|
Xelkelvos posted:Clearly the solution is to shift from Shareholder owned private megacorporations to Mega-Cooperatives where the brand is still important, but everyone gets a share (some with a bigger share than others consumerate with operational risk and responsibility) Depending on the mods used, that might actually be possible.
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2021 07:56
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 06:28 |
|
|
Story tension is good and having an LP that isn't immediate space communism is neat, but it's all about the payoff, seeing the UN reap what it sows, for me. Given the historical reaction of corporations to even the mildest of reforms or challenges to their power over workers, I'm guessing the end result of even trying will be hideously bloody civil war.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2021 10:27
|
|
|
I agree that happy communism gets stale. I'd be alright with psychotic rear end in a top hat communism though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2021 10:47
|
|
|
Caustic Soda posted:Depending on the mods used, that might actually be possible. One of the mods it's using has the following government types possible that might be relevant: GVP governments posted:Cooperative Enterprise NewMars posted:Story tension is good and having an LP that isn't immediate space communism is neat, but it's all about the payoff, seeing the UN reap what it sows, for me. Given the historical reaction of corporations to even the mildest of reforms or challenges to their power over workers, I'm guessing the end result of even trying will be hideously bloody civil war. The unfortunate thing is that Stellaris does not model this particularly well. In game, the worst that might happen is some factions getting ticked off and giving you less political capital bucks. So it would have to happen due to author manipulation using the console/modded events, or something added by a mod (this latter is not out of the realm of possibility given how many mods are being run!).
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2021 11:42
|
|
|
shareholder commonwealth sounds awesome
|
|
#
?
Jul 14, 2021 20:11
|
|
|
2326 - 2330 Enroute to Paris-on-Bastion Secretary-General Vance Blair The armored hover-limo ride from the Institute up to the Deuxième-Versailles was brisk, too quick for my liking, I had so many things to think about, to consider and not nearly enough time. Opposite sat three security council liaisons, trying to bring me up to speed on UNSG procedures and the next few day's itinerary. I was only half listening though, watching the skyscrapers of Hanoi transition into the palatial well-kept estates of Tehran and then faux-Haussmann rowhouses of Pairs-on-Bastion. Maybe thirty or fourty years ago I would have wanted this, but I fear a life of privilege up here as dulled the furious radical in me and now I am no different from any of those monsters. I just want what's best for those billions down there beneath us, but any mention of the 'S word' is going to find me with a C-SOB agent at the foot of my bed come the next evening. If I appear to be assisting the Lower sections they'll label me a demagogue trying to ferment populism. Everything I do is going to have to be in the guise of helping the Uppers, of keeping profit and growth the priority - even if it's not the case. Or I'm not going to last more than a few days. "UNSG Carroll's regrettable words about the Grammich, cost him his position, so there is a diplomatic visit planned to Phoenix in two weeks time and you'll be expected to be accompanying it, so if you have any plans, cancel them" I began focusing on three liaisons opposite again.  "If you have any plans at all for the next year in fact it'll be best to cancel them now" Another said, flicking through her flatscreen personal terminal and a long list of events. "You are the first Secretary-General that isn't directly employed by any of the five conglomerates of the security council. You have however worked for StellarX in the past, and it is the they who nominated you and sponsored your ascension, they'll be expecting considerable concessions." _________________________________________________________ UNSG-VB Day one The press room of the Deuxième-Versailles was packed with reporters and camera crews from various networks across the Bastion - as well as the Pontianak Broadcasting Service and Cardiff News Network - as well as reporters even from Imperial China and the United African Empire. Blair's reputation preceded him, he was the oldest human being alive and the last to have been born on Earth, he was humanity's last connection to their old home. Blair arrived at the UNHQ four hours ago, swapping out his casual lecturing coat for a black suit that he never looked completely comfortable in. He took one final swig of his Valles Marineristm mineral water then cleared his throat and walked out onto the stage where a UN-logo embellished podium awaited him, a flurry of camera flashes surrounding him as he took up position behind it. Blair looked straight into the camera ahead of them then spoke his first official words as UNSG: "Long live...the Union of Socialist Systems" there was a stunned silence in the press room, reporters staring slack jawed at the UNSG "Those were the words of a Khabbayanid, spoken to the crew of the UN-Rainbow. An alien that just a century ago was in the equivalent of the bronze age - so why is it that a race that has been propelled to space and recently broken free from it's motherland, would feel so inclined to side with the socialists over us? We now know there are hundreds of states, colonies, habitats out there beyond the two nebulas - human and otherwise. How many more of them would rather join the USS over the Federal Partnership? Or especially the Centaurs Conference or even this League we know so little about. We have an image problem, Bastion. We are driving the people of the galaxy into the arms of our enemies, and every day they grow a little stronger as we stagnant. We are turning potiental customers into communists, and unless we change, that will only intensify. They see the United Nations and they see an edifice, a relic of a dead planet that hasn't changed in centuries. Innovation breeds success, and time for innovation is long overdue" _________________________________________________________ Standard-Dynamics liaison to the UNSG, situation report of the Second War of the Western Frontier. 2327 The Colorado and Houston fleets have for the last two years been engaged in the Jornarir System, but local anti-piracy forces have been giving them plenty of trouble, what's more the Jornarir station has been so heavily fortified to counter piracy and smuggler activities in the Western Frontier that NAF ships may struggle to take it. Two divisions of the New American Marine Corps have been raiding Lisbon, but again, local defence forces have been keeping them at bay. If the NAF are unable to take Jornarir - which is seeming increasingly likely then they will just occupy and ransack every system around it, destroy or capture any mining haulers and just generally make it unfeasible for us to try and retain the Frontier.   Meanwhile the Salt Lake City and Denver Fleets are in the neighboring Botein system. NAF fleets seem heavily, if not entirely, composed of cruisers and strike-cruisers, with the Principality of Brazil retaining a smaller corvette - destroyer fleet. The War of the Western Frontier really shook up the Nafties, they have since entirely abandoned their doctrine of smaller but overwhelming ships, and are now focusing on building larger and larger ships. C-SOB agents within NAF-space report that the New Americans will soon have access to Battlecruisers, it may be prudent to begin research on Battleships of our own.  We have the report here submitted by Commander White. And another here, from Admiral Curtis. If White's report is accurate then the Lance of Irassia is the fastest vessel in the galaxy to an almost unfathomable degree, and it's main weapon is capable of instantly destroying NAF ships of cruiser-size, maybe larger. It however suffers from an excruciatingly slow recharge time for it's primary weapon - three weeks - during which it is largely defenceless. So the Lance should either be deployed alongside the UNN or perhaps have it's own dedicated support fleet. It is currently undergoing repairs at Mirach station, but should be operational again by month's end.  _________________________________________________________ UNSG-VB Day three We are right now committed to a conflict to see the New American Federation government toppled and replaced with something more favourable. But what would that even be? We decry them for being fascists, but the NAF and UN are alike more than we are different. In the eyes of many across the galaxy I am sure they see no difference at all. In the New American Federation though, even the lowliest agri-worker or craftsperson can one day become President, we here do not afford the same privilege to all across the UN. Now - I'm not saying we re-establish democracy here in the UN (trying to implement a more democratic model right now, with the Upper's still in full control of the political and media apparatus would be an unmitigated disaster), and as I'm sure we all know from our education - even the Lower's with their one year of school- know all too well that it was stubborn Monarchy that brought the first world war, cruel Ideology that brought the second and corrupt Democracy that brought the third world war.    But we are fighting a war against ourselves as much as we are any enemy. We cannot pretend to be the moral compass that the rest of the galaxy ought to follow all the while we let injustice rule supreme across our space. Even the United African Empire with their neo-feudal society lets their lowest peasant enjoy some time off, their lords protect and provide for them so that they may in return make the food, the goods, whatever is needed for their lord to thrive. You cannot kick a man down everyday, and still expect him to work his hardest, to return to the foundry day after day and give his all. My own company Blair Industries is the only one in the entire United Nations that has allowed it's employees to unionize - my workers have made demands of me, yes. And I have listened, and I have done what I could to provide for them. And you know what? The Blair Drydocks are the most productive in all the UN. We create more warships for the war effort than the next three competitors combined. Our equipment is no more sophisticated, our drydocks no larger, but my workers have been allowed to achieve their true potential. They gladly come to the drydocks everyday and have helped my company see ever greater profit year after year. How many Lowers are there that could be achieving so much more for the UN? How many great scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs have we allowed to languish rather than be given the opportunity to provide and enrich the United Nations. There are 1.2 billion people living in the Upper Sections of the Bastion, and 8.7 living beneath. Imagine, if you will, a Bastion with ten billion Uppers, imagine the wonders we could create.       A dark age that had descended upon the United Nations has been lifted. The first steps to a more fair society have been taken, for the betterment of all within the UN and drive for ever more efficient productivity and growth. (God, just shoot me now)  _________________________________________________________ Spector News (alternative / fringe media outlet) host Johnny 'The Spector' Macmillan Folks, I don't know what to tell you, today we got another wacky policy cooked up by our hairbrained Secretary-General, the good professor. Now, get this, Secretary-General Blair thinks we ought to be treating machines like they're... people. I know, I know, wild stuff. In a statement released by the office of the UNSG the following reads- The Sovereign Mechanized have proven themselves an invaluable and integral part of the United Nations, yet they do not enjoy the same rights as even the lowest Lower. The inevitable march of progress will undoubtedly see smarter and more sophisticated machines developed by the UN until ones that can rival the intelligence of a human or greater. It would be a cruel injustice to subject a being with a mind and soul to the lowest possible treatment and not even recognize their right to personhood. From this day forth any sufficiently intelligent machine will be granted equal rights to any other sentient being in the United Nations. Now I don't know about you, but I've been using my toaster for twenty years but I've never once heard it crying and sobbing that I wasn't letting it fulfil it's dream of running off and being a Cardiffian lounge singer, haha! I don't know what Omaha-hooch they're drinking up there in Paris, but pass me some, hah!  _________________________________________________________ Day 429 of the siege of Jorarnrir First sortie of Lisbon 688th Starborne Squadron. Captain Taskiran "688th Squadron nearing Houston Fleet, enemy cruisers in sight. Maintaining formation and preparing to engage.  "Ugly sonna bitch ain't it." "That it is captain" "Lil bigger than the smuggler sloops we're used to eh?" "That it is captain" "Ready to do your part for Lisbon, boys?" "That we are captain!"  In the space between the Jorarnrir star and the cold gas giant Jorarnrir I, tens of thousands of planetary fighters, no larger than a truck, are engaged in a near suicidal months-long assault on the invading New American cruisers. Day by day they damage them a little more, but losing dozens (or on bad days - hundreds) in the process, every factory and facility on the fledgling colony world dedicated to creating new fighters all the while braving the constant raids from the NAF marines.  _________________________________________________________ UNSG-VB Day one hundred thirty-four My predecessor created the Federal Partnership so the cooperation of the UN and her many partners could be achieved in the name of peace and profit, but further federalization is needed within the UN itself. And so today we commence the transition of the United Nations from a singular central state with power concentrated on the Bastion to a federal coalition with the creation of a new senate to act as an intermediary between the general assembly and security council. The Security-Council will still have ultimate power in the United Nations and power of veto, but the United Nations is far more than just the Bastion now. United Nationals now live in as far flung worlds from Delta Pavonis to Paburh out in the wild west, and the laws, regulations and policies of the Bastion may not apply to Inuvik or Lagos. It is causing undue strain on the worlds beyond Bastion, and costing the UN valuable resources and revenue - especially in this time of conflict- with our worlds being unnecessarily tied up in Bastion's red tape. Each world of the UN with a population of at least one billion citizens will have it's own representative at the UN-Senate that will decide and oversee the new federal laws of the UN, while each world's governor will be free to decide the laws most appropriate for their people.  _________________________________________________________ United Nations Navy Admiral Curtis The main NAF fleet - The Washington Fleet - has been sighted in the neighboring system of Almach moving westward to the Azha system, likely to join in the siege of Jorarnrir, with them is the combined PATO-fleet under command of Brazillian Princess Esmeralda Escudos.  UNN Command on the Bastion is confident that the Westgate cannot fall, and that no NAF ships can breach core UN space, so priority is not to keep the NAF fleets away from the systems that divide Core-West UN space - unless - the enemy fleets congregate as one. Orders are to continue to the Acubens system with Regulus Navy en tow and commence the siege of New Houston (it would seem they name their planets after old American states and their planetary habitats after cities), to begin depriving the NAF of their industrial base.  The United Nations Marine Corps will follow up closely behind. They have never seen combat, and only conducted mock exercises on the surface of Mars the past decade or so and countless virtual battles in the VR-pods aboard the Bastion, their proficiency in battle is yet to be seen, but Colonel Moss ensures us they are up to the task of capturing New Houston and I quote "if a bunch of tin cans and Regulusi militia could do it, for the UN's finest it'll be a cakewalk"  _________________________________________________________ In secret the Research-Institute-of-Bastion has been developing new designs for battleship class warships, what promise to be the largest and most imposing warships ever built by human hands that should be able to handily defend UN-space.  Meanwhile UNSG Blair has committed the UN to vast sweeping infrastructure and public works projects across all of UN-space, on every planet and especially on the Bastion. The Bastion will finally after a century be upgraded, it's lowest sections become ever more dilapidated by the day, soon areas populated by those that operate the great Abuja Core and oxygen-water filtration complexes of Addis Ababa will be unable to continue living there. Their accommodations were built in haste when Earth was still intact, the construction workers never imagined their descendants would still be living inside the pre-fabricated and makeshift shelters and apartments a century later. Proper radiation-shielding will be built around the Abuja-Core (which will also incorporate many of Blair Industries' innovative lossless power generators) so those that live in the lowest section of the Bastion are no longer reliant on costly anti-radiation medicines. New permanent, livable residential units will be constructed from Hanoi downwards, and vast new high speed transport links will be constructed all over the habitat to better facilitate the movement of peoples and goods.  _________________________________________________________ UNSG-VB Day two hundred fifty-one Today, I am announcing the creation of a new initiative, a grand forum that would encompass all of the Milky Way, a place for diplomatic discourse and to more easily facilitate agreements and treaties between the powers of the galaxy. While the UN is founding this new Galactic Community, it will claim no ownership over it and hold no greater power within it than any other member. The United Nations was founded on the principles of mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation - pillars it has failed to uphold this past century, and it can claim no right to speak for all the various states, polities and nations born from the destruction of Earth. Even those opposed to the United Nations, politically, militarily, would not be turned away, as this is a chance for the nations of the galaxy to work side by side, to see eye-to-eye and put aside our differences and work towards something greater. I extend this invitation to all within the Milky Way - Human, Grammich, Zunguatese, Khabayyanid, Endurga, Lucalfarian, to all those that exist within the eastern galaxy of whom the UN has not yet had the privilege of meeting, if you can hear this message then you are welcome.  _________________________________________________________ May 27th 2327 UNN Admiral Curtis The Regulus Navy has already been engaged with the Acubens station for a week by the time the UNN arrived to assist, glory hounds that they are, I can see why they and Commander White got on like a house on fire.  The moment the fleet was in range we unleashed a barrage of missiles on the station, and it lasted less than an hour as it was ripped apart by nuclear explosions. The UNMC was now free to do it's thing.  _________________________________________________________ 73rd Special Warfare Brigade Dropship 97 Plummeting toward New Houston at 892 meters per second.  "Remember your training, and you will make it back alive!" MajorToscano belted over the deafening clattering and clanking of metal and the sound of debris in New Houston's minimal atmosphere colliding with the base of the dropship as it raced toward the surface in a white hot arrow. He was strapped into an anti-g chair to cushion the force of dozens of Gs as the dropship deaccelerated from orbital speed, feeling like this teeth were being rattled out of his head. Before him the 950 marines of the 73rd Special Warfare Brigade, rifles on their laps and and an array of emotion on the faces of his men and women behind their protective visors. There were no windows, just the large ramp-door at the front of the ship and on it a display showing their current altitude. It was now under ten thousand metres, the solid-fuel thrusters on the bottom of the dropship kicked in for the final leg of the descent, slowing the vessel almost to a crawl. "Who are we?" The major demanded loudly "UN!" Came a booming response from the marines "And what do we do?" "KILL!" Dropship 97 slammed into the dusty grey rocks of New Houston and the great ramp door fell away as the marines were practically spring-launched from their chairs, bringing their rifles up to bear as they ran from the vessel out into the gunfire-strewn valley they had landed in, more ships impacting the ground around them, the huge domed city of New Houston itself ahead, a wall of pillboxes, turrets and trenches before it.  _________________________________________________________ From behind the nebulas, among the mass of new communications reaching the Bastion after UNSG Blair declared his intention of forming a galactic-wide forum, there comes two troubling contacts. The Harmony and the Infinite Night  "United Nations? Solar System? Earth? Cease your babbling xeno! There has only been Harmony, there will only be Harmony. You may look like us, you may speak our tongue, but we will destroy you all the same. Just as all the fetid xeno abominations that infest this galaxy will one day burn."  Before a window showing a fractured and strange planet where purple light seems to radiate from the ground, a human stands, the irises of his eyes the same purple. The few words he does utter sound unearthly, like his voice is combined with the voices of all those on whatever planet it is.  "The Shroud's will be done. The Infinite Night comes."  _________________________________________________________ Battle of New Houston 73rd Special Warfare Brigade Major Toscano The Major's visor was fogging up, his heart pounding as he sprinted forward through gunfire and flying shrapnel, throwing himself against the rocky embankment ahead to give himself some cover from the incoming fire. He looked back, watching his command squad quickly following up behind, a stray bullet catching his command-rifleman. He gritted his teeth and hauled himself up over the top the embankment, shouldering his rifle and unleashing a burst of 7.2mm caseless ammunition down range at the nearest NAF pilbox. The bullets impacted the plascrete fortification sending chunks of weathered grey stone-composite raining down infront of the small slot where a machine gun was poking out, now directed it's attention towards the Major and away from the advancing squad. He dared to squeeze another burst of fire before ducking down behind the embankment once more.  "One more push, 73rd! And then we'll be at their first line" The major shouted, both to the soldiers beside him and down his headset to every other soldier in the Special Warfare brigade." He began loading a smoke shell into the grenade launcher attached to the bottom of his rifle "The 73rd of the past stormed the beaches of Taiwan, crushed the remnants of the European nationstates, put down the Volksauto worker's rebellion - now, now is our time! 73rd, with me!"  Major Toscano raised his head above the embankment again, firing off the smoke grenade, waiting a few seconds for it to ignite and the pressure difference between the compressed gas and the mostly atmosphereless surface of New Houston causing the smoke to billow out greatly, unfurling and waving in unusual patterns without any air to disperse the smoke normally. He pointed ahead and ordered the charge, the 73rd clambering up the embankment and storming head first into the white fog.  The 73rd Special Warfare Brigade was the first to make footfall on New Houston, the first to reach the NAF defences and the first to breach the outer perimeter of the New Houston superstructure, leading the way for the rest of the UNMC. 684 marines of the Brigade gave their lives in the battle, including Major Toscano. They are awarded the highest honours the UN has to offer.   _________________________________________________________ Standard-Dynamics liaison to the UNSG, situation report of the Second War of the Western Frontier. 2328 Acubens System has been successfully captured by the UNN and the UNMC has conducted it's first successful operation and now occupies the city of New Houston. 73rd Special Warfare Brigade experienced a 72% casualty rate but were instrumental in the city's capture. New American Federation now confirmed to have access to cloning technology, as the entire New Houston defence was composed of forty thousand clone soldiers of just one individual. Unexpected psychological side effect on our troops as they began to suffer severe stress as a result of (from their perspective) killing the same person over and over. Minimal resistance from local populace, chances of insurgency unlikely. UN Forces free to engage next target. _________________________________________________________ UNSG-VB Day four hundred thirty-nine On 4th March 2328, the Galactic Community is formed and convenes its first official assembly aboard the GC-Concord, a repurposed Congo-long range hauler, with it's cargo hold entirely refurbished to act as the assembly chamber. The GC-Concord is in orbit above the Bastion, but will relocate to wherever is most convenient for future assemblies. For a year ships have been arriving from across the galaxy bringing representatives and envoys from familiar places and from powers the UN has never even met before.  Remarkably, every single Hegira state that was formed out of the destruction of Earth is present - even an envoy begrudgingly from the NAF, and an envoy of the Patria Grande. Despite warnings from C-SOB of the risks of going aboard the Concord and the opportunity such a perfect target presents to any would-be terrorist, I ignore the scaremongering of the intelligence agencies and personally attend the first assembly, welcoming each and every representative. The sight of so many people from such different cultures, nations, species even convened in one place in the pursuit of a common good is... almost a little too much too take in. it has been so rare for something good to happen.  What's more we now have a far greater picture of what lies out there in the western half of the galaxy. My predecessors have referred to it as a chaotic place, I would prefer fragmented. And they call the eastern Milky Way "civilised space", but again, I would prefer to call us the more centralised powers. To infer we are in any way better than the powers of the west simply because we are larger, more populated, is ludicrous.  There is a great deal that the Galactic Community can propose or undertake, but, the security council has been quite insistent that if they allow me to go ahead with this initiative then I put forward a very specific proposal first. And I must concede to the council every so often, lest they have me removed and all this hard work undone.    _________________________________________________________ The siege of Jornarnrir is over, after four years. Lisbon defence fighters' relentless assault stopped the NAF fleets from being able to conduct any operations and one by one, the hulking New American cruisers fell. An unknown number of pilots from Lisbon (estimated upwards of 35,000) gave their lives in the defence of the planet and successfully drove the NAF away, when this war is done great memorials in their honour shall be erected.  Meanwhile UNICA has completed the restoration of Irassia's climate, atmosphere, hydrosphere and reintroduced flora and flora from other UN planets. With the aid of SovMech scientists and technicians the Colonial Administration has become incredibly efficient at transforming barren worlds into verdant paradises. Colonization is already underway, with many wishing to live on the surface of what was once the capital of the galaxy.   _________________________________________________________ UNN Admiral Curtis August 27th 2328, we have entered the Polaris system, the system it would seem never really fully recovered from the First War of the Western Frontier, when Regulus and SovMech invaded and occupied this system. The Polaris station is undermanned and underequipped, but still fires upon the fleet and refuses to surrender. It does not last long.  And the only resistance is in the form of the small NSLC Defence fleet of a meager number of corvettes and destroyers. With them were four transport ships, cramped full of terrified students from the Veil Institute conscripted to fight in the war by the NAF. The defence ships refuse to surrender again, and are destroyed. The college conscripts are captured and disarmed with little to no issue, they remain on their transport ships under UNN protection for now.  UNMC once again lands on the surface of New Salt Lake City, but not a shot is fired at them. They advance on the perimeter of the great dome that covers NSLC and instead the huge airlock gates open before them and they are welcomed into the city.  There is no sign of anything that can resemble a military here, in fact there's barely any authority at all and the entire city has fallen to corruption and infighting, the mayor of NLSC hoping that UN soldiers could finally bring peace to the city where their own have failed,  _________________________________________________________ Following their failure of the siege of Jornarnrir, the NAF fleets have instead began to rally around the Washington Fleet in Azha, on the border with the Western Frontier. It has already become larger than the UNN fleet, and there are many more cruiser-fleets roaming the Western Frontier, picking off any mining haulers brave or foolish enough to continue operating in the warzone. With Acubens and Polaris captured the United Nations military must now decide whether it's more important to stop the NAF navy or push forward into central New American space, to try and capture the highly developed (and certainly defended) main worlds and capital. But even with their capture, there would still be an immense New American naval presence in the Western Frontier that would simply act of its own accord without leadership from their President.  _________________________________________________________ In the Irass system, Dr Wells has concluded his research and study of the Irassian planets of Osiris and Isis. The former yielding little more useful than some answers about the Irassian Concordat but providing many more questions and theories about the ancient precursor empire.  On Isis however, the explorer-archaeologist discovers Irassian research into prototype singularity-intelligences such as the one on the Lance of Irassia - but scaled down enough to be the equivalent of a personal terminal used all across the UN. The research is forwarded to the Bastion, where it may aid in the ongoing AI projects.  Even though Professor Blair may now be absent from his Research Institute, projects he had started or envisioned continue in his stead, the latest being immense mining facilities that will operate inside asteroid belts and allow the processing and storing of vast amounts of minerals and alloys.  Meanwhile huge quantities of the Bastion's surplus resources have been sold off enmass to any nearby power that would buy them, in exchange for alloys as a project starts underway in secret at Blair Industries Drydock One.   The UN finally makes its first physical contact with a member of the Zungautese species (in fact there are a number present at the GC summit, representing the various states born out of the war that nearly destroyed their Shire). An emissary of the Desolate Reef wishes to establish an embassy aboard the Bastion, and of course we agree - the first non-human embassy.  The UN also makes contact with another new power directly on it's border - cropping up in the space between the two SovMech offshoots. they call themselves the Starlight Police Department - 'Starlight' being a former Indie habitat that existed on the planet Mesa on the edge of the Iguo Veil that until recently had no space capabilities as according to Police Chief Williams, "Starlight was a lawless and unruly place in its infancy, and only the strong arm of the SLPD managed to bring order and allow Starlight to rejoin humanity among the stars"    NAF fleets push further into the Western Frontier, cutting off Lisbon ever more by the day, while the Washington Fleet continues to grow in size in the Azha system. It seems confrontation with their main fleet is not only inevitable, but necessary, if NAF's ability to fight in the conflict is to be removed.  _________________________________________________________ Aboard the Bastion, deep down in the Manila shipyards, the "Heavy-duty cargo hauler" is completed, and revealed to be anything but, as it slowly unberths from the Blair Industries Drydocks and roars into life. The first Terra-Class Battleship.  Christened "Just Good Business", it is by far the most powerful war machine ever conceived by human hands, with enough firepower alone to rival enemy fleets and capable of operating out in the void almost indefinitely. (For comparison, the next most powerful UN vessel - the Maiman-class Laser Cruiser can put out 70 damage. Just Good Business when at full power can put out 600)   While it's construction remained a secret, now that it exists (and just floated past the GC-Concord filled with all the emissaries of the galaxy) it's presence in UN space is known, and the NAF envoy is almost certainly frantically contacting New Colorado as we speak. A maverick hotshot pilot by name of McCreary somehow manages to get himself appointed the Captain of the Just Good Business (he is the son of a prominent Security Council member, which is probably how this happened). The Battleship departs from the Bastion and begins the journey south, to meet up with the Lance of Irassia, so the most powerful warship ever made by Irassian and Human and join in battle with the UNN and wipe out The Washington Fleet.  _________________________________________________________ The Milky Way in 2330 
Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 12:33 on Jul 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 07:55
|
|
|
I'm liking this secretary-general. Also that ship, that is a good ship.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 08:51
|
|
|
Crisis Now posted:The UN also makes contact with another new power directly on it's border - cropping up in the space between the two SovMech offshoots. they call themselves the Starlight Police Department - 'Starlight' being a former Indie habitat that existed on the planet Mesa on the edge of the Iguo Veil that until recently had no space capabilities as according to Police Chief Williams, "Starlight was a lawless and unruly place in its infancy, and only the strong arm of the SLPD managed to bring order and allow Starlight to rejoin humanity among the stars" Mother of poo poo. PINKERTONS. This update rules, everything going on is pretty goddamn great. If we can dodge a reactionary backlash, this feels like finally turning a corner.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 08:51
|
|
|
Wait Blair is the oldest human alive? I thought Dr Whatshisface in Columbia, and/or his crew, were artificially super long lived now? WAIT WHERE THE gently caress DID THE NAFTIES GET CLONE TECH FROM Also drat love that new ship, and love the glasses on it's captain. Gridlocked fucked around with this message at 09:25 on Jul 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 08:52
|
|
|
Man, I cannot wait to see what sort of Crisis eventually shows up to play some havoc on the galaxy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 09:48
|
|
|
While it's construction remained a secret, now that it exists (and just floated past the GC-Concord filled with all the emissaries of the galaxy) it's presence in UN space is known, and the NAF envoy is almost certainly frantically contacting New Colorado as we speak. [/quote] Hahaha "Tell them we're coming. TELL THEM WE'RE loving COMING!"
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 10:49
|
|
|
Man Space America should really have learned after the first time it smacked this beehive.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 13:54
|
|
|
I feel to really put down the Nafties we are gonna have to not just crush the fleet but cut off the head. Oh well more colonies to absorb.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 13:58
|
|
|
Gridlocked posted:Wait Blair is the oldest human alive?
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 16:42
|
|
|
JT Jag posted:Even with the life extension tech the original crewmembers of the Columbia are certainly dead by now, they’d all be like 200 at this point. It's entirely possible to live past 200 in Stelllaris -- one of my scientists in a game I have going is at 231 or something nuts despite being Maimed -- but it requires genetic traits. That scientist has Venerable, Resilient, and Cyborg, all of which increase lifespan. I'd call it remotely possible that some of the original Columbia crew are alive given that what they found and what Columbia turned into as a society, but it's definitely a long shot. Vance Blair was in single-digit age when the Earth blew up in 2239. Add in 39 years to hit game start and another 25-45 for average crew/leader age and you're getting pretty close to 200.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 18:13
|
|
|
JT Jag posted:Even with the life extension tech the original crewmembers of the Columbia are certainly dead by now, they’d all be like 200 at this point. When Dr Little (re)discovered Columbia and met Silas Mckinnon, Silas mentioned being Little's university tutor in 2198, so presumbly he was already 40, maybe 50 by 2200. And while reaching 100 is hardly a rarity now a days, I'm thinking not a lot of people were trying to have kids in the decade or so they were corralled into a shanty-megacity, building their sanctuary in the sky. And almost all that were, probably ended up in the Lower sections, and probably didn't make it past 50 or 60. Night10194 posted:Man Space America should really have learned after the first time it smacked this beehive. I wouldn't be so sure about that. The upcoming Battle of Washingtontm may decide the course of the war - and it could put the UN on the backfoot if we lose either the Lance or Just Good Business. Gridlocked posted:WAIT WHERE THE gently caress DID THE NAFTIES GET CLONE TECH FROM It's certainly not exclusive to the Irassians, and there's no reason humanity couldn't have researched it by now. Though I stupidly forgot to take a screenshot with the tooltip over "Clone troop army" during the invasion so I could write about it. There would have been an extra bit in the 73rd's section about finding a trench filled with hundreds of identical soldiers and beginning to freak out. It goes out without saying that New America's clone technology is far more rudimentry than that of Columbia's. We may also end up fighting some Grammich if we invade the core NAF worlds, so that'll be interesting. Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Jul 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 18:34
|
|
|
Can we mine the shattered remains of earth yet?
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 19:45
|
|
|
In my Stellaris pre-made empires, I made a lithoid race that starts the game with a base +145 years of life. It was based on a random pre ftl species I encountered, who were giant contrarian rear end in a top hat rocks who never died of age. They would be well over 200 before they start rolling for chance to die each month. But that is a outlier. The right government ethics with aesthetic virtues, harmony traditions, and gene therapy can easily give +45 years though without doing any genetic tinkering to the base species. Add in cybernetics, you could see +85 years with that set up, before hitting the +5 year life span repeatables.
winterwerefox fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Jul 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 19:53
|
|
|
ThatBasqueGuy posted:Can we mine the shattered remains of earth yet? I've just checked and technically we have been this entire time. 12 minerals a month. Turns out the "astro-mining bay" on the Bastion is actually the "bits-of-Earth-mining bay"  If it wasn't before, I'm sure UNSG Blair would be making it a sacrilegious act to go grabbing bits of Earth and turn it into gaudy consumer goods. I think I'll keep going with the mining haulers constantly coming and going, narratively, rather than people just opening a window on the Bastion and grabbing a chunk of Eurasia as it goes floating by. Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 23:11 on Jul 15, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 19:58
|
|
|
The temperatures were probably high enough to reduce every person left on Earth to minerals, but thankfully they died long before having to face that horror.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 20:18
|
|
|
Given the way shattered planets are depicted in game, it's safe to say the entire biosphere has literally vaporized leaving nothing but water vapor and carbon monoxide. No one's mining grandma.
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 21:25
|
|
|
Exodus (Stellaris): No One's Mining Grandma
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 22:37
|
|
|
megane posted:Exodus (Stellaris): No One's Mining Grandma 
|
|
#
?
Jul 15, 2021 22:46
|
|
|
Awesome read! My favorite chapter so far.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 00:00
|
|
|
Yeah, there's nothing wrong with a socialism start, but having to crawl your way to socialism while fighting for every square inch has its place too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 00:12
|
|
|
Klaus88 posted:Yeah, there's nothing wrong with a socialism start, but having to crawl your way to socialism while fighting for every square inch has its place too. Theres nothing wrong with it in a vacuum but 4x games on SA basically fall into phases where every game for a while either is gently caress Yeah Space America, Fully automated gay space communism, or Facism.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 00:20
|
|
|
Crisis Now posted:Before a window showing a fractured and strange planet where purple light seems to radiate from the ground, a human stands, the irises of his eyes the same purple. The few words he does utter sound unearthly, like his voice is combined with the voices of all those on whatever planet it is.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 04:32
|
|
|
Fearless_Decoy posted:I admit to not knowing all that much about Stellaris, but these guys seem like a very bad bunch of weirdos. Is this something to worry about or is this faction far away enough that they're not a problem? I forget if it's base stellaris or not that implements the personality type, so I'll spoiler things. Anyway, that personality means that they are literally trying to destroy the galaxy by blowing up suns. Also to have it I think means that they have already begun.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 04:52
|
|
|
Fearless_Decoy posted:I admit to not knowing all that much about Stellaris, but these guys seem like a very bad bunch of weirdos. Is this something to worry about or is this faction far away enough that they're not a problem? It's p bad. Ascendant Crisis empires will, one way or another, either gently caress up the places they exist or become really fuckin dangerous if left alone too long.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 07:33
|
|
|
Fearless_Decoy posted:I admit to not knowing all that much about Stellaris, but these guys seem like a very bad bunch of weirdos. Is this something to worry about or is this faction far away enough that they're not a problem? Murder-Suicide Cult but in Space
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 07:44
|
|
|
They're also referred to as Human Variatus, which is usually a sign they've gone down one of the Ascension paths and have altered themselves significantly from whatever baseline species they used to be.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 07:45
|
|
|
Looks like their leader has the cyborg trait, so they're going down that ascension path. They may end up going full synthetic and uploading their entire species to robot bodies.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 08:03
|
|
|
megane posted:Exodus (Stellaris): No One's Mining Grandma 
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 08:03
|
|
|
Fearless_Decoy posted:I admit to not knowing all that much about Stellaris, but these guys seem like a very bad bunch of weirdos. Is this something to worry about or is this faction far away enough that they're not a problem? They want to blot out the stars and wipe out the galaxy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 09:52
|
|
|
You can't make an omelette without remorselessly obliterating every speck of sentience in the universe
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 09:53
|
|
|
They're also still quite small, thankfully. You can see them on the far "west" edge of the galaxy in the map, unless they're sitting on a super-planet of some kind they can't have much in the way of resources. If they start attempting their plan we'll also know immediately, unless that mechanic has been modded. But it's still not exactly comforting to have them there. The GOOD news is that we don't actually need a reason to go kick their rear end, or Harmony's -- factions with the Purifier traits are deemed existential threats to the galaxy and wars with them function differently than regular. Everyone gets a free perpetual casus belli on them, to match the perpetual CB they have on the world. Systems they take off you, or you take off them, just switch sides immediately without needing to be claimed or taken in peace deals. So if we can actually ever reach them, we can escalate immediately to gun violence without needing to justify it to anyone. They also don't participate in the Galactic Community, so we must have learned about them from their "neighbors".
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 09:57
|
|
|
sebmojo posted:You can't make an omelette without remorselessly obliterating every speck of sentience in the universe This is true.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 10:11
|
|
|
I tried once. Ended up with a frittata. Total waste of time and eggs, should have just gotten on with it and annihilated all things.
|
|
#
?
Jul 16, 2021 18:53
|
|
|
2330 - 2335 First summit of the Galactic Community.  Aboard the Concord, representatives of ninety-three different powers, groups or peoples from across the Milky Way have convened, the vast majority are human but there is a dozen alien species present, also acting on the behalf of other numerous minor alien species out in the western Milky Way that have no world to claim as their own. Much to the dismay of some of the hegira-states, English it would seem has become the lingua franca of the galaxy. Even aliens we had never met before could speak fluent English due to a century of contact with human colonies and settlements out there in the West. Owing to English becoming the 'standard language-of-business' in corporate controlled post-WW3 Earth, with Chinese and Spanish following closely behind. But still there is a huge team of interpreters, translators and mediators present, with scientific, economic and sociological advisors ready to explore the feasibility of the proposals. Before the entryway to the great assembly hall, sat Miguel Duran - representative of the Patria Grande, a half-empty bottle of water at his side and a folder filled with notes and details about the peoples present and the resolutions being proposed. He had his hands clasped infront of his face as he stared at the floor deep in thought, until an older man in a black suit and a great beard sat beside him. "Mind if I sit here?" Secretary-General Blair asked and smiled at the representative. "Interesting little show you gave us the other day, Professor Blair. Did you intend from the start to gather us all here to show the UN's might, shall I be expecting that monstrosity to be hovering over the skies of Nuevo Argentina before long?" "Well - our shipyards are aboard the Bastion, and we are at war. It's just bad timing I'm afraid. But, I am glad a representative of the Patria Grande could attend this monumental occasion" "Yes, well, let's help it's been worth our while" "It's the most ironic twist of fate that out of all the peoples the UN has met the past century, it would be the ones we most diametrically oppose, that we meet first. You know I still remember that day - when news broke across the Bastion that there were indeed others out there (beyond the handful of Indie-habitats), that the Hegira had succeeded and mankind would continue out there among the stars regardless of whatever may happen here on the Bastion. There was genuine joy and relief, if for just a few days before the media-propaganda machine got to work and told us all to hate you. I suspect if our New American friends over there hadn't revealed themselves to the us it may have been UN-PeeGee that came to blows." "And how do you think that would have gone, señor secretary-general." "I dread to think. But I know you would certainly give us a run for our money - probably even more than the NAF. Their entire society is shaped by what happened on Earth, the remorse and anger over Yellowstone and the indifference of my long past predecessors, and some burning desire to return to a 'glorious past'. They fight for the past. But you - the Patria Grande, you fight for the future." UNSG knew there would be hundreds of eyes on him at all times, especially from his own secret service and he knew he had to choose his words carefully. "I pray a more just, fairer galaxy can come out of this Galactic Community, Mr Duran. And that the Partnership and Union can only know cooperation and mutual trust." __________________________________ Our first resolution proposal, from Secretary-General Vance Blair of the United Nations (Federal Partnership) is the creation of the galactic-market. (UN will of course support)  From Commander-in-chief Genevieve Zimmerman of the Victorious Night, Buzzword Standardization (UN supports)  From CEO Carol Edwards of Hampshire-Berkway Incorporated (of the United African Empire), the Guardian Angel Act (UN supports)  From Sage Sarim del Vathrag of the New Shire Accord, Comfort the Fallen (UN supports)  From Grand Marshall Dederick Krantz of the German Military Order, Pangalactic Recycling Initiatives (UN supports)  From King-of-the-People Liam Baker of the Revolutionary Solar Empire, Regularitary Facilitation (UN supports)  From Coordinator-General Fukui Kayo of the Japanese Commonwealth (of the Union of Socialist Systems), Cooperative Research Channels (UN supports)  From Emperor Frank Spooner of the Alpine Empire (of the League of Sagittarius Treaty), Tiyanki Preservation ACt (UN supports)  From President Alan Campbell of the New American Federation (of the Perseus Arm Treaty Organization), the Readied Sheild (UN opposes)  From Supreme Emir Ahmad Rahimi of the Federal Arabian Emirates, the Charter of Worker's Rights (UN supports)  From Prime Minister Rakesh Sura of the Republic of New India, Ban Organic Slave Trade (UN supports)  And finally, from Chairman Neil West of the People's Republic of Rakis (of the Centaurus Conference), Tiyanki Pest Control (UN opposes)  (continued in next post)
|
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2021 01:03
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 9, 2024 06:28 |
|
|
Battleship Just Good Business Captain McCreary Livestreaming on BasTube  What is up Bastion! That's right, he's back, you thought the legend, the adonis, the greatest starfighter this side of Sagittarius was gone for good? Hahaha, guess again Milky Way. That's right Danger Close is back. And as you can see around me, I'm not in the SinoTech F-56 anymore, I had to put the ole gal out to pasture, but Danger Close is moving up in the world. That's right! Ya boy's commanding Just Good Business, ha ha. We are crushing it out here at the edge of Sol, preparing the jump to Sirius but we got an hour or two so I figure, hey y'know, make sure all the stream setup is all working before I get us up close and personal with some New American uglies, and I know you've all been missing me since my last stream. Here's hoping for more epic fights like the Barnard's Star pirate-base assault, what a fan-tas-tic raid that was, woo! [camera panning around to show the immense bridge of the JBC, dozens of commanders and bridge-crew who would rather be anywhere else right now] One solid kilometre of five million tons of ceramo-metal, sixteen railgun batteries, seven plasma throwers and eight x-ray lasers all perfectly overclocked. We got self-regenerating hulls, deflector arrays, ah, just so much! I'll give you the grand tour in a day or two! We are going to be clowning on those Nafties hard. And we'll have plenty of guests coming up on the stream too, like master-at-arms Denis right here. [camera shows a grizzled naval veteran of numerous UNN battles, glaring a hole in the camera and his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles are practically glowing white] Can we get some novas in chat for our guy D-boi. And of course a big shout out to Blair Industries for making this whole thing possible, and how can I forget our sponsor Veil VPN, remember if you sign up in the next month with code #DangerClose you'll receive fifteen percent off for the first three months. Guys I c- Ooh, thanks for the sub X-ilion2312 'fire a nuke at the moon, nova', ah, no nukes on this bad boy I'm afraid, but plenty of guns, don't you worry you'll be seeing plenty of them in the coming years. Guys I cannot tell you how hyped I am for some of the streams I got in store for you, we're gonna have some goofs, some giveaways, and even some stuff I don't wanna spoil just yet, hah. We have a two year journey ahead of us until we reach Azha so buckle up.  __________________ April 30th 2331 - - Almach system, UN-NAF border. United Nations Navy - - Briefing room of the UN-Monarch - - - All UNN commanders present - - - - Admiral Hayden Curtis At 0820 this morning - 1500 Bastion-standard-time, four weeks prior - I received news that 'project briefcase' had been completed aboard the Bastion and launched successfully and is enroute - a battleship. The Just Good Business. Four times as large as the Courser-class cruiser, six times as powerful - but unfortunately twice as slow. It will be two years before it can rendevouz with us. But I am afraid we do not have two years. One jump away from us is the Azha system and I'm sure you all know by now from the rumours circulating that yes, the Washington Fleet is located there -the- main New American Federation fleet. Commanded by Admiral Kaylee McDonald, she is the NAF's most experienced naval officer and has at her disposal: Eight Strenuous-class corvettes Sixteen Blakely-class destroyers but most critically - Twenty-three Argus-class cruisers And this number continues to grow, Azha has become the NAF's staging ground for their second attack on the Western Frontier, and while the noble fighters of Lisbon were able to withstand the first wave I find it highly unlikely they could fend off over twenty New American cruisers at once. UNN-command back on Bastion is also becoming weary that Washington is becoming so powerful that soon enough even the full might of the UN Navy will be unable to oppose them. And so I -along with captain Parekh and captain Sauvageau- have devised - - - Operation Hickey - - The destruction or otherwise severely cutting down to size of the Washington Fleet. In the briefing notes you should be find a scan of a starmap of the Azha system, as you can see there are thirteen planets and the Nafties, quite cutely have named them for the thirteen first states of their Old-Earth ancestors, for convenience's sake we will also be using them.  The Washington Fleet is currently stationed in the Eastern Quadrant, between the orbital paths of Azha VI and Azha VII. Now of course, this map is only relevant for the next few days as the planets will not be where they are currently by time we arrive in-system. Azha VI will still be some years away by time any battle is concluded in the system, however, Azha VIII - North Carolina will have shifted and be close to the jump-point to/from Almach - giving us the perfect cover as we enter the system. The fleet will move counterclockwise around the system, eastward past North Carolina and move to engage with the Washington Fleet at once. Of course at this early stage it would be impossible to plan for much depth, but we have a few weeks to iron out the details. The general idea? Overwhelm the NAF cruisers with our superior number of corvettes and surround them and keep them busy while our cruisers pick them off from a distance. The Lance of Irassia has been repaired and is standing by in the Mirach system, the same day we enter the Azha system it will depart and should arrive by month's end where it will take up position in the northern quadrant and act as a deterrent against any NAF ships that attempt to flee to the three jump-points. We predict perhaps a 1/3 of the Washington Fleet will be destroyed or otherwise incapitated by time Just Good Business arrives - at which point victory is certainly assured. Prepare yourselves for a big fight. Return to your vessels, we depart in twenty four hours. Dismissed. ________________ In the northern sparsely populated regions of Imperial China troubling news spreads of a new vicious and fanactical band of raiders.  On the planet Narakas, once a great city-planet of some ancient civilisation, various pirates and marauder clans found their home, battling each other and plundering passing trade ships foolish enough to travel without armed escorts.  But as of late, a particularly cruel faction has come to dominate the planet, uniting or otherwise vanquishing all the other factions and now holds command over all of Narakas. They call themselves the Yanluo Wraiths and they are driven by one thing - the death and destruction of everything that isn't them.  __________________________________ On the Bastion, the Research-Institute has finished Professor Blair's designs for permanent asteroid-ring mining facilities that he began to devise before becoming UNSG.  And in the Great Plains Research Facility on the surface of Omaha, technology and data recovered from the planet Isis in the Irass system has been studied intensely by some of the greatest minds the UN has to offer - and they believe they have managed to create a miniaturized and only slightly-less sophisticated version of the intelligence-singularity present aboard the Lance of Irassia.  Research is now beginning to reverse-engineer the great weapon that the Lance of Irassia posses, every secret and wonder that the Lance holds is quickly being unraveled and put to use across the United Nations - soon the Lance itself may become obsolete and discarded to the annuls of history just as the Irassians who built it.  _______________ Mirach Station Lance of Irassia Commander White "Well, this is it LOIS. Back into the fray once more" White was sitting in the oval bridge of the Lance of Irassia, hunched over the array of screens and monitors before her while the command crew attended all the terminals around the bridge. Small military supply ships hovered about before them and they were slowly drifting away from the Mirach station behind them after decoupling earlier in the day. "Ready and waiting for your order, commander!" LOIS responded merrily  "Relegated to being some... chaperone, it's not right." White sighed, looking down at the monitor of the long-range scanner showing the UNN entering the Azha system "We oughta be at the front, leading the charge.'' She leaned back in the ornate captain's chair originally intended for some Irassian much larger than her, before looking over to a different screen showing the Sirius system and a single huge dot on the scanner. "Just Good Business" White frowned and shook her head "Who came up with that crap?" "It sounds funny, I like it!" "Don't worry, I won't let them replace you with that ugly behemoth, LOIS" The commander looked ahead again at a small Congo-trade sloop a few kilometres away beginning to speed up as it begun it's years long journey back to Sol. "LOIS, eta on arrival in Azha?" "28 days, commander" Commander White leaned over the side of her chair, looking toward the back of the bridge, there was a couple of commanders communicating with the UNN on terminals, but White was thinking about what lay on the other side of the wall - the black-hole core of the Lance. She narrowed her gaze and nodded slowly to herself. "If we have to just sit on the sidelines and watch this fight, I at least want to be in-system to see it. LOIS. Begin preparation for jump!"  "OH! we're jumping?" LOIS responded, almost giddy at the prospect of getting to use the jump-drive "Right away, commander. Coordinates set within the Azha system as per Admiral's Curtis' orders. Eta, 122 seconds. Jumping in 3...2..."  _______________ New American Federation - - The Washington Fleet - - - Flagship NAFS-Liberty - - 15 AU away from UN's projected location - -  XO Anderson made his way through the bridge of the Liberty at a leisurely pace, 'I ♡ NC' mug in one hand with steaming hot coffee, his personal terminal tucked under his other arm. "Steady as she goes, helmsman. Flight Officer Snyder, what's the current predicted arrival time for the Botein jump-point." "Another two months sir, if we continue burning at forty percent power" Anderson nodded sagely and sat himself down in the commander chair, placing his mug on the dashboard beside him and bringing his terminal up. "Very good, we've no rush. Houston Fleet can wait a little longer for our arrival. And then finally, George willing, Jornarnrir will be ours" He smiled and began tapping at his terminal to bring up the latest results from the New American Baseball League's ongoing tournament on Colorado. "How'd the Vipers do last month, Anderson?" The operations officer sat in the next seat over leaned over, chin perched on her hand. "Terrible, Santino. You really gotta root for a better team, keep making those bets of yours with the guys down in engineering and you'll be broke in no time" "Ah, Gotta support the home team John, y'know that" the officer from Franklin, third largest city on New Colorado, just smiled and shrugged. "You should have been born somewhere better than." Anderson smirked and winked before bringing his mug up to take a sip. "XO!" The flight officer suddenly exclaimed "United Nations Navy just entered the system. Four minutes ago, from the Almach system, burning towards us hard!" The XO frowned, not even getting to enjoy his drink yet as he stood up at once and stepped over to the flight officer's terminal. "Will they reach us before we can jump to Botein?" "No, not at our current speed sir. They will still be two AU away when we reach beyond Azha's influence and can jump." "That's cutting it too close, helm, bump us up to sixty-five, just to be sure. Admiral MacDonald is still off-vessel, she should be back in sixteen hours. If she wants a change of plan we'll know it when she's back aboard" Anderson exhaled uncomfortably and gripped the back of the flight officer's chair harder before looking back across the bridge. "Nothing we can do until then, just maintain course. The Blues are months away still. I got a coffee to get back to" he chuckled, trying to keep the mood up.  There suddenly came the most terrible sound, like something none of the crew of the NAFS-Liberty had ever heard before. An almost ethereal otherworldly choir-like tone that rose in intensity until it became something akin to a scream, ushered through from another realm. Reality itself began to tear and unfold itself just twenty kilometres ahead of the Washington Fleet, through which the most radiant blue light streamed through.  There was a blinding flash and then an instant later, a colossal spaceship appeared. "Sweet Jesus it's the Demon of Subra"  ___________________ - - - Somewhere deep in the recesses of realities that exist beneath our own something stirs, awoken by a force it has not felt in eons - - - ___________________ Lance of Irassia - Commander White "Commander!" White's firstmate bellowed over blaring alarms "New American ships on all sides! We've jumped right in the middle of their fleet" Commander White was paralyzed with indecision, glancing at her bridge crew and at the myriad of cruisers a few kilometres away from them, visible on all the monitors around the bridge. "LOIS?" White bleated "Largest enemy vessel targeted, commander" the ship's singularity simply uttered back softly. "...fire"  "New American Federation flagship destroyed, commander" "Great job LOIS, now get us the hell out of here!"  __________________ New American Federation - - The Washington Fleet - - - Admiral MacDonald aboard the destroyer NAFS-Diamond "This is Admiral MacDonald to all ships, the Demon is upon us! Do not allow it to escape! All ships target it's thrusters and give it everything we have!"  ___________________ Spector News Johnny 'The Spector' MacMillan Now, I'm sure many of my listeners are big fans of the United Nations Interstellar Colonial Administration. I love those guys, unlocking the secrets of terraforming and granting us all these wonderful worlds to inhabit? Goddamn heroes. But d'ya know who isn't so keen on UNICA? That's right folks, the good professor.... It seems Vance Blair objects to what he calls "destructive" and "callous" processes that kill native plant and animal life of alien worlds. After photos leaked last week of Vance Blair attending anti-UNICA rallies some thirty years ago he has been forced to hold a press meeting up in Paris, but get this folks, instead of apologizing or recanting his old views, no no, he doubled-down. He said the terraforming of Pontianak was the most "wanton and purposeful eradication of life ever perpetuated by mankind". Now I know I got some listeners over there in Pontianak, and I'm sure you don't much like hearing that our UNSG apparently values the lives of some alien weeds and rats more than the fine colonists of the United Nations. If the good professor could have his way then you would all still be living in your tiny habitats. Not only has Vance Blair refused to disavow his anti-UNICA stance, but now he is also insisting that UNICA should not terraform any planets with native life present, so hey - if you're listening to this over in Busan - sorry folks. You're stuck with a bleak thunderstorm-y world, but at least you have fuzzy little native critters to pet. The UNSG has instead ordered UNICA to focus on terraforming planets that are barren or otherwise exhibit no intelligent life, forwarding a great deal of the UN's treasury to make Inuvik, Reykjavik and even Venus right here in Sol livable within a decade to humans. What swell guy. Anyway, it's time to bring on our first guest...    __________________________________ From north of the Western Frontier, news reaches Lisbon of big changes in British space. With the British Fleet seemingly permanently engaged far away on the border with what few ships New Delhi can spare from it's war with the USS, the people of The Fleet's "supply planets" have finally been able to exert their will over the government. The Admiralty is no more, and ironically it is the great great grandson of the it's founder that led the charge for democratic change. Now the British Republic takes its place, an isolationist and agrarian liberal republic focused on just trying to make each of the many worlds previously exploited for The Fleet into paradises and ignore the larger events of the galaxy around them.   __________________________________ After the countless New American Marine Corps raids on the settlements of Lisbon, many of the planet's lakes and waterways have been left polluted or were intentionally damaged or blocked by the NAMC to try and force Lisbon's surrender. Ever since agri-workers of Lisbon have been finding it increasingly hard to keep their farms going. An exceedingly hot summer and intensive over-watering of many of Lisbon's larger plantations has caused a severe drought.  And though UNICA has begun bringing humanitarian aid to the planet, many of the colonists are beginning to relocate off of Lisbon, to neighboring Kashgar and Stormberg, hoping to find a better life there.   __________________________________ Lance of Irassia Commander White  "Commander White! We've lost another deck! The hull is coming apart and voiding entire compartments of the ship!" "Life support critical, we're going to lose oxygen in less than half an hour" "The core is almost entirely exposed! If they hit it the Azha system is gone!" Commander White was stooped over in the captain's chair, head in her hands trying to drown out the cacophony of blaring alarms, flashing lights and every single one of her bridge crew screaming about a different problem, each of them likely to end their lives. "LOIS! Is the Jump drive ready!?" White screamed over the racket, she had asked that same question almost every ten minutes the past two days and she felt like she was going insane every time LOIS simply responded in her ever joyful tone 'Not yet Commander'. "It is now, Commander, yes" "JUMP!" "Uh- commander, we have no set coordinates, there's no te-" "Just jump, LOIS!"  Just as quickly as the Lance of Irassia had entered the system did it also vanish right before the eyes of the NAF ships. The same otherworldly shrieking as the entire ship was enveloped in blinding blue light and just blipped out of existence leaving just a slowly expanding ring of residual dark energy.  __________________________________ United Nations Navy UN-Monarch Admiral Hayden Curtis  The Third Mate of the Monarch, Kamara Boro's eyes widened and brow creased as she stared at her terminal, having to force the words out, which came out more like an exasperated cry- "We've lost the Lance of Irassia!" There was a chorus of gasps and concerned muttering among the bridge crew of the UN-Monarch, and all eyes were on Admiral Curtis who had been stood at the forefront of the bridge. The 3D-holographic map she had been observing the distant battle (if it could be called that) between the Washington Fleet and the Lance of Irassia on, updated, the spot where the Lance once was now vacant. "What do you mean we lost it? It's destroyed?" Admiral Curtis shot a look back at Flight Officer Boro, eyes filled with apprehension and slowly rising fury. "Well, it's just... gone, ma'am" "Did it jump? Was it destroyed?!" The Admiral demanded, storming over to her Third Mate's position. "I.. I don't know ma'am, I'm not even sure what would register if it did jump, we've never seen something like that before." The Flight Officer tried to reason, as Admiral Curtis leaned over her shoulder to see the readings from the distant battle on her terminal. "Has it reappeared in any of the surrounding systems?" Curtis glared at the comms officer "It should already be in Almach, Asterope, Sceptrum.. anywhere" "Nothing Ma'am" "Ma'am, if the Lance was destroyed... we'd all be dead right now and a black hole would be tearing this system to pieces" the First Mate remarked, not really helping in the slightest. "Then where the gently caress is it?!" The Admiral's desperate demand hung in the deathly silent bridge. She exhaled deeply and composed herself, returning to her chair and looking around at her concerned crew. "Full burn. We've got a fleet to kill."  __________________________________ The space between the UNN and Washington Fleet becomes a killing field as dozens, hundreds, of nuclear missiles are flung back and forth as the two fleets draw nearer and nearer, point-defence lasers and atomic explosions rocking the void as the two adversaries draw closer.  The two fleets enter extreme close-range combat, as the more numerous UNN corvettes constantly harass and attack the many NAF cruisers, keeping them occupied as the UNN's cruisers let off salvo after salvo of railguns and rockets. Hostile ships move parallel to one another, sometimes less than ten kilometres apart as they tear each other to shreds. The carefully coordinated attack quickly devolves into all out carnage. Ships just focus their fire on whichever enemy one happens to be closest at that given hour, the whole battle devolving into the equivalent of a space melee as missiles and energy weapons criss-cross and narrowly dodge friendly ships.  As days turn to weeks, to an entire month of nonstop fierce fighting the crews of both fleets begin to feel the toll, sleeping in four-hour shifts (if they're lucky) before having to return to their bridges and crew positions. Tensions run high and emotions frayed as once cordial crewmates turn on each and lash out at the smallest of slights or transgressions, the blaring alarms of incoming fire -that is never more than hour or two away- the only thing stopping them from being at each other's throats constantly.  NAFS-Appalachia suffered a reactor leak after numerous successful strikes to its rear. Taken two minutes before it's destruction.  The bridge of the UN-Salvation taking a direct hit from an NAF direct-energy weapon. All crew were killed instantly. Eventually the battle begins to turn in the UN's favour. Despite there being far more New American cruisers, their UN counterparts are just far more sophisticated, able to shrug off all but the most intense concentrated fire from the NAF, and the UN corvettes prove their worth, and suffer dearly shielding the larger ships.  __________________________________ In the north-central region of the Western Frontier, New American raiding fleets led by the NA-Ranger Corps have pushed ever deeper and made ever bolder attacks. Now, in the Yildun system, over the planet Trinity a New American troop carrier the NAFS-Gellhorn is preparing to land four regiments of the NA-Army.  The SovMechs, it goes without saying, are not fighters. That is reserved for their new off-shoot the Vityaz, driven by their insatiable fervor for God.  New American soldiers tear across the SovMech settlements, ransacking terraforming and radiation-cleaning facilities, undoing years of work by the UNICA-hired robots as the terrified machines flee in to the more dangerous nuclear-blasted wasteland of Trinity, where humans dare not tread. The last hold-out of Trinity falls within only a few weeks of the NAF invasion, and the Sovereign Mechanized administrators and other ruler-robots are kept captive for now. There is of course an outcry aboard the Bastion, and plans are already being put together to liberate Trinity after the Washington Fleet battle is concluded.  __________________________________ Battle of Azha Day 431 As more and more of the Washington Fleet peels off from the battle, limping away with damaged hulls and depleted ammunition stores the battle looks like it's going further in the UN's favour. But, over a year into the battle, and Brazillian scout fleets now continuously enter the system, taking potshots at the UNN ships before scurrying away before they can be fired upon themselves. Until eventually the Houston Fleet arrives from the Botein system to assist the stricken Washington Fleet.  And then things go from bad to worse, as on the far side of the system, an immense number of hostiles suddenly show up on UNN radars.  The fleet of House Delgado, one of the most powerful and ruthless noble families in the Serene Principality has arrived. Led by Princess Catalina Delgado, aboard one of the most advanced ships (though not largest!) yet built by man, the SPB-O Lancelot.   In a matter of weeks, the UNN goes from looking like it's about to win the battle, to being surrounded, cut off and day by day losing more ships, more ammunition and running out of options as the Brazillian fleet surges towards them and along with the NAF ships sill in-system begin to form a huge encirclement around the UNN. __________________________________ The first resolution of the Galactic Community passes, and the formation of a galaxy-wide market is being established. But just where it's headquarters should be has become an entirely different matter.  Of course, the security council pushes hard for the galactic market to be centered on The Bastion, but there are others who would argue their own systems are a better fit, and it becomes a new competition between the various capitalistic powers. Economists aboard the Bastion actually come to the conclusion that the Bastion's trading power is rated only adequate when compared to surrounding powers (especially the Chinese) and UNSG Blair begins at once to upgrade the Bastion's commerce districts and attract investment (though he attempts repeatedly to draw investment to the lower sections, it's the huge business-district of Hanoi that keeps attracting investors)  Despite being disbanded more than a decade ago and falling out of favour after the reigniting of the War of the Western Frontier, the Martial Supremacy Alliance has reformed - under former Secretary-General Patrick Cross no less.  They demand not only the toppling of the New Colorado regime, but the annexation of the entire New American Federation into the United Nations, to ensure permanent security in the southern quadrant of the Milky Way and to grant the United Nations the power and resources to fight a conflict against anyone / anywhere (or in their eyes, everyone / everywhere if need be). Not only that but Patrick Cross has become increasingly vocal in decrying UNSG Blair and his new reforms that seek to "empower the Lowers for the sake of a little 'feel-good altruism' and weaken the United Nations as a whole".  __________________________________ Alioth Station Commander White  The Lance of Irassia shot itself back into existence almost a year after making the emergency-unguided jump out of the Azha system. For Commander White and the surviving crew aboard the ship it was near instantaneous, but the galaxy had progressed a year around them by the time the Alioth Station suddenly came into view. The engineers and technicians aboard Alioth were at first startled to have the Lance of Irassia come screaming back into space through a rift it created, - and then were alarmed and panicked to learn the ship was literally falling apart and it's black-hole core at risk of being unleashed. For four months a state of emergency was issued across the Alioth Station as every available hand was put to work, keeping the ancient alien warship together and making every repair they could to stop it self-destructing and taking them all with it.  In the Three Cheers for Beers bar (locally known as the '3C4B'), deep in the lower 'downtown' district of the twenty mile long station Commander White had her face buried in the fifth glass that night. Three months had passed since the state of emergency in Alioth Station was lifted, the Lance of Irassia was fully functional again, but she hadn't stepped foot upon it since disembarking over half a year ago, spending every day moping in a different bar aboard the space station and running up an ever higher tab on UNN expenses. White had spent most of her year's wages on one of the new Superiortm singularity-terminals, which she was able to jerry-rig and make it act as a sort of roaming-hotspot for LOIS so she could now accompany Jillian White wherever she went. LOIS, now unshackled from the bounds of the ancient warship had taken the form of a once famous Irassian movie starlet, taking great pleasure in that fact - though of course anyone that would recognize her had died tens of thousands of years ago.  "Am I a good Commander, LOIS?" "Well... I don't mean to disparage you commander, but you are my only commander. I have none to compare you to, so I guess... by the metric you're the best commander I've ever had!" "Then why do I keep failing?" "Well, Commander. If I may, you are not using me correctly. The way you talk about me and utilize me you seem to see me as some grand flagship - a lone vessel that could take on the galaxy. I was just one of many, many in a single fleet. When I fought side by side with my brothers and sisters I was a truly awesome thing, but alone - I am no more than one of your destroyers just with an impossibly powerful laser." "A laser they're already planning on putting on battleships..." White sighed, balancing an empty glass on it's rim with one finger, her focus constantly glancing to the mute holo-screen in the corner of the bar with rolling Bastion-Broadcasting-Corporation news coverage of the ongoing Battle of Azha and the dire situation for the UNN. "Would you like me to get the serving-Solian another glass of fermented hop-juice for you?" "No, I've had enough LOIS, I think I know what I gotta do..." __________________ United Nations Navy Admiral Hayden Curtis Day 747 of the Battle of Azha  For five months the enemy has had us completely surrounded. There is no escape. With the assistance of the Houston Fleet the Washington Fleet was able to draw back and take up a new position against us. The arrival of the Delgado's fleet meant we had to prepare for an attack from our rear and could not pursue the NAF despite the fact they were weakened. Captain Sauvageau suggested a retreat, to break off and make a run for the Almach or Sceptrum jump-point, but I stupidly thought we could weather this storm. Our supplies are running low, food, water, ammunition. I have stopped ordering the ships to fire on the enemy weeks ago and to conserve our ammunition lest we dare to make another break-out attempt. Our first two saw us lose four corvettes and a destroyer, the second - a cruiser. I have pulled the UNN together in to one tight-knit spot, so our point-defence systems may cover one another, though even the NAF and SPB ships have stopped firing on us as often, they just slowly prowl around us in a ten-million-kilometre encirclement, waiting us out.  Every two hours, exactly on the dot, a single random enemy ship will send a shot inward, just the smallest of rounds that would ping off even a corvette. But it is still enough to set off all our radars and incoming-fire alarms, we have not slept in weeks. We cannot disable our warning systems in case they actually launch an assault proper. The bridge crew murmur and whisper of surrendering, and I have to shut them down every time. What do they think will happen? We will be haul off to some force-labor camp on Denver, and our very ships will be re-crewed by New Americans so they can take the Western Frontier - maybe worse.  Denver I would rather die and save the last of our ammunition to destroy ourselves should it come to that. We just have to hold out a little longer. Help is coming.  __________________________________ Alioth Station Duster Lounge The Democratic Union of Space Truckers (or DUST, and it's members known as 'Dusters') was one of only five new unions that had managed to form so far after UNSG Blair took office and did everything he did to lift the taboo surrounding organized labor, and it had in just three short years grew to encompass a huge swath of the United Nations. The five conglomerates of the security council obviously had their own vast logistics fleets, but everyone outside of them - the thousands of minor corporations that exist in the UN relied on independent trucking companies - sometimes comprised of just a lone plucky trade hauler. Having unionized the DUST accrued a great amount of power and influence and was able to bring about a whole slew of standards and benefits to the space-trucking profession. And the Duster's Lounge aboard Alioth station was one of the most prominent areas - once the great barracks - considering Alioth is one of the largest stations in UN-space, once the frontline with the NAF before the capture of Mirach. Alioth had since been relegated to a general-purpose station which DUST had come to dominate, though still housed many of the old military facilities. Alien life was becoming ever more common inside UN-space, and now in the 2330s only a few second-glances would be given to a passing Grammich, Endurga or Khabayyanid. But when Commander White and her eight-foot tall holographic Irassian companion stood at the entrance to the lounge all eyes were on them. "I need twenty ships" White remarked, looking around at the slightly bemused truckers. "What for? What are you transporting?" A man sat at a table with four of his associates, asked - star-charts and glasses of booze on the table between them. "Nothing. I need twenty ships to join me. I'm looking for recruits, and ships." There was a silence across the lounge, and many were now going back to whatever it was they were doing before the disruption from the brash UNN commander. "I'm sure you've all noticed the ten kilometre long goddess of a warship parked right outside the station. That's her by the way" the giant holographic alien waved happily "It has the most powerful weapon in the galaxy, and it may be the best chance at saving the United Nations Navy. But it's armour is.. well, it's terrible, sorry LOIS" LOIS just pulled a face and nodded knowingly "So I need twenty ships to act as my screens" The mild indifference was beginning to slowly turn to hostility as some of the truckers began to throw insults towards the UNN commander at the insinuation that they should lay their lives on the line and sacrifice their vessels and livelihoods for the navy. "What do you think is going to happen if we lose the Battle of Azha!? There are twenty New American cruisers and dozens of Brazillian corvettes and two giant strike cruisers just four systems away. If the UNN falls, then they will come crashing down on Alioth and all the systems of the border like a terrible storm, and your trucking days will come to an end." White balled up her fists and huffed loudly "I don't need twenty truckers. I need twenty goddamn heroes, to help me save the United Nations" 'yeah!' LOIS felt the need to add, still sounding more cheerful than assertive. One of the older looking truckers, a big beard hanging from his chin and his jacket adorned with many patches bearing the names of all the stations he had frequented, sighed and stood up. "I'm with you commander..." He uttered, already regretting the decision but had made up his mind. "Do you have any military experience?" White responded "Yeah, I served on a destroyer in the first frontier war." "Congratulations then, you've just become the vice-admiral of my new fleet" The old trucker narrowed his gaze and glanced off in to space for a moment in thought before looking back to the UNN commander. "Does that rank come with all the benefits it would normally bestow?" "Absolutely. After this I'll see to it personally you'll have an officer's pension coming your way" That little morsel of information suddenly perked up the interest of some of the surrounding truckers, and soon enough White had her twenty volunteers.  In the old military ship bays of the Alioth Station, twenty small trade ships were being reconfigured and outfitted to be as close as possible to the Impeccable-class corvettes (which were initially converted trade ships made a century ago), as the team of Standard Dynamics engineers and mechanics who normally had little-to-nothing to do on the station were now being ordered by a UNN commander. "Y'know I'm not sure DUST is going to appreciate having it's member's press ganged" "You've not been press-ganged." White's shoulders slumped and she threw her hands up "You joined willingly and you're going to be compensated accordingly. Now listen up! This could not be simpler, you follow the Lance, and when we enter the battle you just - fly around me, as fast as you can, never stop or slow down. And it's not like you're going to be completely defenceless, your ships are going to have point-defence systems and your cargo bays are being swapped for nuclear missile-pods." "I've never fired a nuke at someone before" One of the younger recruits to White's ragtag fleet expressed hesitantly, as if that were a normal sentence someone should be saying. "Just press the button and let the missile's guidance rest. Don't worry, the United Nations has come a long way in a hundred years, it couldn't be easier to nuke someone now" White winked and slapped the young trucker boy's shoulder. ________________ In the southern quadrant of the Azha system, at the jump-point to Almach a colossal human-made warship extied hyperspace and thundered toward the UNN-NAF-SPB engagement.  "XO. Get us some mood music going over the ship's PA - uh, nothing that'll get us copyright strikes - something old, twentieth century maybe? Any sort of song about heroes will do. Third-Mate, tell me when we're range to start the show" "Uh, Danger C-... captain, we're already in range." "OH!" McCreary clapped his hands together and smirked "Ladies and gentlemen, it's time we got down to business" Captain McCreary with the biggest poo poo-eating grinning on his face took off his gaudy red shades and stood from the captain's chair, his entire demeanour changing as he strode toward the huge holographic map of the system in the middle of the bridge. He highlighted various NAF and SPB ships with a touch of his finger against the little holographic models, lining up and ordering barrages as the bridge crew tried to keep up with his orders. "If it doesn't have United Nations scrawled on the side... or isn't a ten kilometre long ancient monster, I don't want to see it in my star system. Am I clear?" "Sir yes sir!" came a resounding roar from the bridge crew, suddenly remembering to act like naval officers after the two years of 'antics' at the hands of their captain. "Are you watching Bastion?" McCreary looked back to the small hovering camera-drone he streamed with, grabbing the side of it to draw it closer to his face "This one's for all of you!" he had the most self-satisfied smirk that not even the god of smugness himself could have crafted as the entire Just Good Business began to rock and shake as the roar of railguns kicked into life, he shot a finger-gun at the camera and turned around to face the main monitor, hands on his hips as thousands of supercharged tungsten slugs heated to the point becoming near-light speed slags of plasma began to fire off from the battleship in all directions.  _______________ Navy of the Serene Principality Fleet of House Delgado Princess-Admiral Catalina Delgado SPBS- O Lancelot  "The UN's new play thing just arrived. Juno, follow my lead, it's time we put this beast to rest." "Sim sua Majestade! It is... awful big though." "But we are faster, and all it has is simple kinetic weapons, it cannot penetrate our shields. We will run circles around that lumbering bear and poke it so full of holes the NAF will make light work of it" ________________ There came a sudden energy surge that the NAF was now becoming all too familiar with, and from across the entire Azha system, many hundreds of millions of kilometres, a distance no human ship could have possibly fired over, a great blue beam arced, ripping a hole through space that burned with dark energy and impacted the front of the O Lancelot. The Brazillian ship's hyper-shields peeled apart like paper and the lance of blue light instantly dematerialized the entire front half of the giant warship, it drifts, crewless for a few moments more as it implodes, the back of the ship tearing itself apart. Decades of development, hundreds of billions of Reals, the culmination of the smartest scientists and engineers of the wealthiest houses of Brazil. Destroyed instantly. And the Princess-Admiral gone, almost certain to trigger a succession crisis in House Delgado when news reaches the Principality.  __________________________________ Lance of Irassia Commander ('self-appointed Admiral') White "I don't think we're going to be welcome in Sao Paulo any time soon!" "Haha!" LOIS chuckled, not entirely grasping the gravity of the regicidal act they just committed, but glad that her Commander was so happy. "All ships, advance and engage the two cruisers of the Houston Fleet, draw them away from the UNN" "Yes Admiral White!" Twenty voices responded in unison as the makeshift corvettes flew ahead of the Lance of Irassia, a flurry of nuclear missiles launching from the tiny ships.  ____________________ The Just Good Business carves a path through the southern portion of the NAF-SPB encirclement, shrugging off direct-energy and kinetic attacks, it's shield-arrays and regenerating hull repairing itself in a matter of hours by the time the next shots land on it. And while it does indeed only have rather simple kinetic weapons, it has a lot of them.  Hundreds of supercharged railgun shots impact NAF cruisers in a matter of seconds, overwhelming their shields and making them short-out - just in time for the second barrage to tear through the hulls.  ____________________ United Nations Navy Admiral Hayden Curtis Day 991 of the Battle of Azha "UNN! We've been given one hell of an opening, multiple NAF and SPB cruisers breaking off to engage the Biz and Lance, "All cruisers, target the nearest NAF cruiser and open fire at once. Corvettes and destroyers begin a clockwise sweep of our position, intercept any NAF ships not going for our two greater ships."  The UNN ships at once move out in all directions, the encirclement that had contained them collapsing in a matter of days as the Just Good Business wreaks havoc, and the moment the Lance is ready fires again, destroying the SPBS-Juno.      Seeing the Lance and Just Good Business destroy cruiser after cruiser as the later appears nigh-impervious to all NAF-SPB attacks severely affects the enemy morale. Over the course of a month the NAF-SPB forces are whittled down or begin to flee en mass as the chain of command breaks down. The Brazillian ships were already without any leadership as Princess-Admiral Delgado had been killed upon the Lance's re-entry to the battle, and they had tried their best to follow the orders of Admiral MacDonald.  The Washington Fleet initiates an emergency jump, some of their ships destroying themselves in the process, leaving a radioactive streak of warship wreckage as they attempt to jump down the hyperlane to Almach from the middle of the system but the gravity of the Azha star tears them apart. The stragglers of the Fleet of House Delgado are hunted down, a few hiding behind the planets in the system, away from UNN radars and making a run for the nearest jump-point at the soonest moment of convenience. And long last, the Battle of Azha is over.  The Lance of Irassia entered the system and destroyed the NAFS-Liberty on May 21st 2332. The last Brazillian ship was sighted, fleeing the system on July 7th 2335, and marking the end of the battle. 1142 days of fighting. __________________ Standard-Dynamics liaison to the UNSG, situation report of the Second War of the Western Frontier. 2335 Battle of Azha concluded. Considered an overwhelming victory. New American and Brazillian flagships both destroyed. Fleet of House Delgado entirely scattered, with no leadership. Houston Fleet destroyed outright. Washington Fleet making full retreat back toward New Colorado, down to 2/3 fighting strength. United Nations Navy is severely damaged and in need of repairs and resupply. Recommend swapping out crews for fresh service personnel after stress and extreme sleep deprivation of the three year battle. The high possibility of losing the fleet would have been disastrous. Recommended course of action: creation of a second, possibly third UNN fleet of equal size to current one. Battleship report: exceeded all projections. Recommended course of action: new focus on battleship-centric fleets. Construction of battleship(s) utilizing the Lance's weapon. Lance of Irassia: Commander White jeopardized the operation by initiating a jump-drive entry to the system rather than enter through hyperlanes and encountered NAF where it was not expected. Went AWOL for one year and then resurfaced on Alioth Station where she misused UNN resources to recruit a mercenary force of trucking-union members and illegally turned their registered trade vessels into nuclear-capable warships. Recommended course of action: immediate court martial of Jillian White and confiscation of the Lance of Irassia to be dismantled and studied in a safe environment.  'The Lance, The Business, The Monarch' photo taken by UNN crewmember of corvette three days after conclusion of Battle of Azha. Crisis Now fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Jul 19, 2021 |
|
#
?
Jul 19, 2021 01:03
|
|