Disenfrancised
Beep Beep
Update 13: The Folly of Man
The story of the year in Errai system is the Ik technological advances, as both the RMA and the AAICS have put forth a host new toys for the NIM to drool over (in the AAICSs case the publishing of the discoveries had been put back some considerable time by everything failing to load last year). The ideas of interceptor missiles, point defences, needleguns and viral bombs filled the military with bright dreams and the politicians of the ruling Rasheed fraction with an even greater lust for power. Not to be out done by theoreticians the shipyards accelerated their work on the vast colony ship that was only a year or two away from completion. Perhaps luckily for the Ik rulers these shining artifacts easily distracted the media from the other big story the wasting of the tax payers hard earned Afshati on bribing criminals in the Furtherest Republic and the subsequent apology issued by the Chancellor to that world. It seems any surface or short term plans to annex the republic have been put on hold why bother with an icy moon when there are twenty two other systems out there, ripe for the plucking. The Ik also finish designing and building their Al-Qiyamah Sloop, by far the most powerful IS warship currently extant in the known Tuft. Measuring up to other systems it sacrifices the Lantian Hiel's flexibility for more than four times the power at a similar cost, and could destroy a Soulon Farragut in a single shot. The lean profile orbiting above Taik was a firm reminder of the Ik's power and goals, and the population swelled with patriotic fever. Their scout fleet also began a three year jump back to Errai after a successful exploration tour the Ansibyl Pearl would be needed for the Ik's colonisation dreams.
The Akresians became even quieter this year, dampening all in system comm and traffic, disturbingly reminiscent of the 'Al to some Ik commentators. Internally the Akresians considered it a time of rest and metamorphosis before their emergence as abeautiful butterfly glorious inter system power. Progressing rapidly towards fusion drives and manifold generators for IS travel, that day of emergence may not be far off...
It is one small step for mankind, one giant leap for the Lantian republic, as they become the first trans-stellar society in the Hydra Tuft since the Tumult! Ship building was once again a priority for them this year as they completed a second one of their advanced Corvettes and the first build of their minimalistic utility ship design (the Hauxi). These two vessels immediately leave for the system of Horn, to check up on the 'Al the Lantians had graciously let settle there and destroy them if they had overstepped their mark. Arriving in Horn system the Lantians found that the 'Al had indeed been busy, constructing no less than five habitats (though two were only tiny outposts) mostly concentrated in orbit of the cool blue gas giant Horn V which the 'Al announced they had renamed Cascade-pi-sin-4-over-7, which the Lantians quickly shortened to 'Cascade'. They had also built a few outposts on metals concentrations elsewhere in the system, but the Lantians breathed a sigh of relief as this was all as had been agreed, and they could probably easily destroy the 'Al presence if they wanted to. Instead the Hauxi, escorted by the Corvette ILN Yuefei[1], moved to the third planet of Horn system, the titanic waterworld moderately rich in life, and constructed an Orbital fort from the prefabricated components it carried with it. The 'Al, seeing the beginning of the establishment of a Lantian presence in the system began to transmit terse messages to Gemstar, offering substantial loans of resources to assist in the early Lantian settlement...for a significant price. The Lantian negotiators will have to thread carefully, for the slightest mistake or lack of clarity might see the Lantians declare them 'Untruth tellers' and close down all links, forever. Meanwhile back on Gemstar the era of good feelings continued as construction research surged higher than even the Ik developments and various ship designs were polished off, but strong population growth threatened to hit the food limits allowed by the current Lantian hydroponic infrastructure...
The Esani continue their spastic hops around the system of Heze, having completed their low gravity city on rocky Rin'esani (Heze II) they return to icy Heze III b to construction additional habitats, volatiles mines, and farms, perhaps deciding that further development on the rocky planets would require additional food worlds. If that was the case the volatiles mine wasn't the most necessary of steps, for the Esani, being extremely efficient ecosystem managers and farmers, have vastly more volatiles than they could ever route through their current hydroponics step ups. Perhaps the dark secrets unearthed from the Foresters relics has given them a taste for exploration...or a need to flee - either way the Esani appear to have made ships something of a priority this year.
Unfortunately the particle flux the Soulon probe had suffered around Rotnev proved to much for its system when it emerged at Yshakaron, and it broke apart before any scans of the system could be made or transferred back. Its hulk and the precious Ansibyl Pearl probably still drifts in high orbit there, offering a huge reward to anyone brave enough to dive into the Spinward Lobe in search of salvage.
Rumours had swirled the corridors of power in Kaus for some years now, controversial polling data on the attitudes of the inhabitants of Kaus III causing outrage in the Senate and the gleeful rubbing of hands in the Reverend Council. It appeared the Soulons psychologists predicted that with the lack of threat and the difference in circumstance and attitude between the population on Kaus III and the outer worlds that the Soulon league was in serious danger of fraying apart, and that no amount of redistributive spending would be able to address the issues in the face of the looming Gardener mimetic threat. If they were correct in that assessment or not is another matter, what was important is that the controlling Outer Worlds fraction of the Senate believed it, and thought it to be the fault of Gardener agents and propaganda. In truth the redistribution had strengthened the league, and the foreignness of the Ik and Lantians provided an incentive to band together against a strange universe, and its hard to say what the Soulon could have done if they had found an ideology to hang their hat on. Instead they chose the path of war, seeking to contain the offending Gardener ideology at its wellspring whilst simultaneously cleaning house on Kaus III. Their preparations were simple - the construction of three more Farragut cutters, each alone likely more formidable than anything the Gardeners could launch in such a short time, and a overwhelming new army culled from the police forces and volunteers of the Outer Worlds. The justification for war was easy enough to build up as well; a few months of hot heads stirring up hatred (especially over shoddy workmanship on the Soulon probe) before the reveal of Ik transmissions indicating a indicating an immanent Gardener attack forced the governments hand! The Cutters entered a high boost within two hours of the declaration of war and would arrive at Kadesh orbit within a month...
...only to find that the Gardeners had engaged in a stunning ploy of political and strategic judo . Protesting their innocence on all channels (unsurprisingly evading the Soulon firewalls with the aid of preplaced agents) they had sent their fleet to conduct training exercises around Kaus I, and even stowed much of their space infrastructure safely under the blanket of atmosphere. Apart from taking some pot-shots at communications satellites to disrupt communications, and writing crude messages in Kadesh's night sky (using their lasers to ionise the upper atmosphere), there was absolutely nothing of strategic worth they could accomplish, and fell back to Kaus III at the end of the year in embarrassment. The show of Gardener pacifism stirred up the pro-Gardeners and the Independents (with the help of some Gardener agents) into outright insurrection over the Outer Worlds trampling of their opinions and criticisms of their pro-ecology plans, and over a third of the planets population rose up in riots. Here the somewhat cleverer part of the Soulon plan came into play, for the vast number of military forces they had transported to Kaus III (rather than attempting some sort of troop drop on Kadesh) were able to crack down on the rebels and institute a police state. Considerable numbers of military units were lost though, and the damage to habitat structures saw tens of thousands of rebels, neutrals, and loyalists freezing to death in the chaos. Considerable numbers of loyalists fled elsewhere in the Soulon league, particularly to the capital and the major conurbation of Kaus V. As the year closes the League is still in solid control of the planet with the active rebels hiding in the outlands or deep tunnels, but gaining taxes or other work done from the simmering populace seems laughable. However using prisoner labour and specialists from elsewhere the farming belts, the most strategically important part of Kaus III for the Soulons were continuing to produce.
As what was once a cool relationship chills down to the freezing death of war, both side at Kaus invest heavily in weapons technology, and the Gardeners attempt to boost their production capacity with a factory. Whilst normally the Gardener population would be somewhat unhappy with such industrialising, the war and the governments decision to place it in the equatorial deserts makes it fine, though if the heat of Kadesh is ever dampened and the middle latitudes greened they may start to protest more.
Before the war broke out the Lantian Corvette, perhaps tasting the air in the system, set off for new horizons and making the jump to Subra and the imagined riches of the Spinward Lobe.
The Vazan continue their building projects this year, turning the Inner worlds of circum-Zavi space into some of the most heavily developed pieces of real estate in the entire Trailing Lobe. Orbital farms and new habitation quarters were thrown up on Zavi I and III respectively and the population continued to experience strong growth. Substantial improvements were made to all fields related to ship construction, as the Vazan planned to construct a large and independent colonising craft that would rely little on support from the home system, perhaps worried about another Tumult, or wishing to transfer large blocks of the communally minded Vazan population, rather than dribs and drabs which would leave the distant colonists bitter and lonely for long periods. Either way this long term scheme suffered a significant upset when the Kations built two of their elegant Corsair Command Scouts and had them jump to Minkar III a, the planned target of Vazan colonising efforts. The Vazan perhaps thought that the Kations did not have sufficient knowledge of the worlds of Minkar, but the Kations researchers had long since skimmed most of the details from the Vazan data networks and long range spectroscopy. Though the Corsairs are relatively weakly armed and armoured, and had built their first outpost, it will be several years before the Vazan will be able to exert any presence outside the Zavi system. The relaxed Vazan population hadn't really an emotional investment in any of the world of Minkar so weren't particularly upset, but their long term planners were incensed. As for the Kations the crews and watching audience at home were gleeful at seeming the worlds of Minkar that had previously only been simulated, and the Biotechnologists saw a massive surge of popularity despite the fact that their constant bungling had brought them to the verge of electoral defeat. Due to hard to parse orders the Corsairs took a long time to get round to building the orbital fort, so the Lantians got the prize of first inter-system settlement. The discovery of the Vazan intentions towards Minkar were slightly worrying, for though the Kations had reached the system first, the Vazan were closer to being able to move population there, promising interesting times ahead. Thus Kations also made ship components their technological priority.
The Vazan probe returned from Gris, maybe fairer worlds would be discovered on future trips.
Random Events
The Soulon probe disintegrates shortly after arrival at Yshakaron.
The Kations study the biosphere of Minkar III a and learn some interesting things about worms: +3 biotech research.
Karmically Blessed Factions:
First base beyond their home system: the Lantians +1 lucky roll.
Avoidance of conflict sees the blessings of Gaia: Gardeners +1 lucky roll.
Notes:
[1]What does the I stand for alex?
[2]I've decided in the presence of atmospheres and giant planets the engineering bay builds an alpha habitat in orbit. Doesn't really make a difference to development, I just think it looks better. It also means you can't block off slots on the ground with Alpha base spamming from engineering bays.
Horn Reveal:
The system of Horn is as impressively diverse as Errai or Heze, with many an interesting world. Closest to the sun is a giant ball of silicates being steadily burnt to a crisp. A vast lava filled chasm scars its northern hemisphere, a relic of some recent act of violence impact, planet quake, or the annihilation of some starship in the tumult? A small rocky world is next, pocked with eerily identical impact craters, and has a surprising level of ambient radioactives for such a small globe. Horn III is half-way between a terrestrial planet and a gas giant, with its rocky core swathed in three thousand mile deep oceans. The uppermost layer of the oceans does contain a biosphere diverse and vibrant, if somewhat biomass poor compared to the oceans of earth - hurt by the lack of raw material. Colossal islandfish with fragile calcite bones swim through rivers of phytoplankton. The atmosphere of III, heated by the sun and without land masses to leach energy, is riven by vast storm systems that circle the planet decade on decade. Horn IV is a peach gas giant that emits heavily in the electromagnetic spectrum to irradiate itself and its single moon of ice and metal. The smooth Horn V is one of the most lustrously beautiful planets seen by explorers and has a pair of icy moons, one with a subsurface ocean. A chill green giant is next, with an couple of ultracold ice moons, one stained with complex nitrogen based poisons. A much larger gas giant orbits further out, warming its dull grey bulk with its mass but lacking any moons. Finally a clear blue orb rotates at the very furthest limits of the system with two super cooled moons, the inner of which has a number of very interesting atoms frozen into its tiny form possible the result of past mass ejection from another planet?
New Discoveries:
Trading Centre (requires unknown amount of Social): The Trading Centre (H) is a very interesting building that allows one to make money from the population of everyone you are able to trade with.
Trading Centre Rules:
Interceptors (requires an unknown amount of Propulsion): Specially designed high thrust missiles that act almost like tiny spacecraft, the Interceptors attempt to destroy a foes missiles whilst they are still closing using kinetics and ECM. If they roll to hit successfully they destroy the opponents missile salvo (or if there are no opposing missiles, do some meagre damage), providing protection to a whole friendly fleet.
Pebble Defence (requires an unknown amount of Weapons): Small linear accelerators with automatic targeting can do considerable damage to even the most formidable of incoming missiles, and their drive ability can even move the ship to dodge a beam or bullet. They do require both considerable energy and computational support however. +1 dodge per Computational Module, requires 1 power.
Needlegun: Rather than the solid slugs of a Railgun, the needle gun takes its matter from a reservoir of molten metal that is accelerated, shaped, and heat all within the length of the gun chamber. It thus has both higher base damage and can be tuned to drill though various designs of armour with a rapid patter of pulses. They thus ignore the first two points of armour.
Viral Bombs (requires an unknown amount of biotech): The crudest sort of wet biotech is that designed to kill, and the specially build delivery shards of this weapon system contains a veritable host of active deadly species and designs. Unlike most bombs these can only damage population, not facilities. Each successful attack has a 25% chance of adding the poisonous trait to a world with an atmosphere, and a 25% chance of dealing damage again the following year if applied to a world with a biosphere. Does considerably more damage to target populations with low genetic diversity.
Heavy Cladding: A design rather than technological improvement, Heavy Cladding refers to the practice of bulking up a warship with rock and slag to absorb the pummelling of its foes energy weapons. Any sensible peacetime designer would abhor the wasted volume and extra mass, but the needs of war sometimes make the option practical. Only one unit can be installed per vessel, and it massively increases the armour rating at the cost of the ships IP speed and dodge rating. It is thus advisable for large ships facing beamers of medium size and above, increasing toughness at the cost of sacrificing their remaining dodge and power verses missiles and agile foes.
The story of the year in Errai system is the Ik technological advances, as both the RMA and the AAICS have put forth a host new toys for the NIM to drool over (in the AAICSs case the publishing of the discoveries had been put back some considerable time by everything failing to load last year). The ideas of interceptor missiles, point defences, needleguns and viral bombs filled the military with bright dreams and the politicians of the ruling Rasheed fraction with an even greater lust for power. Not to be out done by theoreticians the shipyards accelerated their work on the vast colony ship that was only a year or two away from completion. Perhaps luckily for the Ik rulers these shining artifacts easily distracted the media from the other big story the wasting of the tax payers hard earned Afshati on bribing criminals in the Furtherest Republic and the subsequent apology issued by the Chancellor to that world. It seems any surface or short term plans to annex the republic have been put on hold why bother with an icy moon when there are twenty two other systems out there, ripe for the plucking. The Ik also finish designing and building their Al-Qiyamah Sloop, by far the most powerful IS warship currently extant in the known Tuft. Measuring up to other systems it sacrifices the Lantian Hiel's flexibility for more than four times the power at a similar cost, and could destroy a Soulon Farragut in a single shot. The lean profile orbiting above Taik was a firm reminder of the Ik's power and goals, and the population swelled with patriotic fever. Their scout fleet also began a three year jump back to Errai after a successful exploration tour the Ansibyl Pearl would be needed for the Ik's colonisation dreams.
The Akresians became even quieter this year, dampening all in system comm and traffic, disturbingly reminiscent of the 'Al to some Ik commentators. Internally the Akresians considered it a time of rest and metamorphosis before their emergence as a
It is one small step for mankind, one giant leap for the Lantian republic, as they become the first trans-stellar society in the Hydra Tuft since the Tumult! Ship building was once again a priority for them this year as they completed a second one of their advanced Corvettes and the first build of their minimalistic utility ship design (the Hauxi). These two vessels immediately leave for the system of Horn, to check up on the 'Al the Lantians had graciously let settle there and destroy them if they had overstepped their mark. Arriving in Horn system the Lantians found that the 'Al had indeed been busy, constructing no less than five habitats (though two were only tiny outposts) mostly concentrated in orbit of the cool blue gas giant Horn V which the 'Al announced they had renamed Cascade-pi-sin-4-over-7, which the Lantians quickly shortened to 'Cascade'. They had also built a few outposts on metals concentrations elsewhere in the system, but the Lantians breathed a sigh of relief as this was all as had been agreed, and they could probably easily destroy the 'Al presence if they wanted to. Instead the Hauxi, escorted by the Corvette ILN Yuefei[1], moved to the third planet of Horn system, the titanic waterworld moderately rich in life, and constructed an Orbital fort from the prefabricated components it carried with it. The 'Al, seeing the beginning of the establishment of a Lantian presence in the system began to transmit terse messages to Gemstar, offering substantial loans of resources to assist in the early Lantian settlement...for a significant price. The Lantian negotiators will have to thread carefully, for the slightest mistake or lack of clarity might see the Lantians declare them 'Untruth tellers' and close down all links, forever. Meanwhile back on Gemstar the era of good feelings continued as construction research surged higher than even the Ik developments and various ship designs were polished off, but strong population growth threatened to hit the food limits allowed by the current Lantian hydroponic infrastructure...
The Esani continue their spastic hops around the system of Heze, having completed their low gravity city on rocky Rin'esani (Heze II) they return to icy Heze III b to construction additional habitats, volatiles mines, and farms, perhaps deciding that further development on the rocky planets would require additional food worlds. If that was the case the volatiles mine wasn't the most necessary of steps, for the Esani, being extremely efficient ecosystem managers and farmers, have vastly more volatiles than they could ever route through their current hydroponics step ups. Perhaps the dark secrets unearthed from the Foresters relics has given them a taste for exploration...or a need to flee - either way the Esani appear to have made ships something of a priority this year.
Unfortunately the particle flux the Soulon probe had suffered around Rotnev proved to much for its system when it emerged at Yshakaron, and it broke apart before any scans of the system could be made or transferred back. Its hulk and the precious Ansibyl Pearl probably still drifts in high orbit there, offering a huge reward to anyone brave enough to dive into the Spinward Lobe in search of salvage.
Rumours had swirled the corridors of power in Kaus for some years now, controversial polling data on the attitudes of the inhabitants of Kaus III causing outrage in the Senate and the gleeful rubbing of hands in the Reverend Council. It appeared the Soulons psychologists predicted that with the lack of threat and the difference in circumstance and attitude between the population on Kaus III and the outer worlds that the Soulon league was in serious danger of fraying apart, and that no amount of redistributive spending would be able to address the issues in the face of the looming Gardener mimetic threat. If they were correct in that assessment or not is another matter, what was important is that the controlling Outer Worlds fraction of the Senate believed it, and thought it to be the fault of Gardener agents and propaganda. In truth the redistribution had strengthened the league, and the foreignness of the Ik and Lantians provided an incentive to band together against a strange universe, and its hard to say what the Soulon could have done if they had found an ideology to hang their hat on. Instead they chose the path of war, seeking to contain the offending Gardener ideology at its wellspring whilst simultaneously cleaning house on Kaus III. Their preparations were simple - the construction of three more Farragut cutters, each alone likely more formidable than anything the Gardeners could launch in such a short time, and a overwhelming new army culled from the police forces and volunteers of the Outer Worlds. The justification for war was easy enough to build up as well; a few months of hot heads stirring up hatred (especially over shoddy workmanship on the Soulon probe) before the reveal of Ik transmissions indicating a indicating an immanent Gardener attack forced the governments hand! The Cutters entered a high boost within two hours of the declaration of war and would arrive at Kadesh orbit within a month...
...only to find that the Gardeners had engaged in a stunning ploy of political and strategic judo . Protesting their innocence on all channels (unsurprisingly evading the Soulon firewalls with the aid of preplaced agents) they had sent their fleet to conduct training exercises around Kaus I, and even stowed much of their space infrastructure safely under the blanket of atmosphere. Apart from taking some pot-shots at communications satellites to disrupt communications, and writing crude messages in Kadesh's night sky (using their lasers to ionise the upper atmosphere), there was absolutely nothing of strategic worth they could accomplish, and fell back to Kaus III at the end of the year in embarrassment. The show of Gardener pacifism stirred up the pro-Gardeners and the Independents (with the help of some Gardener agents) into outright insurrection over the Outer Worlds trampling of their opinions and criticisms of their pro-ecology plans, and over a third of the planets population rose up in riots. Here the somewhat cleverer part of the Soulon plan came into play, for the vast number of military forces they had transported to Kaus III (rather than attempting some sort of troop drop on Kadesh) were able to crack down on the rebels and institute a police state. Considerable numbers of military units were lost though, and the damage to habitat structures saw tens of thousands of rebels, neutrals, and loyalists freezing to death in the chaos. Considerable numbers of loyalists fled elsewhere in the Soulon league, particularly to the capital and the major conurbation of Kaus V. As the year closes the League is still in solid control of the planet with the active rebels hiding in the outlands or deep tunnels, but gaining taxes or other work done from the simmering populace seems laughable. However using prisoner labour and specialists from elsewhere the farming belts, the most strategically important part of Kaus III for the Soulons were continuing to produce.
Soulon at Kaus III -2 Ground Divisions, -3 Population
As what was once a cool relationship chills down to the freezing death of war, both side at Kaus invest heavily in weapons technology, and the Gardeners attempt to boost their production capacity with a factory. Whilst normally the Gardener population would be somewhat unhappy with such industrialising, the war and the governments decision to place it in the equatorial deserts makes it fine, though if the heat of Kadesh is ever dampened and the middle latitudes greened they may start to protest more.
Before the war broke out the Lantian Corvette, perhaps tasting the air in the system, set off for new horizons and making the jump to Subra and the imagined riches of the Spinward Lobe.
The Vazan continue their building projects this year, turning the Inner worlds of circum-Zavi space into some of the most heavily developed pieces of real estate in the entire Trailing Lobe. Orbital farms and new habitation quarters were thrown up on Zavi I and III respectively and the population continued to experience strong growth. Substantial improvements were made to all fields related to ship construction, as the Vazan planned to construct a large and independent colonising craft that would rely little on support from the home system, perhaps worried about another Tumult, or wishing to transfer large blocks of the communally minded Vazan population, rather than dribs and drabs which would leave the distant colonists bitter and lonely for long periods. Either way this long term scheme suffered a significant upset when the Kations built two of their elegant Corsair Command Scouts and had them jump to Minkar III a, the planned target of Vazan colonising efforts. The Vazan perhaps thought that the Kations did not have sufficient knowledge of the worlds of Minkar, but the Kations researchers had long since skimmed most of the details from the Vazan data networks and long range spectroscopy. Though the Corsairs are relatively weakly armed and armoured, and had built their first outpost, it will be several years before the Vazan will be able to exert any presence outside the Zavi system. The relaxed Vazan population hadn't really an emotional investment in any of the world of Minkar so weren't particularly upset, but their long term planners were incensed. As for the Kations the crews and watching audience at home were gleeful at seeming the worlds of Minkar that had previously only been simulated, and the Biotechnologists saw a massive surge of popularity despite the fact that their constant bungling had brought them to the verge of electoral defeat. Due to hard to parse orders the Corsairs took a long time to get round to building the orbital fort, so the Lantians got the prize of first inter-system settlement. The discovery of the Vazan intentions towards Minkar were slightly worrying, for though the Kations had reached the system first, the Vazan were closer to being able to move population there, promising interesting times ahead. Thus Kations also made ship components their technological priority.
The Vazan probe returned from Gris, maybe fairer worlds would be discovered on future trips.
Random Events
The Soulon probe disintegrates shortly after arrival at Yshakaron.
The Kations study the biosphere of Minkar III a and learn some interesting things about worms: +3 biotech research.
Karmically Blessed Factions:
First base beyond their home system: the Lantians +1 lucky roll.
Avoidance of conflict sees the blessings of Gaia: Gardeners +1 lucky roll.
Notes:
[1]What does the I stand for alex?
[2]I've decided in the presence of atmospheres and giant planets the engineering bay builds an alpha habitat in orbit. Doesn't really make a difference to development, I just think it looks better. It also means you can't block off slots on the ground with Alpha base spamming from engineering bays.
Horn Reveal:
The system of Horn is as impressively diverse as Errai or Heze, with many an interesting world. Closest to the sun is a giant ball of silicates being steadily burnt to a crisp. A vast lava filled chasm scars its northern hemisphere, a relic of some recent act of violence impact, planet quake, or the annihilation of some starship in the tumult? A small rocky world is next, pocked with eerily identical impact craters, and has a surprising level of ambient radioactives for such a small globe. Horn III is half-way between a terrestrial planet and a gas giant, with its rocky core swathed in three thousand mile deep oceans. The uppermost layer of the oceans does contain a biosphere diverse and vibrant, if somewhat biomass poor compared to the oceans of earth - hurt by the lack of raw material. Colossal islandfish with fragile calcite bones swim through rivers of phytoplankton. The atmosphere of III, heated by the sun and without land masses to leach energy, is riven by vast storm systems that circle the planet decade on decade. Horn IV is a peach gas giant that emits heavily in the electromagnetic spectrum to irradiate itself and its single moon of ice and metal. The smooth Horn V is one of the most lustrously beautiful planets seen by explorers and has a pair of icy moons, one with a subsurface ocean. A chill green giant is next, with an couple of ultracold ice moons, one stained with complex nitrogen based poisons. A much larger gas giant orbits further out, warming its dull grey bulk with its mass but lacking any moons. Finally a clear blue orb rotates at the very furthest limits of the system with two super cooled moons, the inner of which has a number of very interesting atoms frozen into its tiny form possible the result of past mass ejection from another planet?
New Discoveries:
Trading Centre (requires unknown amount of Social): The Trading Centre (H) is a very interesting building that allows one to make money from the population of everyone you are able to trade with.
Trading Centre Rules:
Spoiler :
Interceptors (requires an unknown amount of Propulsion): Specially designed high thrust missiles that act almost like tiny spacecraft, the Interceptors attempt to destroy a foes missiles whilst they are still closing using kinetics and ECM. If they roll to hit successfully they destroy the opponents missile salvo (or if there are no opposing missiles, do some meagre damage), providing protection to a whole friendly fleet.
Pebble Defence (requires an unknown amount of Weapons): Small linear accelerators with automatic targeting can do considerable damage to even the most formidable of incoming missiles, and their drive ability can even move the ship to dodge a beam or bullet. They do require both considerable energy and computational support however. +1 dodge per Computational Module, requires 1 power.
Needlegun: Rather than the solid slugs of a Railgun, the needle gun takes its matter from a reservoir of molten metal that is accelerated, shaped, and heat all within the length of the gun chamber. It thus has both higher base damage and can be tuned to drill though various designs of armour with a rapid patter of pulses. They thus ignore the first two points of armour.
Viral Bombs (requires an unknown amount of biotech): The crudest sort of wet biotech is that designed to kill, and the specially build delivery shards of this weapon system contains a veritable host of active deadly species and designs. Unlike most bombs these can only damage population, not facilities. Each successful attack has a 25% chance of adding the poisonous trait to a world with an atmosphere, and a 25% chance of dealing damage again the following year if applied to a world with a biosphere. Does considerably more damage to target populations with low genetic diversity.
Heavy Cladding: A design rather than technological improvement, Heavy Cladding refers to the practice of bulking up a warship with rock and slag to absorb the pummelling of its foes energy weapons. Any sensible peacetime designer would abhor the wasted volume and extra mass, but the needs of war sometimes make the option practical. Only one unit can be installed per vessel, and it massively increases the armour rating at the cost of the ships IP speed and dodge rating. It is thus advisable for large ships facing beamers of medium size and above, increasing toughness at the cost of sacrificing their remaining dodge and power verses missiles and agile foes.
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