April: The first year
The VanguardYou tried spreading a special disease under the rodents, but it's of no avail. The disease doesn't appear to catch, at least not for the majority of the population. Meanwhile the rodents continue to be a problem, as they have infiltrated allmost all prefab facilities, and are started to be a serious problem for the population.
Modification of the turtles is much more effective, and should be finished next month if progress continues as expected.
Construction of the moat/ pallisade continues fast and is quickly finished, drainage systems are set up and installed, and soon the moat is filled. Overflow from the moat and river is redirected towards the fields, in order to function as irrigation system.
The land's mostly made up from grassy field and gentle slopes. No sources of metal are found, nor any promising spots. You troops do think they caught a glimpse of a flying thing dissappearing into the distance.
((Any special ideas for the plants being farmed?))
HTIThe localities are rather interesting. Several different species of fruittrees are found, as well as some interesting bushes that might be farmed. However, from the distance a large flock of bird is seen. They're headed in the general direction of the colony.
When your scouts return, they find the others have progressed well with their farms, seeding a form of natural wheat that seems to be frequent in the are. Unfortunately, the birds arrive a few hours later destroying a large part of the farms.
The rest of the settlement focusses on picking apart the colony pod to build some improvised housing.
A radio message from someone claiming to be leader of the Royal Marines has arrived.
Followers of the Machine GodA quarry is constructed, and you have started to mine stone. Moving the stone was rather problematic, but creating a few basic carts was well within the capabilities of our fabricators.
Mining into the mountain went well, and progress on the city is well underway. Already we have exavated quarters for around 100 people, hidden behind a long corridor which can later hold our defensive network.
Preparation of the valley for farming goes well and without much mayor problems. A few local plants have been found that could be viable for planting
Scouts have found another settlement downriver. They appear to be fairly isolationistic, as guessed from the warning shots they gave. No communication has been established.
Production of weaponry goes slowly. The fabricator is only designed for spare parts, and as such getting it to turn out complicated tools is rather hard. Luckily, a nearing energy shortage was narowly averted. An ingenious mind managed to return the shuttle's power generator to function, and it will provide a steady if low amount of power.
Exploration of the countryside is slow, and nothing new is found. Sure, there are a lot of prety panorama's and some nice waterfalls, but nothing else interesting. What is indeed nice to note is that people report seeing a drone takeoff and later return from the earlier found concrete facility.
People are send to the North, where reputedly more colony pods should have landed. They managed to make it through and find the settlement without problems. It belongs to house Argonian. You could have used the radio equipment in the pods though.
House ArgonianA large mining operation is set up. Several tunnels are dug into the mountain side, and the rich ore is extracted and delivered in the town. Equally important are the goods going the other way, loads of timber and supports for the mines. All in all, within a few weeks you have any efficient mining operation set up.
On the other side of the colony fields are being plowed and prepared for planting.
Construction of the wall is well underway, though the iron ore mine is way to far away to be incorporated in the wall. The fields have also been left outside.
There's a large supply of stone, iron and wood avaible, and enough food to last us a few months. Setting up a crude ironworking facility is possible, but an energy shortage might cause problems soon enough. While the Hydroponics system has a seperate powersupply, which will last it a few months, the colony pods don't have this luxury, and will run out soon.
Your men manage to find 3 other settlements. There's a small settlement composed out of 3 colony pods to the North. To the west, another colony pod has been seen. Those moving too the East have also found a pod, but it was completely abandonned and looted.
Last but not least are represenatives of those who call themselves the followers of the Machine god, which apparently has a settlement to the South. You found them just outside the settlement.
The LawmakersThe hunt goes exceptionally well, and over the days lot's of meat is brought into the camps. Snakes, reptilians and other beast, all at least as large as a grown male. While we can kill them easily thanks to our ambushes and weaponry, a straight on attack would be dangerous, especially with our energy reserves dwindling. As such, some have taken to develop other combat methods. While most easily fail, the most stupid one managed to succeed. One soldier succesfully jumped onto a giant lizard, and wrestled it into submission. It's currently kept in a primitive cage.
Cutting the pod apart to make makeshift tools goes well, and soon a basic supply of tools is secured. It's only enough for a good 50 men, or hundred if they share, but it should do.
Setting up the traps proves difficult. A few traps are constructed, but most are rapidly destroyed when the large wildlife from the forest marches through.
Lots of primitive huts are constructed, filling the open space in the forest with ease. Thanks to their roofs made from leaves, they are decently camouflaged in the forest environement.
Royal Marines IncorporatedConstruction of basic factory workshops proceeds as planned, and soon they are up and running.
The factories are quickly manned, and production of metal axes is swiftly finished.
Construction of a water filtration machine is easy. The system put into place uses several filters to extract water from the river, then runs the result through another series of filtrations systems before boiling and recondensing it. The water is then stored into the now redundant oxygen and rocket fuel tanks, after these have been cleaned.
One village is found, from what the chopper can see, it's made up from just one colony pod, and the people around it are unarmed.
You set up a small farm on some of the town square's, but it's immedialty clear that it will never be enough to feed everyone. Nevertheless, there's nothing you can do but try.(( Also, what sort of plants are you trying to plant.))
You send a radiomessage on several different frequencies. You don't get an immediate response, but it should have been heard by a wide range of people. However, with some ingenuity they know also know your location.
While the staff manage to get a crude electric engine working, it still contains several major flaws before it can be used. (Strength vs weight/ size, energy consumption, heat production, energy storage)
An urgent matter arises though, several of the people who have been working in the forests have come back home with a strange disease. They feel letharhic, have fevers and throw up frequently. Red dots on their skin suggest insect bites. On another note, what appears to be a small mechanical drone is rapidly approaching from the south west.
Neptune's HandOur hovercrafts suprise the settlement, and after a short fight all resistance is broken. The enemy appeared to have nothing but basic stun guns used for calming wildlife, so there were no casualties on our side. We managed to loot a fair bit of food, and some boxes filled with seeds. Nothing else interesting was found, so we gathered some firewood and lighted the single colony pod on fire. The smoke was visible for kilometers around.
(+1 turn supply of food, +seeds, +stun guns,+ 100 female slaves)
The attack on the second settlement is equally succesfull. The psychological effect of the smoke, the radio rumours and the impact of several railgun shells nearby their fields (our targetting system appears to be badly calibrated) were enough to make them surrender. They offer you everything they have in food(except that what they need for themselves) as well as some of their riches. Attacking them directly would be more problematic. The settlement is made up from at least 5 colony pods, and they do appear to have real guns.
(Surrender offer: 1.5 month food supply, +600 wealth)
Creating the guns proves problematic, especially the production of ammunition. For now most weapons work electric, with only the minority requiring bullets.
The farms are growing well, and the harvest should come next month.
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Topic: The Centauri Colonies: Game Thread (Read 10033 times)