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Your current inventory consists of a single Mk2, you have room for 5 more mass units worth of rocket parts, you also have plans for the following components.

Mk2
>Type: Probe, Mass 1, Reliability 4/3
Mk3
>Type: First stage, Mass 1, Reliability 5/4
Camera Module
>Type: Mapper, Mass 1, Reliability 19/14
Guidance module
>Type: unmanned control system, Mass 1, Reliability 19/14
Radolight beacon
>Type: Waylight, Mass 1, Reliability 18/14

You have 10 RnD points and 1 luck point.
Building existing parts costs 1 point per mass,
Inventing new parts costs 3 points per mass,
Improving existing parts costs 1 point per mass per level, up to 5 points per part can be spent per turn.

This quest thread is using Space Core's What goes Up system.
http://http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.WhatGoesUp

>>23934246
Time to space-up yet again!

I think we should meet with our Father's Royal Advisers and get them to give us political advice.

>>23934922
The advisers inform you that the appropriations committee can be fickle and that great care should be taken when dealing with them. Right now the chair of the committee is trying his hardest to stamp down on defense spending, which he considers wasteful in the postwar erra.

>>23934996
What do they say the public and elite mood is towards colonial expansion?

>>23935058
The colonial erra is mostly considered over now that the Suthlanders are no longer part of the empire. There is a general feeling that there are no more frontiers left to explore in the world.

>>23935104
Hmm, sounds like we're inbetween a rock and a hard place then.

It also looks like I'm the only one here...

>>23935130
It seems that missing two days due to work was enough for everyone to forget this quest.

>>23935172
Or it could simply be bad timing. Maybe try again later, I don't want to be the only one directing actions...

>>23935172
No, I was just held up elsewhere.

Now, when is the meeting with the appropriations committee expected to occur. We can release another press release talking about how space is the new final frontier, and turn public support against the chairman.

>>23935318
We also said we were going to meet with the Astrologer society and try and recruit them as potential allies....now that we've completely beaten them.

>>23935334
Meeting with them immediately afterwards is tactless and devoid of any political considerations.
We should first contact a neutral party that can identify for us any moderates within the Astrologers Society who we can speak with in order to acquire their support.
Our mother, for instance.

>>23935370
Sounds good, lets do that then.

>>23935370
Your mother is quite fond of Astrology, but does not seem to share the RAS's hostility to the idea of space travel, she could easily arrange a meeting.

>>23935318
How shall you give the press release? The newspapers, the academic journals, or over the radio?

>>23935579
We shall meet with Mother, and discuss who we should meet and talk with in the Astrologers Society for a greater cooperation between the Society and the RRC. They most likely wish to sweep the embarrassment of their latest paper as quickly as possible.

For the press release we shall adopt a multi-pronged release. Professora Minerva and Colonel Smith shall co-author a paper for the academic journals.
We shall prepare a press release for the newspapers and the radio.

>>23935624
Seconded.

>>23935624
Alternatively, they're beyond livid and will try to sabotage our efforts even if they begrudgingly acknowledge that it is possible for a man-made object to enter space.

They will probably say any man leaving the planet will have his soul stripped from him or some nonsense.

When we speak with Mother, we must get a sense of how they are currently feeling towards us and if there are any potential allies or younger members we can recruit to our side.

Who knows? Perhaps we could even someday elevate them within the RAS and use them to help proselytize to the masses and the nobility about the wonders of space exploration.

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>>23935172

Sorry godmother, just stepped out for drinks. But now I'm back, belligerently drunk, and ready for questing. At least for a few minutes. Let's launch some rockets!

>>23935624

Second. Divide and conquer astrologers. We need to separate the wheat from the chaff. As for publicity I still say we should utilize Harker. He's a loose cannon but he's a damn good pilot.

>>23935759
As The Professor and the Colonel begin writing a paper about the promise of satellites and peaceful usage of Radio-reactive energy, you discuss the Astrological society with mother over diner. She informs you that the man who wrote the paper was dismissed from the society. She seems coy on the details however.

Later that same night you find a parcel sitting on your bed, none of your servants seem to know where it came from, and Lord Protector Pero is clueless as well. It says for Her Highness Lydia Tannhäuser's eyes only, and is addressed from "Lilith"

Lilith being the first planet in the solar system, and mythologicaly associated with messengers and forbidden knowledge. How queer.

>>23935759
We need pics of space guys.
That would fuck own their hearts showing how beautiful the universe is.

>>23935910
We shall open the parcel.

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>>23935962

We shall do no such thing. Somebody else should open it. Preferably somebody we aren't particularly fond of. Since when do heads of state open mysterious packages placed on their doorstep?

>>23935910
Have someone to check if it's not a bomb or something dangerous and then open it if it's safe

>>23935910
First ask mother if she's responsible.

If not, get palace guards to begin standard procedures for such mysterious packages. Tell them not to destroy it unless it does in fact contain explosives.
It could be a message from someone interested in helping who has a greater sense of the dramatic than prudence, but it could also be an assassination attempt from the fired astrologers, or one of his friends or patrons.

Sir Pero quickly draws a knife in a single dramatic motion, and stands between you and the package as he cuts it open...

...It isn't a bomb, just a mask, and a letter. The Mask seems to represent Luna, and the letter is an invitation. It tells you to come to the tower at midnight, to wear the mask, and most importantly to come alone.

>>23936082
Hmm.

I'm new to this quest, does this sound like Harker or whatever his name is? Or some other male admirer? If so, follow the instructions, if not we shouldsend a trusted double

>>23936043
Mother laughs and tells you that you should accept Lilith's invitation. She does this all in the same manner she'd tell your baby brother about father Giftmass.

>>23936082
Ooh, such romanticism.

What does Luna symbolise in Astrology here?

Also, while we can go alone, there's nothing saying a man could not watch over the tower from afar in case something happens.

>>23936121
It is not Harker's handwriting. It appears to be a woman's handwriting, but it's not your mother's either. It is signed "lilith"

>>23936126
Well, if Mother thinks so, I can't see how much harm it can do.

>>23936142
Luna is the trickster god/ess. Similar to Lilith, but less of a messenger and more of a teacher.

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>>23936126

I can't tell if she's trolling us or if she's genuinely just this unhelpful. Fine, it sounds like she's got the inside track on this doesn't seem to be conspiring against us. We'll go.

Should we take any special precautions? They said alone, they said nothing about unarmed.

>>23936153
Very well, we shall accept this invitation. But we shall have Lord Pero and several guards stationed where they can respond quickly, and have another royal guard watching the tower.
Is there some thing, such as a capsule of compressed air connected to a whistle, which we may use to indicate distress?

>>23936194
Do we know how to use any weapon? If not bringing anything would be just plainly stupid.

>>23936241
Your RRC uniform has a sword and automatic. You've used the pistol a few times at the Range at Fort Adler, but you are not very good with the sword.

>>23936295
Well then, better enter the tower alone but do this >>23936199 just in case something bad happens.

>>23936295
Take the precautions from >>23936199
and do as the invitation says.

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>>23936199

Let's prioritize discretion. Nobody gets close enough to spook our informant and everybody is in position, well concealed, well in advance of the meeting.

Wearing the mask you climb the stairs to the top of the tallest tower. You've never been in this part of the castle before, and when you get to the top, you see a heavy wooden door leading to the roof. Outside you hear some people moving around, but there is no light.

"Rise Luna," you hear a man's voice from the other side of the door. "Your new star dawns, If you wish to know the truth you must appear before the council."

>>23936470
This melodrama is both passe and gauche.
We shall remind ourselves to never sink this low in the future.

We shall open the door.

>>23936470
Ah, this is some Masonic-style nonsense, yes?

We shall play along with it.

"We were not aware the appropriations committee was so dramatic"

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>>23936499
At first you can't see anything, it's too darn dark. but soon your eyes adjust to the light and you can see the stars! You've never seen them like this before.

You also see 6 hooded figures, all wearing masks like you. One for each of the planets. With you probably representing the Moon. The man, wearing the Mask of Wodan, the largest planet, points to a small brass telescope sitting in the center of the tower, pointing at the sky. "Welcome Luna. Come, see the new star you have placed in the sky."

>>23936649
We shall comply. They must have timed this meeting so that our Sputnik passes by.

>>23936676
Indeed they have, and as you look in the telescope, you catch a faint glint of light as the satellite streaks through the sky.

"For Centuries we have observed the movement of the stars. As the stars are only visible in the darkness, we too have met in secrecy. Our observations have guided kingdoms and shaped history." Wodan explains as you look through the telescope.

"We had hoped to prevent you from upsetting the balance of the cosmos. But now it seems we must accept defeat. The paper which has gained a degree of Infamy, was indeed written with intentional Errors. It was hoped that you would abandon your pursuit after your rocket failed, and that the paper would be sufficient to prevent anyone else from attempting to do the same. But it seems we underestimated your persistence. You now inherit the former position of the man who authored that paper. He is no longer with us."

>>23936802
I do not like these people. They force a man to write a paper that is intentionally wrong, and when their errors are revealed, they force him to accept the responsibility and have his career ruined?
If it was but one man, doing what he believed to be right, then we would relish in crushing him beneath the mass of our rockets.
But there is no glory or honor in crushing a scapegoat.

"And now? Will you stand against me as I stretch my hand further into the cosmos?"

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>>23936802

If we wanted to sneak out at night and play pretty princess dressup Amelia would have surely indulged us.

But fine we've indulged him so let's have some answers. Why are they admitting us? What do they hope to gain? They say they work in secret but the Astrologers are widely known organization. What's the real game here? Depending on his answers we'll decide how to proceed.

"It seems there is very little we can do to stop you now. Only explain our reasoning, and warn you of what might happen should you succeed. We doubt they will do much good." Wodan continues to monologue.

"Do you promise to guard the following secrets just as we have guarded them for centuries?"

A princess cannot break her word. If you listen to there secret, you cannot divulge it publicly without a good reason.

>>23936987
>>23937009
"We shall give our word, that your secrets will remain as such, until and unless the kingdom's very survival is in jeopardy. That is the only promise which a princess of the realm can give."

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>>23937042

We may as well. Let's get some sweet sweet secrets.

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>>23937112

Ok SECRETS LATER sleep now.

>>23937112
>>23937042
"You might imagine that we will next publish that it is impossible for a man to live in space. This is not true. We know for a fact that man can live in space, because we know for a fact that it is from space where man, and all forms of life on this world, first originated..."

>>23937202
Do you have any scientific prove of what you are saying? We need more knowledge, not faith

>>23937328
Let the man finish. And we shouldn't antagonize them until we have all of their secrets and have increased our level of funding first.

>>23937328
Another hooded figure, this time wearing the mask of Orphan, the last planet and god of the dead and forgotten secrets. "The last planet, orphan, was only discovered with the invention of the telescope. However our order's records have predicted it's movement for centuries before man was able to prove it's existence. Many legends say that man was born in the heavens, and cast down to earth. Perhaps there is a degree of truth in this. The ancients knew of things that even now we are only re-discovering."

Another voice picks up after him, this one is very familiar, is that your /mother/ wearing the mask of Gaia!? "Indeed, we can only offer faith, but who knows what you will discover as you continue to explore the heavens."

>>23937426
"And what do you wish we do with this? With our ability to step into the heavens only a matter of time, these secrets will not be secret for long.
"The march of science will not be stopped."

>>23937496
This. If we do discover that in fact, we came from the depths of space to this world, what do you want us to do with that information?

>>23937496
Ishtar, the 4th planet speaks up. "We can no longer predict the future, your have already started to disturb the balance of the cosmos. It is now your responsibility."
Meanwhile the woman wearing lilith's mask adjusts the telescope as Torment, the second planet takes his turn speaking. "But the legends say, that man was banished from the heavens for a reason, and that great calamity will befall mankind if ever he ventures into space once more. Are you prepaired for what might happen if you continue to disturb the cosmic balance?"

Lilith then gestures back to the Telescope, having found whatever object she was looking for.

>>23937666
Let's take a look.

>>23937666
There are risks in all endeavors.

>>23937701
You see something that is not quite a comet, and not quite a star. It's burning brightly in one direction, but the telescope is not quite strong enough to make out it's shape. Maybe it's just your imagination, but it looks like a rocket's plume...

>>23937743
SPACE RACE IS ON.

We have no times for masquerades and dark ancient secrets, there is work to be done!

Of course, we will only excuse ourselves when it is polite to do so.

>>23937743
"A rocket. Not one of ours. Is it a thing of the Suthlanders? Of the Northerners?"

"If it is a rocket, it is not of any kind from earth. This is what we know as Faux Stars, and we estimate them to be over seven hundred million kilometers away. Flying entirely over the plane of the solar system with alarming speed, and vanishing as suddenly as they appear." Wodan explains. "We have been observing them only for the last few decades, and have not been able to determine there origin or meaning."

>>23937822
"Are they increasing or decreasing their velocity?
"If you have not been able to divine their purpose or intent, then we shall bend the resources at our disposal to doing so."

>>23937846
"They seem to appear, traveling at great speed, decelerate, and then vanish as quickly as they arrived. If they are rockets of unearthly design, then perhaps we can only observe them when they are burning thrust? These are all questions we have asked, but found no answers."
Wodan explains.
"We must request once more, that you keep this manner of the Foe Stars* a secret. To you they may be scientific curiosities, but the common folk are not ready for such knowledge. We have hidden behind the veil of superstition and secrecy out of necessity."

*You aren't sure if they are saying Foe as in enemy or Faux as in false.

>>23937915
"We shall not speak of them ourselves. However, they are in space. They burn with the light of comets. They will be seen. This, you cannot stop.
"The only question is, will you be prepared when the time comes?"

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>>23937915

>>23937915
*Foe stars.* I see what you did there.

I see no reason not to trust these dudes. Plus the genera, public tends to love them some sensationalism, so they have a point.

"Would it be possible to better discern thier movements with a more powerful telescope?"

>>23937984
"Perhaps, but what we can already tell, is that they are five times father away from us than we are from the sun, and burn with the intensity of hundreds of Minerva's Radio-reactive warheads. If those energies were turned upon the earth, the very oceans would boil away."

>>23938028
Mental note: talk to Minerva about maybe employing radio-reactive energies in propulsion in some manner.

>>23938074
i dont see how that would be possible with our tech level

>>23938112
at least not safely

>>23938112
We can at least get some discussion out there as we proceed with conventional rocketry.

Anyway, this rather puts a dampener on our success a little, but if they're just there, we just have to be aware of them and just carry on as we .

After all, just putting craft into space isn't going to provoke a response, is it?

Is it?

>>23938173
"What disturbs us the most, is that after guiding the kingdom for hundreds of years, we are now faced with phenomena we can no longer explain. We have no choice but to trust you with our futures."

>>23938028
"That is... a frightening thought, yes. All the better reason to discover the true nature of thier origin. If We have already upset the balance of the cosmos with our endevours, then We suppose there is no turning back now. We shall take up the mantle of this resposibilty, and continue to push further into the cosmos.
What ever the truth may be, We shall find it.

For better, of for worse."

>>23938217
"Then we shall expect your support in the upcoming meeting with the appropriations committee, as well as gathering public support for the Royal Rocketry Corps."

>>23938301
"It shall be done." Says Wodan. "Now, itsn't it past your bedtime?" Says Gaia. Yes it's definitely your mom, apparently the queen is part of a secret society. And technically so are you now.

Alright it's time for me to get some sleep as well. I won't be running at all this weekend because of Sakuracon, but I'll be back on Monday.

>>23938419
Kinda deflating the whole atmosphere here, mother.

>>23938419
I suggest you also take Monday off as well. The post-con exhaustion still takes a day to get over.

>>23938463
Well the problem is I work on Tuesday and Wednesday. That would be almost a whole week without doing anything. Seeing as a two day Hiatus almost killed this quest. I can't do that.

>list only threads back to 5 in OP
>the tags on suptg are inconsistant
How the fuck am I supposed to find the first threads, then?

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>>23938419

(Dammit, missed the quest... Work showed up)

I think it's fairly clear what we have to do.

>>23938700

The other threads were archived on foolz and are listed in the first post of thread 5 and 6, never fear.

>>23938895
Hm.

For the future, might be good to aggregate all the thread links in a pastebin and put them in the first post instead of the current messy system. Would help to get new people in.

>>23938949

Should I just start a wiki for this

http://emlia.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=WhatGoesUp.SpacePrincessQuest

This page can be edited freely (although no links may be added) if anyone wants to do the Dramatis Personae and so on.

I think we need to discuss with the Council the need to confer with the highest government ministers on this. While we do not need to inform the public, necessarily, we do need to ensure our foreign office, and potentially ministry of defence, are informed.

I don't want to say that Ancient Aliens are building a colony in the Solar system, but they are building a colony there.

It will probably take a joint space program of all the nations to repel the aliens.

>>23939790
True. All the more reason to consult the government, and get funding for and interplanetary defence fleet

We must defend our planet, but similarly we should not turn what is potentially a peaceful exploration mission into a state of war against an unknown force.

We are not politicians, and will not divulge what are, potentially, state secrets, however we must create craft capable of at least reaching the faux stars and destroying them (if nothing else, than through a suicidal ramming action) should they demonstrate a trajectory that could reach Earth. This should be tested by sending these (unmanned) vessels out on an orbit that does not threaten their ships, but demonstrates a capability to do so with other missions. This demonstrates our ability to defend ourselves, but also will not cause their admiral to fear an imminent attack. Then, we build up a fleet of them in Earth orbit, ready to be launched in defence of our planet.

Once we have the capability to defend ourselves, we must make contact, first through radio transmissions, and if that goes well through sending manned missions of diplomatic envoys.

Again, the government must be informed. We don't know their intentions, and if they are hostile we must be able to defend ourselves. Even if they are peaceful, we cannot allow them to open negotiations from a position of superiority

>>23939988
Oh, and finally, this changes our research priorities. While getting a man into space is good PR, our main concern has to be a vessel capable of getting as large as possible a mass into the outer solar system.

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>>23939790
I don't want to say "X-COM Princess Quest", but...
Who am I kidding, I DO WANT to say "X-COM Princess Quest".

I can bet skyrocketing(see what i did) crime levels in Hafenstad are caused by infiltrating aliens and had we chosen to fight crime there, we would of find out about it.

>>23940535
So we would have been playing X-COM: Apocalypse if we had gone to Hafenstad, but since we chose the Rocketry Corps, we're playing X-COM: UFO Defense.

That's a choice that I don't regret.

>>23940535
Nope. We would finally deal with the crime problem, and then suddenly the entire port town is melted by a rocket engine

>>23941525
We would finally deal with the crime problem, and then suddenly TERROR MISSION PROTECT THE CIVILIANS CHRYSSALIDS EVERYWHERE OH GODFHJSFHFHFFFGF

>>23943058
.....will we need to set up missile defense batteries around our new rocket base in the eastern islands, then?