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Taking advantage of their repeated violation of contracts with you and lack of assets with which to provide compensation, your team pushed for the acquisition of anything you could get your hands on. The best way to do that was not just to ask for compensation, but for the rights to buy out more of their industry using your own funds.

You've used personal funds and surplus taken from RSS to buy out 51% of their armor company.

The House owned industry, and production rights are where you direct a good potion of the compensation. All of the remainder was used as a down payment on a planet close to the Smuggler's Run trade lane. The Harmen family will be paying themselves for much of the work of terraforming but at the same time it will mean they'll get their most valued resource; land that can be sold at a higher price.

The price at which the House has acquired the rights to the planet and other industry are such that the Barons and your Knights are referring to it as the House Posat fire sale.

A number of House Posat nobles will retain their lesser holdings on the planet even though overall control will be transferred to your House. They may change their allegiance later but that remains to be seen.

The new holdings have been garrisoned with troops you brought with you, especially the 3 locations on Tabernas, the House Posat capital. With their power cell armor and LST support it would be very difficult to remove those troops. Even if the Ruling House were to annex House Posat they would have to consider the repercussions of taking those factories.

Currently you're in orbit of Rioja the newest addition to the House, and apparently a security concern. Pirates from somewhere in the Run have attempted to raid the planet.
Alex is out hunting for them leading half a squadron of attack cruisers. Do you want to request support for him from the training bases and shipyards in the Run?

>>35526226
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION

>>35526716
yes. Let's have some heavier ships on standby. Maybe contact local mercenary forces, I remember some pirate making threats of vengeance from beyond the nav hazards in the run, so it could easily be that.

>>35526226
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION!
>>35526716

I say we put training bases and shipyards on alert, but only with training bases actively participating in the action - shipyard deployments being on high alert and intense guarding.

And we can suggest that all this is timed and recorded before letting the whole thing go, with whatever military influence we have, so that it can be used as a practical study in our readiness to mobilize on short notice, and to find in which way we have to prepare or organize more and how to best use what we now and what we might have better or worse next time around..

>>35526716
Having the recruits from the training bases fly exercises and patrols in-system should provide enough of a deterrent against future attacks. However, I'm not sure if they would prove useful as suppot to Alex. So I'd prefer to use them defensively.

>>35526716

I'd prefer to bring a training wing or some squadrons into orbit of the planet to free up some of our attack cruisers to support Alex's force.

If something goes bad, Alex's forces have AB and tough shields. Training corvettes would be vulnerable and probably lack the experience to properly disengage if it were required.

They could much more safely and effectively deployed around the planet and backed up by flights of attack cruisers.

Is anyone on screw twisting duty for the pirates that surrendered or datamining their ship logs for the location of their base?

I'm tempted to say that the first pirate to give accurate information can choose 10 of his fellows and (if applicable) their families will be shown mercy.

Did Posat give us info on the informant, too? We need to capture that guy.

And thank Posat for the information. We've already called for salvage teams for the unexpected bonus that came with the world.

Security checks of any civilian ships landing on the surface of Rioja has been increased. Transports operating in the region have been asked to stay on alert and report signs of other vessels in distress.

Ordering ships to form into convoys could adversely impact business in the region but will keep ships safe. A lone attack cruiser will struggle to take on 10-20 transports if suitably armed.

>contact local mercenary forces
There are some mercs available for hire though their numbers are a bit low having been depleted up at the front.
Do you want to hire any or are you looking for info?

>recruits from the training bases fly exercises and patrols in-system
>free up some of our attack cruisers to support Alex's force.
Two corvette squadrons are assigned to the system around Rioja for "endurance training" much to the recruits displeasure.

>practical study in our readiness to mobilize on short notice,
Several of the base commanders in the region find this to be a good idea.

>training bases and shipyards on alert, only with training bases actively participating
>If something goes bad, Alex's forces have AB and tough shields. Training corvettes would be vulnerable and probably lack the experience to properly disengage if it were requ
Those that are deployed out on patrol will keep watch for suspicious activity and report it so your heavier ships can engage.

>Is anyone on screw twisting duty for the pirates that surrendered or datamining their ship logs for the location of their base?
The captured pirates are not feeling especially talkative yet other than asking for legal counsel. Only the Carrier has FTL navigation ability and the crew has wiped much of its database before they were boarded.

>Did Posat give us info on the informant, too?
They've arrested whoever in their House was providing data to the Pirates that they know of.

New security checks on the surface find 4 people that may have connections with the group. Each has been brought in for questioning.

>>35527361
>caught in the middle of a piracy attempt
>no real government structure has jurisdiction

Admiralty court time? Because I'm thinking 'guilty of wasting my time by asking for legal representation'

>>35527361
>Mercenary forces
If they're low on numbers don't bother, but if they have information that's useful then perhaps pursue that lead.

>The captured pirates are not feeling especially talkative yet other than asking for legal counsel.
Can we threaten them with airlock since we're technically the only governmental official in the system at the moment?

>>35527361
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION!

>The captured pirates are not feeling especially talkative yet
Simple, they talk they get thrown in prison on slightly reduced time. If they keep silent they get the firing squad.

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Oh wow. The old Smugglers Run map had a number of symbology problems that I took steps to simplify for the Neeran war maps.
Red "C" = enemy held Colony
Grey "C" = Civilian ships
Red "X" = Ground side smuggler base
Grey "X" = Abandoned Colony
It looks like I'll try to avoid using them today.

Smaller section of the map.

Alex reports back after a few hours that the pirates managed to lose them by skirting the edges of the nav hazard zones and cutting through the nebula near Kaartinen. They may have then split up. It became difficult to get solid readings on them because they were swinging so close to star forming regions. That isn't a small nebula, part of it stretches out to where Forbearance is located, crossing the Run's trade lane. Wherever they went they avoided detection by the local sensor buoys.

Alex is requesting orders.

>>35527473
>guilty of wasting my time
>>35527585
>threaten them with airlock
>>35527679
>keep silent they get the firing squad.

>Shoot them before tossing them out the airlock...

So, do you want to threaten them or leave them for the MP's? And more importantly do you plan to follow through with your threats?

>>35528204
>So, do you want to threaten them or leave them for the MP's?

Leave them to the MPs.

I'd prefer to stay away from the airlock unless it's an actual sentence in Dominion law. It just seems cruel and unprofessional.

>>35528204
>And more importantly do you plan to follow through with your threats?
Well would we be okay from a lawful perspective if we did? I mean piracy has to be a serious enough of a crime for execution to be the punishment. We could just put up a few against the wall with a firing squad ready to see if they crack but I am sure the MP's can deal with them efficiently as well.

>Alex is requesting orders.
Return to base. We'll try to get a location out of the pirates first which we can then scout before hitting in force.

>>35528300
Yeah, supporting this.

I think they were meant more as threats to try get them talking though.

>>35528204
>Alex is requesting orders.

Have them come back for now. Given their experience during their last tour of duty, Sonia and the Wing Commanders should have an idea where smugglers and pirates like to hide. So they should start looking for those places.

>>35528204

... Does Posat want to make examples of them, instead of us? Technically, they did steal Posat's stuff.

I'm all for a money saving admiralty court and then airlocking them, if Posat doesn't want to hang them as an example.

I'm also find with turning over the 4 suspected informants to Posat.

>Alex requesting orders

Who ended up with Kaartinen and the Rare world? IIRC, J-D didn't.

I'm thinking the AB cruisers and our Excal go hunting in flights.

We've got at least a few days before Winifred gets here with extra forces, so we may as well try to be productive with it.

And we need to be damned sure that everyone and their mother gets the IFF/engine signatures of those J-types and Vengeance ACRS and knows they're pirates.

Especially the local Mercs

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Alex is called back to base so that everyone can sort things out for a more planned deployment. Some of the crews were unable to reach their ships in time for them to leave dock.

For the moment you'll leave threats against the pirates to the MP's.

>>35528352
>Well would we be okay from a lawful perspective if we did? I mean piracy has to be a serious enough of a crime for execution to be the punishment.
It's very unlikely you'd get in trouble for it. Many Houses punish piracy with death, others have prisons or implant them with slave chips to work off the value of whatever they stole.
The down side of executing them is that they did surrender, albeit after you disabled their ships. Not too long ago they could have claimed POW status.

>And we need to be damned sure that everyone gets the IFF/engine signatures and knows they're pirates.
>Especially the local Mercs
Are you willing to offer a reward for information leading to the capture or location of the pirates?

>Who ended up with Kaartinen and the Rare world? IIRC, J-D didn't.
An ally from a smaller House.

Posat are interested in pressing charges against the pirates for the theft of their property but admit that the planet is now the jurisdiction of your House. You can hang onto them for prosecution by people from our own House once things are set up, or give them straight to House Posat.

Given extra time and persuasion by your MP's a few people have admitted that they don't really know where their base is. That's left up to the ship captains and the navigators. Some of them are local, recruited before you swept through the Run several years ago.

Sorry for the delay. There are a number of bases scattered through the run that were destroyed by you, your allies or have been abandoned for one reason or another. Some smugglers have decided to remain in contact as more semi-legitimate trade bases while others keep to their old habits of not telling outsiders much of anything.
Possible bases in yellow.

>>35529253
Let's try this area first.

>Are you willing to offer a reward for information leading to the capture or location of the pirates?

Sure, even if we don't get them that should make it pretty clear that you don't fuck with J-D.

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>>35529413
Forgot to attach the image.

So lets put the screws to the captains and navigators!

>>35529253
out of curiosity...

Could we bring in RSS teams to eventually salvage some of these places or otherwise relocate/destroy them for good?

>Posat is interested in charges

Are they friends of killing all these pirates? I'd be fine with handing them over for a short trial...

>>35529439
Pretty sure we can't go into nav hazards.

>>35529253
Let's split into two groups, one starts in the south and one in the north of the run and they make their way towards each other, checking bases along the way.

>>35529593
>Could we bring in RSS teams to eventually salvage some of these places or otherwise relocate/destroy them for good?
Possible. House salvage teams did quick sweeps of each base you hit for anything easy to remove or repurpose.
Most salvage efforts these days are focused on the graveyards. It could be awhile before you could get a contract for that work now.

>>35529439
5 bases and 1 smuggler outpost.

Do you want to have small groups check each site at the same time, or larger forces investigate in sequence?

You have 24 attack cruisers, 2 battlecruisers and 1 LR Battleship. It might be best to keep the Battleship near the planet due to its lower sublight speed.

>>35529739
Smaller units scouts all sectors at the same time. Like two Cruisers on each spot.

>>35529719
>Pretty sure we can't go into nav hazards.
Surprisingly, I only want to check the yellow bases inside the area I marked.

>Do you want to have small groups check each site at the same time, or larger forces investigate in sequence?

Have larger forces investigates in sequence. 12 ac, 1 BC per group.

>>35529739
Going off of this >>35529439 I would say we go in with larger forces like >>35529797 suggests and hit up that smuggler base first.

>>35529739

Leave the LRBS over the planet.

6 sites, 24 ACRS and 2 EXCALS?

4 ship units seem to be the order of the day, with EXCALS assigned to the groups going to the outlying sites (how convenient, 4 of them are effectively in 2 pairs while the other 2 are lonesome!)

>>35529441
>So lets put the screws to the captains and navigators!
The captain is uncooperative in the extreme. The MP's recommend that if you go in to talk with him you bring a face guard and towelettes.

The navigator claims that they haven't done anything wrong and wants a lawyer.

Looking over the reports on some of the crews you're reminded of that Frigate you snuck aboard as part of your first Recon armor mission. They were taking on recruits from one of the agricultural based colonies which was lacking for many other ways off world.
Some of these people were stuck in stasis for a couple of years waiting for things to calm down enough to resume piracy. Hopefully there aren't many more that had the same idea or the Run could be awash in pirates again.

>>35529780
>>35529797
>>35530060

You split up your forces into two groups intending to hit any potential location with enough ships to overwhelm them. There are some Clarents and EX-K's with each so that you'll have some afterburner equipped ships in either unit.

Your unit visits the smuggler base first. A surface installation, it wasn't one of the areas you visited on your first tour of the region. The surface of the planet itself is frozen with only a wispy atmosphere containing trace amounts of noble gasses. The smugglers have a below ground mining operation with some industry in addition to a docking pit that can be covered over to make detection difficult. It took several weeks for House allies to locate it.

It seems the local administrator is unwilling to provide sensor records of ships passing through. Did you want to intimidate, try to bribe them, or infiltrate the base to steal the info?
Or another option?

>>35530152
I'll support this unit distribution

>>35530538
>try to bribe them

I guess we could make House security look the other way when these smugglers are around as long as they don't start shipping dangerous stuff.

Infiltrating could be fun, we don't get many other opportunities.

>>35530538
Are these guys operating under any House's protection, or are they considered an illegal operation we could in lawfully shut down or seize?

Because I'm seeing a world not protected by the Factions Treaty and with some docking pit doors that need to show us what they're hiding...

My favorite line, too! Blast them from orbit!

>>35530538
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION!

Could we threaten kinetic bombardment from orbit and toss a shell into a nearby lake or ocean to show them we aren't messing around?

>>35530538
They can give us what we want so we can deal with some pirates and go back to ignoring them. Or they can refuse us in which case we will bomb the shit out of them and pick up the pieces. We have already been doing them a favor by not making them crash and burn so far.

>>35530538
>Or another option?
Would he allow us to check his logs for the ships we're looking for?

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>>35530800
>Are these guys operating under any House's protection, or are they considered an illegal operation we could in lawfully shut down or seize?
The essentially a free port, probably paying bribes to various Houses in return for some level of autonomy.
You're not sure if they have much in the way of protection provided by those Houses.
>Because I'm seeing a world not protected by the Factions Treaty and with some docking pit doors that need to show us what they're hiding...
You're free to send someone down to the surface and look around if you want to see what ships are currently docked.

>>35530653
Bribe

>>35530800
>>35530816
>>35530858
Intimidate.

You have point defense fire off a round landing 100km away from the base. You tell the administrator that your gunners are calibrating their weapons and hope to use them against the pirates that recently attacked a colony.

"You could have landed and looked around yourself. There are no pirates here."
"Did they pass through here? I want to check your logs for the ships we're looking for."
"Other people value their privacy, what ships are you looking for?"
Telling them the ship classes involved they send you data on a Vengeance B and several Journeyman class that have passed through the region.

The Vengeance type was months ago and may not have even been the same ship. They've seen several Journeyman class going back and forth between the Run and the nearby salvage operation in the ship graveyard. They're commonly used for hauling and a shipyard elsewhere is known to build them so it could be difficult to find the right ones.

"I believe the engines from one of the ships matches our sensor records sir." Reports your ops officer.
It's made several trips in and out of the grave yard.

Alex reports that the first site they've checked was a bust, though there are signs it's been checked over by smugglers.

Where do you want to proceed next? Do you want to split off some of your forces to cover more ground?

>>35531283

Take our force to visit the graveyard.

Have Alex's force split off a flight to investigate the site next to the smuggler base, the rest go to the next base on their list? (the one across the run?)

>>35531283
We move on with our force to the Graveyard obviously to investigate it. I hope they have not been stealing ships from it. Alex carry on on his end.

>>35531656
>>35531380
>the rest go to the next base on their list? (the one across the run?)
That's where they were going to go next.

>EXCALS assigned to the groups going to the outlying sites
You want the Battlecruiser to stick with the group going farthest from the Run

You take your unit to investigate the graveyard. If someone is hiding there a larger force could come in handy. After jump in you hail the locals.

A House J-D salvage team is in system along with teams from other Houses. It seems the some of the base equipment from a pirate installation your raided was brought here and used as the frame for the main installation. Salvage craft of nearly every size and shape fly to and from the base and the ring of debris orbiting a small rocky planetoid.

There are signs that a surface base was present at one point but it's been smashed by debris raining down on it for centuries if it hadn't been nuked back in the wars.

The J-D officer in charge says that it's good to see you again.
"Do we know each other?"
"Oh, well we haven't actually met I suppose. Lt Commander James Gun. My team used to pick up after you for most of your campaign. It sure gave us a lot of work!"

You ask about any Journeyman transports operating here.

"We use plenty of them sir. Much better than the Remora and they're hardy enough to take the debris hits."

There seems to be plenty of small debris in this system. The tractor beams on the station are doing what they can to direct them in system where sweeps can collect them more easily.

"Have either matching this data left the system with salvage?"
The officer checks the records. "There's one that's left a few times with spinal mount heavy phase cannons and a few other broken parts to be shipped back to Forbearance. Their paperwork was all in order."
"What parts?"

You get a list. Most of it could be used to patch up a Journeyman or a Vengeance B. Thankfully they haven't been able to pull any warheads from the wrecks it looks like.

>>35532061

Have their deliveries been verified? That needs to be handled and an APB put out on that ship.

Where are they registered to? J-D needs to investigate the ship's home port and possibly take action against any company that owns it, along with anyone responsible for the paperwork they used if the stuff didn't get delivered.

>Have their deliveries been verified? That needs to be handled and an APB put out on that ship.
"Checking sir. There were supposed to have been delivery shipments to Forbearance for her bow guns. They're logged as recieved. I'll attempt to get more info from the work crews posted there."

>Where are they registered to?
"It's part of the regular contracted work crews... The ship is registered out of the same system that builds our attack cruisers."
>J-D needs to investigate the ship's home port and possibly take action against any company that owns it, along with anyone responsible for the paperwork they used if the stuff didn't get delivered.

"How often is that ship here in the area?"
"I hasn't shown up locally in more than 2 months. Other contractors have taken their place."

Do you want to move on to check other systems while some of your Knights investigate Forbearance and the shipyard? Or would you prefer to head to the shipyard yourself? You do own a stake in it after all.

Was there anything else you wanted to do in the system?

>>35532549
I smell corruption. Or the ship was sized by pirates without anyone noticing. Either it's someone at the Forbearance that is lying on paper or someone managed to steal them off the ship. I do not know which is worse.

Let's go to the shipyard ourselves, if there is any corruption there we are purging it.

>Was there anything else you wanted to do in the system?
Tell them to be alert, something is fishy here.

>>35532549

Sounds like an investigation by intel may be called for, just to be sure. If those deliveries weren't actually made J-D can probably take some painful legal action after rooting out a spy/traitor.

I'd say send a flight of ships to the shipyard and speak with the main administrator. If they encounter any resistance we'll show up and cause trouble.

Also, I'd say we should put a 750k collective bounty on the three ships. 250k for information that enables J-D forces to locate and engage one of the ships, per ship.

Someone will take it.

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You'd like to visit your investments for more positive reasons than hunting for pirates. The planetoid you and your attack squadron once blasted open using pieces of ship debris is one of the more important shipyards belonging to the House. They build most of the new attack cruisers used by your Wings these days, those not salvaged by RSS that is. Many are sold off to other Houses you're allied with or to trusted mercenaries.
They even continue to construct Kilo class medium cruisers, though most lack the tougher armor found on those built by Iratar. Because of this many are outfitted as field repair ships.

The yards are in full swing producing EX-K, U-haul and Vengence types. As soon as the R&D for them finishes they'll start producing models with better cross Faction parts compatibility, not that these aren't capable of that to some extent.

"Do you have many Journeyman transports come through here?" you ask the station representative assigned to look after you.

"Just for deliveries, we don't build any here."

You ask about the registered ship.

"That's registered at one of the other asteroid bases in system. They're mostly independent but they'll still register ships for people. With the registry listed as this system most people assume it's our station because we're the main out system port. Honestly its becoming a real headache and we wish they'd stop."

"Do people take advantage of that?" you ask.
"A few lately. Mostly con artists trying to dupe people to get legitimate contracts assigned to them. We've been trying to warn the Houses but they're busy worry about the war."

>What say?

>>35533324

"We have reason to believe pirates have made use of this to steal from Jerik-Dremine and bring an attack cruiser up to flight status to engage in piracy."

I assume it is very, very bad when a ship registered to you is caught conducting piracy.

Which base do we get to blow up this time?

>>35533324
"I see, well, I'd best have a talk with them then."
Call up the other asteroid.

>>35533324
"Well, the good news is the House now has reason to actually listen to your warnings... the bad news is we've most likely been conned into giving somebody a cover story to steal some of our salvage."

>They even continue to construct Kilo class medium cruisers
Neat. Could J-D build medium cruiser sized ships before H&D started?

"Well, the good news is the House now has reason to actually listen to your warnings... the bad news is we've most likely been conned into giving somebody a cover story to steal some of our salvage."
"How much salvage?"
"Enough to bring an attack cruiser up to flight status to engage in piracy."

The shipyard rep sighs in relief. Seeing your stare he attempts to explain.
"This is certainly not good news but it could be far worse. So much salvage is processed that some of it is bound to go missing. I'm just glad that nobody has been able to exploit this enough to activate a fleet."

"Also because it means you're probably not responsible?"

"Yes that too."
"I see, well, I'd best have a talk with them then."

You're warned that the other asteroid stations in the system may have trade and cease fire agreements with the Houses but they do not consider themselves members of the Dominion. The strength of their defense is formidable which is why you were advised against assaulting them in the campaign to clear the Run. They lack the dock space and shipyard capacity of the main base which is why they're not able to compete as trade hubs, instead conducting small scale trad with their now more "civilized" kin.

How do you want to approach them?

>>35533870

"A ship registered to your base has been found engaging in piracy in the smuggler's run."

Get a formal document written up requesting that they turn over all information on the ship, the ship's owners, and point of origin.

And if someone would be willing to second my call for that 750k bounty on the 3 ships, I'd also like to inform them that any information they provide toward this could qualify.

Also, we need to get gears turning so that EVERY ship registered out of the smaller bases in this system is rejected for all contracts with Houses in the area.

>>35533870
We lay out the facts to them and ask that they assist us in clearing out the pirate menace from the Run. We really should rename this area now that it's no longer a smugglers run. They can either choose to help us and gain our goodwill. Or if they piss in our face we can always join them to the House with fire and sword.

>>35534012
I'd pass on the bounty. Why pay for something when the House can do that instead?

>>35534150
>Why pay for something when the House can do that instead?

Because we want to go for a promotion to Knight Commander and Baron. If we lead the effort to neutralize all of the pirates involved in the attack it will make us look even better than just getting the planet and fending of the raiders.

We've demonstrated initiative, but we can't rest our laurels on one event before we get the promotion.

While we clean up this mess on our end we still need to plug the leaks on those asteroid bases. Would these pirates be grounds enough to revoke the independent stations ability to register ships and force them to base out of major ports? It would definitely improve security.

>>35533870
I kinda like the idea of a neutral, independent trade hub. Would these guys have enough money to buy additional docking space?

>>35534722

We are not weakening the position of J-D's holding in this system by helping one of the smaller asteroid fortress/smuggler bases become a viable free port.

What we should do is bring our new Helios in and blow up any smaller bases that refuse to surrender.

Oh shoot, with the pirate thing I completely forgot about the supply issue sub plot.

Because of the expiration of contracts between certain traders and House Posat, Rioja is running low on certain supplies. The Terraforming plants are supplied by your House and won't be affected. Things like food and other items for the civilians in other areas on the surface will run low for a couple of days. This would not be much of a confidence boost regarding the hand over.
Do you want to pay to have a transport from the Nav relay make a supply run, ask one of the base commanders in the region for assistance for a day or two or just institute rationing for a couple of days to make sure nothing runs out?

Deciding it might be better to show some small amount of discretion you contact the other station from the shipyard and trade hub rather than go over in person. Scheduling a call with their administrator you transmit formal documents ahead of time requesting that they turn over all information on the ship, the ship's owners, and point of origin.

You're finally connected with a Mr Simon after several hours waiting and he briefly reviews your request.
"A ship registered to your base has been found engaging in piracy in the smuggler's run. We would like your assistance in clearing out the remaining pirate menace from the region."

"Surely a great House of the Dominion must be able to handle one or two, or even three ships on their own?"

While true the damage they could cause to infrastructure or trade in the region could outweigh the cost of the ships themselves.

"And what if we say we're simply not interested in helping you? Oh we'll deny them any assistance if they were to come calling, we're not that thoughtless but supplying you information isn't something we're obliged to do."

>What say?
>Do you mention the bounty on information leading to the capture or destruction of the pirate ships?

>>35534949
mention the bounty

>>35534949
Sounds to me like they are supporting pirating and we should send a lot of ships over to show them what we do with pirates and pirate supporters.

>>35534949
"Ofcourse no one is forcing you to give us anything. It was merely my hope that you would be interested in dealing with a potential pirate infestation in the area before it started to grow to a bothersome level. Seeing as then I would have to bring in a fleet and repeat what I did here a few years ago. While new salvage is always enjoyable it's not something I want for the Run. What I want is economical growth and stability in the region, something both of us would benefit from. If this is gained by cooperation or if I have to use fire and sword again is another matter."

Basically they'll benefit from this region becoming calm rather than supporting pirates and if they do support pirates we'll purge the region just like last time except this time it will be a cakewalk.

As for the planet... Don't want rioting so let's get them some supplies. Let's ask a base commander, not like they are doing much anyways.

>>35534949

"Call it a simple way to repay a debt. If we hadn't cracked [this planetoid's name] open when we did, siege guns were going to be brought in to crack open every last one of your bases. Or, look to the future. I'm sure that ships registered at your location are a respectable amount of credits gained once sums are tallied. If you do not wish to cooperate, we may decide to take the very simple measure of denying contracts and regularly searching any ship registered with you. You could also look at the situation from a purely diplomatic standpoint. The Dominion Houses are forbidden from warring between themselves at this point, but your position means you are not protected by this. Giving a semblance of cooperation to the local Houses is an easy method of reducing the perceived threat or annoyance that your independence projects.

One could also say that piracy has a way of driving up the prices of goods. I've always found that one's interests often outweigh their obligations."

Which of these responses would you guys like to go with?

>>35535076
Mention the bounty. (Or potentially even offer a bribe?)

>>35535081
Threaten.

>>35535145
>>35535249
Or a variation of these two?

>>35535473
>Or a variation of these two?
Well there is where my votes goes, I wonder why?
Anyways I need to sleep now.

>>35535473

>Or a variation of these two?

This works better then a flat threat. I'd like to go with this.

Also work on getting supplies asap.

>>35535473
> Or a variation of these two?
If Sonia is going to enter the political arena, shes going to need to practice her diplomancy, and who better to practice on than people we have to option to kill in a hail of massed fire or explosives

>>35535473
not voting since I'm the other 'variation' guy.

I'm all for getting a shipment of stuff moved in to cover us. See if we can't get a reputable company from this planetoid for it, if possible. Jolly Cooperation!

Out of curiosity, do we have any powers to place a temp planetary governor in power for Rioja? And does RSS by any funds left over to get a small modular station put in place above it?

I guess that also brings into question if we want to eye getting named Baron of Rioja.

>>35536189
>And does RSS by any funds left over to get a small modular station put in place above it?
I'm working on calculating RSS funds atm actually. I thought I was almost done... then I found another stack of salvage to still be counted.

>>35536332
> Then I found another stack.
Pretty much the story of our life so far

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>Out of curiosity, do we have any powers to place a temp planetary governor in power for Rioja?
Not to place a Governor technically, though if you remained there you would be the highest ranking authority and thus would be in charge until relieved.

>See if we can't get a reputable company from this planetoid for it, if possible. Jolly Cooperation!
The one the shipyard is on, or the one you're negotiating with? On that note:

Major inhabited planetoids in the system.
01 Avoubic (Shipyard. The system will be named after this on future maps.)
02 Belu (The one you're currently in discussions with.)
03 Ανao

>does RSS by any funds left over to get a small modular station put in place above it?
Almost certainly. If you were willing to pay a small convenience fee you could probably buy one of the Posat stations in orbit that would otherwise have to be relocated.

You have a bit more cash in your reserves than I might have otherwise figured.
How much of that colony did you want to own? Keeping in mind that if you buy out too much the other nobles will start to get a little jealous about the size of your holdings. Then again there's always the option to sell some of that land off later once it's been terraformed.
You can't buy more than 50%.

>>35537216

I was specifically asking about Avoubic based companies.

I personally consider every single 'hold out' site as a future practice target for that Helios we salvaged, once the House gets it off the front.

>can't buy more than 50%

How badly would 50% ownership of the planet actually hurt the RSS funds? I'm sure London would consider it a damned good investment, even if we sold off the majority of it.

Our 2 squadrons worth of knights bought how much of the available land on that planet again? 2/3rds? 2/5ths? before anyone else in the House even had a chance, right?

... does land ownership have any say in Baronship? Because I'd laugh if we owned a majority stake in a planet and then smiled as we asked about that promotion...

>>35537216
>Not to place a Governor technically, though if you remained there you would be the highest ranking authority and thus would be in charge until relieved.
I say that we should just place a governor anyway. Worst case he gets replaced, best case, we have an ally in power here.

>>35535473
Both. Carrot AND the Stick. Let them know that we appreciate having a good working relationship with our neighbors, but it's a two-way street. If they want to be difficult about it, though, we can be VERY difficult. We're here to stay, and we have a fleet. If they doubt us, they can check into our history the last time we were in the South Reach . . . and they just might take note of what lengths we're willing to go to hopefully no-one had family on that pirate ship we gutted ages ago

They want to be our friend, because we are very nice to our friends. This is their chance. We're not going away any time soon.

As for the planet, lets get them some supplies, but make a very public demonstration of us handing them out personally under the guise of "Welcoming them to house J-D". Also, let's try and get a selection of specialty goods for anyone important on the planet as a personal gift of appreciation for their hard work during this trying time.

>>35537216
I would love to buy as much land as possible if only so we can sell it later at a profit.

>>35537416
>>35537216

We personally should not own more than 50 %, but if the wing as a whole can own say 55 or 60 % than its something to consider since if we can have us all under one umbrella and not defect around.

Daska might do it depending on ircumstances- ie if we stall career wise,
Alex can- he is conected,
and everyone else would be perhaps tempted with the right offer.

This way while we do not own the planet, the concerns of our Attack Wings do however.

And if perchance Sonia Reynard owns around 30% or so of a planet, well, she can always sell later or buy a bit more or horse trade a bit on that planet with land...

SURVEY! <<<<<<<<<<<<
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YY6PC7P

>>35537416
>I personally consider every single 'hold out' site as a future practice target for that Helios we salvaged, once the House gets it off the front.
It might be easier to wait for Forbearance to begin its shakedown cruise.

>does land ownership have any say in Baronship?
Not directly, though a Baron is expected to have enough pollitical, military or industrial support from a planet to be able to raise a fighting force from it.

>>35537661
>hopefully no-one had family on that pirate ship we gutted ages ago
Like the guy that stabbed you in the back because of it?

See you guys in the morning... oh wow, it's early in the AM here.

>>35537216
Laaaaaaaaaand. We need it. We want it. It is possibly the single most important thing for the aristocracy. Buy 25% for us, and finance purchases for anyone we trust who is part of our inner circle. Buy some for Bekka, for Linda, for our Body Guard etc. We don't need to own it directly, we just need to control who does (and make them pay us back with a percentage of any profit they make if they choose to re-sell it).

>>35529253
Which one is the one we just bought?

>>35537790
40% of the land and RSS sets up its own expanded station is a good middle path in my opinion. That lets us keep at least a bit of our liquidity within the company.

I still think we should appoint a governor though.

@TSTG, does Mr London run all of investments and property, or is he focused purely on our slew of corporate enterpeises?

>>35537914
Do keep in mind that London is a BANK man not RSS man. We have not yet recruited him if i recall correctly.

>>35537790
Well, that wont happen in the current state of this world.

Still with a station in orbit around it we should be able to cover industrial and even political if we can give some favorable immigration rates and good treatment to some population numbers.
And military support, some of our guys can retire here if we give them some incentive them a bit and work as the PDF officers.

How big is the house Posat Station? What modules does it cost, and do we get a discount from market value since or get it at nominal value instead of with a fee since it wont have to be transported and wont eat into house Posat money?

With that in mind i think we should be able imho to go under market price, since we provide house Posat Liquidity that is way more worth to them ATM than the station..

>>35537914
I'm kind of Meh about going in on the station ourselves. We have a house for a reason, let's get them to support some of it. Besides, it will cut down on any suspicion that we're grabbing too much power ourselves.

>>35538063
Well, station will be a bit more important imho, since it will be the major operation center for transformation, potential trade or mining exploration during the whole forming, and as the main immigration nexus.

I think it would be worth to get the main station and lower our land buy, but that one depends on where the planet is and if it will be profitable even a little bit and not a out of the way thing that no one visits, and all our investment is worthless.

>>35538094
Land is pretty much always profitable. It's rare that this hasn't been true. There's a reason wars are fought over land, and rarely fortifications.

The trick is to displace all of the expensive parts of it onto the House. As much infrastructure and such as can be taken care of by someone else, the better. Think how Comcast screwed the US by getting the gov't to install the infrastructure, then charging people to use it.

If we aren't making money off the station, and we aren't planning to secede from J-D, why put cash into it? Why not profit from someone else's work?

>>35538182
True, but i was thinking that if it is on a route to get to the Smugglers Run , who you need to cross to get to warlords, then we would have had a good traffic node under our control.

If not is indeed better to buy Land.

>>35538094
>>35538182

My initial thinking was that RSS would both establish a station right off the 'ideal lane' of the smuggler's run (potential profits from trade/docking/fuel) and have the foundations for a base to expand into the larger run.

I'd say that stations are key infrastructure akin to the stuff Comcast got installed (they're docks in spaaaace!) and generally a good investment, but then I remembered something important...

I brought up those Kavarian long range scanner stations scattered around South Reach for a reason! We got the data on them during the Vieona search and hunting them down for more data was an option. There were something like 25 or 50 of them, so a few must have survived the faction wars and pirates. Most of the people moving back into the region post warlord campaign likely have bigger issues on their mind, too.

Even if only 10% of them remain or are salvageable... that is potentially 2+ stations for RSS to salvage and potentially return to service. Or sell, but they'd make damn fine bases for RSS expansion. "We're new to this planet/region and OUR SENSORS ARE THE EYE IN THE SKY FOR SEVERAL SYSTEMS"

tl;dr Sharks and Salvaged Stations! Don't invest in new when you can invest in slightly used!

>>35535473
Mention the bounty. It would also be nice if we could interact with a neutral party in this area without threatening to shoot them.

>>35534949
>Do you want to pay to have a transport from the Nav relay make a supply run

And make sure some of our ships escort the transport.

>>35538894
Good idea.

But it does not account for the opportunity here. If the new planet is on a relevant route having the first major station would mean that all that traffic goes through us and that establishing another one would be a waste if they can rent from us - thus control and potential political capital for Sonia.

This of course depending on position.

Now if we can reactivate and position more Stations it would mean that Sonia controls most of the Sensor Coverage in the area and potential most of the space traffic, trading and repair spots available to the general public.

bump

>>35534908
>We are not weakening the position of J-D's holding in this system by helping one of the smaller asteroid fortress/smuggler bases become a viable free port.

Sorry for the late reply, I went to bed after making the post you quoted.

Anyway, I do think helping one of the smuggler bases in our territory establish itself as the most important free port in the region is in our best interest.

I base that on the following assumptions:

1. This area of space is condutive to smuggeling in general with the amount of navigation hazards and battle sites found here. People will take advantage of that no matter what we do.

2. It is basically impossible to prevent smuggeling, and to a lesser extend piracy, simply because technology makes it hard to find somebody who's trying to hide without using an enormous amount of ships in the search. Forcing ships to fly in convoys increases security but impacts traders' profits a lot.

3. The quasi-feudal nature of the Dominion makes having a free port available desirable for nobles, aristocracy, and traders. Nobles and the like use it for services and goods usually not available in more regulated zones, traders use it to avoid the sometimes arbitrary rulings of the local barons.

4. A free port on our own territory with a highly fortified shipyard next door is preferable to a free port or large smuggler hub somewhere in the neutral territories, nav hazards, deep space, or the system of another House. We can keep an eye on them, and intervene if things get too far out of hand.

5. People in positions of power in the Dominion are highly susceptible to corruption. The smugglers are going to find a way to sell their stuff anyway.

6. If we establish a good rapport with the administration of the place, it would most likely become easier to catch serious criminals in the area. The port administration wants to keep the place running smoothly, so they'll get rid of people stirring up too much trouble themselves.

>>35540236
More than that we could establish a barracks in there somehow, in a say, J-D Housing District, so that House Members who do not want to enter live/ be housed in a free port but still be nearby to conduct business in said free port can do so knowing they live in a JD protected district in said free port.

Plus it gives us a ready intervention force. But that would be perhaps better negotiated with the administration and population there so that they get the idea that we want them to still be a free port and that is our attraction, so that they do not make a mass exodus.

>>35540563
>More than that we could establish a barracks in there somehow

We could establish a J-D embassy / social club. The property it is built upon or the station module housing it is recognised as J-D ground by the free port authorities but the rest of the port remains untouched. So we get an excuse to station a small force there, and have some ground on which House law is binding.

Establishing barracks would probably compromise the legitimacy of the free port in the eyes of many.

> J-D Housing District

A single decent sized building or station module to do business in would probably be enough as we could simply establish a hab station close to the shipyard. People would have to commute but it would keep us from gaining too much of a presence to scare smugglers off.

Bump

>>35540236

I'm looking through the archives to figure out where Rioja is, but I came across our capture of the Avoubic planetoid (or Posat's, technically. It seems we bought them out)

Avoubic controls nearly 80% of the traffic in/out of this graveyard system. They also have the only real shipyards and docks.

By turning Belu or Avao into a freeport, we'll actively damage the position of Avoubic as the system's trade hub. The other bases are also jackasses. They're waiting for us to get kicked out so they can go back to doing what they please.

>>35539282
As far as I can tell, Rioja is the colony located in the bottom right section of the map with the smuggler's run passing through the hex. Some of the planets we encountered back then were more tactical descriptions or may have changed, but I think Rioja was initially discovered as an abandoned colony.

>>35542382
So, burn them out?

If they are not protected by FA shit then we evict them, considering that they can be evicted they should do so or get shot at for condoning acts detrimental to the War effort in JD space.

File: Smugglers run large map ALT.gif (153 KB, 3160x2254)

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>Neighbour's kid kid won't stop crying entire night.
>Finally stops 2 minutes after I get up.

Looks like most people are in support of buying 20-30% of the land.
Compromise of 25% sound good?

Majority supports spending 150 million for RSS to buy a new station with additional upgrades.

>>35537906
>Which one is the one we just bought?
Not on that map. It's out of the more troubled areas. I only bothered showing the route of the lane where it went through unsecured areas.
Map expanded! All colonies regardless of terraforming requirements are listed with C for simplicity.

>>35537914
>does Mr London run all of investments and property, or is he focused purely on our slew of corporate enterpeises?
The corporate end. RSS/RTS/Logistics.
>>35537928
>Do keep in mind that London is a BANK man not RSS man. We have not yet recruited him if i recall correctly.
On that note London did want to talk to you about buying out his contract. This is not cheap at a cost of 10 million since the banks don't like losing their people.

>>35538054
>How big is the house Posat Station? What modules does it cost, and do we get a discount from market value since or get it at nominal value instead of with a fee since it wont have to be transported and wont eat into house Posat money?
It's similar in size to what RSS can buy in the short term but has more upgrades than you'll be able to get hold of quickly. Around 20 modules.
You do not get a discount on the Posat station, instead paying extra as a convenience fee as it means you won't have to wait for another station to be brought in.

>>35539282
Do you want to have RSS set aside one of the smaller salvage teams to investigate these sites?

>>35542942
>Compromise of 25% sound good?
I voted for 20% but I'm okay with that.

>On that note London did want to talk to you about buying out his contract. This is not cheap at a cost of 10 million since the banks don't like losing their people.

The man is definitely worth the money. If he is interested in a permanent job, and Nikolov is okay with having him around as well, I wouldn't mind paying that sum.

>Do you want to have RSS set aside one of the smaller salvage teams to investigate these sites?
Definitely. We should probably watch out for mines and other security measures but I'm sure Nikolov will know how to handle it.

>>35542942
>Compromise on land

Could we buy 30% and sell off 5% to interested members of our attack wings that didn't get a chance to get in on the land rush? At cost, it would both give us the compromise and hopefully ensure that no one in our command got completely left behind.

>London's contract

Sounds like a plan to buy him out.

>RSS teams

As the guy that isn't linked here but brought up the Kavarian stations, I'm all for RSS investigating and salvaging them.

>>35542942
Could you highlight the stuff JD owns? Maybe put it in a different color?

>>35542942
Bring Mr. London on, hopefully he'll be able to find more men in his field if we need them.

>>35542942
>Compromise of 25% sound good?
As the other anon suggested:
>Could we buy 30% and sell off 5% to interested members of our attack wings

>buying out London's contract
Might be good. Make sure his loyalty is to us, not the bank. Would we need another representative of the bank in that case?

>Do you want to have RSS set aside one of the smaller salvage teams to investigate these sites?
If by that you mean sites that are potential locations for stations, then yes.

>>35543846
>Could we buy 30% and sell off 5% to interested members of our attack wings
That seems like a prudent plan.

>>35543697
>>35543846
>>35543915
>Could we buy 30% and sell off 5% to interested members of our attack wings
Any other yea or nays?

Transports are hired to bring in additional supplies to the colony while you ask the local station commanders if they can supply small amounts to help out. While making a public display of your generosity might provide a nice ego boost you're too busy hunting for pirates to stop by.

You decide to both make the station commander aware of the bounty and warn him of the consequences of siding with pirates. Jerik-Dremine is hardly alone in wanting pirates dead and they're not a House thus making it fine for you and your allies to wage war on them. The positives of removing pirates from the Run are increased trade revenues and a lack of embargoes on suspected strongholds.

Mr Simon laughs at your barely veiled threats.
"You really think your tiny ships would stand a chance at invading our fortress? Pirate Warlords have thought twice about engaging us and decided it wasn't worth the effort. It would take hundreds of your ships and just as many of your Shield Piercing Torpedoes that you hoard so preciously. Can you really justify the loss of thousands of your soliders for not helping you out with a small raider?"

"We wouldn't need to lose any. All I need to do is wait until Forbearance is operational and our Helios siege gun has returned from the front. All it would cost is the fuel to run reactors."

"Hmm. You know, you do make a small measure of sense, but only just. It's obvious you've seen that it doesn't hurt to plan for the long term.
Alright, assuming we have it I will sell you the information you're looking for. It will only cost you... 1.5 million."

"The bounty is 250k per ship." You remind him.

"I'm offering a reasonable price. After all I do need to be sure none of my subordinates leak a warning to those you're looking for. That sort of security costs money."

Refuse / threaten some more
Insist on 750k
Pay 1.5 mil for info

>>35544061
Compromise on 1 Million, with the understanding that this had better not be a recurring expense.

>>35544061
Oooh, these types usually enjoy bartering.

Offer 300k per ship and just see where this goes.

>>35544061

"I could jam all communications to and from your station and enforce a blockade, if it would help. The training wing pilots would love a chance to search freighters for contraband and reason to seize a ship. The bonuses add up."

Send a message off to J-D and allied Houses in the run saying that at least 1 ship registered at Belu has engaged in piracy and potentially fraud. It is highly recommended that all ships in House space flying IFFs registered here be considered suspect and searched for contraband, as well as blocked from gaining any contracts. Their failure to cooperate with an investigation into the sources responsible for a new pirate group forces us to consider all ships and persons hailing from this location as suspect and potential dangers to the security and stability of the Houses of the Dominion in the Smuggler's Run.

Of course, send him a copy to ensure we've gotten Belu's stance on the matter correct before we send this out.

>>35544167
>Compromise on 1 Million, with the understanding that this had better not be a recurring expense.
1 vote for that.

>>35544178
>Offer 300k per ship and just see where this goes.
300k separate from the bounty? Or just 300k per ship?

>>35544245
>300k separate from the bounty? Or just 300k per ship?

Start with 300k per ship and then just continue haggling. I expect him to meet Sonia's offer around 1.1 to 1.2 million. That's something I can live with.

You decide to compromise around 1 million but start low for good measure with 300k per ship.

"Well, that added to the bounties should you find your quarry would certainly add up. I can't say I'm not interested, though the odds of you finding all three as a result of our information is quite low."

"No, that's everything. You wouldn't be getting the bounty." you make sure to tell him.

Mr Simon frowns.
"I wasn't joking about the cost of security you know. It takes some added effort at times."

"I could jam all communications to and from your station and enforce a blockade, if it would help. The training wing pilots would love a chance to search freighters for contraband and reason to seize a ship. The bonuses if we get to keep them add up."

"Are you really so petty as to hurt your own economy with those sort of checks?"

You explain that your economy faces just as much or more damage from the pirates.

Sighing in annoyance Mr Simon makes one more counter offer.
"390k per ship. That works out to 1.17 million total. Any less and I'll need to ask you for hard currency up front."


>Take the offer Y/N?

NOTE: You have access to 2.8 million in untraceable funds.

>>35544673
>>Take the offer Y/N?
Y

>>35544673
Y

>>35544673
You know, hearing about how annoying asteroid forts are, I'm surprised that Veritas doesn't have a few guarding the main entrance to their territory.

>>35544673

I'll vote Y, but will have to insist that we still issue the suggestion that any ships registered at Belu be barred from contracts and given extra attention when it comes to random inspections.

We can phase it, if needed, but these guys are producing potential security threats.

>>35545031
>We can phase it, if needed, but these guys are producing potential security threats.

I would guess they lack a lot of space infrastructure compared to a normal house of their size. Their fleets aren't really well suited to protect anything in space while it's under construction, and a random House could easily jump in, launch a few hundred torpedoes at the scaffold, and jump out again.

>>35545125
Not while the truce is still in existence.

>>35545144
I meant before House Veritas happened. Sorry for not making that clear.

Seeing some good opportunities here to make some good buck. Seeing that this planet is way station.

How much traffic are we seeing in general level, and what type? Will we lose this tunnel in future?

You agree to the deal and wire over the funds and soon you have additional data on the ships and their registry.

"In the interests of aiding future relations I wonder if you might be interested in allowing House Jerik-Dremine to establish an embassy aboard your station?"

"That could be of use. Send along someone from your diplomatic coprs and my people will discuss it."

You still make sure to push for the House to block contracts to anyone registered from either of the two other asteroid forts in system until a new agreement can be worked out.

Alex has continued to check and clear old bases looking for activity. Some of them show signs of habitation in the past few months. They may be moving from place to place. New com and sensor buoys have been deployed with upgraded encryption protocols the other Houses don't have access to.

Daska has been investigating Forbearance. They did receive the damaged guns and parts but they were in worse shape than when the left the graveyard. The transfer documents have been forged to indicate the altered state. With the amount of gear being brought in from graveyards and the other equipment engineers are fitting together for the Super its easy for these to be overlooked.
You do hear that the ship is looking in good shape with it's hull now in one piece.

According to the registry data and scans taken of the ships they routinely travel through one of nebulea in the region, though that could easily be the result of visiting the graveyards and Forbearance. It isn't very helpful.
Their home port is supposed to be a former smuggler base farther up the Run, though that place is busy enough that the crew could easily have lied.

Do you want to stake out the smuggler base and wait to see if they make an appearance, or make a visit?

Do you want the others to keep searching suspected systems?

File: Smugglers run Local 3.gif (57 KB, 1801x1189)

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Map

>>35545581
>Do you want to stake out the smuggler base and wait to see if they make an appearance

This please.

>Do you want the others to keep searching suspected systems?
Sure.

>>35545363
>How much traffic are we seeing in general level, and what type?
The system itself fairly steady freighter traffic. A mix of various transport sizes from Constellations up into the Y-types. Several of them an hour certainly.

>Will we lose this tunnel in future?
I suppose that depends, are you planning to lose it to a rival House you might be fighting, or wreck the lanes using veckron warheads? Either of those would do the trick.


>>35545684
What are your plans for the stakeout? Keep some ships beyond the edge of the system, deploy probes (I think you have that modified stealth torpedo still), put a spy/soldier/merc in the base, or bring in a civilian ship to keep an eye out?

Roll 3d100

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>35545879
>Keep some ships beyond the edge of the system, deploy probes (I think you have that modified stealth torpedo still)

I'd favor a combination of these.

>Roll 3d100
First roll.

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>35545893
Second roll.

Rolled 99, 4, 47 = 150 (3d100)

>>35545879
>Keep some ships beyond the edge of the system, deploy probes
these sound like the most reasonable choices

Rolled 52, 63, 18 = 133 (3d100)

>>35545879

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>35545910
And the third one.

>>35545581

Have Alex keep investigating the two bases left in the search zone (in half squadrons?).

Daska takes 3 flights and an EXCAL to investigate the Smuggler base(s) however she sees fit.

we take our group from Avoubic and do quick spot checks at the two graveyards along the southern Nav Hazards? Tell the local Dominion guys to keep their eyes open for fraud and the ships in question?

File: Smugglers run Local 3b.gif (57 KB, 1801x1189)

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You set up to observe the smuggler base. Odds are good that one of the ship will stop by if only to trade stolen gear or buy replacement parts. Pirates have to trade with someone.

Alex was able to pick up sensor data from an abandoned base showing that the pirates have been on the move and more importantly which way they were headed. Additional fuel and supplies have been looted from another base within the past few days.
The third one Alex finds shows only a little sign of tampering but it could have been any time in the past few weeks.

Daska's search finds nothing on the opposite side of the Run.

With signs the pirates may be present nearby Alex want's to know if he should continue, wait for backup to check multiple sites at the same time, or split up and have his smaller number of ships check multiple sites.

>Your orders?

>>35546014
>we take our group from Avoubic and do quick spot checks at the two graveyards along the southern Nav Hazards?
You'll have to double back. You do have that stealth torpedo to deliver.
Anyone want to swing back to check them out?

>>35546427
He can wait for backup.

>>35546427
wait for back up

>>35546427

never mind on the graveyards if Alex has evidence the pirates went the other way.

Have Daska and Alex link up for a big push, leave our little group with a flight of AB ships and our excal?

>>35546523
>>35546537
>>35546694
Sending reinforcements should let Alex cover more ground with less chance of the enemy escaping.
A small number of ships stay near the smuggler base ready to jump any suspects that happen along. With a Battlecruiser backing them up they should have the firepower necessary to handle anything.

The area of suspected activity includes one destroyed pirate outpost, a base some Mercenaries abandoned after merging with another unit, three graveyards with only minimal activity, and sections of a local nebula.

You have
12x EX-K (Not all of them have afterburners)
8x Clarent
1x Excalibur

How do you want to split up your force? Do you want to call in the local training squadrons?

>>35546855
>How do you want to split up your force? Do you want to call in the local training squadrons?

I'm not sure, to be honest. I think we shouldn't split into more than two groups with that number of ships.

It might be useful to have the training squadrons on stand-by close to the area we're investigating.

Just in case something goes wrong.

>>35546855

20 Cruisers + 1 BCRS

Reaction/Reserve groups:
EXCAL
x2 Clarent

Main Flights:
x2 EX-K & x1 Clarent


If there is a local training squadron in the area on patrol, see about calling them up for a 'drill' and having them meet up with the reaction forces.

Hit the Bases with 2 flights each, and the 2 graveyards nearest the run with 1 flight + a reserve/reaction force.

After that, leapfrog around the nebula alternating between active/reserve flights. It should screw with anyone attempting to carefully track where/when our forces are moving.

And have whatever force Alex/Daska feel is needed for the last graveyard during the nebula sweep.

>>35546924
>It might be useful to have the training squadrons on stand-by close to the area we're investigating.
You want them to keep an eye out for anyone fleeing the area?

>I think we shouldn't split into more than two groups with that number of ships.
Which systems did you want to check out first?

>>35547197
Old Merc base

>>35547197
>You want them to keep an eye out for anyone fleeing the area?

Sure.

>>35547241
I'm okay with that.

>>35547241
>>35547271
>Investigate as 1 group.
>>35546924
>Investigate as 2 groups.
>>35547188
>Investigate as 6 groups / situationally dependent.

Anyone changing their mind or is everyone going to the merc base to investigate?

File: derp.jpg (12 KB, 191x68)

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>>35547316
Sorry, didn't mean to vote for going as 1 group.

>Second system to search
Just whatever is closest to the old merc base. I can't make head nor tail of that map. Sorry.

File: Smugglers run Local 4 - p(...).gif (16 KB, 538x817)

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You have half of the group investigate the merc base while the others search the nearby graveyard.

Alex's team receive an automated hail when they approach the mercenary base warning them not to approach as the site has automated defenses to deter looters. There is contact information if the group needs to be reached to turn off the weapons. The base has transmitted a signal indicating that the defense warning has been tripped.

Daska begins a search of the graveyard. Roll 3d100

Any new orders for Alex?

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>35547777
>Any new orders for Alex?

Move to the next closest site. Can we track where the signal is transmitted to?

> Roll 3d100
1

Rolled 83 (1d100)

>>35547816
2

Rolled 48, 8, 84 = 140 (3d100)

>>35547777

Rolled 97 (1d100)

>>35547865
3

>>35547777

>Alex
Drop sensor buoys that will give us a yell if anything moves to/from that site.

track the signal if possible.

Rolled 15, 79, 89 = 183 (3d100)

>>35547777
>Any new orders for Alex?
Leave a probe or the like then move on to the next place. If something moves from there we will know.

>>35547816
>>35547865
>>35547894
Golden dice.

Rolled 9, 55, 8 = 72 (3d100)

>Can we track where the signal is transmitted to?
Back in the general direction of the Run where most of the bigger com arrays are set up. From there it could be sent anywhere the mercenary group set their calls to be forwarded to.
It will take some time for the techs to find out where.

Daska has found a number of unauthorised salvage teams cleaning out older computers, capacitor banks, power transfer feeds, and superconductors. All of it can be quite lucrative if sold to the right people and modern superconductors are little changed from centuries ago. With a little work some of it could be sold as nearly new.
They've been trading at some of the various smuggler bases through the Run where they can get away with it. Daska wants to send two of her ships to escort their captured transports back to base.

Do you want to have her send a larger escort or just have the prize crew take the transports back?

Alex has moved on to the Graveyard to the "south" and has begun scanning.

Roll 3d100

Rolled 70, 76, 33 = 179 (3d100)

>>35548208
>Do you want to have her send a larger escort or just have the prize crew take the transports back?

Two ships is large enough of an escort for a single ship. Remember to check if any of those illegal salvage teams belongs to our favorite criminal organization that we are going to fuck up.

Rolled 62, 75, 59 = 196 (3d100)

>>35548208
Daska is cleared to send whatever escort she deems prudent.

If we called in that training wing, perhaps have a squadron of their ships relieve Daska's people (leaving the prize crews for salvage/prize claims) and escort them the rest of the way.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>35548208
>Do you want to have her send a larger escort or just have the prize crew take the transports back?

Let Daska do what she thinks is right.

>Roll 3d100
1

Rolled 11, 75, 86 = 172 (3d100)

>>35548208
Let her do her escort

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>35548304
2

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>35548334
3

File: Smugglers run Local 4c.gif (16 KB, 538x817)

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Alex conducts a sweep of the graveyard, keeping an eye out for signs of recent disturbances.
"Did those other salvagers visit this area?"

"No, but it's possible that another group was doing the same thing. We'll have to keep some sensors up and track the movements of ships int he region."

"Someone has been here. I think we have a possible contact."

You catch his sensor officer reporting detonations then missile contacts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjBBDA0wiYM

"We've found them! They tried to launch when we were farther away but we might still be able to catch them. They're going to jump towards the Run."

A minute later you get a new report. "They used nukes and chaff to keep us from getting solid locks on them. They're now moving full out towards the Run. We're pursuing as fast as our navigators can plot jumps.

Do you want your ships near the smuggler base to try and cut them off or intercept? What about Daska's ships? Should they follow in Alex's wake or do something else?

>>35548657
Who, exactly, is where?

Without that information I'm just going to say...

>Do you want your ships near the smuggler base to try and cut them off or intercept

Yes, please.

>What about Daska's ships? Should they follow in Alex's wake or do something else?

Can they try to approach from a different vector than Alex? Or possible cut the enemy off?

>>35548657
Have them cut off the pirate, hopefully they can act as the anvil and Alex can be the hammer. We got them now and there will be no escape. Daska can begin moving up the Run back to us since they obviously are not there anymore.

I am seeing a lot of abandoned bases out here. Perhaps we should do something about that?

>>35548657

Is it only 1 ship or all 3?

Unless Alex just found all 3, I'd say that at least 1 of our ships needs to maintain a watch on the smuggler' base.

Get at least a flight in position to intercept both directions of the Run, in addition to Sonia's group.

File: Smugglers run Local 4d.gif (21 KB, 737x817)

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>>35548739
Wider map.

You still have that excalibur and a few ships with afterburners near the smuggler base.
Daska was getting ready to investigate another site. You're out near the others with your Excalibur.

>Can they try to approach from a different vector than Alex? Or possible cut the enemy off?
Daska can't really catch up on a direct line with them, but could head for another part of the trade lane.

>>35548789
>Daska can begin moving up the Run back to us since they obviously are not there anymore.
Daska went out with your search parties. I'm trying to juggle people wanting different characters in 5 different places.

>>35548904
>Is it only 1 ship or all 3?
All 3 ships at the moment. They bailed out of the broken wreck of an old Jupiter transport.

Roll for intercept 3d20

Rolled 2, 12, 15 = 29 (3d20)

>>35549018

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>35549018
>3d20
1

Rolled 15, 19, 17 = 51 (3d20)

>>35549018

Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>35549100
2

>Daska can't really catch up on a direct line with them, but could head for another part of the trade lane.

Have her fly in parallel to Alex and hope the smugglers try to escape in her direction.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>35549152
3

>>35549112
good job me

>>35549018
>Wider map.
Thank you. I now understand what's going on.

The advantage of your EX-K type cruisers are that they combine high FTL with even higher sublight performance. If their engines didn't cost so much to build and maintain they'd be nearly ideal.

Alex and his people guide in the others, making sure they know precisely where the pirates are going to reach the trade lane.

"We won't be able to intercept them head on sir, we'll have to wait until they drop out on the Run itself and either catch them while they align or catch up."

"Just catch them and don't get yourself killed in the process."

"They're angling towards the upper exit." Warns Alex a minute later.

"I'm moving parallel to cut them off at one of the later reversion points on the main lane." Reports Daska.

When they reach the run, two of them attempt to head up and out while another crosses the lane and tries to lose your people.

Your pursuit ships catch up with the Vengeance type almost immediately, ramming the vessel at FTL speeds attempting to match drive fields. At the first reversion point the bulky craft has a dozen torpedoes dumped into it's aft shields along with 20 phase cannon shots and pulse cannon fire from the Excalibur.
The pirates try to put more power to the engines which would have been the right answer against most other craft. Against two Knights in faster more maneuverable ships it just delays things. The battle devolves into a slugging match before it can jump again. Three of your ships ram it from different directions so that the boarding teams can gain access to the hull.

One of the Journeyman transports, carrying extra drives makes a second jump but the other EX-K's successfully match drive fields and ram its shields down. Multiple hits knocks out its FTL causing part of the bow to passes outside the drive field of the other attack cruiser, the section simply vanishing.
After returning to real space the surviving crew immediately surrender.

The last Journeyman attempted to flee to the smuggler base. This would have given you a harder time without the sensors you deployed. Dropping their remaining cargo and some outer armor in the comet belt they proceed into the system under a new IFF. Switching to their second set of sublight drives results in them effectively flying backwards but means that the usual sensor ID's would have a very difficult time telling them apart from another ship of the same type.

They're making preparations to set down at the base by the time your people arrive in system.

Will you let them land then have the administrator to impound the ship? Or will you simply demand they stop where they are and surrender?

>>35549787
>Multiple hits knocks out its FTL causing part of the bow to passes outside the drive field of the other attack cruiser, the section simply vanishing.

Ouch.

>Will you let them land then have the administrator to impound the ship?
Sure.

>>35549920

Jump in and inform the planet that the ship is a pirate vessel. If it lands or anything from that ship reaches the planet we will be forced to pay them a visit.

Demand the pirate vessel heave to and prepare to be boarded immediately. They have 10 seconds to comply. Fire up a war-state IFF if that is a thing.

>>35549992
>let them land
>>35550005
>don't let them land

Anyone?

>>35550243
don't let them land. We want salvage rights

>>35549920
Demand that they stop and surrender their ship. If they ignore us we can just ask the local administration to help out.

>>35550349
>>35550428

I was more concerned with the fact that the administration may let some of their crew escape into the population, but salvage rights never hurt...

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Anyone not currently intercepting the other ships or beating them to a pulp jump in near the Smuggler base and begin broadcasting calls for the ship's surrender.

The base admin thinks things seem a bit irregular and contacts you, wanting to know what's going on since the ship doesn't quite match the ID's being handed around with those bounties. You promise to explain and that your ships, and the pirate, won't leave the system until you have.

With the ship surrounded and the base now refusing them landing clearance for the moment the pirates surrender, though they claim you've arrested the wrong people. Showing them the recordings of their equipment dumping is enough to get through to them. The base administrator also seems satisfied and wishes you well.

Calling for salvage teams you have the three ships and the thrown off gear brought back to the main House military base in the region.

Most of their crews have the party line well practiced, requesting a lawyer and trial. A few of the younger ones claim they didn't have much choice in the matter due to a lack of job options when they signed on.
The usual bullshit.

You and your Knights will be splitting the bounty and the rewards for the capture of the ships. Teams are also sent in to check the abandoned base. Much of it was damaged in their escape and they wiped any database before running. It seems that they did receive a warning from that abandoned mercenary base. Given much more time they might have escaped.

Winifred has arrived in the region at last. Her ships are pulling into orbit over Rioja, happy to find out that the Civilians aren't hard pressed for supplies. It will take time to process the pirates and interrogate all of them. Intrusion specialists are going over their systems to see if there is anything of value that might be recovered. Until that's finished the admiralty in the region don't want you tossing anyone out the airlock.

Are there any locations you'd like to visit in your down time?

>>35551098
>Are there any locations you'd like to visit in your down time?

Kaartinen. I'd like to see how the place has developed.

And it might be a good idea to visit the different Houses around our new planet at least briefly.

>>35551098
Maybe visit the Forbearance?

>>35551098
>Until that's finished the admiralty in the region don't want you tossing anyone out the airlock.
Awww...

>>35551167
I'll take that one step further. I'd like info on the other House planets in the run. If we are going to pick a planet her as part of our barony I'd at lest like to know what our options are like. Which planets have potential and which would be a waste to pick.

Also, I am dying to see how much money we have waiting for us once calculations are done.

>>35551272
Ohh, I'd really like to see it's progress.

>>35551098
>Are there any locations you'd like to visit in your down time?

Is Knight Myrish Avun in the area?

>>35551315
>Also, I am dying to see how much money we have waiting for us once calculations are done.

Sonia Reynard
Remaining personal funds: 53m + untraceable currency
RSS/RTS/RL: 223m + War bonds

>>35551167
>And it might be a good idea to visit the different Houses around our new planet at least briefly.
>>35551315
>I'd like info on the other House planets in the run. If we are going to pick a planet her as part of our barony I'd at lest like to know what our options are like. Which planets have potential and which would be a waste to pick.
I intend to do up a modified Map with what Houses control what in the Run along with specifically stating the names of your House allies.
This will take a bit so I hope you'll understand if I go on with the easier options for now.

Kaartinen

The shuttle flight down to the surface gives you time to take a better look at the reconstruction efforts on the surface of the planet you helped save from itself. Damage to the capital is hard to notice even given the extent of it at the time. Craters have been filled in, buildings are being put up and large scale construction efforts are taking place seemingly everywhere.

An expansion to the spaceport to handle cargo from across the planet is the most easily visible. Transit networks leading to ocean ports to the south are being expanded while a new set are being built to provide a direct connection to the eastern cities. As per the treaty all off world traffic is being conducted through the main spaceport which is controlled by the House currently ruling over the planet.
That seems to be House Binil. Being a minor House that can't handle constant uprisings they've done what they can to follow the agreement with the independent eastern nations. New borders have been drawn up, and while they don't match what was captured in the rebellion its still resulted in a more stable system both can agree on.

I've been rereading an old thread (May 2013) and one thing I'd like to ask is what kind of armor Linda, Kavos, and the rest of the bridge crew are provided with by the House.

Also, how much do the new mark 2 plasma pistols cost? Would it be viable to have Sonia gift them to people in her Wing when they get knighted (or get promoted to squad/wing leader) ?

>>35552139
> 223m + War bonds
That's it? That's the entire revenue? The hell did Nikolov do? Watch paint dry for six months and spend all the Veritas salvage money on horse racing? Wait... Please don't tell me we spent all our money on buying land? That would be rubbish.

>This will take a bit so I hope you'll understand if I go on with the easier options for now.
But of course!

File: Kaartinen.png (117 KB, 799x399)

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Investigating the various war memorials and monuments around the city you eventually come across one to dedicated to the rebellion. As expected you also find several victory monuments and look to see if you're mentioned at all.

Space Forces of House Jerik-Dremine, Knight Sonia Reynard is listed along with those who took part. As far as statues there are several you did not expect. Leevi Guan, Jehtot Kharbos, and Katherine Drake each have statues dedicated to them. The first two were the few available whose ships could enter the atmosphere to provide direct fire support, saving the city by placing themselves in harms way. Drake commanded the Bittenfeld, bombarding surface targets with the ship's mass drivers.

The marines and starfighter pilots who helped fight on the surface, especially those who were actually killed in action are honoured appropriately.
The former Governor is only briefly mentioned in any of the historical data present, though it is acknowledged that he helped hold together the PDF lines as long as were possible.

Leaving the memorial you tour the city then check local news. There are still disagreements over trade deals going on every day it seems, but nothing that people would dare disrupt the flow of cargo to the spaceport over.

Businesses through the House controlled regions are worried what will happen once the over land routes are completed and cargo can be shipped off world more quickly. Likewise the eastern nations are fearful other Houses and speculators from off world will flood their cities with cheaper goods in an effort to hurt local business.

Backwater politics. You wonder what those here think of you, just looking around like a tourist.

Anything you want to investigate on Kaartinen? The Eastern nations are safe relatively speaking but keeping a bodyguard in holographic camouflage nearby might be a good idea.

>>35552771
>Anything you want to investigate on Kaartinen?

The city we kept from being nuked would probably make an interesting visit.

>>35552771
>>35552823

If we visit a rebel city, I'd really like to use that one holographic camo we brought to the Helios facility in our paranoia. Holo bodyguard is only augmented by having our person also camo'ed.

>>35552771
Didn't we get a medal from the rebels? Which one was that?

>>35552978
We got a letter from them but I think we decided back then that anything beyond that would probably leave a bad impression on Dominion nobles.

We did get a noble citation for saving various nobles on the planet though.

>To put some more stuff on your list, how are Houses Polum and Talum doing? Sorry for adding stuff.
>>24983305
>Your standing with House Talum and House Polum is rumored to have increased rather significantly given the amount of ships you offered them.

>>35552559
>what kind of armor Linda, Kavos, and the rest of the bridge crew are provided with by the House.
Armored vac suits, which are equivalent to Marine armor. Bridge crews are expensive to replace.

>Also, how much do the new mark 2 plasma pistols cost? Would it be viable to have Sonia gift them to people in her Wing when they get knighted (or get promoted to squad/wing leader) ?
They are almost literally priceless. The weapon has proven too expensive to produce and as such has not been approved for mass production.
Development on them will continue in the hopes of producing one that is cheaper and that could reduce the size of regular anti-tank weapons. You picked up a Mk 2 in return for letting their R&D look over your original.
Do you want to be informed if futures versions become available for purchase?

>>35552978
>Didn't we get a medal from the rebels? Which one was that?
>>35553092
>We got a letter from them but I think we decided back then that anything beyond that would probably leave a bad impression on Dominion nobles.
Right.

With the overland routes still incomplete you take a flight to the north, visiting the smaller city you saved from a 300 megaton or larger nuclear warhead three years ago. And then you spent a few days building a pillow fort while bored out of your mind from radiation treatments, but the important bit was saving those people. Still that fort...

There are distant mountains in every direction, the ones to the north west and south east are too far away to see while on the ground but they're there. Most of the valley is agricultural lands with some mining into the mountains. At the far north west end of the valley is another city, still held by the Dominion, though it was under siege in the rebellion. Current agreements mean it was given enough farm land to support the populace once more.

>>35554055
>Do you want to be informed if futures versions become available for purchase?
Sure

>>35554055
>Do you want to be informed if futures versions become available for purchase?
Definitely.

>The weapon has proven too expensive to produce and as such has not been approved for mass production.
How much of an investment would be required to fund a small manufactory that offers them to Dominion nobles and others who are willing to foot the exorbitant bill?

>For the price of a corvette, you can get the most effective hand gun in the know universe. And you get to choose what the grip is made out of.

>>35552771
>As far as statues there are several you did not expect. Leevi Guan, Jehtot Kharbos, and Katherine Drake

We should take a picture of that. For Katherine and Winifred

>>35554055
>Armored vac suits, which are equivalent to Marine armor. Bridge crews are expensive to replace.

Neat. Any upgrades available for these we could buy?

This place seems little different from any other place you've visited in the Run or South Reach save for the lack of Dominion troops.

You're approached by a woman introducing herself as a miss Akiyama, a member of the local government not long after getting off the shuttle. She was informed you were visiting and offers to show you around the city while acting as a guide.

Your first stop is a place you've probably wanted to see since getting here. At the top of a stone pillar rests a scaled down Needle fighter. Shoot, you were thinking about sending a fighter like it here after RSS salvaged one but couldn't decide if it was a good idea or not.

"People here from this area had this built." Explains your guide. "The main Government is more concerned about the cities to the East. They know you gave the order to save them when you could have let them burn. At the same time they don't like to make any public monuments to people that bombarded the army and parts of the main cities with mass driver fire and particle beams. Some of those from this region also died from orbital bombardment but they know it could have been much worse."

Engraved on the pillar are the names of you and everyone else who took part in shooting down the missile attack.

Your guide walks over and hands you an envelope with official looking markings on it.
"The Government may not want permanent public displays but they are quite genuine when they do express their thanks."

Inside are a pair of medals.

Kaartinen Decoration for Heroic Valor
East Lands Independence Medal

Do you plan to accept them?

The latter you may not want to be caught wearing around too many nobles, especially if you talk to people from House Posat again. Aiding a rebellion against the nobility is rarely seen as a good thing when they executed most nobles on their planet.

Touring of the city you see that without the debts of House Posat weighing them down the economy of the region appears to be in good shape overall.

>>35554583
>Do you plan to accept them?
I think we should. Even if they just end up in Sonia's desk and so she can look at them whenever she's wondering if she's doing the right thing.

>Touring of the city you see that without the debts of House Posat weighing them down the economy of the region appears to be in good shape overall.

Can we ask her when Posat's economic troubles began? And areindependent(?) countries like this one granted some kind of legal status in Dominion law?

>>35554583
Sure, we can accept them. We don't necessarily have to wear the second one one all the time. But the medal probably would be worth worrying around house Veritas at least.


>At the same time they don't like to make any public monuments to people that bombarded the army and parts of the main cities with mass driver fire and particle beams. Some of those from this region also died from orbital bombardment but they know it could have been much worse."
"Understandable. Frankly one of the main reasons I came here was to remind myself of that bombardment. Otherwise it can be far to easy to dehumanize and extract the enemy too much. Some of the results of that I've seen make what Sodhal tried to do seem trivial in comparison. And when the time comes it will be very tempting to return the favor."

"What sort of government is in place?" You ask
"The government has been attempting to move towards becoming a republic. In the rebellion and since then it has been run by a council of the highest ranked military leaders from each city. The cities effectively operate at the capitals of their own states and there are still disagreements over some of the exact borders."

"House Binil seems to think the borders are fairly clear cut."
"Yes, they've paid for land or negotiatied to ensure their land claims can not be challenged in the future. While it was done quickly it was decided to be in everyone's interest to finalise the last of the treaties quickly rather than risk another House calling in their armies. The current situation is working well for everyone."

You wonder how true that really is. Better not to dig too deeply lest you spark another rebellion.

>>35551937
>Is Knight Myrish Avun in the area?
I was going to say no but then I remembered. She should be assisting a training squadron from another House off near the entrance to the Run. Closer to Rioja.

Do you want to stop by for drinks or offer to take her on a tour of Forbearance?

>How much of an investment would be required to fund a small manufactory that offers them to Dominion nobles and others who are willing to foot the exorbitant bill?
At the moment you would not be able to convince them regardless of how much money you threw at them. Pressure through the Alliance might be a better choice.

>We should take a picture of that
Done. You send it off to a few of the other 2nd squadron vets. I believe Jehtot "rookie" Kharbos commands one of the attack wings in the other House fleet rotation.

>Any upgrades available for these we could buy?
There are newer tougher inserts that can replace part of the armor layering. It costs twice as much as normal marine armor and once damaged the entire insert needs to be replaced rather than just small sections that could be field repaired.

>>35555044
>Do you want to stop by for drinks or offer to take her on a tour of Forbearance?
Stop by for drinks I think.

>>35555044
>Do you want to stop by for drinks or offer to take her on a tour of Forbearance?
Both?

>At the moment you would not be able to convince them regardless of how much money you threw at them.
Awww.

>There are newer tougher inserts that can replace part of the armor layering.
Is it twice as effective until it needs to be replaced?

>>35554828
>Can we ask her when Posat's economic troubles began?
She doesn't know. The planet was sold to Posat but all of the nobles retained their lands, just changing allegiance to their new House. Really it didn't matter since the pirate raids meant that no House could spare ships to protect it. The orbital platforms were built by the planetary government knowing that whoever occupied the Run next would have a hard time retreating with them.

>And areindependent(?) countries like this one granted some kind of legal status in Dominion law?
It would be classed as an autonomous region under Dominion Law. They're to be afforded similar protection from external attack by the PDF. Tax laws vary.

>>35554870
>"Understandable. Frankly one of the main reasons I came here was to remind myself of that bombardment. Otherwise it can be far to easy to dehumanize and extract the enemy too much. Some of the results of that I've seen make what Sodhal tried to do seem trivial in comparison. And when the time comes it will be very tempting to return the favor."
You make sure to tell her this before you leave, thanking her and taking the medals with you.

>>35555173
>Is it twice as effective until it needs to be replaced?
30-50% more effective on average. It depends on the weapon.

After departing you call up the Dro'all Knight that helped get you into Forbearance and insist on paying for a round of drinks. You can certainly afford it with the amount of cash you have left over. And you might fine something worth adding to your collection!

Roll 1d100 for fortitude!

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>35555482
>Roll 1d100 for fortitude!
Oh god, remember that one time with Daska. Have Rufaro check in on us ever 30 minutes or so. Just to make sure we're not committing to anything idiotic. Or start insulting people.

>It would be classed as an autonomous region under Dominion Law.
So they actually have some protection. Good to know.

>Eastern nations
I would like to leave some contact data, just in case if they're looking for discrete investors in the future.

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>35555482
>Roll 1d100 for fortitude!

On a 100 we find out that our ancestors where space dwarfs. Would explain the greed... And the violence.

>>35555735
We drink like a dwarf apparently!

>independent asteroid ports
Did we end up refering this to the House diplomatic corps?

>Rioja
So now that Winifred is here, should we up with her to have a post-annexation debrief, and just an overall discussion of what our plans involving this world are moving forward?

>>35555608

>leaving contact data with rebels

I'm against this and the general obsession there seems to be with being obsessed with getting buddy buddy with groups that went full noble murder and open rebellion against other Dominion Houses.

We're pushing it with the attempt to exploit Veritas as it is.

>>35555482
Do they make a version of the 'upgrade' insert that is more like an ablative overlay due to the need to replace it after damage?

>>35555735
That would really explain a lot. There's also Sonia's strong sense of loyalty...

>>35555841
Fair enough.

I would argue that it's an excellent way to make some money exactly because few other nobles would be willing to touch it.

But you make some very decent points why we should stay away from this for the time being.

So I don't mind waiting.

TSTG, could you give us a full list of the worlds our House currently fully controls?

The wiki list is a bit lacking, and I'm not even sure if it contains all of the world we own in the Reach, let alone the Run.

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>On a 100 we find out that our ancestors where space dwarfs.
>We drink like a dwarf apparently!
This would contradict with previous experiences... you could have learned to quit while you were ahead?

You're not sure what it was that you drank that one time but you must not have found any of it this time around. That or the older knight knows specifically what to stay away from.

"Besides it's not like you were drinking specifically to get drunk. Right? HAHA!" So maybe Avun is getting a tiny bit drunk, but not much.
"Right... though that's not a bad thing some times."

A few more bottles are added to the equipment that will be shipped back to the Devourer.
The two of you trade stories on the flight to see Forbearance. The nice thing about being aboard a Battlecruiser is that the stand in helmsman and bridge crew can get you there just fine.

"I haven't seen much excitement of late. My House has had me on diplomatic duties until I began helping here in the Run. It's too bad I was tied down looking after a training unit or I would have liked to help you track down those pirates.
If you hadn't managed to catch them I would have liked to use a Q-ship to draw them out then wreck them. I still maintain a J-type with combat mods just in case. You never know when you'll need a ship for discreet operations."
RSS just finished repairs to a blockade runner that logistics is using for the moment. You can always borrow a ship off them if needed.

Arriving at Forbearance you grab some pills then head up to the parade bridge to see how the repair efforts are going. Repair scaffolds have been built up over the years using recovered scrap to help with the reconstruction. The hull is finished and it looks like they're working on upgrades and relocation equipment from the former industrial zone. Specifically the torpedo manufacturing center and other outdated equipment have been moved.
Those same spaces would provide enough room for 2-3 newer industrial modules.

>>35554261
>>The weapon has proven too expensive to produce and as such has not been approved for mass production.
>How much of an investment would be required to fund a small manufactory that offers them to Dominion nobles and others who are willing to foot the exorbitant bill?
>>For the price of a corvette, you can get the most effective hand gun in the know universe. And you get to choose what the grip is made out of.

Status symbols, yo.

>>35554055
> >Also, how much do the new mark 2 plasma pistols cost? Would it be viable to have Sonia gift them to people in her Wing when they get knighted (or get promoted to squad/wing leader) ?
They are almost literally priceless.

Even better. If we can apply pressure and get some of these, then we can buy a SHIT ton of favour with the right people.

>>35557875
>Forbearance
I've skimmed the archives and I think you never mentioned which House J-D made the deal to rebuild and crew the Forbearance with.

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>Do they make a version of the 'upgrade' insert that is more like an ablative overlay due to the need to replace it after damage?
The insert is a woven mesh that's hard to break. You could still put ablative layers over top or sandwich them for added protection.

>>35556302
>TSTG, could you give us a full list of the worlds our House currently fully controls?
>The wiki list is a bit lacking, and I'm not even sure if it contains all of the world we own in the Reach, let alone the Run.

All of the habitable worlds in South Reach the House controls are listed. The system where the Fast Battleship / Battlecruiser yard is located is not listed.I saw the name today damn it.
Gentris Beta (South Reach) [uninhabitable] Fast Battleship / BC Yard in orbit of a ground based mining operation.

There are the other systems in SR the House controls. (pointed to in red) 1 of them is where the slaver trade station was located. After the core of the station was blown up Winifred relocated it to Surakeh to focus the military on defending the more valuable planet.
This system is available for mining operations.

Not sure what the other one was.
Any other Colonies in the Smugglers Run will be included when I compile the full House allies map.

Homeworlds: There are multiple worlds that the Harmen family terraformed over the past century which are now inhabited but have not been visited by the players or named.
Another of the older industrialised worlds in the House was visited in your first convoy mission back in training. I may not have stated the name of the system at the time. I'll need to check. If I didn't state the name if anyone editing the wiki would be so kind as to put a placeholder for it that would be appreciated.

>>35558311
Reconstruction has been on the part of the House, with technical assistance from anyone they can get it from.
J-D crew are serving about Supers belonging to the Ruling House to get the experience necessary to operate it.

SLEEP NOW

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>One of the Journeyman transports, carrying extra drives makes a second jump but the other EX-K's successfully match drive fields and ram its shields down. Multiple hits knocks out its FTL causing part of the bow to passes outside the drive field of the other attack cruiser, the section simply vanishing.
Whelp.

Does anyone have any idea what sits on the other side? Or is it a libera te tutamet ex inferis sort of deal where nothing has ever returned?

bump

bump

bump

>>35558606
Sideways jumping sits on the other side.

also
>Literally priceless relic of technology
>Pickpockted by our jumpjet trooper from a backwater hick farmer
>Used as our casual sidearm

How many shots is the plasma pistol slated to last for anyway? What makes it so expensive? Does it use FTL drive plates as the accelerator or something?

>>35561982
IIRC the ammo for the pistol can already be produced and on mass. However the pistol itself is what our researches have been trying to reproduce.

>>35558397
>Note sure what the other one was

Logistics base we captured in Wing Commander #13

The first sector has a base situated on a nearly airless planetoid. Its the only thing in the habitable range of the system and as one of the few objects with a solid surface its been made into a base by the locals. Ice mining operations are centered around craters at the poles and a support base has sprung up around the southern such facility. Rows of fuel storage tanks fill shielded craters, as do materials stockpiles. The system's fusion fuel mining stations are small but do seem to produce a steady stream.

Ground side dock pits are mostly configured for Frigates.
Most defenses are ground based with only a few Light cruisers and a pair of Vengeance types loitering about.

After checking over the status of each base you decide to hit the one first and second squadron investgated. At first glance the defenses are rather weak looking. The north pole base is protected only by the shields of a grounded transport ship. Even the much more developed base at the south pole seems to lack many defenses besides shields.

We also had that fun chase after the AB Vengeance C's skimming the planet.

>>35558397
So are all of those hexagons not claimed by other Houses systems devoid of habital planets / interesting features?

Also, given that we seem to be sharing a neighbourhood with them, what are our relations with those Southern Reach Houses near us?

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>>35558606
Anything outside the field would return to real space instantly. Depending on how quickly the ship's drive core failed there could be a chunk of ship coasting along in deep space at a few thousand m/s, or a cloud of atomic scale dust scattered over several light years.

>>35561982
>How many shots is the plasma pistol slated to last for anyway?
It get's regular maintenance so it could be for a long time.

>What makes it so expensive?
Scale and component density. It's easier to build things macro than micro. In many respects it's like a suit of power armor and is about as tough as one. It needs to be to keep from exploding.
>Does it use FTL drive plates as the accelerator or something?
No. Magnetic fields and ultra compact micro repulsors.

>backwater hick farmer
That farmer is supposed to be related to the old man of the Warlords. When your relatives control fleets of super heavies you tend to get good birthday presents. Likewise you can retire to do whatever the hell you want, like growing select plants.
>SS13 botanist.jpg

>>35562095
>Logistics base we captured in Wing Commander #13
Thank you.

>>35562364
>So are all of those hexagons not claimed by other Houses systems devoid of habital planets / interesting features?
Everything has been claimed long ago. I was in a hurry and didn't fill in all the dozen or so systems/sectors for that particular map as the focus was on getting a general idea of other powerful Houses nearby. That was to help with the House Veritas decision.

Here we go, I located the encounters map which included systems you never got around to investigating.
The big blue stars were locations of Faction Alliance sleeper ships. You didn't find any of them out here before others did if I recall, which is why you needed to go hunting around for one when looking for the Vieona.

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>>35561982
Well it's the same issue that makes power armour rare and expensive: miniaturization. Building a fusion reactor is relatively easy and cheap to do with off the shelf parts. Building a fusion reactor the size of a dinner plate that you can wear beside your skin without bursting into flames is something else entirely.

All of this high tech stuff is all well and good, but low tech can be useful too. Maybe we could make some earthquake bombs for our next tour? Since they detonate underground the fallout is minimal and there have definitely been moments where we could have used them. Plus they would be dirt cheap because the filling would not need to be high-grade, mining explosives would work better compared to something like C4. We could even mount them on HAGs.

>>35557875
We should extend an open invitation to Avun to come hunting at our lodge. We should also mention that our house has a new planet with lucrative land and investment possibilities.

>>35562777
>Scale and component density.
If fusion cannons are the low tech alternative to plasma weaponry, would it be possible to simply produce fusion pistols as a somewhat affordable alternative until plasma pistols can be mass produced?

>Knights Errant
Do these guys still only recruit from middle and upper class pilots? Or has Mike's career convinced them to at least give people from lower class backgrounds a chance?

>>35562777
RE plasma pistols: Would it be possible to approach the scientist & technicians who developed these directly and make our own factory, instead of getting them to do it? I mean, is it a skill, equipment, IP, or materials issue that prevents us from opening our own factory to produce plasma pistols?

>>35564368
>Would it be possible to approach the scientist & technicians who developed these directly and make our own factory, instead of getting them to do it?

"At the moment you would not be able to convince them regardless of how much money you threw at them. Pressure through the Alliance might be a better choice."

If they're not willing to produce any of them no matter how much money you throw at them, they certainly aren't going to give you production rights to the things.

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House Jerik-Dremine and allies in the Smuggler's Run. You House has access to some of the largest military bases in the Run. In addition you have deal with House Kadnil for FTL drive systems due to helping them secure planets.
J-D has some salvage rights for every graveyard you helped capture, even if it is not currently listed as House territory.
One of the colonies your House owns was located and conquered by Captain Saputo and his Wing and it's name may be added to the wiki later.

House Binil (Holds Kaartinen)
House Trin'qua
House Kadnil (Possesses Rare element processing capability)
House Kuadneos (Possesses limited Rare element processing capability)
House Pantaq

House Posat still has considerable claims over territory in the Run, simply because much of it hasn't been worth buying it off of them.
House Sulos does not control any systems in the Run, though they do have considerable knowledge of the region. It's possible they may try to buy back territory if House Posat vanishes.

Some of the larger Houses control the other end of the Run. Relations tend to be neutral or better.
One of those Houses has donated a station to the Factions Alliance as a training base.

>>35564449
>they certainly aren't going to give you production rights to the things.
Or scientists currently working on developing newer, better and potentially cheaper plasma weapons.

>>35562924
You're reinventing the wheel with that diagram.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_bunker_buster

Just use one of these on a timer. Drop just ahead of enemy to the tune of 'timer of five seconds' and bug out.

>>35564747
Aren't we trying to find a way in destroying them without nuking them in the process?

>>35564574
What happening next, quest wise? Did we still have something to do during the downtime? Any word from Winifred? Did we do good?

Additional info on the other House planets in the Run will be made available at such time as you become a Knight Commander. Or I can find more time to work on them.


Btw, provided you make it to Knight Commander, what ship did you think you might like to request for your fleet? Forbearance or the Heavy Carrier RSS is rebuilding?
I don't need an answer right away but give it some thought.

>>35552733
>Blow hundreds and hundreds of millions on a new station, majority ownership of an armor company and tons of land to later sell at a higher price.
>Oh no! Why don't we have more money?!
You have enough cash you could buy a brand new medium cruiser in a heartbeat without a loan. On top of that is the company emergency fund.

>>35551167
>And it might be a good idea to visit the different Houses around our new planet at least briefly.
The closest are other Posat colonies and outposts not shown. Territories held by the other House Allies would probably be more than happy to receive you, though you're informed that most are working colonies, not ones intended for tourism.

>>35564747
The Shallans have been doing this. It's not the best if you plan to live on that planet again in the near future. It does seem to be effective however.

>>35565125
Did you want to talk to the Baron or take care of anything else first?

>>35565164
>Did you want to talk to the Baron or take care of anything else first?
Personally have nothing else, so talking to Baron is a good idea. Of other anons I don't know, my memory of the beginning is little cloudy so they might have something to do first.

But I guess we could just have a long-distance call with Winifred now and do other stuff after if some people still want.

>>35565164
>Forbearance or the Heavy Carrier RSS is rebuilding?
Is there much difference to us?

>>35565164

Time to meet with Winifred.

>thoughts on requesting Forbearance/Heavy Carrier
We'd probably get more bang for our buck with the Heavy Carrier, and not insult people by requesting Forbearance instead of the ship we secured for the House via RSS.

>>35565164
>>35552733

Gotta risk money to make money. Although I think we're pretty solidly diversified so far. Fuck me, have we even paid taxes yet?

>>35565369
Let's schmooze, but business style. Let some people know that we got a new planet to develop, and see a) what our house would like for people to invest in it, and b) what some houses that are allies or neutral might want to invest in it.

Then, lets hit up some tourism! Go to some nightclubs, maybe go hunting, and lets go on some dates!

>>35565164
Did we ever get around to buying London our of his contract?

>>35565164
Have local banks and commerce chambers forward investment opportunities to Sonia. Nothing huge, but I would like to spend a few 100k here and there to diversify our investment portfolio.

>>35565028
Thats what the HAG is for. Its guns are comparable to a nuclear weapon.

>>35564747
We have those already, but we can't use torpedoes on ground targets because of the dust and fallout. Similar deal with mass driver bombardment from orbit. Earthquake bombs don't have that issue because they detonate underground and don't kick up much dust.

Another possible low-tech counter to the neeran supertanks is EPF landmines. Same general principle as HEAT rounds but not quite the same thing. You take a curved plate of metal and put some HE behind it, the explosion forms the metal into a "dart" that flies out and impacts the target. It's hard to argue with physics so if you have a big enough mine you could take out anything, maybe even unshielded starships.

Either would definitely help the Shallans out, sure beats irradiating your own planets.

>>35565164
Eh, I don't really follow what's going on in here so it was really just a suggestion based on what I know and the problem presented in the picture.
Nuclear Bunker Busters are iffy. Might produce a lot of fallout, might not. It'll still be fairly 'quick' to dissipate on the scale of things compared to say, a nuclear reactor meltdown though.
People live in Hiroshima now after all. May want to avoid the area for a while.

Also a suggestion, if the shielding is not oxygen/gas impermeable, just dump a timed Fuel-Air Explosive on it. Let the FAE mixture sink through the shield, then ignite.

>>35565164
>Btw, provided you make it to Knight Commander, what ship did you think you might like to request for your fleet? Forbearance or the Heavy Carrier RSS is rebuilding?
Personally I'm a huge fan of swarm tactics, so I'd support getting the Heavy Carrier, stuffed with Attack Corvettes (preferably without FTL, should make them considerably cheaper).

>>35565649
That is how most Explosively Formed Penetrators work. It's also a proposed defense project for the very slim chance that an alien invasion happened.

Take one massive hole drilled into a granite flat, fill with water, chunk a nuclear explosive at the bottom, cap with a thick copper disk. Wait until enemy ship orbits above, trigger detonation.

Smaller examples are regularly used as AT weaponry in use with current military and paramilitary organizations too.

See here: >>35565716
As to why nuclear weapons aren't really that terrible. We don't really field dirty bombs like they used to in the 40s any more, and fallout is a concern that is taken into account, hence reduced yields. (There is some concern for local fallout due to dirt being kicked up in the surrounding area, but hey, broken eggs, omelettes, all that.)

Besides, we aren't talking mushroom clouds and mile high plumes to the stratosphere, just a big bang and tops, a 300 kiloton yield, which is piddly in comparison to heavy throw weights. (20 Megatons is the currently heaviest throw weight for example).

>>35565421
>Is there much difference to us?
The two have different customisation options. You've seen many of those available for the heavy Carrier.

>>35565487
>Fuck me, have we even paid taxes yet?
Yes I calculated those at the same time.

>>35555839
>Did we end up refering this to the House diplomatic corps?
Yes. You have also warned the House about the salvage contractor security problem as a result of their presence. New and recent hires are now undergoing a more serious screening process. Civilians currently employed will also be checked though this will take several weeks.

>>35565521
>Did we ever get around to buying London our of his contract?
Everyone still okay with this? If so I'm adding it to company expenses.

>meet with Winifred.

You head back to Rioja with most of your fleet to meet with your CO. A few people have remained behind to get salvage rights sorted out.
While Winifred would like to disbelieve you went for the planet it isn't really overly surprising.
"It seems you're graduating to Salvaging planets now. Not an enormous leap after hearing of your trade deal proposal for House Veritas."

The two of you talk over plans for the planet.

"The terraforming shouldn't be difficult. With that in mind the Harmen family may move to finish this one quickly to free up equipment for South Reach."

"Are they approving the Veritas deal?"
"It seems that way. This acquisition may actually slow things down, but they're prepared to negotiate. Will you be conducting negotiations or are you simply hoping to open them for the diplomats to take care of?
You don't have to do all of the work on your own."
>What say?

>>35566054
>Everyone still okay with this? If so I'm adding it to company expenses.
Yeah, do that, he has been invaluable so far.

>Will you be conducting negotiations or are you simply hoping to open them for the diplomats to take care of?
Let's let the professionals do what they are paid for, we don't need to micromanage everything.

>>35566054
>Will you be conducting negotiations or are you simply hoping to open them for the diplomats to take care of?
I'd say it's a good idea, if there are no strong objections. We need to learn the game, this is an easy start and shows we can also handle politics - in addition to everything else.

Also, being in touch with Veritas ourselves might warm the relationship to get us enough political backing.

>>35566054
"I think my presence would help in the opening stages of the negotiations. It seems officials in House Veritas understand that I prefer mutually beneficial deals and cooperation to quick profit.

As soon as I'm sure both sides are on the way to reach an agreement, I'll follow your advice and let them work out the details on their own.

>>35566054
Maybe be around at the beginning to help set the tone of the negotiations. We don't really have much to add for the actual contract details though, leave that for the experts.

It's been a really long time and I can't remember, who does Mr. London actually work for? My memory says it was the bank, we took out loans and had investors when starting up RSS right? Do we still have investors and/or owe money to anyone at this point?

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>>35566258
This seems the best mix of the previous 2.

"I think my presence would help in the opening stages of the negotiations. It seems officials in House Veritas understand that I prefer mutually beneficial deals and cooperation to quick profit."
Not that there's anything wrong with quick profit on occasion.

"As soon as I'm sure both sides are on the way to reach an agreement, I'll follow your advice and let them work out the details on their own."


Next you explain that RSS has bought a new station that will be brought into orbit of the new colony. Some equipment won't be available for it, but that should be easy enough to fix over time. You're hoping it will fill a similar role to your stations above Surakeh.
Trade along the Run is bound to be valuable and eventually RSS might be able to get some salvage contracts. Even without those there are bound to be ships with engine or systems trouble in the region. Most local salvage craft are likely too busy to assist quickly.

"You've made allies back home with this... hostile takeover of yours. Your popularity will only increase as a result. Be careful. The more you increase in popularity the more people will be jealous of you. Even the Knights and soldiers under your command who benefit the most may have their judgement clouded."

It wouldn't be the first time you've struck a large haul and enriched the House. Or even the second or third.

"Achievements at the front lines and South Reach provide the benefit of distance. When far from the Homeworlds news is released slowly. Here where we've established ourselves it is much more visible. When conquering worlds here in the Run the first time you had the added benefit of a commanding officer to deflect unwanted attention. Now you have to watch your own back Captain, I can give you warnings but can no longer do it for you."

>>35566596
Ok, I admit I'm fairly slow on the uptake, but did Baron Winifred just tell us we need a private intelligence/counter-intelligence corps? Because that's what it feels like.

>add to the adgenda of people to hire
-a press secretary
-domestic political advisor
-foreign affairs advisor (position can double as a strategic acquisition adviser if we take them to the front)
-more intelligence officers
-more personal bodyguards and maybe a second body double

Anyone think that's good, overkill or needs some additions?

>>35567155
RTS and Sonia would probably benefit from a cyberwarfare/IT security department.

>Anyone think that's good, overkill or needs some additions?
I don't see anything wrong with these. We might also want to warn London and Nikolov about this and increase their security.

>Winifred
"Any advice how this might impact members of my family or close friends?"

>>35567422
>impact on my family and close friends?

Crap, we need to start vetting and hiring a few security details, don't we. Speaking of, if Linda's a noble now shouldn't we be mentoring her a bit more on this stuff?

>>35566596
"I may understand but i do not get it. I am getting more stuff. Why would anyone not try to get some too and be certain to get other chances for more? Stopping me, or anyone from doing good things is almost Darwin Award worthy, when instead you should help out."

>>35567561
You are conflating here 'good' with 'getting more stuff' - of course people knowing Sonia would be aware that the two are the same in Sonia's general opinion..

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>>35567155
>-a press secretary
You do have PR people. You want them working on a particular spin on your land grab? This could increase your standing within the House.
Propaganda worked for Julius Caesar.

Well hopefully no one in the House will be crazy enough to kill the Goose that laid the Golden Egg. Just in case though you do have a bodyguard or two and have been increasing security with RTS.

Looking over the sight of the new colony world below you're about to ask Winifred about how this might impact family when her communicator goes off.
"Go ahead." she answers.

Listening for a moment she waves you towards the door, leading the way to the command center aft of the bridge. Operations officers have brought up displays showing the Shallan front and the FTL lanes leading to it.

"Terran convoy escorts have detected enemy ships outside of Shallan space, passing near one of the lanes."
"Did they stage a breakthrough of the front lines or are they trying for an encirclement?"

New data appears on the displays showing multiple fleets. They're out in deep space.

"Aren't there no navigation lanes out there?" you ask
"No stable ones sir." confirms a navigator. "Unstable ones are another story. Their course is curved to pass through several good regions at high speed. Most of our ships wouldn't be able to get through them in time."

"How fast are they moving?" Asks Winifred.
"Nearly J28 based on the data we're getting from the Alliance."
More information continues to scroll past every minute. There is a possible contact of an enemy command ship among the fleet, or fleets.

Winifred's voice sharpens. "How many ships are we looking at?"
"Unknown the convoy is passing out of sensor range."

Most of the Faction fleets are in Shallan space, the Pandora cluster is filled largely with logistics trains or groups going to or from the front lines.

Wait, logistics bases... oh shit Dad is there.
>Your orders?

>>35567561
Some people try to maintain there position of power winging a system by enforcing the status quo. That means preventing any uncontrolled upstarts from gaining power.

They don't own (and i do mean "own") us, so they don't trust us.

>>35567651
>>Your orders?
Freak out?

>>35567651

"Emergency recall of all crews."

We're weeks out from the Pandora Cluster, but if this enemy push is to be stopped the Factions may need to collectively throw forces rotated off the front. We can't afford to let them do too much damage to our Logistics.

>>35567651
Ask Winifried for permission to sortie with the Wing and intercept. If she ask why say it's family matters, and if she says yes, head back to the Wing and actually use the old fashioned general quarters alarm.

>>35567651
Continue to the house Veritas meeting. Give dad a heads up though. Sortieing is silly

>>35567651
>>Your orders?
Gather information:
-What forces are in the Pandora Cluster.
-Is this strictly a Dominion problem?
-Where in that galaxy is Dad?

>>35567651
Dad's neural mapping is up to date, right?

>>35567651
Get information. Don't charge off

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>>35567690
>Freak out?
For a few seconds you feel an icy hand grip your heart.
"We need to begin an Emergency recall of all crews."

"I'm contacting the rest of the Barons and Admiralty." Winifred informs you. "It could take days to recall the rest my expeditionary fleet, and longer to get them to the front in good order."

>Continue to the house Veritas meeting.
Any other votes in favour of this?

>Give dad a heads up though
You let him know and while he thanks you for the info there's not much he can do about it right now. "Sonia I can't just abandon my post because the enemy are moving in this general direction. Still I should make sure everybody is ready to get the fuck out of here if we're attacked. Don't tell your mother I swore."

>What forces are in the Pandora Cluster.
Several of the mobile asteroid forts are there conducting exercises in preparation to launch a counter offensive once the enemy offensive has burned itself out attempting to storm the Nav relay.
The Terrans were supposed to be sending one of their new expeditionary carriers up to the front in a few weeks to join them. There are a good number of units in the region but most were going to or from Shallan space.
>Is this strictly a Dominion problem?
No. Most of the Factions Alliance supply bases are in the Pandora cluster. Along with their salvage yards.
>Where in that galaxy is Dad?
Sonia's father is posted to a supply base in a dwarf galaxy closer to the rim. The DHI shipyard is closer to the center of the cluster btw.

>>35568049
>Dad's neural mapping is up to date, right?
Give or take a few months.

>>35568579
>Any other votes in favour of this?

I think we can spare a few days to handle the negotiations, to be honest. Daska is interested in our job anyway, so she might be keen on getting to command the Wings for a bit to show her mettle.

She has conducted more than enough raiding operations with us to understand what the enemy is most likely trying to achieve. She's also smart, so she'll figure out a way to deal with this.

Can we delay our next tour of duty by the amount of time we spend on countering this?

>>35568579
>House Veritas meeting

Can we get our PR people's take on the optics of doing the meeting under the current climate? I don't want us getting accused of dereliction of duty or something by our political rivals...

>Can we delay our next tour of duty by the amount of time we spend on countering this?
It's an option, but keep in mind that anyone who didn't go this time would then be on the front lines for awhile without you as their CO.


>>35567852
"Captain you only have 2 squadrons here. I was hoping you could join any forces we rally from the Run if the Earl gives us permission to launch."

You tell her you want to head out there because of a family matter.

The older woman sighs.

"If you're determined to head to the front I can't stop you from taking the Battlecruiser you own. Or you could convince your pilots to take the faster squadrons that are here and go without approval. That could earn you and any pilots involved a reprimand.

If you wait a few days we could rally the training squadrons and other units here in the Smugglers Run. If given permission you could then launch with a fleet."

Each of those plans have their downsides.

"If you're worried about someone remember you're not without resources. Who is it, your father? Hire some mercenaries to guard or evacuate the station he's on if the worst should come."

[ ] Take Excalibur and go
[ ] Depart with 2 fast squadrons & BC's
[ ] Wait to see if there is an emergency deployment
[ ] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs
[ ] Other

>>35568789
>[X] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs

Hire somebody with a cloaked ship to extract him if things go south.

>>35568789
>[ ] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs

>I think we can spare a few days to handle the negotiations,
It will take you 8 days at max FTL speeds to reach House Veritas space.

>Can we get our PR people's take on the optics of doing the meeting under the current climate? I don't want us getting accused of dereliction of duty or something by our political rivals...

Either choice will have some group saying bad things about you. One will say you're putting family above the good of the House if you rush to the front now, another will say you're neglecting the Factions Alliance or safety of the Pandora Cluster just to get a good deal.

>Daska is interested in our job anyway, so she might be keen on getting to command the Wings for a bit to show her mettle.
Give Winifred the OK for Daska to take command?

>>[ ] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs

>>35565164
>what ship did you think you might like to request for your fleet?

This really depends on several factors. Such as both those ships capability once done and if we are going to keep raiding as is. While the Forbearance makes me drool to have under our command I feel that it is to valuable to the House to take behind enemy lines. On the other hand the Millennium was a great asset for us behind enemy lines and was able to take care of all our needs without much trouble.

>>Did we ever get around to buying London our of his contract?
I'd pay 50 millions if it meant we got London as our employed to us. He is invaluable to the company and most important, I feel we can trust him.

>>35567651
Oh boy, did the Alliance not prepare for this possibility by stationing forces in the Pandora cluster once the Neeran began their offensive? On another note, this might work to our advantage once the war is over. If the front move out of Shallan space and into the Pandora Cluster and we defeat them there.... Well a lot of these colonies belonged to the Dominion once right? When the war is over perhaps would be the time to start convincing them to rejoin. A war ravaged barley held together federation should not be to hard to crush if pressure is applied to the right spots. Future wars aside, if that fleet get cut off we are looking at the greatest Neeran defeat since we took out those command ships. just have to keep them from setting up yards and digging and we can pick them apart.

>>35568789
>Can we delay our next tour of duty by the amount of time we spend on countering this?
And lose out on the chance for billions in salvage, prestige and the joy of fucking the Neerans over? Nonsense!

[X] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs
This deal is important. We deploy with our own wings given time.

>mercs
There must be a lot of of mercs recuperating from front line combat in the Pandora area that could use some easy work. Should be simple to hire a bunch of them to hang around the logistics station and evacuate the staff if the enemy makes a move into the galaxy.

Might as well hire a bunch since it will look bad if we only rescue dad and leave everyone else behind.

>>35569037

>people talking behind our back

Well we'll just have to bring some mercs and/or shiny new Type 6 Attack Bombers from our factory, and see if we can't convince the Aeon Baron to beat war drums for an emergency departure as well.

... I wonder if Veritas could be convinced to send even a wing of ships to the front for an emergency deployment. They could use it as a chance to make contacts in the Pandora Cluster...

>>35567651
Hell yes, have our PR people spin our land grab as us opening up a new frontier for J-D to expand into and as profit from the incursion into the South Reach - as in that our house wouldn't have had the leverage if it weren't for war hero & young self-made Tycoon Sonia Reynard.

Seriously, our PR people should be spinning everything we do.

>>35568789

> Continue to Hous Veritas meeting / hire mercs

Seriously, there's really a limit we can do here. It's a war, it's not an emergency/charlie foxtrot QUITE yet, and there is a whole army full of other people you know.

Jeeze.

>>35568789
[ x] Depart with 2 fast squadrons & BC's
This is a reprimand worth having, and can play to a persona of protecting those we serve with with all means at our disposal. We wont earn a medal, but we will earn the goodwill and public support, including the military's support if we push for knight commander.

>>35569037

[x] Give the OK for Daska to organize the attack wings in the Run

[x] Ask permission to take command of any mobilized assets from South Reach until we bring them to the main fleet. Or, if RSS has some suitable ships, a budget to pick some up for the House (or possibly crew a few of them with House crews and bring them as personal ships)

>>35564574
Awesome map!! Thanks TSTG!

Really helps with the visualisation an strategic planning.

>>35568789
>[X] Continue to the House Veritas meeting / Hire mercs

Running off with a few ships, or forfeiting our command are both silly options. Our dad will be fine, and we'll be up at the front soon enough, which is when we can help push them back.