The next two months pass in a blur, with most focus going towards the Moonie Crisis. Research is continued in the self-repairing carbon field, and a breakthrough occurs. The technology has been demonstrated on a small scale, but will still take some work to put into industrial or military applications.
Work on an asteroid buster missile is going like gangbusters, until an overly zealous lab technician accidentally knocks an armed detonation trigger off of a table and sets off a cascade of explosions that ripples up towards a munitions bunker near the research facility. 85 souls are vaporized in an instant. The only consolation is that the force of the blast precluded any fires from developing. It is meager consolation, but better than none. Needless to say, the research doesn't produce any useful gains this month.
Work on expanding the fleet meets with a similar calamity. A fusion torch accidentally flashes off and burns through the containment field and outer hull of the orbital shipyard. Thankfully, the damage is limited to a few compartments, but it effectively sets back the construction efforts by a month. Only one new frigate, a new mine corvette, and four fighters are produced.
The defensive system is expanded without incident, doubling in effectiveness. Videos of its performance in the first attack are shown to citizens, bolstering morale and reducing some panic. As part of that effort, a new lens is put in orbit above Gaia.
The Moonies are observed using several different means: telescopes, stealth probes, and various electronic monitoring programs. A breakthrough occurs when a stealthed probe transmits the location where asteroids are gathering, at a Lagrange point between the two gas giants. It is jammed as soon as it transmits the data back and never heard from again, but the information will be useful if additional attacks come. The efforts fail to produce any evidence of how the asteroids are moved, be it via ship or a central location.
The lingusts believe that they may have uncovered some of their earlier mistakes, and reach out to the Moonies once more. This is their response, as best as can be deciphered. "Your [assault or entry] into our [home or space] was not [good or okay]. Consider yourselves warned. Any additional aggression will mean [death or pain]. Our [warning or demonstration] was just that."
The politicians in the Grand Parliament see this as a chance for reprieve and reduced tensions, and the generals recommend no further attacks, given their society's decentralized nature. After the carnage of the quickly ramped up weapons program, that suggestion seems eminently reasonable.
Time lapsed in system: 3 years, 6 months- Controlled Infestation on Aquarius
- In orbit of Aquarius
- Basic in-system commerce
- 2 Nano Factories
- 6,050 person colony on Aries
- Two Settlements (500 people total) on Gaia
- 15 person Xenocommunications team on Aquarius
- 10 Pre-Mavens
- 186 dead
- Bank of animal and plants
- 14 fighters
- 3 frigates
- 1 mine corvette
[spoiler=Ship Types]
- Freighters (variable size; no armaments; no defenses)
- Frigates (100 ft.; mass drivers, missiles, lasers; shields, absorptive stealth coating)
- Fighters (15 ft.; lasers, missiles; absorptive stealth coating)
- Mine Corvette(40 ft.; combat missile drones; absorptive stealth coating)
- Genetic manipulation of complex organisms
- Human Cloning
- Self-repairing carbon (small scale)
- Electrochemical Ammunition
- Aerotransmission
- Strong Magnetic Shields
- Basic medical robots
- Deep Land Drilling
- Combat missile drones
- Mass drivers (orbital)
- Mass drivers (planetary)
- Sensor Probes
- Construction and miner bots
Note: if no location is given, resource is
on ship- Nuclear weapon (1) on Aries
- Shipyard (150 ft. max length) above Aries with small space elevator
- Orbital lenses (Several orbiting Aries, Gaia, and Aquarius)
- Combat missile drones in space around Aries
- Small defensive fleet orbiting Aries
- Small fleet of freighters
- Giant telescope in orbit of Aries
- Orbital defense systems (lasers and mass drivers) around Aries and Gaia
- "Gaia":
- abundant minerals
- 50% water,
- genetically modified, unintelligent animals
- Earth-like atmosphere
- dangerous temperature maintenance systems
- Two Settlements
- Planet B: ash, acidic atmosphere, radioactive, weapons testing platform, small mining operation, nuclear and geothermal generators
- "Aquarius": aquatic world, savage aquatic life, pack-like nomadic intelligent Avians, virulent bacteria, algae infestation: 6% of surface, small harvesting operation, Wrinkled Suckfish Cloning industry, Avian Contact Center
- "Aries"
- Some minerals
- Mars-like with basic atmosphere
- Some bacteria
- Some moss and fungus
- a few trees
- Medium mining operation
- Arcology and colony with survival bunkers
- Medium industrial base
- Small brewery
- Thriving insect creation industry
- Small clinic
- Human cloning and fertility center
- Grand Parliament
- Basic School system
- Space Academy
- Planet E: abundant minerals, inhospitable, small mining operation
- Abundant Asteroids
- Gas Giant A: mysterious interference, intelligent life
- Gas Giant B: mysterious interference, intelligent life
- Can communicate through mental implants
- Produces own electricity via small organ
- Can be given programs to augment skills and knowledge
- Small amounts of Personality Bleeding
- Pack dwelling
- Near-human intelligence
- Nomadic
- Capable of tool use
- Quick breeding rate
- Teach new generations
- Learning sign language
- Dwell on multiple moons around Jovian planets
- Appear isolationist
- Possess at least rudimentary space flight
- Possess gravity manipulation technology
- Maintain an economy between multiple moons (evidenced by traffic between them)
Poll
7 (33.3%)
Author
Topic: Terraforming: Suggestion Game (Read 362279 times)