Part 67: Turn 184

TURN 184


We're running out of places to safely expand within our bubble of space. Orellius will become part of the new front line in the south. Hopefully the Starbase and terraforming will be finished by then.


The Federation has a pair of Heavy Cruisers that escaped death when they tried to attack our Caldonian Starbase. We're skeptical of their range this far north, but we'll have some Birds of Prey protect Volon just in case.


TURN 185. The Romulans are furious at us for...having a Starbase on Caldonia that got attacked by the Federation.


Of course the Cardassians will stand up for their Human allies, but the Romulans' take on the recent action shows who's side they're really on.


TURN 187. Not unrelated to the Romulan insult, we will put a greater focus on increasing scan strength throughout the empire. We will need more systems with scanners if we are to detect cloaked ships. Whenever we have energy to spare, scanners will become standard issue, just like our +100 research structure is.


TURN 188. Our scientist made short work of the weapons research. All our Strike Cruisers in the field have been upgraded to Strike Cruiser IIs. We only have a few of them, but they defend vital Starbases.


Speaking of which, the Starbase II is within sight. We'll need several more upgrades, starting with biotech 7.


The Sheliak will take a short break from buying Orbital Batteries to buy their special structure, which grants a 100% bonus to biotech research. Energy will not be a problem, given the system's overabundance of power plants.


To the small extent we can peer into the Ferengi empire, it seems like they're putting every warship at their disposal on Deinonychus. We could only dream of having so many ships in our own fleet. We have no idea if the Ferengi have even more ships elsewhere.


TURN 189. The Federation surprises us by launching a raid at Orellius, where our Starbase is under construction. Luckily it's just a fast attack ship, and not their Heavy Cruisers.


It's only a Federation Scout. Our Colony Ship and 2 Troop Transports take a rare opportunity to open fire on an inferior target. We are victorious, but the Scout escapes.


Our research is much enhanced by all the tech 8 labs on Shelia. We also have 3 different bonuses in play: The Sheliak 100% bonus to biotech, the Caldonians' 25% bonus to all research, and the Klingon 100% bonus to weapon research. Even though we're not researching weapons at the moment, we'll just keep the Klingon structure active because of the morale bonus it provides. On the intel side, the Yridians could give us a 50% bonus to espionage, but we need all intel power for internal security.


Tired of being surprised by ships appearing from the south, our spare Scout will move slightly into Romulan territory to give better warning of approaching Federation vessels.


Previously, we attempted to relocate the Hall of Warriors to Volon for the morale bonus, but it didn't work. This structure has an unusual requirement of being on our homeworld. It doubles Qo'nos' ground combat power. If things go really south, it will be our last line of defense.


Shelia, Caldonia, and Yridia are all conquered systems with chronic morale issues. The police state process is generally reserved for emergencies, but we'll make it a general practice. Yridia's population is busy staffing intel centers, so we lose nothing by using it as often as possible.


TURN 190. Our Scout in the southeast was a little too slow. We are surprised again by the sight of 3 Heavy Cruisers one turn away from Orellius, where the Starbase is incomplete. Worse yet, our Birds of Prey won't make it over there in time to defend it.


Luckily, the Federation diplomats were on a different page than their military leaders. They offer us 4,800 credits if we agree to peace. Klingons will be disappointed, but it's a good deal: They pay us to call of their attack on our vulnerable system.


TURN 191. We receive a most bizarre message. Intergalactic travelers known as the Tarellians are detected on Xanthras, where all life has been killed. A few things puzzle us here. First, we cannot see a Xanthras system, so how can we detect the Tarellians. Second, where is Xanthras and how did life get destroyed? All the empires' systems are accounted for and none have a Xanthras system with any population. And there's no Minor Race called the "Xanthrans," at least to my knowledge.


TURN 192. The Starbase on Orellius is safely completed thanks to a well-timed treaty with the Humans. The system will be colonized and equipped with the usual structures.


TURN 193. Our intel power grows to 3,620 points. We have 11 systems and the Romulans are stuck with their usual 5. The Ferengi and the Cardassian-Federation Alliance compete for the most systems, with 15 and 14, respectively. It's somewhat rare, I think, for something like a balance of power to exist this late in the game. We're almost to turn 200 and no empire is in danger of being extinguished.


TURN 194. Chancellor Gowron has maneuvered the empire into a very un-Klingon state. We are at peace with all four empires. We have a non-aggression treaty with the Federation, a friendship treaty with the Ferengi, and affiliation treaties with both the Romulans and Cardassians. We will take advantage of this peace by building as many Birds of Prey as we can on Volon. Volon has the Klingon academy, granting a bonus to experience for any ship built there; we will also train our crews when idle.


TURN 196. It's only been 8 turns, but our scientist is already done with the biotech research.


Taking advantage of our affiliation treaty with the Cardassians, we sent 8 Birds of Prey and a Scout to try and pick fights with Federation ships outside their territory. I don't know if this is because of our non-aggression treaty with the Feds, but combat won't take place. Our ships will return home for training, since we can't get real combat anywhere.


TURN 200. We offer a treaty of friendship to the Federation to mix things up. Klingons are anxious, and they want change of some kind. But the Humans are satisfied with maintaining the status quo. Each empire seems more concerned with exploiting the resources at its disposal rather than conquering each other. The galaxy is drifting into stalemate. The main beneficiary of this will be the Ferengi, who have a multitude of untapped systems within their vast territory.