Q Intervention

[apenpaap]

After reading through some Divine Intervention threads, I had an idea: why not combine Divine Intervention with the Star Trek mod, thus making it Q intervention? So here's the idea: I will play for 30 turns, after which I will summarize the things I've done, along with screenshots. Then you, the Q, will use your powers (Worldbuilder) to change things around. Then, you upload the save, which will either be edited by other members of the continuum or played by me.
I'm planning to give the Q two days between each save, but I'll wait longer if no one has edited by that time.

Even the Q have to follow some rules, and here are yours:

The Twelve Commandments of Qhood

I.Thou shalt announce your intentions.
--(Be sure to post a "got it" so we don't run into continuim errors. We reserve the right to ignore not announced updates)

II. Thou shalt not Intervene if you were the last Q to intervene, and thou shalt only intervene once per waking.
--(You may only intervene once per my update, and you must wait for another Q to intervene before intervening again.)

III. Thou shalt not reveal the secrets of knowledge or the heavens to mortals.
--(No techs should be revealed to any civilization if they are not in the current or previous era of the player)

IV. Thou shalt not use your powers for cataclysmic destruction
--(Remember, less is more. Be subtle. It is far more interesting for everyone if you make subtle, interesting changes. I reserve the right to reject saves I think are unnecessarily apocalyptic.)

V. Thou shalt reveal yourself to the mortal with grace.
--(Everyone loves a good story, and if you decide to contribute to it, be creative! Choose a name and domain that you govern, even if the characters don't know it's you acting)

VI. Thou shalt not be vindictive, and thou shalt not halt progress.
--(You are not allowed to strip techs away from me. Anything I research is mine permanently.)

VII. Thou shalt not be unnecessarily nice to the puny mortal.
--(I do not need a stack of thirty Level 9 Borg Cubes to win my fights. The only exception to this is if you genuinely make me work my ass off to get it.)

VIII. Thou shalt reward him for piety, and thou shalt offer him redemption for his punishments.
--(If you give me a quest and I succeed, reward me! If it was easy don't give me a big bonus, and if it was hard I am going to be miffed if I get another Great Prophet for all my hard work. Likewise, if you punish me, tell me how I can fix it!)

IX. Thou shalt not war with the other Q. Much.
--(Obviously there's going to be some strife between those who would support Gowron's Conquest, and those who would seek to protect the universe from his tyranny. Having said that, Q are not allowed to reverse the effects of an intervention without waiting for the update after the effects have been felt. This includes quests. In fact, you would do well to leave the other Q's quests alone entirely. If you want me to do yours instead, make it more interesting or more lucritive)

X. Thou shalt obey the natural order of things, and of time, and of destiny.
--(There is a storyline going on here. Do try and fit in. Do not take great lengths to completely detract from it. Be smart.)

XI. Thou shalt not use your powers to do really weird things.
--(Worldbuilder can do really strange things in the Final Frontier mod, like floating grasslands, or sea in the middle of space. You are not allowed to make those sorts of things happen.)

XII. Thou shalt use Patch 1.20. of the three previews of version 2.0 deanej has released, only the first is allowed (it only changes art, and thus isn't savebreaking.)


So, here are the first thirty turns:

Q Intervention, Part One

We begin with a look at our glorious leader:

Yes, I'm playing as the feddies, and I will adopt a Federation-like playstyle (don't use civics like Slavery and Police State, don't be very aggresive, focus on technology, etc.)

The solar System is not very bad, containing to M-class planets.

I start by revolting to Representation (I'm planning on a SE) and Charter and researching Total Logic (Beraucracy will come very handy ATM). Meanwhile, our probe starts exploring the galxy.

Unfortunatly, it seems someone else founded exploration. I'll research IDIC for Free Religion, then after Total Logic is done.

I changes civics again after Total Logic and IDIC:

Meanwhile, I built a Laboratory on Earth and started on a Colony ship. However, most systems around us are pretty useless, many having only three planets. The probe's exploration was succsful on other fronts however, as shipwrecks gave me two maps, 160 credits, and

, which means I'm now in

Nothing more happened during the first thirty turns. The Federation hasn't made First Contact with any species yet, but I suspect we are going to encounter some annoying omnipotent beings...

 

[deanej]

This sounds very interesting. Unfortunately I can't do any interventions since the development for 2.0 means I can't load save games from the main mod but I look forward to seeing what others come up with. I've posted a link here in the main thread for the mod.

 

[apenpaap]

I was planning to play the next 30 turns this evening, but I'll give you Q's three more days to make an intervention. BTW, you don't HAVE to make an edit, you ay also give me a quest.

 

[Agent327]

Very interesting. Although, like deanej, I won't intervene (being on a Q-like mission elsewhere on CFC), I think it's a fun idea. Keep it up!

 

[apenpaap]

I am now playing the second part. Please wait making any interventions until I've posted it.

 

[apenpaap]

Q Intervention, part Two

Since no Q has intervened this week, I will now play the second segment. However, I will not play the third segment until a Q intervenes. (It's not much of a Q intervention game without Qs intervening...)

Not much happened during the first couple of turns of this segment, but then I finished the Colony Ship, which I sent to the system east of Earth. I started building a Light I.

"I'm President Jonathan Archer of the United Federation of Planets." Archer said as the screen showed a scaly creature.
"I am Decaren, leader of the mighty Hirogen." The creature said, "Are you among the hunters or the prey?"
"Err... We will not hunt you, if that's what you mean. We come in peace."
"We will see if you're good prey, Federation."
"But-" Archer said but the Hirogen had terminated the link.

Before being destroyed by a Barbarian ship, the probe managed to find one more technology:


I researched



which brought me into





Meanwhile, the Colony Ship traveled to Alpha Centauri and founded a colony there.



Jonathan Archer watched in awe as the ship left spacedock. He was deeply honoured that they had named it after his old ship: Enterprise. It was faster, larger and more powerful then any ship the Federation had ever built. As the Enterprise made the jump to warp speed, a tear blinked in his eye.

The next day, Jonathan Archer was found dead in his bed, at the age of 133.



After Mercantile Theory, I revolted to Free Market.



The Doctor was activated in Earth, as my first GP. I used him to build an Academy. A medical academy of course. He's a doctor, not a scientist.

Nothing more happened until the end of the segment. Here's a map of all the space I've explored:

 

[Agent327]

Instead of an intervention I have a suggestion: why not play Alpha quadrant style? That way introduction of civs from other quadrants might occur as the result of Q intervention (inverse to the actual Q intervention that put Picard's Enterprise in the path of a Borg Cube)? (You'd have to restart then, though... On second thought: you might take this as an actual Q intervention, restarting you in a Star Trek historical setup.)

 

[apenpaap]

@Jeelen: I'm not going to restart. However, you can accomplish this by editing the worldbuildersave, and then going to worldbuilder and placing units and cities of the new civs (i.e.: If there are no Romulans in the game right now, and you add them by editing the worldbuildersave, you have to give them things in worldbuilder)

 

[Antinous]

(You can add civilizations to a game AFTER you start? How?)

My Q intervention is to create an anomaly that transports a constitution class exactly 25 squares due south of Earth. Up to you what you do with it: explore or head back to safety.

 

[apenpaap]

Antinous, you need to post a save of the game with the changes made, or I can't play it.
In normal Divine Intervention games, the gods post a bit of story with their edits, however, if you don't have time for that, you may skip it.

To add extra civs to the game after you start, you go into worldbuilder, go to the "Save" tab (while still in worldbuilder) and save it as something, say "aap.CivBeyondSwordWBSave". Now you exit civ and go to the folder where the saves are kept (it's usually my documents/my games/beyond the sword/saves), go to your worldbuildersave (in the "worldbuilder" subfolder), and open it with a texteditor like microsoft word or openoffice writer. Though it's a bit of work, you can add a civ here.

 

[Antinous]

Federation scientists has been keenly interested in the discovery of the Solace Supernova so close to sol system. Understanding the inner workings of the death of a star could help to decipher the inner workings of our own star. Since its discovery, several attempts have been made to form a mission to study the supernova but due to constraints on resources, no headway was made, to the chagrin of our Scientists. In response to this continued interest, the newest Constitution Class Starship "Journeyman" has been outfitted with a stronger composite alloy hull and sent to investigate this volatile region. However, shortly after entry into the supernova debris field, Starfleet has received a disturbing message.

"Log 47, via r..uest of Professor Martin, w. ..ntinue our da.a trans....ns to Earth via su.space data package. We pre.. onwards towards th. in.er s..tem of the debris field. Sys.em interferences c.nt.nue to increase d.iley. While bothers..e, my Comm O..ic.. assur.s me that our .essages are s.ill reac..ng outsi... The N.va is mag.ifi.ent in scale. O.r cons.ant analy..s of gas c.ntent ..ntinues and it is ou. hope that... Wait, .hat the hell is t.at? RED A.ERT!!"

Transmission ends there but Io's sensor platform has recorded the following image during a routine sensor sweep.

---------------------------------------------------------

"Captain's Log: It has been nearly 24 hours since the Journeyman was hit by that high energy wave. Chief Engineer Patel and Tactical Officer Xin remain in critical condition. We've closed off decks 5 and 6 due to an odd residual radiation left over from the energy wave strike. Thank God for the new hull platings. While they ultimately saved this ship, their overall integrity is down 90%. Main computer is still down, but Commander D'bar has managed to get sensors back on line using secondary backups. The scans show a signature of an alien vessel. I can't be sure since the computer database is still down, but I seem to remember its silhouette from data received by a Starfleet probe shortly before it destroyed it. If these are indeed the same race, they seem rather hostile and with our shields still down and our hull plating hanging on by a few microfibers, our only recourse is to flee with what engine power we have. Fortune did, at least, smile on us by our close proximity to an asteroid field. It is possible we could hide there and fortify until we can get main systems back on line. If all else fails, there is a the signature of a planetary system just less than a light year away. I'll direct the ship there and scuttle it rather than have it fall to potential enemy hands. Hopefully, there would be be a L, M or N class planet there... Included in this log is a chart with our estimation of where we are and our current scans. Should something happen, I've set a data probe to be launched on a moments notice. God willing, I'll steer a true course. Captain Strauss out."

 

[apenpaap]

Cool bit of story, Antinous. I'm looking forward to playing it this evening.

Note to any Q who wants to intervene: edit Antinous's save, not mine.

 

[apenpaap]

I'm playing the segment now.

 

[apenpaap]

Q Intervention: part Three



Captain's log, supplemental: We've lost twentythree crewmembers, including Lieutenant Xin. Unfortunatly, there is no time to grieve for them, as the ship is falling apart. Every healthy crewmember has been reassigned to repair the damage. Luckily, we reached the asteroid field, and the alien ship doesn't seem to be following us. With our sensors down, we can't determine our location, but we can't recognise any constellation, so we must be at least a hundred lightyears from Earth.



Captain's log, stardate 9484.7: For the past few days, we have been scanning the Solace supernova for any sign of the disappeared USS Journeyman, but haven't found anything. We have to leave the vicinity of the supernova, as members of the crew are beginning to show signs of radiation poisoning. This is truly a black day for the Federation, as 247 brave men and women have been lost.

Captain's log: supplemental: Some luck at last. Commander D'bar has discovered a rare deuterium alloy in the asteroids, which he thinks will increase our hull integrety by 20%. Using this alloy, our repairs have gone much faster then expected. Though Lieutenant Patel is still unconscious, Doctor Vrexan assures me he will survive.
Now that the long range sensors have been repaired, we have discovered we have somehow been moved 253 lightyears away from Earth. While studying the data we have collected from the fenomenon that transported us here, Commander D'bar has found something very curious on the last image taken:

"Hail the ship." Captain Strauss commanded. On the screen appeared the weirdest looking alien he had ever seen.
"I am Captain Kilian Strauss of the Federation starship Journeyman."
"Denara Pel of the Vidiian Sodality. May the heavens rain down blessings upon you. Could you please share any medical knowledge with us?"
Strauss was surprised by this. "I-err- I think so... Is there some disease aboard your ship?"
"It is called the Phage. It has infected our entire civilization. It is the reason my skin looks like this, as it causes organs across the body to die, meaning we have to resort to organs exstracted from the dead."
"We will give you any help we can."
"Thank you, captain. Let me give you some advice in return: next time you see a Vidiian ship, flee. Many of us have resorted to organ piracy to replace their dying organs."




My second GP was Matt Jeffries. (Probably the guy who designed the Jeffries tubes) I used him to build Memory Alpha in Alpha Centauri.

Captain's log, stardate 11472.4: We have come close enough to Earth to send a message to them to tell them we're OK. But we have also decided not to return home, but to continue exploring.





After Isolinear Chips, we have now reached the TNG era.



I completed the Multi-race database. Though it doesn't do anything yet, I will start recieving techs when I meet another civ.

"Shields up!" Strauss shouted, when the alien vessel appeared on screen. "Hail them."
"No response, Captain."
The ship started firing at them, to which the Journeyman responded with a volley of photon torpedos. It had little effect, however, and with the next shot, the ship broke through their shields.
"Mr. Kjerstin, get us out of here, maximum warp!"
"The engines are down, Captain!"
"Then fire everything we've got at them!"
The alien ship was hit by only a few phaser blasts and torpedos, since the Journeyman's targeting system was down. The ship fired another volley of shots at the Journeyman, and thing exploded throughout the ship.
"Captain! Warp core breach in progress!!!" Lieutenant Patel shouted over the comm.
"ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP! ABAND-"




After the loss of the Journeyman, not much happened. The probe, a new proibe I built and the Journeyman mapped my surroundings:

 

[solistus]

[SECURITY BRIEF, STARFLEET THREAT ASSESSMENT]
While working on new warp technology, scientists on Earth discovered a massive temporal anomaly coming from the galactic south. Federation scientists in Sol and Alpha Centauri focused their scrutiny on signals originating from unexplored southern space. Within days, a faint signal was detected and decoded from an unfamiliar alien encryption technique. The message was as follows:

"Citizens of the Alpha Quadrant, a terrible catastrophe has befallen our people and now threatens your space. I am Annorax, leader of the Krenim Imperium. Our once noble empire has fallen on dark times due to a bizarre and unexplained temporal anomaly. Our civilization dwelt in a far away sector, with advanced technology allowing us to quietly watch the progress of other quadrants. One threat we had been watching carefully is a mechanical race known only as the Borg. Luckily, our advanced weapons technology easily kept the dreaded Borg at bay.

However, this latest temporal anomaly has been truly disastrous for our empire: we appear to have lost all technological and industrial progress toward space weapons along with all of our defensive ships! In addition, our mighty empire has been reduced to a mere three systems in your own quadrant with technology little more advanced than your own. One of our fringe colonies to the east has already reported Borg military activity in nearby space, and we fear that it is too late to save our remaining people in this system, but with immediate aid it is possible that our core systems may be saved from the threat. In addition to an immense debt of gratitude from our people, any civilization that heeds this call to protect us will also prevent a truly horrific adversary from becoming too powerful. We do not know how entrenched they have become thus far in your quadrant, but every system that falls into Borg hands poses a grave threat to other civilizations."

The signal appears to be coming from due galactic south of Earth. If we wish to help this Annorax, we will need to increase our military capacity quickly. This may come at the cost of colonizing nearby space, but if the Krenim are right about the threat posed by these Borg, we may not have a choice.



[Q QUEST]
Prevent the Borg from conquering more than one Krenim system in the next two Q cycles and your civilization will be rewarded for its efforts. In addition, you may dig a little deeper into the mysteries of this 'unexplained' temporal anomaly. Bonus: declare war on the Borg and destroy at least two Borg ships before the next cycle for a special reward.

[OOC GAME NOTES]
The Borg have been given a slight military boost at the cost of some non-military advancements. The Krenim have been given the opposite at a very inopportune time. The Borg are now at war with the Krenim and have a slight negative relation to every other civ - hopefully the AI will catch on and not play nice Theoretically, the Borg should enthusiastically commit to this war absent outside intervention, but they didn't gain much in terms of actual total hammers, so they shouldn't be that hard to overcome if you really go at it. Or, you can ignore the Borg, hope the Krenim get their act together quickly and expand to beat the Borg - but then no quest goodies and you won't find out anything more about the Krenim and their time tomfoolery.

edit: it helps to attach the save huh?

edit2: hope this doesn't run afoul of the no losing tech rule, but:
1. you didn't lose any, just the Krenim,
2. they only lost 2 and they got another current era tech of similar beaker value to represent their timeline changing
3. there's a good story reason for weird . .. .. .. . to happen to the krenim
4. there's a good story reason for the borg to be a threat

 

[apenpaap]

This looks like a very interesting intervention, solistus. I'm OK with the Krenim losing some tech, for the reasons you already mentioned.

I'll play the next segment tomorrow evening. Any Qs have until then to edit it.

 

[solistus]

Two things:

1. I'm a noob and there's probably a way to figure this out easily given a save but what options did you use for this game? Map settings, game modifiers, difficulty... All that good stuff would be nice.
2. Oh noes, I broke the 5th Commandment! To save my e-soul from eternal punishment:

Solistus grinned inwardly as he watched the results of his latest intervention. Other Q must be either stupid or uncreative, he thought to himself. There is nothing predictable about a mortal. No matter how many times I watch this, I never know just what they'll do when the time comes. I hope these ones don't disappoint me. We put a lot of work into this timeline.


Solistus is in a tiny minority of his fellow Q. Although the civil war sparked by the suicide of Quinn was over, many Q still retained a sense of nihilistic despair. Having seen and done everything, they lose interest in using their immense powers at all; while few have followed Quinn's path, most remain alive out of little more than a sense of obligation to the Continuum.

But not Solistus. He thoroughly rejects the Quinnian tendencies of the majority and retain an active interest in the multiverse. Solistus views timelines as games to test the limits of mortal beings. Staging dramatic encounters to force mortals into difficult decisions is his method of investigating the unexplainable aspects of mortal behavior.

I wonder who else will come out to play, Solistus thought. I hope I'm not the only deviant Q who took interest in this emerging timeline. What do those mortals say? Only time will tell? What an odd concept.

 

[apenpaap]

Two things:

1. I'm a noob and there's probably a way to figure this out easily given a save but what options did you use for this game? Map settings, game modifiers, difficulty... All that good stuff would be nice.

StarTrekFlat, Huge. Normal speed, Leutenant Commander (Noble) difficulty.
No special options, except no Tech Brokering (which is on by default in this mod).
All victories (except time) are open.

I'm playing the segment now.

 

[apenpaap]

Q Intervention, part Four



Captain's log, stardate 15347.1: Starfleet has sent us on a mission to investigate the temporal anomaly and help the Krenim defend theirselves against these "Borg". Though we are only one ship, Starfeet is constructing a new class of ships, the Ambassador-class, which will be sent to help defend the Krenim once their finished. Though we don't yet know where the Krenim are, we do have a probe in the galactic south, which will be used to search for them.



I used Christine Chapel to construct an academy in Alpha Centauri.



"I'm Captain Hikaru Sulu of the Federation starship Excelsior." Sulu said.
"Greetings, Hikaru Sulu. I am Annorax, ruler of the Krenim Imperium. It was wise of you to come help us. The Borg are a threat to us all."





Thanks to the multi-race database, first contact with the Krenim gave me some free techs.



Vulcan joined the Federation. (It's located in the system the Journeyman was transported to)



"Captain, a transmission is being sent through the probe."
"On screen." Captain Garret said.
"We are the Borg." a raspy voice said, "You will be assimilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile."



"Captain, my men need prey. Give me sixty credits, or you will be the prey." the Hirogen said.
"Mr. Decaren," Garret replied, "the Federation is not about to be bossed around. Try asking for our help next time instead, and we may help you."
"As you wish. Foolish."



A few turns later, I noticed Decaren has "enough on his hands". I'm building a fleet of Ambassadors to protect the Federation from the Hirogen.

I now have an Ambassador in each Krenim colony, however I have not declared war on the Borg (and haven't seen any of their ships after the one my probe encountered.). A few turns before the end of the segment, the Borg made peace with the Krenim.