Part 53: Episode V: 2375 - 2399
An extra-long one here.Episode V: 2375-2399
Mostly a bunch of 'meh'. The Psilons have been somewhat appeased by our totally fake support of them in the Council. We have nothing they want in terms of tribute, but when we asked for peace, this was interesting ...
They now have Uridium Fuel Cells(Range 8), and we gave them that decades ago. Never mind the war, also lasting decades. But hey, whatever guys, glad you're done fighting us for now. This bounces their opinion back up to neutral. But they do reject a trade deal. We can't increase either of the other deals either.
On the colonizing front, we are still 8 years out from Vulcan and the Psilons have a colony ship much closer, heading in that general direction, and faster than ours. That would really suck.
Class II Deflector Shields come in the next year. Class III is the only forward option.
Closer than it should have been; we sent enough troops to outnumber them 2:1. Still, we've got this growing colony back. Meanwhile the Psilon colony ship goes past Vulcan and keeps on going, beyond scanner range. That's good, but not great news. We're both basically land-grabbing that corner, and we need as much of it as we can get. Attempts at tech trades fail on all fronts, due to us having nothing of value.
The RNG hated us here; this came in the late 70s, and should have several years earlier. Failed on multiple 90%+ chances. Would've helped our growing worlds sooner ... Duralloy Armor is next.
In 2380, Cryslon switches to research. We've got several colonizers headed leftwards now, and there are a couple of key projects coming up that I want to finish more quickly. Simius is nearly to half population and is ready to start contributing there as well. This more than doubles our investments. 20 years to go and the Psilon wars are all still on, while our relations with the Darloks of all people are improving. Just sayin'
The Mk. IV Computer is the only one that moves things ahead. More importantly, we just got Robotics III in.
Same year. It was a big one with two major bits of good news. Recons can now reach the entire lower-left corner. Also good to see is that wherever that Psilon colony ship was headed, it didn't find a safe harbor. No new colonies of theirs. 14-11 in systems and we expect to nab three more in the next decade. That's enough of a lead to at least compete in the long-term.
Yes, our fleet sucks. Interesting to see the Psilons only middle-of-the-pack right now though, and the Humans have built a lot of ships without much territory.
The second rich system is ours.
Wowzerz! This part of the galaxy was not only neglected by advanced life, but is exploding with riches!!
Howdy fellas! 2387, a most eventful year to be certain.
The Humans have stretched out a bit, but the Klackons are still stuck only on Kholdan.
We appear to be middle of the pack in production and overall. Just don't look at the tech bars ... that planets comparison is so much more appetizing.
Humans are Honorable Diplomats, Klackons Aggressive Ecologists. The full diplomatic scenario is this:
** Human-Klackon-Darlok Alliance.
** All are at war with the Psilons and Mrrshans, those those two are not allies.
This looks to be a very stable conflict. We can count on the support of that alliance in the Council. That makes the Mrrshans the key. If we can swing them our way, even the eggheads will not be able to stand against us. Our population is growing, as is our territory, and once we get those lucrative planets on the left going we'll have a long-term advantage. Right now though I just want to make nice with the kitties and win the easy way. It's not enough for them to be neutral, they'd need to support us.
We bump up trade to 375BC with them. Not quite a doubling but I don't care. Gonna keep boosting it every chance I get. They're willing to trade us Hyper-X Rockets, though they want Robotics III for it. Normally I wouldn't even consider such a thing, but in this case I go ahead with the trade. 350BC with the Humans, but the Klackons refuse trade and the only tribute they'll accept is Robotics. Sigh. So be it; keeping them all in my good graces is worth it ... and what are they going to do with just one planet? Re-up to 375BC with the Darloks also.
We've got a fairly massive trade deficit to work through here(it was actually a little over 300 BC, this was taken before one of the trade deals went in).
Right in what's becoming our back pocket again. Hopefully we don't need to cash this in.
Not impressive of course, but if we snag it we'll have a border from one galactic edge to the other.
Another one in the fold.
Crap crap crap megacrap!! The master plan has been foiled for this cycle perhaps ...
Nuclear Engines come in 2390. Only option now is Dotomite Crystals(Range 7), but I've been waiting for this breakthrough to send out another wave of Colonizers. Looks like there will only be two systems available for this 'wave'.
Non-Aggression Pact signed with the Humans, and the Psilons have finally forgiven us enough to sign a trade deal(425 BC). Then we are framed for Mrrshan sabotage AGAIN in 2391, just two years after the first time.
2394 -- The last of the two new, faster Colonizers are finished and Cryslon and head out across the galaxy. With industrial expansion finishing up in multiple other places, we will be doing much more research investment. More bases need to be built as well, but I'm going to cycle through the systems that need them one at a time. That'll allow research to keep going, and since we aren't at war I don't see it as something that justifies a pause. Crius, which doesn't have any yet, is naturally first up.
2396. The best of the bunch is now in our grasp. Extra population has been streaming leftward to Argus in preparation for this, so there will be little delay in getting it up and running.
Crap again. We can kiss this next vote goodbye, and will switch to base-building everywhere close to their space. They are also at war with the Klackons, and all of the Psilon wars remain intact. However, the alliance has been dissolved, so the situation is no longer as stable as it once was.
Here is an interesting situation, and one that shows there is no immediate danger. This was first colonized by the Psilons, then taken by the Mrrshans, who apparently have been bombed out. Without it, they'll have trouble reaching our territory.
The Pellet Gun is in, and now our only choice for moving forward is Merculite missiles. Would have grabbed them anyway. Once we get those I'll feel a lot better about our security.
Very nice. This is a more sizable planet than the other rich ones, and a big boost to the economy. Then the year before the Council vote, +20M Terraforming comes in ... +30M is next as we incrementally make our way up that tree. Unfortunately the Mrrshan diplomat is still gone, so there's no chance of bribing them out of opposing us.
Only one potential remains.
Sounds like a plan to me!
Same nominees of course. These dorks gain 2 of the 6 additional votes in this cycle, but are still one short of veto ability.
+1 here, and because of recent unpleasantness we will have another indecisive Council. Our supporters gained nothing. 3 for the Humans, 2 for the Klackons, 4 for the Darloks.
I can't vote Zygot again, it would make him win. So we abstain. We're closing the gap, but we still haven't caught the Psilons. This whole brouhaha has at least bought us time. Another Council vote or two and we should have a veto bloc, even if we can't get the diplomatic win.
The Darloks warn us that we are getting too big for our britches. Truly we are. 18 systems, soon to have a 19th, well over a third of the galaxy. Psilons are #2 with 10, Mrrshan next with 6. We've got more territory than any two other empires, and five systems in the rich/ultra rich category. At this point, if we can't do something with that we should be ashamed of ourselves. Getting sniped before we can get competitive in research is the main concern now, and it doesn't look like that's going to happen.