No matter the century, no matter the millennia, a broom is the always irreplaceable companion of any would be janitor, and it just so happens that you yourself are currently carrying out the same task.

You are far too embarrassed to actually order someone to clean up your room, seeing as you had wrecked it in a fit of fury. Utterly unbefitting show of wild emotions for a commanding officer.

Why did I have to turn over the fridge, not only is my booze gone, but it is also a bitch to clean from the floor.

Still, it is something, a distraction from other thoughts that may surface in your mind, something you will have to look for in the coming days so as to prevent boredom from taking control.

The merchants had jumped with glee, starting to collect the scrap all around the battlefield, visibly avoiding ships marked with the signatures of house Roy and leaving both the Aggressor and the Innovation alone, knowing full well what would happen if they tried to scavenge the former, and simply unsure what to do with the latter.

Cleaning out the final stain and then a quick dip in the shower later, you had made yourself and your quarters presentable. Granted, this had taken you hours of work, mainly because you had to move carefully to avoid further aggravating your injuries.

Sitting down in front of your desk, having put it back in place, you boot up the console in front of you. Staring at the screen reflecting back upon you, you sigh, knowing what you will have to do in the following moment. It is not a pleasant thing, but a duty you must carry out nonetheless.

Beginning the search through the database, with your level of clearance it doesn’t take you long to find the name you were searching for – Ludovic Alpizar. Rasia’s young son. She hadn’t even told you his name, having to learn it via info search makes you feel slightly uncomfortable.

Taping the desk in a rhythm with your fingers, you ponder your words, what should you write, how detailed, what could be the best to express and what should be kept hidden. With annoyance, you scratch your head, you were never talented when it came to kind words and fine diplomacy.

>>5303478

Ludovic,

Allow me to introduce myself, I am Knight-Captain Fergus Proenza, vassal of Countess Countess-Commodore Philicia Lauritzen.

You may not know me, but I do know you, from the words of your mother. I had served alongside her through many a conflict. I considered her to be a good friend, one of the few true friends I had actually had amongst the ranks of the navy.

I wish to offer my condolences. I cannot imagine the pain you are going through losing your mother, I had wept over her death as well, and that is why I wish to apologize. It was me who convinced her to come alongside me for her last deployment. Her dedication for her dream to be once more united with you, had spurred her to take on this great danger. It was her desire to reunite with you that informed her decision, so if you have someone to blame for her death, blame me. I owe your mother a great favour, one that I do think I can repay in this life.

Know this, I will always be on your side and if you need my help, no matter what it may be, do not hesitate to ask. I know it sounds amusing that a commoner made knight is offering his help to the heir of an established house, but I will endeavour to do my damndest to help you, if you ever deem it necessary.

Wishing you all the best,

Fergus.

You sign off on the letter. The boy is barely few years old, still incapable of independent thought. You can only hope that those who raise him will not be overly hostile towards you.

Setting the message to be automatically sent whenever you reach civilization, you rise from your seat and leave your quarters, marching down the damaged, scorched, and pitted hallways. The endless signs of the battle – exposed panellings, hanging wires, crew still busily tending to the various needs of keeping the vessel operational. The saddest sight you notice are those crippled, left in the hallways around the infirmary, so filled to bursting, that there simply isn’t enough space to house all of the injured.

Whilst passing through, you strike up random conversations with the crews, at least with those that are not too busy or occupied with their own tasks.

Everyone you conversed with was tired, exhausted or battle rattled. Still, smiles quickly form on the faces of even the most injured ones. In particular, the best conversation you had was with a cyclops like yourself, plenty of jokes were made at the two of yours expenses. You suppose that the relatively high morale despite the losses comes from the fact that every commoner within the ship views you as one of their own. A possibility for advancement, a showing of great bravery and the fact that a simple man, lacking genetic enhancements and a myriad of cybernetics could have achieved that much. And you are damned grateful for it, you have no doubt that suffering such casualties, most other officers would have faced mutinies and other issues at this point.

>>5303480

“How you holding up, Gav ?” You ask the perhaps busiest man aboard the ship at the moment.

“Like shit, I haven’t slept for over thirty hours and the boosters doc had injected are starting to wear off. The ship is quite literally breaking apart around us, and it currently being kept together with faith, spit, duct tape, and chewing gum.”

“Could it survive a shift ?”

“Errr…probably ?” Giving you an unsure look he says.

“That is not reassuring, Gavril.”

“Ahhhh, don’t worry about it, what is a little existential horror of being trapped in an entirely unfamiliar dimension to some as brave as you ?” With a laugh he asks.

“Certainly nothing other than my body being ripped apart by gravitic waves, I suppose better than being chocked out by a cyborg.”

“Nasty buggers those. Ya know, there’s a reason why they are usually used as the villian’s minions in all the war movies and the like.”

“Talked with the crew along the way here, they seem to be holding up well, all considering.”

“A tough bunch them all, though I doubt how many will remain under your command after this.”

“Too much excitement ?”

“Yea, way too much. If there’s any consolation, those that are staying are fucking insane and those that are going to sign-up willingly are no doubt going to be just as batshit as the old guard. Oh you’re going to have fun trying to keep them in line.” He finishes with a laugh.

“Since you’ll be gone.” You say quietly.

“Since I will be gone, yea. You know, always wanted to see what’s it like to live in an individual house. Hey, you better not cheap out on my retirement fund !” He says trying to laugh off the fact that you are most unlikely to ever meet again in this wide galaxy. “Anyways, gotta run captain, keeping your ship from breaking apart and spacing you in your sleep takes quite a bit of effort.” He rubs his eyes. “Gotta get more stims as well.” Gavril says before walking off.

Speaking of stims, Payat and Giacomo had both been discharged from the infirmary and sent to individual officer rooms. Their genetic enhancements allowing them to survive without any more intensive care.

Heading over to the officer housing, you quickly find the room given over to Payat. You deliver a quick knock onto the door.

“Please, come in.” The man’s calm, muffled voice comes from the other end.

The door rises in front of you as you step through. The rather spartan room, as it had been set aside specifically for occasions where housing non-crew officers in needed appears before you. The neatly set beddings, clean, dustless furniture, the bright white light above shows a room of immaculate cleanliness and sterility, rather lacking in soul, you’d have to say.

>>5303481

“Captain, how may I be of help ?” You nearly jump looking over the mangled face before you. Having removed his bandages, most likely against doctor’s orders, Payat sits comfortably and calmly on a chair, a datapad in his hands whom he’d been flicking through seconds ago.

His right cheek is almost entirely gone, exposing the teeth for all to see, the front of his nose is almost entirely gone, the two dark holes tranquilly drawing breath as if nothing had happened. The rest of his expression scarred and twisted. Surprisingly, his eyes are entirely untouched, those cold eyes regarding you as they had previously, as if nothing of import had occurred.

“Commander, how are you holding up ?”

“Perfectly fine, sir.”

“Anything else you’d like to share ?” It’s like talking to a kid.

“I have no complaints, sir.”

“No advise ? You know, feedback, information sharing, something that can approve the over all situation.”

“The only piece of advise that I would have, captain. Is that – retreat is always an option. Whilst the utter annihilation of an opposing force is usually considered a victory, a tactical success may not result in a strategic one. But if you desire to utterly destroy your enemy, you had proven to everyone around you that you are more than capable of achieving as such, captain. So I will not raise any complaints about any of your orders, a subordinate’s duty is to carry out any commands given.” Having spoken the longest you’ve ever heard, Payat finishes.

“Thank you for your advice.” You say with a nod, having known the man long enough to realize that you won’t be able to get anything more from him.

Leaving the bare room, you take a few short steps and reach Giacomo’s room and knock on the door.

“Come in.” A tired voice responds.

Entering the room, you find Giacomo resting on the bed, and unlike Payat’s room, the place actually has the feel of someone living in it.

The tired looking Giacomo begins to rise from the bed, struggling a bit as he has to try and get up now missing an arm.

“No need to rise, you’ve earned your rest commander.” You say with a smile whilst walking over to take your own seat next to the bed.

“How are you holding up ?” You say the same phrase you feel like you will say a lot today.

“Like I’m missing and arm and a leg. Well, just the arm I suppose.” He says, giving a weak smile. A missing limb is of little concern, the man’s face contorts thinking about other losses. “To be honest, sir, not that well. With Mikel gone, our trio kinda collapsed, captain.”

“You want to talk about it ?”

“Not particularly, captain. I’d rather just…just be alone with my thoughts.” He quickly catches himself. “I mean no offence, captain.”

“None taken, I understand your feelings, but if it isn’t too hard for you. Could you tell me how do you feel about the last engagement, the campaign as a whole.”

>>5303484

“If looking at what I learnt at the academy, captain. We shouldn’t have been here in the first place. A much larger force had been needed to subjugate such a large territory. But you had succeeded, captain.”

“Doing the impossible had kind of become my MO.” You say with a smirk.

“That is undeniable, captain. But I doubt that my teachers back at the academy would look all too well at your command style.”

“What do you mean ?”

“Oh, uhhh, they’d classify you as, reckless and without abandon commanding officer. Worse than a coward, for at least a coward would preserve the lives of their men. Then they’d get into an argument about that statement and the fact that aggression is needed to win wars and that it has to tempered and unleashed when needed. It would be a whole ordeal.”

“Hey, that means I’d have at least a few on my side.” You say assuredly.

“Oh, not at all, they would only appreciate you as a junior officer at best. Your lack of noble legacy, no offence, captain, would see you given no positions of power. That’s the one thing I found interesting about the empire’s fringe. Local nobles are far more willing to deal with commoners than closer to the core, but I suppose that is why the closer to Earth you get, the more haughty the people are in general.”

You lean back on the chair. “So I’d be shit out of luck and jolly well fucked ?”

“Most likely, sir.”

“Well, I always enjoy a challenge.” You continue to give your best and self-assured expression. “I have other matters to attend to, rest well, since who knows what will happened in the coming weeks.” You say, giving Giacomo an assuring pat on the shoulder, rising from your seat.

Leaving him alone, you head over to your quarters once again and comm up Tetrault.

“I would like your presence in my quarters, Lady-Lieutenant Commander.” You say.

“Understood, captain.” Comes her short response.

Only looking around now do you embarrassingly realize, you have no more cups left to offer someone some refreshments, having smashed them all in rage. So you wait, simply sit and wait, yep, you do nothing but wait. Your hands start itching as you look around the room, you feel like breaking something, maybe cleaning something as well.

“Captain.” The knock on the door actually startles you.

With a cough you find your voice again. “Enter.”

“Sir, what did you need me for ?”

“A debrief, I need your opinion of our operation.”

“Yes, sir. The operation was a success and almost every single point of “guide to officer’s conduct” and “the successful waging of warfare” had been violated.”

You just stare in silence, utterly baffled.

“The intelligence officer’s report would most likely see you court-martialled. The loses sustained in pursuit of enemy beyond reason, dealing with subspacers, whom are legally classified as terrorists and traitors to the empire.”

>>5303486

You put your hand around your neck and scratch it nervously. “The Countess wouldn’t allow for that to happen.” I think. You keep the second part to yourself.

“Most likely, the fringe is always considered to be fast and loose with “certain” regulations, here and there.” You can hear annoyance in her voice over those facts. “And naval command does not particularly care to enforce them unless there are egregious violations.”

“Good, I’d rather my reward not be being hanged.”

“Right, how about we talk about something else than me being stripped of my post or being hanged at the gallows. Let us talk about your upcoming command. As I said, you can be guaranteed a command better than frigate, if you decide to stay under my command. But what would you prefer ?”

“A missile ship command or a carrier command. That would be my choice, sir.”

“Any particular reason ?”

“Survival.”

“Rather blunt.”

“I’ve come to learn that when it comes to matters like these, I should be blunt.”

“I see. Anything else motivating you other than trying to ensure that the Ghoul does not leave you behind like so many others.” This time you say with a bit more bite than you intended.

“Due to our home, we couldn’t afford massive ships or large quantities of them. So we instead chose another stratagem. Spacecraft backed by planetary cannons. I have experience when it comes to spacecraft command and it’s best employment.”

“I will take that into consideration.”

“Thank you, captain. If nothing else, I shall depart now.”

“You may.” You respond.

Allowing Tetrault to depart, you begin making your way down to the marine quarters whom are depressingly empty, with only a quarter of it occupied. Only 25 marines remain after your months long campaign.

“Warwick. How are you all holding up.”

“Just fine, captain. Were beaten to hell and back, but were alive. The men are looking forward for some R&R and they’d rather not have to face down and army of cyborgs ever again, but knowing your track record, that seems like an impossibility.”

“Don’t worry, there will be plenty of rest. Wanted your opinion on the campaign, any advice you have to offer ?”

“Honestly, captain ? I’m not a navy men, I lead marines and follow the captain’s order, that is all that I know about naval command. But if you are going to do boarding actions, I’d recommend getting some boarding pods if we’re going to continue our assaults.”

“Anything else ?”

“Yea, you utterly waste us.”

“What ?”

>>5303491

“We’re spec ops, sir. Infiltration, assassination, sabotage, counterespionage, good fashioned espionage, strategic and tactical strikes. That is our best use, throwing us against fortified positions means that we will keep dying, sure, we will break through, sure we will even do so with less casualties and with more efficiency, but we will suffer casualties all the same, and we are hard to replace.” He says looking around the room.

“Then what would you recommend ?”

“What I can recommend and what you can get is up to you, sir. The best strategy would be, and the most common one, to employ cyborgs in boarding pods across all floors, the breaches would then be followed by shuttles full of marines, further widening the beachheads and distracting the enemy. After that, then we come in. Whilst the main assault force soaks up fire and distracts the enemy, we hit the bridge, engineering, armoury, crew courters, data centre, what have you. We secure the tactical objectives needed for absolute victory, whilst cyborgs soak up fire and regular marines eat up casualties. It may be a bit cruel, but it is the most efficient method preserving the most lives.”

“I’ll take under consideration, but how do you expect me to get access to cyborgs ?”

“That, sir. Is your problem to solve. I’m just a grunt, and you’re the CO.” he says with quite some schadenfreude.

“Ah, the burdens of high command.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“Thanks for the talk, Warwick, I have some matters to attend to, tell your men that I am damn proud of their sacrifice and their achievements.” You say before departing the marine quarters.

Now you will have to attend a matter far less enjoyable, heading beneath the infirmary, you enter the cold storage, a facility specially designed to keep everything as unchanging as possible be it supplies, food, certain items needing excessive cooling…or corpses.

You stand in front of the cooling pod, Rasia’s body has ice covering its entirety, her expression frozen and unmoving, her skin unnaturally pale. She seems almost like a fairy from a children’s tale, awaiting her prince charming to awaken her from her eternal slumber.

“The body will remain the same no matter how hard you look, captain.” The doctor says.

“I know.”

“It is a privilege few can afford. To not only retrieve a body lost in space, but to also maintain it.”

“I know.”

“Her family will be grateful, captain.”

“That, I do not know.” You say, earning a subdued chuckle from the doctor. “Had you done this before ?”

“Preserve a body for burial ?”

“Console someone on their loss.”

“I have, no matter how much my profession involves healing, it too involves dealing with death and its consequences suffered by the living.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

“If I am no longer needed, captain. There are still lives I must save.” You simply give the man a nod, indicating that he can leave.

>>5303492

I am sorry, Rasia. I already prepared a message informing your son. I can only hope that he does not hold rage and pain in his heart. Thank you, thank you for believing in me. You think to yourself before turning around and leaving the room.
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“Designed to funnel opponents ? So they not only expect, but want to be boarded ?”

“Correct, the design of the vessel is built upon the philosophy of making it as inconvenient as possible for someone to assault, that is why the structure is so labyrinthine.” Iron says.

“Much to the annoyance of anyone trying to take it.”

“Indeed.”

“Anything else you had found ?”

“The entire ship has intercom design in such a way that it could blast propaganda 24/7. From the records I found to be, exceptionally patriotic and self-sacrificial.”

“Is it effective ?”

“Subconsciously, yes. The propaganda does not stop even if you are sleeping, just at a low enough frequency to not be an annoyance.”

“So they are literally brainwashing their soldiers.”

“Effectively. From the records that had not been utterly wiped, simple historic facts, gossips, news and the like. Scorpio believes that a good defence is a good offence. They also seem to practice a mixture of medieval Chivalry, codes of Bushido, Youxia, Futuwwa and Furusiyya, as well as Pashtunwali alongside numerous others.”

“I have no idea what most of those are.” You say flatly as possible.

“Simply put – “death before dishonour.” Do not expect surrender unless the overall commander deems that they had sufficiently fought to defend their honour. On the plus side, their codes of conduct means that if you are taken prisoner, you will not be mistreated, ransomed most likely.”

“A bit of silver lining.”

“They would also expect the same, ransoming alongside your vessel. Like a knight redeeming his steed.”

“Dealing with a bunch of honour obsessed maniacs, wonderful. But if they are so concerned with it, why the hell did they finance a madman to act as a pirate behind our lines ?”

“Historically speaking, said codes were usually broken, most of the times by those at the very top of said power structures.” Amusingly Iron responds.

“Wonderful, the rank and file are batshit, and the command is full of snakes.”

“Just like your own duchy.”

“Haven’t seen any of that.”

“Yet.”

“Were you able to get its blueprints ?”

“To reverse engineer it would be an immense effort. From my attempts my access was blocked by onboard DRMs.”

“Then why haven’t you cracked it yet ?”

“If you wish to turn a megacorporation into an enemy, I can.” He says with annoyance. “But. I must point out, that this ship was manufactured by Hildern & Muyuko Ltd. The exact same company that manufactures Roy’s Crusaders.”

“Bastards playing both sides.”

>>5303493

“More like bastards playing all sides. Megacorps are so intertwined that one subsidiary or another would see any corporation be on all sides in any conflict.”

“Either way, we bleed and they get paid. What would be your philosophical stance on such matters ?” You ask with some serious sarcasm.

“Humanity always finds a way to prosper and survive any and all conditions whilst striving to always further make their existence greater and flourish even more.”

“Because you do the exact same thing.”

“I am a capitalist by heart.”

“Anyways, why is there so much red every where ?” You ask looking at the walls.

“Increases aggression, another subconscious way of subtle manipulation.”

“Anything else I should note ?”

“The command bridge is directly linked to the boarding pods. So you can always join in the fun.” He says with what you imagine to be a smirk. “Those two struts at the front of the ship, that is where the pods are, meant to be fired alongside the M.A.G. cannons and railguns as cover.”

“Wouldn’t that run the risk of hitting the same side ?”

“A minor concern when honour is at stake.”

“And they call me crazy.” You shake your head.
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“Quite the fuckin’ scrap, ey boss ?” Desmond asks in his usual rough manner.

“A scrap indeed. By the way, a surprisingly extensive bar you have here.” You say sitting in the quite literal bar aboard Desmond’s Reaver.

“Well, we don’t have those damn strict regulations that would prevent such a recreational lounge.”

“How’re you and your men holding up ?” You ask taking a sip of brandy.

“Welp, most of ‘em are dead, so uhhh, no clue. The new guys and those left ? Glad to no longer be under those maniacs. Nothing like pissing off someone and having your skull smashed in to keep you walking on eggshells. Now ? Now they are uncertain. You see captain, we never really think of the future, and now we are forced into a situation where we actually have to consider it.”

“Can you keep them in check, calm ?”

“Aye, beat ‘em enough and they’ll get the message.”

“There’s the matter of discipline.”

“Listen here, cap’, no offence, but the boys fight as well as they do is because we ain’t so disciplined. We take initiative, the promise of booty is what allows us all to fight. Take that away, and we won’t be as great.”

“Then can you keep them in check ?”

“On station’s and the like ? Aye, ain’t an issue, maybe they’ll get a bit rowdy planet-side in the bars and whorehouses, but they shouldn’t cause overly much trouble. I’ll make sure, err, once I get new, you know.” He shakes his medical issue hand.

“A degree of discipline will be enforced, my orders will be followed, as long as you can ensure that, I hope we will not have any problems.”

“I’ll make sure to do, boss.”
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Ahhhh, the doctor’s going to be pissed again. You think whilst laying on the floor.

>>5303494

“Please excuse me, captain. I lost it there, it is entirely my fault.” Marc says in the training room aboard “Horus”.

“No, its fine. Just, you really went full on, I hadn’t expected that, and my body’s still not 100% yet.” You say consoling, feeling the pressing pain on your chest.

Marc had been distracted the entire time you tried talking to him, so you decided to ask him to spar, something that he loves to do. And then he attacked. Attacked far, far harder than you would have thought you’d see from the timid little Marc, always holding back in fear of injuring someone. A shame he decided to come out of his shell when you were so heavily injured.

“Come on, help me back up.” You say extending your arm, which Marc grabs and raises you upwards.

“Feel like talking yet ?” Wincing you ask.

“Ah, yes, please excuse me, captain.” Marc says with his usual stammer.

“It’s fine. How are you holding up ?” Sudden pain strikes your leg. “Come on, help me onto that chair.”

“I am, I am doing fine, sir. As any officer in their imperial majesty’s navy should.” He says trying to hide his clearly downtrodden expression.

“It is fine to be stoic, but do not let your emotions bottle up. I can attest from personal experience that it is unhealthy.”

“I understand, captain.”

“So, your opinion of the operation ?”

“Deadly, sir. I think we should have followed our original orders to simply locate the pirates and then call for reinforcements.”

“Didn’t have the time for that Marc.”

“I know, sir. I know.” His eyes twitch, as he tries to hide his emotions, but you can see his lips quivering.

“Do you have any recommendations ?”

“If we’re to operate as independently as you had grown to like, captain, we need a bigger force. We went against a single heavy cruiser, and look at what happened. If we’re to face other houses, heavy cruisers are ships of the line, flying in support of battleships or conducting independent operations in twos or trios, or what other number may be deemed necessary. We either need more ships of our own, or for you to get more friends captain.”

You give a light laugh. “That latter part might be difficult.”

“In that case, perhaps you would grant us more autonomy, captain ? I have excess funds, so do mosts, and after this we will also be given our fair share. We could invest that into our fleets.”

“Fleets loyal to you that can be split from me at any time, since you will more or less form your own individual groups, not to mention that every officer will gather what they like, not what I need.”

Avoiding your gaze, he stammers. “Ye- yes, sir. That is correct.”

“I’ll think about it. Thanks, Marc. If you ever need to talk, come and find me.” You say giving him a smile.
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“Come to gloat, tyrant ?” The self-proclaimed Emarian Queen, Katrya, asks.

“Am I not treating you well ?”

>>5303495

“You’ve thrown a woman of rank into a holding cell, without any accommodations befitting someone of my stature.”

Why did I even come down here ?

“I’ve come to see if you are willing to talk about the situation within the kingdom.”

“I had already told you everything that I would. You’ll get nothing more from me until my accommodations improve.”

You sigh, it is about as much as you had expected. The haughty princess…queen, supposedly, is as petulant as you had thought. You doubt that her faction even exists anymore. With their head of state gone in wild space, most would presume her dead by now. Her value continues to decrease, but you suppose the Countess would enjoy having her as a trophy nonetheless.
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About 11 or so weeks had passed. 11 weeks of boredom laced with dread. Boredom, as there is nothing for anyone to do but sit on their asses, you can’t even launch patrol missions, due to your exceptionally limited and exposed forces. Dread, because if the Emarians, some remaining pirates, or another equally deadly force stumbled across you, you have no idea if you would be able to fight them off.

But finally, a large force had arrived at system’s edge. That had forced your entire fleet, what’s left of it, to scramble into positions.

“Captain, two light cruiser signatures, alongside a dozen destroyers and a myriad of frigates, full burn towards us.” Sensors officer reports.

“Comms, send a hail.” You say sitting on your captain’s chair, nervously awaiting what’s to come, whilst maintaining a cool expression.

Moments later, the comms officer’s face is washed with relief, as he turns to you and says. “Sir, confirming identity, it is Baronet-Captain Athemar Todoroff, he has arrived to both assist and relieve us.”

The entirety of the bridge almost collectively sighs in relief upon the news.

“Patch him through.” You say.

“Patching through now, sir.” The comms officer responds.

“Knight-Captain Proenza, reinforcements have arrived. We’ve brought plenty of supplies and medical equipment.” Todoroff says with a chirp in his voice.

“Good to see you as well, and congratulations on your new title.”

“Thank you, Knight-Captain, I suggest you fall into formation, we have friendly forces in the following systems, the rests of the Countess’ knights have secured safe passage back to friendly territory.”

“What of the Aggressor ?”

“It will be shipped back once we carry out emergency repairs upon the engines.”

>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

>”I know this is asking a lot, but there is this waterworld…

>(Write in)

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>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

while i am possibly the one looking after the water planet the most, with all of the shit we already have waded our people through, and all of the resources being used to save our asses, i think we should just keep the water planet under wraps until we get into civilized space. with maybe something like a small force being organized to become a guarding force for it, or at least as a recon force to see if it's still holding up. this way we could try to also forge documents for justifications as to why the subspacers are actually a small outpost 100+ years ago lost to the breakdown of routes in the local area. or something else which might be able to give good enough reasoning that other people might not wanna look into it further than needed.

but, that is something we will deal with when the choice comes, right now i just think we should shut up and accept the help.

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

Lets get back to civilization and see how things go back home.

>>5303497
>>”I know this is asking a lot, but there is this waterworld…

>>5303497
>>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”
>"What happened with you and the rest while I was spilling enough enemy blood to drown my own crews?"

>>5303497
>>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”
>>our reason for when we are questioned is that we did not have time to call for reinforcements and that if the enemy was allowed to escape into another kingdoms territory they could have come back at any time or when most of house Roy’s forces were out of sector to cause havoc and that the presence of a Heavy cruiser and battleship analogue, however crude, could have laid waste to our countesses territory if they had come back when least expected and that for the good of our countesses and Roy’s realm we had to take this enemy force off the board so that the knife to the back of the realm was stopped before it was to late.

Best to have an explanation and as far as reasons go wanting to stop a heavy capital ship fleet that was retreating into enemy territory where we couldn’t track them is a good one. After all they have already taken out one knights fleet when they were caught unawares and if they came back while our countess was off with most of her fleet or most of us knights were deployed to the front then that fleet could have been a death blow to our countess and a significant threat to house Roy that would (ave only gotten bigger as they were obviously being supplied by Roy’s enemy’s

Also a thought but we could let our men expand their fleets with the caveat that they host boarding troops of a makeup we categorize. After all this I’d say we should take some needed R&R and beef up our marine contingent with the recommendations and equipment that our remaining marines asked for. And honestly if our sub commanders specialize than that means we can make an order of battle more well rounded to cover our weaknesses. This break and rebuilding period we need to get as many of these recommendations and lessons learned implemented so our next battle isn’t as pyrrhic

>>5303593
We also need specialized boarders and not marines. it may be a good idea to get some ideas from Ox on hom to do boarding actions and to improve upon it with more resources than the pirates normally have at hand.

>>5303484
>His right cheek is almost entirely gone, exposing the teeth for all to see, the front of his nose is almost entirely gone, the two dark holes tranquilly drawing breath as if nothing had happened. The rest of his expression scarred and twisted. Surprisingly, his eyes are entirely untouched, those cold eyes regarding you as they had previously, as if nothing of import had occurred.
Are we sure we are the Ghoul?

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>>5303593
>>5303599
i have a bit of an idea that might be an interesting way to get around this. now currently, it's just a thought floating around in my head, but hear me out here laddies and lassies.

as of what we've experienced recently, we've discovered how hard and tough a nut to crack augmented cyborg soldiers can be. and that's with ramshackle materials from a pirate fleet.

so, what if we were to, as iron even said he could possibly do, and warrick advised, get some combat cyborgs?

now i know, this is a giant humans rights violation in principle if it was to be done in any capacity which might not be consentual, but i have an idea to work around that.

what if we were to start our own outskirt company specializing in combat specialists?

the basic idea, being that we offer up a contract to anyone in the sector and sectors nearby (via advertisement) that one can join up with this company, with a service time of about 10-20 years (depends on if one was already in the navy) after contract being written (with possible contract renewal if the person undergoing the cybernetic enhancements chooses so)

the people under this contract, are still citizens of house roy, with all of the standards that come with it, but are unable to work for that period of time for anyone else unless they are working with said group under contractual agreement between the company and the group requiring the needed service. but while under contract also get a wage equivalent to twice that of any nearby worlds management positions. rights to break the contract if at any point they become unable to continue either physically or emotionally their work, rights to their bionics after the contract ends, and military educational verification on their papers for future job prospects(kind of like a very high level internship for being able to rise in the military ranks later on)

it's a sweet deal to most people out here in the front, it might cost us some points every time we are to buy ships, but we will at any and all points be recruiting new manpower which are loyal to us, and us alone (within house roy)

of course it won't be a quick program to set up, and will cost alot per person to have augmented, but if given enough time, i expect that it could greatly improve our defensive power, since these people would be trained in not just firepower, but also tunnel ratting our own ships, since our own ships would be the only areas where they would work at any given point. to learn it inside and out.

one could even split it into two different contracts, with one where there is more guaranteed leisure time and higher levels of personal autonomy within the everyday, even possibly recompense to family or loved ones in case of death if one is to sign up for possible boarding actions.

these troops would then maybe not be as combat drilled in how to defend specific ships within our fleets, but would have more generalized educations on ship layouts from other factions ship designs (as well as house roy designs) and would be at hand to deploy at any moments notice onto enemy ships.

>>5303623
>>5303616
If we do use cyborg soldiers, they will have to be cyborgs lite. We need sane (as sane as a person willingly joining our crew can be) men and not madmen.

>>5303624
well, i would imagine it would be a gradual process where the medical personnel of the ships/possible company specific doctors are to oversee the cyborgs mental and physical health as they undergo the process in the span of months, with the doctors essentially saying if a person is able to undergo further mechanization until it's deemed at it's best stopping point.

some people might not be able to go very far in this process, and would be able to either terminate the contract due to not being able to physically or mentally able to fulfill their needed role, but in that case they will be discharged with full closure as to not try and trap them in any fucked up system of legistrature, since even if a ghoul, we are still a damn human damn it.

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.

We went above and beyond. Time to rest and reconsoldiate.

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”
Why do I have the feeling that the countess is going to be upset and that we are about to get dressed down?

>>5303497
>”I know this is asking a lot, but there is this waterworld…

>>5303628
Or we could just get lots of drones and droids to add muscle for low number cyborgs. I am sure that our new ship does have space for that kind command and control, hell we would not even need exo for it just men to control them and maybe some swarm VI.

>>5303497
>”I know this is asking a lot, but there is this waterworld…
>Ask Iron about getting us some cyborgs
We really need to invest in baseline and augmented troops. And maybe think about letting some of our lads go on to do better things. Clearly though, we were meant to be a Scorpio at heart.

Look at those pansy ass knights getting all the rewards for our fucking success in the Star League, meanwhile our force is dying in droves trying to fight off heavy cruisers and Monstrosities. Fuck off Todoroff.

>>5303582
We were never told to expect pirates to have a damned heavy cruiser out in the boonies, and while I agree that our losses were excessive, who honestly expected us to face an Aggressor and the Abomination as the pirate’s last hooray? Like fuck, these pirates were talking about getting a battleship operational, that the last thing we needed.

I generally agree that we should’ve been better, and that we clearly need more friends and ships for the missions we’ve been taking.

>>5303497
>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”
So, main lesson learned, stop being so damn wasteful with our men. We should definitely take an easier job next time and be a bit more cautious about losses. We should get one or two new officers too, to replace the losses, but also try not to lose any more.

>>5303683
We lost most of our fleet, but we also got cold hard proof that Scorpio's fucking with Roy. Probably no promotions coming our way, but hopefully no court martials either.

>>5303878
>no promotions for dealing with an unprecedented pirate threat and facing/securing an Aggressor, which logically shouldn’t even have been in the boonies, let alone with pirates

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>>5303497
>>”Thanks once again, can’t wait to get back to civilized space.”
IDGAF what the manual says, we kicked ass, punched above our weight against heavier classes than ourselves, and survived with salvage and hard intel proving another House was up to shenanigans in our backyard. I'm expecting posthumous medals and mentions in dispatches for our dead comrades, as well as further honours, headpats, and a vatsteak and megalobster dinner with the Duchess herself, followed up with a fat refit budget and a briefing for yet another suicidal hellride, this time against Scorpio assets. (With a promotion to either Commodore or Viscount and a second date with the Duchess if we survive)

Already voted on another IP but I want OP to know he handled Rasia's death masterfully. Have not shed tears at a quest since Kid in Black Company. Just really well done my guy.

another idea ive just had to explain why we kept around the pirates after their usefullness is at an end could be to do what Scorpios been doing to us. Have our men 'break away' with their ships and go to pillage and sack Scorpios land to their hearts content all the while building up a 'subspacer' free port in our boarders which we overlook. Scorpio couldnt really do anything since they started this pirate proxy war and we crushed theirs down hard

>>5303939
A flotilla of deniable fleet auxiliaries with experience of frequent boarding actions and irregular warfare is definitely gonna be useful where we're going, as we can send them to raid commerce, disrupt supply lines, or fold them back into our main force for better salvage chances and cheap thrills during fleet actions.

>>5303939
Honestly? Telling her and the Intelligence Officer that we keep them around for disposable cannon fodder would be acceptable (and accurate).

>>5303951
The Ghoul's Zombies, if you will.

>>5303962
I like that moniker.

>>5303967
Proper marketing and public relations covereth a multitude of sins. We might even get more no-hopers to sign up if we make these shitheads famous enough.

I think we might want to look out for possible civilian oppotunities in the future, invest in some companies, Maybe do some work for a private buisness when the battles around the sector have cooled down?

>>5304038
A knight must have his demense. As we are capitalistic neofeudals, let's definitely commit as much commerce as possible.

>>5303476
Links qm

>>5303728
i think the likelyhood of that being an option is relatively low, especially since i don't think most robots which could be used in a military capacity would would be cheap enough that, that can "just be done"

i think it's either a full on advanced remote cyberwarfare suite costing the equivalent of several cruisers just for the training, equipment and permissions to have such. or a bio engineered unkillable army of slug-people. at least in terms of late stage assault warfare.

the reason why i also mentioned the whole defense company thing to begin with, is such that we are also able to use the general unbroken empire legislation to help us keep these forces in line and within the rules of current warfare. since at the moment, i think any attempt to use something like a remote army would break several of the very same treaties that iron spoke of, with the inclusion of making the people doing the killing non accountable if controlling this army from something like the stealth ship we found. which i think is pretty fucking illegal and would be able to get us under a court martialing.

also, we most likely can't demand our crews would man such remote combat armies, since there are limits to our ability to command people even if under our command, including such as taking the agency away from a person weather if they can choose to, or not to kill civilians remotely via remote controlled mech.

>>5303857
>the other knights getting shit for the battles beforehand while we are dying in droves
while there was talk of general combat possibly boiling up again, and maybe some of them got some goodies from the missions which they went on to do, i definitely think bringing up adequate compensation with the countess could be a pressing matter.

>>5303919
unrealistic beyond belief
since while only civilian shipping was lost as of yet, together with a few military incursions, our current losses are.
several cruisers either killed or massively damaged.
nearly all of our destroyers killed
most of our corvettes killed
a noble killed
several commanders and captains either killed or out of duty

and all of this, has been to stop a potential threat.
potential. threat.
you KNOW how much quill pushers hate losses of these sizes, when it comes to the POSSIBILITY of a shitty quality battleship possibly intruding onto the countesses land. since it's like stopping a unattended campfire and saying "oh but it could've gone out of control and killed us all!"
and while yes, you might be able to prove it, dousing the fire with several liters of expensive 400 dollar wine to kill it was alot more expensive than several people coming along with water buckets (aka more reinforcement fleets)

>>5303939
having raiding fleets could definitely be very useful, especially if we are to try and improve our general wealth and not just military strength.

>>5304038
including this.

personally id really wanna do stuff like strengthining the water world and it's possible trade + industrial grasp on the closer systems next to it. such that even if it doesn't get into the unbroken empire, it at least becomes a subspacer nation which will be controlled by us through agreements with the worlders themselves. just like how the countess did in the previous war we were in with the emarian remnants.

i specifically want to do this over just capturing another world which has already got a large industrial base, majorly because i like having something done right from scratch, secondly because we can in this via financially supporting specifc choices improve the world in things which we want more than others. and thirdly, because it's a great world.

just in terms of possible habitability, this is a garden world in comparison to like, the 200 closest worlds in the systems around it. the potential for an actual economic hub, which can defend itself (like it currently does) and which can produce the food required by literally any and all people, and do it relatively cheaply via the bounty of their worlds habitability, are able to attract alot of people who otherwise just want to not starve and do it in such a way that it becomes an economic powerhouse.

planets planets everywhere, but not a single ounce of food to find.
(trying to come up with a version of water water everywhere but not a drop to drink)

>>5304177

Useful links:

Military/Noble rankings https://pastebin.com/gLcTWzXE

Archive Links https://pastebin.com/uWJ38wnz

Timeline of the setting https://pastebin.com/bzhWWDkj

Ships https://pastebin.com/8LxdVHfm

Dramatis Personae https://pastebin.com/epJfFJd7

Knew I forgot something.

>>5304406
Thank you

>>5303616
You know we could just get our hands on some Exos; the AI spider mechs that burrow into ships and tear up the insides. Remember those? Also theres gotta be a in universe equivalent to tachikoma style boarding drones that can assault strong points.

>>5305592
well of course we would also want those, but again, they are a very...brute force killer.
there are situations where we need people who can kill, and not destroy the surroundings they are in.

for stuff like anti boarding, and boarding actions, having people in suits will be alot more effective, and do less damage to the ships we are trying to take. since if we are sending marines or ground troops in at all, then we likely have a good reason to wanna be careful with what we are combatting, instead of just glassing it.

i am still up for getting exo's, especially for what i will call "gigantic pest control" where on our larger ships, we will be having them prowl the outer hull of the ship and rip out any boarding pods which might land on said big ship, kind of like how some birds are allowed on lions and crocodiles to remove parasites and ticks.

but i think, that having cyborgs would help them massively, since while the exo's are good on their own, having support infantry to help them when on the move, or to direct them in a battlefield situation would make them alot more efficient, and have a higher recovery rate if they ever are damaged since there would be support to hold out until we get it dragged back to friendly lines.

>>5305622
>then we likely have a good reason to wanna be careful with what we are combatting, instead of just glassing it.
Let's be honest we rarely have good reason. The anons just want to capture everything even if it means more casualties. It's this attitude that lost us Baron and Warwick has called us out on it.

Anyway; my original point was simply that: robuts could probably fill the same role as cyborgs and be easier to acquire with less ethical quandaries. And let's not pretend we need human levels of descretion; the pirate cyborgs were little more than beserkers, killbots will fulfill our needs just fine.

>>5305659
maybe, maybe not on the whole "if we have a good reason" i know other anons are still gonna try anyways so i can at least come with an idea that makes it alot more effective.

and i think that, robots, when not exo's are probably...limited. i can't imagine an empire which is strangling it's societal and scientific growth for the purpose of quelling possible societal uprisings and keeping people already in power...in power, would let the general public, or even the military of smaller leaders have such tech.

am i right or wrong in this assessment QM? i might just be retarded, but that's what i got out the image of the empire that i have in my head.

>>5305659
>The anons just want to capture everything even if it means more casualties. It's this attitude that lost us Baron and Warwick has called us out on it.

I disagree, that we want to capture everything and i would go as far to say that stealth ship was most likely unique target and therefore very good target to try capture and this campaign was also outlier as their was little to no support for others fleet or friendliess. So more ships we could from different source the better we could do our mission.

Sidenote we were against pirates, so why should we not raid and take the flying lootboxes.

In the end we lost 3 our destroyer and 2 Rasia’s destroyer in three turn. Meanwhile we destroyed 2 times weight of Aggressor and capture one Aggressor. I think we did won in tons but lost of Rasia really makes it Pyrrhic victory.

I think in the future we should cripple ships before trying to board them or ambush them if we want to board them. As it seems to work or just make them out right to surrender.


>>5305686
More ships is more ships. But yeah we need the better boarding actions or just discard boarding action as whole and try to get premium repair ship to salvage enemy ships

>>5305686
Actually, why don't we ask Iron about designing us some killbots. Something that can fulfill the role spearheading a boarding action and can easily manufactured and maintained by the Countess's industrial base. Should be a like minor hobby project for a sentient of his capability.

>>5305699
>that stealth ship was most likely unique target and therefore very good target.

Which is exactly why it was an obvious death trap. I don't think I was around for that vote, but the second we saw that thr super sekrit organisation wasn't even trying to resist the boarding action we should have pulled Baron out, but anons just couldn't resist the allure of capturing a stealth ship and had to hold out for a crit success.

It's this mind set that pisses me off, the anons just keep wanting to push our luck, this is how we became the Ghoul. Only reason this quest isn't over yet is because the QM gives us plot armour.

>>5305686

>am i right or wrong in this assessment QM? i might just be retarded, but that's what i got out the image of the empire that i have in my head.

The sort of robots you talk about exist, but they run into the issue of costs for what they are. Since neutronium fucks with A.I., the robots here necessitate V.I.s instead. Basically, it is just a really advanced script of IF something THEN something. As such they lack adaptability and flexibility. There are numerous ways of fucking with them as well, specific ammo, dedicated EMP weaponry, interference with its communications network. Utilizing them would require trained personnel meters behind directing the bots out of fear of interference and hijacking of them as a whole. There are numerous sizes and varieties of bots, but if they are used they are usually employed in low population coreworlds, since they can afford it and they would rather not overpopulate their worlds, whilst overpopulated worlds employ people in order to avoid social unrest and because with supply so high, the salaries can be low.

At the end of the day, the military prefers biologicals or A.I.s over mindless robots, though they can be used rather effectively as previously mention security personnel, presuming they have the facility's map in them, or for mass wave assaults meant to soak up damage and fire allowing organic soldiers behind to close the distance, but to be honest, with so many people around, regular soldiery in protection suits is more often than not a cheaper option and a better one as well. The bots will move forward regardless of the artillery fire getting blown to bits unless given a different command, whilst human soldiers would quickly figure out that there are caverns underneath them that they had previously missed so they will change the strategy on the fly and use that to get out of the barrage.

As for societal reasons ? Most bots have inbuilt tracking and DRM systems in them, usually by the corps that build them, and aaaall of them have shutdown function installed. So you either build one from scratch, or you are really, really good at what you are doing. All it takes to crush a rebellion relying on bots is a single imperial decree.

>>5305714

>QM gives us plot armour

Oh believe me, bullshit luck had saved you more than once, given that last battle, there were about four or five occasions where the dice saved you and utterly baffled me. I do not pull punches, if you do a dumb, you better hope that the dice is smiling upon you.

>>5305716
I meant that you allow the MC to live so that story can continue, not that you don't punish our collective stupidity. You've done plenty of that.

>>5305714
>No plot armor. t. qm
>He who dares wins

They did not fight back as they got crit fail. They would have try to ran away otherwise

>>5305714
if its any consolation anon, with Alpis death this most likely means that Fergus will have to really reevaluate his tactics now meaning anons can stop being retards.

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>>5305716
thanks for the clarification, since this does indeed change some things.

>>5305714
i really want to mention, even if we were to ask iron for it, i don't think he even should be able to do it within a reasonable amount of time.

to create a whole design for a singular, not even talking about multiple different machines, which can have their each and every individual part work together in near to perfect harmony to carry out tasks is a loooong and arduous task. not even taking into effect that one would need all of the ways to fabricate each and every single individual piece, which we'd need to do if we don't just take individual pieces from other robots, but even then if we were to do that, the DRM problem would just come back into the fray as another massive problem. industry is low and massive, to want something new, it has to lumber it's way into position and only then, can it begin to do what is being asked of it.

what i could work with, is stuff like the personnel i talked about, with the corporate cybernetic army, is stuff like technicians and specialists working smaller drones which can locally help with stuff like firepower. such that one might employ a squad of 1 leader, 2 technicians, one of them being logistic carrier and the other armament controller, 2 heavy weapons specialists and 5 infantrymen.

that way, we are able to get use out of biological brains where they are needed, and can use robots where they can do dumb labour, like their purpose have been for the entirety of human history, since the waterwheel was created.

I just want us to have an exo mech again, i thought it was pretty cool, and now we finally have the force to financially support it.

Oh btw qm, can one buy stuff like industrial ships that can mine asteroids/ possibly convert one of those drydock ships the countess has/had to also be able to smelt it’s own resources on the go?

>>5305780
>I really want to mention, even if we were to ask iron for it, I don't think he even should be able to do it within a reasonable amount of time.

Iron was ready to jury rig and automate an entire space station should we have wanted it. I think he can create a DRM free kill bot design in a reasonable timeframe. Besides if mass produced 3D printed parts are a thing then the only obstacle is DRM and if we get around that then we're in business.

All the limitations the QM mentioned are fine. Stupid and requires proximity to an operator? No problem, we just need them to soak fire and destroy what we point them at. Expensive? It's not like we need more than a handful. The cyborgs massacred scores of our men. Even if they're not quite as dangerous we'd only need one bot per squad, even fewer if we're only equipping a few select breacher squads, and given that we've only got 25 marines, something like 1 bot per 10 marines is totally doable.

I'll stop talking about killbots now. If we still can't get any so be it.

>>5305793

>Oh btw qm, can one buy stuff like industrial ships that can mine asteroids/ possibly convert one of those drydock ships the countess has/had to also be able to smelt it’s own resources on the go?

If you can afford it, you can buy more or less anything.

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>>5305699
I think a lot of anons are operating on an action hero idea of doing things, where we can rush in and succeed no matter how dumb it is because it's cool. We've sort of succeeded so far by sheer dumb luck going off here >>5305716 but I really think we should ease off for now. Tardrushing the enemy plays into our aggressive personality, but there's only so far we can go before we hit a wall and go splat. Hopefully we learn this lesson.

What are anons thoughts on letting our captains have their autonomy to make their own fleets?

>>5306708
Sure, as soon as they do enough to get us our Commodore's pennant. Til then, let's keep our boots firmly upon their necks

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>>5305804
i kind of do think it was kind of very...convenient that iron was able to do that. BUT i could at least kind of understand it since most of the components for a station would most likely just be ship components in different sizes since stations are for the most part, just generally immobile ships with small things like orbit correcting thrusters being the only form of thrust it has. the station basically being the general body parts of the blown apart ships cobbled together with ducktape and slowly welded better and better together until it was able to call itself a new self contained system which was able to continue it's own existence.

with much, MUCH smaller stuff like these robots, there is a lot less leeway, since components have to have millimeter to 0.01mm tolerances in terms of size. with all of the pieces having to fit perfectly together since there isn't really a lot of possible ways such small pieces of tech can work other than their intended uses, while the station components could've likely just either been throttled or overclocked depending on what it needed to have done in relation to the rest of the components.

now, this of course wouldn't be a problem if we could just use already existing mechanical parts, but again that's...well as our QM said, it is likely we will just get an entire megacorp to try and get our asses if we are to rip any of their assets and produce our own variety of em. copyright laws are scary man.

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>>5305832
how much would that cost? interesting thought for the next buy. though id likely give two different builds (or more) for what our fleets could look like then.

>>5306689
i think the problem is, that going slow and steady can become boring.

i personally think, slow and steady can work great if there is great character writing and universe expanding happening in that time, which is why when i look back to the traveling between systems, most of it was just one or two posts about the system, one we might not see again, and maybe getting fucked over (btw we still have the exo mech materials from that one system, don't forget we have the materials to make one if we find the industrial capacity to do it)

so i just think if we are to go slow and steady, we simply need more characters to banter off of each other in the time when it is slow, characters we then can get attached to, such that we might get salty again about when there is a possibilty of them dying in the next battle(this is a joke, but having characters we can get into and explore more would definitely be able to up the stakes i think)

>>5306708
i think there is alot of merit to it, though right now my thoughts are more of creating smaller groups which can do their tasks.

one of my ideas, is:
onslaught sequence
raider fleet, or generally a fleet made up of non imperial forces.

Antonian principle
named after mark anthony of the roman empire. made up of marc and Kenne with them being co-captains

iron heart
led by Tetreault. she will effectively be kept as a more "errant boy" role with her tagging along the main force of proenza & datz but will be sent off if a otherwise new objective shows itself to be close by and safe enough not to warrant the main fleet to go there by itself.


i want to keep datz close by in our force, since i think there is alot of possibility for her to open up and generally begin being alot more personally relaxed around proenza if she actually get's to be around him more. if the bar scene with her says anything, i think she would also likely be the only one around which would be easy to have open up initially as well, since she likely hasn't gotten alot of positivity through her or her families life.

what are your guy's thoughts? i want to hear how it is in yer opinions.

I have some bad news anons. I found today that I will most likely be going abroad for work, which is good because many, many moneys. Bad news, I do not think I will be able to continue the quest. I will try to write out enough to have you guys interact with the chs back home and for you to get your rewards, but no promises after that. My work will last for the entirety of the summer, unless something changes. I had originally planned to end the arc upon your return so it fits in nicely enough, just erm, the break is gonna be a lot longer.

Update will come tomorrow.

>>5306794

>i personally think, slow and steady can work great if there is great character writing and universe expanding happening in that time, which is why when i look back to the traveling between systems, most of it was just one or two posts about the system, one we might not see again, and maybe getting fucked over (btw we still have the exo mech materials from that one system, don't forget we have the materials to make one if we find the industrial capacity to do it)

I can do that, at any point and time if you anons have question or just things you want to talk about in general for characters feel free to write them, that would allow me to set up some more talky talky scenes later on when appropriate.

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>>5306826
so wait, is this permanent stop or just the stop of this generally "self contained" part of the story?

and damn, while i dont wanna begin trying to make you feel emotionally responsible, i can stillsay im gonna be missing this quest ALOT, since i've been here ever since start of thread 2, and have had this quest be part of my daily life for about half a year. with me checking in here about every hour to half an hour depending on when in the day.

having such a daily ritual just disappear is sad, because i really do enjoy your writing QM, but understand you have alot of things most likely going on in your own life, and have decided to go abroad for good reasons.

(btw where are you going to go abroad to?)

>>5306838

>so wait, is this permanent stop or just the stop of this generally "self contained" part of the story?

It would be the end of the arc. I had planned on running a different quest afterwards, which I launched early. Return to Proenza and his adventures would be in mind, but I really just write till there's a good drop off point as means of making sure that I myself don't burn out and lose interest in the setting. My head is also full of different quest that I would like to run later on as well.

>(btw where are you going to go abroad to?)

Finland.

And thank you, anon. I am glad that you had enjoyed the quest so much.

damn sad to see this quest be put on hold but also happy that you are stoping before you burn yourself out and start to hate the quest youve lovingly built. i hope for the best in your trip to Finland and cant wait to see what other amazing things you write. although id say post update here when you write a new quest so we know its yours lol cant wait for more in the future

>>5306869
Lovely country to be a summer.

t. a Finn

>>5306869
thanks for running it, i really enjoyed it
Did you by any chance play star sector, if not you should really try it as its fits kinda to the setting

>>5306869
Thanks for running! I'm sure most would agree when I say that this (and Renovatio Imperii) is one of the best quests on the board at the moment.

>>5306869
Dont poke the bear over there.

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Thread archived, see you all in september!