That took a while. You guys are now, formally, the Network, based on the Hub in the Asus System. I wish you guys to know that I DESPISE MoP and his ship names, they're going to make this very hard and I will give ZERO guarantees that the numeric designators you've forced upon me will be rendered accurately into the reports.
The first ships are assembled in orbit around the Hub, five ITCs and three Logos-class fast attack vessels. The Logos deploy to C and find an interestingly icy world. Scans predict that chemicals useful for continued operation may lie underneath the ice layer, accessible if the Network is willing to send some troops to secure the place before moving units in to begin mining.
ITC-01000001 deploys to Alpha, discovering that it really is a rather barren world with a mineral-rich crust and no atmosphere to impede the construction and launch to orbit of spacecraft components. Nothing remarkable occurs, though the occasional impact of an asteroid does require buildings to be built rather durably, in addition to the requirements of retaining atmosphere.
Terrain secured: 4/10ITC-01000010 deploys a BMU to Bravo. Conditions are as expected, and a few dozen units are lost to temperature-related malfunctions and incidents on the less-stable parts of the surface before execution directives are modified for unit preservation. One shuttle is badly damaged when the operating intelligence mistakenly flew too close to a volcano. Unit has been reconditioned.
Terrain secured: 4/10ITC-01000011 and two full BMUs of militarized units push to Charlie, pushing across the ice and discovering new and various hazards to be avoided via future protocol updates. Some combat engineering units deploy testing and sensor gear, confirming predictions of usable materials and the value of this planet, while general forces advance across the wastes to locate sites for industrial equipment delivery and assembly of rocket launch platforms and construction facilities.
Terrain secured: 4/10ITC-01000100 and
ITC-01000101 deploy to Charlie's orbit, catching up with the FASS Mk.1s already deployed there near the end of the season. Their units are primed and ready with basic equipment, presently in storage awaiting deployment to what commanders hope will be the first contact with our "neighbors", who can only be described as the most inefficient and unoptimized beings in this entire galaxy.
It is now the Turn Two Design Phase. You have one design, please spend wisely, and also don't fail or you're going to be recycled into trash compactor units.Ships
ITC (Interplanetary Transport Craft): A less-than-stellar spacecraft, the ITC is a version of the ships landed on your planet when you first colonized it. It is prone to malfunction, slow, and generally unpleasant. The rocket shuttles used to get equipment from the ITC to the ground have a limited capacity, meaning that with the exception of troops and things that can be broken into much smaller parts, the ITC cannot carry any equipment of a size greater than 1TC. It has 4TC capacity in total and uses chemical engines for propulsion. It has no armor or armaments.
Cost: 2 SPP
FASS Mk1. Logos: A reasonably quick, reasonably agile, fairly effective light ship of about 45 meters long with Light armor and three R-4 railguns for weapons complement.
Cost: 2 SPP
Units
Basic Military Unit: (you may rename this if you so wish) A capable group of soldiers trained to operate any equipment you can give them. Field training allows them to keep up to date on the best way to operate the newest deathtraps and self-destructing gizmos you send them even after they’re deployed.
Cost: 2GPP
Ground Weapons
Printed Pistol: Issued to security guards on the colony ships, the only real weapon both colonies have. They are 3D-printed out of plastic, a process which is not entirely reliable, meaning the gun has a tendency to break after prolonged use... or any use, really.
Cost: Cheap
Trephine Magnetic Sabot Rifle: A very effective weapon for Medium- to Long-ranged engagements, the Trephine is a 12mm APFSDS weapon with a 10mm projectile, capable of firing with damage roughly equivalent to a high-caliber rifle or, at maximum power, a light cannon. The projectile tends to fragment on piercing Light armor, doing even more damage than usual to the underlying target. Fireworks displays included with every order of 1000 or more.
Cost: 1 GPP
Ground Equipment
Basic Space Suit: A civilian space suit, totally unarmored and cumbersome to walk in. At least it works well enough, and has a self-sealing lining meaning a single shot isn't an immediate death sentence... most of the time. Necessary for deployment to worlds without breathable atmospheres.
Cost: Cheap OBSOLETE
MultiEnvironment Armored Tactical Suit: A slight improvement to the Basic Space Suit in every way, METAS is a hair less cumbersome, has magnetic boots and some armor so it won't (usually) explode the minute somebody looks at the oxygen tank funny. That usually happens the second minute that somebody remains looking at the tank funny.
Cost: Cheap
Command Radio: Essentially just a very big radio set, capable of reliable communication between planets, ships, and/or other planets. Currently only useful for taunting your enemy. The transmitter dish comes in a single piece and cannot fit in an ITC shuttle.
Cost: 2GPP
Weight: 1TC (requires 2 shuttle TC)
Spacecraft Components
Tokamak-Powered Plasma Drive: A matched set of self-melting components, the TPPD is generally regarded as having been a bad idea.
Cost: A large amount of expensive alloys and electromagnets we're willing to throw away, all of High Command's good will.
Plasma Engine: A Speed 2 interplanetary drive, capable of producing fairly acceptable changes to velocity in combat conditions. Very power hungry at combat-use sizes.
R-4 Railgun Turret: An amazing weapons system, the R-4 is an externally mounted 50mm railgun loaded with 20 round drums capable of firing a three-round burst on a single capacitor charge, while a loading arm loads the drums into the weapon from the storage bay in the ship proper. The turret is lightly armored for protection. Requires a ship to mount it on.
Infrastructure
Colony Defense Grid: The reason you can't instantly invade the enemy homeworld. A series of surface-to-orbit missile launchers, the only real concession to defense the planners of the colony made. How they work is a mystery now, and no one wants to risk taking them apart to find out.
Semi-Autonomous Industrial Facilities: A network of interlinked incredibly well-connected modern factories capable of production of unparalleled efficiency and scale. Provides 2 GPP.
Ship Production Points: 16
16 points: 5x ITC, 3x Logos.
Ground Production Points: 22
21 points: 7x BMU with 7x Trephine.
1 point: Unassigned
Units
BMU-1
- Trephine
- Location: Alpha
BMU-2
- Trephine
- Location: Bravo
BMU-3
- Trephine
- Location: Charlie
BMU-4
- Trephine
- Location: Charlie
BMU-5
- Trephine
- Location: Orbit of Charlie
BMU-6
- Trephine
- Location: Orbit of Charlie
BMU-7
- Trephine
- Location: Orbit of Charlie
Ships
ITC-01000001
- Location: Alpha
- Contents: Empty
ITC-01000010
- Location: Bravo
- Contents: Empty
ITC-01000011
- Location: Charlie
- Contents: Empty
ITC-01000100
- Location: Charlie
- Contents: BMU-4, BMU-5
ITC-01000101
- Location: Charlie
- Contents: BMU-6, BMU-7
Squadron 1:
- 3x FASS Mk.1 'Logos'
- Location: Charlie
1x Research Credit (finished combat spacecraft)