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You'd think in the ~space future~ we'd be eating from giant vats of algae and yeast, but maybe keeping the strains pure and healthy and the bioreactors working is now lostech? edit: this terrible Soylent Snipe is made of people!
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Mar 31, 2022 20:56
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Neophyte posted:You'd think in the ~space future~ we'd be eating from giant vats of algae and yeast, but maybe keeping the strains pure and healthy and the bioreactors working is now lostech? Well, you have to recall when the colonies were first established they had to get people to want to move to the colonies, and a diet of algae and yeast is not exactly calculated to inspire a bunch of bold, pioneering workers to move out to a sealed habitat. Then, when Earth was lost, the colonies worked with the infrastructure they had. Which did not include giant tanks of algae and yeast designed for feeding people, but did include hydroponics.
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Mar 31, 2022 21:43
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Incidentally, as a matter of comparison... Titles for different positions within a House can vary, although there is a set of relatively 'standard' terms used for leading Houses that rule over their own realms. Those terms, and where House Weiss differs from the most common terms, are as follows: Ruler: Duke/Duchess ('standard'), Director-General (House Weiss) Ruler's Consort: Duke-Consort ('standard'), Director-Consort (House Weiss) Ruler's Heir: Duke-Heir ('standard'), Director-Heir (House Weiss) Children of a ruler who are not themselves rulers: Master/Mistress ('standard' and House Weiss). Technically the title can be applied for life, but it is most commonly used as a title of address to children of a living ruler; only in cases of extreme formality will it be applied for children of a former ruler. The title is also generally superseded in common use by more specific titles of position indicating heirship, council position, or position as consort of a ruler. Council seat for administration: Executive ('standard'), Executive Director (House Weiss). Other nobles primarily assigned to administrative duties will generally be addressed as 'project manager' in the context of their duties, or, possibly, 'managing engineer' (training in the nuts and bolts of the engineering requirements of their projects is not uncommon amongst nobles well-trained in administrative duties). Council seat for military: Admiral ('standard' and House Weiss). Other nobles primarily assigned to military duties are generally addressed as 'commodore' or 'colonel' in the context of their duties, depending on whether they're working with the fleet or the peacekeepers. Council seat for diplomacy: Negotiator ('standard'), Diplomacy Director (House Weiss). Other nobles primarily assigned to diplomatic duties will generally be addressed as 'ambassador' in the context of their duties. Council seat for security: Commissioner ('standard' and House Weiss) Other nobles primarily assigned to security duties can be variously addressed as 'senior agent', 'senior investigator', or 'senior analyst', depending on the details of their duties. Council seat for technology: Doctor ('standard'), Technology Director (House Weiss). Other nobles primarily assigned to technology duties may be addressed as 'senior scientist' or 'mentor' in the context of their duties- or, rarely, 'senior medic'. 'Doctor', in general use, is specific to the council seat for technology for a House or, informally, as a title of respect for a very accomplished scientist. A person who practises medicine is, in normal terms, a 'medic'. Nobles primarily assigned to technology duties are generally expected to not be 'merely' a medic, and instead have a grounding in multiple areas of science and technology, thus the usual preference for 'senior scientist' for such nobles- 'senior medic' is generally reserved as a title for nobles qualified only in practical medicine and lacking the general knowledge for most aspects of duty in the technology department. House Goodman referred to its rulers as Kings and Queens, with corresponding changes to standard titles for consorts and heirs. Their council seat titles for Administration and Technology were standard; their council seat for Military was addressed as Marshal, their council seat for diplomacy was addressed as Chancellor, and their council seat for security was addressed as Commissioner-General. Although 'Baron' or 'Baroness' is the common title for rulers of a single colony, a fairly large minority hold the equivalent title 'Governor'. In almost all cases that a league of several realms has been formed in the post-Collapse era, the ruler heading the league is addressed as Archon of that league as well as their title as ruler of their own realm; this is in large part due to the precedent set by the Archons of House Khalil who briefly united the colonies. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 02:08 on Apr 5, 2022 |
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Apr 1, 2022 04:52
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Regarding 'favoritism'...Glen Pawley posted:The way childbirth permissions work is that: Other than that, going to wait a few more days to see if Security weighs in before continuing. Thanks to everybody for helping make my LP more enjoyable!
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Apr 3, 2022 02:00
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nweismuller posted:
My brain and current circumstances have conspired against me to prevent participating as well as I'd like. I'm going to release control of Oriole so someone who can properly focus on things can use her. Sorry for the missteps caused by this. I'm going to keep reading and hopefully things recover from the difficulties I caused.
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Apr 3, 2022 03:03
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Vee2003 posted:My brain and current circumstances have conspired against me to prevent participating as well as I'd like. I'm going to release control of Oriole so someone who can properly focus on things can use her. Sorry for the missteps caused by this. I'm going to keep reading and hopefully things recover from the difficulties I caused. If Oriole is still unclaimed when you feel more focused, you're always welcome to resume her control. Hope all goes well with you. Given that, I'll focus on doing our next update soon.
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Apr 3, 2022 03:07
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Jessica Roach, Wellwisher posted:Dearest Sister, Jessica Roach, BULLSHIT! posted:
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Apr 3, 2022 06:47
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habituallyred, is the second quote box meant to be empty in your post?
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Apr 3, 2022 17:06
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Yes. Explaining the joke is in the spoilers: The idea is that the second message was sent out on the same drone that delivered the news about the medic Goodman. The immediate emotional response that could fit into an address label alone was included, cutting out a lot of excited noises. The mention of missing the first drone back is meant to prime the reader into remembering that there isn't a ton of traffic between these two.
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Apr 3, 2022 19:23
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:My dear sister,
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Apr 3, 2022 19:57
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Glimmers of a New Prosperity   In the latter half of 2504, the efforts of House Weiss's Technology department to update charts and survey data on Vega uncovered an installation long since lost in the system. This tiny, hidden science facility, based on the records still able to be recovered from its computers, was a NovaCorp medical research station handling matters they needed to conduct in absolute secrecy, which they did not feel could be safely hosted at the research hospital they maintained in Vega. The records present proved that NovaCorp was developing neural implants that could greatly improve the ability of the brain to process specialised fields of information, at the cost of damage to other regions of the brain. The one prototype still present in the research station was a 'tactical implant' intended to greatly improve the military abilities of whomever it was implanted into. Jane, horrified at the prospect of forcing somebody to undergo a procedure which could permanently scar their brain in the hopes of artificially creating a military genius, commanded that this surviving implant be destroyed, and that the station be sealed after the basic neurological data from the station databases was recovered. Thomas, hearing of the cruelty of the implant's operation, expressed his strong approval for Jane's choice. Prudence, for her part, found the neurology data to be a valuable reference for her own work, helping strengthen her understanding of the human brain. Our second expedition. Even though we destroyed the implant, we still get the bonus to Prudence's Technology skill, so we get to learn something from the whole sorry debacle. Inflicting brain damage on some young House member to boost their military abilities does not strike me as something Jane would be willing to countenance.   Early 2505 proved to be a time of good news for House Weiss. Under the care of Ilario Goodman, Thomas' young daughter Alice recovered from the illness she had contracted, her life no longer in doubt. Meanwhile, the hydroponic farming station in Vega had its repairs completed, allowing greater food yields in Vega and greater resources for House Weiss, both through more effectively feeding a workforce and though selling staple food at other stations. Administration almost immediately looked to restoring the scrapyard facilities in Vega, which would help recover metal and components for general construction and for use in military shipbuilding.  The war that had erupted between the Garrett Confederation and the Weiss Guild was generally considered to have run its course by the end of 2505. No shots had been fired in the course of the war, and there appeared to be little prospect of active hostilities in the near future.    This did not, however, mean that 2505 was lacking in military operations in the Weiss Guild. In Kajam, Sir Sheridan Stevenson launched a revolt against Baron Angelo Beck, and the baron appealed by fast courier for the aid of the Guild in retaining his seat. Director-General Jane Weiss dispatched forces from Vega under Admiral Harold Weiss's command, along with contingents from every colony of the Guild, while a contingent from Nusakan arrived to support Sheridan Stevenson's bid for the baronial throne. The battle that ensued was remarkably lopsided, with the rebel forces and their allies from Nusakan nearly wiped out. A single damaged frigate limped back along with House Clay's fleet tenders to Nusakan. Damage to the colony was minimal, with peacekeepers from across the Guild clearing the corridors and ending House Stevenson's bid for power. Sheridan Stevenson survived and was held under guard in his estate at Kajam, awaiting Angelo Beck's pleasure for his punishment.  Back on Vega, both Prudence's son Malachi and Thomas' daughter Emily had reached the age where their true education would begin, with Emily set to study under Admiral Harold Weiss and Malachi set to study under his own mother, Technology Director Prudence Weiss. Rebecca encouraged her sister and her cousin to join her in sneaking into the House Weiss archives, where they studied further the technological and diplomatic accomplishments of the past. When their intrusion was discovered, Director-General Jane Weiss formally extended permission for them to continue to access the archives as an aid to their studies. I managed to miss getting shots of all three, but literally all three of these kids triggered this same event in the same half-year. Granting archives access gives a small bonus to their highest skill for when they grow up, but risks damage to the archives that penalises all House scores for a time.  Jane, meanwhile, had been reviewing operations in the small industrial plants mixed amongst the main settlement of Vega, and had determined that several assembly lines could benefit from equipment repairs to mechanise a number of tasks that had, until now, been performed by hand. The labor freed up could be applied to other assembly lines, with the net outcome being a general increase in Vega's output of manufactured goods needed to maintain the colony and support its population, providing more income to House Weiss and a slightly more secure existence for its commoners. Jane ordered the repairs and reorganisation, a process that required a significant up-front investment. At very high skill levels for your ruler, you will occasionally get special opportunities related to your skill. This event is one of the special opportunities associated with a high Administration. Far from Vega, Pillan Gillmore, Director-General of the Gillmore Guild and Archon of the Gillmore League, gifted a bottle of wine to Lady Elisabeth Webb, the head of the minor House Webb on the Gillmore Guild's home colony of 94 Aquarii. Knowing Archon Pillan's often-expressed contempt for her, Lady Elisabeth found this gift suspicious, at the least, and had it tested by her own House's security. The results were immediate- the wine was laced with enough arsenic to constitute far more than a lethal dose. Archon Pillan had attempted murder, the latest of a number of crimes he was responsible for. Although this helped undermine the loyalty of his vassals, Archon Pillan remained a charming man with close marriage ties to the Herring Union, and, for the time being, the Gillmore League remained stable.    In the early part of 2506, Director-Consort Mariko Weiss brought a matter of some concern to the attention of Director-General Jane Weiss. Dissatisfaction appeared to be growing amongst the minor Houses of Vega, an alarming development considered how House Weiss had risen to power. Director-General Jane swiftly approved a budget for investigation and remediation of the situation, which rapidly uncovered the truth- the members of the Diplomacy team tasked to maintaining contacts with the minor Houses were appallingly poorly-trained, with only good fortunate having prevented a major diplomatic incident already. Given full authority to discipline the Diplomacy team and improve training, Director-Consort Mariko immediately set to work. Standards within Diplomacy showed rapid improvement, with those courtiers that performed well in training able to retain their positions while others were rotated to less demanding duties.  While Director-Consort Mariko restructured Diplomacy, Director-Heir Thomas announced the completion of a major project of his own. With the repairs of the hydroponic agriculture station in Vega complete, he had turned his attention to the old Orion Industries metal reclamation plant in Vega. By the start of 2506, this metal reclamation plant was placed back into operation, with a new workforce trained from the local population and with workers trained to spot components of military use amongst the scrap brought to the plant, a boon to both Vega's economy and the supply situation for House Weiss's fleet.   In Gliese 687, House McPherson rose in revolt against Duchess Ruana Garrett in the early part of 2506, a revolt that was doomed to failure. Following the revolt, Duchess Ruana had her peacekeepers seize Lady Arin McPherson and force her into a colony airlock which was then cycled. Lady Arin's death was widely viewed as simple justice for her revolt and well within Duchess Ruana's rights.  Around the same time, Baron Angelo Beck ordered one of his Security agents to attempt to knife Sir Sheridan Stevenson, an attempt thwarted when Sir Sheridan himself shot his assailant after being wounded. Although the attempt on Sir Sheridan's life was viewed as justified by most, given the revolt against Baron Angelo, many were puzzled as to why Baron Angelo would have risked his vengeance on such a stealthy and unreliable method when he could have acted openly with the full support of his own peacekeepers and the approval of the community of nobility. Angelo Beck basically wasted his justification for punishment on an unreliable murder attempt. Foolish.  Archon Yardley Patton of the Patton League sent a formal request in the early part of 2506 to Director-General Jane Weiss- one of Archon Yardley's barons had petitioned him for justice for Baron Kirabo Martin of Miaplacidus' removal of a relative from his council. As Director-General Jane was Baron Kirabo's master, Archon Yardley charged her with the responsibility to punish the baron for his crime, a responsibility she was honor-bound to fulfill. When a crime is committed against somebody, they may take direct action to take vengeance- as we've seen with the execution of Arin McPherson and the attempted murder of Sheridan Stevenson- or they may charge somebody else with the responsibility to take vengeance on their behalf in a petition for justice. When charged to give justice for a crime, you may use that crime as justification for your own acts against the criminal as if it were your own grievance, or you may, potentially, pass on the responsibility to yet another person, with responsibility frequently finally ending at the master of the criminal. If the crimes you are charged to avenge are severe enough, it may be a crime of its own to not properly avenge the crime, something which is the case here. The Weiss Guild, early 2506  In the years since the Weiss Guild seized power, it has been involved in a slow process of re-examining production, logistics, and accounts, along with attempting to promote an environment within the Guild generally friendly to the independent traders that help bind the colonies together. By now, these efforts have begun to bear fruit, helping ensure that the Weiss Guild remains relatively prosperous, encouraged by the internal culture of House Weiss. Late-night conversation about other ideas about how House Weiss could handle matters better has slowly begun to circulate between members of the House. It is clear enough to many that the weiss Guild's tax code and accountancy standards could benefit from a complete revision, while others note that reforming the situation in Vega for the serfs could provide better incentives for productivity. Although replicating the wonders of the ancients in genetics would be beyond modern capabilities, still others believe that by studying information from the Galileo Institute data vault and NovaCorp medical records, proper screening and correction for common genetic diseases and selection in utero for genetic sequences associated with increased intelligence could ensure that House Weiss remains healthier and more capable into the future. How, precisely, the culture of House Weiss develops in the future remains to be seen. The Bloodlines DLC, as one of its major features, adds 'bloodline upgrades' which your House can earn, reflecting the internal culture and practises of your House that grant it advantages. Bloodline points are accumulated for every baron who is normal or close kin, every member of our kin of higher rank of baron, and prestige earned by normal or close kin, with every bloodline upgrade costing more than the previous upgrade and with the first upgrade sharply discounted. Prestige awards can vary widely from turn to turn, while the awards for rank form our reliable 'baseline' income of bloodline points. Our current baseline income from rank of kin members is 20, 16 from Jane (who is obviously 'close kin' to herself) and her position as a duchess, and 4 from Baron Xenon Roach, who is 'normal' kin to Jane. Bloodline upgrades are divided into ten different paths with five upgrades each, gained in order; we just acquired the first upgrade for Merchants and Administrators, 'Merchant Bloodline'. The upgrades I view as 'obvious' at this point as options for House Weiss are Skilled Collectors (the second upgrade of Merchants and Administrators), Diligent Serfs (the first upgrade of Popular Support), and Superior DNA (the first upgrade of Loremasters). Skilled Collectors gives a bonus of 20 to effectiveness of House members in Assist Tax Collection assignments, Diligent Serfs gives a 15% bonus to the base income of our home colony before adjustments for Administration, and Superior DNA reduces the chance of House members to randomly fall ill by 25% and increases the chance of children in the House gaining the Intelligent trait. I can, if desired, provide information on other first-level upgrades people are interested in. We'll need to decide what bloodline upgrade we're aiming at next.  Mariko's efforts to improve the training of the Diplomacy department have ensured strong relations with the minor Houses of Vega, as well as spilling over into day to day diplomatic affairs further afield. House Weiss, although it could doubtless do better at the diplomatic game, is nonetheless in a stronger position with its diplomacy than ever before.  Vega's industrial base is operating efficiently and profitably, thanks to the investments and improvements recently made under the Director-General's direction. There is no doubt that this shall aid productivity for a long time to come.  As the Director-General and House Weiss's council have increased in experience, House Weiss has grown more efficient in every aspect of operations. Diplomacy has benefitted from the restoration of the hydroponics station, which has both helped afford better access to food for receptions and which serves effectively as a private park in which House members and guests can relax amidst the expanses of greenery of growing crops. The fleet has likewise benefitted from better access to materials. Administration's operations are immensely effective, ensuring healthy revenues, efficient logistics, and steady production under House Weiss's supervision.  The Director-General is resolved to punish Baron Kirabo Martin as is her responsibility, and has two primary options for doing so. Simpler would be to simply levy a fine of forty thousand marks against the Baron, collecting the revenue for House Weiss' own use. Deposing him entirely, however, would allow House Weiss to raise the head of one of the minor Houses with blood ties to House Weiss to the baronial throne, helping cement greater loyalty through ties of blood and helping bolster the prestige of House Weiss. As House Martin only relatively recently seized the throne of Miaplacidus, this would not harm the legitimacy of the baronial House of Miaplacidus. 'Fines' and 'large fines' amount to 20 and 40 viridium, respectively. Deposing a ruler can help remove disloyal rulers or help install kin in their place, although it lacks the immediate financial benefit. It's more dishonorable for kin to betray us, so putting kin in place can help stability. It also would be worth an extra 4 bloodline points a turn putting one of our kin on Miaplacidus' baronial throne.  Beta Librae, near the Guild's borders, has recently suffered from a series of life support failures which have led to deaths from cold and bad air amongst its population, while House Gates has been overthrown by House Harper as rulers of the colony. The people of Beta Librae have suffered bitterly from the ravages of disaster and violence.  The larger political borders in those colonies House Weiss are aware of have remained largely stable, although Alhena has swapped allegiance from the Lindsey Coalition to the Gillmore Guild and back all over the course of the last year. The Garrett Confederation is locked in a largely uneventful war with the Pruitt Systems, but otherwise violence in the known colonies has largely been a matter of intermittent raids and rebellions rather than full-scale war and rebellion. True stability may be elusive, but a tenuous relative peace holds for now.  Director-General Jane Weiss has been very happy in recent years, bolstered by her achievements and by a general sense of familial harmony. She has steadily been growing in her skills, aided by her recruitment of the Technology department to assist her in her studies of administration and the sciences.  Director-Heir Thomas Weiss has recently completed directing repairs to the metal reclamation plant, and has yet to select a new project to focus on for now. He too is quite happy with his life, and remains completely loyal to his sister Jane and his wife, Oriole.  Admiral Harold Weiss has continued to direct peacekeeping operations on Miaplacidus, which has, largely thanks to his efforts, remained calm and orderly in recent years. He is an incredibly accomplished military leader, respected by all who are aware of his abilities. He is nearly 60, but remains active and vigorous for now.  Director-Consort Mariko Weiss has continued her focus on stabilising relations with Duchess Ruana Garrett while monitoring general diplomatic affairs with all House Weiss's neighbors and vassals. Living with Jane and seeing Jane's happiness has helped ensure that she remains happy herself.  Commissioner Oriole Weiss has continued to work to ensure the secret of the Galileo Institute data vault remains secure. Much progress has been made on that account, but more remains to be done.  With the lessons learned from ancient NovaCorp research data, Prudence has begun to be acclaimed as a truly accomplished scientist. She remains firmly in love with her husband, despite his steadily cooling attitude towards her.  Romeo Weiss has remained on Kajam through the confusion of the revolt ensuring the efficient collection of taxes, but was not directly under threat of violence. He still retains a faintly positive opinion of his wife, although much of the glow he felt from the birth of their second child has since faded.  With the recovery of Alice, Ilario Goodman has been assigned for now to assist in the Director-General's continuing education. He is generally content, but lacks the same familial happiness the Weiss siblings, their father, and their spouses share. Vega has slowly achieved a fragile prosperity, at least compared to previous years, and the Weiss Guild has steadily been building strength as it attends to its own affairs. Perhaps, given time, the Guild will achieve a brighter future. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 03:50 on Apr 11, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 02:38
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I will now work on assembling reports for Administration, Military, and Technology. Prudence Weiss, Mariko Weiss, and Oriole Weiss are open for claiming. Input from the House regarding both bloodline upgrades to pursue and how to handle justice against Baron Kirabo Martin is welcome. E: Just edited in a review of what's going on with the members of House Weiss right now. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Apr 4, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 02:40
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I've been looking over the numbers, and things could scarcely look better. I can't say I loved taking that hit from the issues with the diplomatic corps, but with our recent developments, we can absorb such expenses in just half a year, with a little left over. A more conservative councilor might advise slowing down, saving up funds, but history has taught me that liquid assets are unreliable when left alone, and are better off invested in further development. We should push as hard as we can towards finishing my previously-submitted list of installation repairs, keeping only thirty to sixty-thousand marks available for use in unexpected situations until that time. Vega holds the honor of being the most well-developed sector we're aware of, and I would prefer it remain that way. Once we've finished repairs in our home sector, we should prioritize aiding Beta Eridani, Kapteyn's Star, and Kajam, ensuring they have enough functional installations to avoid food shortages, prioritizing income-generating facilities, of course. On the topic of our vassals, I will take this opportunity to urge House Martin to make haste in filling their administrative vacancy. Money they're losing for lack of an effective bookkeeper is money we're not receiving in taxes. Personal communique from the desk of Thomas Weiss posted:Janey,
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Apr 4, 2022 04:30
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the ancient Admiral Harold Weiss posted:Director-general, it has come to my attention that you've been formally charged to punish Baron Martin. As long as there's no other claims, I will for the time being also take the reins for Prudence.
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Apr 4, 2022 07:50
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Personal communication from the desk of Jane Weiss posted:Tom, nweismuller fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Apr 6, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 08:18
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Nweismuller, Did you go over military armies yet? Is there a mix of starships and soldiers? Yes, I am back to being bored at work and in a question mood.
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Apr 4, 2022 15:40
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From the desk of Romeo Weiss, Kajam project manager and awesome mustache grower posted:
Personal communication from Romeo Weiss posted:
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Apr 4, 2022 16:00
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dervinosdoom posted:Nweismuller, Let me just quote 'The Modern Way of War' lorepost I did here... nweismuller posted:Once attacking warships have secured the space around a colony, they can allow for safe landings for transports full of peacekeepers and can support the ground assault with precision strikes where concentrations of defenders within a colony are. This may lead to the need to repair colonial structures, but generally does not go so far as to render a colony unrecoverable by modern repairs. Peacekeepers are the ground troops of a House, tasked with ensuring control over colonies and their populations- whether or not the colony is currently under the House's control. As far as game mechanics go, the winner of the space battle is the winner of the battle for a colony. Given that space battles have a strict limit in how long they run in the game, space battles that don't end with a conclusive rout one way or another can probably be assumed to 'truly' have been decided in the colony itself as the transports get in. On top of assaulting or defending colonies, peacekeepers also patrol public areas, break up demonstrations and riots, make arrests, and otherwise handle much of the 'show and exercise of force' end of law enforcement. (Security officers, for their part, domestically serve roles as protection details for House members and sensitive locations, police detectives, and the people who make the occasional stealthy black bag arrest in cases where a House doesn't want to take a certain action in the open yet. For obvious reasons, those members of Security who are effectively 'police detectives' have direct channels to pass information to peacekeeper command structures once they've identified and located suspects in a case.)
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Apr 4, 2022 17:30
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I don't know how I missed that. Jeez, too distracted by the stache apparently.
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Apr 4, 2022 18:23
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Standard peacekeeper gear generally includes carbon composite armor plates and helmet over a bodyglove that can be sealed to the helmet for vacuum operations, an assault rifle, an electrified 'subdual baton' which is at least somewhat less lethal than the assault rifle, and, most likely, some combination of fragmentation or flashbang grenades. A life support pack can be added for vacuum operations. A few peacekeepers will be equipped with power armor, which will swap out the subdual baton for electrified 'shock bracers'. In colonial assaults or defenses, heavy weapons will be added to the mix, frequently carried by those peacekeepers in power armor.
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Apr 4, 2022 |
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Apr 4, 2022 18:43
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Commissioner Oriole Weiss posted:I regret to bring bad news to this council, but we need to know this. The location of the Galileo Institute data vault has been compromised almost as long as we've been making use of it. I managed to trace down the leak, and it leads straight back to Duchess Ruana Garrett. The good news is that she appears to not have acted on the leak yet. If she publicises this, we could lose everything we've gained from the data vault once other parties arrive to break into it. The good news is that I've been taking steps to make sure we don't need to refer back to the vault in the future to take advantages of our changes in methodology, and the odds of new leaks have already been greatly reduced. Give me another year, and I expect we'll be secure from anybody breaking this secret open... except Duchess Ruana, who effectively has us over a barrel. If she chooses to publicise, we don't really have any options to stop her. Maybe, if we're very lucky, she'll die of her current injuries and we can breathe easy again.
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Apr 4, 2022 20:17
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From the desk of Thomas Weiss posted:Romeo, Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:Let's all hope for a swift and permanent end to Duchess Garrett's suffering, in light of my wife's troubling news. Now, to address some issues with our vassals that I think we may be ignoring at our peril and definitely not to stop the nagging spacemails from a subordinate, I believe that once we've repaired the old corporate tower, we should take some time to repair the following, in no particular order:
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Apr 4, 2022 22:11
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:It is unfortunate that the advantage we won at such cost is now so vulnerable. I believe, at the very least, we should avoid taking any action to antagonise Duchess Ruana. We still may be able to preserve this advantage for posterity, but I believe it will require handling her delicately. Commissioner Oriole, please continue your efforts, and I believe I speak for us all when I pray you can report your success soon. Still would be interested to hear ideas for which bloodline upgrade we should plan to get next. It will be a while before we get it, but even so.
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Apr 5, 2022 01:09
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:I find myself in agreement with the rest of the council, that Kirabo Martin is due for replacement. I try not to voice too loud an opinion in what is more Mariko and my wife's domain, but the vacancy left on his council has been felt in our bottom line, with taxes left uncollected. For obvious reasons, I recommend a relative of ours be given the baronial title. My suggestion for bloodline improvement is Diligent Serfs, to further improve our economic base, with Skilled Collectors being my second choice. The more money we make each turn, the more we can invest in everything else, which means they'll improve more quickly, which means we can more rapidly fabricate claims/annex sectors/replace unrelated barons with relatives, which means faster bloodline improvements we can put towards other things.
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Apr 5, 2022 03:02
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Ilario Goodman posted:Director-Heir Thomas, Commissioner Oriole, I have good news. Your daughter Alice is back to full health. Thank you for entrusting me with her recovery. She should be as healthy as any other child now. However, let me know should she get worse again. Ilario Goodman posted:Director-General Jane, Thank you for destroying that abominable research station. You are reinforcing my belief that Vega is in good hands. But likewise, thank you for giving Technology Director Prudence time to learn more of the ancient medical knowledge from that facility. It greatly helped me with your niece's recovery. Ilario Goodman to himself posted:I can't believe I'm starting to miss Manny. He wasn't a good person, but he always looked out for family. Heh. Mostly. Aside from that little exile incident. Still, he made me technology director as soon as I reached my majority. Hah. Those were the days. Manny caught a lot of heat firing Gabriel as tech director. Cousin by marriage, or the king's brother; It's obvious who should have the job. Plus, I knew more about medicine and technology than Gabriel did. Didn't know how to run a department though. I was embarrassed I needed Gabriel to teach me how to work the system, and he was humiliating teaching his own replacement that was "barely out of diapers." I don't think he ever realized I overheard that... General Revil fucked around with this message at 17:57 on Apr 5, 2022 |
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Apr 5, 2022 03:24
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Director-Consort Mariko Weiss posted:Under the circumstances, I suppose continuing to focus my attention on keeping Duchess Ruana placated might be prudent, unless you think my assembling a case for our rule of Ross 128 is critical, Admiral Harold? With the new training program, I'm more confident in keeping our relations stable. We could always work on laying the groundwork for further expansion by constructing cases for our rule of different colonies, but I'm not sure how much of a priority this should be given everything else.
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Apr 5, 2022 05:39
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For everybody participating in the thread, I give you this:Glen Pawley posted:I caught up with the LP. It's really good. Easily the nicest thing Star Dynasties related I've come across yet, I'm really chuffed. Glen Pawley posted:I have been following @nweismuller's Let's Play and it's a really nice read. Anyone who's into the lore and RP side of Star Dynasties should check it out! Thanks to all of you for helping make this the developer's favorite thing somebody's done related to his own game!
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Apr 6, 2022 18:12
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nweismuller posted:For everybody participating in the thread, I give you this: Now even more people can read my terrible writing! Hooray! Seriously though, this is awesome!
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Apr 6, 2022 18:31
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One of the traditional cycles of plays that has retained popularity in the modern era is 'The Wars of the Stars', a long since ancient and traditional series of three plays, relating the story of the overthrow of the Dark God in a setting very similar to the real world of the post-Collapse colonies. The Wars of the Stars: A Defiant Hope (Part 1) A NARRATOR declaims the situation as it stands: in stars far away in a galaxy that has never known Terra, the great League that brought unity to humanity's colonies has entered dark days. The DARK GOD has risen to power, committing all manner of injustices against the lords of the League, which has driven many to rise in rebellion against him. MISTRESS LEILA ORIAN has come into possession of information about the Dark God restoring a battleship from the past to operation, which she is duty-bound to deliver to her father DUKE BARNEY ORIAN. Even now her shuttle and its escort have come under fire by forces loyal to the Dark God, and the future of the revolt against the Dark God's tyranny remains in doubt. Aboard Mistress' Leia's shuttle, Mistress Leila and the shuttle's captain listen to the reports of the escort vessels for the shuttle, who are direly outnumbered and are being destroyed one by one. Mistress Leila commands one interceptor to dock with the shuttle before all is lost, ordering two House servants onto the interceptor to escape to the nearby colony- the mute mechanic REED and the diplomatic courtier CHIP, who has taught Reed to communicate with him through sign language. The interceptor flees, but is not pursued by the enemy, who are focusing on ensuring Mistress Leila's shuttle cannot escape. With the shuttle surrounded and with the weapons of the Dark God's servants locked on, the shuttle is forced to allow a boarding party of peacekeepers led by COMMISSIONER FATHER STARSLAYER, the Dark God's chief of Security. Father slays the shuttle's captain out of hand when he finds no documents aboard the ship, and takes Mistress Leila captive. He commands his forces to hunt down the interceptor that fled to the colony, believing that it may contain the stolen information. On the colony of EISLEY, Reed and Chip land in the spaceport and flee the baronial peacekeepers of BARON JABBI HOTT, who seek to bring the crew of an unknown military ship in for questioning. They escape to the slums, but are promptly captured by a gang of pirates there. The pirates take Reed and Chip with several other captives to the estate of HOUSE LARS, where SIR OWAIN LARS, his wife BERYL LARS, and their niece LUCILLA LARS oversee some hydroponic farms and the serfs that work them. Sir Owain and Lucilla negotiate with the pirates, buying Reed from them to aid with maintenance of the farms along with Chip to serve as his interpreter. Lucilla speaks with Reed and Chip, helping explain to them what their new duties shall be, and expressing discontent that her uncle should so lightly bear the yoke of Baron Jabbi and of the Dark God. Chip explains that until just now, he and Reed were in service to Mistress Leila, one of the important members of the rebel House Orian. Reed, through Chip, says that Mistress Leila charged him to seek out ADMIRAL BENJAMIN KENOBI, who once served Duke Barney before making his way to Eisley. Lucilla knows of no House Kenobi, but knows of a Benjamin revered as a wise man amongst the serfs. She wonders if he may be the same man, and says it would be a noble deed if she were to aid rebels against the Dark God. Back with Owain and Beryl, Lucilla asks if Owain knows of Benjamin Kenobi, only to be rebuffed that Benjamin Kenobi died the same time as Lucilla's father. Owain grows angry at Lucilla neglecting her duty to her own House, saying the House needs her efforts, while Lucilla accuses Owain of cowardice. Beryl attempts to reconcile, but both leave the table angry, with Owain saying that if the new serfs he bought continue to insist on wild tales he'll have them flogged. Lucilla returns to the serfs only to learn from Chip that Reed has fled the estate, saying he would seek out Benjamin Kenobi himself. The following morning, Lucilla takes Chip and heads into the slums, taking note that peacekeepers wearing the colors of the Dark God have been deployed to the colony's streets and passageways. She finds Reed, but there she and the two servants are set upon by several thugs with knives, who are frightened away by old Benjamin firing a warning shot from his rifle, although not before Chip is wounded. Lucilla explains to Benjamin that Reed was seeking Benjamin Kenobi, and thought that old Benjamin may be the man. Benjamin confirms this, although he says he has not revealed his name of Kenobi for a very long time, and wonders how a mute man might convey him any message. Benjamin, Lucilla, Reed, and Chip return together to Benjamin's home. In Benjamin's home, Lucilla bandages Chip while Benjamin speaks of her father- despite what Owain had said to Lucilla, Lucilla's father had not remained home to tend to the hydroponics and serfs, but rather had been a comrade of Benjamin in old wars in service to Duke Barney, and a sworn knight of the League. Benjamin explains that, before the rise of the Dark God, the knights who protected their lords and the justice of the League were trained not merely in the gun and the starship, but were pledged in service to God, placing their trust in Him to lend His strength to achieve the right. Benjamin claims that Sir Owain disapproved, but her father took up the training of a knight of God, and that he wished his daughter to follow in his footsteps. Benjamin presents Lucilla's father's marksman rifle to her, a weapon more precise and selective than the common assault rifles of this modern day. Lucilla asks what became of her father, and is informed that when the Dark God rose, Father Starslayer foreswore his oaths as a knight and helped hunt down and eradicate those pledged as knights, including Lucilla's father. With Lucilla newly-armed and with her questions about her father answered, Benjamin's attention turns to Reed, asking him in what way he could convey a message. Reed produces a small holographic projector from his clothing, which he activates, displaying a message recorded by Mistress Leila. Leila calls upon Benjamin's former service to her father, and begs that he aid the rebels in their most desperate hour. Reed, she says, was a worker at the shipyard where the battleship Deathbringer was being restored, who had his tongue cut out so he could not share secrets. She begs that Benjamin escort Reed and Chip as his interpreter to her father at his colony of Aldan, so that some chance of stopping the terrible battleship might be found. Lucilla, seeing the hologram of Leila, is struck by her beauty, and is stirred in her heart to aid Leila. Nonetheless she is drawn short, remembering her duty to her own House from which she has not been released. Benjamin tells Lucilla that she must do as her honor demands, accepting her choice to return to House Lars. While returning through the slums, Benjamin is told by a serf that peacekeepers wearing the colors of the Dark God's own troops launched a raid on a den of pirates in the slums- the very pirates that sold Chip and Reed to House Lars. Lucilla realises that if the peacekeepers of the Dark God have tracked down the pirates that captured Chip and Reed, that surely they could have traced the sale to House Lars. Despite Benjamin's urging that she can do no good by getting herself slain, Lucilla hurries home to the family compound, where she sees that her family and their servants have been butchered. She returns to Benjamin, saying that now she is all that remains of House Lars, and no duty compels her now save her just vengeance against the Dark God and his servants. She, Benjamin, Chip, and Reed all set out together towards the spaceport of Eisley, preparing to find passage off-colony to Aldan. To be continued... nweismuller fucked around with this message at 18:02 on Jun 26, 2022 |
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Apr 7, 2022 03:41
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Admiral Harold Weiss posted:In light of this troubling news, a claim on Ross 128 can wait in the interest of information security. Doctor Prudence Weiss posted:I'm happy enough with our currently planned short-term goals, and thanks to the good Illario, my department is the only one not currently short-staffed, Father is absolutely right about needing more able hands and minds in general.
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Apr 7, 2022 18:27
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:Given all we've discussed, I believe we might be able to spare Mariko for a short time in Ross 128, but otherwise I believe she should be focused on strengthening ties with Duchess Ruana. Father, your concerns about the size of our House are noted- we can begin to take steps to find people who can be recruited to leadership positions as soon as we can spare the time. Thank you all for your counsel- I am sure that with your aid we shall continue to keep our House and the Guild strong and prosperous.
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Apr 7, 2022 19:03
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Appears something bizarre with save loading happened, and Prudence's and Romeo's daughter Alice has turned out to be a son Allen after I played through this update. (And why didn't I noticed this earlier- he's 4 years old after playing through this update, I had a chance?). All that said, I've played through the update and gotten screenshots, but won't get a chance to do the actual writing for a few days. Most likely update day on Sunday. On the plus side, this makes things slightly less confusing going forward, with only one Alice in this coming generation. Teaser for upcoming events: 'The Director-General wins thirty thousand marks playing chess.'
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Apr 7, 2022 22:30
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nweismuller posted:Appears something bizarre with save loading happened, and Prudence's and Romeo's daughter Alice has turned out to be a son Allen after I played through this update. I was gonna say, that's what it looked like in the update's screenshot back when you posted it, was the baby was named Allen.
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Apr 7, 2022 22:33
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EclecticTastes posted:I was gonna say, that's what it looked like in the update's screenshot back when you posted it, was the baby was named Allen. Perhaps I just confused myself. I'll go back to the old update when I get a chance and fix it.
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Apr 7, 2022 22:41
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I did indeed just confuse myself. I have no idea how that happened. I've gone back and revised old updates to record that Romeo had a son named Allen, with a tiny bit about Romeo's family history to go with it. I got all of four hours sleep last night, so the odds of me doing writing tonight are basically nonexistent, but I'll try to get an update banged out tomorrow. As ever, if people have questions, feel free to ask and I shall try to answer.
nweismuller fucked around with this message at 03:47 on Apr 10, 2022 |
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Apr 10, 2022 03:42
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A Bitter Rivalry  With Director-General Jane Weiss charged to deliver justice to Baron Kirabo Martin, she entered deliberations with her council, discussing how this could be accomplished. Given his earlier mismanagement that led to famine on the colony, the decision was quickly reached to depose him from his throne and raise Sir Javen Nichols, Commissioner Oriole Weiss's brother, to rulership over the colony, despite the risk that military action would be needed to enforce this. Thankfully, when the order to step down was issued, Kirabo Martin obeyed without launching a military revolt, and Javen Nichols was named as Colonial Director of Miaplacidus under the authority of the Weiss Guild, with House Nichols to rule there in perpetuity.  In the latter half of 2506, Pillan Gilmore, Director-General of the Gilmore Guild and Archon of the Gilmore League issued an invitation to Jane Weiss to attend a great feast being held in honor of Dan Werner, king of the Werner Dominion, a realm bordering the Gilmore Guild by the Herring Union. Despite the generally strained relations between Pillan Gilmore and Jane Weiss, Jane accepted, both to avoid insult to a neighbor and because the celebration would doubtless be enjoyable. Jane, her wife Mariko, and Commissioner Oriole Weiss departed for 94 Aquarii on a fast shuttle, making an extended journey to the heart of the Gilmore Guild. Certain events in game can be celebrated by feasts, and archons have the option to host a feast for no purpose but to honor some character. Feast preparations can be expensive, and the gathering of so many characters is often a window for intrigue, but if the feast goes well it will bolster the prestige of the host (and anybody it is held in honor of) and be a great boost to the mood of its guests. Depending on the occasion for the feast, different characters will expect an invitation, which will be a snub and an insult if they're passed over. It's almost certain Jane was invited only because it was expected she'd get an invite. Given Jane's rank, she gets two people who can attend with her- her spouse and somebody from her council who would be well-qualified as a champion for House Weiss in the tournament held with the feast.   The gathering, as is traditional for great feasts, opened with a tournament. Every House invited to the feast named a champion who would represent them in the tournament, piloting a specially-modified interceptor in a series of one-on-one duels with other contestants. The normal armament for interceptors was removed for tournaments, being replaced with guns that shot low-velocity bursts of aluminum pellets intended to bounce harmlessly off the hull of their target, with the victor of each duel being the first to strike their opponent with pellets from their guns. Given the low velocity of the projectiles, accurate range for tournament gunnery is extremely low compared to the range of real space combat. Oriole, who was easily the most skillful pilot from House Weiss present, was named as champion for House Weiss. The effectiveness of a contestant in a tournament is governed by the sum of their Military and Security skills.   Oriole easily claimed victory in her first two matches in the tournament, but her third match, against Governor Madelia Andrade, ruler of the colony of Phi Ophiuchi, ended with an unexpected loss. Although most would have expected Oriole to claim victory, Madelia pushed herself to her limits piloting her interceptor, using high-G maneuvers to pull behind Oriole and spray her with a burst from her guns, despite suffering serious injury from the G-forces of piloting her own interceptor. For each match in a tournament, you get the option to pilot normally, aggressively, or throw the fight. There is a small chance of injury or death while piloting normally, due to potential accidents, while piloting aggressively improves your chance of victory but also increases your chance of injury or death. Throwing the fight makes it so you'll almost certainly lose, but essentially removes the chance of injury. Ill characters cannot serve as tournament champions, and characters who take an injury in a tournament cannot continue even if they win their match. Although we can't actually see whether Madelia piloted normally or aggressively, the fact that she won in a slight upset and took an injury in so doing suggests she may well have chosen to pilot aggressively.  In the end, the tournament was won by Duke-Consort Makya McCoy, the Admiral of the McCoy Dominion- a point of prestige both for him and for his wife, Duchess Leane McCoy. Tournament victors and finalists win prestige both for themselves and for their ruler sponsoring them.  With the tournament concluded, the feast proper began. Dishes of every description prepared by House Gillman cooks were served to the guests- salads, soups, fish, fruit, synthmeat, and desserts- and the synthohol flowed freely, while musicians played as entertainment for the feasters. Jane, perhaps, indulged too freely in the wines and ciders available, her speeched slurred and her gait unsteady by the time the meal was over. For overindulging and thus making a fool of herself, Jane gets a prestige hit to her reputation. At least these decay over time.   After the end of the feast proper, the gathered guests mingled and socialised, couples dancing to the music provided while private conversations continued on late after the dinner, drinks and small snacks still provided for those who wished them. During this period of socialisation, Jane staggered her way to a table where the admiral of the Gilmore Guild, Sybil Gilmore, was playing, and winning, some manner of board game against a woman Jane did not recognise. Jane asked Sybil Gilmore about this game, to be informed that the game was 'chess', an ancient game representing ground combat. On getting an explanation of the rules, Jane challenged Sybil to a match, betting a stake of thirty thousand marks on the outcome. After an extended match, Sybil eventually conceded to Jane, who claimed the stake of thirty thousand marks from her opponent. Jane's first match of chess was played while she was badly drunk and against a more experienced opponent, but nonetheless she still won. The event appears to have a text error, reporting Sybil as a 'he'; I just reported it to Glen. Doubtless the average standard of chess play in the colonies is much lower than on modern Earth, where chess is a widespread game with a significant body of professional players.   The gathering eventually came to a close, guests departing on their shuttles to return to whatever colony they came from. All agreed that it had been a fine feast, and left buoyed by pleasant memories. When Jane, Mariko, and Oriole returned, they discovered that a series of intense arguments had erupted between Thomas and Romeo in their absence, with now both driven to prove their superiority to each other and compete for Jane's favor.  By the early part of 2507, Romeo and Thomas began a practise of holding sword duels to first blood each morning. Although Jane was rather exasperated by this, she did not forbid it, allowing it as a (relatively) harmless outlet for the intensifying dislike between the two top members of House Weiss's Administration team.  At about the same time, Commissioner Oriole Weiss reported that the methods taken from the Galileo Institute datavault to improve House Weiss's operations had been fully integrated into standard departmental protocols and that all navigational logs leading to the datavault had been wiped. She believed that the risk of any further leaks of the datavault's position would now be minimal, although Duchess Ruana Garrett remained a threat should she ever release her own information on the datavault's position. An assignment to cover up a secret will eventually reduce the chance for others to discover the secret, but does not help with previous leaks. The location of the datavault started as a secret of Medium discovery probability, with an 8% chance to leak each turn, then progressing through Hard and Very Hard discovery chances before being reduced to Never. As long as Ruana Garrett doesn't reveal the secret publicly, we'll be able to retain the bonus from strategic secrets from the datavault.   Early 2507 also brought a proposal from Baron Angelo Beck- his stepmother, Chelsia Beck, had long been single, and he desired to marry her off to Harold Weiss to create a bond of kinship between House Weiss and House Beck (and, incidentally, between the minor House Cortez in Kajam from which Chelsia originated). As the baron offered an incentive of one hundred twenty thousand marks and Harold had no objection to the match, Jane approved the marriage, with Chelsia Weiss joining House Weiss as Harold's wife and a new colonel in House Weiss's military serving with the peacekeepers. Chelsia is Friendly, Loyal, and Greedy. She is also Sickly, greatly increasing her chance to fall ill and suffer complications in childbirth, as well as reducing her general reputation by 14. Not that childbirth complications are an issue with a woman as old as her, who can no longer become pregnant.  Perhaps most notably of all, the early part of 2507 saw Ilario Goodman turning up a chest from King Emmanuel's old possessions. Although most of the contents of the chest consisted of letters and documents no longer of any real interest, the presence of a viridium coin embossed with the coordinates of an asteroid orbiting Kapteyn's Star caught both Ilario's and Jane's interest- as far was aware, no installation was ever present on that asteroid. The two of them set out together, intending to investigate this asteroid and discover why Emmanuel would have kept its coordinates. What they discovered was remarkable. The asteroid hosted a heavily-fortified structure, bristling with defensive weaponry- what once must have been a maximum-security Interstellar Authority prison. Signs of current inhabitation were minimal, and the landing facilities for the prison were breached, but the remainder of the prison complex appeared to remain airtight. Donning vacc suits, Jane and Ilario entered the prison through the airlocks from the landing facilities, seeking out the prison armory.  Jane and Ilario made their way through the prison, noting the still-functional life-support systems and the distant sounds echoing through the largely-deserted halls. The armory, when they discovered it, proved to long-since have been looted, but behind an old safe in the armory, a stash of stolen treasure was concealed in the wall, which Jane confiscated. Curious to learn more of this prison, Jane then led the pair of them to make their way to the med center.  The two of them never arrived. While Jane and Ilario had been exploring the prison, a group of pirates basing themselves in this prison had returned from their most recent attacks against local shipping. Only the assurance by Jane that her House knew where she had departed to and that her disappearance would doubtless lead to full military reprisal by House Weiss and the complete destruction of the pirates allowed her and Ilario to escape the asteroid with their lives.   On her return to Vega with Ilario, Jane immediately ordered Admiral Harold Weiss to lead an expedition to Kapteyn's Star to root out the pirates and seize control of the prison asteroid. After some bloody fighting, House Weiss was left in control of the prison, which was then towed into orbit of the primary colony in Kapteyn's Star, the prison recommissioned as a defensive fortress with its weapons turned to help protect the approaches to orbit of the colony.     Beyond the Weiss Guild's borders, raids and revolts rocked both the Patton League and Gilmore League in early 2507. In Rotanev, seat of the Patton Quadrant, House Patton put down a local revolt in brutal fighting, then, with their surviving forces, fought off a raid launched by House Booker, the ruling House of Alsciaukat in the Wang Collective. Meanwhile, in the Gilmore League, an internal revolt within the Herring Union at Misam escalated to full revolt against the league when Kerr Guzman refused to accept his archon's command to step down from his throne in punishment for his revolt.    Fighting in the Gilmore League continued into the latter part of 2507, with the Herring Union once again seizing control of the colony of Misam, Governor-General Allison Herring elevating her daughter Jeanine to the position of Governor of the colony. Meanwhile, at Beta Librae, on the Weiss Guild's borders, Sir Solomon Gates launched an unsuccessful revolt against the usurper baron Kesin Harper in a struggle that left military forces at Beta Librae depleted.  Back on Vega, the tensions between Romeo and Thomas had escalated beyond their breaking point. Romeo had returned to Vega to personally deliver a report on the situation in Misam, but the report's delivery rapidly degenerated into a shouting match. Romeo snapped, tripping Thomas and moving to pull his pistol. Mariko, who had been the closest member of the court during this argument, rushed to grab Romeo's arm and prevent him drawing his pistol before Security officers rushed to restrain and disarm him. Thomas was livid, but, fortunately for Romeo, he had been stopped before he committed any worse crime than he had already done. Romeo only committed a relatively minor crime, and I do not yet have the option to offer to punish him on my own accord without Thomas formally charging me to deliver punishment, which the AI has not yet done.   By the beginning of 2508, Thomas' daughter Alice had begun to make use of regular access to the House Weiss archives as she began her formal education under the care of Director-Consort Mariko Weiss. Meanwhile, Prudence gave birth to her third child and first daughter with Romeo, Devon, named after Romeo's sister. With this, Jane now had a full six nieces and nephews- Rebecca, age 10, Emily and Malachi, age 9, Alice, age 6, Allen, age 4, and Devon, newly-born.   The early part of 2508 also saw Mariko approach her wife with an opportunity- a friend of Mariko's who had taken service with House Potts, the ruling house of Saiph in the Gilmore Guild, was by now chafing in his service to House Potts. Mariko believed it would be simple to convince the adventurous young Noelle Barry to break relations with House Potts, a belief that was proved true when Noelle pledged himself to House Weiss for nothing more than access to VR simulations of single-person ground rocket racing left over from ancient entertainment programs in House Weiss's databanks. Although brave and good-natured, Noelle's fundamental disregard of rules and honor left relations between him and his new ruler rather strained themselves. Noelle is Brave, Kind, Individualistic, and a Rulebreaker.  Another visit back to Vega by Romeo rapidly degenerated into a drunken argument between Thomas and Romeo, one which, mercifully, did not escalate to violence this time. Jane, exasperated by both her brother and brother-in-law, assigned them both to work as assistants to Ilario Goodman for a day providing medical treatment to any drunkards sent to medical- an experience which both resented, but which helped provide a little more knowledge of medicine to them both. The Weiss Guild, early 2508  Every department under House Weiss reports improved efficiency over the past two years, save for Military, which has seen training standards slacken slightly under the seeming distraction of Admiral Harold Weiss. Both Administration and Technology display superb efficiency, and military readiness is still good. With the recruitment of Noelle Barry, every department in House Weiss has two nobles to serve in leadership positions in that department, allowing the departments to focus on more major projects at once. Even Security, which has generally suffered from Director-General Jane Weiss's poor aptitude for security operations, is currently showing generally acceptable departmental efficiency.  Following the feast at 94 Aquarii, House Weiss has become better-aware of the Werner Dominion, a formidable realm that is apparently part of a larger league, located beyond the borders of the Gilmore Guild and the Herring Union. The colony at Atlas that Jane's sister Jessica married into has recently switched its allegiance to the Lindsey Coalition in exchange for assistance in putting down a local revolt, while Jessica herself is pregnant with her first child at age 29.  Director-General Jane Weiss's abilities have continued to increase, particularly in administration and the sciences, under the tutelage of the Technology department. Her father has begun to note her slow maturation as a military tactician- in recent fleet exercises, she has shown an aptitude for the command of frigates and bringing their primary turrets to bear. She remains in high spirits, and has been able to bring her full energy to helping build the future of the Guild. With Jane's increase in Military skill, she has learned her first tactic as a fleet commander- Push, which allows her to deal 20% more damage with frigates at the cost of taking 10% more damage on her frigates.   For all the difficulties Director-Heir Thomas Weiss's rivalry with Romeo has created, it has driven Thomas to greater efforts to improve as an administrator, a position at which he is now very able indeed. He is currently overseeing the final stages of the restoration of the Orion Industries regional headquarters at Vega, from where House Weiss's Administration team can better optimise the productivity of the Vega colony and monitor logistics schedules and taxation across the whole of the Guild. His humiliation after the recent argument with Romeo has dampened his spirits somewhat, but he remains quite happy overall. He and Romeo have grown to detest one another, and can barely avoid from fighting whenever they come into direct contact.  Admiral Harold Weiss, although content enough with his new marriage, seems somewhat distracted as of late. He has taken personal command of a peacekeeper force patrolling the streets and corridors of the Vega colony, cracking down on crime and ensuring that the colony is safer and more orderly than it has been in some years. Despite his distraction and advanced age, he is in high spirits, and looks forward to continuing to aid his family for the years that remain to him.  Director-Consort Mariko Weiss has been overseeing a program of public relations and bribery drawing upon the generally good governance of the Weiss Guild under House Weiss and the undeniable fact of previous Orion Industries operations at Ross 128 to help make a case that Ross 128 should be governed by the Weiss Guild. She has grown as a diplomat over time, gracefully helping to cover for the social deficiencies of the Weiss siblings. Being trusted to mentor young Alice has helped make her even happier, and she is deeply content with her position and deeply in love with her wife, who loves her back.  Commissioner Oriole Weiss remains in a happy and committed marriage with Thomas, and has resumed her focus on ensuring the safety of the Director-General now that she has made the secret of the datavault as safe as she can manage. She has vowed that she will improve her skills so that next time she has the chance to champion House Weiss in a tournament, she will not be defeated.  Technology Director Prudence Weiss's feelings towards her husband have cooled, although the birth of Devon has helped bring them together once again. In addition to overseeing the Technology department as a whole, she has been helping arrange resources to aid in the Director-General's continued studies into mathematics, engineering, administration, and logistics.  Romeo Weiss has once again softened towards Prudence in the wake of the birth of their daughter, although none believe he is truly in love with her. Despite his rivalry with Thomas, he has remained largely in good spirits overall. He is overseeing a project by House Weiss to restore a major waste processing plant at Kajam to operation, which is hoped to be an effective source for fertilisers, clean water, and cheap algae-based food for the serfs both for Kajam and for surrounding colonies.  Ilario Goodman has continued to serve with distinction as a senior scientist for House Weiss's Technology department, helping further the Director-General's understanding of the sciences and medicine. He is content and generally fond of the rest of House Weiss, but remains in many ways an outsider standing apart from them, a fact which leaves him slightly lonely.  Harold's new wife, Chelsia Weiss, has taken authority as Colonel of Peacekeepers at Miaplacidus, where she has overseen a vigorous and successful campaign to ensure order on the streets. Her marriage with Harold has been cordial but distant. Despite her ill health, she is a very capable military leader who has been a valuable addition to the House.  Noelle Barry has yet to be formally assigned, but is, for the moment, considered provisionally under the authority of Commissioner Oriole Weiss. He would not be entirely unqualified to work for the Technology department, if necessary, however. His personality clashes with the Director-General strain relations, but Jane tolerates him for the sake of her wife. House Weiss has accumulated a healthy treasury, has begun to develop its territory, and maintains good relations with its vassals. Save for personality clashes within its own ranks, it is in a strong and stable position which may leave it well-positioned for the future. The House now contains ten adults and six children, a number it can only comfortably support due to the healthy income growth it has enjoyed over past years. Now, perhaps, all House Weiss can do is await new opportunities which may help it to achieve a place to match Great Houses such as House Gilmore or House Patton, although its foundation to take advantage of opportunity has grown stronger. nweismuller fucked around with this message at 04:48 on Apr 12, 2022 |
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Apr 11, 2022 05:53
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I found that the image detailing our bloodline upgrade in the 2506 update linked the wrong image; this has been corrected so you can actually see what Merchant Bloodline does. Mariko, Oriole, Chelsia, Noelle Barry, and (despite the temporary responsibility taken for her by Groetgaffel) Prudence are all available for claiming. I'll get reports out as soon as possible to the relevant people.
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Apr 11, 2022 05:56
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Romeo Weiss, having up to HERE with this bullshit posted:I am tired of that dull, boring, pedantic buffoon, Thomas. His dismissing attitude toward me is really getting on my nerves. "Rust for brains?" Even his insults are dull! I hope he falls out of an airlock. If he does, I will be in charge of administration, and I'll definitely liven up the place! He's boring, his office is the most drab place I've ever been! His desk is boring surplus he got cause someone else was giving it away! I have a nice desk, it's made of mahogany! Mmm mahogany! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14D5wKSVlXg Romeo Weiss, less mad posted:A third child! A daughter! I got to name her and I chose to name her after my sister, Devon. I think having children is the only thing that brings me close to Prudy, she's still boring and I hope none of my children inherited the Weiss family dull gene. I also went back and edited out Alice and changed it to Allen. Also some interesting rivalry for good ol Romeo! I hope he doesn't screw himself in the long term! Lady Jaybird fucked around with this message at 15:12 on Apr 11, 2022 |
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Apr 11, 2022 15:04
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Director-Heir Thomas Weiss posted:First, let me just apologize for my uncharacteristic outburst the other day, I clearly wasn't in my right mind. As far as business goes, we're doing better than I ever dared to hope, in no small part due to recent unexpected windfalls, such as the rather handsome dowry we received from Baron Beck and the Director-General's successful wager during her visit to the Gilmore Guild. I'll leave it to father and Mariko to decide how we'll turn these stuffed coffers into new territory for us to develop, but, given that our domestic repairs are at a point where time is more of an obstacle than money, I've charted out what our priorities should be for repairing our vassals' installations going forward: From the desk of Thomas Weiss posted:Janey,
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Apr 11, 2022 18:31
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Director-General Jane Weiss posted:What you're suggesting is a serious step, brother. Are you sure there isn't a more honorable way to handle the situation in the Garrett Confederation? God knows I have no great love for Duchess Ruana, but God also knows that breaching the bonds of law and honor is no small thing.
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Apr 11, 2022 18:54
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