Part 168: Episode XVI: 2450

Episode XVI: 2450 -




The Sakkra and Mrrshan are the military powers of the galaxy right now, which is keeping them on top. Size-wise, economically, technologically ... all those indicators point to a pretty balanced situation between the Psilon/Sakkra/Mrrshan/Meklar.




Our first advanced bomb is coming in soon as well, but these engines are the most vital. After that, the longer-term view will see an eventually major economic explosion with atmospheric terraforming and improved robotics. When the new drives arrive I want to start building some warships; we've got the rich systems and might as well use them, esp. now that we have a healthy reserve(almost 5k). Still some catching up to do in research though so that will remain the primary focus.




The Psilons are of the most interest here. That purple flag towards the upper-right is Esper; they took it from the Sakkra after the lizards snagged it from us. That gives the eggheads six systems, and right in the middle is the continually fought-over Tao, where an impending invasion threatens to plunge the Psilons and Mrrshan into a more serious conflict. Managing our allies is going to be a bit tricky potentially; we want them strong enough to help, but the stronger the Psilons get the more dangerous they will potentially become. I really don't want them much bigger than they are if it can be avoided.




The invasion of Tao failed, and not only didn't it cause a war but the Mrrshan and Psilons formed an Alliance. Go figure. And then this.




The Anti-Matter Bomb arrives first. We unfortunately have missed out my favorite mid-game system, the Anti-Matter Torpedo. Our Merculite missiles mean the Stinger wouldn't be enough of an upgrade for me to want to go back for that. So I think it's time to move forward: Fusion Rifle for the ground troops, or the Megabolt Cannon. I think the Megabolt system is one that's been under-represented in this LP, largely because of the versatility of the torpedoes. It's half the size of a Heavy Fusion Beam and much more accurate, even if it does less damage. I bank on the idea that our ground troops can hold out for the time being, and make that our next choice.




Our first espionage success in I can't remember when. Definitely the first this game. Can't see much of the spy behind the framing window, but it's rather astonishing to even consider a creature that size being sneaky.




Same year: GY 2454. You know the RNG is taking it easy on you when stuff like this happens. I've been transferring funding to Vulcan for a bit now to accelerate research, and now I'll be able to extend that effort for almost three years extra.




Oh, it's that time again.




Yep, sure is. Last four shots are all from the same year. Normally we have about another 30 years before this nonsense. And the Klackons are still out there. But we've been plenty fortunate. It's unlikely that the handful of bases we have at Zhardan will be enough to stop this fleet, esp. without planetary shields. We'll get a look at the Mrrshan designs though, and that should prove enlightening.

I do order an increase in base-building from the convenient and leisurely pace we've been maintaining on all systems. We're mostly to our budgeted allotment, but it appears it's time to get all the way there with a little more haste. If they want to pick a fight, let's do it properly ...




Now the kitties will have to deal with the eggheads, the bugs, as well as our bearkind. It'd just be too darn bad if we manage to get the whole galaxy ticked at them so they'll side with us in the Council, wouldn't it ...

Also, what is it about Zhardan in this game? That system has had a magnet on it. First the Klackons, now the Mrrshan.




The next year. Now we're ready for our first combat ship. But why not wait one more, so we can see what the Mrrshan have before committing? Pickings are slim so we'll take Reajax fuel cells(range 9), +2 for us and the only thing moving the field forward.

Meanwhile, more Psilon transports are headed for Tao, where they still control the airspace.


Zhardan



So the Mrrshan smashed Zhardan's defenses as expected. Hard Beams and Neutron Blasters for them, minimal shielding, and our bases did pretty well. We'd just need more of them, or better-protected ones, to fend off this kind of attack. And perhaps ironically, we get more deflectors in and Class X Planetary Shields are the next pick. It'll be a while till we get that and we might well lose some systems, but it'll go a long way towards making us more secure.




Here's what I'm going with for now. If I was making a bigger ship I'd probably put shielding on it, but with the Mrrshan fielding lots of Hard beams it would be of limited use. The Sentinel just tries to be a start in giving us additional anti-ship firepower. I don't think we need the bigger heavy version of the fusion beams ... these won't be spectacular or anything, but as mentioned they are a start until I can get megabolts finished and going. The alternative was going with a cruiser-sized ship with better defenses; I just don't think we can do enough against the weaponry we're facing for that to be worth the cost. Three of the four rich systems are ready to build these, we'll get several a turn to start.

Meanwhile, Tao is destroyed and resettled, and a sizable Mrrshan invasion of Kholdan fails. They're sending troops to Zhardan too. In other words, things are heating up. Everyone is at war with both the Mrrshans and Klackons now, and they are at war with each other. Shandra started it ... earlier than I wanted, which could complicate things. I also get some faster colonizers going, naturally.




Now we'll pay for not going for the Fusion Rifle(though we wouldn't have had it yet). This invasion started with basically even numbers. We won it almost 2:1, instead of 3:1, because of that. Our Battle Suits helped. But you'll have to come stronger than this, Mrrshan. They have the numbers to do so, and our greatest strength here is frankly that we can afford to lose Zhardan.

In 2460, 26M more Mrrshan arrive ... and take just 9M Bulrathi with them. I'm transferring in funding and investing in eco spending there. Seems a pretty good use of resources given how many of the enemy our guys can take with them, and with their ships in orbit I can't just transfer in more troops. So far, it's enough. They may just lose patience and nuke the planet, but as ever I'm playing for time. The longer I keep the kitties bogged down there, the stronger we're going to get and the more time our friends ... which is most of the galaxy ... have to gear up. On the other hand, at the rate they are shedding population in this process it looks likely that the Sakkra will overtake them as the second council nominee next time around.




Bingo. 2461. This should be soon enough for us to get the latest population boom by the next vote. If GuavaMoment still lurks around here, he might be interested to know that Doom Virus is soon. We didn't have a choice, which means we missed Advanced Soil Enrichment and didn't hit the trifecta there. Can't complain too much about getting two out of three though. However, I backtrack a bit and get Bio Toxin Antidote first, just in case.

Also worth noting; the Mrrshan control Kholdan's orbit now. The end may indeed be coming soon for the Klackons. If the cats take out the bugs, that'll just poison everyone else's opinion of them so much the more. 150+ destroyers are headed for Kailis, one of our largest systems. Our bases there(16 of them) might be able to handle it, but I send what ships we have built so far to join th efight. And well over half of our systems, 10 of the 16, get to work on the atmospheric investment.




We took out 41M, with 22M of ours in defense. They were willing to send a larger group, plus it wasn't the best luck for us on the rolls. At least we made them pay a price for it. For now there's nothing we can do -- need the fleet to get built up and that's going to take a long time. In more positive news, the Psilons are not being silent in all this. They have ships headed to nearby Galos, a Mrrshan world. We'll see what we can do once they start throwing their weight around. Many things are uncertain, and the situation changes every year. A handful of destroyers are headed to Ursa. They won't be a threat, but somebody clearly hid the catnip or something.


2464 Battles



Drakka, Kailis, and Ursa were all attacked in 2464. Our bases held them off at two of the three; their numbers were too many at Kailis, however. Our ships won't do too terribly against theirs it seems, although with their gunnery they are better -- we just need more numbers. Planetary shields would be enough to keep them at bay as well, but we won't have those for a while.

I found that with transfers from the reserve, I could still build 5 bases/year on Kailis despite the damage from the bombardment. That should be enough to at least whittle down the Mrrshan ships, who aren't particularly fast. 23 of 50 were destroyed in this way with the first batch; they bombarded again but did less damage. Then another half-dozen bases finished the job, with Mrrshan transports incoming to a nice surprise.

The boredom is most definitely over.




All kinds of stuff going on here. Psilons have chased a minimal Mrrshan task force away from Zhardan; I think we can get there first, or at least as soon as they do, and retake the system. Meanwhile it looks like the eggheads have a decent chance at grabbing Galos, and Tao keep changing hands with the Meklar and Sakkra the latest to feud over it. At this point the Mrrshan fleet is the largest in the galaxy by a small margin, so they are far from being defeated but it still doesn't look good for them.

We succeed in retaking Zhardan(barely) and discover the unspeakable joys of Industrial Tech 9. They clearly won that exchange, and this has to be like the 5th time or so this system has changed hands. I'm hoping it's the last. I also take another look at tech exchange options; there was some good stuff on offer, but everyone wants Atmos/Soil Enrichment. I'm not willing to cough that up to anyone who I'm not confident is going to be a long-term ally. We did grab Stinger Missiles in exchange for Fusion Drives with the Psilons. Figure they're going to have better than that soon anyway, and it gives us a little more punch with our bases to help ward off the Mrrshan.




Industrial Tech 5 arrives, a small cost-saving measure but we've got a number of planets building factories at the moment so it'll help some. Andrium is the cheapest way forward and we could definitely use better armor as we ramp up the fleet.




Jerks.




This was better news.




Of course. I thought the Psilons would stop their transports, but they left, chased off by Mrrshan destroyers. But we do retain it for now, and the rebellion on Firma is put down.




We only steal the best stuff. And what's up with the Thanos eyes? Is this spy supposed to be the personification of evil??

Also, Megabolt Cannon is in. We're doing enough ground fighting that I think I need to get the Fusion Rifle before moving on to the next tier, which is going to be Pulson Missiles. So really it's just a case of which we need more. Stingers + planetary shields(eventually) should be sufficient for now.

I definitely want a new ship to use the new gun, but we're almost to prototype on the next robotics so I want to wait for that.




Round and round the mulberry bush, the monkey chased the weasel ... they brought enough ships that we couldn't confront them yet. And now they have battle suits which will give them better success in the future. We'll get it back eventually.




Christmas comes early in 2474, on the eve of the vote. We had a less than 5% chance of getting this. The Advanced Space Scanner is next.

As expected, it is Sauron who is nominated opposite us. They actually have almost twice as much as anyone else with all the people the Mrrshan are throwing around. I thought about bribing the Meklar ahead of time, but with the lizards plus two races we are at war with there just weren't enough votes there.

** Psilons(4) -- Bullux
** Mrrshan(5) -- Sauron
** Klackons(1) -- Sauron
** Meklar(4) -- Sauron
** Sakkra(7)

That's a lot of lizard-supporting sycophants. We have 14 of 35 votes though, so they can do nothing we do not approve of. Effectively this is an even split, but long-time readers of the thread will realize that we have a clear path laid out for us in terms of how to win this.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend ...