Part 60: Episode VI: 2400 - 2424

Episode VI: 2400-2424




Not too far behind in production at least. Once the next round of research comes in, more diplomacy will be attempted.




Finally arrived. One more world the rocks don't get.










Howdy friends! Or, soon-to-be-friends. This is far more valuable than a decidedly average tundra system. Now we can get to work properly kissing the behinds of these rulers ... and racking in the credits from the trade deals. And, most importantly, convincing them to side with us, and not the rocks, in matters of galactic import.

All three are aggressive. We have Bulrathi Diplomats, Alkari Ecologists, and Mrrshan Technologists. That's ... weird. But ok. The Silicoids are allies with all three. That's not ok. We'll need to deal with that closer to the next vote, if it doesn't take care of itself. Max trade deals all around; 250 with the birds, 450 with the others.

Just a year later than the previously issued screen, here's a new comparison:




We're not doing too bad if you don't notice the Silicoid size.




Not a whole lot left. So it really comes down to this: we need to break up that compact the rocks have. They're winning the diplomacy game, and that's got to be reversed. Fake smiles on, everyone!! Research is going to be important here, because right now we have nothing any of them want.

Also worth noting that there are four unsettled systems we can reach. Three of them are close, an inferno and two radiated. The fourth has a Recon en route.




These will be quite important to our continued viability if things get rough.

2404 -- The Meklar have settled Regulus, the one system we were on our way to scout. Probably just as well. They're out most likely ally, and should make good use of it in time. The Alkari sign a Non-Aggression Pact, and while our relations aren't quite as good we try it with the other two races as well and succeed. We now have NAPs and good trade with all five. No alliances yet, but it's progress.




The pellet gun is in. The Scatter Packs will improve our missile bases, and are the cheapest alternative for moving upwards.




This long list is brought to you by the completion of Enchanced Eco Restoration. Radiated landings will let us grab three more systems -- if nobody gets to them first -- and then we can boost terraforming or whatever after that.

Meanwhile there's been a diplomatic shift. Silicoids/Meklar/Bulrathi. The Alkari and Mrrshan are no longer involved. A year later, the cats are back in. Such is the nature of things it seems.

2408 -- The Meklar are definitely frisky right now, and they take Centauri, inferno ultra-rich close to us. They got the tech first and are definitely expanding. So long as we can swing them back to our side, I'm fine with that. It's a weird way to look at things, but so be it.




Here's one down. Had to butter them up with Enhanced Eco Restoration, which we are going to pay for if they come for us later. The point here though is that this probably won't happen. Trade gets a boost as well. The other two we want are the Bulrathi and Mrrshan, definitely the more numerous of the minor races. They both tell us to go fly a kite.

It appears relations are the main determiner here -- fleet strength doesn't seem to matter from what I've seen this game. Back to researching more so that I can have more things to bribe them with.




Duralloy is in, and the Battle Suits are by far the cheapest option here. Our waste spending is pretty low now, so we can afford not to spring for that. Nobody wants our armor though, so it doesn't help the bribing game. 15 years to the next vote ...




Interesting thing here. The Meklars had 55 transports en route to Jinga before we signed the Alliance. They arrived ... and apparently disappeared. Self-destructed instead of dishonoring the agreement or something? I thought they'd just land anyway. I didn't really care that much if they took this under the circumstances, but that is interesting.

2414 -- Planetary Shield V and Robotic Controls III, both slightly overdue, came in at the same time. Mk. IV Computer and the Repulsor Beam were up next. We had a solid reserve, 110% of annual production; this was used to accelerate the industrial buildup.




This is the last of the current set of projects, coming in three years later in 2417. Multiple options for the next tier, but Energy Pulsar was the cheapest and seemed the most interesting.

It looked to me like pushing the Mrrshan and Bulrathi over the edge to an Alliance would need only one more tech gift. Hand Lasers for the Bears, Duralloy Armor for the Cats got it done quite cheaply.




The main question remaining here is whether the Silicoids are large enough to have a veto bloc. I'm confident the others will join us. Right now they only have one ally, the Meklar; we'll probably need to break that up in order to ensure cybernetic support.




Soon we started building these Corvettes(destroyer-size), quite similar to what we deployed but never used in the last game. Neutron Pellet Guns, Duralloy Armor, Sub-light Drives and a Mk. II Computer. The Mrrshan and Bulrathi have deployed Class V shields, not that I expect to fight them. The Silicoids are the prospective target here. Only Class III shielding and still stuck on Retro engines, so their ships should be fairly vulnerable to this.

We'll split efforts between continuing research and shipbuilding, with an eye to getting rid of the fighters that served no useful purpose except perhaps for a minor deterrent.




If it had to be someone other than us, the weakest race is an ok choice.

Going into the vote, the Silicoids were allies with three races now; Meklar, Alkari, Mrrshan. We need to break those up in order to have a chance of the vote going our way. We had to give the birdbrains several relatively unimportant techs in order to secure their agreement. The Meklar needed no such bribes, citing our earlier gift of Enhanced Eco Restoration as sufficient motivation. That left only the Mrrshan, who are 'Peaceful', one of the highest states right now. They love us, and stated only that 'The Alliance of the Mrrshan and Silicoids now lies in shreds under our feet'.

A pleasure speaking with you. And now to see if all this was worth it ...




Scatter Pack V rockets are in. We'll go back briefly here for an anti-planet weapon; the fusion bomb. Shielding is reaching the point where that could potentially be necessary.




Crap. They have just enough to veto, having gained 4 of the 6 additional votes in this cycle.

Meklar(4), Bulrathi(5), Alkari(3), and Mrrshan(5) all come with us. We abstain just to not put ourselves in a corner. 25-13 if we voted for ourselves, one short of victory. Well, that which you can't obtain by speeches you must take by force ...