Part 34: Session 14 Part 2

*RECORDING BEGINS*


Alas, that our Most Furriest Nation, last true inheritors of the Bread Lords, should fall to such a simplistic species that degrades us so! I-who's messing wit da Uneewersal Twanswator dis time?! I bwought my own dis tyme, fuw cwying out woud!


(You think the Snathi ever realized we built a backdoor into the software before distributing it?)


(Fuck, even the Torians haven't figured that out yet. Try the "Cockney" setting next.)


Cor! This is bloomin' intoblerale it is! You bloomin' buggers is gonna get it one day, sure as the queen sips 'er tea! Blimey! You'll get yours someday, mark me words!

*RECORDING ENDS*


Good times. Good times. Morgan, you got a trade update?




Indeed I do. Freighters for the two outstanding trade lanes have reached their destinations, and, thanks to their Korathi holdings, we finally have trading ties to the Iconians.



Our continuous building has put something of a strain on our net profit levels. On the plus side, given our spy production, we should be able to close that spigot sometime in the near future.


Prav? I hear there're some stirrin's with our allies lately.



Are there? I suppose you do get more spy reports than I do. And regarding that, we have managed to replace our agents in Yor and Drengin territory, as well as starting a new network in the Altarian Resistance.




As such, the Altarian network has reached "Low" infiltration, while the Drengin espionage has reached the highest "Advanced" level.



In the meantime, we have finished our first Lend-Lease frigate, which was promptly sold to the Jessuins for a pittance.



The recent elections had a surprisingly strong showing from the Federalists and the War party.


Force Works.


*sigh*







Our semester end trades went well enough, though. Some of the highlights include the newest version of Plasma weapons from the Yor and some rudimentary shield technology courtesy of the Paulos (you may recall how the Yor declared war on them earlier this year).




Not much has changed in the last six months regarding the major powers. Senator Zakharov, if you would?


Of course. Advanced Barren World Colonization, which we received from the Altarians, is the last of the marginal world colonization techniques we were missing. Barren worlds simply hadn't come up much, so we decided to make a basic concession to complete the set. More interesting are the proprietary technologies we received from the Iconians and Torians: Interstellar Bartering and Merchant Emporiums provide alternatives to our Banking Centers (far behind the curve, sadly). It would seem that the Iconians lived in isolation for so long that they have had to reinvent the concept of a free market economy. Cultural Domination is part of a path to develop our ability to influence others, while Stellar Marines is notable most for leading to Advanced Troop Carriers, which would be able to house twice as many soldiers as the current model. You'll find further information in my recommendation list. Technology Communes are Torian alternatives to our own Research Coordination Centers, in that both provide a planetary percentage boost to research. Notably, we could potentially build both on a single planet for stacking benefits. Finally, the Defensive Trance is a system the Torians developed to tap into the "fight or flight" stress response during ship maneuvering; our defense ability has increased by roughly 15%.

Now, onto domestic technology news.




Fittingly, one of the project leaders had a "Eureka" moment and realized how to fully harness "Eureka" moments through constant passive brain scans. We are calling this the Invention Matrix, our latest in technology development.



We also finished materials designing, so our path to Massive Scale Building is wide open.



As a side effect, we can now apply Integrity Grids to any ship hull to reinforce it. And since I have heard the terms used interchangeably, allow me to clarify a point: integrity grids are not force fields. Integrity grids use channeled gravity force to change the apparent relative density of a material to make it denser without actually adding mass. A force field is a field of applied electromagnetism that makes an apparently solid surface. After all, electromagnetism is what makes a supposedly solid surface solid, in spite of being mostly empty space.

But I digress. You should read my recommendation list for further advances.


Say, that's somethin' I was wantin' ta ask you about. What's this "Xeno Ethics" stuff on the list? I think it's been on there fer goddamn forever, how come ya never funded it?


It was presented to me as a project option, so I put it on the list. I don't really understand the purpose behind ethics, myself.


Are you kidding? Announcing our Good intentions to the galaxy would settle the hearts of our people and improve our citizens' loyalty!


On the other hand, if we maintained Neutrality in the ethical issue, other nations would be more inclined to let our trade ships in.


Perhaps it would be better to be more honest with ourselves and declare an Evil nature. We would then raise no eyebrows if we started charging tolls on other merchant ships in our territory.


If you say so. I've always thought questions of this nature just get in the way of scientific advancement.


I believe my opinion on the matter is self-evident. However, I have some additional announcements to make.



First, our Technological Capital is finished.



Second, the last portions of the Galactic Showcase have been finished via subcontractors. We have thus secured our diplomatic dominance of the galaxy.


That'll make it yer turn, Yang.







Our starbases are proceeding well enough. Again, improvements lag behind somewhat, but only because we have been busy expanding our base.



And while it has been a long time since I last reported on space miners, the new ship has left Canaan's stardock and is on its way to the Snathi asteroid belt. Sadly, the original installations were decommissioned after the recent war. The Red Dwarf continues its project of improving the mining bases in the Solar system.


Santiago, what've ya got now that the wars're over?



The former Yor-Korath fighter has been dealt with. With this ship's destruction, I am reasonably confident that all remaining traces of the Korathi space fleet have been eradicated.



Only recently, our first two Destroyers have been commissioned. They are being moved to forward bases from their plants in our heartland.


Right, now lemmie wrap up.





Nautilus didn't have its best quarter, but every little bit helps, right?



Right, you shits know the rest, so-


Mr. President! …Senators. I've just received word of a major announcement. You should all hear this. It concerns the…well…


Corazon?


Do it, corporal.

*KRZZZZRRRPP*


I always thought that robot was uglying up the room anyhow. So what's this about the Yor?



The Torians, Iconians, and Altarians have reformed the Grand Coalition and declared war against the Yor.


But we were part of the Grand Coalition! Why were we not included in these secret talks?


I prefer it this way. It lets us act as a free agent, ready to support either side as we please.


It could be that we were approached and I decided to keep our distance. Got this senate a' ours ta argue fer us if we wanted some a' that. As it is, we got sort of a decision ta make here. Prav, what's the diplomatic situation?


Well, all three of the declarers are our allies, while the Yor are not. In fact, our relations with the Yor are the worst of any great power, but that still puts it at "Neutral." And in spite of their stated goal of destroying all organic sophonts, the Yor have been remarkably peaceful and straightforward, at least in their relations with the Terran Alliance. I am highly uncomfortable declaring war against them just for the sake of getting something out of the fighting, but if all the benevolent races have decided the time to strike is now…I'm almost inclined to believe them. Almost.


Coming from you, that's sayin' somethin'. Corazon, gimmie the military status.


By…coincidence, I have been moving stray elements from the Korathi War to Kirk, our closest colony to Yor space. We would need to start producing new Hengests from scratch since the last one was used up fighting the Snathi, but Destroyer-based fleets could be ready to harass Yor space within a month. According to reports, the Yor have frigate technology as well as the latest in beam weapons, so our ships will need to refocus on shields, but our Support Frigates and our strong military resource starbase infrastructure will give our ships a strong advantage even against defensive fleets. We are better positioned to engage this war than we were against the Korath.


Well there you have it.




Now remember that the Defense Committee gets ta declare war if yer gonna go with that. So get to it!

Standing Laws

Infrastructure Development Commission

Unless given a commission, either by the senate or a committee chairperson, idle starports will produce constructors. All starbases, upon receiving an upgrade, shall immediately build Battle Stations I should they not already possess it.

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. Also, a lend-lease plan shall be implemented regarding minor civilizations, whereby we shall sell certain frigates for whatever may be gained to those minors at war with non-Terran major powers.

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. All unused development tiles shall be utilized at Senator Skye's discretion. This law reaffirms that any senatorial action will supersede any committee chairperson's unilateral decision.

Trade and Loan Commission

The XR Freighter shall be upgraded when applicable.