Part 53: Turn 33

TURN 33


Now that we have a non-aggression pact with the Ferengi, we get to see the shape of their empire. It's already quite expansive. Depending on where the Cardassians and the Federation are, the Ferengi may have a huge area in the west where they're unopposed.


Our final leftover Troop Transport is ordered to quit building the Outpost on Mintaka and move to Caldonia near the Ferengi border for a more pressing and more Klingon sort of mission.


The Caldonians had the opportunity, but they never quite grabbed us as very cool people. They'll have to fight us to win our respect.


The Yridians' special structure grants a bonus to espionage, but spying is cowardly. It will be of no use to us.


TURN 34. We intend to treat the Yridians honorably, so we had a Colony Ship move to Yridia to terraform its remaining planets. But suddenly, their Scout appears!


Once again we benefit from the fact that our non-combatant ships are armed. The Yridian Scout flees from our Colony Ship during its free cloak turn. We had no idea Yridians could still fly ships against us now that they've been conquered!


The empire declares war against the Caldonians.


Our fleet of Scouts sits on Volon, waiting for the day when the Ferengi betray us. One Scout will move out toward Yridia to try and intercept that rogue Yridian ship.


Meanwhile, our Troop Transport will launch an invasion against Caldonia, which is still undefended.


TURN 35. Not surprisingly, the Caldonians are no match for Klingons in hand-to-hand combat. We have one our third war against a Minor Race.


Klingons are thrilled by the news. Amusingly, our conquest of the Caldonians has forced the Federation to terminate their affiliation treaty with them. We had no idea, but the Feds have been trying to bribe these guys all along. Their money is wasted as we show them the proper way to recruit new members into your empire.


Sorry Humans, we will not reimburse you.


Our Colony Ship at Yridia will terraform the remaining planets. Like many Minor Race systems, it will be quite nice when brought to its full potential. A few sectors to the west, a Ferengi Scout was visiting Caldonia. Since Caldonia is part of our territory now, the Ferengi ship will automatically be turned to its side of the border.


Despite its small population, Caldonia is reasonably advanced. They have level 4 structures, which is only one below our own tech level.


TURN 36. The rogue Yridian has launched another attack against the occupying forces of his homeworld.


This time it seems the Yridian has no intention of retreat. During his free cloak turn, he fires at the Colony Ship. Not much gratitude for our terraforming services, it seems.


The Colony Ship's shields hold up under the assault. Our own Scout decloaks and destroys the Yridian vessel. It will be the last of its kind.


We receive excellent news from the empire's scientist. He has already achieved the next technological breakthrough.


Our research is accelerating; we have nearly 1,200 research points. Only one tech advancement remains before we can invent Starbases. Even better, it's in weapons technology. A special academy on Qo'nos is activated that gives us a 100% bonus in this field.


The destruction of the rogue Yridian reaffirms the basic principle that war is the answer.


The Caldonians are cowardly, but they will be useful. Their special structure grants a 25% bonus to all forms of research. Unfortunately, it requires +200 energy. We can't build any wind turbines or charge collectors in this system, so we'll need to build power plants. We'll also need enough people to run the power plants. It will take awhile before we can do either.


Klingons don't think much about money, and we completely forgot to set up trade routes with the Romulan empire. Since we're affiliates, we can do this. The trade routes will give us some extra cash each turn.


TURN 37. The Ferengi's expansion has made them the envy of the galaxy, but it hasn't won them many friends. Out of nowhere, the Romulans declare war against them.


Besides us and the Ferengi, there hasn't been that much expansion of the empires. They seem to be blocking each other. We could colonize more systems in the northeast, but we're going slowly. We don't want to put a target on our back while we're still so far behind in economic, scientific, and military power.


TURN 38. Or maybe the Romulans are just having a bad day, because they suddenly declare war against the Cardassians, too.


TURN 39. We've been framed by some unknown* power (*Cardassia) for actions against the Ferengi. This is troubling, because the Ferengi could crush us in an instant if they felt too provoked.


The invention of the Starbase will happen soon, and we want to be prepared. New Troop Transports will be built.


TURN 40. The Romulans invite us to declare war against the Ferengi, too. We would, but that would probably be a death sentence.


Our scanners on Volon have detected the first signs of cloaked Romulan ships. Because of our affiliation treaty with the Romulans, they're able to cross our territory and use our infrastructure to boost their ships' range. Our shipyard on Volon basically lets them reach anywhere on the eastern arm of the Ferengi empire. The Romulans send a group of 4 cloaked Battle Cruisers toward them. It should be interesting to see how this plays out. It's nice to have our rivals attack each other.


TURN 41. Stunningly, the Romulan fleet appears to have been crushed by the Ferengi, though not without losses. The Ferengi are indeed a force to be reckoned with.