Part 98: Episode IX: 2425 - 2450
Episode IX: 2425-2450
Mrrshan are already doing badly here. If the galaxy gangs up on me when they're done with them, it won't be pretty.
This is looking fantastic, on the other hand.
Nothing immediately useful coming in anytime soon. The latest round of advances is almost finished.
Firma here was just destroyed, but the Humans have multiple colony ships in orbit, so it looks like they are going to snag it. It's time for me to get at least one of my own ready to go just in case. Dead environs and warp 3(recently developed sublight engines) are the best we can do there. Otherwhise the goal of the moment is the planetary shields.
Ahh, good old MOO fleet AI. The entire human task force, including the colony ships, runs back to Sol because reasons. Might as well try to sneak in there -- though Alkari colony ships are inbound, two years out. We know that thanks to the recently-developed scanners. I'll beat them there ... but the odds of them just bombing the planet once they arrive are significant. I need the shields on our planets first, but after that I'm probably going to start working on some basic missile ships. We won't be able to stop any kind of serious effort, but accidental encounters we might be able to handle.
It might not get us anywhere, but we're doing something about our situation doggone it.
First chance to actually get to know the final race. Aggressive Expansionists, allied with the Humans and at war with the Mrrshans. That personality guarantees they'll attack pretty much.
Alkari have the second-largest empire, but are lagging enough in technology to make them merely a solid third. Still not the usual pushovers though.
They occupy the upper-right corner, but I'm curious about those two red stars at the top.
With everyone and their mother incoming to Firma, I won't transfer any population in until I see how that shakes out.
Bio Toxin Antidote is in. Atmospheric Terraforming won't help us much, but it's the best option here.
Shocking. We had it for one whole year. I expected this to break contact with the Alkari, but it did not. Farseer agrees to 300 BC trade, which will hopefully help our tenuous relations. The next year, everyone but the Alkari leaves -- and the Mrrshan show up with one of their capital ships, chasing off the colony ships. They resettle the planet, putting things back where they were a few years ago.
Here's our first warship, nearly halfway through the second century of play. The Spirit is a mega-crappy POS that may well not be worth building at all. But it's the best we can do right now. Even with nothing else, I couldn't cram on a second rack of Scatter Pack launchers. Perhaps this will let us hold on to territory against mere colony ships if that situation arises again. Anything more, and probably not. Either way though, we aren't going to get much more research in with only four planets. So we've got to get in the fight.
The next year is 2431, and the last of our planetary shields are finished.
This incredibly stupid-looking portrait is a Sakkra spy. I unintentionally hit the Espionage button again. Bulrathis were the victims here, getting the lowest-level computer tech in the game.
Is it metaphysically impossible for a system that isn't my homeworld to go supernova?? Meanwhile a major Alkari attack on Fierias fails.
In 2435, Firma is destroyed again. The next year, we recolonize it ... and this time I think we have a chance to stay in control, as all others left or were outmaneuvered. Humans and Psilons are incoming but we have Non-Aggression Pacts with them. Back up to five planets ... but there is no news on the efforts on Sssla, and even maximum reserve spending isn't enough to completely top out the research spending. It's possible we could lose the homeworld. That would be a lousy trade.
That's good news. However, I clearly miscalculated Psilon ambitions ...
Friends in name only. Bastards. And the same year ...
So I ultimately fail to take advantage of the Mrrshan war in any meaningful way. Needed more alliances in order to avoid getting run over in that regard. And then there were five.
Nobody has a colony ship at Fierias yet, so I try to get in there. Meanwhile the Psilons and Humans are no longer allied, and Firma may change hands again. Things are still in flux here
2442. Here goes nothing, as all possible Spirit destoyers make their way there at maximum warp.
293 Alkari Pelicans destroy the system the next year. We took out a whole 15 of them. Might not have enough ships yet. Then the Humans and about 200 cruisers take control, claiming the system. The rich get richer, and the rest of us sit in the corner and mope. That's about the size of it. Time to stop building these pointless Spirits. It was worth a try, but we were just too far behind both in tech and production to make it work. And the other races also reacted more quickly than the last time I tried this.
We're back to research and hope against hope. And wait to be removed.
2445: Psilons conquer Fierias
2446: Humans conquer Firma.
Round and round the mulberry bush ... there are no official wars at this point, and few alliances. The new galacticopolitical equilibrium has not yet been found.
Got the Inertial Stabilizer in. Might as well keep upping our engines with Fusion drives.
Back and forth it goes. I honestly don't know why the Psilons can't maintain enough population here, even with the war.
** Alkari -- 8
** Human -- 8
** Bulrathi -- 5(Bladrov II)
** Psilons -- 8(Bladrov II)
Once again Bladrov II and the Humans are a single vote shy. 21 of 32. I have a feeling they will come to rue these votes when the Psilon menace crushes all other intelligent life at some point. And we bring up the rear with three once again, abstaining.