Beyond that, you have a meeting in 20 minutes on Terraforming Strategies, mining operations to set up, Hab-Domes and a Trdestation to unpack and assemble, Asteroid Mines to deploy, a Cloudscoop to tow into orbit around a Gas Giant, Orbital Nodes to disperse, a long-forgotten Smugglers Cache to open up and loot, some bizarre mystery involving a seemingly mutated female Kzin to investigate, and a happily deceived Slaver Lords buried treasure to replace with his ventilated corpse.

You're starting to really wish you were the kind of man who could just ignore stuff like this and spend his life enjoying fine liquor and finer whores in a private estate.


You are currently in a meeting room on the Colony Ship harvest of Tomorrow, which will be spending the next three months in-system unloading its cargo and acting as your headquarters until the Capitol Dome is fully operational.

Around a fine table of expensive wood are your Staff, including the unofficial additions of the Kzinti Warlord Ras, his exiled Pupil Kasdan and Telepath adviser Kallit, and the Chtall leader Zan.

The subject at hand is that your world has Terraformed itself quite bit.

"The Monroe Algae," Begins Dr. Rigel McArthur, head of Terraforming operations and research on Tempest phenomenon, "in addition to providing a source of food for our unwelcome Arachnid guests, has shaved decades off our schedule for rendering tempest habitable. The entire Algae ecosystem is on the verge of poisoning itself into collapse with its own by-products, despite the moderating effect of the Bandersnatch and Pseudo-Arachnids, and when it does it will leave behind soil primed for the growth of altered Terran lifeforms, which will more than offset the additional time it will take to convert the heavily polluted atmosphere."

>CONT

>>35533804
>Telepath adviser Kallit
Wait, Kallit is that aide to Ras that we compared to a Kzin Merlin advising Ras' aging King Arthur?

>>35533804

"On top of this, we have discovered several other interesting Xenoforms: At several times in this planets past, certain plants, microbes, and Fungi were introduced into this worlds environment that, while crippling to the soil of Terran-type planets, are highly profitable if harvested and sold before they mutate and go native, which these were not. Their devastation is probably why the Algae ecosystem took as long to reach this point as it did."

"We have discovered the presence of the Lithos life-form, naturally occurring silicone-based Nanites used in the creation of much modern Nanotechnology, a species of the Tak root, the oil of which is used to create more efficient and powerful energy weapons, particularly lasers, and Strayzen Microbes, which have heavily grown in the atmosphere and are rendered down to create organic alternatives to a number of expensive and difficult to create synthetic products in advanced electronics. Each of these are normally devastating to a planets ecology, but it appears that the Algae was able to recover after the life-forms in question had mutated to the point that they became part of the local ecosystem. we believe that, with careful management, this will remain true as we import Terran life, and provide several export products for our Colonists."

"Though the mutated forms of these species are far less efficient and widespread than their progenitors, certainly not enough to be this worlds sole export, with proper adaptation their harvest could provide work for many independent prospectors and small businesses for the foreseeable future of this world."

>CONT

>>35533866
Wow. We hit the jackpot with this world's harvestable resources.

>>35533852

>Indeed. You haven't had a chance to meet him yet, but he's going to want to talk to you soon about what, or rather who, you found on that Pirate Ship.

>>35533866

"At this moment, however, we face an interesting conundrum: These life forms, particularly the mutated Strayzen Microbes, have heated the planets atmosphere sufficiently that artificial altering of the climate is no longer necessary: The imminent Algae die-off and the associated greenhouse effect will take care of the rest for us. This means that we have a number of Non-Nuclear Thermal Bombs intended to warm the entire planet available for other uses. While it is possible to use them as weapons, it would be a horrific waste of devices much harder to manufacture than the more destructive Fusion Warheads. My staff has come up with several possible uses."

"One would be to convert them into something similar to a bomb-pumped laser, using them to alter the planets axial tilt and create a more ideal climate: Less heat at the equator, less cold at the temperate polar regions."

"Another is to split them into fragments, and use those to direct a cloud of nearby ice-asteroids into the atmosphere cheaply, without the massive engineering project and dozens of Fusion bombs normally needed for such an endeavor. This would raise ocean levels to optimal without having to induce melting of the spectacular glaciers that are visible, due to the mountainous terrain, from almost any single point on the planets landmasses. This will also increase rainfall noticeably on an already wet planet, but the tourism benefits would be worth it."

>CONT

>>35533866
Man, it's a good thing we negotiated our way to getting a slice of the profits that the Cthall will be reaping from their bio-engineering.

>>35533914
One important thing we should worry about, though: now that Tempest has been outed to the Megacorp Representatives (both the smaller Corp Rep and to the AAA Rep), we need to be careful that we aren't assassinated and AAA try to take over the colony with a more malleable Governor.

>>35534101
I like the more ideal climate idea, but the sheer aspect of the glaciers for the tourism/bottled water industry would also be fantastically profitable.

What do you guys think?

>>35534132
Good thing we've got a supersoldier and grizzled warrior for best friends eh?

>>35534189

I favor the axial tilt over their use to bring ice-asteroids into the atmosphere cheaply but lets wait to hear all options and hear the recommendations of our advisers.

>>35534132
Given it's our colony, they wouldn't be able to directly choose the successor at least.

At least with the Cthall, they shouldn't know. And the megacorp branches themselves shouldn't know until we get ships to arrive for trade.

On one hand, I think the axial tilt thing would be harder/more expensive to do without the algae bombs. And the better climate would be a big boost for biotech & agriculture.

But ice asteroids? Tourism, fresh water source. Then raised water levels could also be good for fishing too and stuff

>>35534101

"We have also detected that the planet below is rich in inactive Untorum, used in the oldest and crudest pre-Expansion Fusion Reactors. While useless as a mineral, if activated it should produce some interesting effects when it reacts with the planets magnetic field, causing a number of impacted meteorites from before this world had an atmosphere to speak of to lift off the ground and begin floating. Yes, the legendary Flying Mountains. If that doesn't bring in the tourists, nothing will."

"Next is the proposed use to focus the blasts in certain areas of the soon to be ocean floor. This will alter currents, creating better commercial fishing, slightly improving the landmasses ceded to the Chtall for their purposes, causing many islands to become near-ideal resort locations, and creating between five and seven areas where coral reefs on the same scale as the long-lost Great Barrier Reef of ancient Terra could grow, along with much greater incidence of Coral elsewhere. Truly a treasure that is rare among the worlds of Man."

"Finally, there is the proposal to use them to propagate a monster storm above a not particularly useful deep-water area of the ocean, with no islands and poor projected fishing. this storm would be the size of a continent, fierce even by the standards of this world. A monstrous tempest that would look truly spectacular from orbit, especially considering the native atmospheres tendency to magnifying upper-atmosphere lightning to the point where it is visible with the naked eye from orbit, and according to our projections this weather anomoly would likely remain permanent. Some of my scientists are already calling it The Storm, and are claiming that it could hold the key to understanding this worlds anomalous weather patterns, although I suspect that's just an excuse to advocate its creation."

"So," He says, steepling his old, slender fingers. "The choice is yours, Governor."

>ACTION?

>>35534189
I'd be for raising the ocean levels. It wouldn't feel right to make Tempest have a nice, stable climate. I feel like this planet should be a testing ground for generations to come.

And if there's a planetside invasion, horrible weather that the locals are used to could be a distinct advantage.

>>35534268
You make good points there.

>>35534264
What other side-effects would activating the Untorum deposits create?
Would it interfere with modern electronics and sensors?
What about geo-magnetic field anomalies making settlements more expensive to build/maintain?

Is it still feasible to simply pay the costs of the Ice-Cloud Project AND use the thermal bombs to dig out the sea-bed, giving us two Projects for the price of one?

Priorities are:
>Terraforming thing/Algae
>Getting the Cthall to help us with the Rachnids. Given the fact they're on the planet too and equally at risk, they should gladly help us.
>Smart Kzin Girl

>>35534264
>"Next is the proposed use to focus the blasts in certain areas of the soon to be ocean floor. This will alter currents, creating better commercial fishing, slightly improving the landmasses ceded to the Chtall for their purposes, causing many islands to become near-ideal resort locations, and creating between five and seven areas where coral reefs on the same scale as the long-lost Great Barrier Reef of ancient Terra could grow, along with much greater incidence of Coral elsewhere. Truly a treasure that is rare among the worlds of Man."

I'm leaning on this, but can we get some input/discussion from our staff? Such as our megacorp aid (if she's more than just a glorified secretary), James, etc.

>>35534101

>Adviser Input.

"If you don't mind my butting in," Georg begins, "That Ice Asteroid proposal also has the advantage of its effect being very rapid, as opposed to the more gradual flooding from melted glaciers. This would, by the estimates I've seen from the Terraforming Department once my Intel people got a hold of them, drown out roughly a third of our remaining Insect friends. It's worth considering."

>>35534264
What are the possibilities for doing both the Ocean Floor and the Asteroids option?

>>35534264

Could "The Storm" improve or worsen the climate on other parts of the world?

>>35534101
>ice-asteroids
this has my vote as it helps with the bugs now, and there is nothing stopping us from doing the others later.

>>35534345

Is their any danger they could adapt to an aquatic environments making their extermination more difficult?

>>35534345
>drown 1/3 remaining Arachnid forces on the planet
>Remaining 2/3 survive, adapt, and now we have to fight aquatic Arachnids

I don't know about this. Sounds like an "unforeseen consequences" situation just waiting to happen.

>>35534394
You shouldn't be so quick to jump at an option, especially when it can mean we have to deal with X-COM: Terror from the Deep in a year down the line.

>>35534400
We'll be fine as long as we don't use the anti-mass spectrometer.

>>35534264
I'm thinking either ocean floor for reefs or a giant storm.

Leaning towards Giant storm.

>>35534400
>>35534345
Lets ask our Rach expert on the possibility of that

>>35534264
>"Next is the proposed use to focus the blasts in certain areas of the soon to be ocean floor. This will alter currents, creating better commercial fishing, slightly improving the landmasses ceded to the Chtall for their purposes, causing many islands to become near-ideal resort locations, and creating between five and seven areas where coral reefs on the same scale as the long-lost Great Barrier Reef of ancient Terra could grow, along with much greater incidence of Coral elsewhere. Truly a treasure that is rare among the worlds of Man."
all for this option

>>35534417
reasonable point,
we could wait on any course of action until the bugs are dead actually

>>35534345
can we only do one or we we have enough bombs to do a few

>>35534355
>>35534356
>>35534394
>>35534395

These changes can either only be instigated now (The Storm) or would interfere with the delicate Terraforming processes that are to come later, although that will merely delay them. Your limitation is that you only have enough of the Thermal Bombs to pursue one of these courses of action.

Dian, your liaison to the Terran Commonwealth, and Jack Calladan, the representative of AAA Planetary Industries, say that purchasing the additional Thermal devices to do all of them will roughly double your Corporate debt, although your payment will remain the same and your 10%-up-front Autonomy will be grandfathered in. It will just take twice as long to get into the clear totally. But are the long-term rewards worth it?

>>35534345
Fighting bugs is bad. Trying to fight bugs underwater is straight up impossible. Not messing with that.

>>35534470
Whats the possibility of underwater Rachs and colonies?

>>35534470
>double Corporate debt
Isn't our current projection of paying off the debt to be in 50 years?
Is that after factoring in the projected profits from the asteroid mines and He3 gathering?

>>35534470
I vote we use the Thermals to create the idealized ocean and purchase a second batch to get the asteroids out of orbit.

>>35534345
Speaking of, can we get some pictures of the staff?

Being able to put faces to names is very helpful in getting closer to the characters.

>>35534432
>>35534417

You call Kendricks in on the possibility of Aquatic Arachnids.

"There have been cases of underwater castes appearing, particularly on oceanic worlds. However, the eggs have to be laid by a land-based queen and carried by workers to incubate in water. While you will likely see aquatic Warriors eventually, and perhaps even some of the crab-like amphibious Heavy Plasma Projectors, getting rid of them will be a matter of finding and eliminating coastal and island Colonies."

>>35534503
We could always start paying a little more than what's required and reduce the debt repayment time. It happens all the time with home mortgages (and in the long run is cheaper).

>>35534470
Wow thats really really tempting...can we do 2/3 of all options and maybe just add 25 years?

>>35534521

Drown the bugs then, divided and disperse as they are this will help us a lot.

>>35534470

I think that the long-term rewards are worth it.

This is not something that can be done in the future, and better to do it utterly as right as we can for our children than to low-ball it.

>>35534532
Do we have the ability to pay more?

>>35534570

Besides, this is gonna turn us into Maximum Tourism hotspot for quite a few different areas, sweet mother of god.

>>35534503

Correct. However, that is going purely on mining operations. Profits Asteroid Mining, HE3 production, and other exported goods and services go directly to you, along with the small cut of the Mining profits AAA leaves you. If you want, you can divert some of these extra profits into paying off your debt faster.

>>35534356

It will leave weather patterns planet-wide mostly unaffected, although whatever minor effects it does have are difficult to foretell.

>>35534268

Due to the strange weather patterns of your planet, every projected attempt at climate alteration has the Storms bouncing back after several years. This will simply effect temperature and the severity of the seasons, mainly that the equator will no longer be horrendously hot.

>>35534584
Planet's going to get us some income eventually. If we skip friday night partridge and other little luxuries we could pay it off faster.

>>35534470
You know what? If they can all work together then fuck it, lets double down and do it.


"Come to Tempest, the most absolutely balls to the walls crazily beautiful planet you'll ever see."

Brought to you by a man with more balls than sense, subsidized by the Terran Commonwealth.

Let me break it down.

>Laser Bomb: More ideal and less extreme climate. Obvious bonus to living conditions and agriculture.
>Fragments: Get ice asteroids to mine for freshwater. Tourism boost. Increased water levels. 1/3rd of Rachnids get killed off. No Aqua Rachnids if coastal/island Colonies are killed off.
>Unitorum: Big tourism boost from Flying Mountains.
>Blast: Create an extremely rare Great Barrier Reef. Tourism boost. Boost to commercial fishing, helps out the Cthall.
>Storm: Looks cool. Can help us understand the worlds weather patterns.

Whats the benefit to understanding the weather pattern, OP?

Do we have a staff member who's good with finance? Maybe Yusuf? How fast could we pay off the debts potentially with the benefits of two sets of thermal bombs?

>>35534521
Okay, so it won't be as bad as we feared, especially since the Queens themselves can't adapt to be aquatic.

>>35534629
>>Laser Bomb: More ideal and less extreme climate. Obvious bonus to living conditions and agriculture.
not really crazy about this one myself, could we skip it?

>>35534629
>>35534651
Actually, aren't Laser Bomb and Ice Fragments mutually exclusive?
The improved climate from Laser Bomb would result in the glaciers melting from the poles being less cold, cancelling out the advantage of the Ice Fragments, which is to preserve the glaciers as tourist attractions.

>>35534651
No. Not without choosing what would simply be the best one(s) to take from a benefits analysis. The first also means more land for people to live on. It doesn't mean the planet will have a perfect terran like climate. Just that more of the land is hospitable to humans.

>>35534651
>>35534629
I concur.

My priorities are Fragments and Blast. Preferably both. If we decide to get a third, then I'd say the Unitorum. If we go insane we could do the Storm. So we have options for 100, 150, 200, or 250 years if we don't put in additional payment.

OP, can we inquire about a bulk discount?

>>35534632

Not to mention that after they change their strategy due our the attacks with our BOLO a hive with queens could be a welcome target.

>>35534629
I'm leaning on Blast and/or Fragment.

So long as we kill the island/coastal colonies before doing this, we're in the OK on no Marine Rachnids.

>>35534629
I would like Fragments and Blast, and possibly Storm, if we could swing that somehow.

>>35534703
ya, lets look at our spending options

>>35534629

Aside from the benefits of attracting scientists to study the damn thing? Do you have any idea how huge a tourist attraction it would be for a planet called Tempest to have a fucking continent-sized storm called "The Storm", like, the same way 40K Imperials say "The Emperor". Watch the flying mountains, go diving in the Coral Reefs, take pictures of yourself with a view of the glaciers rising above the jungle, go take a Space elevator ride into orbit and see the fuckoff huge Storm with lighting visible FROM THE MOON.

>>35534703
I think he answered that already.
>>35534470
>Dian, your liaison to the Terran Commonwealth, and Jack Calladan, the representative of AAA Planetary Industries, say that purchasing the additional Thermal devices to do all of them will roughly double your Corporate debt
>do all of them
That's basically doing all of the options for a projected extra 50 years, and that's with minimum payments.

>>35534756

I am in favor of doing this we can offset the extra time with the other industries we can have.

>>35534756
Oh. OH. This makes the plan so much better.

>>35534597
Yes. Do all of them. This will be glorious.

>>35534703

Most of your Debt comes from the expense of heavy mining machinery and the Sky-El. The Thermal Bombs were a large part, but not all. Buying enough Thermal Bombs from AAA to go for all the options at once will double your debt, taking 100 years to pay off without devoting additional income to payments.

>>35534800
Yeah, no.

>>35534800

>Addendum:

Jack laughs snarkily. "This IS the Bulk Discount, buddy."

>>35534756
>>35534800
Man, with this kind of misreading you'd think that my lowest scores were in reading comprehension instead of being the highest.

>>35534800

Lets do it.

>>35534800
Will WE get anything directly out of all this tourism or will it be the rest of the planet?

>>35534800
>>35534820
Can you answer if the Bomb-Pumped Laser Project and the Ice Fragments Project are mutually exclusive?
Because they sound like they are.

Laser Project
>alter climate
>make poles warmer and equator cooler
>accelerate glacier melting

Ice Fragments
>use ice asteroids to provide water
>preserve the glaciers as they are

>>35534814
>>35534832
you know nothing says we cant find MORE WAYS OF MAKIN LODS O' MONEYYYY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON-7v4qnHP8

can we just vote, it will save time here
Laser Bomb: no (not worth the bother)
>Fragments: yes (kills bugs, tourism)
>Unitorum: no (flying rocks don't seem worth it to me)
>Blast: yes (for econ)
>Storm: yes (for science)

>>35534800

Even still i think it is probably worth it to go balls deep into it.

Damn... I really want those flying mountains, but they'd probably be useless. I'll stick to voting for ice asteroids, then we'll probably have the debt paid off in our lifetime.
>>35534597
Is clinical immortality a thing in this setting? not that old age will get us either way how we're going...

Also tangential question, the last post mentioned sentient native life on this planet? What do our experts say on that, did it survive the arachnid presence?

>>35534900
no. This is worth exploring the options over

However:
100 years of debt over 50 for ALL the options Y/N?

>>35534866

They will reduce glaciers considerably, and Zan says that it will make his peoples equatorial areas less suitable for their biome. Rigel also points out that if the Poles are somewhat cooler, as they will be naturally, you will able to host a number of cold-weather species, such as the Wooly Mammoth, caribou, and Salmon.

>>35534918
>>35534900
>I really want those flying mountains, but they'd probably be useless
>useless
>already said to be a major tourist attraction

>the last post mentioned sentient native life on this planet?
We already met the Bandersnatch Worms, but they were not interested in interacting with us further.

>>35534934
Ah, so they ARE mutually exclusive.

What about the geo-magnetic anomalies created by activating the Unitorium deposits?
Will that affect our Infonet, sensors and electronics?
Will it have an effect on the Arachne?

>>35534934
I vote
>Fragments
>Blast
>Laser Bomb

>>35534629

All of the togerther makes for a crazy good Paradise world eh.

>>35534900

I think this is a good compromise. And if we consider this >>35534934 seen like the best combination.

>>35534956
Dude, did you NOT read what he wrote?
The Bomb-Pumped Laser is mutually exclusive with the advantages of the Ice Fragments.

>>35534934
Do we have to do all this stuff now or can in like 200 years can we buy a bob to activate the mountains

>>35534900
Laser Bomb: No
Fragments: Yes
Unitorum: Yes
Blast: Yes
Storm: Yes

The tourist attraction potential of the Flying Mountains was already stated to be one of the best possible tourist attractions we could get.
>>35534264
>Yes, the legendary Flying Mountains. If that doesn't bring in the tourists, nothing will.

Oh fuck, this decision is going to take at least 5 hours, isn't it?

OK. Lets vote:

>Vote A:
>Laser
>No Fragment
>Everything Else

>Vote C:
>No Laser
>Fragment
>Everything Else

>Other
>Go with 1 Option so we have less debt.

>>35534963
oops sorry miss that
change lasers to mountains then

>>35534935
>>35534918

You have encountered some Bandersnatch, though they aren't native, technically. They're a symbiotic life-form to the Algae that covers your world, although they can adapt to survive without it just fine. They shyed away from your men when you tried to initiate contact, but you have read that it sometimes takes as much as a hundred years before Bandersnatch open communications with human settlers, even in cases where humans ignorant of their sapience hunt them for food.

>>35534934
Everything but the Laser.

>>35534987
It's going to take a lot of time because people can't fucking read what's being posted.

Like this guy >>35534973
When OP said that everything has to be done now, because doing it later fucks with the terraforming projects.
>>35534470
>These changes can either only be instigated now (The Storm) or would interfere with the delicate Terraforming processes that are to come later

>>35534993
>Blast
>Unitorum
>Fragments

>>35534987

Probably. Considering smaller decisions have taken longer.

>>35534986

Going to copy this.

Laser Bomb: No
Fragments: Yes
Unitorum: Yes
Blast: Yes
Storm: Yes

>>35534993
Vote C

>>35534900
>Laser Bomb: no
>Fragments: yes
>Untorum: yes
>Blast: yes
>Storm: yes

This is my vote

Laser Bomb: No (No way)
Fragments: Yes
Unitorum: No (willing to compromise on this)
Blast: Yes
Storm: Yes

>>35534955

No interference or significant anomalies. Those were a result of the first world upon which humanity discovered the mineral during the Expansion, which generated significant interference and anomalies as a result of unusual core composition that was, at the time, falsely correlated with the Unitorium.

>>35534993
Should be 'Vote B'

I'm going with Vote B, since Fragments are a better deal than A.

>>35535006
how mobile are the flying mountains, are they something that the storm might effect?

>>35535053

Think of the tourism my man. And with almost everything else you might as go for the full Tourist Package.

>>35534866
I think the laser project would just take the Poles from 'spit goes clink' to 'fuckfuckfuck it's cold' and not really melt much.

>>35534862
I think we can charge for use of our spaceport, and hotels on the dome, but the biggest benefit would probably be to the more enterprising among our citizens.

my main vote would be to just do the ice meteors, but I've just been raised to pay off debts as fast as possible. If we're really running space 'murrica I'll obviously be outvoted there.
My second choice would be to get all the upgrades now, since we can't get them later and they all have positive qualities.

>>35534993
>>Go with 1 Option so we have less debt.

Majority on everything but Axial-Tilt altering lasers. Writing now.

>>35535086

But putting the mountains up in the sky could make them difficult to mine.

>>35535053
The tourism benefits of the Flying Mountains is incredibly high, and there's no discount for not getting those Thermal Bombs.

AAA and the Commonwealth said it's all or nothing, in regards to the purchase price of the bombs.

>>35535059
Can we get the debt reduced to 85 years since we're just buying 3 more sets of Bombs?

>>35534264
>Laser Bomb: No
>Fragments: Yes
>Unitorum: Yes
>Blast: Yes
>Storm: Yes

>>35535100

Mining for what?

>>35535095
>I think the laser project would just take the Poles from 'spit goes clink' to 'fuckfuckfuck it's cold' and not really melt much.
You need to read the thread more closely. Especially OP posts if nothing else.
>>35534934
>will the Laser Project accelerate glacier melting
>They will reduce glaciers considerably, and Zan says that it will make his peoples equatorial areas less suitable for their biome.
So changing the climate not only takes away one of our tourist attractions, but it will fuck over the Cthall.
Finally, our lead scientist also pointed out that keeping the poles at their current temperature allows for the cultivation of cold-weather organisms we normally wouldn't be able to grow.

>>35534993
1 option so less debt.

TheGameroom I have a question what happen to the slaves we liberated? Are they staying here or what? Where did they came from and their makeup?

We are a very weird guy.

Looking at the long-term instead of the short-term.

>>35535154
>>35535098
Less debt also means future projected profits are cut in half.

hay TheGameroom weren't you going to implement a time limit for discussion like this so we didn't spent all night arguing

>>35535080

Due to the nature of its strange relationship with a worlds Magnetic fields, the Flying Mountains will float along at varying speeds, but all fast enough for their movement to be visible. They will be repelled by the ground, preventing them from crashing into (Stationary) mountains, blocks of native rock placed in tall buildings will prevents them from crashing into those, and even extreme wind will have a very minor effect on speed and direction.

>Everything but Lasers

"A commendable choice," Rigel says, nodding, "Despite the additional debt this will incur, it brings many long-term benefits, and it would be a shame for Axial meddling to tame such wild beauty."

The work begins in earnest, and as the hours pass, you watch as great detonations are set in the future ocean floors, distant chunks of dirty water-ice are pushed towards your world, and others set to catalyze the Unitorium reaction.

And in a desolate stretch of water, you already see sinister grey thunderheads, a side-effect of atmospheric conditions that make storm systems appear grey instead of white from orbit, gathering in a lazy spiral around a massive heat bloom.

The work of building a world has only just begun.

>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet
>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue
>Go open up the Smugglers Mystery Box
>Go after Slaver Treasure
>Other

>>35535341
>Go after Slaver Treasure

This first before he gets suspicious.

>>35535341
>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue
This first. We don't know what kind of religious schism her existence could cause.
Then I want to do the rest in order:
>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet
>Go after Slaver Treasure
>Go open up the Smugglers Mystery Box

>>35535330
See
>>35535099

>>35535121

It is so.

>>35535160

James has the details on that, among other things.

>>35535341
>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet

Duty comes first, goodies come next.

>>35535341
>Go after Slaver Treasure
>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue

>>35535401
The Kzin problem and the Slaver are on timers.

>>35535341
>>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet
>>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue
>>Go open up the Smugglers Mystery Box
>>Go after Slaver Treasure
lets do it in order unless someone else has something interesting to bring up

>>35535341
>Go after Slaver Treasure
"A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week."

>>35535341
>Go after Slaver Treasure
>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue
>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet
>Go open up the Smugglers Mystery Box

>Slaver Treasure wins. Writing.

Shit.
Going after the Slaver Treasure will take time because we have to make hyperspace jumps to other star systems, that could take days or weeks.
The Kzin problem is RIGHT NOW.

>>35535341

>Debrief James on the Slaver Battle and status of the Fleet
>Talk to Ras about your mystery rescue
>Go open up the Smugglers Mystery Box

These three shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

>Go after Slaver Treasure

This one will take longer.

>>35535582

Unless its on this system. Also I could like to rename the ships we capture as part of our new navy they need to proper names.

>>35535582
Talk on the way there?

>>35535582
I was under the impression it wasn't in other systems.

If you have to bug out, you'd need to grab your shit.

>>35535624
>Unless its on this system
No, Spire specifically said that the treasures are hidden in another star system.

>>35535627
With who? Most of the people we were going to talk are needed here at Tempest to set up the colony.

>>35535639
>I was under the impression it wasn't in other systems.
He outright said that they're in different, empty star systems so that if this base was ever compromised, he could run to them to pick up his valuables instead of tried to bug out with all extra slaves.

>He's claiming to have some buried treasure in empty star systems near here, and a cache of the most valuable slaves he's ever collected

>>35535675
Oh well. I had no idea.

>>35535639
>>35535624
You're both wrong, and have condemned us to this course of action based on misremembered facts.

Deep in the hold of the Harvest of Tomorrow, there is a security cell holding a somewhat overweight, muscular man with an ugly face made worse by tattoos intended to look intimidating and random facial piercings. He is 'Lord Spire", former Slaver, who believes you are going to spare his wretched life in exchange for leading you to his last captives and treasures.

You would almost feel sorry for the poor fool, if previous adventures in other parts of the Frontier hadn't given you an idea of just how many poor settlers and travelers have seen him smiling evilly down on them before destroying their lives forever for profit.

"Ah," He brightens upon seeing you enter his Spartan cell, flanked by your hand-picked guard, "The new Governor comes to see his benighted guest. Tell me, how is your new relationship with Kommodore Scarr working out?"

It is all your men can do to not exchange knowing looks and smirks. "Reasonably well. He is remarkably more civil to those who have something to offer him in trade."

"I'm sure, I'm sure. I hope the same holds true for you. Now, if you will escort me to the ship you'll be using for this little adventure, I'll give your navigation people the coordinates."

>Which ship will you choose?

>>35535698

>You can change this course of action to another, if you wish. You can simply make this out as a social call to tell Spire you haven't forgotten him.
>It would also probably be wise to know the conditions of your FTL-capable ships before setting out in one.

>>35535698
Which ships have functioning hyperdrives?
Our patrol ships don't.
Has the Destroyer been cleansed of pirates and ready to go?
It's the ship that has the most weapons, in case we encounter problems (re. other ships and hostiles) when we go to pick up the cache.

Which ships have the fastest hyperdrives?

>>35535698

The Gladius-class Destroyer, no onw will dare ambush a ship like that.

>>35535744
>picking a ship immediately
>after GM says that seeing if the FTL drives aren't about to implode is a good idea to check first
This is the kind of recklessness, or outright stupidity, that makes long discussions necessary.

>>35535737
Make this just a social call, saying that we should be able to leave in a day or so.
Use the time to check the conditions of the hyperjump drives of the ships in our fleet to find the ones that are fastest and in best condition, and if the Destroyer's are good to go or if there are problems.

Also, we should take care of the other things before we leave for a week.

>>35535764

Didn't see his past before submitting mine.

>>35535743

You assume that most of the Pirate ships are capable of FTL, but you have no idea what the battle-damage is. James has all that information.

>>35535698
Get our ships checked first.

If we wait a day, we should give him some good food/drink (last meals before his death) to give the impression he's still a "guest".

>>35535809
You also didn't think about it at all, though, prompt or not.

>>35535823

See this is why I ask to see James first.

>>35535698
apologize to him we couldn't visit sooner and tell him he'll have to wait a little longer as we deal with some important colonial business

>>35535823
Then tell Spire that we're going to be leaving as soon as preparations are made, which will likely be a day.

Then we need to talk with Ras to take care of this potential schism in the Kzin religion.
We can talk with James after we make sure that there isn't going to be in-fighting among our Kzin colonists/warriors.

>>35535698
I say we make it a social call. Chat up a bit. Make sure he's treated comfortably so he's under the impression he's still a guest and not a prisoner. Give him some truths as to why we're delaying it (like the Rachnid problem).

Then go to Ras, followed by James. I think the religious thing is more urgent

>>35535698
This
>>35535874

>>35535842

>Their only remotely modern warship is an old Rift Federation Gladius-class Destroyer which, while past its prime, is still a perfectly serviceable warship with proper modernization. The construction fundamentals on those ships were *Excellent*.

The description we were given does make it seen like the best we have right now. Many of our colony ships were one-trip-coffins.

>Social Call, followed by Ras and James. Writing.

>>35535916
It's the best ship we have, I don't doubt that.
But when we captured the pirate fleet, we were told that a lot of the ships were in need of major repairs and maintenance, and their engineers were somethings lashed and flayed by pirate taskmasters, as well as running low on spare reactor and hyperjump drive parts.

All of which means that, while the ship may still be great in a fight in a star system, we have no idea of the state of its hyperjump drive.

"Unfortunately, this is merely a social call. There are pressing matters to attend to on the surface, such as the unfortunate Rach infestation, which must be held at bay, the planting of the Colony itself, and other dealings with the Pirate fleet. I will instruct that some superior food and drink be delivered to you, as a gesture of hospitality, and I will return in no great length to collect on your half of our deal."

"Of course, of course," He says, barely restrained relief creeping across his face as he starts to really believe you aren't going to kill him, the idiot, "I am completely at your disposal."

You nod your head curtly and depart, calling up a communications channel on your wrist Holocom on your way out.

"Ras, we need to talk."

"I have been waiting, Governor Greystone. Meet me in the Kzin Section of the passenger modules."

>CONT

>>35535983

It is reasonable to believe it could be in good condition overall. Nothing recklessness, or outright stupid about that.

>>35536131

You near the Kzin Section, demarcated by air seals to keep in the smell of fresh raw meat and the musty smell of the overgrown Felinoids. a pair of serious-looking warriors wave you through the door they guard, while another in the robes of a Kdapist leads you deeper into the compartment.

You come to the larger staterooms at the rear, and are waved through to the largest and most luxurious. Inside wait Ras, Kallit, and Kasdan, and a single Cryogenic Casket, with a familiar red mark on its lid.

"we have much to discuss. But first, let me introduce my friend, adviser, and Telepath Kallit, one of the few of his kind to earn a name.

The old, stooped Kzinti nods his head in imitation of a human greeting.

"He will provide some necessary background on this situation. I must confess that I long believed his theories to be chew-grass dreams, even after I rejected the illogical teachings of the Empire and its Priests. Now I must admit my fault."

He turns to Kasdan: "If you still wish to learn from me, Pack-Hunter, learn this: It is the mark of a true Warleader to admit your fault where it is yours, and only then. Never stubbornly insist on placing the blame elsewhere, but never accept blame that is not yours for political reasons either. Honesty in all matters but war is the true path."

Kasdan nods at his teachers words, as Kallit, steps forward.

"It is an honor to meet you, Human Michael. To be brief, for time runs ever short, I have long questioned the teachings of the Priests of the fanged God and their control of the Keepers of the Patriarchal Past. Especially those teachings that said I was inferior and possibly soulless! I began investigating, delving deep into forgotten archives and forbidden tomes, and discovered much that the Keepers had lied to conceal. But buried deeper than all else, in the distant past of my races dawn, were strange passages."
>CONT

>>35536131
I would like to have Spider with us

>>35536362

>Yo, Spider. Road trip!

>>35536342

Always like the Kzin books that touched on how they perverted themselves. Especially the few where a handful of strong willed males realized they wanted an equal for a mate, not a retarded harem.

>>35536342

"Legends of Mage-Kzin, who I suspect to be the first of my race to begin using stolen off-world technology, whose females spoke and fought and dueled as males! Imagine! I dismissed it immediately as ridiculous, but continued my research to discover more about the beginning. I began seeing more and more passages of this kind, mentions of Emperors nearly assassinated by conspiring harems, of plotted rebellions, and, most alarmingly, an ancient text recounting the rise of a radical fringe cult of the Fanged God, who advocated that Kzinti abandon the eating of the limited vegetables in their diets to shed the weakness of the herbivore, and a campaign of selective breeding to remove from females their intelligence and tool-using ability, for they so often disrupt the proper working of the Patriarchy. At was it this point I was forced to admit that all I thought I knew about the station of the Kzinerette came from one source: The Keepers themselves. That selfsame entity that I had proven a brazen liar score of times."

"After accepting that this, too, was fact, I felt deep despair at the crime my race had committed against its own. In some songs and legends, especially those circulating with passages edited out by the "official" version, there were hints on the edges that there may have been one or two in hiding still among our stock, but Telepaths are forbidden to breed, and anything I had to say on the subject would be most dire Heresy. When Ras the Unbroken left for human space, taking me with him, I felt for the first time the hope that what the Patriarchy stole from my race could one day be restored. I have been searching ever since."

"Now, I believe we have found one."

>CONT

>>35536472

>The Man-Kzin Wars were some of my favorite SciFi, especially since I could mostly ignore the nightmarishly dystopian human civilization. Those same stories you liked were my favorite, even though they always depressed me a little.

>>35536504

His expression turns from dream-addled wonder to lethal seriousness in an instant.

"We MUST discover where that Pirate found her. We dare not awaken her now, when the females are kept in cold storage and hiding her existence would be nearly impossible, but we must know. I cannot believe that she is the last."

Ras cuts him off with a wave of his hand: "do not demand of our host, Kallit, it is impolite."

Kallit bows his head. "I apologize for my breach of conduct."

Ras turns back to you, "However, while we have already pledged the only thing we truly have to trade in exchange for our place here, I must ask that you assist us in this. It may be the last chance our race has to regain a part of itself lost for too long."

>Yes
>No
>Other

>>35536581
>Yes
I think that the Kzin have proven themselves enough, and saved our lives enough, that we owe them enough of a debt that doing this for them for free would cover it.
We can search through the Destroyer's navigation logs, interrogate any prisoners, and check to see if Scarr kept a log or diary.

>>35536581
>Yes

>>35536581
> I would like to help, and probably will but this is something that will be kept under wraps for a long time. I have enough shit I need to get off the ground, and enough groups who may want to gun for my head. I don't need a species-wide church joining in when my planet has the population and military of a small city.

>>35536581

Yes.

Female sentient Kzin will help take the edge off the more aggressive male Kzin.

Besides, it will likely in the long term lead to a more stable Kzin society on our colony.

Meta: In the stories one of the side effects of the breeding was a steady increase in male aggression over centuries, with a lack of true caution.

>>35536581
>>35536656
This. Basically saying we won't jump start this while we're still vulnerable.

>>35536660
I can believe that. IRL, countries where females outnumber males tend to be a bit more violent, since it means there's less positive social pressure in the form of males needing to make themselves suitable for females.

>>35536623
>>35536633
>>35536656
>>35536660

Your conscience really doesn't leave you room to say "no". How could you? Although you are definitely going to need to keep this quiet. The Kzin empire is on the other side of Commonwealth space from you, but the Commonwealth itself is a concern. You need to become militarily strong enough that the cost-benefit analysis run by ComInt when this goes public doesn't swing in favor of dropping a Regiment of Colonial Marines on your world to take control of the situation directly.

"I accept. How could I not? Your services have been invaluable so far. This will be the only worthy repayment."

Ras' ears signal the Kzinti equivalent of a smile, and he bows curtly. "Excellent. I hope that we meet success on this road."

You return the bow before breaking off:

"for now, however, I must take my leave. Many things demand my attention."

>Debrief James
>Spires Treasure
>Mystery Box

>>35536778
>Debrief James
This is what will tell us which ships have safe FTL drives.

>>35536778
>Debrief James
On our ships and other stuff

Which thread details our staff again? Do we have a Commonwealth Rep?

>>35536699

It comes down IRL how much influence the females have.

If males outnumber females by a decent amount you get big demographic problems like China and an issue with young single men with nothing to look forward to.

If the ratio is decent but the females have no real pull on society and are devalued, you end up with a lot of issues like the middle east. Of course corruption, tribalism and religion play into their problems.

Of course in the modern West where certain portions(SJW) try to emasculate males continually you get an issue where the values needed to fight and protect your country and life style are no longer supported and die a slow death before the barbarians kick down the gates.

On the issue of the Kzin in the Novels they were uplifted when they were in hunter/gather society without normally getting to the more stable classical era. They went straight from barbarians to barbarians with high tech ships.

>>35536778
>>Debrief James

>>35536819
Nah, numbers too.

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10868

Even though men are more violent than women on average, men seem to amp it out so it balances out.

>Rates of rape, sexual assault and homicide are actually lower in societies with more men than women, the study found. And, evolutionary theories predicting that when males outnumber females, males will compete vigorously for the limited number of mates don’t bear out. The study, “Too many men: the violence problem?” is in the April issue of Trends in Ecology & Evolution

>“You may actually adjust your behavior according to the circumstances,” said Kristin Liv Rauch, a postdoctoral researcher and co-author of the paper. “When men are abundant, rather than rare, they often switch their strategy to compete in nonviolent rather than violent ways. They tend to pursue females in more of a courtship manner that would lead to long-term relationships and marriage, in an attempt to secure a partner in a depleted market.”.

>>35536819

>They went straight from barbarians to barbarians with high tech ships.

Just like Klingons

I think making sure Kzin integrate into human society (since they wont be living in their own sovereign territories) will be important, especially before we introduce intelligent females.

We can start by having some of the males join the Army or Enforcers/Law Enforcement. James and others can then carve a suitable tactical niche for them.

But basically, if they integrate better to human culture, it will be a good thing in the short term and make them more amiable to having intelligent female Kzin.

>>35536980

Kinda, although I think the Klingons are more advanced socially then the Kzin were by far at the time they met humanity in the books.

OP ded?

>>35536827
>>35536818
>>35536807

>had to go AFK briefly, sorry for the wait.

James is found in his makeshift Operations HQ, an empty cargo module with a large number of desks and computers arranged in it, The General himself busily chattering into three separate communications channels while looking over what appears to be an after-action report on his Holocom. On seeing you enter the room, he hands off his burden to several subordinates and marches over.

"James, give me a summary."

He snaps off a quick salute and begins ouylining our situation: "We have our full operational strength split between the surface and our new Fleet. I've taken the liberty of putting the former Slaver ships in a pattern common to defense satellites, since they're the closest thing we have at the moment. We also need something to call them that isn't "Slaver Ships". I'm leaning toward "Defense Auxiliary", but that's just my opinion. Our main Fleet is severely impaired by the shortage of trained crew, but they're minimally combat capable. The dire need of maintenance is also a problem, though much less so with the Destroyer. Of all our ships, it is both the most capable and the closest to being properly crewed of all our ships. The main problem being that I know next to nothing about running a Fleet, and your experience is limited to getting into shootouts with Pirates. We need to attract competent Spacemen, preferably former Commonwealth Navy."

>CONT

so are we going to mothball some of your fleet until we get more crew

"We managed to separate out most of the excusable Slavers by offering rewards to those who ratted out the "Uppity Slaves" who were allowed to become part of their crew. Poor bastards who have been living Stockholm Syndrome for years, if not decades. It's going to be hard re-integrating them into society, and they're going to need considerable therapy. Among others. I've put in a request for a large number of counselors to be sent with the follow-up detachment they'll send to investigate our little war. The fast courier ship that came with the Harvest is ready to go at your command."

"If you're going to make a trip to go after that Slavers last cache of captives, I'd suggest transferring some of the less-essential crew to the Destroyer and waiting for a 72 hour maintenance strip-down. It would be shorter, but someone ripped off the Chief Engineers arms and legs with his bare hands and left him to bleed to death in the reactor room."

"As far as groundside is concerned, we've got the Anti-Air operational, all on bedrock with jury-rigged seismic sensors to give them advanced warning of tunneling. We think we rode out the worst of the remnant Arachnid counter-attacks, but you can never be too careful. Ships are primed to slam rods down wherever the bugs rear their ugly heads. Anything else you need to know?"

>No (Leave)
>No, Excellent work.
>Other Questions?

>>35537532
Likely. Potentially scrap/cannibalize some to get better functioning/performing ones.

>No, Excellent work.

I say we get ourselves a new uniform (one we can move around in, that's also bulletproof since bulletproof clothing is a thing) and then check the mystery box

>>35537550
>Other Questions?
What's the status on Iron Scythe?
Start the maintenance strip-down on the Destroyer, and get it ready.
What about the crews for the patrol boats? Are they ready and deployed?
>Excellent work.

>>35537550
>>Other Questions?

What about the liberated 20,000 refugees on the ground? What was their original destination? Current status? Leadership?

>>35537550
Can we get the firewall/locks thing on Iron Scythe cleared, if it hasn't been done already?

>>35537606

"Iron Scythe is as well together as we can manage with the auto-factories dismantled and in orbit. Once they're down and installed in the primary Domes, we can probably get him in better shape than we acquired him in."

"Patrol Boats are ready and in, well, Patrol pattern, in case one of those ramshackle ships we stole off the unfortunate Spire breaks down and starts in on a decaying orbit."

He smiles, "Thank you, Sir."

>>35537647
We did that already when we jacked in.

>>35537647
>>35537646

"The refugees were fleeing the Krorkinthan War in a fleet that was mostly in just as bad shape as the Havelholmes we stuffed Neo-Tokyo people in. The Slavers had a field day with their fleet, and decided to take advantage of their bounty and set up their own slave market on Tempest. Not a lot of forethought put into that, since the Navy would probably be knocking on their doors with a unit of Colonial Marines and gratuitous orbital strikes. They don't seem to have leadership as such, and I hope they integrate peacefully into the rest of the population. I hope the rest of the population integrates peacefully with itself, for that matter. They were really heading toward anywhere but their starting point, and they have nowhere else to go, or the ships to get them there."

>Leave
>Other

>>35537776
>Leave
>Smugglers Box

>>35537776
>Other
Were we able to recover those mercs that got shot down on the attack on the tower?
How is the siege of the Arachnid Tower going?
What are casualties and morale among the soldiers?

Then we can leave to check the Smuggler's Box.

>>35537776
>Leave
>Mystery box

>>35537776
I voted >>35537785 but I"ll change it to >>35537839

I lost the long pastebin I wrote up but we should go about establishing our actual government and how govt. will be formed as our population grows and spreads out. Partly for fluff, partly to pre-empt any situations.

People = Citizens btw, not tourists or w/e.

1. Tempest Senate: Advisory council of the Governor, with 2 representatives per State. This will help us keep a pulse on the sociopolitical climate on lower levels of govt.
2. States/Provinces/Counties: Standard fare. States get semi-autonomy, managing internal affairs within their own borders. States must maintain a State Guard. Some very basic regulation such as acknowledging Commonwealth human rights laws. Territories become States after it has 50,000 people and hold a referendum. After it passes, the Senate & Planetary Governor can then ratify it. Storms Eye will be it's one state. Provinces & Counties are standard subdivisions that fall under State authority. The supremacy clause is applied to States.
3. Territories: Created when a District reaches 5000 people. Territories can elect their own legislature and elect a Territorial Governor. Governors can speak to the Senate on any issues concerning their territory.
4. District: Created out of frontier-land. When an area has a minimum population of 500 and an average population density of 1 person per square mile, a District is created. They can elect their own governor and 3 judges. Districts expand naturally until they reach a popualtion of 5000, in which case they become a territory.

(cont)

State Guard: A reserve military force, which will be cheaper to maintain than fulltime soldiers. They can also handle homeland security and emergency situations like disaster relief. Finally, when adults become of age and are fit to serve, they get conscripted to the State Guard. The State Guard will help create new members of the unorganized Militia this way. There's little regulation regarding them, beyond having to meet certain standards and have relatively uniform equipment with the Tempest Army. Nominally controlled by the Governor, but they can be federalized in times of emergency. The State Guard has a minimum size of 1 per 200 people in a State. Assuming we get 13 states formed at the start, we should have 5000 State Guardsmen. I think we should transfer 3000 members of the Tempest Army to the State Guard to ensure that the State Guard can become competent, and create a culture of professional soldiery.

Commando: For districts and territories, though States can maintain if they desire. A volunteer part-time organization based on the old afrikaner commandos. Commando cells get to elect a Commandant to lead them. They're expected to use their militia equipment/any private equipment and have a means of transportation. Fall under the authority of any local police, when created. They're responsible for the safety & security of the community. They can help new protect settlements against Rachnids. Eventually, we may get some proper skirmishers & counter-terrorists out of them as they develop.

Unorganized Militia: Every adult between the age of 17 to 45. They're expected to maintain and securely store their assigned armor, arms and ammunition.

(cont)

Arms & Offloading It: Any Tempest Soldier, State Guardsman, Enforcer or Militiaman will have the option of buying back their assigned weapon & armor. This will let the govt make a small profit and help boost our planets' defense industry. In the future, we can also give any obsolete milsurp equipment to the State Guard or auction it off.

Also, I think we should name our Space Navy either the:
>Tempest Fleet
>Extra-Tempest (E.T) Navy
>Tempest Spacy

>>35537785
>>35537839
>>35537842

"There were no survivors. They knew the risks when they signed up, it's just not often a giant insect with an inbuilt plasma cannon that brings them home."

"The siege is going decently. The Rach have no way to hit back at us, and I've made sure that everyone there is also on rock with seismic sensors. The Mercs grumbled a bit, but that stopped with the first underground attacks."

"Morale is... To be honest, almost Cultish. I don't think you quite realize how amazing what you just did looked to everyone else, but those who are called heroes rarely do. Casualties are minimal to nonexistent across all fronts. Really, this has been excellent for our troops. An easy, quickly won little war to give as many as possible the experience of getting shot at without getting them truly into the shit right out of training. Some military scholars have advocated having one or two bush wars going constantly so that your soldiers have some light combat experience when you get into a real war. I don't agree with it, of course, but you can't argue with the result."

You smile. "Well, I hope no one starts putting up statues of me. That's when you know you've sold out. Keep up the good work."

As you walk away, dark thoughts consume you. You're not sure how you feel about being considered a "hero". You think you've done some fairly heroic things, by some standards, but "A Hero"?

>Smugglers Box

>>35537595
>>35537785

You've had your Traders Ensemble (Space western clothing with concealed body armor worked in) repaired, your finely tailored Governors Uniform was slashed to pieces in your firefight on the Kommodores bridge, and you don't yet have tailors available to get a new one of comparable quality.

>>35538019
>>35538035
>>35538046

Why the hell would we institute a State Guard? Yeah having local divisions is wise, but giving power to state/country side wise it does not seem when we can easily centralise it under us.

>>35538046

So that means that a Tempest Soldier assigned a Missile Launcher can buy his Missile Launcher?

Sounds smart.

>>35538076
Swiss militiamen can buy back their equipment, and we have no planetary gun control laws. If a State wants to institute gun control laws, they can.

>>35538064
It'd also fall under our ultimate authority though. It's just that a Governor can use them the same way the U.S Natl Guard is, or State Defense Forces are. Like I mentioned, they'd be federalized when we have to.

More importantly, this puts the burdern of financing on the States and not us

>>35538064
I think that was his point. Our primary ideals were those of decentralizing power, and this seems to do it rather nicely.
>>35538076
Explosives, like nuclear and chemical weapons, are what we call "non-discriminatory". All they have to do is to go off in an area to harm people. A rifle has to be pointed in the direction of something to cause harm to it (assuming no ricochet). Forbid them? Not sure. But there should be a check to make sure you aren't some terrorist or something first.

>>35538047
Wait, before we open the Smuggler's Box, can we get some technicians and engineers to check it over with scanners for any kind of traps or fail-safes?

The twitter said something about a mystery box. Can we finally open the mystery box?
>>35538120
After that, I guess. But don't let anyone else see the illegal stuff that is probably inside!

>>35538108
Except the problem is that we don't have a cohesive planetary identity, and given the kinds of people we have as colonists, it's far too likely that there will be a revolt if we give local leaders not just the political power but also military power behind it.

>>35538108

Also less paperwork for our staff, and fewer complaints about autonomy. You want autonomy? Go do the paperwork for your independent army, assholes?

I' prefer to call it the Active and Reserve Militia, though. I never liked armed forces with "Guard" in their name. It reminds me of inept palace guard that inevitably get turned against you by evil Vizirs in homebrewed AD&D modules.

>>35538076
I don't think a missile launcher would even apply. It's a crew served weapon, not an individual weapon that would be assigned to one person like a service rifle.

Though really, the warheads are a bigger deal than what's essentially a giant tube. I think the way explosives are regulated in the US at least, that you can buy a 'missile launcher' since it's not an explosive. But the ammo itself is, and it's expensive and regulated. Though if a state thinks its a good idea to give out HMGs, I don't really care. There are private collectors who own them across the world, so long as they meet national/local laws.

>>35538147

maybe not right away. We've got time to develop a planetary identity, probably as the crazy-ass outlaw planet that murders slavers and spacebugs, but an identity.

I think you're too cynical. Look at how much people will endure before they revolt. The RL American Revolution is a great example of how much even vocal protesters will put up with before they start popping caps in asses. the more we work with them, and local political independence is part of that, the less likely they'll be to speak out against us.

>>35538147
>it's far too likely that there will be a revolt if we give local leaders not just the political power but also military power behind it
Which is ironic considering the entire reason that the Americans revolted in the first place was because the British took away their ability to have local legislatures.

>Had to do something. Mystery Box incoming shortly.

>>35538204

I am not suggesting taking away Local Legislature, now arming the Local Legislature in an official manner, that i am most strenuously objecting to.

>>35538147
We're pretty much the ideal leader of the Jeffersonians at the least. Military veteran, folk hero and a Free Trader who is hated by the Commonwealth bureaucracy. I'm not too worried about them at least.

>if we give local leaders not just the political power but also military power behind it.

They could still try to do it through mercs or a police force. Their "State Guard" or "Reserve Militia" would still fall under our ultimate authority, since we can federalize them. Remember that it's just 'nominally' under their control so they don't have to bug us as much. If a huge riot is going on, they can call in the troops instead of asking us to do it. That could also place any potential political fallout on them and not us. If they tried shit through their own sanctioned military force, we would know faster than the state executive trying to fund insurgents or mercenaries.

>>35538204

>Fucking THIS. Everyone goes on about taxes and tea, but what it was really about was removing their local government and installing what was in practice a military junta. Anyway, ranting.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Deep in the bowels of the Harvest, covertly stowed and crew tipped off handsomely, is a black metallic cube roughly the size of an old sea-going tramp freighter, still painted on one side to resemble the dingy interior of an abandoned old station. The box itself, cleverly engineered to both conceal its contents and not show a telling "blank" spot on sensor sweeps. The box itself is probably worth a fair nit of coin, but by the weight there are doubtless all kinds of illegal goodness within.

A number of engineers, some of them pulled from the ordinance divisions of your Mercenaries, have checked it over and removed a fair number of lethal anti-theft measures, but you're still going to pry open the door remotely, with everyone a fair distance away.

The heavy earth-mover you've commandeered for your nefarious purposes finally yanks off the door with a shriek of twisted metal and several home-built chemical anti-personnel lasers score into the pavement. A volunteer soldier on double hazard pay slowly approaches, clearing the container before calling you in.

Inside, you see things. Wonderful things. Wonderful, highly illegal things...

>CONT

>>35538323
>highly illegal things

Illegal in normal commonwealth space/planets, or illegal even if you're an autonomous planet of the commonwealth?

>>35538323
>have checked it over and removed a fair number of lethal anti-theft measures
>several home-built chemical anti-personnel lasers score into the pavement.
Yeah, it's a good thing we asked to have it checked over by bomb techs first.

>>35538323
>To be fair, the taxes and tea were a direct example of what they were afraid of. There was suddenly an example of an abuse of power by enforcing a monopoly from a government owned company, and there was no representation of themselves on the other side of the Atlantic. Add that to the fact that at the same time Charles Townshend (creator of the Townshend Duties on lead, paper, tea, etc.) lowered the tax on land (which was required to own land on the actual main Island to be a voter for parliament) while increasing taxes on everyone else, and you've got clear evidence that they're going to tax you into oblivion if you don't vote for them.

>>35538323
I highly recommend this paragraph to you. It's a rather funny observation of politics at the time.

http://books.google.com/books?id=k34GSXBKXtsC&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=and+the+colonists+did+what+they+pleased+edmund+s.+morgan&source=bl&ots=t4DRNyE3lE&sig=UL4ZT_ZKLNVk3EnUNBjBxeOgnrA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FyM-VJquLcWTgwTq44GQAg&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=yorkshire&f=false

>>35538019
I think to help control the wildlands and keep the worst groups from trying to organize on the literal fringes of civilization, we should have District & Territory Governors/Judges appointed. This can also make statehood actually appealing for the residents.

Rest I'm fine with. Though "State Defense Force" or "[State Name] Militia" or "[State Name] Reserve Militia" would would be better names. Probably the last one to help reinforce the point they're also for the Reserves for Tempest Military.

>>35538248
We have 800k people with assault rifles and body armor anyway. If the state govt decides to use their police or local militiamen, we're just as fucked. Besides, in the beginning the Reserve Militia will probably just be an organized version of our current militia, equipment wise. Though I guess we can hold off on founding them for 5-10 years after we make sure each state becomes politically stable.

>>35538451
>District & Territory Governors/Judges appointed
That goes against the original FULL ANARCHY choice that was voted for.
It'll take time, effort, and morale hits to change that.

>>35538440

Its a matter of legitimacy. Yeah our entire population is armed, but decentralizing the military, guard or militia, in an official manner to state level is not something that benefits more than just retaining centralized control.

>>35538323
>I've been multitasking for the best bit, and AFK when I couldn't manage. Now fully re-engaged.

It takes some time to catalog your booty, but when you're done, you come up with quite a list..

>Seven Combat Bio-Androids. You've encountered Combat Androids before, but they were designed to blend in with normal humans at least somewhat. Not these hulking brutes. Almost simian in their muscle bulk and posture, these tailored killers are fast, strong, tough, and brutally efficient.

>70 Screechers. Banned Sonic weapons that literally dissolve the flesh from a targets bones. Incredibly painful, and lethal, but short-ranged and ineffective against armor modified to protect against it. Used primarily for "crowd control" and putting down lightly armed peasant revolts.

>100 Slave Collars. Abominable devices that hijack a humans higher brain function through electrical stimulation, to induce pleasure, pain, and unconsciousness on demand, and a constant overpowering urge to obey a pre-programmed Master. Obviously highly illegal.

>50 suits of stolen Northern Arms Powered Armor. High-quality with optional slots for integrated light weapons, currently empty.

>80 high-quality Pulse Laser Rifles.

>Simulcra Kits: One a popular sport of the rich and powerful, the Simulcra Arena allowed contestants to link their minds through a kind of (relatively) cheap, short-range, easily disrupted Neural Uplink to specially grown miniature human Simulcra, armed with miniature weapons and sent into battle against swarms of Terran insects. Banned after their repeated use by Crime Barons as tiny assassins. These kits contain everything you need to set up several first-class Simulcra Arenas, and the technical instructions to create more when your technology base advances enough.

>One heavily armored personal luxury Aircar. Long, black, shiny, and simply radiating wealth and power.

>Crates of assorted valuable Narcotics and Currency, precious and semi-precious stones and metals.

>>35538497
Which of these are illegal for an autonomous govt?

>>35538497
We'll need to check the Northern Arms Power Armor for ID chips, and disabling them if needed.

The powered armor and laser rifles should be good for our personal squad.

The Screechers may be useful in setting up internal defenses and short-range weapons on Iron Scythe.

>>35538497
Only item I don't want from this list is the screechers, most of the collars and the narcotics. Lets sell them to our nice friend. I would be willingly to sell him one android just to keep him alive and maybe a few rifles.

>>35538532
Um, did we sweep the LMGs for RFIDs or did we forget?

>>35538542
It wasn't mentioned specifically, but it was on our To-Do List.

>>35538542
One of our free trader friends sold it to us. I am pretty sure he wouldn't sell us faulty goods as he wants to keep relations up.

>>35538340

Little of both. The slave Collars, for example, are illegal EVERYWHERE. Everything else on the previous post could be legal on Tempest. I will specify what is illegal everywhere in this one.
>>35538497

>10 Vats of Stak. A substance that, when introduced to human flesh, gradually consumes the unlucky victim. Can only be cured by amputation, commonly used as a torture device. Universally illegal.

>One Data-capsule smuggled off of Tau Kapri concerning the Tau Cloudwhales, probably part of another long-forgotten attempt to transplant a population off-world.

Well, that's quite an impressive list. You're going to make quite a mint on what you actually decide to sell...

>Action?

>>35538555
That Free Trader, Rochelle, specifically told us to make sure to use our Neo-Tokyo Hackers to remove the ID Chips when she sold the LMG's to us.
And we haven't done that yet.
Did you forget that part?

>>35538555

She did mention specifically before purchase that you should have them removed, but you haven't gotten around to it yet.

>>35538497
>>35538556
>>35538532
Just to keep a merc company from going on our ass, I think we should openly 'buy them off' AND get the ID chips safely/immediately de-activated? The powered armors, that is.

I say we sell off the narcotics and screechers to off-planet traders. Get the stones/metals checked for their industrial/commercial use, otherwise sell them off to our citizens or extraplanetary traders. Maybe the Megacorp, even.

Thoroughly de-activate the slave collars to the point they're just strips. They probably have values as collectors items. Maybe they could be used in a museum.

Do the same to the vats of stak of destroy them.

Keep the androids and everything else, but get the androids checked out before turning them on. Like their model, intelligence, etc.

Also, get our techs to remove the chips on the LMS

>>35538556

Or, to be more specific:

>Close it back up, transfer to the surface as soon as you have a secure location
>Dispose of an item
>Other
>Leave to go chase down Slaver Treasure
>Go check on the results of your data hunt on the Kzinerettes origins.

>>35538595
or destroy them*

But yeah. Doing it through the mercs/merc union leader will get those ID chips removed in the fastest and most safe fashion.

>>35538601
>Close it back up, transfer to the surface as soon as you have a secure location
>Go check on the results of your data hunt on the Kzinerettes origins.
>Timeskip to the Slaver stuff after 72 hours have passed

>>35538556
>Action
Get the Powered Armor and Pulse Laser Rifles over to James, to have our Retinue equipped with them after they've been checked for ID Chips.

Call up Dian and have her get the Neo-Tokyo Hackers on the project of removing/reprogramming the ID chips on the LMG's we bought.
Make a job of it for anyone that can be trained to do it.

Have our Accountant add up the currency and precious gems/metals for how much money we got.

Make a few copies of the Data-capsule, and have the information looked over by Zan and the Cthall.

Keep everything else sealed.

Button up the Box, so only us, James, and Dian have access.

Then we can wait the 72 hours to get the Destroyer ready, then we'll go and get Spire's Stash.
We'll take our Guard retinue, Spider, and some Kzin.

>>35538607
>Doing it through the mercs/merc union leader will get those ID chips removed in the fastest and most safe fashion.
No, how is telling Georg that we bought stolen LMG's and we want him to help cover up the crime a good idea?

>>35538601
>Close it back up, transfer to the surface as soon as you have a secure location
>Other
Get the Powered Armor and Pulse Laser Rifles over to James, to have our Retinue equipped with them after they've been checked for ID Chips.

Call up Dian and have her get the Neo-Tokyo Hackers on the project of removing/reprogramming the ID chips on the LMG's we bought.
Make a job of it for anyone that can be trained to do it.

Have our Accountant add up the currency and precious gems/metals for how much money we got.

Make a few copies of the Data-capsule, and have the information looked over by Zan and the Cthall, or by Dr. Rigel and only trusted team members.
>Go check on the results of your data hunt on the Kzinerettes origins.

>>35538620
this

>>35538631
I guess you're right.

Changing vote from >>35538607 >>35538595

>>35538601
To:
>Sell off narcotics & screechers to off-planet traders.
>Get the stones/metals analyzed. If they're of little use, sell them to off-planet traders, citizens or the megacorp.
>Thoroughly de-activate (or if not possible, destroy) the slave collars and vat sticks. Then sell them off as collectors items, preferably to a local who could set up a museum.
>Keep the androids and everything else, but get the androids checked out before turning them on. Like their model, intelligence, etc.
>Get techs to remove the ID chips on our power armor and LMGs
>Keep the rest

>Close it back up, transfer to the surface as soon as you have a secure location
>Go check on the results of your data hunt on the Kzinerettes origins.
>Timeskip to the Slaver stuff after 72 hours have passed

>>35538556
>One Data-capsule smuggled off of Tau Kapri concerning the Tau Cloudwhales, probably part of another long-forgotten attempt to transplant a population off-world.

These are?

>>35538620
Not Dian since she's also meant to double as a spy for megacorps.

>>35538678
Oh, to clarify? That's how I'd like us to handle each item, not necessarily immediately.

>>35538601
Could we check on Scythe? How is our BOLO doing?
Would be nice to see what his morale and thoughts after after this battle.

>>35538685

They were covered last thread, but probably got ignored because samfagging along with the spooky foreshadowing (Seriously guys, no comments on "Crystals alive enough to be evil"?). They're whales that live in clouds, and their dreams turn into fucking crystals or something full of naturally occurring nano-machinery that tau Biotech either reverse-engineers or just harvests and sells directly. It's made them Top Dog in Nanotechnology.

>>35538696

Not Megacorps, the Commonwealth. We've got two other guys to represent Megacorps.

Oh shit.

TheGameRoom, if we even vaguely remember the Kzin words in the dream, can we write them down and ask Ras for the meaning?

>>35538728
If the Tau are humans and/or a threat, we should put that in the "To Do When We Have A Large Military" list, which already includes diamondwood and intelligent kzinettes.

>>35538758
Oh, good chance that the message was from the Kzin girl, because of the mention of the telepath thing while BOLO drivers are sleeping.

I really think we should do this. Same person as the post I"m quoting btw.

>>35538678
>>35538620
>>35538641

James has some loyal men begin rounding up techs, mostly Neo-Tokyo, although there are a fair number of Weapons techs among the Jeffersonians.

Reading over the report, and reminding you to invest in a secure Executive Holocom, you see that according to interrogations of Scarr, who swings between raving defiance and quiet resignation as his mind seems to slip away, that he obtained it off a wrecked ship, mostly likely Hegemony, that seems to have been drifting free since something... Attacked it in Hyper? That shouldn't be possible... in the Chaos that shrouded the fall of the Hegemony, the Clone Wars, gene-plagues and Supersoldier Rebellions, and the dawn of the Commonwealth. You're guessing it's some kind of Hegg Black Operation gone wrong, trying to smuggle a number of Kzinerettes, at least one some kind of sapient throwback, to the far end of Human space for reasons unknown. Interestingly, evidence points to it being part of a fleet, likely scattered around this area of local space. You'll have to keep an eye out for old distress beacons.

>This week on TIME SKIP

Lord Spire never saw the interior of Scarrs Flagship, so he is completely unaware of what he's on when he is escorted aboard, and no one feels like telling him. He's currently as happy as he could be after being knocked from a rise to criminal royalty just days prior, and will likely remain so until you let his internal fluids out for a breath of fresh air.

The jump is a short one, to a desolate system with nothing but a handful of rocks too small and far out to Terraform and too poor to mine. He guides you in to a cave on one of the least interesting out of the whole boring bunch, making you wonder how many secrets lie hidden in untouched systems and the empty places between islands of starlight. How many stories born or unborn by simple twists of fate that lead to or away from some random individual stumbling across them.

>CONT

>>35538855
Out of curiosity, does Spider likely have training as a military officer? Or experience in training people (I know thats one skill of specops, to train guerrillas) I was thinking that outside of guard duties, he could help train and found a SpecOps platoon that would use the powered armor and laser pulse rifles. I don't think he"ll be commanding them since he's our personal bodyguard, but he seems the most qualified to get one started. We could also give him Tempest Army rank. Maybe Colonel, but have him fall outside of the conventional command structure.

>>35538784

Tau Biotech is a Megacorp that specializes in, well, straight Biotech (Second only to Monsanto-Ares in that field) and nanotechnology derived from the Crystal by-products of the Tau Kapri Cloudwhales.

>>35538855

At the expense of the plucky young heroes and nascent arch-villains of future ages, you have a guide to take you to this particular treasure.

Deep within the cave, navigated by several armed shuttles with the Destroyer waiting outside, is small makeshift docking bay, surrounded by frozen corpses.

"Dead Men tell no tales," Says Spire with a nasty grin, "And you'll find few deader than this lot.

Oh, there'll be one in a minute.

Advancing through as Spire unlocks several rudimentary traps, you come across a large room filled with Cryo-Caskets, with a large number of unadorned older-model Stasis Pods lying around, their guts wired into a system of pipes intended to provide support to the Cryo-Caskets and reduce failure rates. Stacked at the far end is a number of crates, of varying size and construction.

"Well, here you have it. My personal Stash. 250 of the most valuable slaves I've ever taken, one or two minor celebrities, couple of moderate Psis, a famous porn star, some Gene-Mods, rare out here, and lots of technical people. Doctors, Engineers, physicists, other assorted eggheads. Quite a few Cats too. Y'know, K...zeen? Kzin! Lots of them, female. They's what started this whole thing. Found the Stasis Pods, half of em' fullo' Cats, and hid em' here in some wreckage I pulled off their ship. The compartment they was in was right armored too. Somebody thought they were valuable. Anyway, I started stashing my best captures here, till' the market was right, y'know? Eventually I got big-time enough to afford some decent Cryos, and you see the collection before you. I actually thought a lot about just dumping the Cats out the airlock, but I figured they'd be worth a lot to a ... Zoo or something. Kept em' around. bet you're glad of that, eh?"

>C

>>35538938
Get Ras to look at the cats when we meet up with him. Also mention anything we remember from the dream regarding what the lady Kzin say, and inquire if female Kzin could become telepaths.

I say we wait on killing him until he gets on the shuttle. Not when he can activate anything here.

>>35538933

Cobras were straight killers, used more like weapons than soldiers. Spider has no command experience or training, although he could make a suitable instructor if he learns to tone it down occasionally.

>>35538938

"Anyway, let me disable my safeguards, oh dear, looks like one of the engineers has gone off. Oh well, he was an old one, from before I started getting pickier. Nothing special. there we go, you can now unplug and move them without their bloodstreams being instantly flooded with acid."

He turns to you and bows theatrically as your Techs checkout the Pods, and detach them completely from his "failsafe" system, just to be safe.

"Everything's in order, sir." Reports one senior Tech, as final checks are run on all the Caskets.

"If that's the case, if you could just send a fast courier to drop me off on a world with a decent Spaceport, I'll be on my way."

Partof you wants to drill him, right here. So, so much. But the other part wants to explain to him exactly how he got played, to see his face when he looks upon his "benefactor" and sees the man that put Kommodore Scarr under boot-heel.

>Monologue like the best kind of Supervillain
>Fuck it, kill him now
>Other

>>35538975
>>Fuck it, kill him now
never monologue

>>35538975
>Fuck it, kill him now

>>35538975
>>Fuck it, kill him now
Remember to do it yourself

>>35538975
>>Fuck it, kill him now

The monologue is not worth the breath we waste on it.

>>35538975
>Give a short speech on how we were happy with our transaction, offer our hand for a handshake as someone snipes him in the head.

>>35538975
>Other

Consider how helpful he's been, perhaps mercy would be warranted.

Even if we overwhelmingly vote for killing him, make it quick and painless.

>>35539117
Yeah. Thats why I voted for a sniper, so he's still under a false impression as he gets killed

>>35539117
That is why we are forgoing the speech and just simply killing him.

>>35538991
>>35538993
>>35538994
>>35539002

You smile and, with a great deal of satisfaction, perform a modified Mozambique Drill: Two shots into the torso, both imbedding in the wall behind him (Gotta have a good backstop for your executions) and one in the throat, just beneath a smiling face only now beginning to droop into dismay.

He dies confused.

"You, collect his severed head. There was a tradition on some border worlds in the days of the Terran Empire, that Slavers caught and executed had their severed heads displayed on Iron chains at the gates to the planets Spaceport. I believe we should revive that."

"Yes Sir!" The Soldier immediately pulls a pair of bolt-cutter out of a toolkit to supplement his combat knife and gets to work.

As you walk back to the shuttle, your Technicians beginning the slow process of moving the entire system. with no labels it's impossible to tell who is who, and awakening another one of Spires "Early Captives" without a proper medical facility on hand could be dangerous. Keeping the jury-rigged Stasis Pod guts attached, they begin carting them up to the cargo shuttle in a line, disconnecting the unfortunate Engineers pod, after a brief but nauseating check to ensure that he was deceased, to save power and strain on the system. Many mutter that it's a wonder that more aren't dead.

As your loaded-down Shuttle nears the waiting Destroyer, you get a communication that there are three ships, Frigate-equivalents, of an unknown pattern approaching at speed. Crude, slow, and without shields, but heavily armed. They are exchanging radio chatter among themselves, but are not responding to hails

>Outrun them back to the Limit
>Keep trying to communicate
>Attack
>Other

>>35539130
Heads. Spikes. Walls.

Ugh, mercy is definitely something i'm voting for earlier next time.

>Keep trying to communicate

>>35539130
>>Keep trying to communicate

>>35539130
>Keep trying to communicate
The destroyer can still turn them into burning wrecks. but be ready to run if they don't respond to hails.

>>35539142
mercy for a slaver lord wtf

So these evil crystals would come from the cloudwhales or what?

>>35539130
>Keep trying to communicate

>>35539142
>>35539161

You board the Destroyer, as the somewhat Green and not very well trained crew runs around trying to find their battle-stations. James was right, you need some Navy NCOs to whip this crew (Haha) into shape.

However, it should be enough for some upstart aliens trying to start shit. Sensors detect weapons roughly on par with the converted surplus mining lasers the Slavers used in their ships, albeit with better construction standards and much greater scale.

They also have a number of missiles that your automated point-defenses should take care of, and sinister spikes charged with electricity spread across their hull, somewhat like a confused grid-maze in layout, but seemingly random in thickness and length. As they approach, these spikes begin to charge up, flickers of lightning arcing from one to another.

They still refuse to answer at attempts at communication, although they do switch comms channels when your bridge officers try to break in, indicating that they can hear you.

As they close the distance, they begin to bring their lasers online and unlimber missile pods.

>Fight, let's see what these Xenos are made of.
>Flee, it's best not to get to know an unknown enemy with what seems to be a strange weapons system when you're under-crewed and under-trained.

>>35539223
>Flee, it's best not to get to know an unknown enemy with what seems to be a strange weapons system when you're under-crewed and under-trained.

>>35539223
>Flee, it's best not to get to know an unknown enemy with what seems to be a strange weapons system when you're under-crewed and under-trained.
>See if we can project where they could've come from

>>35539216

As far as you know, the crystallized Data that Tau Biotech mines for nano-machines and other, stranger things are not actually crystals, or alive. Your dream felt... Closer. A threat that will seek you out, not one you inadvertently bring home. You're still not sure if that dream meant anything, anyway.

>>35539223
did we finish loading all the pods? if so flee. if not fight till we get the rest of the pods loaded!

>>35539228
>>35539234

As far as your sensor techs can tell, they originated from a fairly close White Dwarf, or one of its near neighbors. Much of this area is uncharted, including these stars.

You easily outpace the unknown Xenos to the Terminal, and make several dummy jumps before heading home. You feel an icy chill in your heart, and know somehow that isn't the last time you will encounter those ships.

>Do you guys feel like Timeskipping (With some minor decisions) to Merchants or ending here? Because if there's more than four people left, I'm game.

>>35539269
Pretty sure we did unless he says otherwise.

>>35539275
Timeskip. I'd also like to get the Kzin thing sorted with, like mentioning the words said in the dream

>>35539275
I'm still here. I wouldn't mind a timeskip and keep playing on. But If your feeling tired might as well stop here.

>>35539275
I just finished reading the backlog. Im game to continue.

>>35539280
Backing this.

>>35539275
Timeskp

Goddamn our navy needs some assault boats for boarding.

Also, is it posssible to get genemods for the governer from the Cthall

>>35539309
*Boarding frigates

>>35539280
>>35539285
>>35539287

Yeah, I'll stop here for tonight. I'd like to continue, but I wouldn't be able to give talking with Ras and dealing Merchants the quality I'll be able to if I have a good nights sleep.

I may not be here tonight. If I can be, I'll Tweet it. (Go fuck yourself, Chef. You are not a good movie OR a good commercial). I will definitely be here tomorrow night, though. I plan on running this daily until I feel like I need a break, and then switching to a weekly schedule.

>9:00 PM EST
>https://twitter.com/MarcLeconite
>Assassin Drones any day now.

Have a good night /tg/.

>>35539327
Any chance at starting and ending earlier at a more reasonable time for people who don't live in Japan or Australia?

>>35539275
ok with the timeskip if we deal with the kzin issue

>>35539340

I'm in the US Rocky Mountains, meaning I stay up until 4:00 AM at least doing this. I'm not sure if I'll be able to run it earlier than 8:00 PM EST, but I'll see what I can do.

>>35539350
>>35539370

Also, as I previously mentioned, I was AFK for an hour and multitasking for another hour and a half. That slowed things down a lot, and made this go later than I would have liked. It's getting faster as my writing speed gets back up to spec, though.

>>35539370
was wondering why you would always start around a hour after you said you would

>>35539386
good show game-bean. looking forward to next run!

Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have gone to get sleep.
No one thought to ask Spire WHERE he found those Kzinette cryo-caskets?
We may have just lost a lead on where the intelligent Kzinette came from.

>>35540481
I assumed they were just cleared out.

>>35541010
Spire said that he had found the Kzinette's in Stasis Pods in a wrecked ship.
But we didn't ask him about the ship, where it was found, if the ship's navcom was still intact.

>>35541010
>I assumed
As we saw with the ID chips on the LMG's still being active, assuming something that hasn't been explicitly said is just asking to get fucked up the ass.

>>35541805
Roughly 75% of all decisions in all quests are made on assumptions.

64% of statistics are made up on the spot

>>35541805
>>35541788
Well shit. We dun goofed

>>35541937
>We dun goofed
That has been what generally happens when we jump straight into a decision without discussing it for a half hour or more, with clarifications from OP and reminders of past information for those that are forgetful, yes.

>>35541937
>>35542625
I guess the only thing we can do is look at travel logs of every place he's gone, and send out small patrol craft with long range sensors.