Update 2: The Initial Conflicts
My name is Peterr Machiavicho, Imperial historian for our Great and Holy Emperor Sadaru III, entrusted with recording the history of the planet Circuitria. May the Emperor's greatness, rather than my own, be highlighted with these historical documents.
The Sixth Period of 3488 A.E. was continued expansion for most factions, with the factions that had managed to gain ruins during the prior period maintaing a significant advantage over all the others. But what made the Sixth Period of 3488 a landmark period was that the first archaeological teams descended to the basin, and with it, research has begun. Many anticipate that the secrets of Circuitria will be found in the Guardanetarian Basin, since it has been locked away for such an extended period of time and ruins all over the planet haven't answered the two great questions: who were the Circuitrians, and what happened to them?
The archaeological teams occupied the ruins owned by
Jaggonite and
House Indigo. Both factions offered very low prices for their ruins, hoping to make an early profit, although their contracts are stated to be renegotiated at a later date. The first faction to attract a research team was Jaggonite, offering very generous terms for having one of the first ruins available. The Kurkin Dannis Institute of Historical Research, a small organization with few funds, scrambled to beat other, wealthier organizations to the steal of a deal, and was the first archaeological team to begin operations in the Guardanetarian Basin. Sakin Alool himself welcomed the archaeological team, under the leadership of Dr. Valemir Dannis Kutchkin (Kurkin Dannis's granddaughter), to Jagadoon, treating the team to some of the local cuisine: slow-roasted valdermin*, tuskin salad**, and other delicacies, all served in the grand hall of Alool's Guardian Palace (the official title for Sakin Alool in Jagadoon is "Emergency Guardian of the Jaggonite State", but he is frequently referred to as the Guardian). The research team, while not appearing impressed with Alool's "palace", found the food quite spectacular, while Dr. Kutchkin, having a reputation of being aloof and snobbish (the Dannis family is rather wealthy), didn't show any sign of being impressed. In fact, she seemed slightly annoyed and wanting to leave as quickly as she could to get to the site.
The team left the next day, transported by hovercraft and escorted by Sakin Alool personally, along with his body guard. At the edge of the demilitarized zone, Sakin Alool and his body guard allowed Dr. Kutchkin and her team to proceed to Sakin's Divine Ruin on their own. Sakin Alool seemed annoyed by Dr. Kutchkin's indifference to his reception efforts...and himself (whispers abound in the Guardian Palace that Alool hoped for an affair with the alluring Dr. Kutchkin, but they remain only rumors). But those frustrations ended when Sakin Alool saw the new balance sheets for the treasury, boosted significantly by the down payment from the Dannis Institute, along with the new projected income numbers as a result of the lease that made Jaggonite the strongest faction economically in the Guardanetarian Basin for the period, even surpassing the Red Raiders. He also received a correspondence from the local Imperial government praising him for leasing a ruin to a research team.
(+1 Imperial Favor for Jaggonite)
But Jaggonite, while being the first to lease a ruin to an archaeological team, faces a serious challenge to their leading role by
House Indigo. Leotus Borsch offered a low deal, and through a series of negotiations over hyperstring-channels, managed to attract the Forkwand Xenopological Institute to the ruin east of New Indigis, under the leadership of Dr. Greidux Hibigling. The team arrived about a standard week after the Dannis Institute team, and the Leotus offered a similar reception to Sakin Alool's...although his reception was more appreciated by the team (and the Leotus's palace is nicer than the Guardian's Palace). The next day, the team left for the ruins (by themselves), entering the site of the buried building. They brought a large amount of machinery for excavation, so they could at least find a door to the building.
While the archaeological team dug at the site, the Leotus's troops continued the claim land at a rapid pace, in accordance with the "fast first" doctrine. The militias pressed on, going deeper into the Guardanetarian jungles, which, while vacant of the Holeata, are still hostile, with predators and even an occasional carnivorous plant able to eat a whole man alive. But House Indigo nonetheless nearly has two more ruins claimed, more than any other faction, making House Indigo very likely to take the lead in the region and become the dominant player.
(+1 Imperial Favor for House Indigo)
Jaggonite wasn't going to take Leotus Borsch upstaging Guardian Alool lightly, but the expansion plans of Jaggonite were upset by the arrival of a new power in the region. A cruiser of the Pirate Alliance, captained by a man known as Yellow Eye, was shot during a smuggling operation by an Imperial Navy patrol over Circuitria. The cruiser crashlanded into the Sardonic Sea, and the survivors, including Yellow Eye, used the escape pods to reach the Guardanetarian beach. After days of walking, the crew established camp outside the demilitarized zone of the ancient pyramid ruin. Yellow Eye and his nearest officers held a meeting to establish what to do now. Yellow Eye, tired of his life of piracy, influenced the officers to use the crew's loot to establish a permanent base on Circuitria, and the crew would live as "political refugees" on Circuitria, living in a more honest existence (key word being "more"). Thus the
Outlaw Commune was born. While Yellow Eye and his officers formed a governing Council, with Yellow Eye as Chairman, the society does promote a communal spartan existence, with all residents as equal and no one really "greater" than another, and "loot" being shared equally...so the settlement of Cosmic Forgiveness is considered a true communist society.
House Indigo didn't react to the arrival of the Outlaw Commune. But Jaggonite had recently been making efforts at expansion. Militias had been claiming land to the east, and a transport hovercraft carried troops deep into the jungle with two militia units to claim an ancient building. Jaggonite had not ignored the ancient pyramid, and had been sending a unit east to claim it. But the settlement of Cosmic Forgiveness, right outside the demilitarized zone, directly interfered with Jaggonite's plan to claim the pyramid...which would have placed Jaggonite on equal footing with House Indigo. Sakin Alool, upon hearing of the arrival of Yellow Eye, flew into a rage, and ordered his militia to proceed "at all costs". The plan changed, of course, when the Outlaw Commune levied a substantial military, and the militia moved south instead, to begin claiming a tower ruin. But there is still great animosity towards the Outlaw Commune in Jagadoon, despite the Commune's efforts to establish friendly relations with Jaggonite, even offering future trade.
On the Netar Plains to the south,
House Hartain made great progress, placing the house in a very strong position locally. Units secured the area around the two great towers, placing them under the Capitol's control. House Hartain also constructed a spaceport to the east of the Capitol, and hired a customs broker named Feerning Hispolian to run it. Efforts were also made to secure a strange, overgrown tower to the east (commonly called the Garden Tower). Milar Hartain received praise from the greater House for not only constructing a ruin but seemingly making up for lost income with the spaceport...although it will not be operational till Hispolian arrives.
To the east, Bloodmoney was seeing itself quickly falling behind the other factions, and Matthias Schmidt was hearing about it. The
Red Raiders on Circuitria adopted what was being called the "secure income" economic doctrine. The argument was that for stable military operations, steady, stable sources of income were more appropriate than ruins, and that it was better to focus on building up those income sources and build a large army, and then secure the ruins. Schmidt pitched the idea to his superiors in the greater Red Raiders, who then informed the Rouge Corporation. Had the other factions of the Guardanetarian Basin not had such great success with ruin income, the Rouge Corporation may have been more optimistic of the plan. It did seem to make valid points. But with Jaggonite and House Indigo making great sums of money and the Red Raiders not appearing at all able to make up the difference, and appearing to have lost their early advantage and in no position to make up for it soon (or even planning to), Schmidt received disapproving memos from the Rouge Corporation.
(-1 Imperial Favor for the Red Raiders)
That was not the end, though, of the Red Raider's problems. Schmidt had ordered his units to secure the area around Bloodmoney and beyond. Amongst those units was an AAV unit headed west towards the Garden Tower. Milar Hartain had sent a militia south and east to secure the perimiter around the Garden Tower. The result was the Red Raiders AAV unit and the Hartainian militia meeting southeast of the ruin. Reports are that when the units met, there was confusion as to what was to be done. But since both units were instructed to
secure the area for their respective superiors, fighting arose. The Red Raiders, being the stronger force, defeated and destroyed the militia. News of the skirmish reached the Capitol, and Milar Hartain personally called Bloodmoney and demanded significant damages be paid and the area ceded to House Hartain. Schmidt intially refused, arguing that the bloodshed was the fault of the Hartainian militia, not the Red Raider AAV unit, but said that further investigation into the matter was warrented. Many fear that if the situation escalates, war could arise between House Hartain and the Red Raiders, a war that would destroy one of the factions and place the other in a very strong position in the Guardanetarian Basin.
Casualties for the Garden Tower Skirmish:
House Hartain: 1 Militia
Amidst all this, the
Sciuridae Collective of Circuitria moved slowly, not attracting much attention. A landmark was reached for the SCC. To the south of SET-x001, a spaceport was constructed, and the customs broker I-103 made it operational, making the SCC stronger economically than House Hartain (for the time being). But other than that, A-001 didn't show himself to be a shrewd leader. A regular unit moved south, and militias moved to the east, coming close to territory secured and claimed by Jaggonite. Many thought that A-001 would have finished securing the great jungle tower to the east of SET-x001, but instead the militia moved east, meaning that it will take even longer for the ruin to be claimed and produce income. Many predict that the time it's taking for the SCC to claim a ruin will make them a minor power in the region, perhaps even being absorbed by the hungry Jaggonite. But it's all speculation at this point.
The Sixth Period of the year 3488 A.E. ended with the first blood over ruins being spilled...and much more could flow before the year ends, with the Garden Tower Skirmish creating animosity between the Red Raiders and House Hartain. But archaeological teams are finally beginning to descend into the region. While the factions feud, they will be secure within the demilitarized zones, like stones in a river, with water rushing violently around them.
*a large herbivore that can be found in the swamps
**an edible plant, known for it's sweet yet tart taste
Map:
OOC:
I've made more modifications to the rules, and some clarifications (I'll be glad when I never have to do so again). First, I clarified transport movement. It costs two movement points to load onto a transport (just like entering another hex, so if you're short, you can still enter a transport). There's no additional for offloading. Others are general clarification (such as writing my modding policy into the rules).
I've added a section allowing trade. Settlements connected by road, hyperrail, airport, or seaport (not spaceport) can establish a trade agreement. Domestic trades yield 25 credits per settlement (thus 50 credits total, since it takes two settlements). Inter-factional trades yield 50 credits per settlement.
Adjacent spaceports canabalize each other, too, losing 10% (combined) income per adjacent spaceport (thus, two canabalizing spaceports lose 20% income, three spaceports 30%, and so on). There's no penalty for tourist depots and smuggling hubs, though. This only applies when the spaceports are owned by the same owner.
Be sure to review the rules and note the updated sections.
@Milarqui and Matt0088: Just because I said the terms offered by House Hartain were initially refused doesn't mean that negotiations are finished. If you'd like, you can try to work it out. Or you can fight. It's up to you.
