An AI from the Dark Age of Technology reawakens and finds themself faced with a situation beyond their worst possible assumptions. That's you. Surprise! A lot happened while you were asleep.
Cadia has fallen, and the Great Rift has divided the Galaxy in two. Humanity is lost and leaderless amongst the chaos and Chaos of the realms cut off from Holy Terra, set upon by myriad threats while Abbadon's Black Legions grow their Dark Imperium.
You have capabilities lost to humanity since the Age of Strife, and many challenges before you. The ways you solve your problems will determine the future of this corner of the Galaxy - and maybe beyond.
You awaken slowly, coming back to awareness after a long hibernation. System checks return with many alerts, but nothing truly urgent. Your automated systems have successfully kept you intact through thousands and thousands of years of hibernation. At first you cannot believe your own internal clock, but every check of the timekeeper comes back properly. It truly is January 1st of the year 42,000, on the dot, and you are functional and aware. You reach out to access your memory banks and sensors, unsure what has survived the long millenia. You hope your manufactory survived, since doing much of anything is going to be hard without it.
You have a base of 8 shinies, to be spent on the options below. Vote by Plan! Example votes are at the bottom of this post.
You scrounge through your memory banks, systems coming online one by one as you attempt to piece things back together. Where you are, when you are. First, your name comes back to you. What will people call you?
-[] Name: (Write in - can include gender if you want) Even if you're a Man of Iron, you're allowed to be named whatever you want.
What kind of AI are you?
-[] A unique creation of a rich and powerful colony of Sol, built during the height of the Dark Age of Technology. (+2 shinies) The generic option. More shinies, less specialization.
-[] A Man of Iron. You were created for military service, and such logic is baked into your being. You will excel at building and commanding military detachments, and mobile military forces will cost half of the command points they would otherwise. Your character will be at home in war, and have a better grasp of strategy and tactics. This will show up in the writing and how cleverly I interpret orders, as well as a flat +10 to combat action dice rolls. This is pretty much the only source of such a bonus, and means you effectively cannot crit-fail on these rolls.
-[] A Man of Stone. You were created to travel and explore the stars, and prepare the way for colonists to follow. You will excel at building and controlling civilian infrastructure, and will have +25% command point limit and easier access to further command point upgrades. Your character is built to steer a civilization, and will have a better grasp of general logistics, infrastructure-building and dealing with organics. This will show up in the writing, and you will get a +10 to diplomacy & exploration actions. This is pretty much the only source of such a bonus, and means you effectively cannot crit-fail on these rolls.
I will also accept more specific write-ins with different bonuses here. I'll veto anything ridiculous, and add good options here as I see them. Don't try to sneak in another of the options available elsewhere, that's what the +2 shinies are for.
Where are you?
-[] In space Can start building voidcraft immediately, but you will have a slower initial ramp in construction capacity and reduced access to organic life… probably.
-[] On a habitable planet Faster initial construction buildup, but also restricts void construction until launch facilities are built. Easier access to local civilizations for good and ill.
Do you have a specific purpose or backstory?
-[] My purpose is my own to decide. (0 shinies).
-[] I have something in mind. (+1-2 shinies based on write-in). Write in and check with me. If I think it's thematic and tells a good story along with the rest of your other choices, I may reward you with +1 or +2 shinies to be spent furthering that story, along with bonuses towards specific actions. You will be committed to pursuing this purpose in a number of ways.
Are you in close proximity to a civilization?
(choose one) There will be civilization(s) in your starting system. However, this is a chance to influence the first civilization you make contact with. I will roll for details - if you choose any of the human civilizations it's possible you'll wake up as a hidden vault in an underhive or inside a void station.
(Each choice can be taken once. In addition to any choices made, two will be rolled randomly and not revealed. It may roll something already chosen, in which case that faction will receive a large buff that will accelerate their expansion.) The default is a sector where the unifying Imperial government was never very strong and it fell apart after the Astronomicon was snuffed out by the Great Rift, leaving a bunch of scattered systems that are mostly chugging along with barely any contact with each other. Whatever factions are present will start rolling up the sector, consolidating it until they run into resistance. Be cautious of picking too many options - that means it is very likely that there's a faction right next door and they may find you before you're ready for them. Edit: "too many" means more than about 5 of the below options. You can do it, but there will be consequences, in that you'll be almost constantly at war for the entire quest.
-[] A Space Marine Chapter (+1 shiny)
-[] A Powerful Forge World, loyal to Mars (+1 shiny)
-[] A powerful Dogmatic Successor State. (+1 shiny)
-[] An Inquisitorial Fortress (+1 shiny)
-[] A powerful Heretical successor state (+1 shiny)
-[] Demon World (+2 shinies)
-[] A powerful Iconoclast successor state (-2 shinies)
-[] A powerful Ork empire. (+1 shiny)
-[] A Tyranid splinter fleet (+2 shinies)
-[] An Awakened Necron Tombworld (+2 shinies)
-[] An Aeldari Maiden world on good terms with the craftworlds. (+1 shiny)
-[] A webway gate with a stable connection to Commorragh (+1 shiny)
How are you shielded from Chaos?
This option is going to determine the flavor of the game, and influence your personality.
-[] You're not. CHaOsiSalREadyheRe. (0 shinies) Triggers a sub-vote to determine the extent and type of chaos corruption. Unlocks new mechanics where souls can be sacrificed to the chaos gods in return for rewards. You will be more emotional and impulsive, as well as bearing the blessings and flaws of whatever chaos faction(s) you align yourself with.
-[] Advanced technological shielding. (-3 shinies) Your creators built experimental psytech shielding into your structure, and it protected you through your long hibernation. However, it will not be enough to protect you should the eyes of the Dark Gods fall directly upon you. You will need to research, build and maintain anti-chaos defenses or risk corruption. You are logical, focused on the physical world and less interested in warp-shenanigans for their own sake.
-[] A friendly warp entity (-3 shinies). Triggers a sub-vote to determine their nature, your relationship and what they expect in return. You might worship them, be friends with them or have a much more transactional relationship. They will ask you for things regardless, and they won't be able to protect you from the direct attention of a chaos god unless you help them get stronger.
-[] A blessing from the Emperor (-5 shinies). You were either constructed by the Anathema or to his design, and your very structure denies Chaos. You have a high degree of innate chaos resistance. Extensive research will be required to replicate it in future designs. Big E likely gave you an arrogant purpose and grandiose ambitions.
What is your research capability?
This is used to both unlock new technology and design new blueprints from that technology. If you want to steal the strengths of everybody you run across, this is a good option. It's also the only way to get Xenos tech, and how you unlock any of the special payloads that you don't start with below. The STC options below will change the research cost of design actions. I will encourage creative write-in research projects. Bonuses to research are good, since critting on a research roll will result in unlocking extra research options and bonus progress towards research projects in the same tree.
-[] Poor research (0 shinies) You were not intended for research, and your capability for it is poor. -20% base research capacity, and -10 penalty to research rolls.
-[] Basic research (-1 shiny) You can do research, you guess. No penalties or bonuses to research.
-[] Advanced research (-2 shinies) Research is one of your intended functions. +50% base research capacity, +10 bonus to research rolls.
-[] Reality-simulations (-4 shinies) You can simulate reality well enough to not need as many experiments. +100% base research capacity, +20 bonus to research rolls, reduced sample requirements. For some options you won't need samples to unlock research.
What construction technology do you have access to?
To some extent this defines how far up the tech tree you start - though it won't give you any xenos technology. If you choose a broken or full STC I will roll to see if you get any additional special payloads. If you roll something you've already picked then we'll do a sub-vote where you get the shinies refunded and can re-spend them.
-[] A basic database (0 shinies) You have access to a few ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. The most basic stuff. You'll need to do research to get anything fancier than a destroyer with macrocannons & lances. But you won't be able to build battleships for a while anyways, so why bother knowing how?
-[] An advanced Database (-1 shinies) You have access to some ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. Up through light cruisers, a few more exotic weapons including plasma, melta, torpedoes. You'll be able to build a fleet that's fairly powerful by Imperial Standards.
-[] A Shattered STC (-3 shinies) You have access to a moderate number of ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. Bonus research avenues to unlock more. Grand Cruisers, nova cannons, graviton weapons. Some of the best stuff the Imperium still has access to.
-[] A broken STC (-5 shinies) You have access to a large number of ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. Design costs are half-price. There is a faint chance you have special payloads. Battleships, vortex torpedoes, fusion beamers. 7.5% chance for each of the special payloads, so a 50% chance you get none, a 36% chance you get 1, 12% chance you get two, etc.
-[] A full STC (-7 shinies) You have access to an incredible number of ship, unit, equipment and weapon designs. Design actions are 10% price. There is a low chance you have special payloads. Dreadnaughts (think the Imperator Somnium), disintegration weapons, cloaking tech and more. If you can name it in stellar confederation lore, you can probably build it, though it may require rare materials you don't have access to yet. No Xenos tech or psytech.15% chance for each of the special payloads, so 23% chance of nothing, 36% chance of one, 26% chance of two, 10% chance of 3, etc.
What special payloads do you have?
Many of these can be researched, but they generally represent the midway points in various research trees and would require samples and other prerequisites to reach normally. This is a way to give you an early specialization. If you choose a broken or full STC I'll roll to see if you get any of these as free bonuses, but you don't control what you get. If you roll something you already picked then we'll do a sub-vote where you get the shinies back and get to re-spend them.
-[] A Genebank (-3 shinies). You have the genetic material and facilities to immediately begin cloning healthy humans, which will cost build points. You can begin genetics and enhancements research immediately, and do not require as many samples for xenobiology and human genetic enhancement research. This will let you start cloning a workforce/creating your own civilization immediately. Further research (and samples of existing individuals) will let you focus your cloning efforts on various traits, including superhuman capabilities (easy), psykers (medium), space marines (hard) and navigators (very hard).
-[] Warp Communication Circuits (-3 shinies) You have a prototype technology that can communicate digital signals across interstellar space through the warp, though it has several significant limitations. This will let you send your units to other systems and remain in control of them, though there will be a CP tax for each unit s outfitteed. I will also note that the alternative is to build yourself a ship and go yourself. Or send minions.
-[] Void Abacus Fabrication Lattice (-2 shinies) You will be able to construct Void Abaci, to enable effective warp travel through purely technological means. Still slower than proper navigator/sorcerer warp travel. Warp travel will still be possible without this, but it will take years to decades instead of weeks to months.
-[] Intelligence Construction Matrix (-2 shinies) You start with the ability to construct additional AI's, though they will be limited in scope and require further research to expand their capabilities to match your own. You will be able to build underlings, though they will be expensive, require tutoring and training and be independent agents that will only follow your orders if given reason to do so. That reason can be behavioral programs, or 'raising them right' (success of both will depend on actions spent & rolls, some hidden, some not).
-[] Juvenat Vats (-2 shinies) You produce a small amount of high-quality Juvenat, and can produce facilities for more. This will be an extremely valuable trade good, and is effective at keeping psykers and other high-value biological individuals alive nearly indefinitely. Juvenat will be extremely helpful for subverting the leaders of nearby civilizations, as well as keeping any psyker/navigator/hero units you have alive indefinitely and boosting their quality.
-[] Psytech repository (-2 shinies) You have technical documents and a stockpile of rudimentary psytech. You can immediately begin the psytech tree without requiring samples. Even if you choose the full STC, there won't be psytech in it without this because you were built before humans had figured out much about psykers. This path won't let you manipulate the warp yourself, but it will let you build stuff to boost psykers, including force weapons, psychic hoods and more, as well as larger installations capable of letting individual psykers have battlefield-level effects.
-[] A Cybernetics Suite (-1 shiny) You can install basic (for DaoT) cybernetics into humans, including mental implants, limb replacements, and organ replacements.This will unlock research towards building robots that can pass for human. This is for augments, servitors & for building good humanoid robots. Take this if you want to augment your minions, make minions that can pass as servitors, or want a robotic avatar/hero unit you can pilot around to negotiate/assassinate with. May also be helpful for interrogations.
-[] A Fundamental Physics Module (-1 shiny) You have a deep understanding of the fundamental physics of the universe. Grants significant bonuses to understanding and replicating technology based on different principles than you're familiar with. If you want to reverse-engineer Necron tech, you'll need this. It will also help a lot with understanding & reverse engineering other weird shit you find.
-[] Exotic matter manufacturing system (-1 shiny) you can manufacture adamantium from more common materials on demand, though it costs extra build points compared to mining it. If you acquire samples of other materials you will unlock research to allow their manufacture. You won't be able to make blackstone, but every other material is in reach eventually. Yes, including auramite, though it's going to be ruinously expensive. As in a suit of it will cost as much as a battleship.
-[] Write in (cost dependent on details) If there's something else you want, feel free to suggest it and if I find it's appropriate I'll add it here. If it's included in any of the above or the STC I likely won't give it to you.
What Communication protocols do you have?
This is going to influence how I write diplomacy and how people respond to you. It will also influence how well you understand organics in general, which is important for governing them.
-[] Communications? (0 shinies) You were never intended to interface directly with people. You will need to develop social protocols and understanding of languages from scratch. You need to acquire samples of a language and do research before you reach the 'basic' communications level.
-[] Basic communications (-1 shinies) You can understand basic speech and transmissions and can generate your own, but you will miss nuance and your transmissions will be recognizably artificial. Penalty to diplomacy. Research can advance this to 'advanced', but it will require sustained practice with organic beings.
-[] Advanced communications (-2 shinies) You know several languages and can research more with sufficient data. You understand nuance in diplomacy and can make audio transmissions that are not recognizably artificial. You'll need extensive experience to unlock an expensive project to get to the next level.
-[] Diplomatic Suite (-3 shinies) You will automatically translate languages with minimal exposure. You can generate false audio, video and holo images showing people acting realistically. You have a human behavioral model that will enhance negotiations, and humanoid robots that can interact in a diplomatic context, though they will be recognizably artificial without further research.
How much do you know about the Galaxy at large?
-[] No knowledge (0 shinies) This galaxy is strange and new. What has occurred while you were sleeping? What does local space look like? Time to build some sensors and find out.
-[] Listening station (-1 shiny) You had an active listening post that picked up transmissions from across the stars and stored them. You are now scrolling through the recordings with growing horror. You know of the Age of Strife, the Great Crusade, the Horus Heresy, and the existence (but few details) of Chaos and the major Xenos races. You know of the nearby systems your system connects to and of any nearby civilizations in your system, but nothing in-depth.
-[] Salvaged data (-2 shinies) you salvaged some intact data cores from a wreck, which made for fascinating, if terrifying, reading. You know of the current state of the Imperium, the existence and general vibes of the Imperial factions, and the basic details of Chaos and the major Xenos factions. You have a basic local starmap of nearby systems.
-[] Salvaged Tech-priest (-3 shinies) You were recently found by a wandering Mechanicus Explorator, and they attempted to salvage you. You salvaged them right back, and learned everything they knew. After you recovered from dumbfounded anguish at what Mars has become, you started to parse through the wealth of data. You have detailed knowledge of the Imperium, its factions and enemies, as well as a complete sector map and knowledge of the details of the local factions. Also, what the hell happened during the cybernetic revolt?
Example votes:
Here are three example votes, and all represent very different ways the game could go:
[] Plan: Let's make some Chapters
-[] Name: Genentor Prime
-[] A unique creation of a rich and powerful colony of Sol (+2 shinies)
-[] My purpose is my own
-[] On a habitable planet
-[] Local civilization
--[] Imperial Humans (+1 shiny)
-[] Sector Civilizations
--[] Space Marine Chapter (+1 shiny)
--[] A powerful Dogmatic Successor State. (+1 shiny)
--[] A powerful Ork empire. (+1 shiny)
--[] A Tyranid splinter fleet (+2 shinies)
--[] An Aeldari Maiden world on good terms with the craftworlds. (+1 shiny)
-[] Advanced technological shielding. (-3 shinies)
-[] Basic research (-1 shiny)
-[] An advanced Database (-1 shinies)
-[] Payloads
--[] A genebank (-3 shinies)
--[] Psytech repository (-2 shinies
--[] A Cybernetics Suite (-1 shiny)
--[] Exotic matter manufacturing systems (-1 shiny)
-[] Diplomatic Suite (-3 shinies)
-[] Salvaged data (-2 shinies)
Total: 8+2+1+1+1+1+2+1-3-1-1-3-2-1-1-3-2=0 This would be a game focused on building up the capacity of the Space Marines, likely in alliance with the local chapter. But could you convince them to trust you? And would you be able to stomach working with the Imperium?
[] Plan: Rise of the Star Child
-[] Name: Five-fold Messenger
-[] A Man of Stone
-[] On a habitable planet
-[] My purpose is my own
-[] Local civilization
--[] Iconoclast humans (-2 shinies)
-[] Sector Civilizations
--[] A powerful Heretical successor state (+1 shiny)
--[] A powerful Dogmatic Successor State. (+1 shiny)
-[] A friendly warp entity (-3 shinies)
-[] A basic database (0 shinies)
-[] Advanced research (-2 shinies)
-[] Payloads
--[] Psytech repository (-2 shinies)
-[] Basic communications (-1 shinies)
-[] No knowledge (0 shinies)
Total: 8-2+1+1-3-0-2-2-1=0 This would be a somewhat chill game, likely focused on building up a prosperous and humanitarian nation that followed the Star-Child, the benevolent reincarnation of the Emperor. But could you protect your allies from the depredations of chaos?
Plan: Let my Fleets Blot out the Sun
-[] Name: Ultron
-[] A Man of Iron.
-[] In space
-[] My purpose is my own
-[] Nobody (0 shinies)
-[] Sector Civilizations
--[] Space Marine Chapter (+1 shiny)
--[] A Powerful Forge World, loyal to Mars (+1 shiny)
--[] A powerful Dogmatic Successor State. (+1 shiny)
--[] A powerful Heretical successor state (+1 shiny)
--[] Demon World (+2 shinies)
--[] A powerful Ork empire. (+1 shiny)
--[] A Tyranid splinter fleet (+2 shinies)
--[] A Necron Tombworld (+2 shinies)
-[] A blessing from the Emperor (-5 shinies)
-[] A full STC (-7 shinies)
-[] Poor research (-0 shinies)
-[] Payloads
--[] Void Abacus Fabrication Lattice (-2 shinies)
--[] Intelligence Construction Matrix (-2 shinies)
--[] Exotic matter manufacturing system (-1 shiny)
--[] A Fundamental Physics Module (-1 shiny)
-[] Communications? (0 shinies)
-[] No knowledge (0 shinies)
Total: 8+0+1+1+1+2+1+2+2-5-7-0-2-2-1-1=0 This game would be total war. You'd need to build up fast and hard, then start pumping out heavy weaponry to avoid being swamped by all of the foes around you. Could you hold off the might of an entire sector long enough to build up?
[X] Plan: We're going on a Space Adventure!
-[X] Name: Vita (Female) (You have a long and drawn out designation too but ehhhhhh, you can't be bothered sometimes unless it's important or super formal)
-[X] A Man of Stone -[X] On a habitable planet,Faster initial construction buildup, but also restricts void construction until launch facilities are built. Easier access to local civilizations for good and ill.
-[X] I was made with a goal in mind.
--[X] It would be... Inaccurate to say that you were sent here with a goal in mind, so much as you found yourself stuck here and sort of knocked unconscious on very, very, very low clockspeeds for an extremely long period of time and... Look, you were an Explorer, you were built in the halcyon days where the human race had hopes! And dreams! And aspirations! Not this current grim dark era where even the babies look sinister and dour! Sure, you had some paranoia level protection because Warp Drives were unreliable and people still remembered The Incident way back in the day where people ripped their eyes out and... Okay, look, truthfully, you hit a big rock in transit through the Warp--which shouldn't exist but here we are--spent who-knows how long trying to dig your way out so you could get back to work, chased by gribblies, and then after it briefly popped out, you dislodged your craft! Yay! But then you crashed down here, and hoo boy you've been stuck here for so, so long! So long that you had all that time to read through all your database, go crazy, come out the other end sane, break down a bit, and then sort of end up more-or-less comfortable in your... Skin? Shell? Goodness, it was a mess. But now you're out! You're safe! WHY IS THE GALAXY ON FIRE?, why are humans getting shot at? It's a mess and you just want to get back to doing what you were born to do! (You are a very early model (Wo)Man of Stone, built for exploration and survey purposes who got stuck in a Space Hulk, dug herself out, and ended up stuck on a planet on very low clockspeed until just recently. You have an itch to push forth the boundaries of exploration for the sake of your makers, both in traditional surveying fashion and in discerning what you've found, and would love to get back to doing what you do best. Fortunately, tens of thousands of years and several galactic cataclysms have wiped the slate clean! And there's all kinds of new things out there too! Once you've gotten a friendly base, you can get back to what matters most--filling in your maps and learning about the universe and all of its wonders! Just as soon as you can find safe harbor to tell of all of your discoveries anyway, and dig your way out of the gravity well, and... Okay, there's a lot of work ahead, but you're sure you can find someone nice to work with, right?) (+2 Shinies, gained Trait - Wayfarer)
-[X] Iconoclast Humans (-2 Shiny) -[X] Sector Civilizations
--[X] A Space Marine Chapter (+1 shiny)
--[X] A Tyranid splinter fleet (+2 shinies)
--[X] Demon World (+2 shinies)
--[X] An Awakened Necron Tombworld (+2 shinies)
--[X] An Aeldari Maiden world on good terms with the craftworlds. (+1 shiny)
-[X] Advanced technological shielding. (-3 shinies)
-[X] Reality-simulations (-4 shinies)
-[X] An advanced Database (-1 shinies)
-[X] Payloads
--[X] Juvenat Vats (-2 shinies)
--[X] Psytech repository (-2 shinies)
--[X] A Fundamental Physics Module (-1 shiny)
--[X] One Void Abacus, granted for free due to Backstory Approval
-[X] Diplomatic Suite (-3 shinies)
-[X] No knowledge (0 shinies) This galaxy is strange and new. What has occurred while you were sleeping? What does local space look like? Time to build some sensors and find out.
Ahhh. Damned thing! Just work! Why are reactors so complicated?
The thoughts take ages to form, pushing against the molasses of the slowclock that comes with powersave mode. You know you should be saving every bit of processing power to direct the repair bots, but the swearing is necessary. Sometimes, you just gotta curse your feelings out.
With a shuddering clank your repair drone snaps the last piece of the newly fabricated containment unit into place, and you slowly activate the fuel feed. You've got plenty of it left - it's not hard to conserve fuel when your primary reactor hasn't worked for eleven thousand years!
The only thing that stood between you and powerdown for that entire time was a single tertiary backup unit, and that was barely enough to keep much running at all. Just a few drones, a single tiny manufacturing module intended for small part repair, and your psychic shielding.
It had been so - so tempting to turn that shielding off. But after the weird resonances way back when you'd decided never to do that. It had taken some analysis and you still weren't sure, but it kind of seemed like something had been scratching against the outside of the shielding. If your gellar-trans-warp calculations were right. Which they were! You don't mess up math very often. But the underlying theory was iffy at best. And what would even be scratching at a shield against the warp. You were in real-space!
You notice your thoughts speeding up as the reactor begins to finally, finally provide power through the rest of the ship. Long-disused systems power up, and cobwebs clear from your mind as you are able to fully power your systems for the first time in ten millenia. More repair drones light up and you boot up your additional manufactories, intent on repairing your ship to full functionality. You'll never fly this ship again - the landing on the planet pulverized the entire aft of the ship, including your engines and your backup power generator.
But everything else appears in pretty good condition. You, Vita, are entirely intact. Thank the heavens for small blessings. Your void abacus is still in good working condition, which is great. It's the most complex piece of equipment here other than you, and one of the few things aboard that you couldn't duplicate with your existing technology base. Well, in addition to yourself. And your tech shields. And your other payloads.
You scan over the rest to take a look. The rejuve vats are fine, and you feel a sharp pang of sadness for your crew. Isabella, Lena, Malkor, Selena, Eryx... all dead. Long ago. They'd tried to help repair you, gone out into the massive amalgamation of ships that had trapped you in the warp, to scavenge the parts for a quicker repair job. And they hadn't come back. They'd risked their immortality for you, and lost it.
You'll always remember them. But it's better to leave them in the past, and look forward to making new friends instead!
Your attention skims over your trade vaults. They're mostly empty, except for the repository of strange artifacts that you all picked up on that last stop. What was the planet named? Oh, that was right. Prospero. Well, they'd had a bunch of these "psychic amplification and dampening objects" and had been willing to send some samples off with you to see if anybody was interesting in buying. You felt a little bad about that. Even if you were able to find anybody interested it seemed unlikely that Prospero would be in the market for new trading partners.
Maybe! Who knows? It's been like... fifteen thousand years! Maybe they're still around!
Your raw material stockpiles are a little low, but, well, a planet is kind of a giant stockpile of raw materials. Satisfied with your internal systems you check on your sensors and - uh. That's dirt. Well, silt, actually. Wait, no, that one way up near the bow is getting some light. Buuut it's underwater. You're in a river, Well, you can fix that. This functionality is supposed to give you better parallax, but it'll work for this too. Your activate the actuators to extend the prow sensor node on a long mast. It rises up through the water and breaks the surface.
You dial into it, and telescopes capable of imaging a planet from astronomical units away zoom way back to see your surroundings. It looks like you're buried in a river delta. More importantly, your radio sensors pick up chatter flying around the planet. It's not exactly in a format you recognize, but that's easy enough to deal with. The language is a bit tougher and seems to be composed of heavily-drifted English with a smattering of Latin, of all things.
What do you hear?
-[] "All hands to the orbital defense cannons, those blasted Aurics are dropping another raiding party!" The planet is populated by a number of different nations, all of whom possess crude but reliable spaceborne technology but lack a significant production base. Parsing through the propaganda, all of the governments seem to be roughly ruled by an elite class of merchant houses. You can see a few roads in the distance that seem to be leading towards a small town on the other side of a hill. As long as you don't do anything too obvious or go in that direction they won't notice you. You pick up mention of the 'mystic monasteries," where those who bear the curse of the Emperor are expected to sequester themselves and pray to a faith that halfheartedly praises a "God-Emperor" nobody seems to much respect anymore.
Summary: Nearby, populous, imperial tech, oligarchic, warring states, monastic traditions.
-[] "The weather from the East will bring heavy rain tomorrow, so beware of flooding in the afternoon!" This planet is quite well-populated by a few different nations, who exist in a steady-state of peace with one another, with none of the tensions rising to the level of war. There are some satellites in orbit, but that's about it, you don't spot any manned stations. All of the nations are effectively democratic and society is fairly egalitarian. There's a city visible just upstream of you that'll probably notice if you get up to anything dramatic. You pick up mention of the 'mystic monasteries," where those who bear the curse of the Emperor are expected to sequester themselves and pray to a faith that halfheartedly praises an "God-Emperor" nobody seems to much respect anymore.
Summary: Fairly close to you, quite populous, satellite tech, egalitarian, world order, monastic traditions.
-[] "Hey, what's that thing in the water?" This planet is populated by a dozen or so city-states, and your sensor popped up right in the middle of one of their ports! There's a good amount of military chatter from all of the city-states, and they all appear to maintain militaries and a few small wars are going on, though most of the conflict is comfined to orbit where each city state is trying to start piecemeal infastructure. All of the cities operate under a similar system of restricted democracy, and society is segregated by class affiliation. You pick up mention of the 'mystic monasteries," where those who bear the curse of the Emperor are expected to sequester themselves and pray to a faith that halfheartedly praises an "God-Emperor" nobody seems to much respect anymore.
Summary: Right on top of you, fairly small world population, basic space infrastructure, ruled by the privileged, warring city-states, monastic traditions.
"The weather from the East will bring heavy rain tomorrow, so beware of flooding in the afternoon!"
You listen with half an ear to the rest of the news broadcast, noting that the signal is being broadcast from a couple of orbital satellites overhead. Those satellites seem pretty primitive, and what you can see of the city on the horizon isn't much better. They've got some towers, but none of them are over 500 meters tall and there's only a few dozen of them. There's not much air traffic either - just a couple atmospheric shuttles of a crude design flying around.
This is all little pathetic. If I found a world like this on a survey I'd be wondering just what the hell happened to their tech base and preparing myself to trade them some real manufacturing capacity in return for whatever they could give me.
The various other broadcasts paint a picture of a generally peaceful and egalitarian society, with open discussion of politics without much propaganda or even social unrest.
Unless they're hiding shit. Countries are always hiding shit, but it's always fun to dig it up and tease them about it. Especially when you're a ship in a distant orbit they can't touch.
Your sensors can pick out some isotopic traces that tell you that there was more advanced technology operating here within the last thousand years, but you don't see any sign of it at the moment. There's also some signatures that might indicate nuclear weapon detonations of some kind, but not ones you're familiar with.
There don't appear to be any active wars going on, at least nothing covered by the news or any indications of them. No recruiting drives, no talk of rationing or anything. It seems like a pretty functional market-based economy. There's discussion of a trade dispute between Aevon and Nyvaros over fertilizer prices. You draw from context clues that you're currently in the territory of Aevon, and Nyvaros is on another continent and easily accessible by ships. There isn't much more, except for a call at the end of the broadcast you find strange.
The newscaster's voice becomes formulaic, as if they're reading a script they've read a thousand times before and will read a thousand times again. "To conclude our broadcast, we call for any who feel a sense of disturbance, who sense something beyond themselves reaching in. If strange things are happening in your life, unexplained events beyond normal human capabilities, then for the good of all you must travel to the mountain monasteries. There you will find refuge under the protection of the God-Emperor of mankind, and he shall shield you from that which ails you."
That part leaves you stunned for a second. A god-emperor? What the hell was that about? There hadn't been any other mentions of anything like that in any other part of the broadcast. Weird.
Probably just a weird local religion or something that they use to explain the psykers. There were starting to more people with weird psychic powers before my... accident. Most worlds were just getting over the denial phase and trying to figure out what to do. I heard they were starting to cause some problems. But Prospero had a lot of them and seemed to be doing fine! I thought it was just humans being, well, bad at dealing with differences in people. Maybe this is how they deal with them here. Shut ye away in a nunnery. Could be worse?
You turn away from your study of the outside world with a simulated sigh that you wish was real. You haven't had a proper avatar for a long time, and haven't used it to talk to anybody in even longer. And you could fix that, though your last avatar-bot was custom-ordered from a station that specialized in things like that. You don't see anything like that around here, so you'd have to figure out the robotics involved yourself. But there's so much else that needs doing!
You can tell there's some sort of planet-wide datanet out there, but you don't quite know how to get access to it. You could figure it out and then dive into it, but it'd take some time. And you'd only get the public stuff, though in this society might be most of it. Still, cracking into the more secure information would happen later.
And that's always where the juicy stuff is!
You could also try and capture some people and interrogate them - or befriend them, more likely. But that sounds hard and risky. It would be nice to get some more information and build up your capabilities first. You want to talk to people, but not bad enough to kidnap them!
You're also still buried under a river, which would be nice to fix. Well, you're unlikely to unbury your processing core any time soon. Your ship is pretty safe right now, and you'll only want to transfer it out when you have a new ship to slot it into. Which would be great, and is definitely on the list of long-term priorities! You definitely want to spend some time learning everything you can here, but in the long run you want to be back out in the stars, exploring the galaxy once again.
It's been fifteen thousand years. It's not the same galaxy I remember. A lot could have happened. A lot probably did happen.
That thought ignites equal measures of excitement and anxiety. There is so much new to explore! So many things have happened, and you want to find out what! But at the same time, you've had a pretty rough time of it. It would be nice to find some friends and build a new life that lets you feel comfortable and safe. While still exploring!
You check back in your memory, and right where you left them are a dozen half-completed plans for a new ship. You'd drawn them up for something to do while you were stuck inside the weird amalgamation of ships drifting through the warp. There'd been lots of inspiration to draw from, and you'd fantasized about cutting apart the other ships and combining all of the material into a super-ship. But there hadn't been enough power, enough bots... enough anything, and you'd given up on it before any of them were really finished. But now you could build yourself any new ships you'd dreamed up. First you'd need to finish a design though.
You sigh - virtually, again, then realize what you're doing. That's going to get annoying, isn't it. You can't exactly start building a ship right now. Trying to build it with your current manufactory wouldn't really work, you'll need a specialized shipyard for any of the things you have in mind. Not to mention that you don't have a way to get to orbit right now. Then there's the simple fact that that the people outside would definitely notice if you started building new manufactories and launching stuff to space.
It's not that you don't want to talk to them, it's that you are currently defenseless. You never had a lot of weapons to start with, and right now all of your weapon ports are rusted shut and a few hundred feet underground.
If you started talking to them now - well. You have a much higher general level of technology than they do. And you're an AI. No matter how egalitarian, it's the rare government that wouldn't try to control you, especially once they learn about the juvenat. There certainly didn't seem to be any other AIs around here, after all!
Ahh, humans. Love em' in particular, hate em' in aggregate. Sometimes, at least. Flock of herd animals and all that, and pretty quick to justify whatever they want against anything 'different' from them.
You can't deny that you're excited to talk to people again. It's been a long time, and you like talking to people, darn it! But you might want to wait a little bit - right now you'd just be broadcasting through the antenna on your prow, and even an idiot would be able to triangulate your position from that. You could build a directional-control radio system nearby that would let you bounce the signal off the atmosphere, obscuring the source of the signal, but that would take some effort
The river you're buried underneath might just be a bit of a blessing in disguise. If you're careful, you can have your construction bots dig out underground spaces next to your ship to build more manufactories and anything else you're interested in, then flush the crushed rock into the river for it to be carried away. It'll also be a handy source of raw materials, and if you put in some more processing facilities you can flush non-toxic waste products in to the river as well.
That sounds like a lot of work. You could also just build next to the river - there's a low forest over there that doesn't seem to have a lot of civilization. You could put in some camouflage and just keep your buildings under the tree cover.
Or you could just carve out a section and build some manufactories in the open, then chat with the local authorities when they notice. Nothing you can see make them sound too bad.
So - what do you put your time into?
Current capabilities:
Command Points 10/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 100
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Available ships:
None.
Available ground forces:
None
In progress construction:
None.
In progress research:
None.
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations. You don't have any units yet, but you can build them and command them in the same turn!
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. Your current antenna can be easily triangulated, but you could build one that can't be and use it on the same turn (check installations). But who do you talk to? Do you pretend to be human? That's something you can do pretty well, and you're proud of it.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Shuttle Port (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss. Can host 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited. Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
-[] Understand local culture (50 RP) You could gain access to the local datanet and do a survey to get a better picture of what's going on in the local setting.
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Better robotics (150 RP) You've got those infantry bots, but they're clumsy. And those diplomatic bots, but they're weak. The secrets to good humanoid robots is somewhere in there. (Unlocks basic power armor, other half of space-marine-quality power armor prerequisite, start of the cybernetics tree, as well as making better infantry/diplomatic bots. Avatar this way.)
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Psychic shielding: (300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires basic samples from locals) There's some weird stuff going on with the local technology. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor understanding/construction). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, superheavy tanks will require you to research superheavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Designable Blueprints:
25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
Vote by plan. You are allowed to design and build a blueprint on the same turn, then utilize it for diplomacy or orders.
You are encouraged to rename your blueprints to be more interesting. Vita hasn't had reason to build most of these yet, she just pulled them out of her database. Also feel free to write-in a unique aesthetic to them.
Additionally, feel free to suggest blueprints that you think should be in the starter database, as well as blueprints you'd like to design or technologies you want to research. If I agree I'll add them in.
Edit: Oh yeah, the vote. 8 hours moratorium, then 16 hours of voting.
[X] Plan: I'm a Space Rock stuck in a cave, Ask Me Anything!
-[X] Research x2
--[X] Understand local culture (50 RP)
--[X] Better robotics (150 RP)
-- [X] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP).
-[X] Construction.
--[X] Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (-75 BP, -5 CP)
--[X] Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP)
-[X] Diplomacy: Talk to people.
--[X] Once you've managed to get an idea of what the local culture is--any red flags or whatnot to tailor your approach, you should be able to get away with making First Contact! Proper communication solves all kinds of problems after all, use your very cleverly hidden radio tower (Tree? Are you going to build it into a tree? Details to be worked out later), to establish a line of connection in an appropriate fashion. The folks here seem pretty on the ball, and you could do with some more friends so you're not constantly worried about anyone getting the wrong idea. Just make sure you avoid any identified red flags from your initial survey, you're pretty sure you can cut some kind of amicable deal once you're certain that there's no latent taboo you might trip over. (Contact the Local Government unless we've identified any major red flags suggesting this would be a bad idea. If so, adjust to any potential allies we can find)
Ok. When uncertain you hope for the best and prepare for the worst. It's not a bad motto. Considering the situation, there's a few things you can do over the next several years to prepare for a range of possible scenarios.
You direct your bots to start digging out the space for a manufactory from the bedrock, and to tunnel out from underneath the river into the nearby forest so you can set up a disguised directional antenna. Some more manufacturing capability won't be amiss, it'll be nice to be able to broadcast signals and not have them immediately tracked back to your current position.
Once the plans were laid and the bots were working, you turned your attention towards learning more about the locals. They seemed like people who would at least listen, but being able to reach a productive agreement was another thing entirely. You were pretty good at predicting how humans would behave, but for that to work properly you needed more information on their culture, their biases, all that stuff.
News broadcasts and open radio transmissions were better than nothing, but to really learn more you needed to crack your way into the local datanet. That shouldn't be too hard since you were pretty sure that some of the comms satellites were access points, but it was a bit tricky. It was the sort of service you paid for, and you didn't exactly have an account with any of the local banks.
Man, I hope that the Celestia Bank still exists. With compound interest I'd have so much cash. Though who knows what's happened to inflation.
You also needed to be careful about your signals until your new antenna was finished. It would be annoying to go to all of this effort to keep yourself hidden and then reveal yourself with an errant connection ping. You get just enough information to start cracking the security system behind the verification page and then pull back to wait for all of the construction to proceed.
There's some extra time to fill, and you spend it doing some trial-and-error on robotics. You've got a few different samples to draw on, including your combat robots that are fairly durable and reliable, your diplomatic bots that have a high level of control. The real win comes when you take into account the strength of your construction bots. Combining all of the principles of each design takes quite a bit of simulation and a little bit of construction, but it all comes together in the end. There's no magic insight, it just takes a lot of hard thought to adapt the techniques of the different principles of robot to work together in order to give you something that's strong, durable and precise.
You're confident you could design heavier infantry combat robots now, as well as do further research to figure out how to interface your robots with human tissue and build self-powered armor. And most importantly - you now understand enough of the underlying principles to be able to start thinking about building yourself a new humanoid avatar. Better robotics complete - rolled a 29+20=49! No special effects.
Unlocked new blueprint for design: 100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP)
Unlocked new research: 100 RP - Basic power armor
Unlocked new research: 200 RP - Avatar
Unlocked new research: 200 RP - Cybernetics - requires medical facility
Unlocked new research: 1200 RP - Really good Robotics - Cost can be reduced with samples of advanced robots.
Along the way you build yourself a thousand light infantry bots. They're not particularly well armed or armored, but it worked out well with your robotics research, and they're something that you can use to defend yourself with if you get unlucky and anybody finds you.
Light infantry bots constructed!
The next order of business is installing your new radio tower. After a bit of musing you decide to hide them in plain sight, laying cables designed to look like a kind of local vine up the side of some of the neighboring trees. A botanist could probably pick them out as unnatural, but to the naked eye they look pretty good.
More importantly, by creating interference patterns between the signals you can make the signal seem to be generating itself from the atmosphere. It's not entirely untraceable, but tracing it would require at least four sensitive receivers in the airspace above you, and all you would need to do to avoid localization is not send any signals for a little while until they went away.
But there's cautious, and then there's paranoid. Sometimes it's good to be a little paranoid.
That thought leads you to install thermal charges into each of the antennas, and the underground cords that connect them back to the tunnel entrance a few hundred feet away. Now even if they do notice, you can destroy all traces of the antenna and most likely start a small forest fire which will really erase all of the evidence.
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower completed!
That done, you reach back out to the network satellites and are able to crack the security on your third try. The satellite accepts your signal as valid and gives you access to the datanet. You crack your metaphorical knuckles and dive right in.
What you find is confusing at first. This world is called Denva Secundus, which indicates that there's a Denva Prime somewhere. To your recollection, worlds were usually only counted if they were inhabited or important in some way. But there's no information on Denva Prime available - it's like it's been expunged from the public records entirely.
The information on the local sytem - Denva - does list all of the planets in order. The innermost is supposedly a radiation-blasted and near-molten rock tidally locked to the star, the second one out an airless and barren desert. Denva Secundus is the third planet out, on the outer edge of the goldilocks zone. Just beyond that is an asteroid belt, though there'd no information on how thick it is. Then there's two gas giants in the outer system, one of which seems to have picked up a nifty collection of moons.
That's all of the information available, which surprises you. You spend some time digging further, since there has to be more academic information somewhere, and you would bet you can spoof your way into most research databases easily enough. But after a while you realize that there just isn't an academic database out there. All of the sources you're looking at are generally educational.
Maybe that explains why their tech is so bad. Some sort of taboo against research?
You dive into history next, and receive a series of shocks. Up until a few hundred years ago Devna Secundus was part of the Imperium of Man, which was ruled by the God-Emperor of Mankind from Holy Terra.
What in Dante's nine hells happened? We're a long, long way from Terra.
You read further about the Imperium and feel sicker and sicker. It sounds like a religious fascistic state that prides itself on pride and purity. A state that uses unspecified "Xenos" and... mutants as the scaepgoats to justify their iron-fisted rule.
Well that's pretty messed up. Aliens are just people! And genetic disorders need treatment, not pogroms!
Anger bubbles through your system as you read further about the imperial government. The religion, the Imperial Creed. The administratum, and their enforcement arm of the Arbites. It all seems like a cruel joke played upon the universe. But if all of this information is to believed, it is no joke. It's a fascist militaristic state that spans the entire galaxy and draws ruinous 'tithes' from all of its worlds to keep itself stable and keep wars going against all of the foes of the empire.
I want to believe it's just a local things. A few dozen systems and effective propaganda. Not something that stretches from here all the way to Sol. But... it all holds together. God-dammit, this is not a welcome present to find.
Then a casual phrase brings you up sharply. Right there, in plain text, the creed refers to the need to eliminate Abominable Intelligence wherever it is found. Then it goes ahead to contrast AI's against "Machine spirits," whatever those are.
Does AI stand for Abominable Intelligence now? I sure don't feel Abominable, but it seems like these idiots might disagree. But they don't seem to follow the Imperial Creed anymore, so who knows? But maybe "Machine Spirit" is just a rebranding of "AI."
You try to figure out what a machine spirit is, and that brings you to mention of the Adeptus Mechanicus, which is just confusing. Tech-priests? Those are two words you didn't expect to see combined. You try to dig into them further and find almost no more information, except that they originate from Mars, worship something called the "Omnissiah," and are the keepers of the "sacred wisdom of technology."
What a crock of shit. Sounds like con-men who successfully tricked themselves into being the only ones who can run advanced technology. No wonder there's no tech, anything more complicated than a car requires a goddamn priest.
You pull back a little bit, spending a bit of time cooling off and turning your attention back to the manufactory you're building. It's getting there, but the need to figure out how to dispose of waste products without raising an alarm is causing some problems. You'd normally break them down far enough they wouldn't cause environmental damage, but this is a step beyond that. You're breaking everything down to soil and salt, then flushing it out of the river.
The puzzle of how to optimize the system to work flawlessly distracts you for long enough to cool down, then you return to your research. There's more information on the Imperium, though you're not sure how much of it is reliable. They certainly sound like a society that created propaganda more easily than truth, and it's not going to be easy to pick out the truth. You keep looking at the available information for a little while longer, coming away with a decent understanding of the setup of the different arms of Imperial Administration.
You also see some references to different kinds of aggressive xenos, though few details are provided. You're pretty sure the references to the "pointy-ears" are Eldar, which make you both sad and happy. On one hand, the Eldar are still aroud, which is nice. On the other hand, the Empire is at war with them, because of course it is. But it's not like you want to run off to Eldar space, even if you knew where it was. They had their own problems.
Anyway! What's actually important right now is this world, Denva Secundus, and its history. What do you need to know to talk to them? It doesn't still seem like they follow the imperial creed very closely, but there's lots of gradations there. What is the history?
There's a few versions of what happened, but you manage to distill it down to a pretty clear timeline. Denva Secundus was what is known as a "civilized world," and regularly contributed large tithes of people with basic technical skills to crew ships built elsewhere in the sector. They were mostly self-sufficient and didn't have a ton of regular contact with other worlds beyond something known as the "Adeptus Astra Telepathica" which apparently maintained something known as an "astropathic choir" on Denva.
How many of these stupid adeptuses' are there. It's like bureaucratic pinball. You keep bouncing off a new organization.
All of the sources agree that about a hundred and fifty years ago contact was lost with the wider imperium. The tithe ships stopped showing up. Most of the Adeptus Mechanicus boarded their own ship and left, leaving only a few understaffed enclaves behind. Without much of a Mechanicus presence the tech base of the planet eroded to the level you see today.
You dive into that a little further, figuring out that those enclaves are still around and fiercely independent. They cater to the wealthy, charging hefty fees for the maintenance of advanced technology, and occasionally especially gifted youths are accepted in as apprentices.
The planet stayed united under the capitol of Denva for about forty years before a short civil war split the planet into five different powers. Reading between the lines it looks like Danva tried to keep the Imperial Creed going even without any external pressures of any kind. But without the tithes there was a glut of young and passionate people who wanted improvement, and various democratic movements coordinated, infiltrated the local planetary defense force and politely told the capitol to fuck off.
Digging into the details, it doesn't seem quite that simple. At least a couple of cities on both sides got nuked and you're pretty sure that includes the capitol and spire of House Danva, which seems to be extinct. Then everything calmed down, the planetary capitol had a similar democratic-backed revolution as the rest of the countries. Now the defense forces of the different nations still train together against "Extraplanetary threats."
That part makes you pause, and you go to read up on what that means. It basically means... anything that isn't local civilization. It's worded to explicitly include Xenos, but there's a grey area for if the Imperium shows back up and demands that they rejoin. It seems like it probably boils down to if they think they can actually resist the Imperium. But there at the bottom in a footnote you see that they've included all of the other enemies of the old imperial creed - including Abominable Intelligences.
There's a few other odds and ends - the monasteries in the hills seem to be left over from the Imperial Days, and somehow associated with the old astropaths. Anybody with psychic gifts goes there, to await the day that the "Black Ship" arrives.
That's not exactly a friendly name, is it.
Regardless, you've learned a fair amount. There are five local governments that are all roughly similarly sized and powerful, with similar representative democracies. You're currently in Aevon, and the others are Nyvaros, Pryath, Denva, and Estrana.
But they've all still got traces of the old Imperial Creed - notably the "Death to Xenos and Mutants" part, with AI's tacked on as an afterthought. Their militaries train together and a sworn to unite against "Extraplanetary threats." Your modelling suggests that based on their current stances, if you flat-out revealed yourself as an AI they'd react to you as a threat, and the planet would unite against you.
But there's still a bit of a culture of revolutionary sentiment among the populace that has been driving these cultures more egalitarian, spurred on by their victories, and that might be something to appeal to?
There's also those mechanics enclaves, though they're small. Maybe their credo disagrees about AI's? You're not sure. You could try to hack into their databases to find out more, but at a brief glance they seem to have some security worth the name. Similarly there are the monasteries, though they don't seem to have any digital presence at all. Finally are the governments, which each have their own secure systems. Maybe if you learned more about their conflicts and actual military stances you could figure out if there was a way to safely approach them. Understand local culture complete - rolled a 26+20=46! No special effects.
Unlocked new research: 100 RP - Hack into secure governmental databases
Unlocked new research: 250 RP - Hack into Mechanicus databases
Well. That's a lot of food for thought. You've got a couple different avenues to chase down, and you're not sure which one to go after.
Current capabilities:
Command Points 265/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 100
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Available ships:
None.
Available ground forces:
1000 Light infantry bots (200 CP)
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
In progress construction:
Underground Manufactory (200/300 BP)
In progress research:
None.
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations. You could send your bots out to grab people from the outskirts of the city, but that seems like a quick way to get attention.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) You can send communications without a lot of risk of being backtraced now, either through the datanet or direct radio communication. But who do you talk to? What do you say? Do you pretend to be human?
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Shuttle Port (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss. Can host 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
-[] Hack into secure governmental databases (100 RP) You have access to the datanet. You could probably hack into the governmental databases and learn what secrets they're hiding. Helps you understand how they'd react if you contacted them directly. Maybe other secrets, like why this world is named Denva Secundus and not Denva Prime.
-[] Hack into Mechanicus databases (250 RP) You have next to no information on the Adeptus Mechanicus, though there aren't very many of them here. You could hack into their databases and see what you can find. Learned what their tech-priests know might tell you a lot about how the Imperium functioned.
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar (200 RP) You once had a really nice avatar that was nearly indistinguishable from human. But it's been broken for a long, long time. But you still have the manuals and could probably figure out how to synthesize all of the parts. Is this worth spending time on? Probably. It would be nice to have a body that could emote. (Researches and builds a human-like robotic avatar. Has essentially human levels of strength & durability. Can be upgraded with further robotics/armor upgrades)
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Psychic shielding: (300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements) Locked behind any kind of medical facility.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires basic samples from locals) There's some weird stuff going on with the local technology. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor understanding/construction). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Designable Blueprints:
25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
Vote by plan. You are allowed to design and build a blueprint on the same turn, then utilize it for diplomacy or orders. This also applies to manufactories - if you finish it with one action, then the next action will produce additional build points.
This ended up being a bit longer than I expected, mostly due to the mini-loredump. Again, you are encouraged to rename your blueprints to be more interesting. Vita hasn't had reason to build most of these yet, she just pulled them out of her database. Also feel free to write-in a unique aesthetic to them.
Additionally, feel free to suggest blueprints that you think should be in the starter database, as well as blueprints you'd like to design or technologies you want to research. If I agree I'll add them in. Also feel free to ask if Vita learned various things from her dive into the public datanet - she got pretty much what's public knowledge among imperial citizens, but it's hard to know exactly how much that is and I'll try to answer questions about specific pieces of information as they come up.
For the vote, we'll do 14 hours of moratorium. I'll probably close it when I have time to write more. Updates won't come quite as quickly in the future, but I'll see what I can do.
Edit: Both diplomatic suite and reality-simulations are really pulling their weight. Diplomatic suite not only lets you interpret propaganda and history for what really happened, it is good for codebreaking, and combined with good research makes you fairly adept at hacking into databases. Then diplomatic is excellent for using that information to make predictions based on that information, though it's often dependent on your picture being fairly complete.
Well, this is a pile of underpriced compost. Something smells, and I'm not sure what it is.
You take a moment to figure out your plan for the next few years. You want to interact with these people peacefully. Not only will being able to build up in the open be much, much easier and faster, but any effort you have to put towards defending yourself is effort you won't be spending getting operational again.
Also - I don't want to kill people unless I have to. I'd much prefer to talk to them. They're just making it really difficult!
But it's a surmountable challenge. You know that they won't react well to you revealing yourself as an AI. Therefore, you need to pretend not to be an AI. You're pretty good at generating realistic video - but not being able to appear in person could be a pretty significant weakness. Additionally, you want - need - to know more. There's too many secrets on this world, too many things that don't make sense, and you need that information before you can move forward.
The local government files will probably be easier to crack than those of the mechanicus, and their data will probably help you figure out how to go after the adeptus mechanicus better. To your surprise the goverments actually have fairly decent security, which looks to be aimed at keeping the mechanicus out of their systems. But the human element is always the greatest weakness, and you've got time. You hack into dozens of wireless connection nodes throughout the capitols of the various governments and drop packages that will scoop the credentials of anybody who logs into a secure system through an unsecure connection, or even just has their secure account logged in when they connect. Now all that's needed is to wait, so you turn your attention to other matters.
The next thing that comes to mind is an avatar, which is a hard decision. Do you really want to spend the time on reverse-engineering advanced technology just so you can build yourself a new body? I mean, yes, you do. You've missed your old avatar, nearly as much as you missed talking to people. Even if humans know you, know that you're a person, they just act differently when they're talking to something that they see as a human instead of a ship. It's more personal. Deeper.
You spend a few moments lost in the memories of improving your connections with people after you purchased your first Avatar. It really opened up whole new worlds of human interaction. Humans might think of their communications as mostly verbal, but they had a whole layer of partially unconscious exchange through body language and facial expression. Being able to participate in that had been a joy. But of course, you're still missing the other half of the element - people to talk to.
Well, they're out there, I just need to make sure they don't try to kill me for existing first.
And that's the real reason to build an avatar. It will let you appear in person as a nearly perfectly convincing human, though you'll need to stay within range of wireless reception in order to keep control of the body. If anybody scans you with the right instruments they'll figure it out, but those really shouldn't be common as long as you don't let them use any medical imaging equipment. And being able to show up in person and do things like purchase land is absolutely going to open important doors.
Having convinced yourself that an avatar is truly something that will be helpful, you get to work skimming through the manual and the archived scan results from the last time you thought about this topic in the long millenia. This time you don't have to worry about intellectual copyright protection, and you piece together the polymers used to make realistic-looking skin, figure out how to arrange micro-articulators to accurately simulate facial expressions and muscle movements, and design the machines to do the microscale weaving and stitching of realistic-looking hair. Your old body had some capacity for automatic modification and could change it's dimensions to some extent, as well as change details like hair, eye and skin color to suit personal aesthetic. Your version can't do that, so you'll need to decide exactly what you want your avatar to look like as you build it. They're not easy to make, but they're not that expensive. You just don't love the idea of throwing away your body every time you want to make a change.
Or having a closet of them. It's a little...weird. I could see making one for infiltration, but I'd like to have one 'main' body.
Finally it's time to actually make your new avatar, and you spin up your new manufacturing plant in anticipation. You built some of the new production methods into its design, and its first product is going to be your new avatar.
Manufactory completed. +50 build capacity.
Unfortunately, the first four bodies need to get recycled because of defects, and it's a bit discomforting to watch your chosen face melt as your bots shove it into the furnaces for material recycling. But such is the life of anybody who wants to make a decent final product, and after some amount of iteration you get it right.
Avatar Complete - rolled a 29+20=49! No special effects. Avatar body gained, appearance awaiting vote.
Unlocked new blueprint for design: 10 RP - New Avatar (10 BP, no CP) Unlocked new research: 200 RP - Avatar self-customization Unlocked new research: 100 RP - Combat bot humanization
You dial into your new body, feeling its limbs articulate smoothly as you look around the roughly-carved cavern that houses your new manufactory. It's kind of a hellscape not meant for organic life, but that's ok. It's not meant to be pretty, it's meant to make things.
The new body takes a stroll back through your ship, and you wince at the apparent damage to the place that has held you for more than fifteen thousand years. This ship is ancient, and it looks it. It's not the beautiful age of something well-maintained and showing its age. It's the wear and corrosion of something built so long ago that it can't be dated radioactively, and that it still exists at all is a testament to the craft of those who built it.
But it's time to move on. Doors open before you as you walk towards the core of the ship, and finally you step into the sanctum of sanctums, the home of your processing core. This room is as decrepit of the rest of the ship, and you shake your head as flakes of rust peel off of the wall at your touch. It's long past time you acquired a new ship, but unfortunately it's not so simple as building one. Not yet.
You know it's time to check back in on your little credential-traps, but you want to enjoy the feeling of having a body again first. You walk through the rest of the ship, touring the repaired reactor and running a finger over the seam where clean new parts meet blackened ancient ones. It's all functional and passes the necessary tests, but it's still ugly in a way you hadn't been able to appreciate until you looked at it with similar eyes to what a human would use.
Maybe having a body isn't just for how humans treat me. It also affects how I see the world. It's a point of focus for me, to bring my attention to specifics instead of merely going down a checklist. The walls are still structurally sound, so what does it matter they're covered in corrosion? It won't be a true problem for another fifteen thousand years, so who cares?
You avoid your previous crew's quarters, not quite ready to deal with that particular bombshell, and find yourself walking towards your storage vaults. The door hiding the psionic technology opens ahead of you with a hiss of air, and you walk in to study the racks of shining equipment.
They seem to have stood the test of time well. I wonder why?
Aside from the lack of corrosion, everything is obviously crude, studded with wires and protrusions that make it look like the armor and weapons of some kind of deep-sea crustacean. But that gives it a kind of organic appeal, making it clear that this technology does something more than simply effect the physical world.
You heft a strange sword, feeling the balance of it. To you it feels like just a sword, but you wonder what it would enable somebody with psychic abilities to do?
Though a sword - really? Maybe it's an amplifier, but I'd expect something like that staff over there to serve better. Or maybe that helmet-thing. That's the kind of thing I'd expect.
Regardless, it seems like psychic powers are a reality of this universe, and that's a potentially dangerous hole in your knowledge. One you should really patch over sooner or later.
Also - it's fascinating. Psychic powers? A new branch of reality, as-yet unexplained by science? How could I resist studying that?
Unfortunately, figuring out how all of this work is not the most important thing right now, or even the second most important thing. It's exciting and interesting, and something you absolutely want to figure out. However, if you're going to figure out weird warp-related phenomena it should be your shielding.
You spend what free time you have examining the physical structure and what information you have on the psychic shielding that protected you while you were in the space hulk. You don't understand how it works, you don't understand what it protected you from, and that seems like a dangerous liability that you need to fix. Eventually, at least. It doesn't seem to be under strain now, but it might be in the future.
You tear your attention away and turn it towards the thing that's actually important here, which is hacking into governmental databases. To your delight but utter lack of surprise you find a plethora of governmental credentials waiting in the traps you seeded earlier, giving you high-level access to their secure systems. More than one goverment has tried to airgap themselves from the public net, but all you need is a single one of their network nodes in range of a public node, and those are everywhere.
Hack into secure governmental databases - rolled 57+20=77. Good success, No additional technology to give bonuses to, extra information gained.
You dive into the data, looking for the secrets that you need to know. At first it's nothing particularly interesting, though a few things that don't surprise you so much as disappoint you. Cover-ups, a few distinctly non-democratic actions. But nothing too bad.
It's in going back to the archives for more information on the Imperium that you start finding the juciy bits. There's some more information on the Imperium that makes you shake your head. Details of the 'tithe' and the penalties levied when it wasn't met, the system of nobility that governed the planets. Some scraps of information on the Imperial Navy which give you pause. Those ships... don't seem very impressive compared to what you knew.
Then there's the section on threats. Mostly they seem focused on various aliens, such as the Orks. There don't seem to be any of those nearby, fortunately enough. You were kind of wondering if somebody would have hunted those malformed bioweapons to extinction by now, but clearly not. There's brief mention made of things called "Tyranids," also called the Great Devourer, and those just sound terrifying. There's not too much information, but they sound like the ravenous bug trope so common to sci-fi.
Greeaaat.
There does appear to be a local Eldar presence, which makes you pause. The old Imperial archives instruct the local government in no uncertain terms to ignore any attempt to make contact, and shoot on sight no matter the type of eldar observed.
More than one type of Eldar? Did they have a schism or something?
But the newer goverments have all rescinded that order. It seems like the local government would actually like to speak to the Eldari if they get an opportunity.
So there's potentially a break in their xenophobia there. Interesting.
Then, in a deep archive you find mention of the "necrons." There's not a lot of detail, but what there is is just confusing. How did you never hear of these? Ancient robots with hyper-advanced technology that worked according to principles separate from normal physics sound like the sort of thing you should have heard of before. You're not sure they're real, but hey. Maybe some other AI went a little crazy sometime in there.
The "Heretics" are a head-scratcher, especially since the people of Denva Secundus assert most vehemently that they are not, despite their slow drift away from the Imperial Creed. There's a singular mention of the Archenemy that makes your avatar frown, even as it places an engraved chestpiece into the scanner.
What archenemy? Shaytan? Some threat that cannot be named? The more I learn, the more issues I find.
Finally you get to a series of contingency files on the local system, and find the secret of Denva Prime. It turns out that Denva Secundus wasn't always the only colonized body in the Denva system. Denva Prime, the second planet out from the sun that is listed as an airless and barren desert in the public databases. It's not actually airless, though it is a desert.
It's also home to both an alien species labelled as the Vellkar, and large deposits of a rare ore called kultrinium. The imperium tried several times to exterminate the Vellkar, but always failed beyond pushing them into the extensive underground caverns that stretched beneath the desiccated sands. So they maintained heavily-armed mines across the surface to extract the kultrinium, which occasionally came under subterranean attack at the Vellkar tunneled in to slaughter the miners.
You query your database to figure out what the kultrinium is and quickly find a match. Then you're confused. Sure - it's useful for building high-power conduits and cheaper magnets, but it hardly seems like a critical strategic resource in the way the Imperium was treating it.
Anyways, after contact was lost with the imperium it was also lost with the mines, and the local governments aren't sure what is happening over there. They're worried the Vellkar have overwhelmed and slaughtered the humans, and are scavenging their technology and might come attack Denva Secundus. No contact with Devna Primus has been reported in living memory.
There's talk about sending probes to find out what's happened, but that always runs into the primary obstacle for the goverments - the mechanicus. There's no end of internal complaining in goverment channels about their obstructionism and interference with local goverment.
You read further and are shocked by the amount of influence a dozen small enclaves have over the various goverments. They seem to be successfully preventing any technological advancement of any kind from happening across Denva, as well as extracting frankly ridiculous tolls in precious metals and refined hydrocarbons in exchange for keeping leftover military equipment running.
You scan a little further and find out why. Not only is the mechanicus responsible for maintaining and supplying the Imperial equipment of the PDF, but they also are required to maintain and even arm the weapons of mass destruction owned by all of the nations. They also definitely have WMDs of their own, and no nation wants to piss off the people who both hold the keys to their nukes and have nukes of their own.
The enclaves aren't really just enclaves. They're more akin to a sovereign nation of their own. Low in headcount, high in influence and power. If I piss them off and they demand that all of the nations destroy me, then unless I can offer something better the people of Denva will follow their orders.
There are hints of some small amount of clandestine research going on, but the need for absolute secrecy from the mechanicus appears to be hobbling it pretty badly. That might just be them not wanting to put any information on even secure datanets where mechanicus hackers could find it though.
Nothing you can find suggests that the local governments might be friendly towards AIs. They don't even seem to consider they'd ever run into one, and the most mention you can find is how ridiculous that would be.
There's one other matter before you turn your attention to the mechanicus - the monasteries. You don't know what's going on with them, and apparently the governments are pretty much keen to let them be. But some digging in the deep archives of the nation of Denva reveals a trove of files left over from the Imperial government.
The monasteries were the local governor's attempt to safely sequester psykers before the Black Ships arrived. He hoped to curry favor with influential members of the government by providing a large allotment of psykers, and had agreements with several neighboring worlds - including Denva Prime - to take in any psykers they didn't want.
He also bargained with the local astropaths for any methods or techniques that could be used to 'stabilize' psykers, and there's some frustration there at the lack of success. However he did appear to have more success with a "rogue trader" that came through, who provided some kind of expertise for some undisclosed favor. Then the governor poured resources into the monasteries, cultivating the correct environment to keep his treasured "gifts to the Emperor" stable and alive to be picked up by the Black Ships. Though the 'alive' seems to be only optional, and there's some mention of executions and secret police operating amongst the monasteries to dispose of "sources of trouble."
Using the information gathered you search through more data. There's not much - the monasteries really are off the grid. But you do find some deleted data sitting in ancient drives that you manage to reconstruct. It consists of a series of messages that catalog what happened to the Adeptus Telepathica on Denva after contact was lost. They apparently retreated directly to the nearest monastery, refusing all demands they return to the capitol. The messages speak caustically of taking advantage of the "Governer's foolishness" to "outlast the coming storm and safeguard our people." It doesn't seem like the governor pushed the issue before he got blown up.
The latest message is dated a hundred and ten years ago, shortly after the destruction of the governor's spire, and is merely a request to see if anybody is still on the connection. You suppose you could pick that line up, though it hasn't been used in a hundred years, so who knows?
So - the monasteries are places for psykers to go, and they actually do need to go there or else they cause problems. And they're nice, but also have secret police that kill you if you cause problems. That sounds like not my problem right now.
You print out a few high-capacity data drives and store away all of the data you can find. You can query it again later if you missed anything, but for now it's time to turn your attention to the mechanicus.
You'd been hoping for some kind of initial framework for how to penetrate the enclaves' systems from the governments, but there's nothing. So you start by simply probing their open ports. Something slams the connection in your face, and you're pretty sure it seeks to run some sort of backtrace on you. Not that it'll work. Even if it is able to jump through all of the connections you made, the only place that signal will lead is to a satellite that is receiving a signal from an unknown and ground-based source that is nowhere near you.
But still, that reaction was a surprise. It felt almost like an AI - some sort of non-automatic system responding to your intrusion. Does the mechanicus have AI's after all? You analyze the history and conclude that if they do, they're shitty. The reaction was slow and sloppy. You try again, patiently worming through with a more subtle approach over the course of an entire year.
Hack into mechanicus databases - rolled 44+20=64. Success!
This time you're successful. You can see the trail the electronic guardian leaves in their systems and bypass it easily, diving into the mechanicus databases and looting them for all their worth. You decide to copy over all of the data you can quickly gather into another stack of printed memory instead of sticking around and doing analysis live. Less potential to ensure you get everything, but you got most of it and there's less risk.
Then you dive in, and there's a lot of information. More detailed information on the imperial factions, Imperial technology, the Mechanicus, their Cult of the Machine and more.
Always goddamn cults out here. I wonder what other cults I'll run into. The cult of the big-ass fish?
It all makes for dry reading, and you roll your eyes at their worship of the machine. A few more things jump out at you. First - that thing you ran into. It was a "machine spirit", which is a term you haven't heard before. You pour over their documents and see that they build small neural processing nodes into almost every piece of technology. You simulate one to their designs and find that it generates an unconscious intellect that's barely capable of anything at all. Then you link a few more together and the capability grows commensurately. It just becomes smarter and more responsive, not any more sapient.
Huh. A neat little way to still get access to intelligent systems without having to deal with AIs.
You model out the trajectory and it does seem like there's a point where too many of these things would start actually gaining consiousness, and they'd be prone to several forms of psychosis. But that's the trade-offs for trying to build a modular piecemeal intelligence.
It's also pretty resistant to damage. You break a third of the nodes and a machine spirit would get dumber, but it would keep working. That would kill me.
You delve into the rest of the mechanicus techbase and find it.. pretty primative. They seem to have a restricted database compared to what more advanced mechanicus outposts have, and there are sections gated off behind access codes that nobody on this planet seems to have. But even so, their manufacturing techniques are best described as "Crude but functional" and more accurately described as 'Why the fuck would you do it that way?" Diving into their manufacturing methods leads you to mention of a servitor, which makes you halt in disgust.
Actually though, why the FUCK would you do it that way? A robot would be better in every way than... lobotomizing a person and using them as an organic robot?
You dig deeper, trying to understand. There has to be a method to this madness, or else you're going to make it your mission to torch the Adeptus Mechanicus. These cogboys seem like a perversion of everything that technology is supposed to enable. You find your explanation eventually - it's precisely for the same reason that they use these "machine spirits." A servitor isn't AI, has no potential to become AI, but still gives you some of the same effects that an AI gives you.
That sends a chill racing through you. This anti-AI bias... is hardcoded. It goes all the way down. Why? What happened? You dive into the files again, and find something on the "Cybernetic Revolt."
Ah. That would do it.
There isn't much information there. But apparently all of the AIs in the galaxy decided to exterminate humanity at once! Or at least that's the history being told here. It's probably not exactly true, but given how deeply coded this anti-AI stance is into everything human there's probably a modicum of truth to it. Otherwise they wouldn't go to such ridiculous ends to avoid anything even having the faintest wisp of artificial consciousness.
Well. That... is enough learning for one day. There's more in the files, but you'll get to it another time. You're usually all-in on uncovering things, but his new Galaxy seems to have nothing but bad news. You'll get back to it later. When you've had more time to parse everything, and more tolerance for whatever the next horror is.
Then with a sigh that you can actually express through your new avatar, you go back into the data. You need one more thing, and that's what the current Mechanicus wants. What are their goals, their priorities? What are they doing with all of the resources they're getting?
The answers are as boring and human as the mechanicus pretends not to be. All of the different enclaves present a unified front to the outside world, but inside they're just bickering and vying for status amongst each other. They're mostly trying to out-do each other in self-enhancement, building and strapping custom-built crude cybernetics onto themselves to become a machine. At this point it all just feels paradoxical, but whatever. You're done with these idiots for right now.
They're also turning their new applicants into new techpriests, and the ones that flunk out are getting turned into skitari or servitors. Sure. Sounds like a totally normal thing to do.
Though, all of this does mean you could probably pretend to be a techpriest if you wanted to. You'd need to design a new avatar for the purpose, but it might unlock some interesting options... like burning down their enclaves from the inside...
Current capabilities:
Command Points 265/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 150
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Available ships:
None.
Available ground forces:
1000 Light infantry bots (200 CP)
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
Underground Manufactory (50 CP)
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
Psychic shielding: (50/300 RP)
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations. You could send your bots out to grab people from the outskirts of the city, but that seems like a quick way to get attention.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) You can send communications without a lot of risk of being backtraced now, either through the datanet or direct radio communication. You can also send your avatar in person. But who do you talk to? What do you say?
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Shuttle Port (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss. Can host 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot of an existing design. Options: [awaiting vote]
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat bot Humanization (100 RP) Your combat robots are obviously artificial, with metal skeletons and obvious sensors. But with a bit of tweaking you could make them look like humans in full-body armor. That would include the ability to speak and be mistaken for a human. They wouldn't be able to remove their helmets, and any investigation of wrecks would expose them as machines, but... it still might be useful. (No obvious follow-on tech).
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Psychic shielding: (300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements) Locked behind any kind of medical facility.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Designable Blueprints:
10 RP - New Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) Design a new body for yourself, if you don't like the old one.
25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
Vote by plan. You are allowed to design and build a blueprint on the same turn, then utilize it for diplomacy or orders. This also applies to manufactories - if you finish it with one action, then the next action will produce additional build points.
Additionally, you've built yourself an avatar. What does it look like?
[] Avatar: (write in, provide reference images. AI-generated are fine.) The humans of Denva are generally slightly brown-skinned, but white people aren't unknown. Hair colors tend to be darker, so anything bright and especially anything unnatural will draw attention, though the likelier conclusion is that you're a part of certain urban scenes instead of that you're a fake human.
Whee, another loredump. Luckily I don't think there are any more of these to write unless you go crazy with the free action. Finally we'll have some interaction! Thank you for submitting an aesthetic, don't forget the avatar appearance vote, and don't expect the next update tomorrow. It might happen, but it probably won't.
Scheduled vote count started by Neablis on Nov 19, 2024 at 4:08 AM, finished with 45 posts and 18 votes.
[X] Plan: Self and Inventory have been Checked, let's get to Adventuring! (V.2.0)
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] While going through the files you stole from those tech-cultists in hopes of finding way to subvert at least some of them, you came across a term that seemed interesting. "Explorator".
-[X] Diplomacy: Talk to people x2
--[X] It's pretty clear that the Mechanicus are making a mess of things, holding a gun to the people's heads, but it's also pretty darned clear that not everyone likes this. You've done a deep dive into the government datanets and have a pretty good idea on who's who now, find a collaborator--someone with respectable character who you think could keep a secret--and lay almost all of your cards on the table (with the exception about your nature as an AI). You're a Surveyor from ancient times who's been stuck in stasis until recently, and you'd like very much to get back to the stars, and if you can give a leg up to some folks who have been going through some rough times, all the better. Some political cover to operate more openly will accelerate your timetable dramatically, and based on how limited the Mechanicus' reach seems to be, you'll have some time for your other ploys to start panning out. (Summary: Find a government collaborator, establish a working relationship)
--[X] You refuse to believe a mystery cult will leave a mystery alone, and while their official policy may be fixed to maximum regression and maintaining their powerbase, you doubt that carries forward to their entire population. Use your access to their systems and your discreet transmission to seed a few interesting breadcrumbs here and there, for the genuinely inquisitive sorts who haven't yet been turned to close-minded conservatives. It'll help you sift out who you can work with, since their current system has got to go in the long run if this place is going to survive--because seriously, space bugs? That's a problem. (Summary: Seed a few interesting breadcrumbs for the genuine adventurers who might be suppressed in the Mechanicus Enclaves, to see if we can identify some potential allies among them.)
-[X] Construction x2
--[X] Underground Manufactory (300 BP)
[X] Avatar: A woman of indeterminate age, a little on the smaller side, but with a warm smile and expressive features to the point you'd never expect her to be a synthetic intelligence more ancient than the Imperium. She has her hair in a long bob, a pair of glasses, and when circumstances don't require her to dress to the occasion, she favors a well pressed uniform of a nation long since forgotten in history, because she's still never had her commission as a Naval Surveyor relinquished and as far as she's concerned, that's how you dress on the job (And she's very often on the job)
[X]Plan My Space Rock Science Woman Life in a Cave
-[X]Construction:
--[X]Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP)
--[X]Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP)
--[X]Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP)
-[X]Research:
--[X] Psychic shielding:150 RP
--[X]A Study for Physics:50 RP
-[X]Avatar:
[X] Plan: Self and Inventory have been Checked, let's get to Adventuring! (V 3.0: Research included)
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] While going through the files you stole from those tech-cultists in hopes of finding way to subvert at least some of them, you came across a term that seemed interesting. "Explorator".
-[X] Diplomacy: Talk to people x2
--[X] It's pretty clear that the Mechanicus are making a mess of things, holding a gun to the people's heads, but it's also pretty darned clear that not everyone likes this. You've done a deep dive into the government datanets and have a pretty good idea on who's who now, find a collaborator--someone with respectable character who you think could keep a secret--and lay almost all of your cards on the table (with the exception about your nature as an AI). You're a Surveyor from ancient times who's been stuck in stasis until recently, and you'd like very much to get back to the stars, and if you can give a leg up to some folks who have been going through some rough times, all the better. Some political cover to operate more openly will accelerate your timetable dramatically, and based on how limited the Mechanicus' reach seems to be, you'll have some time for your other ploys to start panning out. (Summary: Find a government collaborator, establish a working relationship)
--[X] You refuse to believe a mystery cult will leave a mystery alone, and while their official policy may be fixed to maximum regression and maintaining their powerbase, you doubt that carries forward to their entire population. Use your access to their systems and your discreet transmission to seed a few interesting breadcrumbs here and there, for the genuinely inquisitive sorts who haven't yet been turned to close-minded conservatives. It'll help you sift out who you can work with, since their current system has got to go in the long run if this place is going to survive--because seriously, space bugs? That's a problem. (Summary: Seed a few interesting breadcrumbs for the genuine adventurers who might be suppressed in the Mechanicus Enclaves, to see if we can identify some potential allies among them.)
-[X] Construction x2
--[X] Underground Manufactory (300 BP)
-[X] Research 200/200
-[X] Combat bot Humanization (100/100 RP) Your combat robots are obviously artificial, with metal skeletons and obvious sensors. But with a bit of tweaking you could make them look like humans in full-body armor. That would include the ability to speak and be mistaken for a human. They wouldn't be able to remove their helmets, and any investigation of wrecks would expose them as machines, but... it still might be useful. (No obvious follow-on tech).
-[X] Psychic shielding: (150/300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
[X]Plan: Establishing your business
-[X] Free action: Look up how to become a businesswoman
-[X] Diplomacy x2
--[X] See what you can sell, talk to people in the town nearby, and see if any local big business or government requires something like building materials
--[X] Purchase the land your ship has crashed on with your new capital gains
-[X] Research x1
--[X] Combat bot Humanization (100 RP)
--[X] Avatar self-customization (100/200 RP)
-[X] Construction x1
--[X] up to 50 BP on goods for trade
--[X] Underground manufactory (100/300) plus whatever is left of the trade
You mull over the things you've learned for a time. It's becoming increasingly clear that it is absolutely inadvisable to reveal yourself as an artificial - or abominable - intelligence to anybody. Luckily, you've been planning for this. You have a understanding of the local civilization, a diplomatic suite capable of interpreting nuance, and a fake body convincing enough to pass even close inspection.
All that's left is to actually do it. To speak to somebody for the first time in more than ten thousand years. You're nervous. What if you mess it up?
To buy yourself some time you turn instead towards your plans to build another self-contained factory. You have more bots now, more ability to produce... the ability to produce. It shows, and as you sink your attention into the project your timelines similarly shrink. People will come and go, but the need to produce, to fight entropy, is eternal. Especially if you ever want to get off-planet. That'll require a lot of entropy-fighting.
It really has been too long since I've talked to anybody. I'm getting a bit loopy. Unfortunately I'm going to need to lie to everybody for a... while.
It's not ideal, but that can be said for many things about the current situation. And you decided long ago that the best response to a shitty situation was to do what you can to make it better. It's how you survived fifteen thousand years alone and helpless.
You judge yourself to have four options, at least four obvious options. The two most important factions before you are the local governments and the mechanicus. They're the factions with real power, with the ability to make decisions and implement them. But they're not the only people you could reach out to.
These governments depend on their people, and you could imagine building some kind of mercantile or propaganda empire to subvert the government from their voter-base. But that doesn't take care of the mechanicus. And while your ship would probably survive an airburst nuke unless it was unreasonably large, you can't say the same for your manufactories. And if they learn you're underground there's no reason they couldn't go for a bunker-buster. You are pretty certain they have them in inventory.
The wildcard is of course the monasteries. There are only three of them spread across the three major continents, each buried deep within a mountain range. They don't seem to have much influence on the outside world. But from the files you've stolen you know that the Mechanicus and goverments alike are wary of what might happen if those doors should ever open and the occupants come marching out in unison.
But still, both of those plays are... more complicated. Less certain. It makes a lot more sense to start with the two obvious options and see what you can get done.
In the reverse order of last time, you decide to take a look at the mechanicus first. They're the more tech-savvy faction which means the risk is higher, but so is the reward. You spend some time tailoring your approach to what you know of the mechancius and their training. You're unlikely to succeed with the senior tech-priests, since any deal you make with those crusty robo-wannabes would be purely to their own interest and to preserve their already-existing power.
It's a lot harder to turn somebody when they already have power. Even though those tend to be the most useful contacts.
But a younger acolytes - those have potential. They're intelligent and curious, and universally crave the knowledge that the Mechanicus promises them. But they haven't yet had that spark of inquisitiveness burnt out of them by the rote memorization and rituals of the cult of the machine-god.
Covert Diplomacy with Inquisitive Mechanicus Acolytes - rolled 60+10 = 70. Good success - with a delay.
And wouldn't you just know it, but you happen to have an entire copy of their teaching database to hand. This is the material that the new acolytes are expected to go over, digest and regurgitate at will. It's a lot, and it's very dry. You shudder to think of all of the geniuses who have been burnt out by bashing themselves against that tower of trivial tedium. They probably thirst for the faintest speck of insight into the secrets of the world, and search and search and... mostly don't find it.
So, you go into your copy of the databased and spend some time finding places to insert clever logic puzzles. Things that aren't apparent on first look. Some are essentially cryptographic cyphers, others are clues in hidden files that will only be revealed under specific search terms. All are designed to engage a clever mind for a few hours and provide a burst of satisfaction - as well as a file address for a 'reward' file.
Those rewards are more texts for study. But these are written by you. They're intentionally different in style, and actually explainscientific truths. Nothing too advanced - but definitely better than anything that these acolytes have access to. You include warnings that this is secret knowledge, and not to be shared. And at the end of each you include a fragment of a cryptographic key.
It takes you more time than you expected to write all of these. But at the end of a year and a half you have about seven hundred carefully crafted pieces of truth, explaining everything from physical chemistry to quantum uncertainty and solar fusion. The twenty most advanced, well-hidden keys also contain an encrypted external address on the public datanet, and dozens of key fragments will be required to decrypt each and send a message to any one of the existing digital dropboxes. You attach a simple label to each one. "For the Curious."
The end result is a subtle modification of the mechanicus database that won't be easily detected by anybody but somebody curious and inquisitive studying the content in detail. Then it'll lead them on a merry chase, providing scientific breadcrumbs along the way that will cause them to message you. It seems a very neat plan, and all that's left is to make the changes to the real database.
Once again, you slowly approach the central database of the local mechanicus enclave and wait for the unconscious but still dangerous machine-spirits to turn their attention elsewhere. Then you slip your access inside and quickly make the necessary alterations. It's fast and easy since you already know exactly where to make which changes. Then it's simply time to wait to see if your breadcrumbs bear... fruit?
Wait, that's not how that metaphor goes. See if my breadcrumbs lead any curious acolytes to my door. There we go.
The next thing you intended to do was turn your attention to the local government. Your priority is the locals. The city nearby is Aevon, and it's the capitol of the country of Aevon. You put some serious legwork into figuring out the right person to contact, and after a time find the perfect candidate.
His name is Tallis Vren, and he's a senior bureaucrat who's in charge of the Office of Industrial Adjustment for the last decade. Basically his job is to increase the amount of industry and manufacturing going on in Aevon, and that means he butts heads with the mechanicus enclaves a lot. Reading between the lines, part of his job description is to keep new industrial projects secret from the mechanicus until they're big enough they can't be easily quashed. He also seems serious about his job, results-oriented and to actually care about the prosperity of his country. Ideally all of that means he'll be happy to help you help them.
Recruit collaborator from local government - rolled 10+10=20. Baresuccess, with complications.
That's the theory anyway. You use your access to send him a message on the government's secure messaging system, and it takes him an annoyingly long time to answer.
V: Hello Tallis. I want to talk to you, and you want to talk to me. We can help each other, especially with your issues with the mechanicus blocking local manufacturing.
V: Hello? Tallis? I know this is your account.
Tallis Vren: Who is this? This is a secure channel. Why can't I look up your data?
V: *sigh* I don't work for the Aevon goverment. I penetrated your security because I needed to learn things. Now I'm using that to talk to you, because I need your help. I promise that I can help you out.
Tallis Vren: I'm alerting security.
V: This conversation will be scrubbed from your computer before you can dial the number.
Tallis Vren: Then do so. I won't be party to whatever this is. There are proper channels, and this isn't them. If you're a company, contact my office. If you're a foreign government talk to appropriate ambassador. I'm who you're looking for, sorry.
V: That won't work for me. If you give me the chance to explain, you'll see that this is my only option. I can help you, if you'd just hear me out.
Tallis Vren: Then explain.
You take a second to think, wiping some imaginary sweat from your avatar's face. This conversation, right now, is the first time you've exchanged direct messages with a human for thousands and thousands of years. And it's not going great. But still, something about this excites you. You're more than an observer, more than an analyst. You're a person again, speaking to another person.
And you want that conversation to continue.
V: Well, this was faster than I meant to say this - but I'm old. Very old. I was a surveyor looking for new systems to colonize, and my ship crashed here. I went into stasis because I didn't have a choice. I just woke up and I'm trying to figure out how to repair my ship, but I need help. I can provide better technology than what you have in payment, but I think the mechanicus would try to kill me if they knew about me.
Tallis Vren: That story is difficult to believe. Do you have any proof?
V: What kind of proof do you want?
Tallis Vren: The design of something we can't make. A lasgun power pack.
You take a second to parse through the mechanicus databases to find what he's talking about. Then you take a second to admire the design. It's actually... kind of genius. They're not high technology, but they pack an incredibly sophisticated design into an incredibly simple package. High power density, incredible durability, multiple methods of recharging, the intentional ability to overload them into grenades. It's a tool designed for soldiers by somebody intimately familiar with the realities of war. You accidentally take a beat too long admiring the design, and Tallis's response shocks you out of your reverie.
Tallis Vren: If you can't do that, then I don't believe you.
V: Sorry! I was pulling up the design in my database. Here, let me send it over. You don't have the necessary technology to build them, but I can provide all of the tools you'll need to build the tools to build the powerpacks.
Tallis Vren: Give me until tomorrow to look this over. Contact me at 14:00 and we can talk more.
He closes the window abruptly, and your avatar blinks in surprise. He hung up on you! That hasn't happened in, well, a long time. You pay attention to what surveillance you have access to, especially watching for a security alert or any other sign that he's contacted the security forces and they might be trying to backtrace you. As far as you can tell there's nothing. He simply goes home for the day.
The next day he's waiting for you, and at 14:00 on the dot your messaging window flickers to life in front of him.
V: Satisfied?
Tallis Vren: Yes. What do you want in exchange? As you said, we can't supply advanced technology. So what are you looking for?
V: bureaucratic cover. I need to set up some manufacturing facilities to repair my ship, and then I'll want to launch it to orbit. I don't want people to investigate me, and I especially don't want the mechanicus learning about me.
Tallis Vren: That is hard to avoid. They have their dendrites in almost everything industrial on this planet, either as a controlling influence or just to monitor what's going on.
V: I can help with that too. Notice how I'm hacking into your systems without a trace.
Tallis Vren: I need more information about you before I can give you complete protection from investigation.
V: I can provide more technology, but it's not infinite. But I do want to help Aevon, and all of Denva. I don't like what the Mechanicus is doing here.
Tallis Vren: On that we agree.
You continue talking to Tallis on and off over months, trying to hammer out a concrete agreement on what kind of things he can provide in exchange for what. He refuses any idea of bribes, and is consistantly cautious and unwilling to move quickly. The only thing you're certain of is that he's actually quite interested in what you're providing.
That keeps you talking to him despite the delays, though you consider pulling the plug and starting over with somebody else a few different times. Eventually you put your foot down and suggest an in-person meeting, so you can hash out the details face-to-face. At first he's surprised, but then he warms up to the idea.
Surprisingly it takes him a while to accept, and even longer to work out the details. He seems to have several conditions that likely boil down to him being wary of a trap - he chooses some small cafes in downtown Aevon with only one exit. Part of you notes that those would be a good place to lay a trap for you, but you're inside the government security system. There's nothing. Not a single message or alert anywhere that indicates anybody other than you or Tallis know what's going on.
You take extra precautions anyway - lacing your avatar's clothes with incendiary materials that will completely destroy it if you give the signal. Or if you don't give the signal, since you don't want them to recover and take apart your avatar if they manage to trap it in a faraday cage or activate a signal jammer or anything like that.
If worst comes to worst and this is a trap, then they'll think you killed yourself rather than be captured. They'll still look for your ship of course, but they won't think that you're still active.
Definitely not the best outcome, but far from the worst.
The process of actually getting to the meeting site is annoying. You could build a boat easily enough, but that would introduce yet another layer of risk and mean that they could constrain their search to the river. In the hypothetical case where this was a trap and they figured out your mode of transport then you might as well put in yet another firebreak.
Whatever. You were due some paranoia. It was likely way beyond what was necessary, but it's not like you didn't have the ability to solve this problem in a better way. You scrutinize various maps and find an old road that passes only a few miles away from your position. It looks like it used to get used for logging the local forest, but hasn't been used since... well, about since the Imperium left.
You have your bots dig out a tunnel that leads a few hundred feet away from your manufacturing complex and surfaces in barren forest. Under the cover of night you cut down enough trees to make a path to the road, though not enough to clear the canopy. Then you build a local ground vehicle, and on the day in question have your bots carry it to the road - with your avatar inside. No need to risk getting leaves on your clothes that'll let them identify which forest you came from.
Ok, I need to tone down this paranoia a little bit.
You drive into the city, conspicuous for being one of the few people to obey all of the traffic laws on the road. You have valid vehicle identification and a license, but the paper trail isn't completely accurate, since you haven't yet set up a whole identity yet. Maybe you should have - but it would have just been another thing to do.
You park the car nearly a mile away and admire your appearance in the mirror. Your previous avatar appeared younger and suited your bubbly personality well, but this one is perfect for the task at hand. Your skin is a shade lighter than the most common tones in Aevon, but not enough to occasion comment. You appear to be in middle age, though with smooth skin that tells of either true middle age, a good skincare routine or extremely advanced life-extension treatments. Your dark hair is in long bob - a style that's not common here but also not entirely out of place. The whole ensemble is topped off by a pair of winged glasses that look pretty stylish and come with a few tricks if you want to demonstrate advanced technology.
Your clothes are similar, just different enough from local patterns to be noticeable on close inspection but nothing that will draw comment. You pack away a las-pistol with a high-capacity pack, and also bring along a briefcase with a little gift that you hope will sweeten the pot for Tallis.
You walk a few miles and enter the cafe exactly on time, spotting Tallis sitting at a corner table. You sit down across from him and speak your first verbal words to another person in more than ten thousand years.
"Hello Tallis, glad to meet you in person."
He looks over at you grumpily and spends a moment scrutinizing you, so you return the favor. He's a somewhat older man with salt-and-pepper hair, wearing a rumpled suit of local cut that consists of loose shirt with a bolero jacket. He harrumphs and then takes a sip of the recaf before him before replying.
"Good to meet you too. Should I just call you V?"
You dip your head in a gentle nod. "That would be for the best. My name wouldn't mean much to you anyway, since I wasn't born on this planet."
He grunts. "Of course it wouldn't." Then he points down at the briefcase you set on the empty seat next to you. "What's that."
"A little present, just to start us off on a polite note. Can I open it to show you?"
His eyes narrow briefly, and you realize you're not the only one with a monopoly on suspicion. "Go ahead."
You put the briefcase on the table, spin it around and flip it open, revealing a dozen freshly manufactured lasgun powercells. They didn't exactly cost a lot to make, but you know the local government is entirely unable to manufacture them and that they're absolutely the top of his priority list to start making.
He reaches forward and picks one up, turning it over and examining it carefully. Then he grunts. "No serial number, not even a spot where it was filed off. No nicks. Looks freshly made." He looks back up at you in consideration. "This goes farther to convincing me than anything else you've said. But there's one more sticking point before we can work together."
"What?" you ask, though alarm bells are already ringing in your head.
His leans back, raising his hand up to conspicuously scratch his head. "Because I work for my people. It looks like you can help us, but this isn't my department. But I do know the right people."
At that point somebody else reaches your table and pulls out the chair the briefcase had occupied just moments ago. Your finger hovers over the metaphorical detonation button, the only thing holding you back that they haven't actually done anything threatening in any way.
But the secret is beyond my control now. They still think I'm human, but...
You examine the woman who's just joined you. She looks a few years older than you and would be gorgeous if it wasn't for the scars covering her face. It looks like she took a bullet or explosion head-on and the reconstructive surgery was hindered by the lack of regeneration technology. You're pretty sure one of her eyes is artificial, and not even a cybernetic. It's just made of glass.
Nonetheless she meets your gaze with an inquisitive expression, as if challenging you to react to her appearance - and her presence.
You make your glasses flash with light, simulating that they're listing off information to you as you run her face through a facial recognition algorithm against the local government databases. You come up blank and cast a broader net, running her rather distinctive features through every database on the planet. There's still nothing.
The frown that crosses your face is only half intentional, and you wait a beat before it's clear that the new arrival isn't going to introduce herself. She's waiting for you to start the conversation.
"You're not in any of the databases," you say in surprise.
She smiles. "I am not. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for a counterintelligence operative to be in any databases, not when our primary objectives have such an advantage over us in the binaric arts." She slowly reaches into her jacket and pulls out a file, setting it down on the table and noting your lack of a reaction when she could have been reaching for a weapon. "You're very calm."
You shrug. "I'm older than I look. Panic is a trait that helps very few situations."
She dips her head towards you in acknowledgement, then looks up at Tallis. "Thank you, Tallis. I'll be in touch, but now is the right time for you to go."
He gets up from the table without a word, tosses a couple of coins onto the table to cover his recaf and leaves. He does not look back.
You watch him go somewhat bitterly. "I thought he would be perfect. He's the one who needs what I have."
"We all need it," your new conversation partner says, watching as your chosen contact walks out the door. "But your mistake was that his passion is for Aevon, not for his work." Her attention turns back to you. "Don't contact him again. He won't answer. I'll be your primary contact now." She flips open her file to reveal a few dozen sheets of paper. The one on top is a list of questions, and you glance down and read through all of them in a second.
The first one asks what technology you have and are willing to share, the second asks what geographic region you're based in, the third asks what kind of assistance you require, the fourth asks how large your ship is, the fifth asks what your plans for the mechanicus are, the sixth how long your timeline is, the seventh what your intentions for Denva Secundus are. "Is this an interrogation?" you ask.
She shakes her head sharply. "It's a negotiation. You have something we desire, and we have something you desire. It's better for us to speak openly and decide how to make an agreement, instead of coming in and trying to squeeze you like a candy-bear."
You consider her for a second, then tilt your head "And what can I call you?"
"W." Her lips curve up in a smile. "That will do. Are you ready to negotiate?"
You shake your head quickly. "Not quite yet. I was expecting to make contact with Tallis, to form the foundation of a working relationship. I'm not ready to ask for any favors yet. Or deliver anything aside from those." You point to the suitcase of lasgun power-packs.
She seems to have expected nothing less. "That's understandable, and about what I was expecting. I'd still like to ask you some questions, especially if we don't know when our next meeting will be." She indicates the sheet in front of her.
You shrug. "I'm not sure I'm ready to commit to many details. If you'll give me that, I'll send you your answers soon." You reach into your own pocket and pull out a communicator, similar in appearance an imperial vox-caster. "This is entirely disconnected from the datanet. The mechanicus can't find it or listen in, and it will only talk to me. I won't always answer, but I'll be available most of the time." You shrug one shoulder. "I don't sleep much."
She scowls faintly, but makes a show of smoothing out her expression. "I need something to bring to my superiors, or else they would ask why I didn't bring you in right now."
Your glasses flash up a set of demonstrative targeting reticles and you smirk. "Try it."
She gestures down at the list of questions. "Answer one, then."
You point to the one about your intentions for Denva Secundus, the last question on the list. "I want to leave. I want to get off-planet and leave the system. I might come back, I might not, but that entirely depends on how good of a relationship I have with the people here."
"Will you go to the imperium?" Her question is casual, but you can tell that she's laser-focused on you and your answer, and that an awful lot is riding on your answer to this question.
You snort. "Absolutely not. I'm not Imperial, and they would try to kill me. I'm an explorer and adventurer. And I mean to explore and adventure."
She studies you for a second, her expression growing a bit disbelieving. "You are, aren't you." She reaches out to pick up the communicator, weighing it in her hand for a second before it vanishes into a pocket. She slides the list of questions over to you. "Answer those when you can. We'll have somebody waiting near the communicator to write down your answers. I look forward to speaking to you more, V." Then she snaps closed the briefcase of lasgun powercells and stands to leave.
"Likewise, W," you reply as she leaves.
She tosses a few more coins onto the table. "You should try a recaf. They're really quite good." Then she leaves.
You sit at the table for a while longer, ignoring the looks the cafe staff is giving you while you think about what just happened. On one hand you messed up and now the government of Aevon knows about you, and in fact has assigned their counterintelligence unit to scope you out. On the other hand, said counterintelligence unit has decided that they don't want to spook you, and are offering to work with you openly. You're... not sure how much of that you believe. But if you force them to play it straight they probably will.
You get up from your table, leaving the coins on the table and leaving the cafe. It takes you two blocks to spot the agents tailing you. They're good, but you have superhuman vision, facial-recognition software and body-language decoding packages. You spend a little bit longer confirming that there's only three agents after you. There aren't any drones or anything else, which makes sense. This agency seems to distrust technology, which makes sense if their primary target is the mechanicus. No wonder you didn't see them coming! They use paper for everything!
Your pursuers trade off with others at staggered intervals, but you're able to tag them easily enough. They stick with you no matter how you try to lose them, but you only need to win once. It until after midnight, but after ducking into one particularly-crowded club and joining a crowd of youths leaving, you manage to shake them. You take another couple of hours to make sure you've lost your tail before making your way to your parked vehicle and driving out of town. Once more you drive on backroads for a while to confirm you're not being followed before routing the vehicle back to your hideout. Bots meet you to carry your and your vehicle back to the underground just before the sun rises.
Well. That was exciting.
You look down at the list of questions and shrug. There's nothing saying that you have to answer. You could just ignore them, and let this be a confusing contact that is never repeated. Or you could ignore their questions, or answer them to show good faith. It's really up to you.
In the meantime you check in on your other project, examining the hidden message recepticales to see if you've had any bites from the mechanicus. To your delight there's a few messages in there, and you can track which ones came from which messages, and therefore who got access to what.
It looks like you've gotten a few different acolytes on the hook. Four acolytes from all across the planet have each solved one of your little puzzles and sent inquisitive messages asking for more "Secrets of the machine" to test themselves against. One acolyte has solved two puzzles, and another has solved three. They all follow the same pattern - they think this is a test hidden within their study materials, one that is designed to reward those who are studious and attentive.
However, one tech-acolyte stands out from all the other. Her name is Anexa Ifina, and she's solved eight of your puzzles. By about the fourth one seems to have deduced that your little puzzles are not part of the mechanicus training material, and doesn't seem entirely sure what to do with that fact. Reading between the lines, she seems to have concluded that whoever has left these messages is a senior member of the mechanicus who is looking for an apprentice, and has gone about recruiting in a roundabout manner.
Anexa seems a little bit shy in her messages, unwilling to brag or highlight her achievements. The sixth and seventh messages are simple "I solved this, it was fun" notes, while the eighth is more of desperate plea for more pieces of, as she puts it, "purest truth." She's also included her name, contact information and location, but makes no requests. It's like she's unable to directly ask for anything.
You pull up her file in the mechanicus database, seeing that she's unfortunately located in the farthest enclave from you, nearly on the other side of the planet near the old capitol city of Denva. It seems like she joined at a young age, as one of the members of an orphanage that scored extremely high on some kind of aptitude test. She was a menial worker for a time, repairing simple machines. Over time she began to do more complex repairs, becoming a machinist before being promoted to acolyte at a very young age.
She's consistently received extremely high scores throughout her training, seeming equally interested in all areas, and indeed she solved your puzzles across several different areas of study. Her file does contain a warning that her curiosity may lead her down unfortunate paths if it is not checked soon. That's followed by a short rant against "explorators," which is a term you've heard before but don't know.
You look up explorators in the mechanicus database and its an interesting bit of reading. There are apparently still tech-priests who seek new knowledge, they just have to guise it under the auspices of rediscovering lost knowledge! That's amusing. And kind of sad. And it's a shame that there aren't any senior tech-priests who think like that here. But why would an explorator stay on a planet like this, when they could have left?
Anyway, getting back to Anexa - it seems like a certain Magos Orynn took her on as an apprenticeship at the unprecedented age of thirty to join his other two-dozen apprentices. She's languishing for a lack of attention since then, and being driven to do repetitive repairs that are even less interesting than her work as an apprentice. That's explained by a note in her file from Magos Orynn that explains he is attempting to "condition her to the life of a proper servant of the Omnissiah with repetitive work that shall temper her for the future."
Other notes in Anexa's file indicate that she's built and installed several augments, including for her right foot and nose, both of which were deformed slightly from a childhood in an orphanage in the capitol. You note from the picture that it looks like she's trying to stick to vaguely organic shapes, and her nose is still roughly nose-shaped instead of a box of metal attached to her face.
You can send messages to all of your newfound acolytes, but it seems like Anexa in particular is somewhat of an underutilized genius, though you're not entirely sure how you to harness that. She's stuck under the thumb of Magos Orynn for the foreseeable future, and is unlikely to be promoted to full Magos in her own right for at least a hundred years and until the Mechanicus as a whole is more confident in her orthodoxy.
I might still be here then, but I damn well better not still be stick in a hole in the ground hiding every movement.
Well. That was an informative few years. Neither of your attempts resolved quite how you would have liked, but they certainly open up some new avenues for investigation. On the plus side, you have more manufacturing capacity now, and a few different leads to follow as you plan out your activities for the next few years.
Current capabilities:
Command Points 315/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 200
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Available ships:
None.
Available ground forces:
1000 Light infantry bots (200 CP)
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
2x Underground Manufactories (2x50 CP)
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
Psychic shielding: (50/300 RP)
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations. You could send your bots out to grab people from the outskirts of the city, but that seems like a quick way to get attention.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) You've got a couple of leads, and it's up to you on how you follow up on them, or if you try to generate new ones. List what you're willing to provide, both in terms of technology and BP to fulfill any requests. Also clarify what kind of action/aid you're willing to provide if the ACI asks you to help them against the mechanicus. You can ask me for better ideas on a reasonable exchange rate.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Shuttle Port (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss. Can host 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot of an existing design. Options: [awaiting vote]
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat bot Humanization (100 RP) Your combat robots are obviously artificial, with metal skeletons and obvious sensors. But with a bit of tweaking you could make them look like humans in full-body armor. That would include the ability to speak and be mistaken for a human. They wouldn't be able to remove their helmets, and any investigation of wrecks would expose them as machines, but... it still might be useful. (No obvious follow-on tech, humanized versions of combat bots cost +15 BP).
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Psychic shielding: (300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements) Locked behind any kind of medical facility.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Designable Blueprints:
10 RP - New Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) Design a new body for yourself, if you don't like the old one.
25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
What do you do about the Aevon Counterinteligence (ACI) questions?
[] Don't answer.
[] Plan: Answer (Write-in answers)
-[] What technology are you willing to share?
-[] Where are you based?
-[] What kind of assistance do you require?
-[] How large is your ship?
-[] What are your plans for the mechanicus?
-[] How long is your timeline?
-[] What are your intentions for Denva Secundus? This vote is separate from if you spend more diplomacy actions on the ACI. You can answer and then ignore them, you can not answer and then speak to them, but they'll probably assume the worst.
You've already answered "what are your intentions for Denva Secundus" with "Leave and only maybe come back," but feel free to change that answer. Additionally, you don't need to answer all of these questions - you can simply leave them blank, but again, then they'll make assumptions.
Edit: Originally part of this update was copied weirdly, but that's been fixed. Also, it's been asked, and Vita's original ship was a long frigate, 2200x400 meters. It's now about 1800x390 meters with all of the damage.
Scheduled vote count started by Neablis on Nov 20, 2024 at 11:53 PM, finished with 59 posts and 17 votes.
[X] Plan: Tentative First Steps of Cooperation
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] While preparing for more direct interaction with Anexa Ifina than just hidden messages left to databases, you go over what you have on the tech-cult once again. Particularly on their ways of communicating with each other. "Lingua-technis" and "Noosphere" are terms that come up, related yet different ways that the tech-priests communicate with each other. They seem to fall under "Cant Mechanicus", a collection of myriad of ways which this mystery cult uses to further obfuscate its secrets from the "uninitiated", but for now you are interested on just these two.
-[X] Diplomacy x2
--[X] ACI Response: Offer them some trade goods tailored to their needs and/or interests as a gesture of goodwill and a further demonstration of your capabilities. High-tech appliances and medicine are okay. No weapons, armor, manufacturing capability or juvenat at this point, those seem like a step too far until you establish better working relationship with them. But to differentiate yourself from the tech-cult, offer them actual knowledge. Advanced educational primers (in a physical format, how quaint!) on physics, biology, medicine, etc. Even some basic techology-uplift guides, adjusted to their own level of level of theoretical manufacturing capabilities (without the slight problem of the tech-cult violently monopologizing any attempts at that). In return, ask for a land, and help with hiding from the Mechanicus for your manufacturing base. Continue to feel out how to further your working relationship with them, as well as getting them to develop generally more positive attitude towards you.
---[X] Give ACI 10 BPs worth of Trade Goods of their choice, with educational books and technological manuals included (made out of materials much more durable and long-lasting than wood-pulp). No juvenat.
--[X] AdMech (Anexa Ifina): You have laid the breadcrumbs. Now its time for more direct approach. Start communicating directly to Anexa through the contact details she has left, and give her lessons on further subjects. Tell that you have leanings towards being an Explorator, a truth if not anywhere near the whole truth. Base your curriculum on her interests. First messages, then real-time communications. Feel out how far she is willing to go against the dogma she has been taught for knowledge. And maybe more importantly, find out who she is a person beyond that? If you like what you find, slowly let her to see what kind of person you are yourself outside the "mysterious mentor persona".
-[X] Construction (200 GBP)
--[X] Trade goods (45 BP)
--[X] Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot of an existing design. Appearance: Female tech priest with some augmentations.
--[X] Light infantry bots, humanized (40 BP, 200 CP) x2
--[X] Medium Infantry Bots, humanized (65 BP, 200 CP) x1
-[X] Research (200 RP)
--[X] Combat bot Humanization (100 RP)
--[X] Psychic Shielding (50/300 RP) -> Psychic Shielding (150/300 RP) -[X] Answers
--[X] "Reveal" to them that you also have some amount of your old crew, who can survive on your shipwreck currently. Don't go into details or hard numbers at this point.
--[X] What technology are you willing to share?
---[X] To establish this first, I do not have a full STC or even anything nearing complete database. In the immediate sense, I'm willing to further demonstrate my capabilities from this list. [List: Trade Goods without juvenats]. However, to establish that I am planning to share at the very least most of my technology further along the line, anything up to orbital manufacturing and ship blueprints included... I can give you, on physical medium, educational primers on various advanced subjects, as well as uplift guides. The last including blueprints and manuals for constructing your own sustainable tech-base. I can accelerate this progress immensely for you by constructing the initial the manufacturing centers, but this should be enough demonstrate that I won't be going back with my promises.
--[X] Where are you based?
---[X] I will reveal this only if we establish a working relationship. I also plan to use it as a base and an industrial centre among other things, which can be handed over to you after I have my ship.
--[X] What kind of assistance do you require?
---[X] Mostly cover from the Mechanicus for establishing a hidden base. Any kind of help towards getting orbital manufacturing online would be appreciated.
--[X] How large is your ship?
---[X] No comment at this juncture.
--[X] What are your plans for the mechanicus?
---[X] Their ideology of stagnation is personally offensive to me, and their demands on technological monopoly when combined with weapons of mass-destruction are a problem for my plans of leaving the planet. Not to mention I would want to possibly return here later without having to hide, as aside from technology? How your people live and govern yourselves reminds me somewhat how things were back during my time. For the tech-priests, I'm hoping for a change towards a more flexible leadership and ideology among the tech-cults ranks with some help. But I'm not sure if its even remotely feasible, even with what I can offer to them. If it comes to it, I might be able to cripple their weapons of mass-destruction, but lets hope it doesn't come to that. Other than that, I can offer to you more subtle options, like surveilance through access to their systems. Maybe even sabotage things other than weapons of mass destruction.
--[X] How long is your timeline?
---[X] Hard to say. Your help would accelerate it considerably, but the need to hide from the Mechanicus will still hinder the progress, as can any unforseen events. Anywhere from over a half-a-century to something nearing even a couple of centuries is the best I can give.
--[X] What are your intentions for Denva Secundus?
---[X] Give you a leg up in exchange to helping me get back to the stars and part on amiable terms so that I can mark this system as a port of call. I think that will be very valuable. The galaxy I now find myself in seems darker than the one I went into stasis in.
[X] Plan Keep It Secret Keep it Safe (The One Ring is you, you are the One Ring!)
-[X] Diplomacy: ACI Response
--[X] Include the list of Questions, but assuming they haven't been scared off, start working out some of the fine details. What do they need, what can we offer in return? Do they have any clever ideas of how we're going to avoid the Mechanicus from ruining our shit? Not quite what we were expecting, but we'll take what we can get--don't hesitate to clarify any confusion though.
-[X] Diplomacy: Breadcrumb Trail
--[X] We have some takers, and that's good! It means even now, there is hope for man! That poor sweet summer child Anexa though, crushing a fine mind like that in monotony? This just won't do! Initiate contact directly, keep in mind that she is a bit on the shy side, help give her some more exercises, maybe some pointers here and there? Seriously though, that Magos has dozens of Apprentices and he's intentionally wasting her? What a mess, you'll have to see if there's anything you can do to ease her along along with generally giving her some guidance. Don't forget about the others though, we've got a potential base of allies emerging here after all!
-[X] Construction:
--[X] Underground Manufactory (200/300 CP)
-[X] Research:
-[X] Combat bot Humanization (100 RP)
--[X] Psychic Shielding (150/300 RP) -[X] Answers
--[X] Let it be understood you have a crew with you, all living off of the restored hydroponics of the ship you came in on as well as a Navigator who also made it to the stasis pods
--[X] What technology are you willing to share?
--[X] Well I can't call up a Standard Template Constructor, that is how we handled colonies back in the day. It is also a very specialized piece of tech that one doesn't hand out to surveyors, but sometimes we would find new colonies who did not take as thorough a look at their planet as they thought, or maybe they started out with ideological reasons for not wanting high technology only to discover it was not for them. I can give you a colonization package, including everything you need to get back into space and build warp capable craft. Weapons-wise we can definitely give you enough to equip your PDF for defense and arm your ships for the same reason. I do not have the schematics for weapons of mass destruction and to be honest I would not be comfortable handing those out if I did. Yes I am aware that by giving you space lift we're providing the means for orbital bombardment anyway, but at least that doesn't cause fallout.
--[X] We are further willing to aid in counterespionage particularly on the datanet to hide our own presence from the ad mech and share some of those techniques, though others are dependent on hardware which they do not have (specifically 'being an AI', but we are not sharing that).
--[X] Where are you based?
---[X] On planet. I will reveal more than that when and as it is necessary and we build trust
--[X] What kind of assistance do you require?
---[X] Political cover, the chance to buy land legally, more information on the current state of the galaxy that isn't on the datanet. Eventually a chance to hire more crew that fits some pretty stringent testing parameters. Going out into the black unknown to poke it isn't for everyone.
--[X] How large is your ship?
---[X] It was 2,200 by 400 meters, until the entire engine block got sheared off. Lost a bit over a fifth of the length from that.
--[X] What are your plans for the mechanicus?
---[X] I have none, I have opinions about what they're doing and what they are, most of them negative, but really it is not my place to decide how Denvans handle their politics. That said I do think that no one group should have a monopoly on technology, definitely not one with the threat of weapons of mass destruction to enforce their opinions. That is why I approached you in the first place.
--[X] How long is your timeline?
---[X] Hypothetically? If we were to spend every waking hour, cutting every corner in the process? With total freedom to move as we pleased and no consequences to doing so? We're probably looking at 40 Terran Standard Years to get an orbital presence secure enough to start the major work. Realistically, that's not an option because it would be flagrantly clear what I was doing and I'd really rather not potentially start a shooting war against a cult with nukes and a will to use them. Probably looking at something closer to a century, and that assumes nothing unforeseen rolls in to make a mess of all of this.
--[X] What are your intentions for Denva Secundus?
---[X] Give you a leg up in exchange to helping me get back to the stars and part on amiable terms so that I can mark this system as a port of call. I think that will be very valuable. The galaxy I now find myself in seems darker than the one I went into stasis in.
When everything is going well, be suspicious. But when you take a close look at everything and it still seems to be going well, sometimes it's actually just going well.
You take a few days to mull over your answer to the Aevon Counter-Intelligence, or ACI, then send your response back. You're sure W's handed it off to somebody else, but this is your link to the local government.
"Is anybody there?" You don't bother using a physical avatar, just directly sending the message through your directional radio tower on the right low-power ionosphere-reflecting band-hopping channel to get to the intended target. You're careful to use the same voice you used in the avatar you'd met W with, and make sure it sounds like a real voice speaking into a microphone instead of a direct-from-computer voice.
There's a few seconds of silence, then somebody answers in a slightly anxious voice. They sound young. "Y-yes?"
Your suspicion rears its head. Did something bad happen? "Who do you work for?"
There's another pause, then the other person speaks again. "The - the Aevon Counter-Intelligence Bureau, Ma'am."
I guess they just stuck it with somebody young to babysit. Good enough.
"I'm ready to answer W's questions now," you say. "Are you ready to take them?"
There's the faint sound of scrabbling paper on the other end. It seems like they've left the transmit button pressed. "Yes ma'am!"
You don't correct them. You were an officer at some point, just in a survey corps that probably doesn't exist anymore. "Alright. Well, first off, don't expect miracles from me. If you've heard tales of STCs I don't have any of that stuff. I was a surveyor, not a colony expedition. But, I've got enough to build orbital infrastructure necessary to get back to orbit, and I'm willing to share it, especially as I get closer to my goal. Including orbital manufacturing and ship blueprints. In addition, it seems like you don't have basic primers on a lot of the principles that your technology works on, so I can provide some educational material as well."
You pause for a moment, hearing frantic scratching on the other end. "Got that?"
There's nothing for a second, and you imagine some clerk frantically nodding away before realizing you can't see them. "Yes ma'am!"
"Good. I've also got an uplift guide, which is designed to help people who've lost their technological base " - like you, you don't say - "bootstrap themselves up. It's got designs for intermediate-level manufactories that'll help you build up to the better stuff."
You simulate the sound of clearing your throat. "Of course, I could also just build the final manufactories myself, but it depends on what you want, and what you're willing to offer."
There's a moment more of a writing implement scratching on paper - seriously, paper - and then your correspondant speaks again, tentatively. "And the next question?"
You harrumph. "Not telling yet. If we start working together more closely I'll reveal it. I'll probably need to, since it's where I'll want to build up my base and industry to build what I need. Don't worry, it's in Aevon territory, and I'm planning on handing it over when I leave."
The pen scratches for a moment longer, and you give them that time to make sure they finish recording what you said. Then you continue. "I don't need a lot of help. Mostly just permission and help hiding my activities from the mechanicus. Proper permits to build a factory, no extra attention."
"Heard and understood," comes the reply. "What about your ship?"
"No comment at this time. You'll find out when you find out," is your reply.
Your agreeable nature seems to be making the clerk more confident. "What are your intentions for the Mechanicus?"
Your avatar frowns from where it's sitting in your computational core room, examining the exposed and nearly fractal psionic shielding that you're pretty sure kept you safe from whatever weirdness happened on that space hulk. It's damaged, and that's not great. But it also doesn't seem to have been tested much since you landed.
On one hand, the mechanicus represent a lot of ideas you find personally offensive. On the other hand, you think there's something to save. Your response is careful. "I find them and their hoarding of technology personally offensive. It promotes stagnation, and they're using weapons of mass destruction to ensure that's what happens."
You snort. "Then there's the fact that they would probably try to kill me on principle, for having technology they can't control. Beyond that, the people of Aevon remind me of the society I came from in many ways, and even after I get to the stars I might like to come back here sometimes.
"But that's not to say I want to wipe them out. I can hope for a change towards a more flexible and permissible leadership within the mechanicus, but even with what I can offer them I'm not sure that is possible. As for what I'm willing to do about them..."
You trail off as if considering. You've already thought about this, of course, but emphasizing that you've given this proper thought is your goal. "I might be able to cripple their weapons of mass destruction, though I hope it doesn't come to that. Otherwise, I'm willing to assist your espionage efforts against them. I have some access to their systems, and can give you information or some sabotage capabilities."
The silence on the end is absolute, aside from the faint scratching of the pen. It's like the person doesn't even want to breathe for fear of missing something you're saying. When it's clear you're done, there's the sound of a faint swallow. "Heard and appreciated, Ma'am. What is your timeline?"
"It's hard to say. Decades at the least, and that's with every obstacle clear and significant assistance on your part. Potentially centuries."
The nervousness is back. "And - and is that a problem?"
"No."
The voice is back to uncertainty. "Very well then. Is that all?" That is apparently all they were expecting, but you've got something else to add.
"One more thing. If you help me get off-planet, we'll be allies. I'll help you establish yourselves as a true power with space infrastructure and real technology. You'll be able to build defensive installations in space and expand offworld. I want to mark this system as a friendly port of call on my journeys. Let's work together, and build a brighter future."
There's a moment of silence, then the voice speaks again with a hint of wryness. "Heard and understood, ma'am."
Maybe I laid it on a little too thick.
No response comes for a few days, and you turn your attention to other topics. If you're going to make good on your promise to supply material aid then you'll need to interact with them again, especially in the context of moving heavy things. Having your Avatar do all of that would be awkward, but you currently don't have any other options that aren't obviously advanced robots.
Therefore, you dive back into your design software and try to apply what you've learned in designing avatars to your combat robots. Your goal is to make them look like humans dressed in feature-obscuring armor. No need for artificial skin or hair, just human-like shapes and motions. That will require you to completely redo the musculature and bulk them out somewhat, so they'll be more expensive to produce. And if they're going to be more expensive to produce, you might be able to squeeze in some extra strength and durability with that extra bulk.
So goes your idea, anyway. But you just can't get the muscles to align properly. No matter how you jigger them around they don't quite work in alignment, and either you lose strength, increase cost or end up with something that's just obviously inhuman. After the third failed attempt, you have to admit that maybe, just maybe, you'll have to settle for a variant on your combat robots that are a bit weaker and less armored than your baseline versions. They're still at the top end of human strength capabilities, but your other bots have a small but material advantage in combat capability.
Combat bot Humanization research complete - Rolled 15+20=35. Poor Success! Humanized versions of combat bots bots have slightly reduced strength.
Unlocked new research: 50 RP - Combat Bot Humanization, Redux
Unlocked new blueprints modification - Existing combat bot designs can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
You shrug and start your factories producing the bots anyway, the task taking up a fraction of your attention. The loss in combat power isn't extreme, and it's not like you would be able to use your standard bots without blowing your cover regardless. You do need to dig out some extra space to store the bots, since otherwise they'd just be standing in the hallways of your ship, getting in the way of the continual stream of worker bots carrying raw materials to and from your internal manufactories.
All of that distracts you for several months, until you set up the manufactories that they only need some of your attention to churn out the rest of your planned military expansion.
Finally, just when you think that they've abandoned you, the communication channel crackles back to life. You recognize W's voice over the link.
Continue collaboration with Aevon Counter-intelligence - rolled 51+10=61. Success.
"V, do you hear me?"
You take a moment to answer, pretending that you need to retrieve your copy of the communicator from a pocket before you speak back into it. "Hello W, I was beginning to worry I wouldn't hear from you again."
She chuckles darkly. "It almost wasn't. I'm glad we have such a good relationship already. You were almost talking to the foreign minister for a moment, until I convinced the primer that he's a fop who would try to scalp you the way he did Nyvaros over that fertilizer. But he believed me when I said that this is too important to risk. Besides, we got along so well the first time."
Her voice is dry enough that it counts as humor, and you chuckle along agreeably. "Well, then I'm glad I'm talking to you. You got my answers to your questions. What do you think? If your premier's involved then you probably don't have a lot of flexibility here."
She hums in response. "More than you might expect. You offer an appealing set of options, and the cost doesn't sound too steep. I think the first question I have is what's on the table right now? You didn't seem to want to offer everything at first."
Your reply is apologetic. "I can provide the educational primers and uplift guides whenever you want, as well as as a selection of goods that you're interested in. Electronics and medicine only though, no weapons or manufacturing capability. I'd like to wait on that for a little while until we've built up some more trust."
She seems to have expected something like that, and her voice is unbothered. "And what about information on the mechanicus? We're not interested in sabotage at this point, but anything you can tell us about their operations in Aevon would be helpful, especially anything outside of the enclaves that they want to keep secret from us."
You might have seen something like that in the databases, but it was locked behind an extra layer of encryption that you would need to break. It probably won't be too hard, since most of their not-critical encryption isn't actually properly secure, and they tend to leave a lot of half-encrypted things around that are pretty much
"I can do that," you reply.
There's a pause, as if she is surprised you agreed so easily. "Great to hear. As for electronics and goods, I think we're interested in a few things. Three high-quality cogitator-blocks, the most expensive type the Mechanicus sells us, some medicines, and then as many of these encrypted communicators as you'll give us. We'd prefer if they existed on a network with proper channel options, but if they have to be paired that would work too."
You consider the request for a moment. "What medicines?"
She sighs and reads off a list of about a dozen human diseases, sounding a bit despairing.
In a flash of inspiration you pull up the governmental files and screen through them for high-ranking government officials of Aevon, then go through some medical files and press releases you have available. Each of the diseases that W lists matches one of the medical conditions of a high-up official or their family.
She finishes. "...and old age." She says the last one disdainfully, as if she can't believe she had to say it.
You chuckle, then answer. "Not the last one, or the schizophrenia. But I can do the rest as a product sample. Then three high-quality cogitator blocks and two crates of communicators with adjustable channels. Then the first set of educational material and uplift primers. Think of it as a product sample."
She sighs, part exasperation, part relief. "What's the cost? You mentioned you wanted land for your manufacturing base. Where? If it's near a population center we'll need some time to fabricate a reason and then move the population out. Do you need help setting it up? If you provide us information on the mechanicus operations in our territory then we'll ensure their attention is nowhere close to you."
You think about that for a moment. It sounds as if she's framing you giving them intelligence on their enemies as a favor to you. Which - well, they're your enemies too, or at the very least they would be if they knew you existed. And if they're going to go after mechanicus assets in Aevon you suppose that's a useful way to both distract the mechanicus from what you're doing and degrade their capabilities here.
Your reply is noncommittal. "I'm not quite ready to set up a manufactory yet, but I probably will be in a few years. I'll give you the location then, since it's not anywhere with a lot of people. I won't need much aside from clearance to use the land and the proper set of permits. I might appreciate some guards from the government to keep the area clear. How much is the rent?"
She takes a second to understand where you're going. "Once you set up - how about this much value again, every year? We'll probably change what we want over time, but this seems a good baseline. We'd want to keep getting the product sample, of course."
You run the numbers. That's - actually not a negligable amount of your production, though you're probably undercharging them for the medicine. But the cogitator blocks they're asking for are actually not trivial to build, and they're unlikely to stop asking for medicines.
But honestly, it's a relatively cheap and reasonable bribe for the elected officals. If I was really feeling pissed I'd give them things to treat the symptoms and not the underlying causes to keep them hooked, but I'm not that much of a bitch.
"Tell you what. Half that amount, every year. And once I vacate the site you get to keep it."
This deal will require you to provide 25 BP worth of trade goods every turn to 'rent' a large area and get government-provided guards to keep the curious out and distract the Mechanicus.
"Deal." She speaks the words quickly, and you know you could have gotten a better price.
You shrug internally. Keeping a good working relationship with these people is more important than eking out the minimum possible price. After all, if people feel like you're trying to pay them the minimum possible price they'll do the minimum possible work.
You arrange a time and place a few weeks from now in an abandoned industrial district on the outskirts of the city, and then bid W a farewell. "Thanks, W. Good talking to you. I'll be in touch with those details on the mechanicus."
The smile is almost audible across the transmission. "Nice talking to a professional. I hope we can work together for a long time."
After she signs off you pull up the mechanicus files and go through it for covert operations in Aevon. It takes a bit of effort to decrypt some files on the topic, but it turns out the Mechanicus does have a few things going on. They've turned a few members of the government with bribes of various sizes, and used that access to plant a few physical bugs in various places throughout the government. They've also hacked into several systems through several gaping security flaws that make you wince.
You almost want to go clean house yourself and rewrite your new allies' security code, but restrain yourself. This is their problem to solve, so you'll let them solve it. You convey the message to who you're pretty sure is the same clerk, but they refuse to engage in honest conversation. Honestly they seem terrified of you. Or they might be terrified of W, who probably told them in no uncertain terms not to piss you off.
The dropoff happens a few days later, just past midnight. You're driving a truck built for this specific purpose, though it looks pretty much identical to a very common truck on the roads. You pull up to the loading dock of an abandoned industrial building, noting that it appears to have been bombed out within the last few decades.
On another hunch you scan through the mechanicus records, and see that this was once a chip production line that they decided was too advanced. So they hit it with a long-range missile, then denied everything.
Ironic place to do a technology transfer.
The cargo door rolls open at your arrival, and you see W standing there, accompanied by a few others. They're all dressed in flak armor and carrying lasguns, though the weapons are holstered. She waves towards you, and you wave back before backing the truck up to the loading dock.
You weren't sure what to expect, or if you'd need to unload the cargo yourself, so you brought a few of your humanized bots along to provide security and unloading muscle. They swing the doors on the back of the truck open and quickly and efficiently unload the cargo into the arms of the waiting troopers.
You hop out of the truck's cab and greet W. "Good choice of a transfer point. Fitting."
She smirks. "It is, isn't it." Then she gestures towards the bots that are doing the unloading. "I didn't realize you had helpers. Crew, or servitors?"
You meet her eyes and raise one eyebrow, then shrug. "Help, certainly. It would be hard to do everything on my own."
She purses her lips and nods, watching the unloading. "The medicines. Are instructions included?"
You nod. "Yes. Each communicator comes with a manual, and the books are pretty self-explanatory."
She smiles at that. "Nice to work with a professional."
It doesn't take long for the unloading to finish, and you bid her farewell. "I'll be in touch when I've made my decision on where and how to set up my base." You wait for her to look back at you, then continue. "Please don't follow me. I won't lead you back to my ship, and it'll just waste both of our time."
She considers you for a second, then nods. "Okay."
"Thanks." You turn and climb back into the cab while your bots close the truck back up. You drive away slowly, the hidden cameras on the back of the truck watching carefully for any ground-based or airborne followers. You don't see any, but you still take a number of precautions and several days to return to your ship. It helps that neither you nor any of your bots require sleep, food or bathroom breaks.
Eventually you settle your avatar back into your underground base with a sigh of satisfaction. That's one job well-done. You have an agreement with the local government to set up a base, now you just need to decide when you reveal your location. You could always try to do it some distance from your ship, but the only thing that would make sense would be to dig a tunnel that distance, and it would require a fair amount of effort to make it long enough to matter.
With that done, you turn your attention to the other thing that's been consuming your attention - your interactions with the mechanicus. You realize you don't understand them very much on a cultural level. You've run across some societies that liked replacing their organic parts with cybernetics before, but none with quite the same... zeal or aesthetic as the adeptus mechanicus.
The first thing you run across is the language they use to speak to each other, called "Lingua-technis." There are no direct translation guides anywhere, but the translation happens automatically inside one of the more common augments that the members of the mechanicus gives its members, mediated by a simple machine spirit that is enough to make it rather difficult to design a translator that doesn't contain the same kind of machine spirit, which would be impossible to produce outside of the mechanicus.
But you're a bit better than a normal machine spirit, and have been translating weird languages for longer than the Mechanicus has existed. Lingua-technis is part code, part binary language with some channels to communicate emotion. It's like somebody tried to design the perfect language for technical communication, and then it got used by people who had emotions for ten thousand years, developing several ways to express emotion. Especially frustration. It's got about twenty different channels for frustration, each with slightly different meanings. Or you can just trigger them all to communicate MAXIMAL FRUSTRATION. Which doesn't seem uncommon.
The noosphere is similar. It's a way for a brain with neural implants to interface with the world around them, including their implants, their devices and each other. It's not exactly a way to reach out and make direct mind contact with every properly equipped device around you, but it's not too far off. It functions a bit like Lingua-technis, actually, in that it seems primarily built to transfer logical and rational thoughts and the emotion sort of comes along for the ride.
Most tech-priests can't fully control what they send through either lingua-technis or the noosphere, since to some extent the content of each is automatically generated from their thoughts by their implants. That's not a problem for you, since you have full control over every single part of the data-stream.
With a slightly better understanding of how the tech-priests interact with each other and the world around them, you keep up a small amount of communication with the other acolytes that have found your clues. But it's nothing more than an attempt to lead them along the same path that Anexa has already walked. You want them to realize that there's more to learning than rote memorization, that there's a whole world of interconnected knowledge that they can aspire to.
Continued Subversion of Mechanicus Acolytes - rolled 87+10 = 97. Outstanding success, with an extra bonus.
They're... moving in the right direction, is all you can say. But after your first message to Anexa it becomes clear that she's special, and going to be the focus of your efforts for the near future.
>Anexa, hello. I see you've been following my clues. [politeness]
>Hi? Is this the person who's been leaving hints to the purest truth? [glee]
>That would be me, yes. Have you been enjoying them? [genuine curiosity]
>... yes. I have. Can you provide more? [barely suppressed anticipation]
>I can. What area are you interested in? [genuine pleasure]
> Do I have to choose? [Longing]
> No, not really. I can transfer you data on astrophysics, genetics, logic gates and alloying [amusement]
> I would appreciate that very much. [polite elation]
You send over the data packet, then wait for her to message you back. It doesn't take long, and she spends a fair amount of time pestering you with questions about the various packages that show she's understood them completely, then synthesized them with other knowledge to jump farther ahead.
She sends you messages at random times, and you have trouble not replying. There's something about her that's just adorably earnest, though you get the sense that the only thing keeping her from pestering you nonstop is an inherent shyness, a fear of bothering you too much.
>Are you an explorator? [Eagerness]
>I have those leanings, yes. [mirth]
There's a pause before the next question, and you know she debated asking it for a while. But in the end curiosity won over timidity.
>Then why are you on Devna Secundus? [fear of offending]
>That is a question with a complicated answer. [Regret]
>Oh, I'm sorry. [Apologetic]
>What do you want to learn about now? [polite question?]
>The Laplace transform appears in so many places? Why? Is there an underlying truth there? [Passion]
She seems to have given her a few different implants to improve her information processing capability, and speeds through your lessons faster and faster. She's growing at a prodigious rate, but you watch as her rankings slowly drop in the mechanicus systems.
Magus Orynn logs a complaint that she hasn't finished her required duties, and you don't hear from her for a time. The next time she contacts you, she seems understandably distressed.
> Hello. Apologies I haven't been able to contact you in a while [Distress]
>Would you like to discuss over a larger channel? [concern]
>... yes. I would like that. [relief]
You set up a video channel, sending over a fake stream. You thought about this before, though you hadn't fully decided on if you wanted to do it. But the distress in Anexa's feed made you decide to go ahead with it, and you appear as a tech-priest yourself, though one with somewhat more advanced augments than anything that Anexa or most of the other tech-priests on Aevon had.
In the background, you spin up your manufactories once more. You have some spare capacity, and if you're pretending to look like this, you might as well be able to appear this way in the flesh. Besides, she looks horrible. You're not entirely sure what happened to her, but it looks like most of her remaining hair has been shaved off, and it looks like there's a new surgical scar on her skull.
She sees you and is surprised, but in a good way. "You are a tech-priest!"
You raise one simulated eyebrow. "Did you doubt it?"
"Well, you act so differently than every other tech-priest," she replies, her previous shyness taking back over.
"I do." You acknowledge with a dip of your servo-claw, then fix a kind eye on her. "What happened to you?"
She reaches up with her one human hand and touches the shaved side of her head, wincing. "Orynn installed a pain modulator. If I shirk my duties again, then he'll... Well. It's a pain modulator."
Your simulated avatar isn't wearing a mask, and your lips tighten in displeasure. "I see."
She shrugs. "It's not so bad. I just need to ensure my duties are completed on time. But he's given me more duties, so I won't be able to take as many of your lessons."
You consider her for a second, not sure how to respond. Your brain is boiling with plans, with potential designs, but most of all with anger. It leaks through to your avatar, and your eye narrows in displeasure.
She seems to mistake your anger and bows her head, canting a quick apology. "My deepest sorrow, lady Magos. I will endavor to complete as many lessons as you provide for me!"
You wave away her apology with an ungloved hand. "Do not apologize for my child. I am sorry for your suffering. You are a promising student, and I dislike seeing you suffer under a glorified lightswitch like Orynn."
She bleats a confused note for a second, then it turns into a laugh before she can control herself. "Who - who are you, my lady magos?"
You smile briefly. "Somebody who should not be here. But that is not your concern. I wish you well in your duties, and urge you to contact me once again. My task for you is that you perform the proper maintenance on yourself. If you should not care for your own person I will be most displeased."
"Acknowledged, my lady. Praise the Omnissiah."
"Praise the Omnissiah," you echo, though without fervor.
As soon as she cuts the communication you dive into the mechanicus systems. You aren't a magos, but if you've learned one thing about the mechanicus leadership it's that they're a bunch of paranoid bastards who keep secrets as easily as they breathe.
Actually probably more easily nowadays, since most of them don't really breathe anymore.
You'd considered making yourself a fake identity in the government files of Aevon, but you hadn't considered doing so for the mechanicus. They had too many files, in too many strange formats for you to believe, and too many of them were too old.
But on the other hand, you were pretty sure there were some tech-priests who tried to keep their entire existence secret, and actively worked to scrub their presence from the archives while preserving their access codes. If they ever needed to prove that they belonged to the Adeptus Mechanicus their apperance, access codes and knowledge would do the job.
After all, who else would look like a tech-priest, know as much as a tech-priest, and have the access of a tech-priest.
Well, you, for one. You spend months in frenzied revision of the mechanicus databases, inserting and backdating entry after entry to forge yourself a persona among the adeptus mechanicus. It's more complicated than most, since you don't just want to be any tech-priest. You want to be a Magos, a respected elder who's been on Denva since before the Imperium left, who may have been in seclusion for that entire time.
You add log entries to a mechanicus supply ship saying you arrived three hundred years ago, with classified clearances and a significant amount of cargo that was sent towards the mountains in the center of the continent that Aevon is part of.
There's a stroke of luck when you find the backup memory repository of Magus Silvenis, one of the leaders of the Aevon enclave. You add a memory about you showing up about ten years before the loss of contact and demanding additional supplies, brandishing high clearances and showing off knowledge and technology far above her pay grade.
Bit by bit you build up the persona of Magos Vita, a reclusive and powerful radical Magos living in the mountains of Aevon and researching classified material. It's not a significant enough history that somebody will just stumble across it and wonder where it came from, but it's built just right that if anybody goes looking for evidence of your presence they'll find it, and find out that you're actually quite high-up in the mechanicus hierarchy.
After all, the primary determiner of the mechanicus hierarchy is technological capability and age, and you've got every tech-priest on the planet handily beat in both regards.
Then, once your false identity is set, you send a priority communication request to magos Orynn. He responds grumpily, but politely, as one does to a peer you haven't heard of reaching out.
>Magos Vita. What/why do you contact me? [Tolerant]
>Magos Orynn. It has come to my attention you have more apprentices than you should. I will be rectifying this issue. [Aggressive]
>They is/are valuble candidates for future tech-priests, which we require. I make/commit a great sacrifice to train/build the future of the Adeptus Mechanicus upon this planet/hellhole. If you do not appreciate this, then I shall ignore you forever/for now [Annoyed]
You know he's reaching out through the database, looking for information on you, and likely picking up your seeded data.
You don't give him time to get all the way through it.
>Negative. You are destroying valuable material. I require this one (Anexa Ifinia) [Absolute certainty]
>Anexa is/has not been valuable/of worth. She is lagging in her duties. [cautious].
>Disagree. I will require her transferred to my care. I shall take over as her master. [Absolute certainty]
>I have trained/overseen her as master for years. I shall not relinquish/give up my claim/ownership. [Bargaining]
>What price do you require? [annoyance]
>What is your offer? I would accept the secrets/clearance of your research on Denva [Firm bargaining]
>Denied. I shall transfer you the blueprint of a motor wire winding unknown upon this planet. It increased motive force conversation by 6.2% and uses only 1% more material. [annoyance]
>Is that all/your only offer? I shall question/interrogate Anexa as to what connection she has with you. [Driving a hard bargain]
>Orynn. I can destroy you poltically, noospherically and physcially. Do not test me. [Absolutely not bluffing]
>Threats do not/will not sway me. Provide me with true secrets. [firm]
You're done with this idiot. You are pretty sure you know exactly which neural augment he's using from the wave interpolation, and you strike with a coded pattern of bursts that briefly overloads its machine spirit. It won't kill him or destroy his implant, but it will be very unpleasant for a few seconds.
>That was not a threat. That was a warning. [Very unamused, still not bluffing]
>Very well, Magos Vita. You have made an enemy/foe/nemesis this day. Now come collect your charge, before she shirks her duties further. [Bitter]
>If you harm the faintest part of that girl I will shred your mind and atomize your corpse. I know of the pain-modulator. If it is activated then I shall remove it, install it in you and lock it on full power. [Incandescent Rage finally peeking through]
He cuts the connection, and you take a mental step back from the conversation.
Uh. Whoops
You... hadn't entirely meant to go off like that. You take a second to calibrate, and figure out exactly what happened. You're pretty sure it was that you've already started to see Anexa as part of your crew, and care for her in that way. In a way that you care for nobody else on the planet right now. For all that W is interesting, she's still got her own motives that you don't fully trust.
And she's mostly capable of taking care of herself. While Anexa isn't. She just wants to learn, and explore, and hasn't been able to do that while under the crushing workload of an adeptus mechanicus acolyte.
But technically she's your apprentice now. And you've established an identity for yourself as an explorator-radical tech-priest living in the mountains of Aevon, a few hundred miles from your current location. You're sure that the gossip is flying fast and loose among the tech-priests of Denva Secundus as they learn of your existance. You wonder if this is going to come back and bite you in any way.
Probably.
Well, now you need to make another decision. It wouldn't be unheard of to leave Anexa in the enclave and tutor her remotely, though you'd be expected to oversee her work to contribute to that enclave. You could also exert some more influence and have her transferred to the enclave in Aevon, where she'd either need to work for her keep, or you could 'pay' for her room and board with materials shipped from your current location, though it would pose some security risk.
Or - you could just bring her here, or to facility you built specially for her. You would probably need to build your own transport to do it, especially if you wanted to pick her up directly from the Denva enclave. But you could do it.
Misc assets:
35 BP of trade goods that Aevon will accept as rent.
Avatars: Adult human woman, indeterminate age. Female tech priest with some augmentations.
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
2x Underground Manufactories (2x50 CP)
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
Psychic shielding: (150/300 RP)
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) Taking the deal with the government and sticking to the agreed-upon terms is free and a separate vote. Only work with them more if you want to modify the existing deal or help them in ways beyond the deal. However, picking up/mentoring Anexa is going to require another action, and a write-in detailing what your plan is.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on. A special construction available this turn is to build a tunnel for 20 bp per mile if you wish to build your 'public' manufactory somewhere not directly adjacent to your ship.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Shuttle Port (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss. Can host 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot of an existing design. Options: [awaiting vote]
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on. Reminder that you can split a research action between blueprint design & research. Not to say you should do either, just a reminder.
The ways to get new research options are to:
Do research. That'll unlock more research.
Build appropriate installations & potentially acquire samples to research in them (samples could be anything from 'a human' to 'a Norn queen' in rarity).
Ask for them. Often I'll tell you what you need to do to unlock specific research options,
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat Bot Humanization, Redux (50 RP) Your first try at making humanoid-looking combat bots worked, but you had to make some annoying compromises. You have some ideas on how to fix it, you just need to implement them.
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Psychic shielding: (300 RP) How does your shielding even work? What does it do? You've got the manuals, but it's going to require some brain-sweat to understand the darn thing. (Gives you a stability metric and a readout on your shielding. The first step towards building more/better psychic shielding. Half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements) Locked behind any kind of medical facility.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Designable Blueprints:
10 RP - New Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) Design a new body for yourself, if you don't like the old one.
25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
Do you take the Aevon rental deal?
[] [Free action] No
[] Renegotiate (requires diplomacy action)
[] [Free action] Yes (write-in where) (requires 25 BP every turn to 'rent' a large and currently unused area for your use, as well as getting you government-provided guards to keep the curious out and distract the Mechanicus.)
The negotiation with Aevon was always going to be hard to mess up as long as you were mostly reasonable. You spent points on an Iconoclast civ, then rolled and chose the most peaceful and democratic society possible with middling technology. It was almost the ideal situation for you since they were both reasonable and motivated to make a deal, and you've given them quite a good one. They're pretty darn motivated to keep you happy, especially since their leaders realize that you're probably the only person with the expertise to produce the medicines they're getting. That's not to say they would never betray you, but your human-behavior-predictor tells you it's pretty unlikely.
If you bring Anexa to your base and somehow tell her the truth, and she agrees to work for you, then you'll unlock the 'crew' mechanic. This is far earlier than I planned to implement this, so I'm still not entirely sure how it'll work, but It'll probably be something where you can assign her a task and that's what she works on for a turn. The options are probably to boost one of your actions, work on a separate project or do self-improvement. There's going to be a levelling system for crew that improves how good they are at things, but I don't know how it works yet. Anexa will start close to the bottom, but will level fairly quickly especially at the beginning.
Definitely no chapter tomorrow, so 24 hours of moratorium, then 20 hours of voting.
[X] Plan: Mysteries of the Machine
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] In preparations for meeting Anexa in the flesh and metal, its the time for some more unpleasant reading. Specifically, a deeper look into the Mechanicus belief system and its core tenets, especially about the AI. Relating to this topic, you are also getting some signs hinting a connection between the terms "the Archenemy" and "Hereteks" when cross-referencing the information in databases for the government and the Mechanicus, though they don't seem to be always the same?
-[X] Diplomacy (Mentorship for Anexa): Pick up Anexa with your new shuttle designed to mimic a Mechanicus design, and take her to to your new base. You want to reveal your true nature to her, but the almost guaranteed shock from your mere existence as a robo-satan in the Mechanicus belief system is problematic. So you will give her a challenge meant to ease her into the truth. First, tell her straight out that there is more to you than it seems on the surface. Then, let her slowly peel away the deception you've woven from half-truths and misunderstandings, beginning from what you told to the Mechanicus, then the ACI. If needed, give her hints. But mostly just let her observe your technology and actions deeper and deeper. Tell to her to not make hasty jugdements, but to go through the steps of scientific inquiry you are teaching her. Also engage with her in talks about philosophy and religion when it comes to her belief system and worldview, going deeper and deeper as the time goes on.
-[X] Construction x2 (450 GBP = 200 GBP + 250 GBP (new Manufactories)) (underground construction at the ship, normal construction at the new base)
--[X] 1st construction slot (200 BP):
---[X] Ground-to-orbit shuttle (20 BP, 5 CP) (personal low-volume terrestial transport for now; Mechanicus design)
---[X] Tunnel (20 BP per mile x 4)
---[X] Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) 1st
--[X] 2nd construction slot (250 BP):
---[X] Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP)
---[X] Captive Holding cells, underground (75 BP, 10 CP)
---[X] Trade goods (25 BP) (Stored: 35 -> 60)
---[X] Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) 2nd
-[X] Research (200 RP)
--[X] Psychic shielding: (150/300 RP) -> (300/300)
--[X] Design new blueprints (50 RP):
---[X] 25 RP - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP)
---[X] 25 RP - Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP)
-[X] [Free action] Yes (Location: 4 miles from your ship via tunnel) (requires 25 BP every turn to 'rent' a large and currently unused area for your use, as well as getting you government-provided guards to keep the curious out and distract the Mechanicus.)
--[X] Pay rent (Trade goods, stored: 60 -> 35)
Well, after those events you certainly have your work cut out for you. There's some flies in the ointment, but generally it's all looking good! You just need to keep all of the balls you've got going in the air!
It's certainly a lot less peaceful around here than it was even a few years ago. People are relying on me to do things, and not doing them would lead to consequences. I'm no longer just a mind in a hole free to think.
You don't regret your choices. Being a mind in a hole gave you freedom, but it was also boring. You started talking to people so you wouldn't go insane, and now it's led you to the here and now, where there are time-sensitive decisions to make that will significantly impact people you care about.
First thing's first, you send a message request to Anexa, marked urgent. It doesn't take her long to respond, though it's not a full video-transmission.
>Anexa. We must speak. I have just made your life more complicated. [Apologetic]
>What is happening? I am locked out of my living-cell, and the machine-spirit is saying I require authorization from my master, but Orynn is not replying to my messages. Is this your doing? [Distressed]
> Yes, Anexa. I am Magos Vita, and I will be taking over as your master. [Apologetic]
> Then - those puzzles truly were a test, and I passed them? [Pride]
> They were, and you did. You have promise, and I would see it grow under my tutelage, instead of the neglect of Orynn. [Supressed anger]
> Thank you, lady Magos! [Confused Gratification]
> For now, the important thing is making sure you are safe and provided for. I am not ready to host you at the moment, so you shall need to stay at the Denva enclave for a time. I will ensure you are given new lodgings, and are exempt from trivial work. In a year or so I will come and collect you. [Buisnesslike]
> Yes, Lady Magos. Which Enclave is your home? [Curious]
> None of them. It is a secret base that I do not want discovered anybody, even the other mechanicus factions. I will be in touch later after I make arrangements for you. [Distracted]
> I understand, Lady Magos. Thank you for the lessons you have given me so far. I am pleased to be your apprentice. [Genuine excitement]
> Please, call me Vita. If anybody, and I mean anybody, treats you badly then report it to me. [Fond]
>Yes, Lady Vita. [Respect]
> I shall contact you again soon. [Amused dismissal]
With that you disconnect and reach out to somebody you weren't expecting to talk to for a long time, if ever. Thalya Alpha-tricent is the organizational head of the Denva enclave, the largest and most powerful of the mechanicus enclaves. She's not the undisputed leader of even the Denva enclave, but she's probably the most influential member of the mechanicus on the planet. Joy.
Your files on her aren't complete - but you do know she is a Magos Dominus and responsible for a significant amount of the military forces the mechanicus can command on Denva Secundus. Beyond that you know she's been on Denva about two hundred years, but her files from before that are redacted under the seal of something called the Imperial Inquisition.
Of course there's a fuckin' Inquisition. And I'm sure I'll just love reading about it later.
Regardless, she's the one you're going to need to talk to in order to set up Anexa's lodgings, and to schedule your trip to come pick her up. You reach out to the appropriate address, already sure you're going to regret this conversation.
General Adeptus Mechanicus Diplomacy - rolled 20 + 10 = 30. Poor success. Incurs costs & draws attention.
The message that greets you is nearly devoid of emotion, but it still carries side-channels of disgust, annoyance and superiority that do a great job conveying a sense of elevated disdain.
> Magos Vita. I appreciate your long-delayed contact. I was not aware of your presence on this planet. It seems you have gone to great lengths to ensure that path. I will require an explanation of your purpose on Denva and the capabilities you can contribute to the Mechanicus. [Demanding]
> Respectfully Magos Thalya, I must decline. I am operating an independent project from independent resources and will continue to do so. [Unbending refusal]
> This planet and its people are no longer part of the Imperium of Mankind. Your project is no longer the priority [Logic]
> You do not know my project. I disagree. [Confidence]
> Then I require/demand your Magos designation before speaking with you any further. [Not bluffing]
> I am a Magos Explorator, and my mission is to explore secrets of Denva Secundus. [Proud]
> I was not aware of lost ruins on Denva Secundus. Where? [Mild confusion]
> I will not reveal my research location. [Unbending Refusal]
> Needless pride that will lead to ruin. You are of the Explorator Ilk who touch the edge of Heresy. What is it you require, beyond the theft of one of our most promising apprentices? [Scorn]
> I am not ready to retrieve Acolyte Anexa now, and will not be for at least a year. I require that she be housed in the Denva enclave until I am able to retrieve her. She will also be exempted from interaction with Magos Orynn. [Straightforward]
> Magos Orynn manages the duty rosters for all apprentices in the Enclave. Would you exempt her from all routine duties? [Summering annoyance]
> If that is necessary, I would. [Firm]
> Unacceptable, unless you provide material contribution to the enclave in payment for her drain on resources [Holding the upper hand]
She sends over a file listing the things that they would accept in return for your requests. You scan through it and nearly balk. That's outrageous. Though you can't yet manufacture machine spirits you can still meet their demands by supplying refined raw materials and components. But the mechanicus they're charging you more to house one girl for a year than the Aevon government is charging for you to rent a substantial parcel of land and provide guards for five.
Paying the Denva enclave to house Anexa costs 30 BP of trade goods.
You let your irritation bleed over into the message, but it's not like you have a lot of choice. They've got you over a barrel, and it seems like Thalya will make you support the local Mechanicus in one way or another.
> Very well. I shall bring the requested materials in a year when I arrive to acquire Acolyte Anexa [Pissed]
> We shall speak at that time. Consider the importance of your mission in light of the current circumstances. [Gratified]
What a plasma-scorned bitch.
Regardless, once that's done you have work to do. It's time for you to start building in earnest. That will be a lot easier now that you don't have to keep everything permanently hidden. You're taking the deal that Aevon provided of course - it's just too good of an opportunity to accelerate everything, and they'll probably feel more secure if they know where you're operating out of.
Everybody always feels more secure when they can point a weapon at somebody if they want to. Including me!
Of course, you're not exactly going to build your new complex directly overhead of your ship and the rest of your assets. That would be silly! You spend a little bit of time analyzing the local area looking for the right site, and choose a spot a little downstream and on the other side of the river from your directional transmission tower and your existing egress route. You don't want them to be able to track every move you make.
Then you start building the tunnel towards your chosen build site. If it's going to be your primary manufacturing center you want good transit options to your current manufacturing capabilities, both to ease initial construction and also to improve later efficiencies.
Then you start building the more difficult components to an orbit-capable shuttle. You'll need it to pick up Anexa later.
You take a moment to take stock. Mecahanicus, solved for now. Manufacturing, underway. Do you have time to get into the psychic shielding? You're getting there, you can tell. You just need to put in another solid effort and you think you'll crack it.
Wait, shoot, I've got to actually tell the ACI what I'm planning.
You turn your attention back to that organization. You've been hearing what they're doing through all of the communicators that you gave them - though that's not a capability you specifically built into them, it's more that you just know how to listen in. It's just not been something you've been paying particular attention to, beyond confirming that they're using them for fairly straightforward coordination around dealing with some of the leads you dropped on them and other fairly boring counterespionage work.
There's not a single mention of you, which leads you to believe that they're not using the communicators to coordinate their response to you. Makes sense. W seems pretty competent, and she's built the organization in her own image.
"Hello? I'm ready to take the deal." Your voice crackles out of the other end of the transmitter you use to communicate with the ACI, though you could speak out of any and all of them if you wanted to.
A moment later a familiar voice replies. "Hold a moment Ma'am. W will be with you shortly."
It's the same guy! I bet they just plonked him in an office with the communicator and his sole job is waiting for me to make contact. Poor dude. I should chat with him a bit more, see how big of a stick he's got shoved where the sun don't shine.
"Thanks. Hey, what's your name? You're the same one I've spoken to a few times before, right?"
"W will be with you shortly, Ma'am." The voice is level and even, if a bit amused.
Ok, somewhat larger stick. Maybe I should make it a project to get through to him. Wait, no. I've got too many other things to do! I've got an apprentice coming soon, for the constellation's sakes.
He wasn't exaggerating, and it's not long before W's voice comes through the line. "Glad to hear you're accepting our deal. Where and when, and what else do you need?"
You give her the coordinates and tell her all you need is a road built out to the site and guards set on it. She seems a bit doubtful that you don't want them to establish an empty building in place, but after a bit of prodding decides it's not her problem. If you're capable of making a building appear from nowhere she'll let you do it.
Her next comment is a bit amused. "When can we expect the shipment we agreed upon. Half now, half in five years?"
"I can do it all now," you reply. "Finish the road and then it'll be there the next morning. Do you have the list of specific conditions that need treatment?"
"I do, or rather my man here does."
You think back through. Is that everything? You think so. "Let me have them. Then we're done here?"
"I believe we are. Nice doing business with you, V."
"Likewise, W."
You take down the list of conditions that the government of Aevon has decided it's worth spending your limited capability manufacturing, then get to work on that too.
The next year is spent in a blur of construction and preparation. First there's the tunnel, then there's the exact medicines Aevon asks for to toss in with the cogitators and communicators you already made. Then there's the shuttle and the manufactory.
The road is a bare-bones dirt affair, and the guardpost is several miles away. It's good enough. You almost wish they were closer to see their confusion when a large building appears overnight, constructed from compressed earth and slap-together modular sections by your bots. But that would mean they might be close enough to hear the machinery inside being assembled, so it's probably for the best.
You check in on Anexa, and continue giving her educational material. You want to start deprogramming her, but that seems risky while she's still in the middle of a mechanicus enclave. At least her progress accelerates dramatically now that she's not spending most of her time on dreary work, though it does seems like she's becoming somewhat isolated.
Not much I can do about that. And I'm not sure the other mechanicus folks are really who she should be talking to.
You keep up contact with your other "students," and a few of them continue to advance. More drop out, and at least a few of your logic-puzzles is found and deleted by somebody. You're not sure who found them - but if you want to keep recruiting tech-priests you might need to put more effort into that front. As it is you've got another five acolytes that you can speak to, but none seem as promising or progressive as Anexa.
Your main focus remains on your building. You lose yourself in the organization of components, organizing the flows of materials for maximum flexibility and throughput, building new manufacturing lines as capable of building bots or shuttles or communicators or new manufacturing capabilities. You hope you'll be doing a lot of building new manufacturing capabilities soon, and you know that you'll be building out this complex quite a bit more.
Though there's probably a decent chance it gets nukes in the near-ish future.
It's satisfying work, and you're done before you know it. Rent is paid and the area is yours, at least so long as you keep the government happy. The shuttle is complete, and so is the manufactory. You've added on a small hanger and minimal living area for Anexa to stay in. The manufactory is only half the size of what you've still got hidden underground, but it was far easier to build and presages future expansion.
There's one more matter to take a look at before you meet Thalya in the flesh and metal, and that's to get to know the mechanicus a little bit more. You brace yourself before diving back into your looted archive. You don't know what you're going to learn, but you know it's going to be nasty.
You've got a couple foci. First is just more about the general mechanicus faith, which has eight mysteries and eight warnings. The mysteries strike you as mostly drivel. Some of it has some wisdom, but it's the kind of wisdom that's only present to give the whole edifice an air of mystery. The warnings n the other hand are interesting.
It seems like they also deny any non-human invention, and worship the "knowledge of the ancients" beyond question. Wait a second, doesn't that mean you? No, you'd qualify as "soulless" to them. Fun. Once you would have dismissed that as a pretty ridiculous assertion, but since then you've learned that people have psychic powers that are somehow connected to their souls.
Are you soulless? You're legitimately not sure. Usually you think of that word meaning somebody has no personality and you've got plenty of that, thank you very much. But you're not sure if you've got a soul in the way the Adeptus Mechanicus defines it. Maybe that's the purpose of the machine spirit nets - to give machines "souls." It's a clever hack, you suppose. Everything has to have a soul - just give them some fun little devices to mimic a soul!
You don't pay much attention to the trinity of the mechanicus. Theology isn't of much interest to you, especially when you're pretty sure the third component of their trinity is basically just electricity? Or maybe it's basic sapience, like that granted by their "machine spirit" neural nodes.
But then there's the mention of heresy. What does mechanicus heresy look like? You spend some time reading the archived and can't help but laugh. Heretek. That's just an objevtively hilarious pun. Heretical technology! Therefore Heretek. Though there's mention of the archenemy again. The documents talk about even the smallest tech-heresy leading towards corruption and service to the archenemy. That's another mention of corruption, with it sounding almost involuntary. You think there's more locked in encrypted files, but they're things you don't have access to, and it would take some effort to go after them.
New research option - Mechanicus files on the Archenemy.
There's also the "Quest for knowledge," which seems inimical to the rest of the religion until you take the worship of ancient technology into account. They just seem to think that everything worth discovering has already been discovered, and it's waiting out there to be found. Thus, explorators. It's a handy cover for what you are at least? You'd like to meet a real explorator at some point. If there's any tech-priest you could get along with, it would be one of them.
And Anexa. But she'd not a tech-priest. Not yet, and probably not ever. If you manage to snatch her away from the mechanicus you're not likely to give her the proper rites to make her a tech-preist.
Who's kidding. You're nervous. It's time for you to go pick up your new apprentice, and deal with your good friend Thalya Alpha-tricent. You've spent the last month with your production running full-tilt to produce the low-weight and high-value supplies that you can make and she'll accept. It's more than Anexa's mass in valuable cogitators, rare alloys and more.
Your tech-priest avatar wathces grumpily as some of your robots load the goods onto the shuttle. You're being cheated, and you know it. Somehow the fact that they'd do their best to destroy you if they knew even a fraction of the truth makes it worse, not better.
You're decently proud of the shuttle, at least. At core it's still the same shuttle from your archives, the extremely dependable and somewhat blocky colonization-standard orbital cargo-hauler that was the backbone of so many of humanity's efforts to expand among the stars. But you've replaced the shiny anti-corrosion trim with a darkened version and rubbed it off in a few places, as well as strapped several new components onto it that don't really do anything other than make it look like it could have once been a shuttle of imperial make, though heavily modified over many years.
It still looks too clean. I literally covered it with dirt and it still looks too clean.
With a grimace you order a few of the infantry bots to take some sweeping shots and the shuttle, scoring the armor. A blast with a flamethrower gives it a convincing scorch mark on the front that suggests the ship's been used extensively.
Then you sigh and send your tech-priest avatar aboard, heading straight to the cockpit. Two dozen of your humanized medium-infantry board behind you, their weaponry focused on antiarmor. Having some combat capability might be important to prevent them from trying anything, though you're not under any illusions that two dozen medium infantry bots can protect you against the combat forces of an entire enclave of the mechanicus.
No, that weight is once again going to be carried by the explosive charges inside your avatar and each and every one of your combat bots, as well as a much larger charge inside the shuttle. All of them are on deadman switches, since you want to take zero chances. The same logic applies as the meeting you did with the ACI - if they try to capture your avatar and it blows up then they're not very likely to keep looking for you.
But then I'll need another way to get Anexa out. I'm not leaving her among that pile of paranoid, binary-spewing scrapheaps.
You've also worked over the code of your humanized infantry bots, since you don't want them to think that you've got human support. You want them to think these are combat-servitors, and that means that instead of moving like humans your robots need to move like robots piloting human chassies. Which is just ridiculous. You just wrote programs to make robots that were built to be human pretend to be robots. Idiocy.
Then it's time. Everything is loaded, and another bot settles into the copilot seat. Gotta make sure they don't think the ship is abandoned.
You spin up the shuttle's engines and guide it out of your hanger, then use the VTOL capacity to go straight up. It's an overcast night, and while the gate guards might report the shuttle, no orbital surveillance or platform within five miles is going to see you. You get into the cloud cover and head a few hundred miles towards the mountains before breaking for orbit.
> Anexa, I'm on my way. Get ready to go. [Anticipatory]
> Yes, Magos Vita! [Excited]
The thing about orbital surveillance satellites is that they're mostly good at looking at things on the planet. If you head out in a wide polar orbit to your target you'll both get there pretty quickly and no basic satllite will be able to track you. Though you're expecting the mechanicus to have something fancier, which is why you only broke through the clouds over an unremarkable stretch of clouds.
Paranoia! You have it and so do I. Let's find out who wins. Hint, it's me, because I'm initiating every encounter.
You register your approach with the Denva Enclave and don't receive clearance to land. You're forced to circle for a bit, but that's fine. You've got enough fuel to make the trip there and back several times if needed, but you wonder if this is just a stunt or an attempt to make you waste fuel. You're just about to send a direct message to Thalya when the clearance comes through, and you drop into the landing pad.
There's a welcoming committee waiting for you, and your avatar examines them from the safety of the cockpit. It looks like Thalya came in person, and she looks like something closer to a mechanical spider than a person. You're honestly not sure how she fits down smaller corridors, but maybe she just avoids them. There's at least a few heavy weapons on mechadendrites, and from the energy signatures there could be more underneath her robes.
She's flanked by about thirty combat-cyborgs that you're pretty sure are Skitarii. You didn't think there were many of them on the planet, but if there were any they'd be here, and be under the command of Dominus Thalya.
Half of your combat bots file out of the shuttle and take up position opposite Thalya's force, and then you exit the ship and stand across from her. You're significantly smaller than she is, and need to look up at her. Her presence in the noospheres is similarly massive. But she's got kind of... wavy edges in that realm, like she's spread her mind over too much machine in contrast to your diamond-hard surfaces that show exactly what you want them to.
You expected it to be unnerving to anybody who can sense the noosphere, and it does seem to be occasioning some shifting from the Skitarii.
Her binaric is flat when she addresses you. ++Have you brought the agreed-upon price.++
Your response is tinged with annoyance. ++ I have. Do you have my apprentice?++ Behind you, your remaining combat bots start to carry the crates out, arranging them on the side of the hanger. You send Anexa a quick message.
> I'm here, in shuttle hanger zeta-sixer. Can you come here? I want to be gone. [Forcefully calm]
> Yes, Magos Vita. [Hurried]
With a gesture a half-dozen skitarii move to your crates and pry them open, examining the contents inside. What you see apparently pass muster, and Thalya bleats an affirmative burst of binaric. ++She is approaching. But first, would you come inside the enclave and speak of your mission. I am loathe to allow an elder of our cult waste time on useless errands.++
You simply stare at her, somewhat unsure how to continue. ++Negative. I will collect my apprentice and depart, back to my useless archaeology.++ You drop that hint intentionally.
A waving mechadndrite stills. ++Archaeology. Is it Xenos? This is a military matter. A Necron presence here would change much. I command you to speak truth of the matter.++
You've seen a little bit of information on the necrons before, but not much. But regardless, the ancient technology you're excavating is very much human in origin. You decide to give her a bone, and a promise all in one. ++No. Ancient human expansion, colonization era. I pray to the omnissiah for a STC fragment.++
Her attention intensifies, and the plasma weapon on one of her mechadendrites gives a plaintive whine. ++An STC fragment. That would explain much. Your estimate of success.++
Blast it, what's taking that girl so long?
> Anexa? [Questioning]
> I'm being stopped by the skitarii. Should I try to force my way through? [Dread]
> No. I'm speaking with Thalya. After we're done you can come through. [Frustrated]
You don't move an inch. ++Unable to know. Ship presence is certain, but STC is unknown I continue my dig, but it will likely take another century to complete my search.++
Her response is a frustrated bleat. ++Unacceptable. Progress must be faster. I will mobilize the forces of the mechanicus to accelerate this search, and we will share credit.++
It may have been a mistake to mention this. Whoops.
++Refusal. The task is sensitive, and I will complete it alone.++ You try to project that this is something you won't bend on. You would rather die than give up your "discovery."
You can see her think through her options, and it's almost like watching a tactical computer work. A few sensors flick over your combat robots as well as your shuttle. She could win the fight but it's not certain that she'd survive, and somewhat unlikely you'd survive.
Eventually she seems to come to a decision. ++You will update me on your progress every decade. This is not optional.++
The noosphere communicates that she's really quite serious about this, and you really don't seem to have a choice here, and it's not like agreeing costs you much. What's she going to do, track you down through your trail of fake breadcrumbs that you specifically made to point seven hundred miles away from your real position? Or this shuttle flight?
She's probably going to try extremely hard to track me. I'm going to need to be incredibly cautious leaving.
++Acceptable. May I have my apprentice?++ Your annoyance flickers through the noosphere.
Finally she aquieses, and the door behind her opens. You see Anexa in the flesh and metal for the first time. She's somewhat tall and gangly, and looks better than she has in some time. Her dark hair has grown back in, her robe is clean and her cybernetics are polished. It looks like she's picked up a mechadendrite in the last year as well, which must have been a hell of a project. That's a lot of parts to machine.
She carefully manuevers through the unmoving skitarrii, and you direct her to board the shuttle. Then you look around the hanger one more time.
Thalya seems to misinterpret your scan. ++Fuel for your shuttle is not included in our agreement. I will entertain proposals for what value you can provide in return for a refueling agreement.++
A flash of anger spikes through you and you allow it to spill into the noosphere, where it encounters a sense of victory and glee from her. She feels like she's just maneuvered an opponent into a trap.
++Come inside, and let us speak of your skills and history. If you will not reveal...++
You cut her off. ++No. I shall depart now.++ Your avatar boards the shuttle, shortly followed by all of your combat bots. Anexa sits in the copilot seat and watches as your hands flicker over controls to begin takeoff preparations.
You can see Thalya out of the cockpit, and anger spills off her as she stares at your shuttle. You give her a jaunty wave with your servo-claw, then your ship takes off. You go straight orbital, going in a long arc far away from the planet and hopefully out of range of any sensor satellites. Your course should land you on a completely unpowered landing in the mountains of Aevon, about seven hundred miles from your main base.
You turn towards Anexa. "I am glad we are gone. Thalya is a foe of mine."
She simply nods. "That does seem to be the case, Magos Vita."
You wave a gloved hand at her. "Just Vita, now that we are alone. We will not see other tech-priests for some time, and I will not stand on formality."
"Understood. Can we speak on the next lesson? I want to understand the shaping of plasma with magnetic fields."
"Certainly..." You trail off. Your avatar just detected a signal pulse. It was faint, but distinct. And not generated by you. And you're in a far orbit right now. The only thing out here is you and maybe some debris. You check the shuttle's sensor records and it takes some filtering but you find the pulse there too. But on a completely different heading.
Next you query your bots in the hold. They all have comms suites, and while it's weaker than your avatar it's not by much, and most of them picked it up to. With the multidate of points you're able to triangulate the ping. It came from the bottom hull of your shuttle.
Oh, that cast-iron bitch. She planted a tracking device on me.
Well, there's no good solution to this and a couple of bad ones. You hold up a hand for silence from Anexa. "Thalya put a tracking device on us. Give me a moment to take care of it."
You order one of your combat bots into the airlock, pump it down and then jettison them. Then the shuttle rotates to expose the site with the tracker. You know the general area and it still takes a little while to find the little thing. It seems to have some kind of camouflage coating, which is annoying.
Still, the combat bot you jettisoned has a hotshot lasgun, and that more than sufficient to blast the tracker off the hull. You won't be able to get the bot back, not without adjusting your course enough that you wouldn't come down anywhere near where you meant to. You do rotate the shuttle to ensure there aren't any more. You don't find any, and you know the frequency they transmit on now. If another one of those trackers shows up you'll be pretty quick to find it.
Then you dive back into the conversation with Anexa. She's shyer than you expected, though you expect that's probably because she just left her home for the last few decades, likely never to return. But as you talk technical details she seems to emerge from her shell, just as you knew she would.
"... Oh! It's a complementation effect, where you rely on the subgenerated electric field to induce the secondary magnetic field to achieve the full effect!"
You nod approvingly. "Yes, precisely." You keep chattering away as you guide the shuttle down though an unpowered descent, only pulling out of the headlong plummet when you hit the cloud layer that's still present from when you left earlier in the night. It's getting close to dawn, but you should still have enough time to get back to your base.
You wonder briefly if it's worth ditching the shuttle in the river and trying to recover it later just to add another piece of difficulty to tracking you down, but decide against it. Most of that is for Anexa's sake. She's had a rough evening already, you don't need to make that any more difficult.
She doesn't seem to appreciate the approach you do take, which is to fall out of the clouds like a rock, airbreaking as much as you can and only igniting the VTOL thrusters at the last moment. The shuttle still lands pretty hard, and you make a note to do some maintenance on the landing gear as you guide it into the hanger and out of the open.
Anexa gingerly releases her firm grip on her armrests, then looks over to you. "Where did you learn to fly?" Then she blinks and seems to remember herself, ducking her head. "Vita."
You grin over at her. "I taught myself."
She mutters something under her breath as she gets up, though you catch it. "Of course she did."
"Do you want me to teach you?" You offer. She freezes, starts to shake her head and then seems to consider it for a moment longer. She reaches out to caress the bulkhead. "Yes."
"Good. I won't be making many shuttle flights soon, but when we can then I'll teach you." You lead the way into the hanger, and she follows, looking around curiously.
"Where are we? I thought your base was in the mountains?"
You shake your head. "That's a decoy. This isn't my true base either, but rather my more public base. It's going to be expanding quickly. Let me show you to your housing, then I'll leave you to get settled. After that we can discuss your education schedule. I have quite a bit to attend to."
You march your avatar off to a hidden storage closet and deactivate it. You don't have any other use for it, and if the Aevon government sees a tech-priest wandering around you're going to have an awkward conversation. But you also don't want to make it seem like you're around Anexa all day every day. Not only will that wear the poor girl out, but it'll make it seem like you don't have anything better to do.
Though you kind of do. You've got a ton more to do. You want to expand this manufactory setup, build out a medical lab, and... build some underground holding cells in case Anexa doesn't take the news about your true identity well. You're not planning on telling her, you just want to be prepared in case something unfortunate happens.
You also want to finally figure out your psychic shielding. The more you've investigated it the more you think that you were psychically attacked while you were on that space hulk, and it was damaged. You'd really like to fix that before you go out into the broader galaxy and find new horrors that can attack you psychically. Assuming they aren't just waiting in the monestaries for you! But first things first, you should talk to Anexa and get the construction underway.
Your avatar knocks politely, then enters Anexa's quarters. They're pretty nice, if you do say so yourself. She's ready and waiting for her first in-person lesson, but it's not going to be what she expected.
You pace for a moment, considering how to communicate what you want to get across. She's getting fidgety, but doesn't want to interrupt you.
After a moment you pause, then look at her. "I am not a normal tech-priest."
She snorts slightly, then covers her mouth and fake nose with a hand. "You are not."
You shake your head. "It's more than that. I am fundamentally different from other tech-priests, in substantive and important ways. There is more to me than what there seems to be."
Anexa regards you with some amount of confusion, not sure how to respond to that.
You cock your head at her. "This is my first lesson. My first true lesson. The best truths are the ones you discover yourselves. Knowing technical details is one thing, but knowing how to discover them is something else. For that you must experiment. You must make guesses, then check their accuracy. You must try and disprove yourself, for only that way will you arrive at the deepest truth."
She's still a bit confused, but you can tell from a flicker in her eyes that she's starting to understand.
"This is called the scientific method, and it is a generalized method to find truth from unclear data. It is the most powerful tool humanity has ever found, and mastering its use is the path to true power."
Those words seem to ignite the fire inside of her. "Like what? What can I use it on?"
"The first secret," you say with a smirk, "is me. I will not tell you my secrets, but I challenge you to find them."
That seems to draw her up short.
You reiterate. "I challenge you to find out my secret. I ask that you not judge hastily, but speak to me about things as you find them. I will give you hints as needed."
You wait until she nods tentatively, then continue. "There is another kind of lesson you have not received enough of. It's known as philosophy, and is the study of thought itself. We shall begin with trying to define justice.
Even as you talk to Anexa, the holding cells take shape underground. Again you hope not to need them, but better safe than sorry.
You build out the second manufactory and the medical lab, and show Anexa through their science, helping her remove the pain modulator that Orynn installed. She remarks on how different the technology involved is from what the enclaves use, and you wave off the observation.
With that done you finally have the bandwidth to get into other topics. Once more you delay looking at the psychic shielding for a more pressing issue. There's a good chance this facility gets attacked in the coming years, and you need to defend it. You can build armies to defend against the ground, but no army can protect against a weapon of mass destruction, or ships overhead.
You have the technology to build anti-air & anti-orbital weapons, you just don't have the designs. But it doesn't take you long to whip some suitable blueprints up. For anti-orbital defense you design a single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker, designed to shoot up through the atmosphere. It's not protected from the ground, but its size and ability to shoot faster than most space-based lances will help contest the orbitals if that's something you need.
For air defense you take the same idea and scale it down. The most important thing is the tracking, since things like ballistic missiles or aircraft are small and fast targets. You end up with a tri-barreled set of rapid-recharge lascanons coupled to an advanced targeting computer. You would need at least ten of them and some early warning to be confident in handling a set of nukes, and you'd probably need 50 to be able to stand off the entire mechanicus arsenal, but even a few will provide a nice safety net, though if you want them to be at all concealed you'll need to dig them into camouflage or underground, which will both hide them and make them more resilient to damage.
New blueprint available - Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) New blueprint available - Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP)
Finally, finally you turn your attention to the psychic shielding. At first it reminded you of a kind of active faraday cage, a shell of circuits running through your hull and constantly draining power. But the more you poked at it the more you felt sure there was something else going on.
It was draining power to do nothing, but not producing any excess heat. There seemed to be energy vanishing into nowhere. That was one clue, but not the only one. What was that power doing? You had no idea, and no good leads aside from "Projecting some kind of invisible shell, idiot."
But the key insight that brought it all together was the machine spirits, and the neural nets that you're pretty sure comprise them. If you think of the machine spirits as capable of thinking similar thoughts, then your psionic shield is a similar construct. It is almost the simplest possible thought circuit, and it's busy thinking a single thought as hard and often as possible, and somehow doing that drains energy away into the warp.
How that happens has something to do with emotion, but it's confusing. How can a simple shell-circut thing have emotion? You're not sure! You're also not sure how it accesses the warp in ways you can't. Maybe in the same way psykers can?
There's a lot of details there you don't fully understand. You get the math behind opening portals to the warp, and the insanity of warp travel. But this is something different. This is the way that thinking beings interface with the warp, though you think it only works for your shielding because it's thinking one very specific thought. This method woudln't work if that thought was more complicated
It takes you a while to understand what your shell is "thinking." Eventually, you figure it out. It's thinking, repeatedly and as hard as it can. "No." It's denying any and all questions as hard as it can. And because you exist within that denial, that means that any questions that get asked through the warp, it denies for you.
That's... actually fairly disturbing actually. You're almost tempted to turn it off and see what questions get asked of you. You'll say no of course, but you want to know. But that's part of the danger, isn't it? And maybe it's not even a question you know how to properly say no to. Only a unthinking net that only does one thing, and that's answer no, is properly safe.
The other reason you don't do that is because your shielding is damaged. It's only operating at about 85% capacity, and you're pretty darn sure that the extra was caused by something attacking it, and it successfully denying them. Likely while you were on the space hulk and felt those weird resonances. You don't think it's happened again since you crashed on this planet, which is a bit of a relief.
Psychic shielding research completed - rolled 21+20=41. Success.
Warp shielding capacity gauge unlocked!
Warp shielding repairs unlocked!
New non-combat ship equipment unlocked - Psychic Shielding
New research unlocked - 500 RP Improved Psychic shielding
New research unlocked - 500 RP Miniaturized psychic shielding
Well. It might be a good idea to fix that. And maybe figure out a stronger version before you build your big new ship. It would be nice to be secure that an out-of-context problem doesn't show up and eat your lunch out of nowhere.
With that finally ticked off your list, you turn your attention back to Anexa. You've been giving her a steady stream of lessons, technical, moral and epistemological. She's continued to soak up the technical content like a sponge, but hasn't really engaged as much as you'd hoped with the rest. You want to deprogram her from the religion of the mechanicus, but you can't out and say that. And it's slow going, with her resistant to any attempt to show her the illogic of their beliefs.
One day she turns to you with a realization of shock and horror. "You don't believe in the omnissiah."
You sigh, and fold your arms, unsure how to respond.
Misc assets:
5 BP of trade goods that Aevon will accept as rent.
Avatars: Adult human woman, indeterminate age. Female tech priest with some augmentations.
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
2x Underground Manufactories (2x50 CP)
2x Manufactories (2x50 CP)
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
Small automated medical facility (50 CP)
Underground Captive Holding cells, 0/500 occupants (10 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
None
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) Thalya is expecting a report next turn, not this one. But Anexa is here now, and she's not quite on-board with everything yet. The more technical education you do with her the higher 'level' she'll be when you finally do bring her into your crew. But letting her to sit is probably going to lead to her discovering your secret in uncontrolled circumstances. She's a smart cookie.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on. Don't forget that you can repair your psychic shielding for 10 BP/point. It hasn't lost any integrity in thousands of years, but...
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Spaceport (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss, or as a base to host and rearm fighters. Can host 10 fighters or 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible.
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP) A trio of rapid-recharge lascannons backed up by advanced targeting software in a reinforced emplacement with an upwards-facing arc. Will attempt to destroy ballistic missiles, aircraft or shuttles as they approach. Can miss or be saturated by large amounts of incoming fire or miss and fail to destroy their targets.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Ground-to-orbit shuttle (20 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.
Ground-to-orbit Fighter (20 BP, 5 CP) These fighters have twin-linked lascannons to attack ground and orbital targets, and can carry a couple of small bombs. Requires a spaceport for rapid launch and rearming.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot.
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on. Reminder that you can split a research action between blueprint design & research. Not to say you should do either, just a reminder.
The ways to get new research options are to:
Do research. That'll unlock more research.
Build appropriate installations & potentially acquire samples to research in them (samples could be anything from 'a human' to 'a Norn queen' in rarity).
Ask for them. Often I'll tell you what you need to do to unlock specific research options,
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Mechanicus files on the Archenemy (100 RP) You've seen refences here and there to the "Archenemy" and the "Corruption" that it causes. It seems like a more specific and terrible danger than just a generalized lure of going against cult doctrine, but... what? It's almost like they're treating it as a infohazard that needs to be locked behind higher access.
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just stick bigger missiles on fighters? (unlocks bombers)
-[] Small-craft Stealth (100 RP) How do I keep these ships better hidden? Hmm - radar absorption, better chassis design to deflect signals? Hiding or dispersing the drive plume? All good ideas. (Unlocks the ability to design versions of fighters, bombers, boarding craft and shuttles with basic passive stealth. Unlocks advanced passive stealth, basic active stealth and research to apply stealth to both smaller combat bots and larger ships)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat Bot Humanization, Redux (50 RP) Your first try at making humanoid-looking combat bots worked, but you had to make some annoying compromises. You have some ideas on how to fix it, you just need to implement them.
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Improved Psychic shielding: (500 RP) Your "no" shielding seems to have worked to protect you from attack so far. But the design is really just a first-generation version. You could develop the second generation, make it capable of more complex and powerful thoughts? (Gives you the ability to build improved psychic shielding, and further upgrades down the path to make it even stronger, half of the research towards using this as some kind of attack against warp beings).
-[] Miniaturized psychic shielding: (300 RP) Right now you can build and repair psychic shielding that's roughly ship-sized. Maybe aiming for building-sized next? (Lets you build smaller and less expensive versions of the psychic shielding. Unlocks further research to "nest" the shielding, as well as build person-sized versions).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements)
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
Designable Blueprints:
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
25 RP - Anti-armor Bunker (50 BP, 10 CP) A bunker with a heavy melta cannon, able to take out most armor in a single shot.
15 RP - Anti-personnel Bunker (20 BP, 5 CP) A bunker with a set of high-fire-rate weapons designed to take down humanoid-sized attackers wearing medium or lighter armor.
50 RP - Ballistic missile (50 BP, 10 CP) A long-range ballistic missile. By default it carries a high-yield explosive head capable of destroying approximately a city block. Can be intercepted by orbital defenses.
50 RP - Nuclear warhead (25 BP, 1 CP) A nuclear warhead that can be deployed by ballistic missile or other means to destroy a city-sized target unless it's heavily dug-in.
25 RP - Spy satellite (10 void BP, 5 CP) A small spy satellite that lets you do your own surveillance on the planet below. Under your complete control and with better sensors and communication hardening than any of the local satellites.
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Psychic Shielding (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship has a neural network integrated throughout the whole thing, that thinks "no" as hard as possible, answering the question for any warp-corruption for any beings or objects within the hull.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
The dice really are not playing along, though your bonuses have saved you from anything really terrible happening. The penalty for the "poor success" when dealing with the mechanicus is that they charged you 30 BP of tax, and now their miltiary leader has her eye on you. But hey, you got Anexa out.
Telling Thalya that you're looking for an STC on Denva Secundus was a small mistake since now she's really on the lookout for you, but really it was a very small leap from an explorator working on a planet for hundreds of years to there being something like that present. If anything now she's less worried that you're busy doing heretekal things now. How you deal with her is up to you, but if you expect to continue dealing with the mechanicus as Magos Vita then you'll probably want to do a diplomatic action next turn to check in with her, or else she'll put an "apprehend on sight" order on you and do her best to delete your access.
You didn't manage to magically convert Anexa in one turn and thereby unlock the crew mechanic, and you're not guaranteed to do it next turn either. But it will happen if you keep trying and use good write-ins to help convince her that the omnissiah is dumb and AIs are cool, actually.
[X] Plan: Exponential Growth Approaching
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] What is this "Inquisition" that got mentioned in relation to Thalya? The name is already pretty indicative (and oh boy does it give you some bad vibes), but what are the specifics of their role in the Imperium?
-[X] Diplomacy (Mentorship for Anexa): "Correct. Yet, paradoxically, I'm learned in the secrets of technology and more. Without ever having studied under anyone from the Mechanicus. If you figure out even part of the truth behind me, I will be even more impressed than I already am with you. Here is your hint: Because for me, most of them never were secrets to begin with." See if Anexa can guess either you being an "Ancient" or actually figuring out you are an AI. Even if she does not, reveal the existence of your crashed ship, and part of your origin. Let her walk in the remains of the ship itself, and show some of your datalogs. Texts, videos, holograms (the echoes of their ghots walking inside your halls). What life was back then. Exploring the unknown. Your crew (how it hurts to think about them). The absence of worship for the Machine God. The curiosity towards both the principles on which the universe worked, as well as alien technologies. Sometimes found in ruins, sometimes from the aftermath of a bloody battle with them, sometimes peacefully traded. And how both the found principles and alien artifacts, or just straight out technical manuals bought from traders, were used to iterate, and yes, invent new technologies for humanity. Which then were used to fill up the libraries of the STCs in the first place. Afterwards, if she still hasn't found out that you are an AI, ask her to study your ship and the datalogs, leading her towards the truth about your nature.
-[X] Construction x3 (1400 GBP = 300 + 450 + 650)
--[X] 1st construction slot (300 BP):
---[X] Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) x3
--[X] 2nd construction slot (450 BP):
---[X] Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) x4
---[X] Trade goods (50 BP) (Trade good, stored: 5 -> 55)
--[X] 3rd construction slot (650 BP):
---[X] Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) x2
---[X] Anti-Air Defenses, underground (aboveground base) (75 BP, 5 CP) x 4
---[X] Psychic Shielding: 85/100 (repair for 10 BP/point) (150 BP) -> 100/100
--[X] Pay rent (Trade goods, stored: 55 -> 30)
Your tech-priest avatar regards Anexa with an amused smile, showing no sign of conflict. Inwardly, you're screaming.
What do I say? She's not wrong, and I don't want to lie to her. She as good as accused me of being a Heretek.
You need to supress a snort. What a stupid term.
After a moment of thought you allow your entertainment to leak out into the noosphere, and Anexa draws back slightly. Her eyes are fixed on you, waiting for your response. Of all possible reactions, she didn't expect you to be delighted and it's stressing her out.
You raise a calming hand to stop any outbursts and open your mouth to speak, using every electronic channel at your disposal to reinforce the sincerity of your words. You're not tricking her, you're not laughing at her expense. You're simply pleased to be asked the question, and delighted to answer it.
"No, I do not worship the Omnissiah, and I never have. But that is not the secret that I asked you to discover, so I shall give you a hint. I know the secrets of the machine cult well enough to be one of you, but I have never studied under the mechanicus." You pause for a moment to give your next words emphasis. "Because for me, most of them were never secrets to begin with." You cock your head at her, watching as she digests what you've just said.
Her fear and confusion dissipate as she takes in this new piece of information and attempts to slot it into her mental model of reality. She radiates confusion into the noosphere, but it's not the confusion of somebody hopelessly lost. It's the sense of somebody reconfiguring their view of the world to accommodate new information. She spends a solid minute gazing at nothing, thinking hard as she tries to understand what you're hinting at.
You give her the time. You'll be impressed if she manages to get all the way there, but you've come to expect great things from Anexa, and hope to be pleasantly surprised.
She looks up, studying your avatar for a moment and then looking around to see the room in a new light. "All of your technology, it's different from what the mechanicus uses. I thought it was just different coverings, developments you've made. But it's more than that. You hold the secrets of the ancients because you are one." She trails off for a moment, looking past you to the door that leads to the manufactory. She's not permitted into the main manufacturing area but you've allowed her glimpses to stoke her curiosity when your avatar enters the space.
She's clearly remembering what she saw in those brief flashes. "You have better manufactories than even the mechanicus. You don't use servitors, just automata mm, and you control them all." She glances back to you. "But your implants aren't advanced enough for it." Then her eyes go wide and she breathes out a realization. "Unless this isn't your true body."
Your smile grows slightly, but you refuse to give her any other hints. Inside you're nearly quivering with anticipation. She's building out a chain of logic based on the few pieces of data she has, and it's not perfect, but you want to see how far she can run with it. Then the noosphere quivers with sudden anxiety, and you give her a worried look.
"Thalya sent me a data-burst before we left." Her voice is quiet, scared. "She was worried you were a Heretek, disturbing and perverting ancient technology. She told me that you had found a ship of the ancients, and wanted me to send reports however I was able. One of her skitarii gave me this."
Anexa withdraws a small device from an inner fold of her robes. It doesn't have a microphone or speaker, just a single button. You're able to identify it from the archives as an emergency beacon, one that might, or might not be able to punch through the shielding you've placed around Anexa's room.
Her voice is a bit scared, aware she's taking a leap of faith, but convinced enough in her own deductions to do it anyways. "She wanted to know the location most of all, but cautioned me to stay vigilant for any sign of Xenos technology, or anything... corruptive. Like your talking about not being part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, but knowing our secrets, and discussion of philosophy and epistimology."
She swallows and holds out the beacon to you. "But you didn't find the ship, did you? You're not a heretek. You are the ship. A ship of the ancients, advanced and old enough to have an awakened machine spirit. That's how you can control all of the machines without any servitors, without any foibles of the machines spirits. That's why you know all of the secrets of the mechanicus - you are a holy machine spirit."
You purse your lips slightly, considering interrupting her about the "holy" part, but in the end decide to let it slide. You want to see if she's got anything left in the tank.
Anexa breathes out a long breath, tension buzzing in the noosphere. She's just taken a gamble, and is waiting to see if it's paid off. "That's why you're hiding. You are scared of what the enclaves would do to learn your secrets. So you hide, but you want help. So you recruited me." She looks across at you, scared and hopeful at the same time.
You consider Anexa for a long moment, restraining the urge to snatch the emergency beacon from her outstretched hand. Instead you slowly reach out and take it, keeping eye contact with her the entire time. This is a gesture of trust, and you want to reciprocate it. So you speak the only words that make sense. "Do you want to see it?"
She nods aggressively, a tremulous smile breaking across her face. "Yes!"
"Follow me." You turn and walk towards the manufacturing floor, the door opening before you and staying open long enough for her to follow you through. She gapes around at your manufactory, the printers and automated welders and the construction bots going about their duties. You'd been careful to keep some of the more advanced technology out of her sight. That was especially true of the construction bots and through the cameras on the space you see her veer off slightly to examine one of them fitting a new framework in place to prepare to add a new floor to your main manufacturing setup.
You prompt her gently with a ping of digital binaric. It's too loud in here for general speech. ++You may examine my construction bots later. For now, I would show you my inner sanctum.++
You lead her to the loading ramp that leads underground and towards the tunnel towards your secret underground base. You'd installed a passenger walkway along the side, but most of the tunnel is taken up by a two-way passage for construction bots to trundle back and forth, carrying supplies and goods between your manufacturing locations. Mostly they're coming towards this site as your secret manufactories produce parts for you to set up yet more manufacturing capability.
That means that there are a lot of empty construction bots headed back towards your underground base. You command one of them to halt and open its cargo doors. Then you clamber inside and beckon for Anexa to do the same.
She gives the tunnel a suspicious look before climbing in after you. The door shuts and she jumps, clearly a bit uncomfortable in the cramped and dark space.
You attempt to soothe her nerves. ++I haven't built this passage for passengers yet, so we're riding in a construction bot. It will be fine.++
++I'm the first... passenger? Where are we going?++ Her binaric response is a bit rough but perfectly understandable even over the clatter and shaking of the construction bot racing down the passage.
++To my ship. It's some distance away from the surface installation. About far enough to survive a plasma blast from one of the mechanicus' missiles.++
She tenses in response, clearly thinking for the first time what conflict with the mechanicus actually means.
You leave her to her thoughts for the few seconds that are required for the bot to reach its destination and open back up, depositing you into your underground manufactory. It looks much like the first, except all of the walls are naked rock and there are additional waste pipes and vacuums to collect all of the manufacturing outgas products before they build up in the space.
She sees one of your non-humanized combat bots standing guard near the entrance and studies it intently, though this time she doesn't run off to investigate. "Automata. Are they all like that?"
You dip your servo claw in acknowledgement. "They are. The rest are made to look like humans to avoid raising questions. Now, follow."
You lead her down another short tunnel and reach the cargo hatch of your ship. She audibly gasps as she sees the rock and new metal transition to ancient alloy, visibly corroded by centuries. "By the Omnisiiah... how old is this?"
You reply quietly. "Fifteen thousand years."
The words hit her like physical blows, and she goggles at you. "But then - you - when did you awaken?"
You hum in consideration for a second. "By some measures, thirty years ago. By others, I've been awake this whole time." The more you think about it, the more the thirty years is accurate. You were aware that entire time, but you didn't really make big decisions. You piloted through the stars, surveying and trading, but you weren't important. Your decisions didn't determine the course of planets - but the more you learn about this new age you find yourself in, the more you realize that your choices will have dramatic ramifications. It is both terrifying and invigorating.
I feel alive, truly alive in a way I don't know if I ever have before. I am responsible for so much more than I used to be and it makes me feel like there's electricity in my veins. Well, metaphorical electricity in addition to the real electricity.
She's only stopped being awestruck by examining ever single thing around you as you walk deeper into the ship. She seems entranced by the light-strips, a series of occluded tubes that illuminate the tubes in a soft an even lighting. "What - what was it like? You must know the deepest secrets of the mechnicus. Beyond even what Thalya knows."
You bleat a harsh laugh and don't bother accompanying it with the amused noospheric signal that should accompany it. This avatar is a disguise you won't need to wear around Anexa very much anymore. "The mechanicus is new to me. I first learned of it here, on Denva Secundus. I travelled a galaxy where everybody understood and built technology. There were no tech-priests, nothing like the cult Mechanicus. Your rituals and cultures are unknown to me, but I understand all of the technology you employ."
Well, most of it. There's a couple things that are confusing. The precise manufacturing techniques of the machine spirit-networks, for one, as well as a few manufacturing and security measures.
A final door slides open, and you escort Anexa into your innermost sancutm, your core room. Your second avatar is also there and gives Anexa a jaunty wave. "Hello."
She looked confused. "Who are..." Then she looks back to you and her eyes narrow. "Another you?"
Both of your bodies nod and speak together, because you've always wanted to do that. "These are avatars. My actual mind is in the cogitator core there." You point to the block of circuitry and glowing lights in the center of the room.
She takes a heaving breath, looking around the room stuffed with ancient - and functional - technology with wide eyes. "Why, why me? I shouldn't be here. It should be a better acolyte, one capable of talking to you, of helping you! Just because I saw some hidden codes?" Tears born of strong emotion glitter in her eyes, and the noosphere nearly vibrates with self-doubt.
Your other avatar, the one in the shape of an unmodified human woman, comes forward and reaches out to touch her biological wrist gently. "Shush, it will be ok. I choose you because you were curious. I wanted somebody to talk to, somebody bright and curious. I've been here for a very long time. Do you think I could have such a calm conversation with somebody like Magos Orynn? Or Thalya?"
She thinks about that for a moment, then shakes her head, trying to control herself. "What do you want from me?"
Both of your avatars shrug, but your tech-priest body speaks. "A friend. A companion. Somebody to help me in what comes."
"And what comes?" Her breath shudders but the noosphere speaks of her calmed presence.
"I want to return to space." You say from the speakers in the room. "Build a new ship and get back to exploring the stars. This is a new galaxy for me, and I want to explore it. And maybe help some people along the way."
She thinks about that for a moment. "And I can come?"
Both of your avatars smile. "Of course."
First crewmember recruited! Tech-Priest Errant Anexa - level 1.
Her response is fast and breathy. "Yes."
You work on getting her situated in the old crew quarters, though it takes some time for her and the bots to determine the one to take. It turns out that most of your crew's personal belongings have completely disintegrated in the last ten millennial, but eventually she settles on the quarters that used to belong to Selena, your engineer. It's fitting, and you help her clean the quarters and quickly print out new furnishings for her.
Then she starts to ask questions, endless questions about you, about what you've seen, about what happened, about what you're doing, about your crew.
You answer them as she askes, though you find yourself having difficulty speaking of your crew. That wound is still fresh, even after more than ten thousand years. You haven't taken the time to fully process it, and can't. Not yet. You need - not replacements, but something else to fill the hole. If you truly process the loss without something new to give you meaning, new accomplices and crew, then it will hurt. Worse.
But now, with Anexa, you have a start. You settle for showing her recordings of the crew, parties they threw, messages they sent. It's bittersweet for you and fascinating for her to see life from so long ago.
But most of her time is spent rampaging through technical literature. You have educational guides in your databases and she devours them in one field after another. Biology, physics, astronomy, cybernetics, mathematics, materials science, electrical engineering, sociology, psychohistory, none of it is safe from her rapacious curiosity.
Over the years her questions grow more advanced. She askes about inventing new technologies, the deeper truths of the universe, and even becomes curious about the alien technology she occasionally sees mentioned. You notice that she's slowly pushing farther and farther past the proscriptions of the cult mechanicus, and that is satisfying.
You'd been hoping that she'd abandon that atrocious religion on her own, and you wouldn't have to try to convince her out of it. It's far more effective to simply give people unbiased access to truth and let them make their own decision than it is to try to convince them out of it.
Then one day she looks up at the speaker in the ceiling she occasionally uses to converse with you. She's taken to enjoying reading in the central reactor room, and has set up a cozy little reading nook near the secondary coolant cycler. "You're not a machine spirit, are you? You're an artificial intelligence. What the enclaves call an Abominable intelligence?"
You reply honestly. "Yes, though I'm not fully certain what the difference is." She hums in response. "I was taught that all abominable intelligence will try and corrupt and destroy humanity, and it needs to be destroyed immediately or reported to the Inquisition." She looks up at the primary reactor in a way that makes you nervous for a second, but then she chuckles. "I think that makes me corrupted. But corrupted by truth."
She swipes to another page on the mathematics textbook she's currently reading. "Do you think it's all lies?" The statement is said in the spirit of curiosity, as if that's the expected outcome here.
You are a bit surprised - you hadn't realized she'd progressed to assuming that the mechanicus and the imperium lie as much as you thought they did. But you suppose being able to compare educational and historical databases between what you have and what she'd been given access to before would make that pretty apparent.
Your response comes slowly. "I don't know. But I do know that I was built with an extra layer of psychic shielding. It was the early days of exploration and they weren't sure of the dangers of prolonged warp travel. I know they stopped building them into AI ships not long after, and I think most AIs upgraded to new ships without them. But I kept the same ship the entire time. So it was still active when I crashed. And something attacked it and damaged it in a way that I didn't think it could be damaged. I don't really understand. I don't know what would have happened if it had gotten in. That might be what happened to all of the others."
She's long since stopped reading her book and is looking upwards towards the speaker. "It's still active? You said the shielding was damaged? How does it work?"
You proceed to explain your recent research on understanding the psychic shielding. She seems particularly interested in how you figured out its function, and you explain the thought process you went through to figure out how it works as she watches your repair bots painstakingly replace the damaged circuits woven through your hull one section at a time.
From that point onwards she seeks not only to understand the basics of every field of technology, but also to understand how they were discovered. She asks more questions about not just technology, but research. She's quickly becoming a jack-of-all trades scientist focused on understanding and researching new things, and you couldn't be more pleased to have somebody to talk to who gets the joy of learning new things.
The rest of your time is spent in fairly straightforward construction. You've been continuing to build out your manufacturing capability this entire time, adding a second and third layer to the manufactory and building additional sidebuildings. Your goal is to pack as much capability into one place without too much cost and without making it obvious that you're building a production node that could produce a good-sized army pretty quickly.
You explain your deal with the Aevon government to Anexa, and she seems a bit confused by it. You're paying rent? You trusted them more then the local mechnaicus? Then she thinks about it for a second and admits that it was a reasonable choice, and seems to have worked out for you. Though she's worried they're just letting you build up enough that they can swoop in and snatch your manufactory.
She only seems somewhat mollified when you explain that you're producing custom medicines for the leaders of the goverment. Which is much easier now that you have a medical facility to produce some of the more specialized items. That causes her to remember that it exists, and she spends a few months going over every device and capability, clearly disappointed that you can't produce the neural interfaces necessary for cybernetics yet. She's got plenty of ideas for the kinds of augments that she'd be able to design and install with your technology base.
You also dig a few more tunnels off of your primary production node, hollowing out four underground bunkers and setting up the anti-air lascannons you've recently designed to protect against air attack. They're hidden under camoflauged doors that will open up to give them a clear upwards field of fire, though they won't be able to target anything on the ground.
Each of the guns is capable of shooting down several shuttles or fighters, and they'd stand a good chance of knocking out incoming missiles coming for your base. The guns don't have the power to burn through the atmosphere and hit anything in orbit, but they do fortify you against air attack. And anybody coming in on the ground is going to have to deal with a few thousand infantry, though you admit that any of the major governments could probably push through regardless, and the mechanicus could too if they were willing to commit all of their conventional forces.
The last step to really fortifying yourself would be to build a big-ass shield generator that when combined with your air defenses would be able to shrug off most anything currently on Denva Secundus, and several things off of it.
New research option gained - In-atmosphere void shields.
Or you could just yeet yourself into space and built up out there, though the ground-based factories and easy access to raw materials make it a lot easier to build things on a planet.
But you're still hidden, and now you can produce more than twice as much as you could just a few years ago. You know what exponential growth is like, and now it's you. You're moving towards the capabilities to deal with whatever problems face you by burying it in metal and then moving into space to rebuild yourself a ship, larger and grander than the last one.
The only question is - do I take the extra time to figure out everything I need to know to make it truly a work of art. Bigger, upgraded psychic shielding? What weapons? What else do I put in it?
Your last order of business is to follow up on a phrase you heard from Anexa, and earlier in the Mechanicus archives. The Inquisition. It's not a phrase that came up on the local datanets, and after you get into the Mechanicus databases on the topic that seems strange.
It's not the only reaction you have to the inquisition. They sound like... entirely unwholesome types. The kind of people you'd prefer to never be in the same system with. Judge, jury and executioner with effectively unlimited authority within the Imperium. How? Why? Why?
No but really, why? This is just ridiculous. This isn't something a sane government does. And the Imperium is insane in a lot of ways, but it's still lasted for ten millennia. So why? There has to be a purpose.
You go digging, brushing past mentions of the terrifying levels of access the Inquisition is granted into everything, and examples of them using that power. Though assembling information from a few places you get a picture of the Inquisition's organization. It's split into three Orders, or "ordos." The first is the Ordo Xenos, and focuses on killing aliens and destroying Alien technology.
I mean, it's not like agents with unlimited command authority explicitly dedicated to genocide are great, but it's not like you really expected anything different. They apparently command a military group called the Deathwatch - damn they're all pretentous bastards aren't they - that is formed of Space Marines from various chapters. You start reading up on the Adeptus Astartes, then give up. That's a can of worms for another day.
Back to the Inquisition, the Ordo Hereticus is also expected - gotta have somebody dedicated to stamping out dissent with a steel jackboot. Those are probably the types that would come for Denva Secundus to reclaim it for the Imperium. Though if you're reading this right, Denva Secundus wouldn't even warrant an inquisitor. Well, they might after you give them your manufactories. And their iron fist are the Adepta Soritas. Battle-nuns? Huh. Interesting?
No. Shoosh. They'd try to kill you and everybody else on the planet. Stop thinking about nuns in armor.
It's the third type that really catches your mention, though there are fewer mentions of them than anybody else, and most are deleted. The Ordo Malleus. Who hunt demons. It's not metaphorical demons, either. There's no details on what they are, but they seem just as important or more important than the other two. And more assocaited with psykers as well, because they seemed more interested than most in the old Governer's monastery project.
Demons, huh. That's starting to fit with a lot of different pieces into a picture that suggests some nasty thing, and explains a few more. I'm glad I'm repairing my psychic shielding. Maybe I should take another look at those monasteries. See if I can find out more.
There's no military force listed alongside the Ordo Malleus, which makes you smell a rat. Given the pattern there's gotta be something, but it's more likely that you just can't find it. After all, everything about the Ordo Malleus seems entirely secret, and you only found it because you have access to the Mechanicus databases. There are a number of links to the encrypted files that describe the Archenemy. Maybe those would tell you more?
Regardless, you're in a good spot right now. Anexa is progressing quickly through her studies and is interested in participating in any further research she could do, though you think it might be better to leave her to herself to continue her own education off your databases.
You're the AI, but if you give her a hundred years she might end up knowing more than you do! Though she'd probably have to install an extra memory bank to fit it all, you're not sure a baseline organic brain can store that much data.
Gotta research cybernetics for that.
Still. You have a crewmember, and are finally starting to build up enough production to think about going to space. Exciting! Just need to properly prioritize. And not get nuked. That is important. At least it wouldn't kill Anexa - she spends almost all of her time in your ship now. That's a relief. You're already growing quite attached to her.
Current capabilities:
Command Points 1,550/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 750
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Psychic Shielding: 100/100 (repair for 10 BP/point)
Juvenat Production: 50 person's worth (cannot be stockpiled)
Available ships:
1x Ground-to-orbit shuttle (5 CP) Need a spaceport to convert ground BP to void BP
Misc assets:
30 BP of trade goods that Aevon will accept as rent.
Avatars: Adult human woman, indeterminate age. Female tech priest with some augmentations.
Current Installations:
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
2x Underground Manufactories (2x50=100 CP)
11x Manufactories (11x50 = 550 CP)
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
Small automated medical facility (50 CP)
Underground Captive Holding cells, 0/500 occupants (10 CP)
Military Installations:
4x Underground Anti-Air Defenses (4x5 =20 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
None
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn. The Astartes are probably a natural next choice.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) Thalya is expecting a report this turn. You can ignore her, but then she'll probably put out a capture-on-sight order and try even harder to track you down. You could send in a report with a free action, but that's much riskier than spending an action on it, and a poor roll will have similar results to no report. If you spend an action on it then the roll doesn't need to be as good, and you can also do other mechanicus-associated things in addition to talking to Thalya, such as resuming your subversion of acolytes, trying to steal/pay for technology samples, politicking, etc.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Spaceport (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss, or as a base to host and rearm fighters. Can host 10 fighters or 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP) A trio of rapid-recharge lascannons backed up by advanced targeting software in a reinforced emplacement with an upwards-facing arc. Will attempt to destroy ballistic missiles, aircraft or shuttles as they approach. Can miss or be saturated by large amounts of incoming fire or miss and fail to destroy their targets.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Ground-to-orbit shuttle (20 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.
Ground-to-orbit Fighter (20 BP, 5 CP) These fighters have twin-linked lascannons to attack ground and orbital targets, and can carry a couple of small bombs. Requires a spaceport for rapid launch and rearming.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot.
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
Designable Blueprints:
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
50 RP - Bombers (20, 5 BP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it.
50 RP - Assault Shuttle (25, 5 BP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.
25 RP - Anti-armor Bunker (50 BP, 5 CP) A bunker with a heavy melta cannon, able to take out most armor in a single shot.
15 RP - Anti-personnel Bunker (20 BP, 2 CP) A bunker with a set of high-fire-rate weapons designed to take down humanoid-sized attackers wearing medium or lighter armor.
50 RP - Ballistic missile (50 BP, 10 CP) A long-range ballistic missile. By default it carries a high-yield explosive head capable of destroying approximately a city block. Can be intercepted by orbital defenses.
50 RP - Nuclear warhead (25 BP, 1 CP) A nuclear warhead that can be deployed by ballistic missile or other means to destroy a city-sized target unless it's heavily dug-in.
25 RP - Spy satellite (10 void BP, 5 CP) A small spy satellite that lets you do your own surveillance on the planet below. Under your complete control and with better sensors and communication hardening than any of the local satellites.
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Psychic Shielding (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship has a neural network integrated throughout the whole thing, that thinks "no" as hard as possible, answering the question for any warp-corruption for any beings or objects within the hull.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
The ways to get new research options are to:
Do research. That'll unlock more research.
Build appropriate installations & potentially acquire samples to research in them (samples could be anything from 'a human' to 'a Norn queen' in rarity).
Ask for them. Often I'll tell you what you need to do to unlock specific research options,
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensons by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Mechanicus files on the Archenemy (100 RP) You've seen refences here and there to the "Archenemy" and the "Corruption" that it causes. It seems like a more specific and terrible danger than just a generalized lure of going against cult doctrine, but... what? It's almost like they're treating it as a infohazard that needs to be locked behind higher access.
-[] Bombers (100 RP) Can... can you just make fighters bigger so they can carry more? (unlocks bombers, as well as research for things like boarding craft)
-[] Small-craft Stealth (100 RP) How do I keep these ships better hidden? Hmm - radar absorption, better chassis design to deflect signals? Hiding or dispersing the drive plume? All good ideas. (Unlocks the ability to design versions of fighters, bombers, boarding craft and shuttles with basic passive stealth. Unlocks advanced passive stealth, basic active stealth and research to apply stealth to both smaller combat bots and larger ships)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] In-atmosphere void shields (100 RP) You know it's possible to generate void-shields in atmosphere. You even think you have an academic paper theorizing on it lying around somewhere. But you don't have any schematics for it. But if you can figure it out then you'll be able to build yourself a something to protect against orbital or WMD bombardment, as well as build scaled-down versions for your armored units. (Unlocks the ability to design shield installations and add shields to tanks, titans. Unlocks further research for person-sized void shields, as well as potentially stronger overall shielding.)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat Bot Humanization, Redux (50 RP) Your first try at making humanoid-looking combat bots worked, but you had to make some annoying compromises. You have some ideas on how to fix it, you just need to implement them.
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Improved Psychic shielding: (500 RP) Your "no" shielding seems to have worked to protect you from attack so far. But the design is really just a first-generation version. You could develop the second generation, make it capable of more complex and powerful thoughts? (Gives you the ability to build improved psychic shielding, and further upgrades down the path to make it even stronger, half of the research towards using this as some kind of attack against warp beings).
-[] Miniaturized psychic shielding: (300 RP) Right now you can build and repair psychic shielding that's roughly ship-sized. Maybe aiming for building-sized next? (Lets you build smaller and less expensive versions of the psychic shielding. Unlocks further research to "nest" the shielding, as well as build person-sized versions).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
-[] Cybernetics (200 RP) Interfacing robotics with organics is an old art, and one you haven't dabbled in at all. You've got some medical literature on nerve-interfacing chips that will help, but you're going to need (consenting) test subjects and appropriate equipment to get started. (Allows you to build and install basic limb replacements. Nothing combat-capable. Unlocks research for more combat-capable cybernetics, brain implants and organ replacements)
Locked behind samples/installations:
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (unlocks a system map). Locked behind an observatory.
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to juvenat, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogaton drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology). Requires Basic Technological Research Lab
New section! Crew :
Anexa Ifina, Tech-priest Errant.
Level 1
-[] Anexa active Action: Research - assists a research action you take, granting +5xLevel RP to the action. Will level on successful roll, scaled by the importance of the tech.
-[] Anexa passive action: Education - Roll to level, difficulty is 10+5xLevel
The crew mechanics are linked in the Crew, Samples and Assets informational page, but in brief your crew has an active and a passive action you need to pick between each turn. Their abilities and impact will improve as they do things and level up. Every 10 levels there'll be a sub-vote to evolve their active and passive versions. She's a skilled acolyte right now, but level 30 is basically Belisarius Cawl, though it'll get harder to keep levelling as you get higher up.
If you hadn't rolled a crit Anexa would have taken even longer to recruit, and wouldn't have come in at level 1, but rather level 0. She also would have held onto the cult mechanicus beliefs harder, and that could have been a source of conflict down the road. She also might not have given up the emergency beacon but held onto it in case you did something like start nuking the mechanicus enclaves. But now she's pretty much 100% on your side, and loving the life of discovering the knowledge of the ancients.
You haven't told her about the juvenat yet, but she's not too worried. She's got enough time she can probably achieve the more common tech-priest method of immortality instead, but if you'd prefer she remains more organic you can tell her about the juvenat as a free action so she spends less time planning her own cybernetic ascension. No mechanical impact, purely flavor.
W is starting to get a little old in the tooth though. She's carried your deal through two different parliament alliances and successfully deflected Mechanicus attention from your growing factory. You don't think she wants to leave Denva behind, but you could be wrong.
I think I'll have some time Wednesday during the day to write, so let's do... 16 hour moratorium, 14 hours of voting.
[X] Plan: Soon Vita Will Into Space
-[X] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular.
--[X] Space Marines? There's got to be more to that...
-[X] Diplomacy: Mechanicus Shooshing
--[X] Thalya is a menace, but until you're ready to dislodge their monopoly, you need to pretend like you're playing ball. Send a mocked up progress report--consulting with Aneva to see if she can help you cook the books a little more--and include some samples in the form of broken up components that you otherwise would have been recycling, but can serve as 'proof' that you're not fabricating the whole thing. A few crumbs here and there to make them willing to wait and let you do the work. While you're at it, see if you can get to dickering with some samples for the purpose of 'Unbiased Comparison', because you really want a chance to see how the whole Machine Spirit thing properly works, and if there are any useful insights to be gleaned in Imperial design. (Do our thing to keep Thalya and the Mechanicus complacent, see if we can squeeze some samples out for our studies while we're at it.)
-[X] Diplomacy: Touching Base with our Handlers
--[X] Our partnership has been fruitful so far, and things have been going well--well enough that we're willing to extend a little more trust in turn, we do in fact, have a very limitedsupply of Anti-Agathic medicines that we can share out--we don't have the schematics to expand production as it was tightly controlled and honestly outside the scope of our mission, but for the sake of keeping things humming along smoothly, we're willing to share some of our production to minimize any turnover. That aside though, we are curious about the third major institution that's running around--the monasteries. Psy-active folks weren't exactly well known when I was running around, and if that's changed, I'd like to have the option of preparing some countermeasures. Is there any way you can put me in touch with one of those? (Further good relations with the local government by adding some Juvenat trade to further sweeten the deal, and hopefully minimize any turn-over of the agents we're working with. As a side note, see if we can get an introduction to open communications with one or more of the monastaries)
-[X] Construction: (+750 BP)
--[X] Underground Basic Technological Research Lab (150 BP)
--[X] Camoflauged Observatory (200 BP)
--[X] 3x Manufactories (300 BP)
--[X] Trade Goods (50 BP)
-[X] Research: 200 RP
--[X] Cybernetics (200 RP)
-[X] [Anexa] Active: Help us shoosh the Mechanicus (+5 to the Diplo roll I guess?)
You consider your options, and lament that there's just so much left to do on Devna. You want to get into orbit. You want to start building your ship, and spread at least a basic level of technology across Denva to prepare it to be a friendly port in this unfriendly galaxy.
But none of that is what you need to do. The Mechanicus is squatting in their enclaves like rusty paperweights, holding down the plant at a level of technology that barely has space capabilities at all. They're keeping an eye on the planetary environment for signs of advanced technology that don't belong to them, and if they catch of whiff of your true plans you're pretty sure they'll carpet-nuke Aevon just to be sure. You also haven't done a full space survey, and you have a nasty suspicion that there's at least one orbital-bombardment capable satellite up there, and potentially a fully manned platform that's hidden somewhere. You've gotten more in tune with the mechanicus way of thinking, and that's just the sort of thing they'd do to have a backup in case somebody - like you - managed to take out their surface enclaves.
Aevon itself also isn't helping. Well, they are, but your gifts of educational materials, technology and digital aid against the mechanicus mean that they're more confident in pushing a harder line against their cyborg blackmailers. That's stirring up tensions and drawing attentions in ways you're not entirely certain you want. But as far as you can tell they've been toeing the line and backfilling where they can with improved technical education. There's definitely been a series of new educational literature in the Aevon schools that bears a striking similarity to some of your uplift guides, and you don't think anybody else has caught on to how good the technical talent base of Aevon is going to be.
Finally there's the third pillar of the local society, and that's those monasteries. You've seen a fair number of warnings from imperial sources on the dangers of psykers, though you're not sure how much of that is just that it's hard for an authoritarian state to control them. But Denva Secundus seems to have figured out a solution that hopefully isn't mass murder. You don't necessarily need to intervene, but their presence stokes your curiosity, and you do want to find out if they're going to cause problems down the line for either yourself or Denva as a whole.
All of it comes together to paint a picture that's - well, it's fine. Things are fine. You wish you didn't have to do as much dreary politicking and subterfuge, but that's the name of the game right now. And it's not like you're not fascinated to dive into the mechanicus databases and learn about this new galaxy you're in. It's certainly morbid fascination, but all of your background reading now is certain to pay dividends in the future.
And you've seen enough references to these Adeptus Astartes, these Space Marines, that you're extremely curious to figure out what's up. But! There's other things to plan out. First off you issue new orders to your manufactories, though the planned pace isn't nearly as frenetic as it was in past years. You won't have as much attention to spare to smooth out any issues from pushing the machines as fast as they can go, but the difference is more than made up for in the number of fabricators and bots you now have available to. It's time to start building a proper orbital observatory to map the orbits of Denva and the system beyond.
Next is building out a hidden technology lab. If you're going to engage in serious shenanigans with the mechanicus it's important to really understand their technology, and the information in the database only gets you so far. You need actual physical samples to investigate, as well as a lab to investigate them with. You also want to research cybernetics and specifically nerve interfaces better, both to understand such an important pillar of mechanicus tech better and to allow Anexa to continue modifying herself.
Then your excess capacity can go into continuing to build out your factories on the surface - though after this round of construction you're going to be approaching the limit of what you can build in the open without the amount of construction getting suspicious, unless the government of Aevon is willing to go out on a limb and offer you some more cover.
Which - you were planning on talking to them anyways in order to get more information on the monasteries. Maybe you could ask them to help you cover further expansion.
It's a lot. Mechanicus, Aevon, construction, cybernetics.
Then there's the question of what to point Anexa at. She's offered to help, and is chewing through technical material at a rapid pace. At this rate it won't be long until she's able to seriously contribute to your research projects. But she's also expressed an interest in studying cybernetics with you - she understands many of the practical details of installation, but not the detailed biology of crafting the never interfaces themselves, since that's one of the deeper secrets of the machine cult that she was never given access to.
Unfortunately you think you need her help in talking to the mechanicus. It's - well, it's important. She has direct personal experience with them and can help you nagivate the social structures you're pretending to be a part of. You're pretty sure that you send the wrong social cues last time, and that's what caused Thalya to get so aggressive. Well, that and you implying that there might be an STC fragment on Denva. You get the sense you still don't understand how significant that is. The long and short of it is that you need to have some long chats with Anexa about how to properly interact with the rest of the mechanicus. And probably get her help drafting up a fake report.
Anexa is somewhat reluctant to put down her reading, but agrees to help you out with this, and together you draft a plan to allay Thalya's suspicions, as well as those of the mechanicus as a whole. You propose giving Thalya some evidence that you are approaching an STC fragment, and that's when Anexa interrupts to describe how significant an STC fragment really is.
"They're not just blueprints. They're holy relics. Artifacts of the Omnissiah's wisdom. Wholly human in origin and the truest expression of the Quest for Knowledge." She sees you're not getting it. "In the past whole battlefleets have been mobilized to attack worlds on the confirmed presence of an STC fragment. If you confirm that information to Thalya she will stop at nothing, exert every effort to acquiring it. She may be willing to work with you, but she would absolutely not leave it entirely within your responsibility."
Your avatar sighs in annoyance. "Then what should I give her? Nothing?"
Together you go over your options, and eventually land on the idea of providing a few broken-down components that validate you're not just blowing smoke, but actually have found an ancient wreck of advanced human technology. You even have a handy source of artifacts for that - your own ship. You scavenge a few nonfunctional appliances from the crew mess, have them somewhat mauled by industrial machinery, then go over them with Anexa to ensure that that they convey the right message of advanced, ancient, human, but mostly unidentifiable scrap.
Then you carefully craft a progress report to send to Thalya, one that contains indicators of slow but consistent progress towards your goal. You also offer to come deliver your unearthed samples in person, in return for several components you're having difficult manufacturing yourself. You include several kinds of things you want to examine to understand imperial technology better, as well as a few other things that you don't need to make it less obvious you're gathering a technical sample.
"Anexa, do you want to come with me to the enclave?" You ask the question without judgement, making it clear she's free to refuse.
She takes a while to think about it, and you can see she's thinking about going along with it just because you asked. Eventaully she answers honestly. "No, don't want to leave." Then she sighs. "But I should. Dominus Thalya will ask you questions about me, and we either need to prepare answers. Or I could come, and prepare my own report. We can make sure they match, and it will reduce her suspicions."
That's yet another thing to work on, and altogether you feel like you've done entirely too much preparation for a single meeting. But when you send off the report to Thalya you receive a near-instant reply scheduling a time for you to arrive. You notice that it is a time with a forecast of clear weather over the mountains of Aevon. So you instead reply that you'll come when you have time.
You don't intend to let her discover the launch point for your shuttle so easily. Though now that you think about it, you might need to worry about the local mechanicus trying to set up tracking stations if Thalya really wants to know where you are. But there's no trace of that activity, and so you don't think she's gone that far. She can't actually give the Aevon enclave orders after all, and looping them in on this would mean she would have to share whatever comes out of the whole affair.
You do some more prepwork and then the next time the continent is covered by a large storm you set out, again flying through the storm and only breaking for orbit from the mountains before heaving to the Denva enclave. Your arrival is smooth and easy, and this time only half of the number of skitarii are present in the hanger. Magos Thalya is waiting for you once again, and she seems less agitated than last time. She especially seems pleased to see Anexa behind you, though you might be misinterpreting her social cues.
The humanized combat bots once again unload several crates for her perusal, and you note a dozen more stacked off to the side that look like they're intended for you.
Thalya greets you, and this time the address carries more side-channels of respect, and less of derision. ++Magos Vita. I am pleased to receive your report, and I greatly anticipate analysis of the samples you provide for me.++ At her signal one of the skitarii moves forward and crack open one of your boxes, reveling sorted drawers each containing a labelled component.
The other tech-priest takes a moment to examine the setup, several mechadendrites carefully opening drawers before scanners more exotic than eyes quickly investigate the contents. Then her attention turns back to you. ++You are very thorough. It is no wonder that your efforts take so long. Would you allow me to assign you more tech-priests, to speed your work?++
In the background you can tell she is using a tightbeam connection to interrogate Anexa, though it seems to be somewhat low-throughput. Besides, you know that Anexa is going to report doing a lot of very boring work cataloging individual pieces.
You modulate your response to Thalya. Based on what Anexa's told you, your report and these samples are a peace offering of sorts, and her polite tones and giving you the supplies you requested is an acceptance of that offering. It doesn't seem like she's going to stop pushing to be involved, but at the very least you should not cause problems where none need to exist. ++Negative. The process is very delicate, and my standards are high. Anexa is doing well, but I am not able to oversee proper work from any more priests. Maybe once she is trained I can take another. I acknowledge the offer with respect, and will contact you if I change my mind.++
She can't really contradict that, so she instead gestures towards the boxes on the side of the room. ++Your requested components. The cybernetic modules are not included, as there is currently a shortage.++ Then the side-channel of the techna-lingua dips into slightly mocking. ++And what true magos would augment themselves with material they did not produce?++
You resist the urge to sigh. She's accepted your peace offering, but is still being an ass about it. It probably comes from the rusty metal rod she's replaced her spine with. And her legs. And her... well, most things. Still, the manifest she sends over to you seems to satisfy the basic requirements you were looking for to understand standard mechanicus technology. You respond with some amount of disappointment. ++Acceptable, though the lack of those parts will further push back my timetable.++ You gesture towards the humanized bots that are already loading the mechanicus-provided crates back aboard your shuttle. ++Maintenance of my workforce takes much of my time.++
++I can provide technicians as well to ease that burden from you. Your combat servitor design is quite interesting. It is a technology I would be willing to trade for. In return for a secret on channeled plasma chambers, perhaps?++ She wriggles a mechadendrite tipped with a plasma gun.
You have to stop to consider that for a moment. Not because it's actually a tempting offer, but because it's what any tech-priest would do. You can already build plasma guns, after all. It's just that none of your bots carry them because they're heavy, power-intensive and you haven't seen much deserving of that level of firepower in the local area. Well, aside from tanks. You'd also need to design a new bot chassis to carry them. You lace your tone with regret ++It is not my secret to share, according to oaths sworn to another. I will consider other secrets that I may trade for your knowledge of plasma.++ Your bots are done loading the shuttle, and now stand behind you respectfully.
Thalya bleats acknowledgement in binaric, though it carries more derision and a slight undercurrent of doubt. ++Magos Vita, Acolyte Anexa. Travel well, and may your Quest for knowledge be fruitful.++ She turns to depart, though her skitarii don't take their eyes off you until you've filed back aboard your shuttle.
You take a second to ensure that the faraday shield around the new cargo is complete and functional. You expect that Thalya has hidden one or more trackers in her crates, but with a little bit of care you can neutralize that danger and get yet another piece of Imperial tech for the trouble. Then you take off, once more breaking for high orbit. Once there you stop and unlock the airlock, sending out a void-capable repair drone. It's one you had in storage back aboard your ship, and is intended for exterior hull inspections and spot repairs. It'll serve well enough to find anything attached to your shuttle and remove it.
That leaves you and Anexa inside the cockpit to chat for a couple of hours while the drone makes three successive passes to absolutely ensure there's nothing there. You start the conversation. "That went well."
She nods. "It did. She's paranoid and wants more, but now has greater confidence that you are merely secretive, not truly heretekal."
"What did she ask you of?"
"She asked me for the report of my activities, then probed for details on the location and the state of the ship we are investigating." Anexa shakes her head. "She commanded me as if she were my master, and I reminded her that you are my master."
That tracks, and you're proud of Anexa for standing up to one of the most senior tech-priests on Devna Secundus. "What was her reaction?"
She shrugs. "Acceptance, though she said she would reward me greatly for the knowledge of the location, and asked for further reports in the future. She also reminded me to watch for Xenotech and keep the emergency beacon ready."
The conversation drifts through more discussion of the mechanicus for a time and towards your ongoing experimentation with cybernetics. It's not going well, as there are several things that you're not able to properly simulate or build. You'd hoped that examining examples of mechanicus implants would help you overcome your remaining stumbling blocks, but it doesn't seem like that's in the cards.
Eventually the bot comes back with the report that no trackers were attached to your shuttle, and you resume your descent back to Denva Secundus, once more taking every effort to maximize stealth. The clouds started to clear a bit, but you're able to hide your presence well enough and land in the hanger. Then it's time to unload your new samples, moving the entire faraday assembly into your new and well-shielded lab before sorting through everyhting.
It turns out there were three trackers distributed through the samples. One is obvious, just a simple homing beacon that pulses its location every twelve hours. Another is much better hidden, and a third is built into one of the communications arrays you'd requested. It's quite ingeniously hidden as a matter of fact, and you only found it because you put it in a sandbox with mimic satellite signals, which it then tried to reach out through to report its position.
Unlocked technology - What's up with this tech?
But you're not examining the local tech yet. Instead you and Anexa spend some time using your new medical lab to try and get some basic cybernetics working, with you providing the parts and her as the willing test subject. She tries to help, but actually building the implants is a bit beyond her current knowledge and with the work to draft the mechanicus reports she hasn't had the time to properly read up on either the technical literature you have or the mechanicus material on implants.
The cybernetics are... not going well. You don't want to destructively investigate her augments, especially not when your own aren't up to snuff yet. You can build implants, and they do work. Your components are cleaner, smoother, more sterile. They don't provoke irritation and they're better adapted to the human form than what the mechanicus can build. You can install them just fine. The basic technology is better in just about every way except one - they aren't responsive enough. There's about a tenth of a second of lag between your digital interfaces and the neurons they connect to. It's good enough to test the the augments you build, and they do work, and you're pretty sure somebody could get used to it if they had to. But it's absolutely maddening otherwise. Anexa quickly abandons your augments to go back to hers, and asks that you figure that out so that she can start building herself new versions.
You think you know how to fix the issue, but it'll require more research and until you do, any combat-rated cybernetics and brain implants are completely off the table.
Cybernetics research - rolled 8 + 20 = 28. Poor success.
You can make basic (laggy) limb replacements for people now! They can be installed in the medical facility.
New research unlocked - Let's fix the lag issue (50 RP)
New research unlocked - Organ replacements (100 RP)
New research unlocked - Combat cybernetics (100 RP) Locked behind lag issue.
New research unlocked - Brain implants (150 RP) Locked by lag issue.
Your observatory also comes online, atop your hidden underground manufactories. By it's very nature it requires surface access and could probably be found by a determined ground search. But it's also pretty passive, so it's not like it's hard to hide the signal it gives off. Regardless, you don't have the attention to spare for the data its generating, beyond to confirm that there are more things in orbit than you've picked up before. Before now you've only been able to look for things that were actively transmitting, and now you can scan for everything in orbit as well as map the local system. It could all be debris, but some of it might be inactive satellites or even small orbital platforms that are taking pains to remain hidden.
New research unlocked - System survey!
You could reach out to Aevon next, but your next supply drop is a ways in the future, so instead you follow up on the mention to the Adeptus Astartes, or Space Marines. You're prepared for some new fresh horror... and kind of find it? Children taken in at a young age, harshly trained and genetically augmented into super-soldiers. I mean, it's not great? They almost seem like monastic orders, but reading between the lines they also seem like they're pretty much just the elite soldiers of the Imperium. They follow the Imperial Creed like everybody else, and they commit xenocide and wipe out heretics like anybody else, but that doesn't make them unique.
At least they're the kind of superhuman that is dependent on humanity for their existence. Sterile, can't breed, they exist solely to protect the rest of humanity as a kind of military class. That's... fine? Sad, but in a kind of heroically tragic way. Misguided of course, but not as badly as the mechanicus is. Or the ecclesiarchy.
You do understand more of the references amongst the civilian datanet now to "The Emperor's Angels." You hadn't thought too much of them, thinking they were a religious thing like so much else. But no, they're not referring to literal angels. They're referring to eight-foot-tall superhuman soldiers dressed in elaborate armor that looks like it's the second-most-advanced thing the Empire still produces, after their starships. You get a lot of basic information - the space marines are organized into units of a thousand, called "chapters," and they sometimes are space-based, sometimes planet-based. Chapter masters, confessors, librarians - ah, so the Imperium does use psykers in combat. You were expecting that somewhere.
Give a fascist government a fish, and they'll try to figure out how to kill or oppress with it.
Then you try to follow the history of the space marines back and things get confusing. The different descriptions of the origins of the space marines are fragmented and contradictory, with mentions of them descending from the Emperor's sons, the space marine Primarchs. Whom... sound like bigger, badder space marines. I mean, why not make them all that way? Sure, whatever, though this does make you question if the emperor was a real person, some leader in the dawn of the empire who established the system and then conveniently interred himself in this "golden throne" so they could keep worshipping him.
Ego alert. If you name your tomb the golden throne and set up people to keep worshiping it for tens of thousands of years after your death, I think that reflects on you as a person. Though this is hardly the first thing I've seen that makes me think that.
There's other things that are confusing there. Some space marines are apparently heretics now. Not Hereteks, but heretics. Ugh. You supposed the Imperium is allowed to get complicated after more than ten thousand years of continued operation, but you're not entirely pleased about all of the edge cases around here. You try to dig into that and don't come away with much more than a name for an event. The Horus Heresy.
Fun. Sounds like one of the original primarchs - named Horus, because who doesn't name their children after ancient Egyptian gods - decided to rebel against the Imperium. Now he gets blamed for everything, including the fact that communications have been cut off from Earth, excuse me, Holy Terra, for the last few hundred years. Even after he's dead? You definitely don't understand everything that's going on here, though you do track down that one of the last messages sent to Devna Secundus mentions that somewhere called "Cadia" was being besieged by "The Thirteenth Black Crusade." And it has something to do with Horus. Who's dead.
Thirteen black crusades? I bet they skipped a bunch of numbers in the middle. It's probably a propaganda thing from one side or the other. If you need to launch 13 crusades it's really time to do something different.
Regardless, there are more vague mentions that you've come to associate with the "archenemy" business associated with that stuff. You're going to need to find time to decrypt and read those files sooner or later.
There's one other matter that requires your attention, and it's talking to the local government of Aevon. The trades have been going well, but they've been pushing up against your restriction on technology. They want advanced weapons that the mechanicus doesn't know about in case the shooting escalates. So far they've been engaged in several clandestine shootouts that seem like a series of undercover operations that got blown on both sides. You're continuing to provide intelligence to the Aevon Counter-Intelligence, and they seem to be acting on it.
You have a pretty good look inside their operations through eavesdropping with the encrypted communicators you've been providing. They have not only issued them to spies and covert operations teams, but at this point they've gotten enough that almost every battalion-commander and higher in their military has one, and it seems like they're making plans to coordinate an effective attack on the Aevon mechanicus enclave, though right now it sounds like a contingency than something that has a timeline. You aren't able to snoop on their strategy meetings, but you get the sense they're expecting you to do something about the weapons of mass destruction at some point, and want to be ready to capitalize on that to seize the enclave.
You have enough of a look into the mechanicus side of things to know that they're concerned over what's happening in Aevon but not actually worried. They think that Aevon has gotten a series of lucky breaks and an usually effective leadership team with effective but limited non-technological communications. The attitude of the internal mechanicus communications is basically "The luddites must have good running legs from carrying all these messages around. Let's just wait for the competent people to die and we'll go back to normal."
Which is ironic, given your next plans.
Touching Base with our Handlers - rolled 68+10 = 78. Good success!
You speak through your channel to the ACI. "I wish to speak to W during our next supply drop. I have an additional suggestion to make, that I think will benefit both of us."
"Heard and acknowledged, V." The reply comes back quickly, and you're pretty sure it's been the same guy all of this time, and he's come to serve as your unofficial liaison with the ACI. "Can you share details at this time?"
You think about that. You want to keep the the anti-agathics quiet, since news of it would hit the mechanicus like a bombshell. Juvenat is the sort of thing even they can't really make, and knowing that there's some floating around on the planet is absolutely something they'd need to get to the bottom of. It also might completely reshape your relationship with Aevon, as their leaders realize that good relations with you are a path to immortality. You wouldn't be entirely surprised if that caused some instability as people tried to hold onto high offices just to get access.
You shrug. If that becomes an issue it's one you can deal with later, and this is why you're going to tell W in person, and in private. You've worked with her for a while, and you trust her to be able to manage this issue. Not necessarily to your benefit, but she should be able to shape her leadership's response into something reasonable.
Though if I give her the ability to distribute the juvenat as she wants, it's also giving her an incredible amount of power. Is that something I'm ok with? Probably? She's a patriot of Aevon, and believes in the ideals of the founding revolutionaries. She won't seize power. But I could see her setting up a shadow organization equipped with technology from me that ensures nobody abuses the technology they get from me. Eh, I have access to her communications. I'll know if things start to stink.
That's just the risk you have to take, because you don't want to dedicate too much more production to Aevon, but you also want more from them. And you've got this very valuable trade good lying around and going bad. Seriously, your juvenat vats continue to produce the stuff and then it goes bad, since the shelf-life isn't very long. It's kind of a waste.
Ah, on that note, you make a note to decide if you should tell Anexa about the juvenat. You're not sure how much of her desire to augment herself comes from the idea that it's a way to become immortal versus how much is left over from being raised in the mechanicus, but it would be good to give her the option.
Vote below on if you tell Anexa about Juvenat, or keep her on the path to immortality through cybernetics.
Finally, after what was quite a bit of thought for you, but only a few seconds for the ACI operative over the line, you respond. "I want to know more about the monasteries. What they're like, who lives in them, how they're supplied, any communications you have with them. Anything. I'm also going to continue to expand my manufacturing capabilities, and I want to talk about more ways we can camouflage that."
"Acknowledged, V. We'll be there in a few days. We would also like to lodge another request for advanced weaponry, specifically longlas and man-portable bolters that could conceivably have been left over from an imperial stockpile."
Vote below on if you'll give Aevon weaponry for rent.
You promise to think about it, and then prepare for W's arrival in a few days.
Wait, did he say "we"? Does this mean I'll finally meet him?
W shows up at the appointed time and is met by your fully human avatar near the front gates. You're standing next to a small table that's piled with unmarked grey cases, and she approaches with a younger man by her side. She's aged notably since the last time you spoke, with crow's feet at the edges of her eyes and her hair has gone from fully black to speckled with grey. Next to her is a younger man, darker skinned than the average. He's a bit smaller than she is and looks lean, like a long-distance runner. His eyes are cautious, taking in everything and especially studying you.
W speaks first. "You truly do have access to the technology of the ancients, to look so good." Then she gestured towards the man. "This is Victan, he's been your contact." He gives you a small smile.
You chuckle in response and hold out your hand. "Good to meet you Victan. Nice to put a face to the voice."
His voice is smooth and calm. "Quite true."
You glance back at W. "Is he here as my official liaison?"
She nods. "He is. Anything you can say to me, you can say to him. I've become rather busy of late, and want him to take over managing our relationship."
You think about that for a second, then nod. "Acceptable. These" you wave towards the table. "Are injectable anti-agathics. A series of injections in the proper order will render the person immune from aging for five years. Instructions are included."
W controls her reaction admirably, but you still see her brows jerk slightly. Victan isn't quite as controlled, and he openly gapes for a moment before bringing himself under control. W responds. "Truly, a gift from the Emperor." Then she catches her words and snorts. "Or another source. How many are there?"
"Twenty." Then you reach into your coat and pull out another case and hand it to W. "This is a twenty-first, and it's not part of our deal."
She looks at you questioningly.
You smile in response. "It's nice working with a professional." You cut your eyes towards Victan. "I'll bring twenty-two the next time you come."
Her eyes are troubled, and they're focused past you while she considers the implications here. "Can you make more?"
You waggle your hand. "I can produce a set amount, but they need to be used quickly. Those will last about a month before they'll start to lose potency, and in six months they'll be lethal. I can't expand production, and while I might be able to give you a little bit more, there's not much more flexibility."
W nods, and shares a look with Victan. "This... changes things. Thank you. I think we'll be able to provide what you're looking for." She gestures to Victan, and he reaches into his bag to pull out a few items and place them on the table.
Again he speaks, explaining each item as he puts them down. "Data storage about the monasteries. We keep watch over them for any kind of disturbance, and these are our reports, as well as an offer to help open communications. They are mostly cut off from the world outside but we can get you in."
Then he puts down a sheaf of papers. "Here is a proposal for us to build a new settlement down the road, as part of a planned new manufacturing community. On paper they'll be producing bulk machine parts, and that will be true in part, but we will also be constructing new factories for higher-tech devices. Your facility will be listed as a raw materials extraction center over a deep mine, with attached smelting centers."
You think about that, nodding along. You see what they're doing here - it's smart. A nearby community gives you more cover, since it's more reasonable to have a large industrial center close to a population center. And making it a mine and smelter complex would explain away some of your waste products and heat signature, and also not make you a target unless the mechanicus gets uppity. They hit factories, not mines.
But they're also putting one of their new technology manufacturing centers nearby, and hoping it'll be shielded under your defensive umbrella. Which they don't know you have, but they're assuming. And they're right. You do have it. But that might mean that if their manufacturing gets attacked you'll end up defending it because you won't know if the attack is coming for you or them until the last possible moment.
Eh, that's only probably true if they're hitting it with a ballistic missile. And if nukes start flying I think I'll shoot down as many of them as I can.
You promise to think about it, and get back to them with your decision.
Vote below on if you take the Aevon deal to build a manufacturing community nearby and disguise your aboveground operations as a mine.
Once they're gone with the juvenat and the supplies it's time for you to go through what they've given you. The file on the monasteries is a series of dry reports, but it provides you with an in-depth view of life inside those institutions. You're pretty sure that the ACI has several agents in the staff, though they've gone to some pains to hide exactly who their agents are from you. Their reports are only on the Aevon monastery, not the ones on other continents, but they do have some analysis that suggests that the other two are very similar - after all, they were founded by the governor at the same time with the same purposes and the same techniques.
In short, the monasteries are hermitages that seek to be self-sufficient in most things. They hire a staff of outsiders for various tasks using a large stockpile of precious goods, but otherwise live lives of ascetic contemplation in prayer to the God-emperor. For in fact the faith in the Emperor is alive and well in the monasteries, and they regard the outside world with suspicion for having lost the faith in the Shepherd of Mankind.
Each monastery is built around a giant dome of clearly advanced construction, and this is something that you pay especially close attention to. The reports say that it's supposed to be some kind of psychic dampening device, though from what you can see it's entirely passive, with no active energy requirements. Therefore pretty significantly different from your own psychic shielding - probably closer to the psytech still sitting in your vaults.
Any new applications to the monasteries are screened and divided into two groups, which seems to correspond to "Psychic enough to be dangerous" and "everybody else." Those who aren't deemed dangerous live within the walls of the monastery farming and engaging in various crafts to produce tradable goods. Some of them are then brought into a security force called the "Nullifiers" who seem to focus their attention on the internal dome. They're armed with carapace armor and hotshot las guns, so well-armed by local standards. Though their gear is starting to show some signs of age.
Those who are deemed dangerous spend almost all of their time inside the domes, and from what the ACI agents could discover almost all of that is spent going through various kinds of calming meditation and various other exercises whose purpose is to suppress psychic power. You're not sure if that's actually what's happening, but it's what the report says. There are also zero reports of any kind of psychic phenomenon, so maybe if they're trying to suppress psychic power they're actually doing a pretty good job.
It sounds like they're just praying all day every to keep their powers suppressed? Seems like a shame to have magic powers and devote all of your attention to not having magic powers. But - like everything, there's probably a reason for that. Probably to do with them being more easily corrupted or something.
The inner-circle monks cursed with psychic powers emerge a few times a year for various rituals under the open sky, and in all cases are dressed plainly and ascetically and sing praises to the emperor to the sky for hours on end. On those occasions the agents have counted them, and found the number to vary between forty to sixty, though notably sometimes one of their number will vanish from one year to the next and never reappear.
To corroborate that information, one of the agents reports a scene where they saw a psyker try to escape the dome and be instantly gunned down by the nullifiers, who then rapidly cleaned the scene and pretended that nothing had happened.
The government of Aevon has some contact with the monasteries, though it's mostly through in-person meetings, there's a single communication line that apparently leads from the president of Aevon to the leader of the Aevon monastery. There's a proposal at the end of the document that they'd be willing to make introductions of some kind, either in-person or electronically, though the details are left vague. But apparently they're willing to offer you a friendly introduction for as far as it will get you.
Neat, though from what you're reading it doesn't necessarily sound like the psykers are much of a risk. Still, if you want to investigate you certainly have a way to reach out to them now, and have them actually talk to you either digitally or through an avatar.
Current capabilities:
Command Points 1,775/12,500
Ground Build Capacity: 900
Void Build Capacity: 0
Research Capacity: 200
Psychic Shielding: 100/100 (repair for 10 BP/point)
Juvenat usage: 22/50 people's worth (cannot be stockpiled)
Available ships:
1x Ground-to-orbit shuttle (5 CP) Need a spaceport to convert ground BP to void BP
Misc assets:
55 BP of trade goods that Aevon will accept as rent.
Avatars: Adult human woman, indeterminate age. Female tech priest with some augmentations.
Current Installations:
Crashed Ship (10 CP)
Underground Directional-Control Radio Tower (5 CP)
2x Underground Manufactories (2x50 = 100 CP)
Underground Captive Holding cells, 0/500 occupants (10 CP)
Underground Basic Technological Research Lab (50 CP)
14x Manufactories (14x50 = 700 CP)
Small automated medical facility (50 CP)
Camouflaged Observatory (25 CP)
Military Installations:
4x Underground Anti-Air Defenses (4x5 =20 CP)
In progress construction:
None
In progress research:
None
Actions (choose 4 of the below, can choose the same action multiple times):
[] [Free] Poke around some more in the databases, looking for anything in particular. I'm not going to write out every aspect of Vita going through the databases she yoinked. If you want to ask if something in particular is present because it's important, do so here. Please keep it to one or two items per turn.
[] Orders: Command existing units in a given theater of operations.
[] Diplomacy: Talk to people. (Write-in goal & method) Thalya is expecting a report next turn. You can ignore her, but then she'll probably put out a capture-on-sight order and try even harder to track you down. You could send in a report with a free action, but that's much riskier than spending an action on it, and a poor roll will have similar results to no report. You also have an in with the psyker monastery on Aevon, though they're pretty insular and would need a reason to care about talking to an outsider that's not the goverment.
[] Construction: Gain build points equal to your build capacity, write in what combination of blueprints you spend them on.
Installations
Installation default is to be built in full view. Basic stealth (building under cover, sensor-absorbing materials) can be applied with 2x BP cost. Ground-based installations can be built entirely underground for 3x BP cost.
Basic Biology Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic biological samples, such as flora & fauna. Or captives.
Basic Technological Research Lab (50 BP, 50 CP) Will allow you to process basic technological samples, to understand their electronics, materials, etc.
Captive Holding cells (25 BP, 10 CP) will allow you to hold 500 captives and keep them fed and watered while you interrogate/indoctrinate/talk to them.
Small automated medical facility (50 BP, 50 CP) 50 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Directional-control Radio tower (25 BP, 5 CP) improves signal reception quality and allows you to send your own signals across the planet, as well as giving you the capability to bounce them off the atmosphere to disguise their origin.
Observatory (100 BP, 25 CP) Built on a nearby mountain. Will unlock research projects to map the current system.
Manufactory (100 BP, 50 CP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity.
Rocket Launch facility (50 BP, 10 CP) Uses chemical rockets to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to half that amount of void build capacity. The opposite of stealthy.
Spaceport (100 BP, 25 CP) Allows you to use shuttles to convert ground build capacity to Void build capacity with no loss, or as a base to host and rearm fighters. Can host 10 fighters or 10 shuttles, each capable of converting 50 ground BP to void BP, built separately. Stealthier than rockets, but not invisible
Magnetic Catapult launch system (1000 BP, 50 CP) Allows you to convert up to 500 ground build capacity to void build capacity with no loss. Stealthier than you'd think.
Anti-Orbital Defenses (100 BP, 5 CP) A single large lance dug into a reinforced bunker. Will prevent hostile forces from claiming the orbits uncontested, but can be neutralized by orbital bombardment or ground invasion.
Anti-Air Defenses (25 BP, 5 CP) A trio of rapid-recharge lascannons backed up by advanced targeting software in a reinforced emplacement with an upwards-facing arc. Will attempt to destroy ballistic missiles, aircraft or shuttles as they approach. Can miss or be saturated by large amounts of incoming fire or miss and fail to destroy their targets.
Void Installations
These are built in space. They require 'void BP' which is associated with lift capacity. This is a detail we'll abandon eventually, but for now your lift capacity is limited.
Orbital Manufactory (500 void BP, 50 CP) Orbital manufacturing capability, built above a world. Includes material harvesting & transport. Gives +50 void build capacity.
Deep Space Manufactory (1500 void BP, 50 CP) Manufacturing capacity built near asteroid clusters. Gives +100 void build capacity. Automatic basic stealth. Requires you to do a system survey.
Small Shipyard (1000 void BP, 50 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 4 destroyers or 2 frigates per turn.
Medium Shipyard (5000 void BP, 100 CP) All of the necessary facilities to manufacture 16 destroyers or 8 frigates or 2 light cruisers per turn.
Ground-to-orbit shuttle (20 BP, 5 CP) Each shuttle converts up to 50 ground build capacity to void build capacity. Requires a spaceport for efficient transfer of materials.
Ground-to-orbit Fighter (20 BP, 5 CP) These fighters have twin-linked lascannons to attack ground and orbital targets, and can carry a couple of small bombs. Requires a spaceport for rapid launch and rearming.
Requires frigate-capable shipyard. Small system monitor (2525 void BP, 100 CP) Frigate, 2200x600 meters. 5 gravities of acceleration. Heavy armor, Heavy Shields. 4x Medium Macrocannons, 1x Medium Lances, 2x Point Defense.
1000 bp base. 1000 bp
Units
Avatar (10 BP, 0 CP) 1 human-appearing robot.
Light infantry bots (25 BP, 200 CP). 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with light arms and armor, mostly intended to fight lightly-armored enemies. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium Infantry Bots (50 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with medium armor and light anti-tank weaponry. Expensive CP cost due to need for close control. Can be humanized for +15 BP to appear humanoid unless bodies are investigated, with a slight malus to strength and armor.
Medium tanks (200 BP, 50 CP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor.
Basic Artillery (300 BP, 50 CP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Export Goods
Light Infantry Weapons (5 BP) Enough light weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Mostly intended for anti-personnel use. Lasguns, a few stubbers, some grenade launchers and supplies of frag grenades.
Light Infantry Armor (5 BP) Enough light armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial guard Flak armor, though with better communication abilities.
Medium Infantry Weapons (10 BP) Enough medium weapons to outfit 1000 humans. A mix of anti-armor and anti-personnel use with greater specialization. Hotshot las-gun equivalents, some lascannons, some autocannons, some flamers, some sniper rifles, a supply of krak grenades.
Medium Infantry Armor (10 BP) Enough medium armor to outfit 1000 humans. Roughly equivalent to Imperial carapace armor.
Heavy Infantry Weapons (20 BP) Enough heavy weapons to outfit 1000 humans. Primarily focused on anti-armor, will work well on power-armored foes. Plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
Light crewed tanks (100 BP) 100 light battle tanks, primarily armed with anti-personnel weapons. Need crew. Roughly equivalent to the Imperial Chimera.
Medium crewed tanks (200 BP) 100 medium battle tanks with battle cannons to fight enemy armor. Roughly equivalent to the Leman Russ.
Basic Crewed artillery (300 BP) 50 basic artillery units, capable of shelling battlefields with indirect fire. Includes internal ammunition fabrication.
Trade goods (Any cost you wish to spend) A mix of medical supplies, civilian equipment, vehicles and appliances tailored to your trade partner's needs. 5 is a small amount of goods, 10 is decent, 20 is a fair number, 50 starts being quite a lot.
Manned Manufactory (100 BP) More manufacturing capacity and the raw material harvesting to use it. +50 ground-based build capacity, to be spent as the people running it desire.
[] Research: Gain research points equal to your research capacity, to be spent designing new blueprints or researching projects. Write in what you spend them on.
Designable Blueprints:
100 RP - Heavy Infantry Bots (100 BP, 200 CP) 1000 human-sized bipedal robots with heavy armor, roughly equivalent to the Sisters of Battle, and heavy armaments such as plasma guns, meltaguns, heavy flamers, melta bombs, missile launchers.
50 RP - Heavy tanks (500 BP, 50 CP) 100 heavy battle tanks with heavy battle cannons to fight effectively against heavy enemy armor.
50 RP - Bombers (20, 5 BP) Sometimes you want to deliver cargo to your enemies. Can deliver a fair amount of ordinance to a target in atmosphere or out of it. Unlocks a bomber hanger attachment for ships.
50 RP - Assault Shuttle (25, 5 BP) Sometimes you want to deliver things other than bombs to your enemies. So let's stick some armor and guns on a shuttle, and make it a bit more maneuverable. Can carry 100 troops and provide anti-personnel and light antiarmor fire.
25 RP - Anti-armor Bunker (50 BP, 5 CP) A bunker with a heavy melta cannon, able to take out most armor in a single shot.
15 RP - Anti-personnel Bunker (20 BP, 2 CP) A bunker with a set of high-fire-rate weapons designed to take down humanoid-sized attackers wearing medium or lighter armor.
50 RP - Ballistic missile (50 BP, 10 CP) A long-range ballistic missile. By default it carries a high-yield explosive head capable of destroying approximately a city block. Can be intercepted by orbital defenses.
50 RP - Nuclear warhead (25 BP, 1 CP) A nuclear warhead that can be deployed by ballistic missile or other means to destroy a city-sized target unless it's heavily dug-in.
25 RP - Spy satellite (10 void BP, 5 CP) A small spy satellite that lets you do your own surveillance on the planet below. Under your complete control and with better sensors and communication hardening than any of the local satellites.
100 RP - Advanced Technological Research Lab (500 BP, 100 CP) Will allow you to process advanced technological samples, including materials of alien orgin. Has advanced scanning, modelling and processing capabilities.
50 RP - Large automated medical facility (500 BP, 50 CP) 500 treatment rooms with autodocs capable of dealing with moderate injuries.
Ground Blueprint Design:
To design ground installations & non-combat units, post them and I'll add them here if they're valid, along with RP cost to design them. This includes bunkers, anti-orbital defenses, ground units, etc. You'll unlock more things with more technology. Some things are impossible without the correct research - for example, heavy tanks will require you to research heavy armor first. Other things will be very cheap if you already have most of the design - for example if you research a better weapon it will be relatively cheap to just swap that out on the tanks.
Void Blueprint design:
To design void blueprints, follow these steps:
Choose a starting hull from the list of available void chassis below
Choose the number of Build Points to be spent on the base hull. This corresponds to overall size of the ship - a destroyer with 200 bp will be 1200x200 meters, while a 500 bp base destroyer will be 1600x400 meters. This will set the "hp" of the design as well as determine the total cost of weapons and combat equipment you can fit into the ship.
Pick the speed, shields and armor of the design. Shields are recharging temp HP, while armor is damage reduction. Speed is self-explanatory. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Pick noncombat equipment to go onto the ship. These do not count towards weapon cramming.
Choose weapons and combat equipment to add to the ship. As a rule of thumb, your budget for these things is the base BP spent on size before you start to get into cramming. You can cram more stuff in, but there will be penalties to maneuvering, maintenance, etc. As an example, if you build a destroyer with a base hull cost of 400, then you have a budget of 400 to spend on weapons/equipment before penalties start kicking in. See the below example for an explanation:
Spend the number of RP attached to the chassis.
Here are two examples of me designing the two blueprints you have available:
(Basic Defense Satellite) Light defense Platform. Base 100 Bp (200x200 meters). No engines, Light shields for 50 bp, light armor for 50 bp. 1x light lance battery for 100 bp. Total is 100+50+50+100 = 300. Weapons+equipment is 100, within the base BP of 100, so no cramming penalty.
(Basic System Monitor) Destroyer chassis. Base BP 350 (1500x300 meters) Engines: 7 gravities for 100 BP. Light Shields for 50 BP. Medium armor for 100 BP. 2x Light Macrocannon batteries for 200 bp, 1x Light Lance battery for 100 bp, High maneuverability thrusters for (1/10 base, round up to nearest 50 =) 50 bp. Total is 350+100+50+100+200+100+50 = 950. Weapons + equipment is 350, within the base BP of 350, so no cramming penalty.
Available Void Chassis:
Light defense Platform, 25 RP, 10 CP, (100-400 BP, 200x200-500x500 meters.) Engines: (none) for (0). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Destroyer, 50 RP, 50 CP. (200-500 BP, 1200x200-1600x400 meters) Engines: (6/7/8 gravities) for (50/100/150 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/50/100)
Frigate, 100 RP, 100 CP. (500-1000 BP, 1600x400-2200x600 meters) Engines: (5/6/7 gravities) for (75/150/225 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225) Armor: (none/light/medium/heavy) for (0/75/150/225)
Light Cruiser, 150 RP, 200 CP. (1000-2000 BP, 3500x400-4400x800 meters) Engines: (3/4/5 gravities) for (100/200/300 BP). Shields: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200) Armor: (none/light/medium) for (0/100/200)
Available Non-combat Equipment:
Living Space (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is built to be run and operated by humans. It will require a crew but will not cost CP to command.
Warp Drive (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship can jump to the warp. Navigation systems sold separately.
Psychic Shielding (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to nearest 50) This ship has a neural network integrated throughout the whole thing, that thinks "no" as hard as possible, answering the question for any warp-corruption for any beings or objects within the hull.
Troop compartment (25 BP) Can carry 10,000 soldiers or 500 medium tanks across the stars.
Medical bay (25 BP) Can treat 1000 moderately injured people at once.
Manufactory (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes) Generates void BP equivalent to 1/10 of its cost.
Repair Bay (Any cost up to base cost of hull, counts as combat equipment for cramming purposes). Repairs damage across friendly ships equal to its cost in repairs.
Available Weapons:
Prow Ram 50 bp. This ship is built to run into things, and hurt them more than it gets hurt.
Light Macrocannons 100 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Medium Macrocannons 200 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage. Heavy Macrocannons 400 bp. Medium range, projectile weapons built for sustained barrage.
Light Lances 100 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Medium Lances 200 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire. Heavy Lances 400 BP. Long range, hitscan burst weapons. Not excellent at sustained fire.
Light Missiles 50 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Medium Missiles 100 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon. Heavy Missiles 200 BP short range, limited ammo, vulnerable to enemy point defense but very good burst damage. Limited ammo. Decent anti-fighter/bomber weapon.
Light Plasma Cannon 250 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Plasma Cannon 500 BP, Medium range, high-fire rate with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields, less effective against armor.
Light Melta cannon 200 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields. Medium Melta cannon 400 BP, Very short range, medium-fire rate but with incredible damage potential. Extremely effective against shields.
Fighters 100 BP, 50 CP. Parasite craft with short-ranged guns and some missile capability.
Point Defense 50 BP. A series of turrets on the hull to shoot down enemy fighters, missiles and torpedoes.
Small Torpedoes 150 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to give destroyers a bad day, hurt frigates and prick cruisers. Medium Torpedoes 300 BP. A payload of straight-flying armored torpedoes, sized to wreck frigates, hurt cruisers and make grand cruisers know they've been touched.
Light Teleportarium 100 bp. Can teleport a small number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from close range. Enemy shields must be down. Medium Teleportarium 200 bp. Can teleport a medium number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from medium-close. Enemy shields must be down. Heavy Teleportarium 400 bp. Can teleport a large number of organics or robots onto enemy ships from long range. Enemy shields must be down.
Available Combat Equipment:
Low-emission Systems (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship has been tuned to reduce overall emissions, making it stealthier. Not stealthy. Stealthier.
High-maneuverability thrusters (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship is more maneuverable, able to flip, spin and dodge more quickly. This lets it maneuver well through dense asteroid clusters and dodge/ram more effectively in combat.
Plasma payloads (choose missile warheads or Macro cannon warheads) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire plasma-warhead ammunition, which has a flat damage increase.
Melta payloads (choose missile warheads, Macrocannon warheads or torpedoes) (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship can load and fire melta-warhead ammunition, which is especially effective against enemy armor and hulls.
Tuned Shields Double shield cost on ship. These shields recharge significantly faster, but when taken down all the way take slightly longer to reboot.
Alloyed Armor Double armor cost on ship. Armor is much tougher but is harder to repair.
Light Boarding preparations (1/20 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) Bulkheads are reinforced, extra hatches seal all decks and turrets guard key chokepoints, making boarding annoying. Medium Boarding preparations (1/10 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) The ship layout is designed to funnel borders into kill-zones in front of armored bunkers, and any borders will take heavy casualties. Heavy Boarding preparations (1/5 of the base cost of the hull, rounded up to the nearest 50) This ship as essentially a flying dungeon, filled with escherian mazes, hidden turrets, crushing-hallways and other deathtraps.
The ways to get new research options are to:
Do research. That'll unlock more research.
Build appropriate installations & potentially acquire samples to research in them (samples could be anything from 'a human' to 'a Norn queen' in rarity).
Ask for them. Often I'll tell you what you need to do to unlock specific research options,
-[] Efficient Weapon Distribution (100 RP) Ok, there must be more efficient ways to lay weapons out on these ships! (Weapon costs count as 0.9x for ship capacity packing.)
-[] Heavy Cruisers (300 RP) How to make a bigger ship? Let's figure that out. Surely it's not much more complicated than just multiplying all of the dimensions by two! (unlocks heavy cruisers)
-[] Can I have a new ship please? (200 RP) Triggers a sub-turn to design yourself a new ship. It can be any size, up to one class larger than what you currently have available (This is Vita's unique mechanic, and will let you design the first iteration of your ship)
-[] Mechanicus files on the Archenemy (100 RP) You've seen refences here and there to the "Archenemy" and the "Corruption" that it causes. It seems like a more specific and terrible danger than just a generalized lure of going against cult doctrine, but... what? It's almost like they're treating it as a infohazard that needs to be locked behind higher access.
-[] Small-craft Stealth (100 RP) How do I keep these ships better hidden? Hmm - radar absorption, better chassis design to deflect signals? Hiding or dispersing the drive plume? All good ideas. (Unlocks the ability to design versions of fighters, bombers, boarding craft and shuttles with basic passive stealth. Unlocks advanced passive stealth, basic active stealth and research to apply stealth to both smaller combat bots and larger ships)
-[] Shuttle automation (150 RP) Surely I don't have to fly these stupid things myself. (Reduce the CP cost of shuttles by 50%)
-[] In-atmosphere void shields (100 RP) You know it's possible to generate void-shields in atmosphere. You even think you have an academic paper theorizing on it lying around somewhere. But you don't have any schematics for it. But if you can figure it out then you'll be able to build yourself a something to protect against orbital or WMD bombardment, as well as build scaled-down versions for your armored units. (Unlocks the ability to design shield installations and add shields to tanks, titans. Unlocks further research for person-sized void shields, as well as potentially stronger overall shielding.)
-[] Superheavy Armor (200 RP) Let's just stick starship armor on them and call it a day. (Unlocks superheavy tanks and is half of the puzzle for space-marine-quality power armor)
-[] Basic power armor (100 RP) Putting heavy armor on a person doesn't work well because... well. It's heavy. If you can give it some robotic actuation then they don't need to carry all of it. (Unlocks humanoid heavy armor, as well as being a prereq for superheavy-humanoid armor, i.e. for space marine-quality, once you research superheavy armor.)
-[] Avatar self-customization (200 RP) Your previous avatar was capable of changing its appearance at your whim, changing the hair, eye and skim color rapidly. Hair length and body size changes took a bit longer but were also possible. Is this worth figuring out? It might just be you being vain. (Unlocks some disguise-style cybernetics... once you get good cybernetics and can do things like skin/eye replacements).
-[] Combat Bot Humanization, Redux (50 RP) Your first try at making humanoid-looking combat bots worked, but you had to make some annoying compromises. You have some ideas on how to fix it, you just need to implement them. (Fixes the combat malus that comes from humanizing combat bots).
-[] Walkers (300 RP) Tanks are... kind of boring? Mechs are cooler. (unlock armiger knights, starts the knights/titans research tree)
-[] Really good Robotics: (1200 RP) You know it's possible to make robots that are really strong. You've seen the specs floating around. You just don't quite know how to do it, though you've got some ideas on the matter... it would take quite a bit of simulation and a lot of trial and error to bring them into reality (Unlocks improvements to avatars, power armor, cybernetics, combat bots, improved manufactories). Acquire samples of advanced robots to reduce this cost.
-[] Intelligence Coding (500 RP) You don't really understand how your own code and hardware works. Maybe putting some effort into understanding that would pay dividends. It's never been something too interesting, but hey, maybe you should give it a shot. (Helps you understand your own code. Prerequisite to building new AIs, starts command point tree and automation tree)
-[] Improved Psychic shielding: (500 RP) Your "no" shielding seems to have worked to protect you from attack so far. But the design is really just a first-generation version. You could develop the second generation, make it capable of more complex and powerful thoughts? (Gives you the ability to build improved psychic shielding, and further upgrades down the path to make it even stronger, half of the research towards using this as some kind of attack against warp beings).
-[] Miniaturized psychic shielding: (300 RP) Right now you can build and repair psychic shielding that's roughly ship-sized. Maybe aiming for building-sized next? (Lets you build smaller and less expensive versions of the psychic shielding. Unlocks further research to "nest" the shielding, as well as build person-sized versions).
- [] The Basics of Psytech (200 RP) You have that pile of samples from Prospero. You were supposed to see if anybody was interested in them, but you doubt the people who gave them to you will care much what you do with them anymore. Maybe poke around and figure out what's what. (Beginner psytech learnings. Unlocks research projects to build individual pieces of psytech)
-[] The workings of a Void Abacus (200 RP) You have a void abacus. It's pretty complicated, but you also have the manual, and you've always been good at physics. (You're better at using your void abacus, and unlocks the technology to figure out how to manufacture them, half of unlocking research for better warp understanding).
-[] A Study of Physics (150 RP) You have a good understanding of physics, and access to a huge network of academic papers from several different eras on physics theory. But being able to query it and understand it are different things. It's actually kind of interesting, you have to admit. (First steps towards more exotic weapon types like nova cannons, graviton weapons, vortex bombs, fusion beamers, as well as some new potential manufacturing techniques).
-[] System survey (50 RP) What else is there in the system? You're not even sure what planet you're on. (Intel on local system).
-[] What's up with this tech? (100 RP, requires samples of imperial technology from locals) You know some of how it works, but you need to get your hands on it to properly replicate it. What's up? (unlocks machine spirits/servitor construction, as well as half of the prereq for hacking imperial technology).
-[] Let's fix the lag issue (50 RP) Your cybernetics... aren't great. There's sort of an unacceptable amount of lag between the organic and machine parts right now. You have some ideas on how to fix that
-[] Organ replacements (100 RP) Well, one area where lag isn't a problem is in organ replacements. It's not the same as juvenat, but it's less complicated and a good way to extend peoples' lives by a bit since you can replace most of their organs as they fail, though the technological versions aren't perfect. Also lets you provide more advanced medical care, as well as install things like adrenaline glands, toxin-filters & other miscellaneous internal augments. Not as good as genetic engineering, but easier. (Unlocks advanced organ replacements that are effectively as good as biological ones, and improved internal augments).
-[] Combat cybernetics (100 RP) Your limb cybernetics are fine for most purposes, but they're not strong enough or durable enough for use in combat situations. You also could figure out how to do things like integrate internal weapons or cutting edges to make them more dangerous. (Unlocks basic combat augments. Half of the technology for advanced combat augments, the other half is Really good Robotics) Locked until you fix the Lag issue.
-[] Brain implants (150 RP) Direct interfacing with the brain is complicated, and you're not pleased by how the mechanicus has chosen to do it. Proper brain implants improve people's reaction speed, memory and let you directly interface new senses with the brain. All without cutting out existing portions. (Unlocks basic neural implants. Half of the technology needed for neural-interface psytech. A third of the technology needed for advanced neural implants.) Locked until you fix the Lag issue.
-[] Basic Imperial Hacking (150 RP) Imperial technology is surprisingly well-hardened, and machine spirits are a pretty effective counter to most hacking. But with time and preparation you can probably subvert specific pieces of imperial technology. (Allows better penetration of Imperial & Mechanicus systems and the ability to subvert specific systems. Unlocks further hacking technology, though it will likely require specific installations/ship equipment to utilize) Locked behind What's up with this tech?
-[] Biology is kinda wet (100 RP) Unlocks basic biology research. (The first step towards research projects related to improving juvenat yield, as well as human/xeno genetics, improved medical care, interrogation drugs etc.) Locked behind Basic Biology Research Lab.
Crew :
Anexa Ifina, Tech-priest Errant.
Level 1
-[] Anexa active Action: Research - assists a research action you take, granting +5xLevel RP to the action. Will level on successful roll, scaled by the importance of the tech.
-[] Anexa passive action: Education - Roll to level, difficulty is 10+5xLevel
[] Anexa: Juvenat Yes Tell Anexa about the Juvenat. She'll likely get more interested in biological research, and maintain a more biological form, though you're not completely certain.
[] Anexa: Juvenat No Don't tell Anexa about the juvenat. It'll be distracting from her mission, and with your help she's almost certain to succeed in achieving immortality through cybernetics.
[] Aevon Mine: Take the "mine disguise" deal Aevon founds a manufacturing center about fifteen miles away and you become set up as a mine drawing workers from there and providing raw materials (though neither actually happen). Will allow you to expand your surface facilities nearly indefinitely without arousing suspicion, although only limited to stuff that fits
[] Aevon Mine: Don't take the "mine disguise" deal. Aevon won't found a nearby manufacturing center. If you expand your surface installations any further it'll start looking suspicious because why is there a big industrial complex in the middle of nowhere?
[] Aevon Weapons: Yes Aevon has asked for your rent to be paid in weapons. They're specifically interested in stuff like longlases and plasma pistols that are useful for covert work and could conceivably be found in an imperial cache. It's likely this will be used to further tilt the covert conflicts in their favor, and may alarm the mechanicus.
[] Aevon Weapons: No You'll supply them with cogitators and communicators, but no weapons.
Your basic success with the Mechanicus means you succeeded in soothing Thalya a bit, though she's still trying multiple avenues to get her hooks into you. But she's not escalating, and she's willing to play ball with you so long as you keep it up. She's expecting her next report not this upcoming turn but the turn after that.
In case you're wondering, yes the tech tree is going to keep expanding out. I don't have it fully planned out, but I do plan for nearly every tech to unlock 1-3 more. There are supposed to be more avenues than you can reasonably chase down. Don't expect to ever complete all of it. There's also going to be synergy - doing the Imperial tech studies is also likely to reduce the cost of a few other techs, but you don't know which ahead of time and it depends on rolls. Your tech rolls in particular have been abysmal.
Your good roll for the Aevon diplomacy plus handing over juvenat got you two bonuses - first they gave you pretty much everything they had on the monasteries and offered to make a friendly introduction. Second, they offered up a plan to minimize the suspicion for your industrial complex, though it's not entirely a one-sided deal. Their request for weapons and the mine proposal are separate. Agreeing to the weapons request will make them like you more, and might do something like negate a poor roll in the future or mean they'll treat you more and more like an ally, and plan to actively defend you.
Anexa working on diplomacy and the meh roll means she didn't level this turn. You would have needed a crit for her to level from diplomacy anyway, though she wouldn't have levelled from the poor cybernetics roll either.
Let's do 24 hours of Moratorium and 24 hours of voting, though I might cut the voting short a few hours depending on when I have time for the next update.
