Charis
Realms Beyond
CharisTale1 - Celtic Christmas - Part Sixteen "The Age of Pindleton" (of what???)
In 1916 things had gotten as quiet as they could be, under the circumstances.
For the sheer glory of it, Entremont starts the Apollo Program.
Caractus is pleased to dedicate his career to its quick completion.
Three transports full of our best MA and MI, plus our MA army, are loaded,
and head to the Iro back lines. It's not just going to be a blitz, but
a squeeze play. They will get carrier/bomber support as well. Our other two
transports are steaming for the islands. They're empty, and will get filled with
troops a turn before deployment, with either marines or MA depending if there
are landing spots on the island! Oh... and Lugdunum starts a tactical nuke :naughty:
21 tanks are put on shore patrol duty. (Bad thought... hunting down several settlers on
boats to finish in anticlimatic fashion) In 1924, a tactical nuke and a sub finish
the same turn, how convenient.
Speaking of 1924, the Iro now have both Superconductor and Satellites, as does Osmon,
meaning Hiawatha research Superconductivity and traded it. Iro's are still Communist
though. That means they're just TWO techs away from having enough knowledge to launch!
The good news is... the Iro lack connected Uranium to make Fuel Cells
Of course it's hard to connect to something that six MI are sitting atop.
We plan to take action in about four turns (or max, eight when deals expire) when our
long-moving transport clear Iro land and have a clean path to the islands.
Specifically, the plan is for one transport, MI heavy, to land at the 'pinch point'
in the middle of their Northern area, and for the two offensive-heavy transports
to load at the Northern tip and work down.
Just as Braveheart was wondering where and when settlers would land,
two Iro settlers come on shore. Near to, but not endangering, our southern airstrip.
But... they now have 11 settlers?!
In 1930 the Iro add Life Support, right after the Stasis chamber - seven parts!
The Celtic people are in an absolute uproar!! Isn't Braveheart going to do something
about this??!
The answer is... yes. Braveheart consults his... finance advisors?
The banks give him the green light. Green light for what??
Braveheart summons his covert ops team for what he hopes is their final mission.
"Steal the secrets of Satellites from the Iroquois, so that we might have
the power to make ICBM's! If you succeed, that is fair, but... if you get
caught we will not disavow all knowledge of you, rather we will punish the
Iroquois for not sharing this knowledge freely!"
What does this have to do with the financial institutions? We needed to insure 1000K
treasury after such a quick attempt. Now is the time. 1934 is a fateful year for
two other reasons. The UN vote (declined!) and the Iro land two settlers on *OUR*
Isthmus near the spice colony. With free access to our railnet, and outside our
cultural borders, they could go literally anywhere. That will not do...
Braveheart rings up Hiawatha. "Hey Hi! I need Superconductors and Satellites for a little
project I'm working on. And your map!" "REJECTED! What are you going to do about it,
huh? Go ahead punk, make my day!" says the arrogant leader of the Iroquios!
No one calls Braveheart a punk.
He calls for the covert team. Then he sends them home. He calls for...
Mr. Pindleton. (His advisors look at each other confused, who on earth is that?)
Well, it turns out that Mr. Pindleton has won the 'Most Polite Employee' award
as a mail clerk at the Iro embassy, with a spotless record. He's clumsy, wears
thick glasses, is clueless in the ways of fashion, and drives a Nova. Braveheart
tells him that he's been recommended by his superiors for a top secret mission -
to steal the technology of Satellites! Mr. Pindleton has never even spit on
the sidewalk, much less steal anything. He's aghast at the idea, but is somewhat
excited by the magnitude of this patriotic task. He tries it... quickly no less, and...
"Good news, Charis Braveheart, we succeeded!"
"You did?? @#$@#%@"
Mr. Pindleton is exceedingly confused, seeing himself now as the new James Bond,
and surprised by the less than happy reaction. Braveheart puts Lugdunum on
an ICBM, and picks up the phone again. Covert ops... I need you for a VITAL
mission! I need the production in a crucial city sabotaged!" "Aye sir, where?
Salamanca? Allegheny?" "No. Molde." "Sir, where?" "Molde" Pause while they get a map.
"Sir, that's a size 3 ultracorrupt half fishing village, surely you don't mean
Molde" "Aye, I do. There's an air fare special going there for only 21 gold. Oh,
and I have JUST the man for the mission. Our newest 'elite' spy, Mr. Pindleton!!!"
"Who?" "Pindleton" "The embassy mailroom clerk? Shifted to the mailroom after being
found to be an inept bookkeeper??? On a spy mission??!" The top brass protest:
"Sir, if he gets caught... that could mean.... war!!??" "Aye!"
Braveheart heads back to the war room. Eventually the phone rings.
"Pindleton??" "You did what??"
Braveheart can't believe it. At this rate our treasury will be gone, all cash
going to buy plane tickets for the intrepid Mr. Pindleton, who now REALLY has
a James Bond complex! He's muttering something about his... mojo? This time
he gets sent to the tiny new town of Neokhat. He's 'almost' caught, but escapes,
Hiawatha is 'steaming'. Gah! Braveheart is confounded. This time he gives
Pindleton a promotion in covert ops and actually attempts to plant him as a spy
in the Iro captial! Can he do it stealthily? Yes??!
Ok, 'Spy' Pindleton. Go sabotage the production in... Salamanca! Train fare only 100g.
This rookie can't pull that off can he, sabotage production in their very own capital?
"Pindleton here boss! We did it! Worker recruitment sabotaged!!!!"
His economy is going down the toilet because of Mr. Pindleton! He's the best darned
spy in the history of our civilization. Braveheart barely knows what to do next?
Ah... the one thing he has *NEVER*, ever seen work, not once. "Expose enemy spy"
If Pindleton can pull that off, we'll call off the conquest and go to Alpha
Centauri. (Not!)
He fails, steams Hiawatha, gets replanted, tries at Neodakheat where he already
failed THIS turn, and we get this report...
("Gweeto??? He calls himself Gweeto??!")
Incredible... then one of Braveheart's advisors suggests that there is no way
on earth Hiawatha is going to declare war on us, despite the valorous efforts
of Mr. Pindleton! Resigned to fate, Braveheart considers his options...
A. Use the RoP to place troops next to all his cities and wipe Iro out.
B. Let RoP expire in 3 turns, refuse to move and declare war
C. Move all his troops back out of Iro territory now, declare war, move them forward.
Braveheart dismisses 'A' out of hand as exploitative and beneath the Celtic nation.
Option B is completely in line with the 'cease fire' nature of the previous deal.
Option C gives up his vicelike grip on the uranium, which he loathes to do.
He chooses... Option D. Give Iro 3 turns to shoot themselves in the foot,
with a fall back of B or C at that point. For now he'll hem in the new settlers
completely. Oh... and shift cities to wealth to pay for the "Pindleton escapades!"
To encourage the Iro to shoot themselves, he sends in a team of 'weapon inspectors' -
unescorted workers who will go and visit the Aluminum processing sites.
(To be continued)
Charis Braveheart
In 1916 things had gotten as quiet as they could be, under the circumstances.
For the sheer glory of it, Entremont starts the Apollo Program.
Caractus is pleased to dedicate his career to its quick completion.
Three transports full of our best MA and MI, plus our MA army, are loaded,
and head to the Iro back lines. It's not just going to be a blitz, but
a squeeze play. They will get carrier/bomber support as well. Our other two
transports are steaming for the islands. They're empty, and will get filled with
troops a turn before deployment, with either marines or MA depending if there
are landing spots on the island! Oh... and Lugdunum starts a tactical nuke :naughty:
21 tanks are put on shore patrol duty. (Bad thought... hunting down several settlers on
boats to finish in anticlimatic fashion) In 1924, a tactical nuke and a sub finish
the same turn, how convenient.
Speaking of 1924, the Iro now have both Superconductor and Satellites, as does Osmon,
meaning Hiawatha research Superconductivity and traded it. Iro's are still Communist
though. That means they're just TWO techs away from having enough knowledge to launch!
The good news is... the Iro lack connected Uranium to make Fuel Cells
Of course it's hard to connect to something that six MI are sitting atop.
We plan to take action in about four turns (or max, eight when deals expire) when our
long-moving transport clear Iro land and have a clean path to the islands.
Specifically, the plan is for one transport, MI heavy, to land at the 'pinch point'
in the middle of their Northern area, and for the two offensive-heavy transports
to load at the Northern tip and work down.
Just as Braveheart was wondering where and when settlers would land,
two Iro settlers come on shore. Near to, but not endangering, our southern airstrip.
But... they now have 11 settlers?!
In 1930 the Iro add Life Support, right after the Stasis chamber - seven parts!
The Celtic people are in an absolute uproar!! Isn't Braveheart going to do something
about this??!
The answer is... yes. Braveheart consults his... finance advisors?
The banks give him the green light. Green light for what??
Braveheart summons his covert ops team for what he hopes is their final mission.
"Steal the secrets of Satellites from the Iroquois, so that we might have
the power to make ICBM's! If you succeed, that is fair, but... if you get
caught we will not disavow all knowledge of you, rather we will punish the
Iroquois for not sharing this knowledge freely!"
What does this have to do with the financial institutions? We needed to insure 1000K
treasury after such a quick attempt. Now is the time. 1934 is a fateful year for
two other reasons. The UN vote (declined!) and the Iro land two settlers on *OUR*
Isthmus near the spice colony. With free access to our railnet, and outside our
cultural borders, they could go literally anywhere. That will not do...
Braveheart rings up Hiawatha. "Hey Hi! I need Superconductors and Satellites for a little
project I'm working on. And your map!" "REJECTED! What are you going to do about it,
huh? Go ahead punk, make my day!" says the arrogant leader of the Iroquios!
No one calls Braveheart a punk.
He calls for the covert team. Then he sends them home. He calls for...
Mr. Pindleton. (His advisors look at each other confused, who on earth is that?)
Well, it turns out that Mr. Pindleton has won the 'Most Polite Employee' award
as a mail clerk at the Iro embassy, with a spotless record. He's clumsy, wears
thick glasses, is clueless in the ways of fashion, and drives a Nova. Braveheart
tells him that he's been recommended by his superiors for a top secret mission -
to steal the technology of Satellites! Mr. Pindleton has never even spit on
the sidewalk, much less steal anything. He's aghast at the idea, but is somewhat
excited by the magnitude of this patriotic task. He tries it... quickly no less, and...
"Good news, Charis Braveheart, we succeeded!"
"You did?? @#$@#%@"Mr. Pindleton is exceedingly confused, seeing himself now as the new James Bond,
and surprised by the less than happy reaction. Braveheart puts Lugdunum on
an ICBM, and picks up the phone again. Covert ops... I need you for a VITAL
mission! I need the production in a crucial city sabotaged!" "Aye sir, where?
Salamanca? Allegheny?" "No. Molde." "Sir, where?" "Molde" Pause while they get a map.
"Sir, that's a size 3 ultracorrupt half fishing village, surely you don't mean
Molde" "Aye, I do. There's an air fare special going there for only 21 gold. Oh,
and I have JUST the man for the mission. Our newest 'elite' spy, Mr. Pindleton!!!"
"Who?" "Pindleton" "The embassy mailroom clerk? Shifted to the mailroom after being
found to be an inept bookkeeper??? On a spy mission??!" The top brass protest:
"Sir, if he gets caught... that could mean.... war!!??" "Aye!"
Braveheart heads back to the war room. Eventually the phone rings.
"Pindleton??" "You did what??"
Braveheart can't believe it. At this rate our treasury will be gone, all cash
going to buy plane tickets for the intrepid Mr. Pindleton, who now REALLY has
a James Bond complex! He's muttering something about his... mojo? This time
he gets sent to the tiny new town of Neokhat. He's 'almost' caught, but escapes,
Hiawatha is 'steaming'. Gah! Braveheart is confounded. This time he gives
Pindleton a promotion in covert ops and actually attempts to plant him as a spy
in the Iro captial! Can he do it stealthily? Yes??!
Ok, 'Spy' Pindleton. Go sabotage the production in... Salamanca! Train fare only 100g.
This rookie can't pull that off can he, sabotage production in their very own capital?
"Pindleton here boss! We did it! Worker recruitment sabotaged!!!!"
His economy is going down the toilet because of Mr. Pindleton! He's the best darned
spy in the history of our civilization. Braveheart barely knows what to do next?
Ah... the one thing he has *NEVER*, ever seen work, not once. "Expose enemy spy"
If Pindleton can pull that off, we'll call off the conquest and go to Alpha
Centauri. (Not!)
He fails, steams Hiawatha, gets replanted, tries at Neodakheat where he already
failed THIS turn, and we get this report...
("Gweeto??? He calls himself Gweeto??!")Incredible... then one of Braveheart's advisors suggests that there is no way
on earth Hiawatha is going to declare war on us, despite the valorous efforts
of Mr. Pindleton! Resigned to fate, Braveheart considers his options...
A. Use the RoP to place troops next to all his cities and wipe Iro out.
B. Let RoP expire in 3 turns, refuse to move and declare war
C. Move all his troops back out of Iro territory now, declare war, move them forward.
Braveheart dismisses 'A' out of hand as exploitative and beneath the Celtic nation.
Option B is completely in line with the 'cease fire' nature of the previous deal.
Option C gives up his vicelike grip on the uranium, which he loathes to do.
He chooses... Option D. Give Iro 3 turns to shoot themselves in the foot,
with a fall back of B or C at that point. For now he'll hem in the new settlers
completely. Oh... and shift cities to wealth to pay for the "Pindleton escapades!"
To encourage the Iro to shoot themselves, he sends in a team of 'weapon inspectors' -
unescorted workers who will go and visit the Aluminum processing sites.
(To be continued)
Charis Braveheart
that's great!
