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nweismuller posted:That said, there's still notable gaps- the Loyal event only triggers under very specific conditions and only once per game, the Intelligent event only triggers once per game, and Fickle, Reserved, Rulebreaker, Humble, Proud, Forgiving, Individualistic, and Tribal aren't represented at all yet. Spitballing some ideas: Fickle - Blow off several meetings someone you have a good relationship with, giving either a negative to their opinion to you, burning AP to force yourself to go out with them later with a chance of failure (you really didn't want to deal with them yet), or if both characters have the fickle trait you can mulligan the whole event chain as "well, we both know what the other is like so it's fine". Fickle (Alternate) - A special event for switching love interests for fickle people that can fire separately from the regular one so they switch interests more often. Reserved - Minor loss of prestige as you allow functionaries and house members to deal with more events than expected, making it seem like you aren't actually managing your own realm. An option to sacrifice AP to negate the event as well. Forgiving - Willingly renounce vengeance for an injustice someone inflicted on you, improving your relationship with that person. Alternately, if you have Vengeful you can play up the injustice, inflicting a loss of prestige on them in exchange for a large negative modifier to your personal relationship with them. Intelligent - Dedicate some extra time to studying, picking up a +2 to a stat of your choice in exchange for AP. Alternately, you can back out of the event. Rulebreaker - Can an alternate event fire during tournaments? If so, an occasional option to outright cheat in a tournament with a chance of getting caught would fit. In the same vein, perhaps rulebreakers could attempt to "accidentally" injure someone in a tournament if they have a negative opinion of them. Humble - Your attitude has won friends among the (relative) lower classes, giving either a small prestige boost from positive interactions with the public or a small boost to your relationship with the heads of all (some?) minor houses in your realm. Proud - Occasional event to throw a military parade to boost prestige in exchange for funds and AP. Has a chance to lower prestige if your house's military score (your personal diplomatic score) are low, wasting the investment as well. Not sure what to think of individualistic or tribal since those are neutral traits. Maybe events that reduce/magnify how your character feels about someone that a family member has strong negative/positive opinions on? I also didn't put much thought into how these could compound with other traits beyond Forgiving/Vengeful.
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May 29, 2022 07:01
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It's just the nature of the genre and political realities that a lot of marriages are going to have some  and  involved, because "how is this politically advantageous" is pretty much the only consideration.
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May 29, 2022 07:11
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MechaCrash posted:It's just the nature of the genre and political realities that a lot of marriages are going to have some Yes, very much this. Of course it's more "acceptable" to be able to marry off your 16 year old lesbian daughter to a 52 year old fat guy in a game simulating a medieval setting. At least there are gay marriages in Star Dynasties? But it overall just once again confirms that hereditary nobility is an awful system of government.
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May 29, 2022 09:21
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Torrannor posted:Yes, very much this. Of course it's more "acceptable" to be able to marry off your 16 year old lesbian daughter to a 52 year old fat guy in a game simulating a medieval setting. At least there are gay marriages in Star Dynasties? I think it was mentioned earlier that there are gay marriages in this game, yeah
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May 29, 2022 09:34
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Anticheese posted:I think it was mentioned earlier that there are gay marriages in this game, yeah 'Mentioned before', 'our starting ruler has been gay married the entire game thus far with her wife as Diplomacy councilor and running subplots about her attraction to her wife', either or. Heh.
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May 29, 2022 12:26
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I would like to jump in as Oriole if that is possible.
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May 31, 2022 05:47
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Xlorp posted:I would like to jump in as Oriole if that is possible. Fair enough. I'll get you a security report after the next update.
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May 31, 2022 07:13
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Two Houses As One Near the midpoint of 2512, Director-General commanded that a great feast be held to honor Bella Garcia, the officer of the long-lost Interstellar Authority who had miraculously been returned from a sleep of over three centuries to once more live amongst the colonies, granting her the seat of honor and dedicating the tournament and entertainments to her. An invitation went out to all House Weiss's vassals, from the heads of the minor Houses of Vega to Coordinator Adair Marshall and Governor-General Coligny White. Also invited were King Lowell Lamb of the Lamb Clan, in an effort to further prepare him for planned diplomatic efforts, and Duchess Ruana Garrett, who Jane had long been exerting efforts to keep well-disposed to her.   Bella Garcia was granted a further honor, being invited to represent House Weiss in the tournament that would precede the feast proper and demonstrate the training she had recieved in the service of maintaining the order of the League of Starfaring Nations. Her first match was against Howe Bryan, head of Security for House Mendoza of Alsciaukat, and ended with her pulling behind and spraying down his interceptor with the light, low-velocity aluminum pellets used as tournament ammunition. Despite these precautions, one of the pellets struck a feed line for one of the thrusters for Howe's interceptor and triggered a thruster misfire that ended with him blacking out, although it ended before his interceptor was unrecoverable. He was brought in and hurried to medical attention, and the tournament continued.   Bella's fourth match, and the final match of the tournament, was against Marie Garrett, Admiral for House Garrett, a match that ended in conclusive victory for Bella. With the tournament complete, Bella Garcia was lauded for her prowess and cunning as a pilot, her victory bringing prestige both to herself and to House Weiss.  The feast that followed provided food and drink in plenty, with music, dancing, and a play about a crew of traders who endured great peril to protect their cargo and passengers against the depredations of a group of pirates and then reported the position of those pirates to the local Duke. It was, by most accounts, a splendid gathering, with the guests leaving in high spirits and Bella, as guest as honor, buoyed by an experience that had showed her what splendor and graciousness was still possible in the modern world.   King Lowell Lamb was invited to stay some days longer to bring a series of negotiations which had begun before the feast to a conclusion. Four hundred thousand marks in money, foodstuffs, fuel, and shuttles were turned over to the King in return for his oath of fealty to House Weiss, bringing a new and powerful member into the Weiss League and bringing great prestige to Jane Weiss due to her triumph in extending the rule of her House.   Over the course of the second half of the year, Bella Garcia's great project had borne fruit, forming a new elite unit within Security trained both in criminal investigation and as a tactical unit to respond in support of Military's peacekeepers. Alongside their procedural and tactical training, these recruits had taken in Bella's ideals of law and justice, shaped in an earlier era- while Bella herself, having had time to observe the administration of Vega in detail and contemplate what she had learned of the history since her long sleep, was slowly internalising the lessons of the modern honor code. Only a stern dedication to personal honor and widespread condemnation and punishment of those who transgressed against honor had brought the colonies back from the brink of utter destruction following the fall of House Khalil- the late 23rd and the whole of the 24th Centuries were terrible Dark Ages where rulers conquered without justification, where atrocities were indulged at every turn in warfare, and where terror and cruelty to the populations of the colonies were merely the way of rule. The evil of those years led to colony after colony being abandoned and threatened to lead to the extinction of humanity were nothing to change- a new low point after the time of the Collapse. The rise of modern honor codes helped restrain the savage violence of the Dark Ages and allowed for enough stability for abandoned colonies to be repopulated over the course of the 25th Century, with the 26th Century holding the promise of a future that might restore some fraction of what the Dark Ages had laid to waste. With Jane, Thomas, and Harold all serving as exemplars of modern honor, Bella had clear examples to work from, alongside a driving need to seek a worthwhile purpose for her life. She chose to dedicate herself to honorable service, convinced, at least, that this was the best hope of the modern era for order and justice- and that perhaps her perspective might help allow House Weiss to make what changes would be possible in the modern context without threatening the peace and stability of society. With this, we have achieved the 'good' end of the cryopod officer events, although unfortunately a bug (which I am assured will be fixed next game update) makes it so that the happiness loss Bella is suffering isn't moderated by reaching this good end. That said, by ensuring that Bella had a good enough welcome, we've prevented the possibility of her defecting along with the elite guard she's trained. I checked to see if there was a console command which could edit the value of the variable setting the intensity of Bella's happiness loss, and I can't. I just had an idea I think might work to fix the happiness loss issue, but I want to check with Glen before I try it- I'll keep you people posted on whether I get a solution.  While Bella was working to train her new recruits, Allen Weiss, Romeo and Prudence's second son, was in the process of falling into a severe illness, a somewhat less dangerous relative of Rattle Lung which nonetheless threatened congestive lung failure for children. Senior Scientist Ilario Goodman was immediate set to oversee Allen's treatment, hoping to ensure his recovery from this illness.    Other work was showing results by the end of 2512, with Administration completing the repairs to the damage caused by the battle at Haldus while Diplomacy reported that its efforts to build a case for the rule of the Weiss Guild over Alsciaukat amongst its minor nobility and commoners were showing success. Diplomacy also reported a general mood of appreciation amongst the remaining minor Houses of Vega which had yet to be granted colonies of their own, with Diplomacy's efforts to extend courtesies, flattery, and a forum for concerns ensuring that the minor Houses felt represented and with a widespread sentiment amongst many of the minor Houses that perhaps their House too would enjoy elevation to ruling status when House Weiss took further colonies.     A pair of requests for justice against Governor-General Coligny White came about this time, one levelled by Duke Kirabo Pruitt in retaliation for the disinheritance of the Governor-General's heir and and one levelled by Coordinator Adair Marshall, charging Coligny White with breaking her sworn oath to repay a favor when Adair called upon her. Director-General Jane Weiss fined the Governor-General for a total of forty thousand marks, a sum which satisfied everybody that House Weiss had discharged its duties to see justice done.     War and disaster continued to rock many of the colonies beyond Vega. In Canopus within the Garrett Confederation, House Contreras put down an attempted rebellion organised by House Jennings, while in Kajam, a series of irregular outages in life support systems led to temperature regulation and air circulation failures in serf block housing, causing a series of deaths from suffocation and exposure. Ruana Garrett launched a new war against the Pruitt Systems, citing a tenuous claim by one of her barons to control that region of space. The residents of Vega felt their relative security and prosperity more keenly, although the disaster in Kajam was uncomfortably close to home.   Director-General Jane Weiss had long been making use of productivity software to improve her efficiency as a ruler and administrator, a fact which her brother Thomas envied. By the end of 2512, she had ensured that the ancient software was successfully copied and documented with her own notes for Thomas' use, immediately aiding Administration's operations and serving as an informal forum for discussion between the siblings via notes dashed off in spare data fields. Thomas was grateful both for the aid this provided to his work and for the fascinating details and features of the productivity software itself.  While working as Senior Investigator leading criminal investigations for Security in Vega, Noelle Garcia stumbled across one of Jane's personal journal entries while reviewing data traffic at the system, then made a few deductions based on what he had observed of Jane's behavior. He then proceeded to share the juicy gossip privately with his wife Bella.   A half year following the treaty of vassalage between the Lamb Clan and the Weiss Guild, King Lowell Lamb requested that the colony of Tseen be transferred to the control of the Lamb Clan. Jane Weiss, who had already been looking for ways to simplify the administrative burden presented by the sprawling Guild and the realms within the Weiss League, agreed to a sale of the system for a total of one hundred twenty thousand marks, paying back a significant sum of the money he was paid in the first place for his vassalage and helping bolster the Guild's discretionary budget.  Prudence Weiss and Ilario Goodman, since access to the data from the Galileo Institute datavault had been cut off, had been frantically working to document as much as they could of ancient genetic medical techniques and testing incorporation of these techniques into medical treatment for the House. By the time 2513 began, they had a list of markers for many genetic diseases along with certain genetic markers correlated with higher average intelligence. A battery of corrective therapies to edit the gene-line of House members so they would fail to pass on predispositions for disease while successfully passing on genes that led to children more likely to grow up with high intelligence was developed, and every member of the House- including such members by adoption as Ilario and Bella- was subjected to these therapies. Prudence and Ilario noted that Bella, who had already enjoyed access to top of the line medical treatment in her previous life, required only minimal genetic editing, most of that necessitated by the radiation exposure from centuries of drifting in the void. Unfortunately, even armed with a partial recreation of ancient genetic techniques, the ancient genetic treatments to retard cancer development in aging people were beyond modern abilities to reconstruct. The specter of old age remained as dire a threat as ever.    Shortly after the beginning of 2513, Duke Yardley Patton, greatly weakened, entirely surrounded by the Weiss Guild, and in an untenable military position, did the nearly unthinkable, swallowing his pride and his desire for vengeance and pleading for the Patton Quadrant to be accepted as a lawful vassal of House Weiss. Jane Weiss agreed, drawing up a treaty of vassalage recognising that this offer was made freely by a ruler independent of any other loyalties. As a condition of this treaty, Yardley Patton publicly repudiated any right to vengeance against Jane Weiss for her previous transgressions so that he could swear true and faithful service to his new mistress. With this treaty, the process which had begun with the war on the Wang Collective was now complete- the Weiss League spanned the whole of the territory once controlled by the Patton League when first House Weiss rose to power in Vega, in addition to the original territory of the Weiss Guild, the colonies of Mu Capricorni and Kastra on the borders with the Shannon Collective, and the whole of the Lamb Clan, which was itself not an inconsiderable kingdom. Jane, whose conscience was already heavily-burdened by the actions she had needed to break the power of Yardley Patton, no matter how richly he deserved misfortune, gladly took this as a sign that now her efforts should be turned to leading the existing territories of the Weiss League to prosperity, stability, and peace.  Governor-General Coligny White perished of a heart attack in the early part of 2513, the news reaching Vega by message drone shortly thereafter. Other members of House Weiss noted Jane's strange reaction to the news, as if a great burden were suddenly lifted from her mind. Her previous habit of tender and attentive devotion to Mariko soon reappeared, with Jane being as effusive and happy in her display of love as her shy and awkward nature permitted. Although her family was pleased to see Jane so happy, this did not save her from being the butt of a number of affectionate jokes after Thomas and Oriole walked in on the two of them in the process of rushing to Jane's quarters together in an obvious state of excitement.  Not long after Coligny White's death, Bella Garcia's first child, Harold Garcia, was born, to the delight of both his parents. Bella and Noelle had agreed to name their son after Jane's father, a man both of them liked and admired.  Lovie Lindsey, duchess of the Lindsey Coalition and archon of the Lindsey League, requested that House Weiss transfer the rule of Nashira in early 2513, although she had little real hope that Director-General Jane Weiss would comply with the request. Unsurprisingly, Jane sent a polite message refusing the request, and the matter was settled.  Meanwhile, the fragile economy of Zubenelgenubi left it vulnerable to a crop blight which struck its hydroponics, leading to mass crop failures and widespread food shortages. Coordinator Dembe Shannon chose to task his Security department to securing local food sources in the colony, leaving the general population to its fate while ensuring that House Shannon survived the famine unscathed. Popular resentment surged against House Shannon, the surviving commoners blaming the House for their suffering and for the deaths of their loved ones.   Later in the year, a revolt at Beta Librae brought House Gates, the rightful rulers of the colony, back into power there. In 2506 House Harper had revolted and seized the colony when House Gates had refused to demand the baroness of Algorab step down in favor of Kesin Harper; now Terryal Gates claimed the throne once more in the third revolt of House Gates against House Harper since 2506. Many in House Weiss hoped that the return of House Gates to power would mark greater stability at Beta Librae in the future.  The first gains of the war between the Garrett Confederation and the Pruitt Systems came when Governor Angelique Andersen of Aludra defected from the Pruitt Systems to the Garrett Confederation, citing Kirabo Pruitt's refusal to mobilise in defense of Aludra. Although, perhaps, not fully-justified, few considered this defection a crime of very great severity given the provocations leading to it, and all could sympathise with the Governor's detestation of Duke Kirabo Pruitt, widely considered a loathsome man entirely without honor.  A year after Allen Weiss first took ill, Ilario Goodman declared the boy fully-recovered from the lingering weakness in his lungs following his disease, accepting once more the gratitude of his patient and his patient's family for his diligent and effective medical care.  Shortly after Allen's full recovery, he got caught up in a quarrel with Oriole Weiss. Oriole's lessons to Allen had, of course, focused on security, her area of expertise, but Allen was only poorly attentive, expressing a preference that he get to study with the diplomats. Jane indulged this request, arranging for Allen to take additional tutoring from some of the officers in the Diplomacy department outside of his lessons with Oriole, which seemed to largely calm the issue.     When Archon Lovie Lindsey finally bore her first child, Juliet Lindsey, at the age of 40 near the end of 2513, the line of inheritance of the Lindsey Coalition was finally secured, and Lovie Lindsey proclaimed a great feast, inviting Jane Weiss as a neighboring ruler who deserved an invitation to this celebration. Harold Weiss claimed the honor of representing House Weiss in the tournament before the feast, facing off against Director-General Pilan Gilmore in his first match. Although Harold held the advantage, Pilan pushed his interceptor beyond his own body's g-tolerances and scored the first hit on Harold, before giving himself a stroke from the massive forces he had subjected himself to, removing both himself and Harold from further contests in the tournament, which was eventually won by Baron Lucien Lindsey, Lovie's uncle. The remainder of the feast proceeded enjoyably for the guests, and Jane, Mariko, Harold, and Oriole returned in generally good spirits.  While Jane and her party were away at Edasich for the feast, Technology Director Prudence Weiss went into labor, giving birth to a healthy daughter, Lucy, her and Romeo's fourth child. This event was welcomed with celebration by Jane's party when they returned home, and by Romeo at his next visit back to Vega later in the year.   Ova Beck, heiress to House Beck and Jane's ward, achieved her majority later in 2513, and was sent on her way home with Jane's blessings and some degree of heartache. The two had developed a friendship during Ova's years under Jane's tutelage, and both regretted having to part from one another despite Ova's pleasure at returning home and being able to spend more time with her family. Ova's years under Jane had taught her the value of honor, a lesson that would doubtless help her be a good and dutiful ruler of her colony when the time came.  Thomas had been working diligently at restoring the hangar and manufacturing plant for message drones at Vega to service, its very first message deployed being the news to Kajam that Ova was returning. With better capacity to launch, receive, and produce replacements for message drones, the available capacity for mail and messages to and from Vega greatly increased, the improved communications helping tie the Guild and the League more tightly together.  The Technology department, while reviewing reports of minor abnormalities in radar returns from an uninhabited planet in the Albireo system, had dispatched a team to get closer readings which returned near the end of 2513, confirming that the abnormality noted by navigation radar of travellers in the system had a most unexpected cause- a vast metallic structure beneath the searing, acidic clouds of the planet which had prevented the establishment of any installations there- or so it had been thought, up until this point. Prudence organised a full excavation team with the necessary heavy protection that would be needed for work on the planetary surface, rotating workers up and down from the surface for regular maintenance of the suits that protected them from the deadly heat and corrosive gasses.  It soon proved that the structure on the surface was a vast ship, the size of one of the great ark ships that had once been used to carry thousands of colonists at once to newly-established colonies before the Collapse, rapidly bringing new colonies to new functionality. Unlike, however, the ark ship that still survived at Al Nair in the Shannon League (long since unable to be launched, but still an excellent living space for a large portion of Al Nair's population), the immense internal volume of the wrecked ship at Albireo was not taken up by living quarters, recreation areas, kitchens, cafeterias, and life support systems to support many workers being carried across the stars. Instead, ranks upon ranks of computer servers as befit a science ship, heavily-armored cryogenic vaults still miraculously drawing power from the long-term backup provided by radiothermal generators, great storage cells for gasses, and a set of small but sophisticated manufacturing plants for electronics, machine parts, drones, and chemicals- a full colony bootstrap set, not equivalent to the manufacturing capacity in any given area of the dedicated industrial plants of those colonies with major industries of any particular type but providing a very respectable manufacturing base for many things needed for the support of a colony. This bootstrap set, if somehow recovered and restored to operation, would certainly improve the industrial capacity of any colony making use of this equipment immensely. Salvaging the whole of the ship was beyond the abilities of this initial investigation team, but those servers in best shape were salvaged, brought up, and returned to Vega where they aided the colony's data processing as long as the delicate, heat-damaged computer equipment could hold out. The true purpose of the 'science ark' remained mysterious, the data on its servers long since lost and the purpose of the other equipment cryptic.  Searching the ship's command center provided one clue- a still-intact House badge as worn by the nobility, formed into the fleur-de-lis of House Nicholson. According to distant legend, House Nicholson had once been one of the greatest of the houses under House Khalil, with far-flung colonies under its sway before the collapse into the Dark Ages. Surely a house once so powerful might once have had a presence near Albireo, and just perhaps might retain records of such an immense ship and whatever venture it represented. Even without knowing the ship's true purpose, the onboard industrial plant and samples of the ship's technology could potentially be recovered from a scrapping expedition, although any such expedition would prevent the ship from ever being used for whatever its mysterious purpose was.  As 2514 began, Mariko Weiss reported that Diplomacy had made an effective case for the rule of the Weiss Guild over Nashira. Now every system in the Guild was at least credibly within House Weiss's rights to rule, although its newer gains did not match the legitimacy it enjoyed in the four oldest colonies of the Goodman Kingdom.   The early part of 2514 also saw the recovery of fragmentary datafiles from the 24th Century in Pulcherrima mentioning distribution of barley and vegetables 'by authority of Javier McCarthy'. Although the true meaning of such records was ambiguous at best, Lady Isla McCarthy, head of a minor house at Zeta Ophiuchi in the Pruitt Systems, publicly announced that this was evidence that House McCarthy had once ruled the colony that was now seat of the Lamb Clan. The Lamb Clan, which had certainly ruled Pulcherrima since at least the end of the Dark Ages, denied these claims, but it could not be denied that House McCarthy just might have some valid claim to the baronial crown of Pulcherrima, even if it was weaker than the long-standing right of House Lamb that stemmed from over a century of continuous rule. House Lamb was better-pleased by its completion of the restoration of an ancient hospital at Pulcherrima to service. It had been putting the treasure it was paid for its vassalage to House Weiss to good use, buying the overlordship of Tseen, using more of this wealth to fund the restoration of the hospital, and following this up by spending yet more of these funds on beginning repairs to the machine parts factory at Pulcherrima.  Oriole Weiss was stunned in early 2514 when a message arrived from her brother Colonial Director Javen Nichols, removing her from the line of succession for Miaplacidus in favor of Javen's eldest daughter, Dotty Nichols. Miaplacidus' line of succession was determined by the eldest sibling of the current Colonial Director, but with Oriole out of the line and with Javen having no other siblings, the directorial crown would then pass directly to Javen's children.  Technology Director Prudence Weiss was gripped with a terrible infection as this year started, leaving her weak and unable to stomach solid food. The Technology department's operations immediately suffered with the Technology Director unable to focus properly on her work.  Soon after, Rebecca Weiss, the eldest daughter of Thomas Weiss and second in line for the crown celebrated her majority. She had matured into an intelligent, principled young woman with a strong sense of loyalty, well-educated as an administrator and utterly trustworthy in demeanor, traits that would serve her well diplomatically. She showed great promise as a prospective heir to the Guild, particularly after she was given more time to gain experience and further education as an adult.    Only weeks after Rebecca's majority, a wedding was held between her and Ilario Goodman- or, once the wedding was complete, Ilario Weiss. A small feast was held for House Weiss and the minor Houses of Vega, in which Rebecca overindulged in wine in her excitement at her own wedding and Jane had a deeply interesting conversation with Lavonn Noble, Sir Virgil Noble's wife. Lavonn's keen mind and wide reading made her a match for Jane's discussion of politics, history, and theology, once Lavonn lured Jane out of her shell. A friendly debate as to whether the effective foundation of power was personal relationships and loyalties (Lavonn's position) or a tradition of principle that rendered a House a predictable institution that could be relied upon by its subjects (Jane's position) soon caught the attention of those in earshot while an over-inebriated bride unsubtly excused herself and the groom early from the feast to retire to their quarters. With this marriage, the last remnant of House Goodman was joined to House Weiss, with the first child of the marriage to unite the two bloodlines and the two claims to the throne. The Weiss Guild and Weiss League, Early 2514  With the Director-General once again exhibiting her usual energy and efficiency and with the House's council members continuing to improve their skills with experience, the efficiency of every department save Technology has seen significant improvement, with the quality of Administration at a level where the House would be hard-pressed to see much significant improvement in the future. Even a downturn in spirits by Jane or Thomas would see them find difficulty in maintaining their current high level of performance. Technology has suffered with the illness of Prudence Weiss, whose ability to effectively direct her department has been notably compromised. The House currently supports seven minor children- the two younger children of Thomas and Oriole, the four children of Romeo and Prudence, and Bella and Noelle's infant son Harold- with the oldest of the new generation having just reached her adulthood and ready for assignment to one of the departments. The House's continuing prosperity handily supports its great size, with room remaining for a child from Rebecca and Ilario and new spouses and children for Emily and Malachi, ready to reach their own majorities within a year. Devon Weiss has reached age 6, and is ready to be taken as a ward by Thomas or by Jane- or, with some shuffling, by another member of the council.   Although Bella's training has produced only a small unit- fewer than twenty- within Security, these disciplined and dedicated officers have already shown great efficiency in tackling criminal activity on Vega, helping keep House security tight and relieving some pressure on the peacekeepers from Military. Best of all, so long as the tradition remains alive in the House, this unit should be effectively self-sustaining, training new recruits to their own standards to replace those who suffer attrition from age or mischance. The servers recovered from the science ark have themselves proved an immense asset to Administration, although it is likely only a matter of time before their already-abused hardware fails. Recreating these servers is beyond modern capabilities, and the damage they suffered in the corrosive atmosphere and blazing temperatures of their centuries-long tomb shall no doubt eventually tell.  Director-General Jane Weiss is, if anything, even more skilled as an administrator and scientist than four years ago, and attacks her duties with a renewed determination, while showing a renewed solicitousness to her wife, regardless of any teasing she might suffer. Her knowledge that the struggle against the Patton Quadrant has finally ended and the necessity for further deeds that may weigh upon her conscience has passed has seemed to greatly relieve her and fill her with a sense of peace.  Executive Director Thomas Weiss has been steadily working over the past two years to attempt to restore the infrastructure in newly-claimed portions of the Guild, now overseeing repairs to a waste processing plant and recycling facility that will help provide another source of cheap organics, food, and water to Alsciaukat. There remains much to be restored across the Guild, and- with the Director-General now wishing to refrain from further acts that could stain her honor- perhaps the problem before him shall no longer be growing faster than he can address it.  Over the past two years, Admiral Harold Weiss has been directing a peacekeeper deployment to maintain order at Mu Capricorni while overseeing the Military department in general. Military has been stretched thing dealing with unrest and disorder across the League, which has grown larger than can easily be managed by peacekeeper deployments. As his age advances, Harold has grown increasingly convinced he has only a very little time left- few enough reach age 70 in the modern colonies. His thoughts have increasingly turned to what will be necessary to ensure Military is handled well after he is gone, to ensure order in the League and safety against its enemies.  With Mariko's efforts to strengthen the validlity of Guild claims in former Patton Sector space complete, she is, at the moment, between assignments beyond her general duties as head of Diplomacy and educator for Thomas' daughter Alice. Her care for Alice and her life with her wife has left her deeply contented, and her hopes for the future are bright. Mariko's efforts might go to making preliminary cases for the Guild's rule of systems on its borders, or might focus on cementing positive relations with some neighboring ruler.  Oriole has steadily been working to secure the House from any unseen threats and direct personal security for Jane, who, as Director-General, must be assumed to be a potential target for assassination. Although she has been dispirited by her disinheritance, she has taken comfort in her life with her husband and the clearly apparent happiness of her daughter Rebecca following her wedding. Security work has seemed to be largely quiet thus far, although appearances can easily be misleading in such matters.  Even while vomiting, Prudence is a better scientist and technologist than most, although the vomiting does admittedly limit her capabilities. She has recently refocused her educational efforts to providing resources on diplomacy, rhetoric, and psychology for Jane, at Jane's request- the Director-General has become convinced that ensuring the further good opinion of her subjects and her neighbors can only cement the safety of her rule, and that there is very little left than she can learn about effective administration, logistics, and management.  Romeo's mother Quincy Kelley has died within the past six months, an event that has dampened his spirits, although the birth of his new daughter has helped counterbalance this. He has been on extended assignment to assist taxation and logistics at Pulcherrima, helping schedule shipments and root out fraud at the colony alongside the local King. With this assignment, Romeo has been handling larger sums than he ever handled while posted to a single colony, as the Lamb Clan is a large and wealthy realm.  Ilario Weiss has, up until now, been focused on assisting Jane with her continued education as a scientist, but Prudence's illness and Rebecca's majority may well change these priorities. He has been delighted by his new marriage, and looks forward to the opportunity to start a family of his own with Rebecca.  Rebecca has just reached her majority and has yet to be assigned to a House department, although her interests clearly lie with either Administration or Diplomacy. Like Ilario, she has been delighted by her new marriage and by her new life as an adult. She is already very well-liked for her virtues, and doubtless shall develop her capabilities with any effort at cultivation whatsoever.  Bella Garcia, although dedicated to her new role and happy with her new family, is struggling with a fit of depression brought on by her absence from her home time. She has fallen deeply in love with her husband Noelle, which only makes her long absences from him necessitated by her being directly posted with the peacekeepers she leads all the more difficult. Although it would impact her efficiency at her tasks, she has been tempted by the prospect of leaving on-site command of the peacekeeper force she has been commanding to a peacekeeper major while taking reports and sending orders via message drone while remaining home with her husband. As previously noted, the level of this unhappiness is largely a bug, although we can mitigate her unhappiness by letting her stay at the same system as her beloved husband. If possible, I'll do what I can to fix the bug generating this level of unhappiness, which should clear up over the next two years or so if it works.  Noelle Garcia has remained at Vega serving as Senior Investigator for Security, a job that thus far has largely involved delving into the petty secrets of serfs and smugglers in the service of justice. Although he may be sloppy with the rules, a trait which earns some disapproval from the Director-General, it is difficult to deny that he is highly motivated to protect the innocent in his role in Security. He has found being separated from Bella difficult, as has she, although his personality seems less dependent upon romantic fulfillment and his emotions for his wife are less passionate than are hers for him.  Carmen Weiss's marriage to Harold has been distant both physically and emotionally, an arrangement that has suited them both. She has been a competent but uninspired colonel of peaceekeepers at Nashira over the past two years, helping drag the unstable colony back from the edge, a slow but thus far successful project. Even while breaking up crowds or dragging troublemakers in for arrest, she has been alone with her thoughts, distant and detached.  With the Lamb Clan and the last remnants of the Patton Quadrant drawn in as member realms of the Weiss League, only the Gilmore League can match the Weiss League for territorial extent within the known colonies. The growth of the Weiss League has only intensified the ambitions of the minor Houses spread across the League's colonies, while the League's colonies have been painfully slowly clawing back a lost prosperity. There is much work before the Weiss League can be considered truly stable, with the commons and the minor Houses seething on many colonies and with some colonies in every realm of the League save the Patton Quadrant in a truly precarious economic state. Still, the Guild and the League have a foundation of strength and competence backed up by the loyalty of every colonial ruler in the Guild and every ruler of a realm in the League, which just may be enough to provide the opportunity to forge the teetering edifice of the League into a peaceful and stable alliance. The challenges ahead may differ from those presented by the the great period of expansion that has led the Weiss League to this point, but they are challenges nonetheless and demand nothing but the best from House Weiss. May God aid us to rise to meet these challenges! nweismuller fucked around with this message at 01:35 on Jan 17, 2024 |
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Jun 4, 2022 09:46
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I am dead tired, and will get reports out for people tomorrow. Worth nothing, though, that a decision has to be made about the science ark. We could scrap the great vessel, recovering the industrial plants and samples of the other equipment for intensive analysis by Technology, providing benefits to our Technology department as they study scrap and providing us access to a cluster of small factories that together will provide a great increase in Vega's manufacturing capability. Alternately, we can investigate further with House Nicholson, a process of unpredictable length that help us learn the original purpose of the science ark- although what use that purpose might be is impossible to predict. All that can be certain is that restoring this wreck to operation and making use of it will be no simple matter. Adults in the House currently available to be claimed are Mariko Weiss, Prudence Weiss, Noelle Garcia, Rebecca Weiss, and Carmen Weiss. Emily and Malachi will reach their majorities in a year, giving two more options (plus whoever ends up getting married to them). Thanks to everybody who's been participating; you've been helping make this a blast for me.
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Jun 4, 2022 09:59
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:My opinion is that the true nature, and thus true value, of this ancient vessel be investigated as soon as possible. Short-term gains from salvaging the ship could well be dwarfed by the potential long-term benefits. Personal missive from the desk of Thomas Weiss posted:Thanks for the copy, Janey, I can't wait to whip up some handy macros. I'll be sure to pass them along. By the way, I could see about taking over with Rebecca, if there aren't other takers. Figure it'd be good to have a backup option for posting for whenever Thomas buys it.
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Jun 4, 2022 10:39
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Is there no way to get info about those unexplored systems to the west of our territory/south of the Pruitt system?
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Jun 4, 2022 10:55
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EclecticTastes posted:By the way, I could see about taking over with Rebecca, if there aren't other takers. Figure it'd be good to have a backup option for posting for whenever Thomas buys it. On second thought, it might be nice to reserve Rebecca myself- the same consideration applies to Jane, after all. It would have been nice to get, you know, even a full four hours of sleep, but so it goes- I'll start on some reports for as long as my endurance holds out. Torrannor posted:Is there no way to get info about those unexplored systems to the west of our territory/south of the Pruitt system? There's no way, because insofar as anybody is aware, beyond those systems there are no colonies and the logistics to explore further do not exist. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 14:20 on Jun 4, 2022 |
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Jun 4, 2022 14:17
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Romeo apparently is trying to overrun with numbers! 4 kids! I'll claim Malachi when he comes of age, unless he doesn't have the awesome mustache.
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Jun 4, 2022 14:24
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I'll certainly take your opinion on the science ark into consideration, Thomas, although I'd like to hear what the rest of the council has to say first. One thing I'd like to bring up- now that we have the Patton Quadrant as a vassal, we might be able to fund scaling up the blue dust mining there. Not that I'm thrilled about the propensity of the serfs to their addictions, but I'd rather see the serfs of the League hooked on blue dust than most of the other drugs that keep cropping up in the slums across the colonies, and we'd be able to take our cut from the sales if blue dust production was scaled up. What do you think of setting that as our first priority for repairs after your current project, Thomas?
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Jun 4, 2022 16:34
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:The blue dust mines are a priority 1 facility, so I concur that they should be brought online as soon as is feasible. On that note, I see no reason why my daughter need be assigned to any one department exclusively. If there are pressing diplomatic matters that require attention from more than just Mariko, by all means, assign the task to Rebecca. However, in absence of any urgent diplomatic tasks, I believe it would be best to have Rebecca help hasten ongoing repair efforts. Specifically, we should make sure our less-developed colonies get built up enough to avoid food shortages, something I've consistently stated is a top priority.
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Jun 4, 2022 17:45
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Personal missive from Jane Weiss to Thomas Weiss posted:I got you those figures you asked for for the productivity tool and provided some notes on my methodology- hope these help! Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I can certainly task her to further repairs when we have the budget. Perhaps, in the interim, I might send her to Rotanev to keep an eye on Duke Patton?
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Jun 4, 2022 17:48
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:That sounds like a reasonable idea, though I'm not sure Duke Patton even bears watching. I mean, the man basically drives his vassals into our arms, then provides us with grounds to line our pockets from their coffers, then practically begs you to make him a vassal as well. I don't like to speculate on such crass topics, but one starts to wonder about the man's proclivities. Though, sending an overseer to seal the deal might just make his day, so I say go for it. Really, though, gotta love how the AI made it look like Patton kind of enjoyed having his dominion systematically taken from him. Whatever floats your boat, weird AI dude.
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Jun 4, 2022 17:57
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EclecticTastes posted:Really, though, gotta love how the AI made it look like Patton kind of enjoyed having his dominion systematically taken from him. Whatever floats your boat, weird AI dude. Worst part? Based on how his opinion of Jane sums up, I think he's fallen in love with the woman who destroyed his empire. So, uh, yeah, that really doesn't help disprove your theory at all.
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Jun 4, 2022 18:03
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nweismuller posted:Worst part? Based on how his opinion of Jane sums up, I think he's fallen in love with the woman who destroyed his empire. So, uh, yeah, that really doesn't help disprove your theory at all. I love this game.
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Jun 4, 2022 18:17
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New sitcom, "Everyone (literally) loves Janey!"
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Jun 4, 2022 18:50
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dervinosdoom posted:New sitcom, "Everyone (literally) loves Janey!" A little abuse of console commands indicates that the list is, for some goddamned reason, 26 people long. Maybe I'll ask Glen about this, because that's mind-boggling.
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Jun 4, 2022 18:54
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nweismuller posted:A little abuse of console commands indicates that the list is, for some goddamned reason, 26 people long. Maybe I'll ask Glen about this, because that's mind-boggling. That, is actually pretty funny. Maybe that's why she's not having a hard time with diplomancy!
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Jun 4, 2022 19:06
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Yes, the classic causes of the falls of empires: - war - pestilence - horny
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Jun 4, 2022 19:10
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:It occurs to me that both in our beginning as a ruling House and in our rise to become a Great House commanding the whole of a league, there is nobody more responsible for our successes than our enemies. Emmanuel Goodman, Walt Wang, Yardley Patton... all of them had managed to completely alienate any support before we ever acted against them. Our victory, in many ways, was nothing more but recognising moments where our enemies had made themselves weak and acting then, at which point victory became nearly automatic.
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Jun 4, 2022 20:49
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I would add that we also owe a debt of gratitude to whoever was in charge of Vega before the fall of House Khalil. Our particular combination of facilities has made Vega, demonstrably, the most profitable single colony in known space. Rotanev produces more raw income, but the added economic benefits Vega enjoys, mostly related to tax collection, mean that no other colony can match our spending power. Every extra mark has led to additional opportunities to further expand, which in turn has increased our income, and so on. Without such lucrative holdings, we may have faced considerably more difficulty in reaching our present position.
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Jun 4, 2022 23:22
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Colonel of Peacekeepers Bella Garcia, private log, selected entries posted:Backwards they may be, but there's no question these people know how to throw one hell of a party. Doesn't hurt that there's a tradition of dogfight tournaments to accompany them, which helps serve as a useful reminder that I'm not kidding about my old skills and training which, pleasingly, didn't get freezer burn. That said, what happened to Constable Bryan highlights these are effectively live fire exercises, with the concomitant risk of accidents. Still, that didn't put a damper on things, we knew the risks going in, and my own passenger wasn't put out by the bumpy ride. I could get used to this.
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Jun 5, 2022 00:06
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Neophyte posted:Yes, the classic causes of the falls of empires:  quote:Ilario Ilario Weiss posted:Prudence, Prudence, Prudence. I bet you it was something from that science cruiser from Albireo. You probably didn't decontaminate fully. You need to take a quick break, and let me get you healed up back to top form. And I'm all in favor of us studying that science ship, once I get you healed back up. Ilario Weiss posted:Dear Jane, General Revil fucked around with this message at 05:31 on Jun 5, 2022 |
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Jun 5, 2022 05:29
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:
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Jun 5, 2022 06:05
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I just checked (while checking to see how much throwing a feast would cost) and it turns out we can only throw a feast in honor of a head of a House or a member of our own. I think throwing a feast in honor of Oriole to compensate her for her disinheritance might be a valid alternative, if you wish. The cost to throw the feast and invite all our vassals (who would be the same list as would expect to be on the guest list) would total to fifty thousand marks.
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Jun 5, 2022 06:26
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Commisioner Oriole Weiss posted:It's not a good precedent for another house to upstage one of us like this, and it is an insult to my honour.
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Jun 5, 2022 06:37
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:I can certainly sympathise with your desire to be recognised after such a wrong. Thomas, what do you think? Should we throw a feast in Oriole's honor given what her brother has done to her?
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Jun 5, 2022 06:44
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Truth be told, I'd say Lord Javen did us a favor, Oriole does vastly more good for us as head of security than she would as a figurehead over in Miaplacidus. You're far too valuable to lose to pointless, sub-archon bureaucracy, dearest. As for a feast, I find it a little hard to justify the expense, especially so soon after our feast in honor of Lady Garcia. Perhaps Lord Javen can be persuaded to bankroll some of the cost, given his sudden disinheritance. If I interpret the update correctly (such as the swords under Javen's portrait in the event pop-up), as well as the game mechanics, the disinheritance constitutes a crime against Oriole, which should give us cause to fine Javen, which, given the usual amount of forty thousand marks, should pay for most of the feast.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:01
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EclecticTastes posted:If I interpret the update correctly (such as the swords under Javen's portrait in the event pop-up), as well as the game mechanics, the disinheritance constitutes a crime against Oriole, which should give us cause to fine Javen, which, given the usual amount of forty thousand marks, should pay for most of the feast. We can actually only dun him for twenty thousand because his kinship to us makes dishonorable acts against him more dishonorable (levying a normal fine is normally a one-sword action, but his relatively close kinship makes it two-sword). That said, it will definitely help cut the cost- twenty thousand would cover the guest list and only leave us on the hook for the thirty thousand base cost.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:14
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:On a more geopolitical topic, recognizing the value of our Rotanev presence, might we not repair the message drone hangar there? Bordered as it is by Pruitt and Lindsey we need to bolster it like Vega.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:15
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Director-Consort Mariko Weiss posted:I advanced an inquiry to House Nicholson about the science ark as was the general consensus, but they're not currently willing to look into their archives for us. I think I might be able to work on them, but it may take time. I'll certainly let people know if we turn anything up from them. As far as the general diplomatic situation, I have to say we actually appear to be in good shape. We have few foreign enemies- I suppose Duke Pruitt might be closest, but even he has bigger problems- and our vassals are all very satisfied with us. The worst we'd have to worry about on that front is picking up the pieces if one of our larger vassals has issues with the colonies under them. We could potentially peel off Alhena diplomatically from the Lindsey Coalition, but I do understand Jane would prefer to focus internally at this point. Perhaps I might focus on softening Duke Pruitt's attitude, or Archon Shannon? Just to work to secure our borders, since we've managed our internal diplomacy effectively.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:23
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nweismuller posted:We can actually only dun him for twenty thousand because his kinship to us makes dishonorable acts against him more dishonorable (levying a normal fine is normally a one-sword action, but his relatively close kinship makes it two-sword). That said, it will definitely help cut the cost- twenty thousand would cover the guest list and only leave us on the hook for the thirty thousand base cost. That works, at least it's reducing the cost some amount.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:24
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EclecticTastes posted:That works, at least it's reducing the cost some amount. Good news, I realised we could also offer justice for the annulment of Carmen's old marriage and raise forty thousand more that way.
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Jun 5, 2022 07:38
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nweismuller posted:Good news, I realised we could also offer justice for the annulment of Carmen's old marriage and raise forty thousand more that way. Even better!
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Jun 5, 2022 07:50
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So what exactly is the diplomatic situation with Pruitt? Because as near as I can tell, they've just got the three or four stars (I don't know how many have colonies) compared to our hell of a lot more than three, and while it looks like there's a star just to the upper left of their logo that has links to the purple one and the red one, I don't know if that one has links to anyplace in the Gilmore Guild. So it is entirely possible that Pruitt's basically trapped in a corner, and from the talk of the Duke's attitude, he isn't too keen on us. I assume that there is not enough justification to go full  and take all their poo poo, since that'd make everybody else go "look at those warmongering jerks, we are well within our rights to kick the poo poo out of those honorless dogs (any profit we get from taking their stuff is totally a benefit really)."...also, I gotta ask, of those 26 people who have a thing for our boring nerd, how many are women?
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Jun 5, 2022 09:01
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MechaCrash posted:So what exactly is the diplomatic situation with Pruitt? Because as near as I can tell, they've just got the three or four stars (I don't know how many have colonies) compared to our hell of a lot more than three, and while it looks like there's a star just to the upper left of their logo that has links to the purple one and the red one, I don't know if that one has links to anyplace in the Gilmore Guild. So it is entirely possible that Pruitt's basically trapped in a corner, and from the talk of the Duke's attitude, he isn't too keen on us. Answering the simpler question first: one. Mariko. Answering the less simple question: the Pruitt Systems have links to the Lamb Clan and the Garrett Confederation (and a total of three colonies). We actually do have a diplomatic justification sloshing around that could allow us to declare war on the Pruitt Systems with no honor hit at all (we have some baron somewhere with a claim on the Pruitt Systems) and a military advantage, but, frankly, we have enough internal instability right now without adding to our problems. Military is pretty much stretched to its limits holding the line on the unrest situation; I think focusing Jane's precious action points on things that develop our current territory and increase stability may well be the smart play right now. E: Oh, I remembered the justification wrong, the Lamb Clan has a claim on Zeta Ophiuchi, not a baron a claim on the Pruitt Systems. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 09:13 on Jun 5, 2022 |
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Jun 5, 2022 09:07
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