shiny fighter jets.
