Part 30: Peace is a Lie, but so is War. And everything else, come to think of it.

Peace is a Lie, but so is War. And everything else, come to think of it.




I'll take a bit here to update the current situation. Domestically, we are building Weather Controllers on any planet with a significant number of farmers. Three colony ships are getting built, and I plan on having two un-needed extras operational at any given time from here on so I can take advantadge of any ... opportunities.

You can see that Alaozar II is pretty much the extra-food producer. I've not been at the point in quite a while where it needed any assistance - large fully-terraformed planets build enough for themselves, and then Alazoar II handles whatever else is needed. That'll get easier once its weather controller comes online. We have 19 planets in 12 systems right now.

Labor Division

We last visited this 32 turns ago.

** Total: 153M(+34M) - 5M Mrrshan, the rest are TechnoGeek(96.7%)
** Farming: 37M - 24.2%
** Industry: 71M - 46.4%
** Research: 45M - 29.4%

Still about a quarter is required for farming, but we are gradually saving money on the shipping-about of foodstuffs. The industry/research balance shifts about based on whatever the current needs are. Usually it's more of an even split, but as we acquire stuff like terraforming or weather controllers, or need more ships out there, adjustments are made.




As you can see here, we are spending only 56% of our income. With a balance of well over +200 per turn, regular investment in buying whatever-the-heck early is the general pattern. In terms of research, we're still neck-and-neck with the Klackons, with the Silicoids a very distant third and everyone else an irrelevancy.




On the other hand, nobody with a brain wants to fight the rocks right now.




I expect we'll get a research deal with the bugs soon to boost our mutual advantadge even higher. It's worth nothing that our war with the Darloks is the only active one in the entire galaxy. I'm sure that won't last long. Maybe the Klackons and Silicoids would like to come to blows?




The latest starchart. In theory, what I'd like to do now is grab up the empty systems between ourselves and the Klackons, then secure Madira and Quercia, 'liberating' the riches the Space Hydras are guarding there, and wrap up by giving the Darloks a sizable piece of my mind. More likely other events will force my hand, but if given the time that's what I'll work on.




All of our big planets will naturally be prioritizing these. Maintenance cost is 4, so smaller planets can't support them. Right now my cutoff is 17M or higher - we have a bunch of those, but smaller farming worlds like Pund, or the formerly radiated stuff in Lerion will stay far away from this kind of investment.




Choices are getting harder all the time. Microlite Construction uses nano technology to build things with less metal but the same strength and durability, for +1 worker production. Nano Disassemblers further double the amount of pollution-free production you get, and Zortrium Armor will make our ships tougher.

SD 3522.7 - Told ya it wouldn't take long. Meklar and Sakkra are at war. The Sakkra are gradually snatching up territory from the weaker races around them, though they didn't do too well against the Darloks a while back. Still, they appear to be making smart moves since then and trying to become relevant.




Next turn it's time to vote again. Third time I think? We have 17 votes, the Sakkra 15, and Meklar side with us with their five. Everyone else abstains. So nobody is close to veto or winning.

Peace with Meklar/Sakkra after exactly one turn of blather, but Darlok-Alkari step into the void and declare hostilities.




Very nice. The two systems we were scouting along the bottom edge are totally empty - no asteroids, no gas giants, no anything - so the only one left is Fieras. Which our fleet can't reach. A colony ship is en route, so it's all about whether it has a friendly reception or not. But that's all we can do in this neck of the woods.




Thanks, fellas! Now if one of them wins decisively, this could be bad for us in making them even more powerful. I think it's more likely though that it buys me time to do the things I want to do in peace.




Add this to the fact that the Bogina system he oversees was recently fully-terraformed, and it's a veritable cash cow - and does pretty well at building stuff too.




Is it just me, or do these look suspiciously like a Kilrathi fighter?




Jump Gates are a poor man's version of the Stargates from MOO1 - increasing travel speed by 3 parsecs between planets that have them. All colonies automatically get them; I'm kinda disappointed by that. A high maintenance cost would make you choose, although perhaps be crippling to the AI. Sub Space Communications is the real prize here I think. +2 command points for each base, so we'll be able to field a much larger fleet, and any fleet within 6 parsecs of a base can be re-routed at any time.




Feeling a need for a battleship-level design, I came up with the Silencer. There's a saying that he who tries to do everything does nothing well. I'm hoping these are big enough to support versatility. Slightly more mass drivers than our Interdictor cruisers, and Auto-Fire for the standard ones. The Battle Scanner should help our accuracy - I'm counting on the guns to knock out missiles/fighters and dispensing with the ECM Jammer. Didn't have enough room for both defensive specials and having a half-decent payload. The Graviton Beams are for dealing with unshielded opposition such as the Antarans. For most situations the mass drivers will be better, but perhaps they will help in concern with missile defenses from planets/battlestations. It is also hoped that these will be a start towards being able to go toe-to-toe with the multi-battleship task forces that the Klackons and Silicoids are throwing about. And also make for a nice thing to sink stockpiled industry into. Colony Ships really aren't big enough to be convenient for that anymore.

3523.1 - The Antarans are back, headed for Pund (3 Destroyers, 3 Frigates). Our fleet is too far away and couldn't stop them even it wasn't. We're about to do something else.

Battle of Madira


So it turns out that mass drivers work pretty well against organic tissue, and that our cruisers can take a few shots from whatever a 'Plasma Breath' is. And as for Commissioner Necron, well ... that isn't much of a choice is it. He was hired of course.




The second planet is actually bigger and a Tundra, but not as rich. So we'll lose a decent planet in Pund, but we're gaining a lot more at the same time. I'll take that trade.

Klackon-Silicoid war is over, and we've snatched up all the free systems - though there is that other planet yet in Fieras.




Much as it pains me, there was some reassignment to do, and Magistrate Rash-lki was relieved of her duties. She has served with distinction in both games. Necron takes over in Bogina, Grogg will handle the homeworld, and since I want to keep a slot open it's hasta la bye bye.




It hasn't been that long, but I'd forgot this was even happening.




Surprisingly, we didn't even lose the planet. Would have showed the battle if I knew it was going to be that close. We destroyed their three frigates - this is what the destroyers accomplished. I had Starbase, Missile Base, and Radiation Shield for protection. The Starbase had heavy graviton beams which did some damage to them. A more concentrated defense supported by the fleet just might have been able to get the job done.

Meanwhile, the Mrrshans on Tah II have been fully assimilated.




Meanwhile, a new chapter is about to begin. As our fleet heads over to snag Quercia from the second Hydra, the Silicoids are headed to Willow. They have said nothing. They are just coming. I've gotten a missile base up in haste, but that's not going to be enough. The first group is battleship/destroyer, second one has a bunch of transports. So we know who our next enemy is, even if they haven't had the courtesy to declare it. The Darloks will have to wait.