Part 30: Session 12 Part 2

*RECORDING BEGINS*


Greetings, noble Terrans! I am Kodh Kritter, noble ruler of the Jessuin people. May our relations remain peaceful from the start to the end of Eternity.


Er…


You appear to be rather similar to another race of aliens whom we have already met.


Ah, yes, the Paulos. They are a breakaway colony that spent decades in cryosleep to get to their planet, long before the advent of hyperdrive. Of course, if you were to ask them, they'd say the same thing, but we on Jessuins know the facts of our origin.


Yes, about that. According to our information, it seems that most of your planet's inhabitants spend the majority of each day "relaxing" under the influence of a drug you call "oisatsana."


Assuming we aren't interrupted by the constant storms, sure.


And you don't believe that either of these factors would lead to problems with millennia of record keeping?


I dunno, maybe, why do you ask?


Never mind, you have satisfied my curiosity.


Sure, man, whatever.


You'll have to excuse him; Senator Yang is…Senator Yang. Now, I believe you had mentioned a certain technology earlier?

*RECORDING ENDS*


Galaxy's full of all types, ain't she? 'Least this time the similarities didn't give Zak a hernia. Morgan! How screwed are we this time?



"Screwed?" I must say we are doing very well indeed. We have over 100 billion credits in surplus and a 98% approval rating. I believe our lowest rating is on Canaan, at 83%. No foreign freighters have arrived in the meantime, so I await my committee's commission of two more of our own trade ships.


Sure, right. Prav, we said the wrong thing yet and fucked over communnni-talkin' yet?


Not at all.







Two series of trades were made this semester. The first was immediately after the second quarter,




The second earlier this week.




We also met the Jessuins, whose planet is located deep in Torian territory. They were willing to trade their knowledge of the top-of-the-line Fleet Defense technology, at an admittedly steep price. Still, given their distance from our home space and their status as a non-colonizing race, I felt it prudent enough to share much of our knowledge.



Another election was held, in which President Svensgaard's Universalists swept nearly all of the seats.


Wooo! Fuck all y'all, I'm a winner!



Yes, um…we also received word that an Altarian colony joined the Torians. Given the fluctuating nature of their boundary, this is not a very surprising development.




Our network of spies within the Korath Clan is now as extensive as it can get. Little information about them remains out of our grasp.




In recent days, it seems the Arceans have come to understand our peaceful, inclusive intentions, and we are positioned to strike an alliance with them. Again, I highly recommend this action. This will bring us one step closer to uniting the galaxy in peace.


Cool, man. Zak, howsem words comin'?


I'm not certain how to respond to that. However, regarding Senator Lal's acquisitions, the Harpoon is a next-generation missile weapon, while Xinathium Hull Plating improves our ships' ability to absorb damage. Barren World Colonization was purchased mainly for the sake of completion, and in case we purchase or conquer a barren world in the future. Tidal Disruption is an additional planet invasion technique which we learned from the Torians, as well as Space Mining II, which lets us build third-generation asteroid mining bases. Particle Beams are the next step beyond Lasers, and we purchased these from the Yor. Master Trade provides techniques to keep two additional trade lanes open, which I believe Senator Morgan has already mentioned. The Zalon Defense Mainframe is the ultimate form of fleet defense coordination, and we received this from the Jessuins. We received the Warp Drive specifications and Xeno Bank understanding from the Torians, as well. Point Defense, which protects against missiles, was purchased from the Snathi.




Advanced Logistics was finished early when someone realized we could adapt a lighter version of the Zalon system to coordinate larger fleets. We are currently researching Particle Beams III, since I decided Lasers IV was obsolete at this point, and we are only 5 weeks away from the projected end date. I highly suggest we finish research before funding a new project.


Beam'sre fun. Was there someone who goes after ya?


That would be me, Mr. President. Allow me to present my starbase report. The vast numbers of constructors have been busy in the last quarter, so I will show only the last upgrade for each station.








I have decided that among their other upgrades, the two bases that control former Korath resources should have basic Battle Stations installed. If it is up to me, the atrocity of Kamadeva's influence base will not be repeated. In other news, the Red Dwarf, lonely mining ship that it is, has returned to Sol and is installing the upgraded versions of the asteroid bases on our belt.


That sounds just great. Fuckin' great, all around. Was there somethin' else we were supposed ta be talkin' about? Feels like it was supposed ta be importan', too.


There is a war going on, Ulrik.


What, really? Huh. Well, it almost sounds familiar, so I guess ya ought ta say somin'.



*Sigh*. The Particle Beams we purchased allowed us to construct a far more dangerous iteration of the Battle Axe, shown here.



Upgrading all frigates immediately had a significant cost, but given the stunning benefits, I felt it worth the expense.



We also took an opportunity to prey on the Korath's trade lanes.



Finally, the moment came and we sent our combat elements to Albireo IV. Our fleet of three frigates made short work of corvettes defending the planet.



From there, we had a choice of invasion tactics. For future consideration, here are the current options:

Traditional Warfare has no bonuses, but it carries no additional penalties or costs.
Mass Drivers involves attaching hyperdrives to nearby asteroids and causing them to slam against the planet's surface. It costs 200 bc to implement, and our advantage increases from between 100 to 200%. However, the planet's quality will be permanently affected by between -10 to -50%, and between 50 and 100% of the planetary improvements will be destroyed in the cataclysm.
Tidal Disruptors use gravity-wave disruptors to use the planet's ocean against its inhabitants. It costs 200 bc, and serves to cut the enemy's advantage by 40 to 50%. 80 to 100% of the planetary improvements will be destroyed, but the planet's class will be unaffected.
Gas Warfare is a tactic our enemy generally favors. It also costs 200 bc, and our enemy's advantage will be decreased by only 15 to 30%. Additionally, the viral clouds will unavoidably damage the planet's ecosystem, causing a drop of 5 to 20% in the planet's quality. I would generally recommend against this option.
Finally, you will see the Information Warfare selection above. This option costs four times as much as the others, and the number of troops it generates is related to the planet's approval rating.



On Albireo IV, we were able to convince 1.382 billion enemy troops to fight against their masters.


We freed that many slaves?


Some were slaves, yes. Most were low-clan Korathi looking to fight against their masters. Evidently the Korath Clan is not well known for their lenient taxes.

Now, to explain the numbers. Considering that the invaders have to have air superiority as a matter of course, the basic advantage is always in the invader's favor. However, unless we were to bring an absurd number of troops, the numbers are always in the defender's favor. You can also see that our soldiering ability is only slightly less than the Korathi, and our tech level is three times theirs. These obviously have a force multiplication effect. One can see how the battle is going in the main viewscreen above the map.




We certainly had an effect.



We were also able to download the Korath Clan's notes on Germ Warfare before they shut the planet's servers down remotely.


Germ Warfare is an absolutely despicable technology. We should never under any circumstances use it.



It's not like we could if we wanted to. The notes are all theoretical anyway.



Albireo IV marks the first time humans have invaded something on the planetary scale. Nearly every citizen who did not join our ranks, man, woman, and child, fought our invaders to the last tooth and nail. Some of our own troops, mainly the turncoats, will remain behind to help repopulate the planet.



Much like any other Drengin planet, Albireo IV relies on slave labor for virtually all production. I will not permit such buildings to sit on our planets; that is out of the question. However, it is up to my committee to determine what to replace the slave structures with. After the research building, main colony, and starport, there will be five locations to build, including one industry and one influence location. Finally, I would ask that we give the planet a new name that reflects its new, slave-free identity.



Returning to the war at large, we first destroyed a retaliation attempt near Albireo.



Our second target was chosen to be Kora herself, as it is well within our reach. The first step was to destroy the military starbase the Korath had set up in the area.



As before, the Korath's lack of capital ships proved to be their undoing.




Kora also had a significant underclass more than willing to take the invaders' side.



This time we were able to recover designs for the Pulse Cannon II. It's a highly advanced mass driver, and it has been added to the pamphlet under Ship Components.



Kora relies even more on slave labor than Albireo. Again, simply consider this planet to be empty when considering what to build here. Also note that it has a farming and a 3x research location. Of course, given that Kora can still support up to 16 billion without farms, it may be best to ignore the farming location.



Unfortunately, enemy forces were able to reach Kora before our fleet could defend it, destroying our last Hengest transport. Fortunately, being planetbound, our transport was empty at the time.




Vengeance, at least, was swift.



Here is where the war stands. We predict it will not be long before the Korath surrender, although it is anyone's guess to whom. We would do well to take Kora II before someone else takes it. President Svensgaard? Ulrik!


Huh?


Could you please not take Yang's Sunshine during session again?


That sounds groovy.


Ugh. It's still your turn to report.


Report? Oh hey, sure! Reporting is fun. Um, where's the button for that again? It's this one, right?





Yep, Nautilus sure's been busy! Like with the wormhole. Whoa. Scary, right?



'Course it only popped back out near the down-right colony stuff.


That would appear to be down-left, President Svensgaard.


Really? Lemmie…Hey, my left hand can make, like, an "L!"



Oh, looks like we found some other shit, too. Cool.





Anyway, I think that was it, basically. Was that it?


Yes, Mr. President. That was it.


Sweet.

Standing Laws

Infrastructure Development Commission

Unless given a commission, either by the senate or a committee chairperson, idle starports will produce constructors.

Defense Commission

Automatic ship designs shall focus on beam weapon technology.

Colonial Support Initiative

Senator Godwinson may not use her prerogative to name new colonies.

Xeno Relations Board

Energy credits and technologies are authorized for any and all foreign technology trades; priority is given to military technologies so purchased. Humanity is prohibited from selling or trading away colonization technologies. The Terrans shall maintain a strictly neutral stance in the Torian-Drengin War.

Colonial Development Commission

The starting order for all colonial buildings will be: build a factory, a market center, a factory, a market center, one research center, one starport, and one farm (once possible, only up to 13b) in that order, using special tiles when appropriate.

Trade and Loan Commission

The XR Freighter shall be upgraded when applicable.