The council votes unanimously in favour of salvaging the UNS Unity's fusion core reactor, which will give 500 energy credits to every human faction (ie, just me). The salvage somehow occurs successfully, despite the wreck of the Unity being in an unknown location deep inside Usurper territory. Maybe the reactor fell into the sea or something.
You know, actually, maybe it did.
(Oh yeah, there's totally going to be audience cameos from now on.)Interlude wrote:Leaning on a railing at the stern of a ship, Chief Foreman Yosemite looked wistfully at the horizon, entranced by the multicoloured splashes of colour made by the rising light of dawn on the clouds and sea. A couple of warships moved lazily across his field of vision, their armoured structures reflecting the kaleidoscope of colours in odd and interesting ways. It would have been perfectly peaceful, if not for the clanking, grinding, pumping, mechanical sounds filling the air, and the crisp shouted words of working men. He took a long breath, grateful for the morning air, the breathing apparatus he was wearing only provided oxygen, the rest of the air mixture came from the environment, and its freshness overwhelmed the staleness of the stored oxygen.
Behind him was the utterly gargantuan superstructure of the the NPS Vehrec, a massive research vessel built and deployed for the mission of retrieving the U.N.S Unity's lost fusion core. A full dozen support ships aided it in its endeavour and tended to it worker ants their queen, and a further two flotillas of warships stood guard around the perimeter to protect against any sort of incursion. Chief Foreman Yosemite was an important part of this gargantuan undertaking, being responsible for the smooth operation of the mother of all cranes mounted on the deck of the Vehrec, and his break was ending.
He moved back to the crane and lift control room, boots clanking against the metal grating of the walkways, pipes and girders closing around. Due to the sheer size of the ship and his measured pace, it took fifteen minutes to get back to the Crane and Lift Control Room.
"How are the divers doing?" he asked upon entering with a heavy seaman's accent. Deep below them in the murky depths, workers, engineers, and robots laboured to prepare the fusion core for the ascent that would release it from its watery grave. Protected from the extreme pressures by armoured suits and bathyscaphes, they moved mud, fastened lines, attached floaters, and cut away pieces of unnecessary debris.
"They are almost done, Yosemite," the woman who had been watching the station in his stead replied, "every thing's fastened and secured, give it another ten, I think this time they're triple checking.
"'Bout time, took them long enough." Not needing a respiration mask indoors, Yosemite let a smirk show, and he went to get himself a cup of coffee. It was very strong and dark, the sort of stuff only salted veterans could stomach. He sipped at quietly for a few minutes, then refilled his cup and went to his command station. Some more minutes passed, and a voice came on the comms.
"Ah, Crane and Lift Control? Do you read me? This is Dive Leader."
"Dive Leader we read you, Chief Foreman Yosemite speaking, you finally all set down there?"
"Affirmative Foreman, all team leaders report clear and ready."
"You sure? After last time we can suddenly afford to run quadruple checks."
"Sure as I'm going to get, it's now or never."
"Aye, good, good. Be ready to start in two minutes."
Yosemite called the ship's Captain, "Divers are finally set, and the crane's been ready. We're all clear and waiting on you're approval ma'am."
About a minute later the awaited reply came, "All clears confirmed throughout fleet, Chief Foreman Yosemite, you are hereby authorized to begin Phase IIIb of salvage operations immediately."
"All right guys, you heard the lady. Time to lift that that mother."
At the bottom of a dark abyss, fastened chains became taut, and a groaning creaking noise pierced the stillness. At first nothing, just the stubborn complaint of metal, and old man wanting to stay in bed, then slowly, ever so slowly, movement. The massive chunk of twisted metal began to break free, kicking up plumes of mud as the suction's release disturbed the water.
This was the most crucial stage, after countless revisions and re-revisions, either the whole thing would hold, or it would collapse in a most spectacular and dangerous fashion. With baited breath, tense muscles, and hair trigger nerves, the divers hovered nearby. They anxiously watched, gauged, and measured, ensuring that they could spot anything going wrong and react to fix it in a moment's notice. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting and suspense, the groan faded into the shadows, and the core broke free of the mud's cold embrace. It had held, and the crews allowed themselves a brief moment of triumph.
Chief Foreman Yosemite grinned slightly, took a celebratory swig from his hip flask, and then told his subordinates to get back to work. "It's only free of the floor, it still needs to come up to the ceiling, and I don't need to tell ye louts just how many things could go wrong between now and then."
In 2321, Captain Svensgaard orders the construction of Nautilus' first Planet Buster. It is a powerful strategic weapon capable of annihilating an entire base and everything situated in its environs. A Skunkworks facility is being built before hand to off-set the immense costs of a Buster prototype, bringing the projected deployment of the weapon ahead by five years.
Advances in Fusion Power completed in 2325 make it possible to install Fusion Reactors on all units, and construct more advanced research facilities. Development of the Planet Buster's fission warhead switches to a more powerful fusion design without any cost overruns.
[NOTE: Fusion reactors double the base hit point value (10 HP) of units; they also make some units, especially advanced ones, cheaper. A *2 in a unit's stats indicates that it is equipped with a Fusion reactor and thus has 20 HP.]
A base controlling access through the narrows that form the only connection between the Great Northern Ocean and the Central Ocean is built in 2325 or 2326 (exact date unknown due to corrupted records). The grim name Point Blood reflects its vital strategic significance, and a flotilla will be permanently based there. (Old Point Blood now Sextant Cove.)
Due to a large sea change in Nautilus' political establishment, a more aggressive policy toward the Usurpers is adopted. It has the combined goals of extending Nautilus's influence and resource base, as well as providing a strategic buffer to absorb attacks from the Usurpers in the event of war. Choke points that can be easily fortified, defended, and reinforced, will be found and bases constructed behind them. In 2327 the appropriately named Pirate's Siege, established on the Uranium Flats, becomes the first permanent Pirate presence on the main continent. The rocky highlands to the south are immediately garrisoned, and an engineer brigade gets to work on fortifying the area with a network of bunkers. (Old Pirate's Siege now Far Horizons.)Interlude wrote: Since the 2220s the prevailing socio-economic policy of Nautilus has been lead by moderate environmentalists and the giants of the finance industry, known to history as the Financial Green Colation. While infrastructure, resource extraction, and industrial capability were by no means neglected, the prevailing attitude was one of strength through co-existence with planet and superior monetary power. The massive wealth achieved, and the cunning laws established to encourage re-investment, paid for Nautilus' large infrastructural growth, and its rapid technological advancement. The 2280s saw a distinct technocratic bent acquired by the ruling Coalition, as the scientists and researchers who had played a distinct and undeniable role in the nation's progress gained more political power, convincing the establishment of the necessity of the pursuit of knowledge as a route to wealth and prosperity.
Bringing about massive expansion, and successfully defending Nautilus against the gargantuan foreign threat presented by the Usurpers, allowed the Financial Green Coalition to fly high. They were nigh unchallengeable and utterly dominant for the last two decades of the 23rd century, and into the first decade of the 24th. However, some quiet resentment had been slowly growing amongst the masses for decades, as the bankers and stock brokers grew rich by playing with numbers, and the hard work of individuals either received little praise or was constrained by harsh regulations to protect Planet from humans. The general feeling began to prevail that a good Pirate should get ahead by the strain of his back and the sweat of his brow, not speculating on and manipulating the transaction of commodities and abstract values.
This feeling became a concrete movement and was given voice by the turmoil of the early 24th century, starting with increasing attacks by native life forms. The people where are first assured that this was a natural part of the cycle of things, an unfortunate price to pay for living here. As the attacks continued the assurances began to sound hollow, in great part because people began to wonder about the point of ecological restraints and regulation if they did not seem to be any good at keeping Planet's defences happy and at bay. Then in 2310 the energy markets collapsed abruptly and spectacularly. Disaster was averted through rapid government intervention, burning through 754 billion energy credits through the year, but confidence in the entirety of the ruling Coalition took a heavy toll.
From the chaos that was the financial crisis and the seemingly endless war against unwavering native attacks, a new political force rose; they came to be called the Syndicalist Industrialists. Their core message of restoring the value of an honest day's work, expanding the military to protect against all threats, and reforming the obviously useless crushing environmental regulation, resonated with the populace. Aided by defections among the hawk wing of the Financial Green Coalition, the Syndicalist Industrialists slowly began to erode the power of the old establishment and force them to come to terms on many issues across the board. While the electoral fight was still technically not over, the death knell of the old guard was definitively sounded when Captain Svensgaard unambiguously expressed support for the new guard, even going so far as to say that the government had "lost its way and fallen out of touch".
Sailor's Rest founded on 2328, cementing Mount Planet island's reputation as a vacation destination.
The discovery of Organic Superlubricant leads to the development of Fusion Lasers. The Nautilus Air Force is first in line to adopt this new weapon system. It represents a 67% firepower increase over existing technology.
A motion to repeal the UN Charter and lift atrocity prohibitions is brought before the Planetary Council and passes. The unanimity of the vote is clear proof of its rightness. It is also a message to the Aliens that Humanity will not be restrained by its own laws in the usage of any means necessary
In 2332 crop failures cause food shortages and affect projected growth in Safe Heaven, but redundancy in production prevents starvation.
The Blood Truce with the Usurpers expires on 2336, and is not extended, but peace reigns regardless. Neither power seems interested in waging war, as it would result in endless and costly campaigns for little or no gain. The strategic picture is effectively a stalemate, and "peace through strength" becomes the motto of the day. The silent cold war of the past 54 years continues.
A decade after seizing power, the Syndicalist Industrial Coalition's reforms are finally felt across the board, replacing the Green economy with a Planned economy. Surplus energy production takes a significant hit as financial giants are restrained, but syndicalist policies in the industrial sector leads to considerable efficiency and production gains. Relaxed environmental regulation, and general jubilation from the populace, cause large and rapid shifts in population growth patterns. As an unfortunate side effect research efforts take a hit, as spare monies become scarce, but industrial parity with the Usurpers has been attained and can be maintained.
To showcase Nautilus's improving industrial might under SIC's leadership, existent military procurement plans are updated with more ambitious versions.
Sea levels rise 66 metres world wide, sinking the polar land masses and various low-lying areas. Only significant loss in Nautilus is the Thermal Borehole south-east of Provision Point.
Fortification of the approaches to Pirate's Siege is completed on 2338. There are two fortress and bunker systems, one commanding the highlands in the west, and the other commanding the lowlands in the east. Any invading force would have to destroy the garrison of either fort to advance any further. Plans exist to add a sensor system in the future, providing advanced warning and enhanced battlefield intelligence.
The Nautilus Air Force's twelve wings are equipped with Fusion Interceptors (<10>,1,10 *2), and a dozen more of the same spec are in construction. They reign supreme over the Pirate skies, secure in the knowledge that they cannot be beaten.
The Usurpers struggle to keep up. Their Air Force consists of a dozen wings powered by new Fusion Reactors but armed with old weapons, hardly a match for the NAF. Analysis of their production orders reveals their next generation aircraft orders to consist of but three wings. Is Marr conceding air superiority?
[NOTE: The <> symbol indicates anti-aerial capability. The Air Superiority special ability gives it to the attack value, allowing the unit to attack air units in flight, and at doubled effectiveness, with the downside of halved effectiveness versus land and sea units. The AAA Tracking special ability gives it to the defence value, which doubles it against air attacks.]
In 2341 Pirate's Siege is renamed Buried Treasure, a reference to the wealth that abounds in the surrounding Uranium Flats. A new base established to the south-east, within air strike and artillery range of the main continent, takes up the old name.
In 2342 Nautilus' first strategic weapons battery, which had finished construction the previous year, is deployed to Meergard. With its 16 square range and 2 square destructive radius, it is a fearsome weapon, capable of killing millions in an instant.
A second strategic weapons battery is deployed in 2345, this time to Cutlass Cay. The two Fusion Planet Buster batteries are, taken toguether, powerful enough to give the Usurpers a hell of a bloody nose, but not enough to cripple them. Hopefully the threat is enough for the Aliens to pause and step carefully.
Examination of the Usurper's air defense and assault forces reveals a truly troubling development. Marr has, indeed, given-up on aerial superiority. He was behind the curve in adopting the next generation of needlejets and would thus find it difficult to field a force capable of countering my defences. Instead he is opting to bypass my defences entirely with hypersonic cruise missiles. They are designated conventional missiles, but make no mistake, they are only conventional in comparison to the destruction that can be wrought by Planet Busters. These missiles are operational scale nuclear weapons, and each battery can wipe out an entire brigade or flotilla on its own. The 26 missile batteries already deployed represent a clear and present danger to any Nautilus land or naval force within range of Usurper launch sites, and the 28 batteries in construction represent a greater potential danger in the near future, to say nothing of the alarming possibility that this is but a fraction of the size that their arsenal could grow to. This change in the strategic balance of power needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
In 2350 the Office of Planetology issues a warning suggesting the possibility of higher native life activity until 2370. The good news just keep coming.
The development of Advanced Spaceflight in 2351 makes it possible to counter-act global warming by means of solar shades, as well as the launching of Orbital Power Transmitters. Plans are immediately drawn up to emplace Planet's first permanent orbital facilities, consisting of two Transmitters and a Hydroponic Farm. Some advances in the field of space travel also have military applications, and a new weapons system, the Plasma Shard, becomes available. There are no plans to adopt it at this time.
Landlubber Inn was founded sometime in the 2342-2345 period, the exact date is unknown due to poor record keeping. In 2350 an engineering brigade and two AAA Galting Infantry (5,<4>,1 *2) brigades were deployed to a rocky outcropping to the south-east. The engineers immediately set about fortifying the area, while the intended garrison set-up a perimeter. The fort will not block passage to Landlubber Inn, but rather it will serve as a strong point to base interdiction units from.
Strategic Analysis of 2351:
Nautilus and the Usurpers are essentially in a dead heat technology wise, with a slight advantage to the Pirate side. We are researching Conquer technologies, hopefully to make advances in Neural Grafting that are required to make progress in Bio-Engineering. The Aliens for their part have a Build focus, probably Silksteel Alloys, which would bring their defensive technology on par with ours.
Both sides are committing their greatest industrial centres to the task of building greater cruise missile arsenals, though a few of them are still engaged in infrastructural tasks.
The Usurpers have built several Secret Projects over the past few decades. The Planetary Transit System, makes new bases start at with three citizens instead of one; The Planetary Datalinks, gives any technology known by three other factions (utterly worthless now); The Supercollider, doubles lab output at the base that builds it; The Ascetic Virtues, gives +2 population limit on all bases and +1 Police rating; and the Hunter-Seeker Algorithm*, makes all units and bases immune to Probe Teams lacking the Algorithmic Enhancement special ability.
*The video cuts out early, credit for the quote goes to Sun Tzu, The Art of War.
Nautilus has not been able to keep up due to having other priorities, but The Living Refinery is an important point of contention, since it gives +2 Support. It's not much for the Pirates, given our social engineering choices we gain only one extra unsupported unit per base, and bonus (10 or 20) minerals for newly constructed bases, but it would be immensely powerful in the hands of the Aliens. It would give them the ability to have one free unit per point of population above four, with a baseline of four free units. Therefore, a size 12 base could support a dozen brigades, wings, battalions, squadrons, or batteries at no industrial cost to itself. A similar base in Nautilus could only deploy such a force only at an -11 mineral per year cost.
With The Living Refinery and their 300+ points of population, the Usurpers would be able to expand their armed forces to staggering size without compromising their industrial production. It could spell the end of Nautilus, of humanity, and that simply cannot be allowed to happen. Captain Svensgaard has already cued-up his own Living Refinery project, and while it has not started yet, it is projected to finish before Marr's does.
[Note: Support is the one mineral per year cost that the home base of a given unit pays to keep it in the field. It is also the social engineering setting that determines how many unsupported units can be fielded at any one time, and whether new bases start with bonus minerals.]
The Nautilus Air Force has deployed three missile batteries, with 17 more on the way, finally starting to play catch-up with the Usurpers. Unfortunately, the enemy has already deployed 45 batteries and is building 19 more, so there is a worryingly long way to go before strategic parity is achieved. As things stand now, the Aliens could probably wipe out 40% of the Pirate's standing armed forces in an instant if not for the fact that most of them are out of range.
Score comparisons: Nautilus has a slight edge in technology and 21 million citizens, the Usurpers more Secret Projects and 31 million citizens.
Commander of the MFS Darwinian Selection Method (sexual)
Feel like flooding the planet?
