>>36527285
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION

>>36527285
Yeah, can we get a quick summary of her classmates? Any of them politically aligned with that asshole, what's his face? The guy with a reputation for being a petty dick.

>>36527285
FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION!

>>36527285
>What sort of intelligence assets do you want to keep assigned to looking after Bekka?
Just someone to keep tabs on the school and make sure there's no 'unusual activity'

Also have our intelligence guys looking into what >>36527409 suggested.

>>36527285
Well, Bekka is going to a school for nobles, so in all likelihood they have their own precautions and won't enjoy having us butt in. Granted, we still need to make sure Bekka is protected, but before we assign MI-5 to look after her or something let's see what the school offers in the way of protection and work from there.

As for now keep our people where they are. No movement is a good thing in this case.

>>36527285
Oh, random question, but how close is the Earl from getting a Promotion! to Count? For that matter, has there been any discussion of the possibility of appointing Viscounts at some point?

>A couple questions for you. How are our House's overall finances and are there any other Houses known to be in similar straights to Posat before the fire sale? Actually, how is Posat doing? Holding out or still sliding closer to bankruptcy and hostile takeover by the Ruling House?

You House is good. The capture of so many ships while you were behind enemy lines gave the House time to catch its breath economically. Some debts were paid off and the military kept in supply more easily than anticipated. The result has been a much better situation than most expected to be in. J-D isnt rich but its much better off than most Houses of its size.

If anyone is in debt as badly as Posat they're not admitting to it and others are keeping such info to themselves. Posat has not been annexed yet but now that your House is looking for them they're able to spot signs that it's not far away. All of the holdings on House Posat worlds have been fortified and Frigate grade shields are being installed to better protect a few from fighting that might break out should things go badly.

>>36527409
>>36527589
>Any of them politically aligned with that asshole, what's his face? The guy with a reputation for being a petty dick.
Lord Holtby? Or do you mean Baron Archivald?

>can we get a quick summary of her classmates?
Aside from her friends most of her class mates are from a wide spectrum of the nobility in Sonia and Bekka's home town. Some though descended from nobles are now upper middle class. Wealthy enough to get their kids into exclusive schools but they don't own land.

Of the kids from Bekka's age group 1 is not a member of the nobility but one of their parents are supposed to be working for Holtby's staff as a lawyer.

>>36527989
Holtby. I think. And yeah, look into that kid.

TSTG, could we rent a small office on Petras? I was going through the dramatis personae on the wiki to think about christmas gifts, and there are just to many people on there.

So we need some secretaries to send out birthday gifts, greeting cards for various holidays, and find gifts for people we like.

They'd also screen the various people who want to contact Sonia but don't have the means to reach her directly.

>>36527285
>What sort of intelligence assets do you want to keep assigned to looking after Bekka? Will they be looking after her friends as well?

Could we just foot the bill for having two police officers attached to the school? I'd guess that would be a lot less problematic than having private contractors hanging around that kind of location.

>>36527646
>let's see what the school offers in the way of protection and work from there.
The school does have security and they run weapon checks and the like but ultimately there's only so much they can do before a crime has been committed.
The current investigation, which is of a non life threatening incident (she would have just been hurt), has made little progress. Both girls took the holoblades without permission from a storage locker that any of a dozen people could have likewise gained access to. They also didn't follow the proper dueling procedure of having a second inspect the opponents weapon and its clear Bekka didn't check hers thoroughly.
This is something she's now learned to do with greater care.

They'll keep watch for evidence of others tampering with the weapon lockers.

>>36528220
Giorgina Marcello is one of the dozen or so on file with security for having broken into the training weapon storage before.
Bekka's friend Velsa has broken in twice, once to see if she could do it on a dare and the second time to show her friends that she had actually done so. As a result Bekka has gone in there at one time also making her a suspect. It would not be the first time a student had hurt themselves to get another in trouble.

>>36528347
Sonia has an upscale apartment in the city that is rarely used.
There are also Sonia's PR people and lawyers working for RSS that have an office on Dreminth.
You could expand those offices and add another office and the secretaries or if you want to keep things from the company separate you could buy out the rest of the floor the apartment is on and have them there. Plenty of other nobles do that.

[ ] Expand local RSS office
[ ] Buy out apartment level
[ ] Set up another separate office

>>36528601
>[x] Expand local RSS office
For House and Paperwork, not that I'm complaining though, I do quite enjoy this.

>>36528601
>[X] Buy out apartment level
Let's keep things separate.

>>36528601
It's a little late but FOR HOUSE AND DOMINION!

I would say buy out the apartment level and turn it into our own personal office of secretaries. Let's be honest here. We have an "entire" list of people to go through and a lot of those are ones we will have to put the "personal" touch on. It isn't even including cards to: Company Personnel, people who have served under us (Everything from Starship personnel to marines), ect.

Hell, we most likely need a secretary that will follow us around and give us updates and help with schedules because between the holidays, sending out season's greetings, then training pilots, and all that on top of playing the political arena there is a lot to keep track of. (Got to remember to give that one person who got us a starship a personal visit. That is one way you get someone's attention.)

Misc news:
A group has staged a break in at the mansion of Baron Ukalah in House Erid space. They reportedly hijacked a vehicle belonging to a landscaping company to gain access to the grounds, somehow broke into the main building and disabled security.
The criminals looted dozens of precious artifacts, most of which were items that had been appropriated or stolen from other Houses or groups over the past 3 centuries by the Baron or his ancestors.
A few news agencies have estimated the black market value of the haul at close to 100 million.

>>36528527
>Could we just foot the bill for having two police officers attached to the school? I'd guess that would be a lot less problematic than having private contractors hanging around that kind of location.
You have your lawyers look into it to see if that can be done without serious incident.

Speaking of lawyers!
RSS and its subsidiaries have hired a number of people in the J-D homeworlds to assist your PR people, lawyers and the running local RTS interests. A few of these are nobles, typically Lords or lordlings with no other official duties taking up their time. While there are all indications that these are professionals Mr London is concerned that some may use their status to put themselves ahead of others in the company.
Were there any guidelines you'd like to set out to prevent incidents?

>>36529067
>break in
OH SHIT.

Let's go steal from thieves!

>>36529067
>Were there any guidelines you'd like to set out to prevent incidents?
>Mr London is concerned
What would he suggest?

>>36529119
No, anon, that was the job people gave up because it was "Too risky for someone of our position".

I get enough boring ass shit at work, I guess having disposable income and investments is exciting to some people but I really wanted to do some wetwork.

Whoop de fucking doo, spreadsheets and tactics. And five surveys a thread. After following this for two goddamn years I feel too invested to leave, but holy fuck is this getting tedious.

Oh well, maybe TSTG will throw us a bone with some political intrigue or assassination or SOMETHING for fucks sake. We don't even make shark jokes anymore.

>>36529067
We operate on merit alone, especially since we are already middle class moved up to nobility. We'll respect people's rank socially, but they have to prove they deserve it by actually producing results.

Or they have to have sweet economic connections that they can use for the company.

>>36529218
>people gave up
Oh I didn't realise people voted to bail on it. I thought we had one whole month to work on it.

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>>36529119
>OH SHIT.
>Let's go steal from thieves!
I suppose, you do have a long history of hunting pirates and taking their stuff. Good luck finding them.

>>36527770
>how close is the Earl from getting a Promotion! to Count?
You'll need to expand your territory a bit more for that. Not much just a little bit more.
>For that matter, has there been any discussion of the possibility of appointing Viscounts at some point?

>>36529218
I intentionally threw that in specifically because of how grudgingly dull it was and the result was a stymied mess of people not making up their fucking minds. YET AGAIN. It's not exactly thrilling for me to work through either time after time.

>>36529181
>What would he suggest?
Not letting employees get away with shit based on their societal status alone. This may result in some disgruntled people leaving the company but to do otherwise could hurt the morale of far more workers. Pissing off nobles can however lead to negative gossip and a reduction in contracts.

>>36529244
>We operate on merit alone, especially since we are already middle class moved up to nobility. We'll respect people's rank socially, but they have to prove they deserve it by actually producing results.
Looks like 2 (sort of?) for this.

>Or they have to have sweet economic connections that they can use for the company.
They may not right away.

>>36529265
no.

>>36529067
>Were there any guidelines you'd like to set out to prevent incidents?
Simple, you get promoted based on ability. If it comes out that any of our people are promoting people based on anything other than merit then out comes the ban hammer!

>>36529486
>Not letting employees get away with shit based on their societal status alone
I am okay with this. If people in our company starts to act shity then we don't want them.

>>36529486
Mr London's suggestions sounds reasonable.

>>36529505
Would anyone prefer this method of dealing with it?

>>36528936
>>36528856
Apartment it is.

A message has been transferred through the new office. According your people it was routed through RSS rather than through House channels.

A crewman from the old 3rd attack wing your helped rescue from the Grow-op colony is in trouble. It's the one who pickpocketed a certain plasma pistol off the old Kavarian in charge there and gave it to you. Apparently his second nature being to make off with anything not nailed down has finally caught up with him and he's been imprisoned.

Things don't look good. One of the major prisons are planned to begin renovations soon and as a result the government are offering a number of ways to reduce the overall numbers. These are primarily indentured servitude and penal battalions.

Due to backlash against slavery following the Warlords Campaign there are only enough slave chips available to implant those going into indentured servitude. Indentured servitude for a prison sentence requires someone be willing to pay to look after them.

Penal battalions are switching to the older and cheaper technology of the explosive collar. Some are worried that electronic interference on the battlefield could prove an issue and the enemy might be able to determine the detonation codes.

The former engineering crewman goes by the name of D. Eliakim Nenci.

Is there anything you want to do for him?

>>36529865
Bail him out and tell him that it might be time to stop stealing shit from the not enemy or he will end up in a penal battalion and we wont be there to get him out. We owe him that at lest for the pistol.

>>36529486
I know it's not your fault. It's just, we have ALL THIS RARE EXPENSIVE GEAR optimized for it, it's what we cut our teeth on back in the day, we're good at it god damn it, and nobody wants to do it because they're all wanking to being industrialists. I commend you for your attention to detail, but it's really getting almost out of hand.

Seriously, this quest is starting to remind me more of work than a game.

Anyways, I think the problem is that the pay-off was just money, of which we have an excess. Seriously, we're too rich. If we had other goals like perhaps destabilizing a rival house, or capturing an experimental technology, or something like that which directly benefited us then there would be more interest. I mean, when Becka got kidnapped we were on the front lines no questions asked.

Now I'm not saying WE should get kidnapped and forced to fight our way out with none of our usual toys until people forgot that I suggested this but money? Bitch, we roll in nickels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qxa91EwFco

Anyways, I think we should make a big deal out of having our company be meritocratic at the beginning when we hire people. Nip the problem in the bud.

That being said, I doubt anyone important enough to cause trouble would be working for us. I suppose we could always just do short term contracts for Nobles if we think they're going to be a problem.

Regardless, they might be a Noble, but we're still their goddamn boss.

>>36529865
Who is it that is holding him? Who did he get caught stealing from? Could we break him out and give him a new identity?

>>36529865
I'm guessing this is a either or scenario though i'm sure if we tried "bailing" him out it might look a little suspicious.

I for one would be totally fine with having him signed up for indentured servitude and sent to us so we can "look after" him. 3rd attack wing has to look out for their own after all even the trouble makers. Especially the trouble maker that got us old faithful.

....I wonder how good he is with paper work.

>>36530043
>>36530043
>Who is it that is holding him?
The MPs were until he was transferred to a House prison.
>Who did he get caught stealing from?
Coworkers and the home fleet while on temporary assignment.
>Could we break him out and give him a new identity?
I suppose that's possible.

>>36529865
Well, you need a thief to catch a thief... He could probably give some decent advice when it comes to security.

>>36530163
Urgh, so it's still within the house?

Okay, in that case let's pay whoever off to get him chipped and transferred to us. That way he's still being punished, but we're making sure it's not too bad.

It's one thing to steal from Pirates, another thing entirely to steal from co-workers and your own side.

Also, let's double check to make sure he didn't have this problem with our own people before this.

>>36530222
So make a case of his service to the House being reason to give him another chance, possibly referencing his experience on the Grow Op world for potential psychological issues?

And then literally get him a job stealing things on purpose. Like that one show where the former thief broke into houses to show why people needed upgraded security (after the people agreed) and then they dropped the upgrades on them for product placement.

>>36530377
Yeah, something like that. Or just have him work with the security departments on our stations.

>It's one thing to steal from Pirates, another thing entirely to steal from co-workers and your own side.
"It's the home fleet, they don't go anywhere. What are they going to use it for?"
"More of whom are being rotated to the front each year." You remind him. "And taking stuff from your fellow crew?"
"A couple of them were assholes and deserved it. Sir."

"Really? That's your excuse? Did you have this problem with our people before this incident?"

"I may have practiced a few times back in our first tour. Just to keep in shape, any skill needs practice. It may have gotten a little out of hand the last time we were behind the lines. We ran really close on supplies a couple of times and I had to start borrowing or trading parts from other ships for the Chief. Or borrowing them from the Carrier stores and not really getting around to putting them back. And then I guess I didn't really stop taking things after we made it back to the lines."


I looks like most people would like to bail him out. Do you want to get him help, get him a job and hope that time with the chip in will straighten him out, or an alternate job?
>>36530377
>>36530478

>>36530729
Get him some help and a job. These two things usually work pretty well when done at the same time.

>>36530799
Yeah I'll support this.

>>36530729

Good lord, this man is a born Quartermaster. Get him a job and some help, and inform him that if he steals from you or your crew he will hang from the neck until dead, dead, dead.

We're okay with stealing from the enemy (fuck 'em) and as for the situation on the Chief, well, it's war right? If the other guys aren't using it, then they don't really need it, and it wasn't for personal gain anyways.

But he has to be able to keep that shit in check.

>>36530011
And i've been enjoying the industrialist stuff.
>>36529486
You didn't answer the viscount bit.

>>36530729
Help and a Job sounds good.

Though he most likely has enough "experience" in his field that we could make use of his skills in some way.

>>36530799
>>36530971
Full support here.

>>36531050
>Quartermaster
Ooh, that's a good idea.

>>36530729
We may want to see about sending him for a therapy/psych eval. See if it is a compulsion by this point.

So get him help, offer a job using his skills (for RSS/RTS, if possible?) and generally make sure that he understands his success or failure is up to him.

You tell Nenci that he's getting some help and a job.
Like most he's reluctant to talk to a shrink. "Is it absolutely necessary sir? M-maybe I'll get better with that chip in place?"
"You can spend some boring sessions talking to a dried up windbag or you can be fitted with an explosive collar and sent to the front.
Because if you steal from me or my crew you will hang from the neck until dead, dead, dead."
"Understood sir!"


>>36531109
>You didn't answer the viscount bit.
Sorry.
>generally the military and political administrator of an important sector of space, often a trade lane.
Well you only just picked up Rioja and it's the only planet that might apply. So no not yet. It's still a baby size colony what with the terraforming work.

That reminds me. There is a device which is sort of like an atmospheric containment field. It can be deployed like a bubble on planets that cant hold their own air, or to hold back heavier atmospheres to create a habitable zone. Cant remember what I called them off the top of my head. They haven't been mentioned in the quest before. Iratar sells them but they're expensive.

>>36531109
I don't have a problem with the industrialist stuff, just how prevalent it is compared to actual combat. We don't do anything personally anymore, ya gig it?

>>36531482
But it would be cheaper than an archology right? And then when the planet is fully terraformed you just turn the bubble off?

Also are they reusable?

With the second class of Alliance cadets graduated you return home for your 6 months. In your time off RSS continues its expansion. The Assault corvette shipyard retools for the latest DHI design upgrade then resumes its high output, effectively printing money. It hasn't paid for itself yet but at this rate that won't take long.
Upgrades begin on the battlecruiser line, starting with construction of the extension.
The other stations continue to be expanded.

Someone has figured out you're supplying mercenaries working for House Veritas with newer attack bombers and are trying to buy them out. Their contracts are locked in for some time so that's out of the question. There havent been any bomb threats against the starfighter factory or you so that's good. It's still a situation to keep an eye on.

Colony construction on Plateau is increasing in pace with the the refugees and immigrants arriving there. Some other Knights are investing there as an alternative to others. The housing market on Tourta is remaining steady with a number of local companies providing competition against your group from Surakeh. Thanks to this unemployment rates are dropping.

House Ber'helum has has signed a contract for some construction frames and other exodus equipment from you. There is a message form the office of the Duke telling you; "Thanks for the suggestion."

Linda is out scanning down anomalies in space, looking for wormholes and other adventures that don't involve being shot at. Just the usual things that can kill you aboard a ship.

Kavos has taken a desk job with the attack wings currently stationed with the home fleet. Mike is stationed at the same base where he's trying to push for expansion of the afterburner equipped attack units. The very expensive to build and maintain ones.

>>36531918
Yes, yes,
and yes.

>>36531482
...not to make more work for you, but if we're somewhat running the terraforming program on Rioja and we own ~25% of the planetary surface, maybe you could provide some more information on the planet's characteristics and the progress of the terraforming effort? For example, whether the atmospheric issue is short tern due to insufficient magnetospheric/ionospheric strength, or long term due to low gravity.

>>36531527
I agree that we don't do much personally anymore, but that is sort of the burden of the promotion and political path we've taken.

As for the Erid mission specifically, our rank and what limited relations we have in/with House Erid simply put us in a horrible position to take that job.

Just like last thread, I'm with you on enjoying personal action bits. But damn if that mission wasn't a rationally poor choice of risk for our goals of gaining Knight Commander/Baron rank.

On the meta side, I kind of didn't want a repeat of the last heist where everything seemed to die once time came for an actual plan to form came along.

>>36531989
We gave Linda the special chair right? Ideally it would be a really comfy chair that she could have installed cheaply on other ships.

>>36531482
>They haven't been mentioned in the quest before. Iratar sells them but they're expensive.
Are we talking Heavy Cruiser expensive or planet expensive? Because I am interested.

>>36531989
>its high output, effectively printing money
I knew it was a good idea getting that yard.

>Someone has figured out you're supplying mercenaries working for House Veritas with newer attack bombers.
Ah well, could not last forever.

>The very expensive to build and maintain ones.
But they are oh so useful. I suggest we put in a word for it as well in support of Mike. Like two squadrons for every 4 wings would be a great asset for any commander. Just look at all those sensors and jammers Mike killed in the Maelstrom!

>>36532199
No, I agree that my motivation was meta. Even a hundred million is just more money to us now.

That's why I put out alternate hooks to have us get into action. Maybe some spy stuff with the Rovinar will pop up, or we will get tagged to do an insert during negotiations for prisoner exchanges with the Neerans, or we'll go on a hunting trip that goes bad quickly.

>>36531989

But fuck, while I'm mentioning shit we don't do enough of, can we PLEASE devote more time to dueling now?

Arron returns to House space with you and is immediately assigned to training under Mike aboard an EC-K. That's the new designation for the EX-K's upgraded with electronic warfare gear and sensors. Most of them have afterburners to get them out of danger quickly since the gear aboard is difficult for the House to replace.

Alex is out on frostback trying to get his project back on schedule and budget. The population of the arcology is now at 20k permanent residents though any tourism remains low.

Daska is busy assisting the Governor of Surakeh due to some family obligations.
Your other Knights have scattered and are each taking time to pursue their own interests, usually near where they took their assignments.

With your leave you get to catch up on time with the family and you're there for when your father is home on leave. For the first time in ages everything seems to be good, if a little bit lacking in excitement, and Dad reminds you to enjoy it while it lasts. He plans to. His last leave one of his daughters were kidnapped putting a damper on the whole thing.

Several times you're left to look after your little brother which become an ordeal of its own. Learning what entertains a three and a half year old.

There are no assassination attempts or anything else on Bekka. Or nothing out of the ordinary. It's hard to tell some times with her.

In the event she does do some more dueling though you're taking time to make sure both of you are well prepared for it.

>>36532048
Roughly habitable orbital distance. Magnetic field is weak but still there. Very high CO2 and sulfur levels among others. Possible early habitation 10-20 years. More later in thread.

Since I'm trying my hardest to force through this skip without spending 10 threads doing nothing: have you guys challenged any knights to duels or accepted any duels over the past 6 months in game?

>>36532552
Actually, since we're off the front line we probably are going to get more dueling challenges. We should probably get a couple new instructors to cover our bases in any areas we aren't educated in yet.

>>36532681
>Duels?
I'm going with yes but damned if I know who with.

>Other
Is there any specialized training Sonia's now eligible for that we could've doing? Command/logistics or just piloting for higher tonnage vessels (just I case we have to board and steal something or someone gets incapacitated and we need to fill in)? Spec ops?

>>36532681
> have you guys challenged any knights to duels or accepted any duels over the past 6 months in game?

Well we arent one to say not to a challenge when it appears so yeah.

>>36532681
>have you guys challenged any knights to duels or accepted any duels over the past 6 months in game?

I think we should accept any duels with non-lethal weaponry.

Now, challenging people? Hmmm, if the other side enjoys some friendly competition, why not. Non-lethal as well, please.

>>36532681
I'd say we accepted any challenges, and that we fought just shy of cheating to win if we had to.

Also, we should have sent out an open invitation (privately) to the guy we beat last time to see if he would like to visit our ranch or have a re-match. No dirty fighting in that one, just to see how we compare.

>>36532964
So, pretty much if someone challenges us we go all out, but we're more polite if we're the challenger?

>>36532681

>challenges/accept duels to/from other knights
I'd suggest:
House Phobos Knight (friendly/judge of personality? He was supposed to visit)

I can't really think of anyone that has specifically raised our ire or openly wants to screw with us. Except Windsor. I'm not really keen on dealing with him, personally.

Maybe we could take that advice of 'adding flourish' to our combat style by hiring an instructor from Ber'helum or the House that gave the training base to the FA? Preferably, we'd train with several over a few years, in order to give us some options and make sure we're not stuck with one 'style' that can be hard countered. You are using Bonetti's Defense against me, ah?

Maybe we attended another Ber'hulem ball and someone ornery goes for a duel?

>>36533088
Yup. We're vicious in defense, but classy when we're bringing it to the table. More training would be good too in the long run a la >>36533093

>>36532964
>Also, we should have sent out an open invitation (privately) to the guy we beat last time to see if he would like to visit our ranch or have a re-match. No dirty fighting in that one, just to see how we compare.
The other Knight turns down your offer, politely, but thanks you for it regardless.
"I shouldn't ask you to stay your hand for my sake. I challenged you out of honor and you fought as one would fight over life and death for the honor of your House. That is a noble thing in its own way. If and when you decide upon another style that suits you or are prepared to challenge me at a ball then I will face you again.
I can not be one to teach you but I can make some recommendations for teachers who are not tied to any House."

>>36533093
>Maybe we could take that advice of 'adding flourish' to our combat style by hiring an instructor from Ber'helum or the House that gave the training base to the FA?
With so many Houses close by and with the extra time spent while the rookies were in the survival training it's not out of the question that you could have had time to learn a thing or two.

With these sources combined with additional time spent training in J-D space you've had the opportunity to improve quite a bit over the past year.

Roll 3d6 for skill improvement!

Rolled 2 (1d6)

>>36533401
>Roll 3d6 for skill improvement!
1

Rolled 6, 5, 2 = 13 (3d6)

>>36533401
Training montage! but we're not left-handed...

Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>36533492
2

Rolled 6, 5, 6 = 17 (3d6)

>>36533401
Skill roll

Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>36533692
3

>>36533401
Suh-weet, we can get an experts recommendation. See if we can get someone who will teach us how to fight proper, since we apparently have fighting dirty down.

>>36532794
>Non-lethal as well, please.
Well yes, it would be illegal otherwise under current restrictions. You'd have to visit a deserted planet.
Will you be limiting duels to HF-blade stand-ins or do you plan to accept mock starfighter and pistol duels as well?

>>36533705
Over the course of training with a blade you've picked up a thing or two. Though it may have taken awhile you've dramatically improved.

Your first real loss against one of your subordinates who was also working to improve their skill showed that simply rushing your opponent in the hopes of scoring an early hit was unlikely to work all the time.

You've faced a few other oppoents since then, one which was soundly beaten while another was ruled a draw. Still with everything you've learned you should be more than prepared when facing the ultimate threat.

"Sylvan I have no interest in dueling you."
Your old instructor's protests fall on deaf ears as usual. Knight Dayton dislikes dueling in general, though he has been known to do so on occasion. Sylvan the preternaturally immature Knight who graduated along side him usually pesters Dayton about dueling every time they meet.

You happened to run into the pair attending a ball in the capital where a number of highly placed individuals are meeting with recently promoted Knights newly returned from the front. Obviously they wish to sway any politically unaligned individuals to their camp. You're considered to be firmly in Winifred's camp but as one of the richest Knights you were invited despite this.

[ ] Challenge Sylvan (Roll 3d20) (Now at 3 dice as standard!)
[ ] Look for another opponent
[ ] Other

Rolled 19, 20, 16 = 55 (3d20)

>>36534160
[X] Challenge Sylvan (Roll 3d20) (Now at 3 dice as standard!)

"Come on now Sylvan, let's show the fresh meat some cool tricks."

>>36534160
>[ ] Challenge Sylvan (Roll 3d20) (Now at 3 dice as standard!)
He took our ship after all C:

>>36534160
>Will you be limiting duels to HF-blade stand-ins or do you plan to accept mock starfighter and pistol duels as well?

Whatever we can get.

>[X] Other
Offer Sylvan a duel. Don't challenge him.

>>36534160
Oh god, make it an over the top theatrical challenge. As in joking with friends style of challenge. I think he'll appreciate it.

Something along the lines of "Sylvan! I hear you got my ship! But are you worthy of wielding her, the Spear that pierced the heavens, the noble carriage of her most sublime. most superluminous, most sesquipedalian Scourge of the South Reach and Sequester of Salvage, Sonyia Reynard? You may have proven yourself on the Battlefield, but I demand that you now prove yourself to me in most honourable combat!"

If we can flash some sort of fancy flourish for him that would be nice too.

Do this for dramatic effect after he accepts the duel

Rolled 13, 1, 17 = 31 (3d20)

>>36534239
>He took our ship after all C:
Winifred took your ship. Both of them.

>>36534254
>Offer Sylvan a duel. Don't challenge him.
Like he's going to turn that down.

"Like I'm going to turn down that offer!"

It takes 5 minutes to find holoblades and a second for each of you and then the duel commences.

>>36534160
>[X] Other: smile

The Dayton/Sylvan thing isn't ours to interfere in. It would be like someone butting into stuff between Sonia and Alex/Mike.

>[x] Other: Learn about the non-Winifred camps
>[x] Other: Make sure no one exploits any of our Wings' young knights.

>>36534499
Yes but she gave them to Sylvan. So we must exact our vengeance on him first.
We can 'deal' with Winifred's treachery against our collection of battlecruisers later.

Rolled 14, 9, 20 = 43 (3d20)

>>36534499

Guess we can still smile while we duel.

>>36534506
>[x] Other: Learn about the non-Winifred camps
This is a good idea. I honestly have no idea how the political factions shake out other than "Winfried has some people, Holtby is a dick"

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>>36534487
>"Sylvan! I hear you got my ship! But are you worthy of wielding her, the Spear that pierced the heavens, the noble carriage of her most sublime. most superluminous, most sesquipedalian Scourge of the South Reach and Sequester of Salvage-"
"What? It's was just a Kryptah Battlecruiser modified with a plasma cannon. A nice plasma cannon but it still couldn't match the one on that shark ship of yours."
"I meant the Gungnir."
"Really? Huh... Yeah, I guess I could see that, they're nice enough. So what's the problem?"

You clear your throat. "Prove yourself to me in honourable combat!"

He doesn't seem to be catching on until Dayton whispers something to him.

>>36534224
>>36534499
You start out strong, not going full out but wanting to avoid letting Sylvan build up inertia. He starts out well enough but soon trips up not expecting you to display this level of skill.
In about a minute you knock his sword out wide enough that it nearly falls out of his hand, and stab him in the upper chest.

"Ow! Geez that smarts."

"Winner, Sonia Reynard."

Sylvan shifts his uniform to get the campaign ribbons out of the way then thumps the spot in his chest where he'd been stabbed to get the worst of the tingling sensation to stop.
"Where did you learn to do that?" He asks.

"A Knight from another House recommended an instructor."
"Stealing secrets from other Houses? That sounds like the way to do things."

>[x] Other: Learn about the non-Winifred camps
There are a number of them. Most are split among the 3 larger worlds and their respective Barons with Loran II and Dreminth being the largest 2 groups. Dreminth itself is actually split up into many more smaller groups, with those pushing for proper Dro'all representation being one of the largest.
The third is Torun, which Lord Holtby is Governor of but this is far the last powerful of the 3. However the Governor himself is present, taking the day off work apparently.

>>36535482
Interesting, I was under the impression that Winfred and Baron Archivald got along quite well. We seem to have a cordial relationship with him anyway.

>Cont.
Baron Torben Christian has also returned and seems to be working with the Governor to try and attract more Knights. Any of those aligned towards them are from their planet.

Torun
One of the 3 most heavily populated and industrialised worlds in J-D space, the two Houses fought for control of it on 2 occasions. Orbiting a slightly dimmer dwarf star the system still manages to be fairly mineral rich and is home to several major industries.
Higher than average gravity lends the planet more towards human habitation than Dro'all.
Gravity 1.21 G
Rotation 37 hours

>[x] Other: Make sure no one exploits any of our Wings' young knights.
The easiest for the 3 groups to recruit are those descended from among the existing nobility, so about half of those present. The others seems harder to sway, having heard by now about many of the younger Knights with less established families leaning towards Winifred's group.

While there is no high ranked individual actively recruiting for Winifred Knight Captain Saputo is acting as something of a halfway point.

>>36535631
Archivald doesn't seem to openly pick sides and as the commander of the home fleet he can't afford to. He's still attempting to recruit or hang onto as many of the returned Knights as possible.

Is there anything you want to contribute? Or just talk to the younger Knights and give some viewpoints?

>>36535482
>political camps

Dreminth - Mixed bag/Dro'all/Earl
Loran II - Harmen Camp
Surekah - Winifred
Torun - Holtby

Is this correct and roughly power/influence accurate? I expect we'll need to play the game a bit more, especially once we hit our goal of being named a Baron/Knight Commander.

>those pushing for proper Dro'all representation being one of the largest
Can we chat with a few of the folks from this group? I recall that the J half of J-D was human and they're more dominant due to numbers, and it sounds like an issue that could become very important. Especially with Daska/Verilis and ourself.

>>36535829
>Is there anything you want to contribute? Or just talk to the younger Knights and give some viewpoints?
I think we should perhaps join Saputo in his effort. I mean we aren't powerful enough to form our own camp yet so we may aswell improve the power of the one we are closest to.

>>36535901
I always figured we basically formed our own subcamp. Sorta like the libertarian wing of the republican party I guess.

>>36535482
We really do need that map of the homeworlds...and probably an subsection of the House JD article on the wiki detailing all of these factions, their prominent members and their (broad) aims

>>36535829
>Or just talk to the younger Knights and give some viewpoints?
Sounds like a good idea. Target the nominally pro-Winfred Knights.

Also maybe mention the social club to any Knights who we've actually served with, but aren't members yet.

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>>36535880
>Is this correct and roughly power/influence accurate?
Yes, though it's questionable how well Holtby and Baron Christian actually get along due to the Governor's previous problems with the military.With the Baron controlling the mobile assets which split convoy escort duties with Loran II it's another potentially unstable situation.

Christian and Archivald were known to butt heads ages ago but since both of them became Barons they've avoided any sort of conflict.

>Can we chat with a few of the folks from this group? I recall that the J half of J-D was human and they're more dominant due to numbers, and it sounds like an issue that could become very important. Especially with Daska/Verilis and ourself.

Baron Doedra Dremine is the highest ranked Dro'all present. It's the usual story. With the increase in numbers of prominent human Knights and Nobles there are concerns that in the future there won't be sufficient support outside of the council. When that happens the Earl could potentially dissolve that body which may create considerable unrest. Something other Houses could exploit.
You make sure to let them know that there are certainly some good Dro'all Knights that have served under your command and that you don't discriminate when it comes to skill.

>>36535901
>>36536114
> Sorta like the libertarian wing of the republican party I guess.
I have no idea how to respond to that.

>>36536218
I came to that same realization I soon as I posted about what else was happening at the ball.
Planet/system name suggestions now open!
Closes at: never
Here's a rough one.

>>36536261
>Also maybe mention the social club to any Knights who we've actually served with, but aren't members yet.
This gets the attention of many. With the war on and so many promotions plenty of them haven't had nearly enough time to learn everything they need to in order to handle themselves in this situation. That alone seems to have had the desired effect.

>>36536511
>I have no idea how to respond to that.
I more meant that we tend to form/head a distinct subgroup within the larger "Winfred Party" with some sorta identifiable differences with the rest of her group.

Rolled 16, 8 = 24 (2d20)

>>36536676
That's not so bad. All of the other groups have their own subgroups, just some are more split up than others.

>Still curious about the House Phobos knight. He clearly wants our attention. Look into him and possibly invite him to meet up with us at the training base or something? Least we can do besides a thank you note and bottle of booze, I'd say.
>Interesting. Another possible Sonia.
You end up meeting Knight Captain Darrow of House Phobos after one of the smaller social club meetings out of convenience. There are still a few people around but not too many and it's just formal enough.

After thanking you for the invitation he properly introduces himself. He's done his research. Both of you are up and coming Knights with the potential to become Barons in your respective Houses. Both are predominantly Human Houses and either would certainly benefit from improved relations, possibly even an alliance.

As a judge of personality you ask to duel him.
He thinks about it for a moment then agrees.

Roll 1d20, best out of 3.

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>36536951
DICE

>>36536966
oh ok

>>36536966
Alright then.

>>36536966
I'm no longer sure we remembered to play fair.

>>36536951
Could someone remind me about House Phobos relative size, strength and major industries? Please?

>>36537089
House Phobos - One of the other primarily human Houses of the Dominion. Roughly equal in strength to Jerik-Dremine. (at time of Sonia's first christmas home)

Until this guy sent us an assortment of... HF blades? as a gift, we'd never heard of them.

>>36537167
Correction. He sent us a full on customized Starfighter.

>>36537167
There is at least 1 other human House, Quaoar. Though another may be added at some point.
>>36537394
No he sent the HF-blades. Harmen sent the Ultralight.


You retrieve two practice swords used in teaching some of the other new knights at the club and step into the sparring ring.
The match is a quick one. He's skilled but both of your movements are so swift that all it takes is a moment for one of you to score a winning blow. You won, miraculously. Sylvan's fight was more one sided by comparison, but it was still an impressive victory. Better to not let to go to your head, or more serious competition might show you a thing or two.

"I knew you were supposed to be good with a blade, it's why I chose my particular gift, but I'd seen no indication you were so good at dueling."

You admit that you'd only recently had time to improve in that area, having visited a skilled instructor. And practicing against your sister.
He seems a little surprised by this but no more so than having lost so fast.

At any rate he hoped that he could at least bring your attention to the idea of a potential alliance in the future. An immediate answer is not required he would just like you to consider it.

Do you have any response or questions you'd like to ask?

>>36537709
>Do you have any response or questions you'd like to ask?
Well we need to know the major industries of his House and their position on the war effort (and therefore on the leadership of the ruling house)

Some subtle points to pry about would be their internal politics and who their major allies are.

Side note TSTG, who are the remaining two Houses within the Seven? They're not listed on the wiki

>>36537709
The nature of the alliance he's proposing is what exactly? Economic? Political? Military? All of the above or just some vague quid pro quo? Don't ask that bluntly, just try to get a feel for what he's asking and where he's hoping it'll lead.

I think we need to talk with our Foreign Houses Affairs Advisor about Phobos' strengths and weaknesses, their alliances and enemies, all that jazz. Also, whether they have any holdings adjacent to J-D territory.

>>36537709
>No he sent the HF-blades. Harmen sent the Ultralight.

Clearly it is approaching that time of the night where i'm slowly slipping due to staying up too much.

>>36537813
I like this. Asking about their industry as one of the best ways to form or strengthen a alliance/potential alliance is through economic means. (It also helps that we own a company that is expanding too. The holoplex empire!) It might also be a good idea to see/make sure they don't hold any grudges against a certain House that may or may not have been a terrorist organization at one point in time.

>>36537709
>response/questions

What kind of command does he make his name with?

Is his House aligned with the Ruling House or any of the 7 in particular?

Thoughts on the FA & Houses looking to back out of the fight?

I have to wonder if we have commands that could team up, if we deploy during similar periods.

Oh man, Winifred's alcohol collection is going to be destroyed if this guy turns out to be another Sonia type. Maybe his commander will react the same, too.

Is his House part of the Mk3 program? It might be a good start to a potential alliance or just inter-House friendship if his House isn't in it already. (providing ships for analysis or another trade like with that one House)

>>36538372

And the obligatory question.

Is this guy good looking enough that we have to hide the fact that he exists/we've spoken to him from our mother, father, and sister? Are they within 5km of our meeting with this Knight?

And oh god. We must at some point ask Winifred about concealing a pregnancy/bastard from general knowledge. Preferably after a perfectly mundane meeting and possibly after casually mentioning someone from another human House contacting us.

>>36537709
As a complete aside, could we get a little more information on J-D's colonial holdings in Smugglers Run besides Rioja? Just looking for potential business opportunities and neighboring nobles we should probably network with.

>>36537813
>Side note TSTG, who are the remaining two Houses within the Seven? They're not listed on the wiki
Fixed.

>Well we need to know the major industries of his House
They have 6 major industrialised worlds with numerous smaller colonies, most of which are in the Dominion homeworlds.
Major industries are a little bit of everything without much specialisation. Like Ceres they have good mining gear and can work asteroid forts but not to nearly the same extent or as quickly. They do have some stasis system production which your House lacks and many of the related techs. (Your House gets most of that stuff off allies or the open market.)
They can't build heavy walkers, not that your House produces many of them

They still produce a good number of Frigates, with some of their lines upgraded to build the faster Smuggler Frigates.
Their corvette yards switched to the Mk 2 attack corvette which have become their main line warship. They're thinking of getting a production license for the new Attack Frigates Iratar is working on.

>and their position on the war effort (and therefore on the leadership of the ruling house)
>Is his House aligned with the Ruling House or any of the 7 in particular?
They're openly supporting of continuing the war effort but inwardly they're on the fence, both about the war and the Ruling House. They have a number of allies on both sides of any potential conflict and want to be prepared for either eventuality.

Relations with Veritas are nonexistant, but they're not negative.

>>36537709
Just stumbling around the wiki and was wondering if the potential "Neeran Close-Combat Doctine" project is still available/valid or if we could join an existing collaborative effort to forge one? I have a feeling it will be useful to the war efforts, and for our influence n military circles.

>>36538796
>They do have some stasis system production which your House lacks and many of the related techs.
Interesting...our dad did mention possibly going into an industry that required stasis tech (relating to fresh food preservation I believe)

>>36538820
I feel like we wrote an academic article on that after our first tour of the front.

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>What kind of command does he make his name with?
Attack squadrons, though they're normally held back for fighting on the front lines rather than being allowed to go raiding.

>Thoughts on the FA & Houses looking to back out of the fight?
Some Houses are in poor shape so he doesn't really blame them but he agrees that mosre assistance is needed at the front.
He describes the Factions Alliance as a necessary evil. Most of the groups contributing to it are getting only a fraction of the technology back though it does seem to be increasingly effective. He concerned about what will happen to that military strength once the war is over. Will other Factions or even Houses try to take control of the Alliance fleet assets and bases and turn them against one another?

Their House only has a few newer assault corvette squadrons.

>>36537911
>The nature of the alliance he's proposing is what exactly? Economic? Political? Military? All of the above or just some vague quid pro quo? Don't ask that bluntly, just try to get a feel for what he's asking and where he's hoping it'll lead.
Largely Military though political would be a strong part of it. While they don't share a border with any of J-D space your House has other allies in the same position.

Another option would be a more unofficial alliance. In an emergency, say a crisis within the House or another House invading, one of you could request assistance in the form of several attack squadrons. It's unlikely a potential enemy would expect it.
This would effectively be trading favours.

>Is this guy good looking enough that we have to hide the fact that he exists/we've spoken to him from our mother, father, and sister?
Probably.

>Are they within 5km of our meeting with this Knight?
No.

>ask Winifred about concealing a pregnancy/bastard from general knowledge.
"Dammit Reynard this is what a surrogate is for. Knights that are too blasted busy."

>>36538820
Well what are you planning for it anon? An actually wiki containing a summary/excerpts of Sonya's book? I have a few ideas for a opening at least...

"First off, you should never try to deal with a Neeran in close combat. The bastards are bigger and stronger than the factions races, deceptively quick, and impossible to sneak up on. Getting in close negates practically any advantage you might hold over a Neeran in the first place. So the first and debatable most important advice in this book is the following: Whenever possible, keep your distance.

That said, the Neeran aren't stupid. Even though they have advanced plasma guns and monoblade launchers and god damn wizard staffs, they still won't hesitate to get up close and personal to finish you off. The purpose of this (book/paper/PSA) is to give you a fighting chance when, and I do mean when, you have to deal with these hulking brutes at close range..."


Not quite sure I got the voice right, after all this is Sonya writing this, but here's my contribution if you actually want to write up parts of her book.
I'd have to take a look at the wiki to actually get into the substance of the article, because I only remember bits and pieces of how we've dealt with Neeran in the past.
I figure there'd be a whole chapter devoted just to the commando units, those things were monsters.

>>36539548
Actual wiki article*
I can't type...

But if you don't want to have any actual text, wouldn't we just time skip the "book" in?

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>>36538590
>As a complete aside, could we get a little more information on J-D's colonial holdings in Smugglers Run besides Rioja? Just looking for potential business opportunities and neighboring nobles we should probably network with.
Rioja - Terraforming in progress
Colony - Red dwarf system. Beat up some kids that were trying to sign on with pirates. First tested out Recon armor. Cant remember the name. Way too tired to search archives to see if it was listed atm.
Logistics base & salvage rights to graveyards
FOB - Captured asteroid base outfitted to support operations for entire House fleet in the Run (at the time) in addition to several allied House fleets.

Avoubic - Extensive graveyard. Asteroid/planetoid station forts present. Major House shipyard. Produces attack cruisers, escort carriers and Medium Cruisers

Colony - Captured by Saputo's Wing. Habitable and on the mend. Not much info. More at a later date.

Forbearance - Site of a former pirate station that could make passage through the Run difficult. Construction of a permanent station to replace the super heavy once it leaves is being discussed. Primary production site for Torpedoes for House J-D.
Numerous graveyards, outposts and station colonies.

Graveyards, Logistics bases, outposts and station colonies.

>>36539375
>I feel like we wrote an academic article on that after our first tour of the front.
You certainly did write a paper after one of your tours on the 3 week flight back home.

This week: Tomorrow I've got an appointment around noon so not sure what time in the afternoon I'll be resuming.
At some point this week I need to deal with some things for a few hours in the evening. Not sure what day that's going to be yet. Could be tomorrow, may be Thursday.
See you for a bit in the morning.

>>36539773
Thanks for running

Bump.

bump

>>36539773
Map. Missed this one.
Battlecruiser yard at the lower edge of the map. Low rate of production yard. Can build Kavarian Battlecruiser variants or Gungnir type BC's. Mostly kept in operation as a reserve resource. Most ships produced there are sold to other Houses or mercs.

My appointment has been moved up so I'll be headed out early. Hopefully this means I'll be able to resume a bit sooner.

With virtual reality as advanced as it is, could that be a venue for Sonia (and us readers) to get our kicks?

I'm thinking virtual reality training and fighting similar to how we train our pilots, just for spec-ops.

Additionally, we could maybe get some jobs with low risk of death for our house or something similar. The only reasons I voted against the artifact mission were 1) It was against our political agenda 2) It provided absolutely no benefit to us or our friends.

>>36539480
>>Is this guy good looking enough that we have to hide the fact that he exists/we've spoken to him from our mother, father, and sister?
>Probably.
>>Are they within 5km of our meeting with this Knight?
>No.
>>ask Winifred about concealing a pregnancy/bastard from general knowledge.
>"Dammit Reynard this is what a surrogate is for. Knights that are too blasted busy."

Aww, he knows how to flirt with us it appears. I won't lie, I like it. Especially since we nat 20'd that duel. Unfh, crits get me hot.

Not to mention the thought of all the salvage we could get together. Anyone want to bet that we end up "salvaging" a kid before actually having one?

Seriously, though, this guy looks like a good match politically and socially for us.

I could use this after the constant frustration of Hollow Quest. If I was at home, I would post the picture showing the closest we've gotten. So. Many. Failures. On the dice rolls.[/spoilers]

>>36543688
>I could use this after the constant frustration of Hollow Quest

Please go back to being a waifu/husbando faggot in that quest.

Thank you.

>>36543755
That's a bit harsh you know.

>>36535482
Yay! You used my challenge! Sonia remains still kind of weird. This makes me happy.

>>36537709

BY RIGHT OF CONQUEST HE NOW OWES US A DATE! Since we won, we get to pick what it is. Do they have space yacht racing in this setting? Or we could go hunting. for pirates! And their ships!

>>36543755
Right, heaven forbid I get excited about relationships. It's not like marriage and shit are a big thing in Feudal societies OH WAIT.

What can I say, I'm a sucker for a man with a big . . . fleet.

>>36543688
I KNEW I was not the only one getting the marriage wibe from this Phobos dude. I wonder if a political marriage with him would cement an alliance between Phobos and JD? Or perhaps it is frowned upon to marry outside the House like some kind of medieval incest family. In any case I am all for forming a personal alliance with him.

>>36543755
Be nice.

Also what is hollow quest and why have I not heard of it before?

>>36543755
I agree with your sentiment but please calm down bro.

>>36543755
>1. BE EXCELLENT TO EACH OTHER.
>2. PARTY ON, DUDES. (AND DUDETTES)

Remember the cuddling kittens, anon.

>>36543688
>>36543956
>>36543992

I did suspect initially that he had more than just House-House stuff on his mind with a gift out of the blue.

But then I remembered mother-Reynard's reaction to our body guard and half expected her to burst in the door while we talked to this Phobos Knight. "WHY ARE YOU TAKING SO LONG TO MAKE ME GRANDCHILDREN, SONIA!?" and then inspect this guy like a piece of meat before asking us if we're fucking him yet.

Then again, Reynard family may not be quite as crazy as some other families

Also, I recall some level of interest in seeing if anyone approached us for a political marriage, or a possible list of potentials we could approach. That may a moot point after the Posat events, however.

After this party, however, I'm kind of worried that we're in a sort of a political pit trap by being an 'assumed' Winifred faction member. Probably not much we can actually do about it until we're named a Baron, though.

>>36531482
>Well you only just picked up Rioja and it's the only planet that might apply. So no not yet
Well technically, I could see Winfried becoming the Viscount of the South Reach territories once we get more fortfied, that's an important, and isolated sector of space.

>>36543937
>Do they have space yacht racing in this setting?
Yes. You guys turned down the option of sponsoring FTL yacht and starfighter race teams. You've run into one race yacht behind enemy lines that was previously helping to evacuate high paying customers from Shallan worlds.

>>36543992
>I wonder if a political marriage with him would cement an alliance between Phobos and JD?
It would certainly help if going for a more open alliance. The downside is that your House or theirs could still end up breaking an agreement later and then you'd have to deal with the fallout.

>>36544403
>After this party, however, I'm kind of worried that we're in a sort of a political pit trap by being an 'assumed' Winifred faction member. Probably not much we can actually do about it until we're named a Baron, though.
You could always ask the other Barons if there is anything they need taken care of. Something that would better get you into their good graces.

>>36545514
>Yes. You guys turned down the option of sponsoring FTL yacht and starfighter race teams
Well, we do have a lot more time on our hands at the moment. Maybe we could sponsor a team on Petras together with knights from our wing?

>>36545514
>starfighter race teams
I remember that vote.

We were going to have technically gifted people from the RSS shipyards work on the project if they wanted the chance.

>>36545514
>You could always ask the other Barons if there is anything they need taken care of. Something that would better get you into their good graces.
might as well. Except Holtby obviously, fuck that guy.
goddammit Mom, not literally.

>>36545558
We still don't produce anything that would really benefit from having a (really expensive) race team, rather than just targeted advertisements or sonia's direct noble mingling.

Racing teams are stupidly expensive by nature, and you get involved with them because you're either in love with the racing or think you'll benefit from having your logo seen by the masses.

And we've already got the 3 (I don't think we added the 4th) Faction Wars era Errant shark ships and some of the fighters from then. As war bond tour ships, they should be at least a more cost-effective source of public attention and political good will from within the House and likely some of our allied Houses that they visit.

You thank Knight Captain Darrow for the visit, and the gift, and promise to think over his offer. It could be some time before you have a response which he replies he understands given the complications of modern politics.

Towards the end of your leave filming of the Vieona movie kicks off. No less than 50 Terran consultants are present. You're deeply concerned until you find out that most of them are going to be looking after historical accuracy. They'll be helping the engineers with making equipment and markings look as though they were from that time period. Declassified portions of your mission recordings will ultimately determine the final state but overall they're really close.
Until you started paying attention to it the differences between upgrades the House had installed and what the Vieona was carrying seemed minor, now they're hard to miss.

You meet Tabitha Janvier who seems excited to be the lead actress in this film, though it being another war movie is a bit annoying for her.
"Ever since Heroes of Gesaur its like I've been type cast. Besides propaganda clips the only other thing I've been able to get were roles as a middle school gym teacher on a kids series and a scorceress that gets killed off 30 minutes into a film."

"Spoilers!" One of the nearby crew reminds her.
"Right that one only just came out, so spoilers if you're planning to watch Curse of the Mind flayer dracolich."

You'll try not to tell anyone about it.

Filming aboard ship gets underway. Not everything is done in direct order due to schedules. The crews are very fast and efficient and can usually get all of their shots with only a few takes. Major stunt work is done last. Some the scenes are being recorded from multiple angles using ships security feeds adding a layer of realism to some of them.

You offered to do a couple of the stunts. It should be relatively safe provided you don't have to do retakes. Roll 3d20

Rolled 9, 4, 7 = 20 (3d20)

>>36545810
Oh boy, here we go. Hope our experience pays off today and we don't end up paralyzed from the neck down.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>36545810
>Roll 3d20
1

Rolled 10, 1, 18 = 29 (3d20)

>>36545810

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>36545885
2

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>36545898
3

Rolled 7, 16, 12 = 35 (3d20)

>>36545810

So long as we don't have to do a barrel roll.

>>36545810
>You thank Knight Captain Darrow for the visit, and the gift, and promise to think over his offer. It could be some time before you have a response which he replies he understands given the complications of modern politics.
Random question: but how is house Phobos set for things like battleships/battlecruisers and medium cruisers?
Also are any of the Barons specalists in planetary warfare the way Archivald is known for carriers?

>>36545984
>but how is house Phobos set for things like battleships/battlecruisers and medium cruisers?
They could use more of both. Their House holds steady at 5 mediums despite losing 2 over the course of the war.
>Also are any of the Barons specalists in planetary warfare the way Archivald is known for carriers?
Yes two, though most Houses have Generals who train exclusively in that field. As their ground forces have less heavy firepower than yours they have to make the best use of what ground forces they have and ensure proper orbital support at all times. Some of their Frigates, Battleships and Carriers are equipped with smaller mass drivers for surface bombardment.


A few enemies, all stand-ins, notice a vehicle move as you run overtop of it and towards the open cargo bay doors. You're almost to the corridor when suddenly you're picked up and thrown head over heels the rest of the way. The missile ammo loader and its magazine have just exploded. Carefully designed pyrotechnics provide just enough of a pressure wave to shove you off your feet and the hidden tractor emitters do the rest to simulate the effects of the blast.

A Repulsor bike rolls out of the bay coming to a rest near you.

>12
"That was... passable." States the director after he's called cut and the fires have been put out. "I think we can do better."

>15
"Now that's more impressive. It looked just like your mission reports. Still I think we could got for an even bigger flashier one."
"It's supposed to be a docudrama." You remind the director.
"True, true. We may come back to that in reshoots."

It turns out you're needed for few other stunts besides the bike theft scene. You and the stunts coordinator do help walk Tabitha through the close fighting with the Neeran unit commander who will have to be placed in the scene holographically.

Between shoots you let the actor try out your plasma pistol on carefully prepared targets. The back stop should be thick enough to prevent damage to the ship.

>>36546281
>Yes two, though most Houses have Generals who train exclusively in that field. As their ground forces have less heavy firepower than yours they have to make the best use of what ground forces they have and ensure proper orbital support at all times. Some of their Frigates, Battleships and Carriers are equipped with smaller mass drivers for surface bombardment.
Might want to mention the Valkyrie HAG to him then. I think we've timeskipped enough that its in mass production.

>>36546281
>Between shoots you let the actor try out your plasma pistol on carefully prepared targets.

Bonding over plasma pistol shooting? She just entered a pretty exclusive club.

>Houses of the Dominion
>Classical naming conventions

What are these? Is it just "Second House to be founded" in Dro'all, for example, or is there more to this?

>>36546281
...wait, I just realized, Mom is going to see this right? How much trouble will we be in?

>>36546487
Just claim they exagerated things to make a better movie. Also, make sure we're off world when she sees it.

>>36546532
>>36546487

We'll blame Sapputo and have our people forward all of her calls to him.

The other woman is impressed with the firepower of your pistol.
"This must be what having the main gun of a tank in your pocket feels like. I really wish I knew more about guns now. I want to talk to the prop guys about matching the recoil of your real gun. I'm a little surprised I wasn't knocked off my feet by it. Where do you get one of these?"

"You don't. The Republic won't make enough to deploy or sell to anyone. There are probably others out there not under their control. I don't know how many."

"What!? If these things can kick so much ass we need more of them for our troops! I'm talking to my agent."
Well good luck.

After getting the hang of your pistol Ms Janvier does a bang up job of the fight in engineering with the Neeran.
You get a message from her later saying that she has a rough idea how you must have felt when that plasma pistol shot failed to kill it in one hit. She had to redo the scene twice.

There isn't much else for you to take care of other than making sure forms are filled out to finish everything off. Filming the other scenes should be done in a few more weeks and then its off to post production.
The other movie you've invested in should be coming out soon. Hopefully it does well.
Do you plan to keep any profits made off it, donate the remainder after your investment is paid off, or donate all of your proceeds to the war effort?

>>36546423
>What are these? Is it just "Second House to be founded" in Dro'all, for example, or is there more to this?
There's a particular background I've been using to base the names of the majority of Houses off of. It only goes up to about 180-ish and there are many more Houses than that.

House names that don't use that background (which include Jerik-Dremine) often use a variety of other sources including celestial objects, though there can be some overlap.
House Helios for instance just happened to work out nicely and was too good not to use.

>>36546878
>Do you plan to keep any profits made off it, donate the remainder after your investment is paid off, or donate all of your proceeds to the war effort?
How about we take the profit we make of the movie and donate it to helping the refuges in JD space? The more we help them the more they'll want to stay with us.

>>36546878
>the remainder after your investment is paid off
10% to Sonia
30% to the Shallan government or refugees
60% to the House

>>36546984
Supporting

>>36546878
>movie profits

For the 'Stay in the Fight' movie:
investment out, then 50% of everything else to to-be-determined charity. Possibly donate the other 50% to FA or something, but need to see what the amount would be. (tiny amount better invested elsewhere)
If we don't hit full investment in earnings, 50/50 whatever we get between ourself/charity.

>Vieona movie
I'd say keep everything we earn, possibly donating a minority share to the J-D war dead charity. We grabbed the movie rights in place of salvage, after all.

>>36547061
>I'd say keep everything we earn, possibly donating a minority share to the J-D war dead charity. We grabbed the movie rights in place of salvage, after all.

Did anybody from our ship die during that operation? If so, we could donate some of the profit to their families.

>>36547091
We lost marines for certain.

>>36546984
Why are we giving 60% to the House? They're certainly being compensated for the use of the ship (and it is an excuse to keep the ship off the front where it can explode), and they're going to get a nice credit and thank you on top of that.

>30% to the Shallan government/refugees

I'd rather spend 30% on a personal/RSS investment for Shallan refugees being resettled in J-D space.

both movies are personal investments, not House ones (and if the House did invest as well, they'll get their own pay-out). And I dislike the idea of giving anything to the Shallan government after the bad faith they (and their admittedly poor situation) played in regards to the ships we gave toward a resistance movement.

At this point, I have to wonder if the FA/Factions wouldn't be better off letting the Shallan government collapse. The military will still fight, and most of Shallan space is occupied by either Neerans or the Factions.

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Most people seem to be up for donating some of the money from the film.

>>36547091
>Did anybody from our ship die during that operation? If so, we could donate some of the profit to their families.
Yes you did lose some people but if I recall correctly your own casualties were fairly light all things considered.

>>36546532
>Also, make sure we're off world when she sees it.
Well this next offer may be what you're looking for then.

The Alliance Explorer Corps have contacted you and have shown interest in acquiring your Excalibur for a few months.
You also have the option of taking a mission with them on a one time basis. The flight itself is supposed to be fairly routine according to them with the destination being the exception. You would be required to pick up a diplomat from one of the Iratar administrative stations then proceed via South Reach to Watcher Space where they're to be dropped off.
Only an Excalibur or other specially outfitted long range starships could make such a jump at the speeds necessary. A Kavarian attack cruiser or Clarent class might be able to but they wouldn't be able to manage a return jump without refueling locally.

[ ] Take the offer
[ ] Loan them your ship
[ ] Pass

>>36547529

Are they prepared to make information on 'Watchers' available to us?

I guess the issue of people trying to kill us in SRL space may be an issue, as well.

>>36547529
>Yes you did lose some people but if I recall correctly your own casualties were fairly light all things considered.

A small share for everybody involved, and a larger on for the families of the deceased? We wouldn't have the rights to the film without them, after all.

>[X] Loan them your ship
I think Sonia in SRL territory is probably a liability.

>>36547529
[x ] Take the offer

>>36547529
[X] Take the offer

I'm game, exploration seems fun. How long would we be gone? Imagine Sonia making first contact with a shark like race. Almost fainting from excitement just from talking to them. Trying to convince one or two to become her pets and/or ship mascot.

>>36547529
>[x] Take the offer

>>36547529
>[X] Take the offer

>>36547630

Well, seems like people want Sonia to do this herself. Could we at least incognito?

Giving the ship a new paintjob and registration number should be easy enough for the FA.

>>36547529
>[ ] Take the offer

Sorry guys had to deal with the landlady.

The Watchers are very meticulous when it comes to any sort of meeting. Diplomatic relations are treated more like first contact procedures.

While vaguely humanoid their homeworld is believed to be extremely cold, much colder than what Faction species can withstand. As such environment suits are required for persons from either group to safely visit atmospheres of the other.

While they may not be truly xenophobic Intel believes that claustrophobia or an equivalent dislike of small enclosed spaces to be common among the Watchers. The result has been a lack of interest among many when it comes to visiting the worlds of other species. They do still seem to be genuinely curious about the outside world and thus take great pains to observe the actions of others.

Most of their ships are roughly battlecruiser sized and have powerful engines and FTL. They avoid conflict whenever possible and will retreat from hostile situations. The level of their weapons technology is unknown.

>>36548305

Agreed. At the very least, we should avoid admitting who we are. Ideally, marines and at least a few ships for escort through SRL space.

>>36548380
Out of curiosity, are they willing to sell battlecruiser frames with or without engines/FTL drives? Other goods and services?

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>>36548380
>The result has been a lack of interest among many when it comes to visiting the worlds of other species. They do still seem to be genuinely curious about the outside world and thus take great pains to observe the actions of others.

So... can we try to start a holoplex chain on their worlds? Even basic simulations of Faction planets and cities should be insanely profitable.

>>36547700
>How long would we be gone?
It everything goes perfectly, 80 days there and back from the Centri Cluster.

>Could we at least incognito?
>new paintjob and registration number
>Agreed.
Or just use the Alliance IFF since it will look like another Terran ship then?
Paint job is a go though to remove House markings.

The first leg of the journey is to skip over to the Kavarian territory and pick up the diplomat and small entourage who is welcomed aboard. The best quarters available have been set aside and fixed up and some crew are assigned to looking after the party. A few other Alliance officers are aboard as well, including an observer and a Navigator who is familiar with the region in question. Still you have a House Navigator in the secondary bridge keeping close track of the ships movements.

>Out of curiosity, are they willing to sell battlecruiser frames with or without engines/FTL drives? Other goods and services?

Closing in on South Reach you ask the diplomat, a Mr Kasak, this.

"What have you been told about this mission exactly?" He asks.

"That I'm to drop off a diplomat then return home in a few days."

"Your orders sound entirely accurate and in keeping with what is actually going on. It's unlikely the watchers themselves will sell us any of their own designs. They would certainly be handy. We're negotiation for... other things."

While not thrilled with the ambiguity of that answer it's not a terrible one.
"I don't suppose it might be possible to try to start a holoplex chain on their worlds? Even basic simulations of Faction planets and cities should be insanely profitable if they hate using environment suits."

The diplomat sit there stunned for a few seconds. "That is an excellent idea. I am supposed to be keeping non-Alliance business separate from the negotiations though."

>>36549190
>. I am supposed to be keeping non-Alliance business separate from the negotiations though

Well, he wouldn't be a diplomat on such an important mission if he couldn't bend the rules enough to solve that problem.

>>36549190
>That is an excellent idea. I am supposed to be keeping non-Alliance business separate from the negotiations though."
He did not say we could not conduct our own negotiations however. I'd say we should totally expand our holoplex chain into this new untouched market ASAP. Like send a message to London right now to make preparations.

>>36547281
>I'd rather spend 30% on a personal/RSS investment for Shallan refugees being resettled in J-D space.
This sounds like a better idea to me
>>36549190
We can wave our fee for borrowing our ship, that way we are a private citizen doing our own personal business, you're just along for the ride. Alternatively, it might help negotations if you provide them with that opportunity.

Random question, but when will the HAG go into mass production? I think its around now

>>36549190
>Or just use the Alliance IFF since it will look like another Terran ship then?

Sure, can't hurt. I think.

>>36549190
Has he had previous dealings with them?

Can we pressure him for what the "other things" are?

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>>36549190
>"That is an excellent idea. I am supposed to be keeping non-Alliance business separate from the negotiations though."

I'm sure there's some kind of legal construct in Dominion law that will allow the FA to own, say, 10% of the company without actually investing money or taking any risk.

Presto, our idea suddenly became Alliance business.

>>36549271
"This is true."

Suddenly he looks concerned.
"What are the operating temperatures for holobooths? Holographics normally have very tight operational limits to prevent anything from going wrong and flash boiling the user."

Oh. You're not quite certain about that. Sounds like a project for your R&D team once a few more iterations of the HAG design have been finished to get rid of any remaining bugs.

Arrival in South Reach goes without incident and soon you're crossing the cluster, passing near the newer Dominion territories all a safe distance from the galaxy still home to the South Reach League and the Warlords.

You make sure to ask one of the other Alliance officers what happened with the stargate the Neeran had the Warlords building.
"I believe the Alliance acquired it and have moved it to another location sir." replies your acting first officer, a Terran from Perth colony.
"Why? It didnt work." you point out.
"Not for them maybe but we've had time to work on it and have access to more technology than they did."

You drop out of FTL at the far edges of the South Reach Cluster near a Nav station. This is one the Pirates were supposed to have been working on back when you were in Operation Typhoon. There were requests for units to investigate it at the time. Now the guild and the explorer corps seem to have it fully operational. Long range sensor arrays peer out across space to other regions, looking for safe navigable routes and incoming ships.


>>36549392
>when will the HAG go into mass production?
It's currently in Limited production. LST's are in more demand than bombardment craft since they can not only move troops, but cargo and refugees as well. Add another LST line to the asteroid base specifically to build HAGs?

>Can we pressure him for what the "other things" are?
"If you don't know yet I am likely not authorised to tell you."

>>36549190
>I am supposed to be keeping non-Alliance business separate from the negotiation though.

Should we ask him about the feasibility of putting together a ride-along "civil" envoy/mission to engage with the watchers' interested business community for area's of opportunity for trade and collaboration?

Whatever happens, we need to get a regional adviser on these guys ASAP so we can exploit this opportunity to the fullest without getting too badly burned.

>>36549703
>Add another LST line to the asteroid base specifically to build HAGs?

Could we see if there's interest in our HAGs in the Dominion? They should be very useful in scenarios where both sides adhere to that resolution limiting the yield of weapons on habitable planets.

>"If you don't know yet I am likely not authorised to tell you."
Well, I guess it can't be helped. Will we get to meet the Watchers in person?

>>36549703
I don't see why not. Even if the HAG market is smaller, we currently have no competition. How has it done in operational testing?

>>36549812
That knights captain who was hitting in us would probably be interested. Since its designed for close air support as well, his houses lack of heavy armor would be countered.

>>36549703
>project for your R&D
TSTG, would it be possible to use that kind of artifical gravity well the Neerans used the keep our ships from jumping into hyperspace to to establish staging points or bases in deep space?

If I remember correctly, the lack of a proper gravity well screws up FTL systems for some reason, so would this be a feasible workaround for that problem?

Just imagine how much stuff we could hide between galaxies. Also, are J-D FTL systems good enough to hide stuff in hyperspace like the FA did with their sleeper ships?

>>36549703
>>36549879
>another LST line specifically for HAGs?

Why not another LST line for just LSTs, with the other building whatever is in demand?

It seems foolish to dedicate a line to a specialist craft that isn't designed to work in large groups, when you could have a line dedicated to churning out the generalist item in greater demand.

if HAG demand rises, we can switch over to a dedicated line for them. Until then, it is probably a better choice to supply what is in greater demand (and not end up with an inventory you need to lower prices on)

>>36549730
>Whatever happens, we need to get a regional adviser on these guys ASAP so we can exploit this opportunity to the fullest without getting too badly burned.
Freezer burned?
NO.NotdoingMrFreezepunsNotdoingMrFreezepunsNotdoingMrFreezepuns

>Should we ask him about the feasibility of putting together a ride-along "civil" envoy/mission to engage with the watchers' interested business community for area's of opportunity for trade and collaboration?
if as
>>36549657
suggested the Alliance ended up owning 10% of the business it would probably be much easier.

>>36549879
>>36550015
So another LST line. Possible modifications to make it easier to swap components for HAG production in and out?

>>36549926
>TSTG, would it be possible to use that kind of artifical gravity well the Neerans used the keep our ships from jumping into hyperspace to to establish staging points or bases in deep space?
The one the Neeran were using would probably be insufficient. Faction FTL and safety systems can overpower its effects if given time to adjust for it.

Your gravity well project however works differently and could be more suitable for such a device. In theory.
It would require help from the Navigators Guild and the Alliance to stand a chance of safely testing it.

>>36550015
Because our market share of the HAG industry is effectively 100%. It doesn't matter that more people want LST instead of HAGs as long as we can support a single shipyard. Especially since switching back and forth is inefficient

>>36550288
Yeah, our market share of the HAG is 100%

But is there enough demand to have a line dedicated to producing only the HAG? How many we produce doesn't matter if we're producing more HAGs than there is demand for HAGs. We don't want a bunch of HAGs sitting around because no one is buying.

>>36550497
Then clearly we need an advertising campaign

>>36550497
Do some more market research? Do we even have a market research department?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reBuz97GgBM

As a just in case measure your take aboard extra fuel, drive components certain spare parts and suplies before departing. Along with stasis units. If the worst should happen there's a chance you might be recovered some day.

This is probably the longest jump you've ever been on and well off the more charted routes.

"It is too late to look up how often ships go missing on the more common lanes?"
"Yes sir."
"Are we really or are you just saying that?"
"Yes sir."
Probably to keep the rest of the crew from freaking out.

The displays remain lit up with long range sensor plots the entire time. Any nonessential systems are to be kept in low power mode. Additional reserves might be needed if its necessary to dump extra power into the drives a the last minute for a speed boost.

Watching stars go past isnt even easy to do this far away. Most are too far away for the constant flares of light to be seen while in FTL.

Getting back into the old routine of training while aboard helps keep you sane. The flight is only supposed to take a week but that's the longest the FTL can stay active anyways.

Checking in with the medics after crossing the half way point a higher than average number of crew are reportedly having trouble with stress. Engineering believes it to be a result of the drive systems operating at a much higher output, or it could be the space you're passing through. You've done fast jumps before it wasnt as much of a problem.

The medics think it's largely psychological.

Over the next few days reports of stress among the crew increase but don't become crippling. You're feeling a little on edge yourself but that's more because you're not sure what to expect. Eight hours out from your destination you're back in contact with a Navigator outpost. Looking up the specs it's a tiny station compared to most others, made up of free floating sensor arrays networked together and a single modular station core.

They're able to send you updated telemetry for the last stretch of the jump, guiding you towards a safe reversion point.

You inform the diplomatic party that you're coming up to reversion and warn the crew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94TAFSMdkvk#t=10m40s

Reverting to real space your displays light up with sensor contacts. A ring of older model Mega class supers surround your position numbering 60 in total. All have their weapons charged and a quick check of your trajectory analysis program shows that even without targeting they could volly fire you to death with phase cannons.
IFF does not show them under any current Faction ID. The old database still aboard from when you salvaged these ships flags them as Kavarian Union.

[ ] Freak out
[ ] Let the diplomat handle this
[ ] Other

>>36551741
[x]Let the diplomat handle this

>>36551741
>[X] Let the diplomat handle this
and
[Freak out internally]

>>36551741
>[x] Let the diplomat handle this

>In uncharted space
>exploring the hell out of untested waters
>DIDNT REQUEST LINDA, NAVIGATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE

>>36551741
>[X] Let the diplomat handle this

"Heh, no wonder I didn't have clearance."

>>36551741
I'm beginning to suspect something is not quite as we expected here. It may be related to the ring of doom surrounding us.

[X] Other
Let's say hi.

"This is Knight-Captain Reynard, please don't shoot us as that would be rather poor ending on a rather long flight."

We stay calm and collected to inspire the crew to not piss their pants.

>>36551741
Sounds like we'd be a perfect Veckron-suicide ship.

>>36551741

[x] Parlay?

"Heh, no wonder I didn't have clearance." You joke to the others, attempting to stay calm and collected to inspire the crew to not piss their pants.
While freaking out internally you have the diplomats get to the bridge.

"Thank you for not making a mess of things before I could get here Commander." Says Mr Kasak upon entering the bridge. "I- oh. I didn't realise our welcoming party would be quite so extensive. I might have warned you."

You're glad the idea had actually occurred to him. If only he'd actually followed it through.
"Would you mind telling me what's going on?" you ask at length.

"The best place to acquire large numbers of super heavies is from the people who built the most of them. The Union."

"The Union was wiped out." You state matter-of-factly. "The only ones left were hunted down in South Reach or driven into Shallan space where the Neeran killed half of them."

"These are remnants. They escaped with as many people and ships as they could in the time they had left. Which wasn't much population wise when most of your crews are made up of clones."

"If they're here why are we negotiating with the Watchers? Wouldn't Union forces have just conquered them like they tried to do to the Republic?"
"Who's to say they didn't try? Regardless the Watchers seem to have come to an agreement with them."

The Guild and the Alliance Explorer Corps want to trade with the Watchers for information. Specifically detailed navigation charts of the regions beyond Faction space.
The Alliance military and the Iratar government meanwhile want to establish relations both with the union remnants and their apparent benefactors. They plan to offer both of them protection and the possibility of reunification with the other Kavarian state in return for warships.

>Anything to ask about this development before the diplomat disembarks?

>>36552326
Ask him for emergency procedures incase something goes horribly wrong or a third party intervenes.

>>36552326
>Anything to ask about this development before the diplomat disembarks?

Who in the Alliance do we have to bother to get access to the databank where stuff like this is kept?

>>36552326
There's almost so much I want to ask it's probably easier if we just let it unfold.

I mean, do they think it's wise to reintroduce the Kavarians at a time when public morale is already strained from the Neeran front?

>>36552326
Wait... Who? What is the Union?

"Ah... I see. So they have been here all this time with all these Supers... Yeah some people are going to freak back home. Anyways when are we leaving so we can have a nice chat with these fellas?"

>>36552326

The cost of his passage back to Factions space may have just become a very large ship.

And higher security clearance if they don't want a reply in the form of primed explosives to their next request to use our assets.

60 fucking mega classes!?

>>36552476
>Wait... Who? What is the Union?

m8

>>36552476
Kavarian Union

During the Faction Wars, the Kavarian Union was the Kavarian faction, with the current one (Iratar) an exiled company/family deal hanging with the Terrans.

The Kavarian Union was kicking ass with mass-produced Megas and cloned crew, and that is why we have all those FTL hazards everywhere. Terrans fired them like candy to combat Mega spam.

iirc, we found something like 10 of their clones and 1 original guy in stasis among the Faction Wars sites we salvaged during RSS' founding. Turned them over to Iratar.

>>36552796
What? I don't know, what am I suppose to do? Remain ignorant?

>>36552929
Ah, alright. Thanks mate. That fills in some holes.

>>36552326
So.....do you think the Union people would like a holoplex?

>>36552432
>Ask him for emergency procedures incase something goes horribly wrong or a third party intervenes.
"Let's see if I can remember the order of procedures. If anything happens while you're still on station work with the locals, mostly the Watchers, to secure the area and prevent anyone involved from escaping. Or possible enemy reinforcements from getting in. The last thing we need is a medical frigate loaded down with marines getting through a blockade.

We know the Warlords were planning to flee here using their gate device so they're obviously aware this area exists but not all of the specifics. That might have been humorous had it worked."
He only waits a moment to see if you react before moving on
"If I can't be reached in an emergency you're in local command.

Call for backup if needed. There are Explorer Corps and Navigator ships at the edges of the cluster that have been given permission to do preliminary work to look for jump off points for future flights. They can reach you quickly. Likely within a day.

Link up and combine forces if needed.

Last but possibly most important, try not to start a shooting match with the remnant forces or the Watchers. If I'm killed ensure that it's possible to have someone else reopen negotiations."

>>36552441
>Who in the Alliance do we have to bother to get access to the databank where stuff like this is kept?
The guys at the top or compartmentalised branches of Intel. The navigators would also know some of it.

>cont.

>>36552476
"Ah... I see. So they have been here all this time with all these Supers... Yeah some people are going to freak back home."
"Yes probably some of them will. Though it seems they haven't done much to resume attempts at conquest from here or the campaign against the Warlords a few years ago might have been even more interesting."

Interesting, right. Maybe not how you might have described it. "Anyways when are we leaving so we can have a nice chat with these fellas?"

Kasak opens a channel and identifies himself as the representative of the current Kavarian government. You're soon sent jump data for another system where you're to put the ship in a parking orbit near a station where negotiations will be taking place.

>>36552444
"Is the admiralty really sure about this? Do they think it's wise to reintroduce the Kavarians at a time when public morale is already strained from the Neeran front?"
Kasak holds up his hands around his face in a framing gesture.
"I am Kavarian also. Just because my government is largely operated by a corporation doesnt make these people any less the same species as me. At the very least any of them who aren't clones deserve the right to be allowed to return home.

Iratar supplies 85% of the new supers being used by the Alliance. The Warlords build the remaining 15% but they're not going to be able to keep that up much longer. We can't expand our capacity quickly enough to keep up with demand. These can help fill that gap.

Also Iratar doesn't even really control its largest shipyards. The Terrans and Rovinar still have them all garrisoned so its not like they're ours. Now we also have Alliance people everywhere trying to get new design modifications added."

>>36553036
"So.....do you think the Union people would like a holoplex?"
"That could work actually, but don't give up on that idea to sell systems to the Watchers."

>>36552637
>passage back to Factions space may have just become a very large ship.
"That would be ideal."

>>36553821
>"That could work actually, but don't give up on that idea to sell systems to the Watchers."

"I'll make sure you'll get a share of the profits if it works out."

I think that would be a fair offer in return for his silence about the whole idea until we've worked out how to make holographics work in Watcher compatible atmosphere.

Your destination is an unremarkable system that is home to a station of Faction origin. Or at least Kavarian. Most factions have stolen and integrated enough Kavarian tech over the centuries its hard to tell the difference.

This one is unusual. From the scans you've taken it seems to be built with much larger decks. A voice in the back of your head is screaming that they're conveniently almost Neeran scale. Claustrophobic. Right. You keep trying to remind yourself that.

A few dozen Watcher ships are in system, four of them docked to the station. Most could be easily mistaken for tankers from long range, thanks to the long cylinder most carry that is similar to some Tarketta tankers. It seems to be a modular section that can be switched out as needed for different mission types.

Sensors spot one Kavarian Super in an orbit of one of the gas giants but seems to have been largely disabled and converted into a station. Most of the larger sublight drives have been removed.

Your second in Command a Terran by the name of Warrin Brown should be just as qualified as you to look after things aboard ship. He likely would have been had you just loaned them your ship instead.

Do you want to suit up and accompany the diplomatic party while in camo, or keep an eye on things from aboard ship?

>>36554283
>Do you want to suit up and accompany the diplomatic party while in camo

Wouldn't that be a severe breach of etiquette? If
>>36548380
>The Watchers are very meticulous when it comes to any sort of meeting
we should probably take care not to anger them, even if we're talking to the Kavarians.

>>36554283
... Yes, yes I do. Would be far to boring to remain on the ship and we did not come out here to fiddle our thumbs. Besides they might need protection!

>>36554326
To expand on that:
I don't mind accompanying them because, let's face it, if they want us dead it doesn't really matter if we are on our ship or not against this kind of firepower. I'm just not in favour of sneaking aboard. They might even be using the same kind of scanner House Posat had.

Although this is probably a decision that should have more than 2 votes.

>>36554283
Yes let's do it.

Sonia Reynard: woman of the people, meeter and greeter of alien species.

>>36554283
Well, we didn't get those suit mods just to leave them unused in a memory engram. Or did you mean in completely unnoticed?

>>36554283
Can we disguise our-self as the shuttle copilot instead? We're certainly qualified.

>>36554326
>Wouldn't that be a severe breach of etiquette?
Most likely.

>>36554705
>Although this is probably a decision that should have more than 2 votes.

>>36554768
>Or did you mean in completely unnoticed?
I meant more completely unnoticed since the Iratar people would have a set number of delegates. Unless you plan to incapacitate one of the lower ranked ones.

>>36554793
I'm going to say yes.

>>36554862
I am against accompanying the diplomat. I don't want to risk angering them.

>>36554862
Just ask if we can accompany them. I'm seriously against causing a diplomatic incident when this much is on the line just because Sonia felt bored.

>>36554908
>Just ask if we can accompany them. I'm seriously against causing a diplomatic incident when this much is on the line just because Sonia felt bored.
You ask about accompanying the party. At the very least you could provide extra security, even if in dress uniform.

Kasak thinks about it but isn't sure it would be good to increase the size of his group at the last moment and it's too late for his people to trade duties so you could replace them.

If you wanted to copilot or captain the shuttle there's certainly nothing stopping you from doing so.

Will you be aboard the shuttle and will you be in your Recon suit? Or do you plan to stay aboard ship?

>>36555248
aboard the shuttle in recon suit

>>36555248
>Will you be aboard the shuttle and will you be in your Recon suit?
Yes, yes.

>>36555248
>Or do you plan to stay aboard ship?
I'd prefer to stay aboard our ship.

I would really like to visit the station once the negotiations are over but I see no advantage in being on that shuttle.

If they want us dead, we're dead. Sitting on the shuttle won't change anything about that. While having somebody in recon armour present, even if it's just on the shuttle, might just make the other side nervous and affect the talks negatively.

>>36555381
>samefag

Just remember what happened when we sent the shuttle equipped with that holographic projector for infiltration stuff on a diplomatic mission last time.

>>36555325
>>36555326
2 for, 1 against. Should I wait for more anons?

>>36555381
>>36555431
>Just remember what happened when we sent the shuttle equipped with that holographic projector for infiltration stuff on a diplomatic mission last time.
And then it got captured. Wasn't that fun? You did get it back eventually.

>>36555622
>2 for, 1 against. Should I wait for more anons?
Well, I guess that depends on how poorly this could possibly go...
>tf2_heavy_worried_laughter.jpg

>>36555622
Do we even have some reliable to take command of our ship if we board the shuttle?

>>36555622
So if something goes wrong, we'll be stuck on a hostile station, likely with minimal weaponry due to the diplomat not wanting an armory on the shuttle with him.

And we'll also be a literal diplomatic incident waiting to screw up everything.

Rather than a viable ace pilot in a ship we own and capable of getting word out and linking up with allies if a situation develops.

... so we're voting on if we want to willingly fail a logic test?

File: worried laughter.gif (2.59 MB, 540x300)

2.59 MB GIF

>>36555780
>Do we even have some reliable to take command of our ship if we board the shuttle?

>>36554283
>Your second in Command a Terran by the name of Warrin Brown should be just as qualified as you to look after things aboard ship. He likely would have been had you just loaned them your ship instead.

>>36555757
>Well, I guess that depends on how poorly this could possibly go...
Here you go.


>>36556043
>... so we're voting on if we want to willingly fail a logic test?
I think it depends more on the frame of logic used to approach the situation. Yours is certainly a viable interpretation.

>>36550584
>>36550497
>>36550746
Honestly, It the way TSTG phrased it shows a serious problem with our marketing department. The main competitors of the HAG isn't the LST, since the LST doesn't serve the same role of close support and heavy planitary combat that the HAG does. The Valkyrie's real competitors right now are heavy ground armor and especially surface navies. Personally, I think that any add campaing in the dominion should take aim at that, and champion its advantages.
Over Large quantities of heavy armor its advantages are:
1. Lower manpower, and thus less casualties
2. Much more effective against Nearan Superheavy armor.
3. Generally more easy to deploy
4. Better tactical maneuverability
Against wet navies its advantages are:
1. MUCH easier to move from planet to planet. Using wet navies offensively on a intersteller scale basically doesn't happen, making them fixed defenses.
2. Economies of Scale: Because they're such a pain in the ass to move, you probably tend to see them built locally, which means that the sort of "produces hundreds of ships a year" factory our HAG uses probably doesn't happen, so our HAG might actually be cheaper than a wet battleship.
3. Still uses less manpower
4. Faster tactically and strategically, and can more easily cover inland fights

You swear if anything goes wrong and you're trapped on a shuttle, or worse aboard a station with no way home you'll find some way to kick yourself over this. Taking the copilot position you help fly the diplomats over for their meeting. It's one of the newer model Kavarian ones so you don't have to worry about any blasted thrust vectoring screwing you up like on some of the GE models. It's just repulsors, the main engines and the more conventional thrust redirectors like what starships use.

Once everyone is off you stand guard nearby, in Recon armor but disguised as though you're wearing a pilot's outfit. You could probably borrow some spray paint and quickly touch up your armor to better match the colour of the other pilots pressure suit should your camo go down.

Roll for spot check 1d20

>>36556619
>Roll for spot check 1d20
Hah, no. I'll let the guys with the three word replies deal with this.

I'm going to bed.

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>36556619
DICE

>>36556198
>surface navies

We've seen... what? 1 world where there was an actual surface navy. It seems relegated to the odd PDF or civil war deals, rather than something everyone uses.

As for heavy ground armor, the HAG would complement that type of unit, not replace it.

The design was originally to tackle things capable of deploying shields, like Neeran tanks. This also brings enemy landing LSTs into the predation list, or fortifications.

Ideally, deploy them as CAS or with your landing LSTs to provide heavy fire support and ensure your beachhead doesn't get driven back.

>>36556156
>frame of logic used to approach the situation
I'm really trying to understand the 'deploy in PA' frame of logic

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>36556619
We blind.

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>36556619

And then Sonia felt her mother's look from across the universe.

Things are quiet and you keep a close eye on everything within view. More importantly your suit sensors are at maximum, which is how your sonar is able to detect movement most others would have missed.
You cant see it but some of your suit sensors can detect a small object moving away from the underside of the shuttle. It can be very big, probably smaller than 20 centimeters, but it is moving steadily towards one of the walls of the landing bay close to the doors the diplomats passed through.


>Your orders?

See you in the morning!

>>36557156
Ooh, let's take a look.

>>36557156
causal meander over to take a look

>>36557156
Have we landed yet? Are we still in-flight?

We really need to get visual confirmation on what this thing is. Sabotage?

If we're in flight can we rotate the ship a little whilst coasting on engine power to get a view on it? If not, let's disembark and find out.

Call it in to any bridge crew too, just as a precaution.

>>36557400
>Have we landed yet?
I should probably have added this line to be more clear:

After a short minute long flight you set the shuttle down in the station landing bay without incident.

>Once everyone is off you stand guard nearby, in Recon armor but disguised as though you're wearing a pilot's outfit. You could probably borrow some spray paint and quickly touch up your armor to better match the colour of the other pilots pressure suit should your camo go down.

Things are quiet and you keep a close eye on everything within view. The landing bay is largely empty except for your shuttle, refueling and maintenance gear off to the one side.

More importantly your suit sensors are at maximum, which is how your sonar is able to detect movement most others would have missed.
You cant see it but some of your suit sensors can detect a small object moving away from the underside of the shuttle. It can be very big, probably smaller than 20 centimeters, but it is moving steadily towards one of the walls of the landing bay close to the doors the diplomats passed through.

I hope that is a bit more clear.
>Your orders?

As I was saying. See you in the morning!

>>36557600
Wake up from this terrible day dream, see the diplonatic party off on their shuttle, return to quarters, kick back and enjoy a warm drink while waiting for things to finish.

>>36557600
>Just to encourage some discussion:

>This thing is either a friendly or hostile device.

>If friendly:
The only thing I could imagine this could be is some kind of listening device used by our intel guys. Maybe it's some way to gain access to the ship's data banks, or maybe to listen in on their communications.

>If hostile:
This could be a lot of things. I think either a listening device is likely in this case as well, or it could be something to disrupt the talks. A device of this size should be enough to pack enough future explosives or maybe toxins to kill a room full of diplomats.

>So, what happens if either of these assumptions is correct and we don't disable this device?

If the thing is friendly intel might get some juicy information. Or the device could be discover.

If it's hostile it could cause some significant trouble. Discovered or not.

>What if disable or destroy this device?
If it's friendly our intel guys might lose out on some information.

If it's hostile we prevent the enemy from gaining whatever advantage this thing could give them.

>So, what do?
In my opinion, we should walk over and step on that thing, or kick it against a wall if there's some explosive a 20cm box of could injure us significantly despite the armor.

If the device was friendly our intel guys might be upset but it's frankly their fault for not telling us anything.

If it's hostile we just ruined somebody's plan.

>>36554895
>>36554908
>>36555381
>>36556043
>>36556693
>>36557781

I agreed with theese anons, I would have chimed I earlier but I only check the thread every couple of hours. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for TSTG to run a game with the playerbase wanting different things all the time.

That said if we cant do a redo and we are locked into this course, cant we just ping it on sonar/radar to find out its general shape. Im sure this station has sensors or whatever in place and the fact that we are running on maximum instead of low level means we're probably already detected.

Also no point being any sneakier then we already are, call it in to local security and assist in anyway we can. If we can detect it but they cant it just means that they dont have the proper gear to do it themselves, unless its turned off.

The last thing we need is for us to jump the gun anymore then we already have. Let their station security handle it after we give them a heads up, also cant we get the shuttle to tractor whatever this thing is?

bump

>>36558325
I agree with this anon.
I think the best outcome would be to capture/disable the device without involving station security, involving them if it is friendly could lead to a major diplomatic incident, while not involving them if it is hostile would only have us missing out on some glory/fame with the Union/Watchers for having foiled the plot. I think the only case in which we should involve station security is if we determine that it is likely hostile and can't catch it on our own, to avoid any suspicion of us being the saboteur and to effect its destruction.

Capturing the device should be easy. We specifically stocked up on stasis units before we left, so I'm assuming we have some on the shuttle. Go back inside to grab one, then cloak up, go outside and snag whatever it is before it can reach the doors.

The Crazy Sonia plan would be to cloak up and follow it.

>>36558325
The third possibility is that our hosts planted it on the shuttle pad and it's now moving away after doing whatever it did to the shuttle. Either way it's probably nefarious. Our diplomats are here to bargain for ships in exchange for repatriation, being able to spy on our hosts won't really help them form a more convincing argument.

Best course of action would be to quietly capture it. If it's friendly well have a "dammit Sonia" moment later with the intel spooks. If it belongs to our hosts it will cause a "damn their security is smarter than we thought moment" and they will probably deny it. If it belongs to a third party whoever is controlling the thing will probably hit the panic button and burn the evidence trail, only nothing will happen because it will be in stasis.

>>36558325
>>36558350
>>36560901
>>36561299

Combination of theese? Tractor it in place and put a stasis field over it then inspect where it came from on the shuttle.

File: soccer-kick.jpg (196 KB, 1024x1024)

196 KB JPG

>>36557276
>>36557338

>>36557400
>We really need to get visual confirmation on what this thing is.
It's invisible to most sensors.

>Call it in to any bridge crew too, just as a precaution.

>>36558325
>In my opinion, we should walk over and step on that thing, or kick it against a wall if there's some explosive a 20cm box of could injure us significantly despite the armor.
So soccer kick?

>>36558350
>cant we just ping it on sonar/radar to find out its general shape. Im sure this station has sensors or whatever in place and the fact that we are running on maximum instead of low level means we're probably already detected.
Suit sensors. I keep forgetting about your arm.

>call it in to local security and assist in anyway we can. If we can detect it but they cant it just means that they dont have the proper gear to do it themselves, unless its turned off.

>>36560901
>the only case in which we should involve station security is if we determine that it is likely hostile and can't catch it on our own

>>36561299
>stasis units [...] Go back inside to grab one
There's a chance you might lose contact with the object in that time period.

So do you choose to contact station security before any of these options or not?
[ ] Sensor burst to try and reveal it
[ ] Shuttle Tractor beam in the path of the object to catch it
[ ] Kick it into another part of the landing bay
[ ] Grab stasis unit then go after it
[ ] Grapple it

>>36563385
>There's a chance you might lose contact with the object in that time period.
Could we send the other pilot to grab a stasis unit while we keep an eye on that thing?

>>36563385
Shuttle tractor!

How big is a stasis unit though?

>>36563486
>Could we send the other pilot to grab a stasis unit while we keep an eye on that thing?
Yes.

>>36563496
>How big is a stasis unit though?
The Portable ones are small enough to be put in a small suitcase.

>>36563687
>Yes.
In that case, let's do that with
>[ ] Shuttle Tractor beam in the path of the object to catch it
and
>[ ] Kick it into another part of the landing bay
as backup plans.

You decide against calling security and instead contact the pilot of the shuttle and direct a tractor beam just ahead of its path. By the time the pilot has it in place the object has wandered into its area of effect.

"Repulsor burst. They're trying to break the lock."
You sonar detects the object hitting the decking but it remains invisible. From what you can tell its immobilised. At least for the moment.

"Toss me one of the portable stasis units."

A minute later a large medkit comes sailing out shuttle hatch and skidding over towards your position. Cracking it open you soon find what you're looking for and approach the general location of the object.

"Get ready to drop the tractor beam."

It's hard to tell precisely where it is and the stasis field generated isn't ideal for this sort of capture.

roll 1d100

Rolled 65 (1d100)

>>36564174
>roll 1d100
Rolling.

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>36564174
Mobile roll

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>36564174

Its probably a mutant/feral krath isnt it.

Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>36564174
rollan

Lets grab ourselves a nice stealth infiltrator.
Perhaps from the cold loving fuckfaces...

Rolled 75 (1d100)

damn dice

Activating the stasis field the pilot attempts to kill the tractor beam at the same time. Immediately part of a sphere shape becomes visible and falls off onto the floor. A few severed internal bits spark for a moment then cease.

The exterior of the device seems to be made of dense materials that are able to mimic what a cloaking shield or holographic camouflage system can do. Inside it's packed with repulsors, likely for levitation or movement and you suspect to hang onto ships.
You're not sure how it could have got here. Either it survived FTL sitting on the outer hull of your ship or it was inside it through the flight.
That or it could be your hosts were trying to plant something on the shuttle.

The landing bay intercom goes off. What sounds like a Kavarian but could easily be a Watcher asks what is going on in the landing bay. Most importantly their security would like to know why you have an activated a stasis device.

>What say?

>>36564551
Medical emergency.
PFC Butterfingers and PFC Numbnuts got into a demonstration of how to use a blade, with predictible results.

Or some other catch all military excuse we picked up.

>>36564551
I'd say we should tell them that we seem to have picked up a hitchhiker of unknown design, purpose and origin and have contained it in stasis to maintain the security and confidentiality of the station and the meeting. We will cremige the device from the station and bring it on our ship if they will permit it.

>>36564551
We had something aboard that shouldn't have been there. We don't know if it's dangerous but instead of taking risks and investigating the object, we placed it in stasis instead. For all we know, one of the workers could have simply forgot his lunchbox on the shuttle.

We're just being cautious.

>>36564587
We do have a bionic arm we can discard and cut ourselves with the blade to pose as the victim if they insist on offering medical aid


but this is seriosuly high levels of paranoia.

>>36564700
Forgive me for the blunt reply but seriously

Nonononononononononononononononononono.
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umDr0mPuyQc

>>36564551
Why did these guys blow a covert FA op again?

>>36564587
1) Outright lie.

>>36564653
2) Admit to potential Hitchhiker.

>>36564682
3) Claim ignorance of what you've found just that it shouldn't be there.

>>36564753
>Why did these guys blow a covert FA op again?
Which guys? You'll have to be specific. If you're talking about the players I did wait for other replies but when present (and they were just as often not) they seemed to be in the minority.

Any other options or would people like to choose one of those 3?

>>36564837
Well if it was a FA covert op, with us as the captain they should have fucking told us or expect our paranoid violent ass to fuck it up in a fabulously glorious way.

>>36564837
First contact the diplomat for guidance, then let's decide.

>>36564837
Fuck it, voting 2.

>>36564837
>Any other options or would people like to choose one of those 3?
Can't think of anything else.

>>36564866
yes, probably a good idea unless others can hear him...

But that would be nice if we can do it.

else, i would say we hush it up and then report it to him so he can do whatever...

>>36564837
Voting for 2

>First contact the diplomat for guidance, then let's decide.

You take a step away from the stasis unit and ask them to give you a moment to contact your diplomatic party.

They have yet to begin any serious talks and you're soon able to get hold of Kasak. He says that it would be best to inform the Watchers of the infiltration attempt. He'll try to smooth things out but you should attempt to determine the origin of the device independently from station security if possible. At the same time he admits that it may be difficult for you to secure physical evidence if station security wants to examine the object in question.

After finishing the call you inform security of the potential hitchhiker and soon a team is set to arrive to secure the device. They seem worried but at the same time glad that you told them.

[ ] Use camo, toss the cut off section into the shuttle
[ ] Use the cover of your camo system to palm part of the damaged equipment
[ ] Wait until after everything has been looked over by security, then take part of it
[ ] Ask to take part of it as evidence later
[ ] Other

Samefag from
>>36564653 here, but personally I think it is most likely that this is not a FA op, imo it would not make much sense for them to contact us to get our ship and ourselves if they were planning on a covert op without telling us. The FA has our psych profile I assume, and I doubt that they would be stupid enough to just hope that we won't notice anything.
With that assumption I think it would be best to be honest about the whole thing, even if it turns out to be factions tech, we can still try to salvage it as Neeran infiltrators using our tech to discredit us (the FA) if they are found.
So in summary, I think honesty is the best policy here while we are not sure what is going on. (I also assume that we cannot contact the diplomat without appearing suspicious by either stalling to much or contacting him while he is in session, should that be possible it is something I would support, maybe he knows more)

>>36565457
>[ ] Other
Take as detailed a scan as we can now and ask security for their scans and parts of it for evidence after they are done with it.

>>36565457
>Other
Tell them we would like to take a bit of it to our own experts. Part of the deviece was conveniently cut off, so just suggest we'd like to take that over to our ship. We can swap the remains once each side has run their tests on their part.

We're part of a diplomatic mission and captured the device with our equipment in what, depending on how space diplomacy works, could very well be considered neutral ground. So letting us conduct our own investigation is just fair.

>>36564837

[x] Admit to potential Hitchhiker

"I activated a portable medical stasis field after detecting an anomaly near our craft."

>>36565457

We're the ranking officer on this op, correct? And we own the Excal. Not sure if we own the shuttle or if it came with the diplomat.

Clearly, we should work with the station's people. Bonus points if we get to order the Terran guy to be detained for this. More if we quietly state this to the security folks and they feel the same way.

>>36566039
>Clearly, we should work with the station's people.
It's not like the head diplomat asked us to perform an independent investigation, or anything

>>36566132
Those are not mutually exclusive. We can still do some investigating together to get information from them but do additional stuff ourselves.

We cannot bar them from doing an investigation, but we can make use of their resources.

Security arrives, a group composed mostly of Kavarians in pressure suits while what you assume be a Watcher wearing a different style suit hangs back.
You explain to them that you activated a portable medical stasis field after detecting an anomaly near your craft. It looks like you managed to grab whatever device was moving around but other than that are not sure what is going on.

They inform you that they'll need to move it to a secure location just in case it should turn out the device is dangerous. For all they know it could be a mini nuke, or worse.

You ask permission to take detailed scans. You're part of a diplomatic mission and captured the device with your own equipment. Since it could have been a threat to your party you'd like to conduct your own investigation as well.
"Part of the device was conveniently cut off, so I suggest that I take it over to my ship. We can swap the remains once each side has run their tests on their part."

While the team leader approves in theory his orders are likely less flexible. Still you can take your scans now and will be allowed to take others of the main device once they're sure it wont explode.

Leading the way the team escorts the stasis field to a blast proof room then you and the other section to a nearby lab for analysis.

A video feed shows a pair of remote bomb defusal worker arms deactivate the stasis field and check the now visible surveillance drone. It looks familiar enough but if you've seen one you've seen them all apparently.

The shuttle came aboard your ship with the diplomat which could complicate things if the drone did too. There was also the Alliance crew you picked up.
"It would be nice if I could order my Terran first officer to be detained for this."

"You're not Terran?" one of the guards asks.
"Human, Dominion."
"They're still around? From what we learn in school most suspected they would have torn themselves apart by now by treating everyone who didn't own land as second class citizens."

>>36566693
Ran out of room for a
>What say?

From the observation of the analysis there are little to no markings on the drone components, not even part numbers. It did have explosives within its housing but this was likely intended as a self destruct, still it could have killed someone by getting close enough before detonation.

You pick up "secure" com chatter from one of the other guards asking if its a good idea for you to be armed.
The response is basicly summed up with the question of how many people with swords has that particular guard disarmed before.
Predictably the answer is zero.

"Commander Reynard was it? Are you familiar with these markings? They're not in our database."
Taking a look at one of the displays you look at some of the parts that have been removed. Only a few markings are visible and you're fairly certain they're not language. They look familiar enough that you must have seen some of them before. They were on the Rovinar secure tracking device you acquired from the Embassy when Bekka was kidnapped.

Of course they wouldn't be in the database, the one you picked up was a prototype.

[ ] "Those are Rovinar."
[ ] "They're not familiar."

>>36566693
"There's usually some external thread that keeps the class dichotomy from growing too extreme. The higher the pressure on the Dominion, the more the system begins to resemble a meritocracy.

Although you would probably be correct with your assumption if the Dominion enjoyed a prolongued period of peace. Fortunately, differences between the various Houses tend to keep people from becoming too complacent. Or if they do, they're usually replaced quickly by a more competent House."

>>36566693
>"They're still around? From what we learn in school most suspected they would have torn themselves apart by now by treating everyone who didn't own land as second class citizens."
Yeah, still a problem. Not insurmountable, though. Upwards-mobility yay! Still sucks for most people, though.

>>36566834
[ ] "They're not familiar."
Also I like how Sonia casually intercepts 'secure' communications.

>>36566834
>Begin evasive maneuvers
"I think I have seen something similar to these, but I can't exactly place where I did. My apologies but at least we know it's not an entirely new species that was trying to spy on us.

Maybe the diplomats could shed some light on this? I'm sure they're much more familiar with surveillance technology than I am."

>>36566834
>[ ] "Those are Rovinar.
>"[ ] "They're not familiar
Torn between the choices..