>45

I keep missing threads like I miss opportunities. Jesus christ.

So, um, have we finished the Cherubim? Because we definetly should have finished it by now.

And then, put the geostationary sattelite on orbit.

I do'nt knwo how many poitns that costs, though, so assume I wasn tot use everything.

>>25456973
We should arrange a meeting with Clay.

With the Western provinces in revolt and most of Parliament eating out of his hand, we might have to take a deal.

If that fails though, a good Press offensive about politicians holding us back and thereby giving the Southerners the edge in the space race should resonate well with the common folk, giving us some leverage.

>>25456973
First off, Thank you God Mother for running this quest. It's not often I get a chance to participate in this one since it caught my eye a few months back.

>We could always suggest that as our needs are now changing, the military half of the budget could instead be spent on a new Naval Vessel for our Radio-Telescope program. If the Cherubim is behind schedule and not being developed for military purposes, this is the prime opportunity to deflect the issue and get a closer objective complete. We feel this should appease the military's use of funding.

Okay, so last thread we were planning to look at Lady Ethelstan and Lord Bartly as possible Parliamentary contacts, since they both seemed fairly peace-loving before?

Having our budget reduced to 22RP is unpleasant, but we think we have just barely enough to launch a satellite on the Cherubim? That might at least head off accusations of the Cherubim not being ready - we're using it for our work, after all (and let's be honest, it's perfectly ready to go as-is, we're just perfectionists.)

Also, giving Clay what he wants, i.e. a fusion bomb, is an extremely bad idea *especially* right now. The backlash from dropping a simple nuclear bomb on an enemy we were in a vicious war with was bad enough; we don't even want to imagine what will happen if this lunatic decides he's going to use a hydrogen fusion bomb on our own people.

More bad news comes in from Tannhäuser island. The first communications satellite has stopped responding. The others are built better, but it will have to be replaced if you want full coverage.

The Mericans are doing better, and Nyati II's crew arrived the other day. They will be up for two turns and be testing a new solar power system according to the press release.


>>25457744
Consensus would be required for any sort of deal. I can't imagine father would be very proud of you backing down now however.

>>25457676
It should be possible. The Cherubim could put a Pathfinder satellite into space with enough fuel to make it to Geostationary orbit. You'd have to wait half a turn for it to get into position though, but it could prove that the Cherubim isn't just a waste of money.

>>25457877
Yes, although they aren't in the committee this time, they can give you briefings on the current committee, as well as help you sway their opinions in your favor.

>>25457877
I very much doubt he'd use the bomb on our own people, that's be a decision for the King to make anyway.

I think he wants a more powerful bomb simply to demonstrate to the world that we still have quite an edge when it comes to military tech.

Not to intrude into this thread or anything... but my god does that thumbnail make it look like the blonde girl is frowning. Like, I can't NOT see that.

>>25457926
He originally wanted a better bomb to "scare those upstarts in the west into forgetting about all this independence nonsense". Anyone who considers a multi-megaton thermonuclear bomb to be a way to "show the world that Midland is still in charge." is *not to be trusted with said bomb*.

>>25457926
>>25457992
You can't be sure exactly what he'd do with that kind of power. That's the problem.

>>25457905
>The Cherubim could put a Pathfinder satellite into space with enough fuel to make it to Geostationary orbit. You'd have to wait half a turn for it to get into position though, but it could prove that the Cherubim isn't just a waste of money.

This is probably our best bet for what to have the RRC do, then. Meanwhile we need to personally be out there socialising and networking.

>>25457992

Still, refusing a General was a bad idea. Extorting him for more funds and then make a bomb with an ABORT function which we could activate in secret would have been the ideal.

>>25458008
Not to contradict the QM or anything, but we have at least some idea what he'd do with that kind of power - those quotes in >>25457992 were directly from the speech he gave us in thread 41. He certainly *appears* to consider hydrogen bombs as yet another way to show who has the biggest... *ahem* missile. Which may well lead him to use it in anger. He's certainly shown a tendency to lash out in spite already, from what he's done to us.

>>25458008
Well he can't just use them whenever he wants, right?

If nuclear-release authority is with our Father, then there really isn't a huge problem here. If it isn't, then would only agree to building a new bomb if Parliament legislated that the King, as the nation's Executive, would have sole nuclear-release authority.

We don't want those Western territories to gain independence as well mind you, it'd weaken our country.

>>25458015
You send an urgent telegram to Minerva telling her to get a Cheribum into orbit as quickly as possible. You hope it gets there in time!

>>25458127
In theory he'd need the king's permission to deploy them in anger, in practice that would not be necessary for an atmospheric test.


Lady Ethelstan and Lord Bartly agree to meet you for Tea, how will you revive them and what shall you wear?
>Frilly
>Military dress
>Fancy dress
>Business dress

>>25458260

Frilly dress.

>>25458260
Um... beg your pardon, God Mother. What do you mean, revive them?

>>25458260
>Business dress

This is a serious meeting.

Could we get parliament to pass a law stating that any and all uses of a radio-reactive device by the military must have the King's personal approval?

>>25458291
Receive, as in "how will you receive your guests" Sorry.

>>25458299
You could, but it would take a while, and face moderate opposition.

>>25458299
The business dress, IIRC, makes us look better to the bourgeois but offends the nobility, and the two people we're meeting with are both nobles, yes? The fancy dress may be a better choice.

As for what we're saying to them, we need to express polite concern about General Clay's insistence on using our peaceful exploration program for violent means. Would it be appropriate for us to discuss with them his desire for an even more powerful radio-reactive weapon, or would that be covered under some sort of Official Secrets Act?

>>25458422
Problem is, he never officially asked you to do that. And that's not the reason Smith is under investigation.

>>25458336
There'd be opposition to such a law?!

For what reason?

Man, i'd all for making a bomb or two, but nope, peaceful project, right.

However, consider this: Testing a new weapon on perfectly good soil is a waste of land. It would also take time for others to learn of the test, and the information is subject to censorship/media control.

On the other hand, anyone can look up at night and see the moon. What would the repercussions if a possible rebel saw a bomb being tested on the fucking moon? It is definetly far more impressive than reading about it on the newspaper.

Instead of developing weapons for the General, we could make demonstrations to the entire planet.

Rolled 1

>>25458545

1 Frilly dress.
2 Fancy dress

>>25458545
What counts as "officially"? He didn't make it an order on paper, but he requested it from us during an official military inspection of the RRC. As for that not being the ostensible reason Smith is under investigation, these are politicians we're talking to, I presume they're well aware of the concept of attacking someone on trumped up charges to try and discredit them.

>>25458605
Parliament not wanting to give up power. Particularly a parliament which is controlled by Clay and his cronies.

>>25458662
It would have to be a very large bomb to be visible from earth. Detonating in the upper atmosphere would be ideal for such a shock and awe propaganda purpose.
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/28/u-s-had-plans-to-nuke-the-moon/
IRL they were considering doing just that.

>>25458422
Bartly's a hardcore royalist, but Ethelstan is hard to predict.

>>25458728
You'll have to argue that claim to them.

>>25458728
(I mean, I'm not saying put as our official defense before the investigation committee "He's just doing this to get back at us", but we should probably raise the issue behind the scenes to get more support from the pacifist factions in Parliament, who can then back up our official defense of "No, the rocket is not behind schedule, look, we're launching stuff with it right now. It's also not over-budget, it's expensive because we're looking out for the safety of our brave Void Knights.")
Also, fancy dress is probably best

You eventually settle on your old reliable Frilly Dress. Where shall you meet your guests?

Rolled 1

>>25458776

Atmosphere is good enough.

I plan on letting the military develop their own bombs alone, and just offer the service of detonating it on the moon/atmosphere.

>>25458881

Somewhere fancy, but private.

I don't know any, though.

>>25458881
The gardens of the Royal Palace. We shall have tea served to us there, and it should help to mentally reinforce the image that we represent Royal interests.

>>25459010
The military are going to have a bit of trouble developing the bombs on their own, considering that we have both Albert Einstein and Edward Teller working on our radio-reactive pile on our island, and that it appears there was no Manhattan Project in this universe, hence no large number of other trained physicists they might be able to recruit for their research.

>>25459085
Minerva made sure only she and people she worked under knew exactly how she did the things she did. In general alchemists maintain a level of professional secrecy.

>>25459064
You receive your guests in the garden. "Good afternoon your highness, what did you want to talk about?" Ethelstan asks as if she honestly has no idea. Bartly just tips his hat to you and politely waits for you to explain the situation.

File: 1371347349096.jpg-(61 KB, 848x480, King Gates.jpg)

61 KB JPG

>>25457954
With this kind of father, wouldn't you be frowning too?

>>25459318

Explain what's going on and the real reason it's happening for. Ask for help.

>>25459318
Explain the situation to them both, and then ask if they have any recommendation courses of action.

>>25459318
"We wished to talk with you about the unpleasant bit of business that's befallen the RRC of late.
"But first, we would like to have some context. The rumors seem to make the situation out west far worse that what we had been led to believe. What would you say the situation is like over there?"

>>25459471
>>25459481
Bartly nods soberly as you explain things. "Ahh yes, the society has been concerened with the general's actions as of late. Something has to be done."

Ethelstan's expression looks almost cruel. "I suppose you now see the mistake of relying too much on the military. I'll help you, if only to keep that old dog in line. What exactly do you want from us?"

>>25459590

Help the colonel against the acusations, of course. He has not done anything wrong, both by the military's standars, as by Ms. Ethelstan's standars.

>>25459590
Help in finding members of Parliament that can aid us by influencing the Committee members. Find things we can use to influence said Committee members.
We need to make contacts and allies among Parliament, as well as among nobles.

>>25459695
"Right now the committee for this hearing is almost entirely people who Clay has some degree of influence over. I can control the opposition, but you'll need to split his vote as much you can." Bartly explains while Ethelstan draws up a list.

"Admral Abrahamson. Paddy as his friends call him. He's from Firthbery, and a good friend of your brother's. He might be easy enough to sway if you can emphisize that this is about you instead of Clay.

Lady Fletcher might be harder. She has a reputation of being unbiased and judgmental. If I can be so bold your highness, I'd say you aren't quite ready to face her rhetorically. No offense, but you aren't the best statesman. If you aren't careful she'll pick you apart.

Lord Black is and old friend of Clay's. Every bit as belacose as the general. Although clay could use an ounce of that man's honor.

General Dean is the first female general in the Midland Army. She's a city born Bureaucrat who hasn't served in any combat however. I don't know much about her I'm afraid.

And lastly, Lord quickly. He's the general's right hand man responsible for keeping all the rest in line. I don't think Clay realizes how much he relies on Quickly. "

>>25460021
"This Lord Quickly, what are his weaknesses and vices? How can he be influenced?

>>25460021
We will have to talk with our brother concerning Admiral Abrahamson. Our global communications network, is it complete enough that we could talk with our brother using it?

Lady Fletcher will probably be our most dangerous opponent, because we are terrible debaters and statesmen.

We will need to see if we can find some way to get more information about General Dean; she's a desk general, so we may be able to sway her.

>>25460021
Hmmm. If Lord Black's known to be very honourable... what's his opinion on the development and use of radio-reactive weaponry? And on the post-war treatment of the RRC?

>>25460088
"It's quite interesting, He's older and more experienced politically than clay by far. Some say he could even have a good chance at becoming prime minister, but he just seems to want to sit in the sidelines. He also enjoys hunting, not sure if he has any vices, at least not any obvious ones."

Internet troubles. If I stop replying, it's because of that. If you can read this, I should be good for now though.

>>25460492
"We will need to examine him further. What about Lord Black? You say he has some shred of honor; does he support General Clay's plans for an expanded radio-reactive stockpile and using such weapons?"

>>25460492
Maybe we should hire someone to quietly look into Lord Quickly's private affairs.

>>25460661
"I don't know, maybe you should ask him?" Ethelstan tells you.

>>25460766
"The society will do so right away your highness." Bartly tells you.

>>25460988
"Well, he might have made his opinions public, but I presume from your comment that he hasn't. Very well. Are all of the other committee members solidly in our camp, then? How many of these people do we need to sway to have a good chance of coming out ahead?"

>>25461070

"Clay's supporters are the Majority, but if you can sway at least 2 of them, I think I can deal with the rest. If you can get 3 or more you'll be sure to win."

>>25461136
"We will need to move on Admiral Abrahamson quickly, then. Among the rest, we shall ask our brother about General Dean.
"How would you recommend we deal with Lady Fletcher? Does she believe that the RRC is and should remain a military agency, with only military programs and developing military applications? If so, then she will not be swayed by our efforts to further the sciences and our exploration missions."

>>25461228
"I think she believes in the power of rigorous rhetoric to determine the truth. It doesn't matter who is right to her, as much as who is left. She's a Barrister through and through."

>>25461506
"Then the less said, the better?
"Lord Quickly would be a good ally to have, but finding a way to entice him away from Clay's side will be difficult.
"Lady Ethelstan, how IS the unrest in the west going? We have heard of riots, and the military being deployed. Surely it can't be to the point of civil war, not so soon after the last great war."

>>25461703
"It seems we forget all too soon. I hope it doesn't get as far as some seem to want."


Shall you meet with any of the committee yourself, or will you just send your own agents to talk with them?

>>25461970
We should meet with Admiral Abrahamson personally.

We need more information on General Dean before meeting her, and the Society is supposed to be getting investigators on Lord Quickly.
Lady Fletcher would tear us apart; neither Lydia or the players (especially the players) are ready to go up against an opponent like her.

Lord Black, we need to hammer him on how the military treated the RRC after the war, even though it won the war for them, and how Clay wants the RRC to do the same thing again, without providing any protection for the inevitable backlash, either for the RRC, the military, or Midland itself.

>>25462232
So Abrahamson first?

You arrange to meet with the admiral, where shall you meet him and what will you be wearing?

>>25463333
We shall meet him in the Castle Library, and we shall wear our RRC uniform.

>>25463333
Also, can we speak with our brother before the meeting with the Admiral?
The Admiral is a good friend of our brother, and so we should inquire about the Admiral's personality from our brother.

>>25463377
Your brother is currently in the middle of nowhere. You could contact him via satellite however.

>>25463333
Either military or frilly. We emphasize our communications network, and other peacetime applications. Try and convince him that Colonel Smith was only acting in the best interest of the land.

>>25463481
>via satellite
Yes, that is exactly what we wish to do.
If the reception is good, it is also something that we can bring up with the Admiral, that with the satellite network he can speak with his comrades anywhere on the planet.

>>25463481
What else are those satellites there for?

>>25463590
>convince him that Colonel Smith was only acting in the best interest of the land.
That's as good as admitting that the Cheribum is overbudget, overdue, and actually a waste of resources.
That's a terrible tack to play on.

>>25463632
By that, I meant show all the awesome stuff we were going to due with the Cherubim. Show that he was working to achieve a goal. And a good goal at that.

>>25463601
>>25463602
You set up a satellite radio-communications terminal in the Library, dress in your most well pressed uniform, and invite the Admiral to speak with you. Before he arrives, you have a few minutes to speak with your brother. Is there anything you want to tell him before things get political?

>>25463676
>By that, I meant show all the awesome stuff we were going to due with the Cherubim
Then why didn't you say that, instead of using a phrase that is traditionally linked with "well, yes, he's guilty as charged, but his heart was in the right place"?

>>25463764
"Dear brother, so sorry to make this conversation only business and no pleasantry; we are meeting with Admiral Abrahamson on a matter relating to the RRC. What can you tell me about the man?"

"Oh Paddy's the commander of the home fleet, I served under him as a cadet. Great leader. Why?"

Your brother doesn't seem to know about the hearing.

>>25463981
"General Clay disagrees with the direction that the RRC is taking, and has had his supporters accuse my second-in-command of misappropriation of funds. We are meeting with the Admiral to see where he stands on the issue."

>>25464059
pretty nice summation.
Add: "anything we should know about him going into this"?

"He WHAT? This is happening right now you say?" This seems to come as a shock to your brother, but he doesn't seem to have any relevant information on the Admiral.

Eventually Admiral Abrahamson enters the library and bows to you. "good evening your highness. What brings me the pleasure of your invitation?"

>>25464335
"We are aware that you are on the tribunal of Colonel Smith. Seeing as he was the commander of the RRC, We believed that We should brief you on all our activities. Ones that We have undertaken already, and plans We had for the near future."

"Here you can see the fruits of our labor. Right now, we have a direct line with Prince Michel Lohengrin Von Cygnus Gates the First through out satellite network. Since he served under you as a cadet, We were hoping that he could help Us illustrate the finer points of this system."

>>25464335
"Good evening, Admiral. We were just chatting with our brother. The RRC's global communications network is producing results already.
"We wish to speak with you about the upcoming hearing concerning Colonel Smith of the RRC, and these accusations of misappropriation of funds."

>>25464465
Smaart, I like this.

We illustrate what we have been working on for so long while simultaneously bringing an ally into the discussion.

>>25464486
I think that's to direct. I was trying to make it sound like a briefing. Showing Abrahamson what we had done with the RRC and then letting him make his own decision. The advice we got was to make this about Us and not Clay. So we make it about the RRC and not Clay's tribunal. I would rather we kept away from the subject of the tribunal completely until we get a read on Abrahamson. jumping into this will only hurt us.

"Ahoy Captain Gates!" The admiral says to the microphone, very loudly as if he's not quite confidant in the machine's ability to carry his voice such a great distance. "This is instantaneous communication?" He asks.

"Not quite Admiral. Lydia tells me there is a very short delay between what one says and the other hears. It takes time for the waves to go all the way up and come back down..."

Abrahamson seems pleased as he chats with his star pupal over the satellite connection. "I can see you've been working hard Your highness."

>>25464769
"Indeed we have Admiral, it the hope of the PRC that this means of instantaneous communication will not only help our nation's military in both tactical and strategic terms; but that it will also offer our nation's citizens a chance to speak to family members on deployment or in other countries.

>>25464769
"Yes, and this system is still very much a prototype. We hope to make it much more advanced, our researchers have been working on a system that could potentially transmit pictures near instantaneously as well. We even plan to monitor the weather over the entire world."

>>25464828
Maybe take out the "other countries" part.

>>25464769
"Yes, Admiral. We at the RRC hope that this system will be of great use to the military, as well as having civilian applications. And of course, there is more that we hope to do.
"We have recently developed a technology for the wireless transmission of images from orbit. A satellite is, at this moment, mapping the world in its entirety and sending the images back to Tannhauser Island. We hope to do the same from an even higher orbit, one which has not been reached before, that will allow continuous monitoring of a region."

>>25464910
"Continuous monitoring? How is that possible your highness? I thought your satellites had to be moving fast to keep from falling out of the sky?" The Admiral asks, setting himself up for your knockout punch.

>>25464969
BOOM HOOK LINE AND SINKER

"Are you familiar with the term 'Geo-synchronous' orbit? Simply put, the satellite is moving fast, but it is in an orbit that takes exactly one day. So, the satellite will orbit Gaia in the same amount of time that Gaia takes for one full rotation. The end result being that the satellite stays over the same position continuously. In fact, <take out mission profile for Geo-synchronous orbit> here is the mission profile. We would use the Cherubim as a launch vehicle, as no other rocket made to date could carry enough fuel this maneuver."

>>25464969
"Technically true, Admiral. However, there is a point, a high enough orbit, that if achieved, is far enough out that an object will appear to be motionless relative to the Earth. This high orbit would allow us to position a satellite with tele-optic equipment that was only just recently developed, to continuously monitor any place on the globe. This orbit is called geostationary orbit, and was impossible to reach, until now.
"The RRC's project for the past year has been to develop a rocket capable of placing a satellite into this orbit. Much of the work was slow-going, as the technologies required for a useful satellite also had to be developed. But now, the majority of the work is done, and we believe that we can send a prototype into space."

"What are you getting at girl? Are you're telling me the Cherubim is completed after all?" The Admiral clearly wasn't expecting this. "Then why is Smith up for investigation? What's going on here your highness?"

>>25465183
"We wish we knew. We were hoping you could help us get to the bottom of the matter."

bring him in, let him expose Clay himself. and become that much more powerful of an ally because of it.

>>25465183
"Yes, Admiral, the Cheribum is completed. It was awaiting final safety improvement tests and trials, as well as awaiting the completion of technologies that would make best use of its capabilities.
"The RRC prides itself on its safety record; we have no intention of having one of our rockets blow up like what happened to the SSC.
"As for why Colonel Smith has been accused of misappropriation of funds, we believe it to be...politics, concerning our work at the RRC."

>>25465300
I would rather leave out the bit about the SSC, we did injure Harker after all. and they are ahead of us. We should continue to make this solely about what WE'VE done.

Alright it's midnight. You've gotten one down, and We can resolve this arc on Tuesday. I'm gonna walk my dog and go to bed now.

>>25465339
Then shouldn't we explain why the Cheribum took so long to develop compared to when the SSC was launching their rockets with far lower Failure/Boom ratings?

>>25465515
They had more funding, weren't hampered by storms, don't have to deal with political BS that we are dealing with right now. Take your pick

>>25465542
Why not call her up and ask?

>>25465572
You mean Kenaway?

Ask her what her largest rocket is? Out for Tea? To talk about boys?

>>25465619
As to how she manages to secure so much funding. But the other topics are also good ideas.

Oh also, You guys get an extra luck point because I think you did a good job with the Admiral, and I haven't given any in a while.

>>25465669
Oh that makes sense. I was hoping for a slumber party on the moon when this is over.

>>25465689
Or the space station she is trying to build.