Part 22: Episode III: 2366 - 2375
Episode III: 2366-2375
It appears the Silicoids are still having population issues; with all their territory, it's us against the Psilons in the initial vote. Here's hoping the eggheads don't just roll us, as they have a couple of allies ...
It appears the Sakkra have carved out a respectable, if modest empire. This will be enough to ensure nobody wins.
Looks like the Bears aren't doing too well; they were allies with the Psilons but that didn't last long.
So were the Silicoids, but that's apparently no longer the case. Their share of the vote will likely expand greatly in the future of course with that many worlds.
Only the Mrrshan(3 votes) were willing to side with the Psilons. There was even enough room for us to vote for Tachaon, which should definitely help us in our hopes to forge a peace. With 6 votes, we were just ahead of the Sakkra and just behind the Psilon. Looks like we're slot in third behind the Silicoids in the long-term view here.
So we live to vote another day. It's 2366, so that day will be just eight years from now. The Psilon tech edge is growing -- but they no longer have any allies for the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAaRXfcw1tg
Victory!! Mostly due to our bare-bones missile-base defenses, we have fought off the Psilons and preserved the main part of our empire intact. We try for peace, and they 'respectfully decline' our offer. Sometimes after you've bloodied their nose peace can work, but not in this case. We'll have to wait a bit longer.
Duralloy Armor comes the next year, and we surprisingly have only one option: more reduced waste.
We've got Nuclear Engines now, and a new propulsion choice. Still no better range techs. At this point I see little choice other than going back for Deuterium Fuel Cells. We need the increased range, as soon we'll have hostile planet landings available and some new planets to settle.
Just as the Psilons chase us off Xengara, we get a key breakthrough:
Psilons got this about 15 years ago, and it's helped keep them just ahead of us in overall production. Perhaps we can push in front here. Research will be minimized for the time being so that we can expand industry.
Definitely going for the scanner here. A couple of years later, three more Psilon destroyers are eliminated by our Ajax bases. Then this ...
They still refuse to break their Mrrshan alliance though, so I don't expect this to last long. There's no point in setting up trade under these circumstances.
With Hyper-X Rockets now on board, we'll move on to the Mass Driver. Not because it'll do us any good, but because it's the only choice to keep tech moving forward to the next tier. Our missile bases will be more effective at least. If we are forced to build combat ships, the Hyper-X is really the only choice we'll have at the moment.
Wow. I didn't think we, much less the Sakkras, had surpassed the Psilons in population. This is interesting because the Psilons' on-again, off-again Silicoid alliance had me worried they'd win this vote ... and they weren't even nominated!
Tyranid had 7 votes, so the Sakkra are +2 in less than a decade there. The Bears once again couldn't care less, and they appear to be the weakest race.
Here come the Silicoids. +50% in voting power, 4 to 6, and a long ways yet to go. We'll survive this vote at least.
A predictable vote for the 'not Klackons' candidate.
I thought there was a chance to get their support here since they are in a good mood lately ... but nope.
We cast our 7 votes for Tyranid and move on. 7 each for us, the Psilons, and Sakkra; Silicoids have 6 and are charging. This could prove to be a very complex game with some opportunities. Only the Mrrshan and Bulrathi are really off the pace, with a four-way struggle at the top. We're definitely third at best due to the Psilons' tech and the Silicoids size.