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[Il Palazzo]

Good Luck guys. It'll take forever. I should know.

Defeatist.

[mainiac]

Since we have a computer fool in the mix, we should change the house rule about abstaining in the first election to you must vote for yourself in the first election.  Otherwise, the computer will win and assign two players ministries, which will be unbalancing.

[Aqizzar]

Alright, I got everything working and finished my turn.  What am supposed to do with the save, not having a website to host it on?  Can't I just e-mail it, hence PBEM?

Also, while the game does run, before it starts it bitches at me about not having a disk in the drive, which I have to click off (cancel, retry, or continue, doesn't matter) a few dozen time.  Anyone know a way to make it stop that?

On the matter of House Hawkwood.  We are both proud and pariahs - our nobility is beyond question, but politics has isolated us.  Above all, we maintain the respect of our soldiers, having a long warrior ethic in our heritage, supported by our archives of advanced physical sciences.  Our administration is equally adroit, and well supports the function of our embattled state.  Yet our piety and honor has earned us many enemies, including powerful opponents in the Church and League.  The latter is more immediately problematic, as demand greater payment and offer worse trades.

Yeah, the advanced physics and enemy in the church are pretty pointless, but their from the vanilla.  The enemy in the League just fits with the requisite disadvantage.

[Il Palazzo]

Not only you can e-mail it, but you should.

I don't know about the cd problem, never had it myself. I could send you my copy of the game, maybe it'll work better?

[Aqizzar]

Cool, you got an email address I can send it to?  Over in the SMAC thread, we all put our addresses in the OP (bot-proofed of course).

[Il Palazzo]

Silly me, I thought I can send attachments via the envelope icon under people's avatars.
here's mine: widmack at o2 dot pl(edit: i've just noticed that this doesn't work anymore - try this one instead: widmac at o2 dot pl)
I'll put it on the first post as you suggested.

[Il Palazzo]

Turn no.1 done. e-mail sent. mainiac's alteration to voting rule is a v.good idea.
Bear with my engrish as I try to roleplay a bit.

 The House al-Malik's ways are those of the true scholar. Our Enlightened nobility and Noble Scholars regard Knowledge as their greatest prize and greatest treasure. Through years of strife, chaos and turmoil we have managed to preserve technological Ancient documentations of our fathers' fathers by the virtue of iron will, and iron hand, the centralization of our government and keeping to ourselves. Some say that our ways are that of a despote, while our guarded stance towards barbarians is called xenophobic and anti-trade, or that we outhright disdain trade. We scorn those nay-sayers. Let our achievments in physics and psychosocial engineering close their mouths and open their eyes.
Let them see how our knowledge of ancient strategy geniuses like Sun Tze and Ervinus Rommellus allow our Battlemasters lead our tech-advanced armies to destroy barbarian hordes. Let the traitors of our cause tremble before our supreme internal security apparatus. Soon, all shall recognize our greatness, or fall.
 - [from the official primary school's for young nobles elementary textbook]

Internal security apparatus just sounds so cool, even if it doesn't really do anything. I couldn't resist.

 Official statement of House al-Malik's diplomatic emissary to Imperial Senate:
The Enlightened House al-Malik claims the worlds of Malignatus and Aylon for themselves. Our stance on this subject is adamant and anybody contesting this claim is likely to find himself in a full-scale war.
 Also, We regard the world of Criticorum and it's space as a vital point connecting our sector with the Imperial world of Byzantium II. We find violation of it's neutrality a direct threat to our safety. We are sure that house Decados will agree with Us on this matter and, should said neutrality be broken by some third party, will join us in an armed effort to maintain present status quo.
 It has been rumored that the noble House Li Halan plans on sending their expeditionary forces to Criticorum. We sincerely hope that those rumors are but some villanous demagoge's ridiculous ramblings, as we've allways held house Li Halan in high regard and it would pain us greatly to wage war on our brothers.
 Also we'd like to note that we always liked house Decados' decadent decadence and their adminstative administrating adminstrators. Let's be friends.

[mainiac]

From captian Sergio of the LHSS Wind Rider to Il Palazzo, esteemed lord of the Malik:
"Greetings honored lord.  I apologize for demanding your conference in such an improper manner, but this is a matter of life or death for your soldiers.  May I draw your attention to these scanner logs..."
"A ship of your flag, full of crack power legion troops is currently occupying space above Criticorum, in blatant defiance of the Li Halan claims in this system.  Noble lord, I am under strict orders to open fire upon this ship, sending these men to their deaths, unless you renounce your claims on the Criticorum system in an open broadcast.  I am sure an acceptable agreement can be made after you have withdrawn claims, including safe passage through this system and an appropriate concession for your noble line.  But know that any threats you made will be ignored, I am under orders that can not be challenged.  Your men's lives lay in your hands."

[Il Palazzo]

 Delivered to House Li Halan's ambassador on Istakhar:
 Your ships over Criticorum are threatening our unarmed trading vessel transporting supplies and civilians through space over Criticorum. We demand that You use your authority to put them back in line. Should you refuse, proper action will be executed. And think thrice, my worthy peer, for even your brave warriors are bound to perish under the combined might of Two houses joined together in an alliance.

Aqizzar: Go and tell your pals at SMAC to change game to this one. It's the first turn, and a major conflinct is brewing:)

[mainiac]

Captain Sergio receives no reply and opens fire.

Save:
http://theamazingjex.googlepages.com/PBEM2.sav

The reply of the Li Halan ambassador:
My condolences for the loss of your ship, I wish such a tragedy could have been averted.  However, I am notified by my esteemed lady, Chi Kao that she fully behind the actions of captain Sergio.  Your captain was repeatedly warned to change his course but refused to leave the system.
We wish for this matter to be settled with a minimum of further antagonism and are prepared to pay restitution for your lost craft.
I am compelled to tell you that our beloved lady considers your declarations about our rights on Criticorum and Malignatus to be a grave insult.  The affairs of Criticorum have long been vital to the safety of the Li Halan homeworld of Kish.  It is a world of no particular importance to the line of Malik.  We see no reason why you might claim the right to unilateral action on this world but deny it to us.  Ordering us to leave the system was a grave insult that we had no choice but to reply to.  Your aggression in the Malignatus system is likewise unacceptable.  You insult our brave warriors by suggesting that we have no say in the affairs of this planet.

In the interest of peace, we offer a settlement for the hostilities on Criticorum:
 
We will offer 1000 firebirds of restitution for the loss of the ship which violated Li Halan space, as a sign of the great pain we feel for the loss.

In the interest of peace, we will promise to make no further aggressive actions on the surface of Criticorum.  Those cities still outside of our control will remain outside our control.  The cities are the palace of Criticorum, the military academy of the great desert and the cities south east of the main settled area.  However, we are already in control some settlements and are in the middle of liberating another.  Should we abandon the cities containing the farm, ceramsteel producing city or chemical producing city we control, unacceptable chaos would ensue.  Abandoning our liberation of the factory city when our warriors are on the brink of victory would be a discredit to their efforts.  Therefore, Li Halan forces will continue to maintain control of these cities.

We will accept considering the world of Criticorum no longer of extreme interest to the Li Halan and merely of special interest.  Under these conditions we will allow other power to act freely on or above this world so long as they obey these conditions. 
-We wish for no attacks of any kind to be taken against the remaining independent cities of Criticorum, so that peace may be perpetuated in this system. 
-We will make NO provision against other powers establishing settlements upon Criticorum, so long as they do not begin an unacceptably large build up of offensive forces. 
-We will make no provision against the esteemed line of Malik, or any other house from sending ships through the Criticorum system so long as they notify us with the intended destination of the ships.  This provision is essential to the security of the Li Halan as Criticorum is but one jump away from our homeworld of Kish.  We offer our solemn word that this information will be shared with no third party.  Under negotiated circumstances, we will allow passage of ships through Criticorum without knowledge of their destination should the need arise.

However, the long term stability of Criticorum is conditional upon peace on the world of Malignatus.  In order for this settlement to remain in effect, the houses of al-Malik, Li Halan and Decados will have to come to an acceptable agreement for the surface of Malignatus which allows for the safety of all three houses.

[Il Palazzo]

 Letter to be read before the Imperial Senate on Byzantium Secundus, concerning the Criticorum Incident.
 The unprovoked attack on our civillian freighter has stirred our populace greatly. To calm down their righteous rage, we have to show them that house Li Halan is willing to make amends for the crime commited over the world of Criticorum. We, knowing our people's warlike spirit and depth of their grief, present you with these suggestions, which, when agreed on, shall stop the unnecessary war in it's tracks:

• The immediate execution of one Cpt.Sergio, the main culprit and villain
• To persuade Us, that they are indeed willing to take responsibility for the incident in question, instead of meaningles firebirds, we demand the transfer of House Li Halan's space freighter's ownership to the House al-Malik, as a means of replacement for the one that has been so inhumanely attacked. This request should be granted during the next 4 turns.(what's a turn's lenght game-timewise?)

Having thus assured our trade fleet's future well being, We, the Forgiving House al-Malik, are willing to consent to abandon our claims to the world of Malignatus, on the condition of enforcing the very same laws of planetary neutrality that the House Li Halan proposed for Criticorum.

Of the Criticorum's importance as a neutral spacelane we spoke earlier, and are content to see that Li Halan's Wise Ruler has grown to appreciate our reasons.

However, should they decide to disregard our sensible proposal, We shall be forced to treat their captain's actions as an act of war. In which case, We are willing to commit ourselves fully towards defending our interests by any means necessary.

[Boksi]

I knew I was forgetting something! Uploading the turn!

http://boksi.sitesled.com/PBEMBTURN2.sav

We all seem to agree that Criticorum is, ahem, critical, and nobody should be in sole control of it. Alright. Unless otherwise noted, we will comply with Li Halan's request and send information of any ship's destination traveling through Criticorum.

That being said, I must also comment that if the other houses wish us to respect their territorial claims they must respect ours in turn. We have determined that De Moley and Cadavus are planets of importance to us, being the closest to our homeworld. We plane to expand outwards in time, although we do not wish for hostilities between the houses and will attempt to expand into barbarian worlds instead.



PS: I finally figured out where I got the name for one of my modded races in DF. They're called the Hazak...

[mainiac]

((A turn is IIRC a year in game.))

The Immediate response of Lord Wayne of the Li Halan before the Imperial Senate:
Let it be known that the Li Halan UNCONDITIONALLY stand behind Captain Sergio's actions actions in the Criticorum tragedy.  Sergio targeted a ship acting in a blatantly provocative fashion after repeated warnings that such actions would result in destruction.  Furthermore, rather then attempt to negotiate, the Lord Il Palazzo responded with threats and refused to explain the ships destination.  Having done so much to generate this tragedy, it would be an indignity to watch him blame it upon another for his own gain.  Out of sympathy and the desire for peace, we offer 1000 firebirds as compensation.

The proposal for Malignatus is wise and peaceful.  We agree that so long as no power acts upon Malignatus, peace will ensue.

The reply of the Li Halan to the Decados claims
The Decados' declared sphere of influence is entirely reasonable.  The Li Halan recognize they have an interest in these worlds, to buffer themselves from aggression from other powers.  Furthermore, we declare the world of Cadiz to be of no interest to ourselves and resolve to take no action on or above this world.  It is antagonistic to take hostile action right next to the homeworld of a great house.



Sent through private channels but easily enough intercepted by the spies of the other great houses:
The Li Halan stand by their offer of 1000 firebirds of restitution for this matter.  However any greater sum would ignore Il Palazzo's role in the tragedy. 
If al-Malik are in such desperate need of shipping, we would in the interest of peace be willing to sell a ship to them.  Our asking price for a freighter is 5400 firebirds and our asking price for a bulk hauler is 7000 firebirds.  These are the price of materials needed to replace such a ship and do not reflect the cost of labor.  However, we would be willing to cut these prices in half should al-Malik declare before the imperial senate that they recognize Li Halan rights upon all of the surface of Criticorum except for the palace.

[Il Palazzo]

 Note delivered to Noble Boksi's official representative on Byzantium II:
 Our House sees House Decados' claims as just and reasonable. We shall proceed to alter our starmaps accordingly.

 Excerpt from the letter read before the senate:
 Surely, House Li Halan must think of the Imperial Citizens fools, or worse.
How else would they dare to blame an unarmed ship of acting in a hostile fashion? Did it try to ram their cruiser? Since when does one Noble house has to give any explanation for their civilian ships' destination to some ruffians acting as if they'd have any right to the space above the neutral world? Who dares to set up a blockade of main space lanes and demand a toll of information or outright tries to force some diplomatc concessions at the point of a fusion cannon? Which house so blatantly murders our citizens and destroys our property? How can those villains pretend to crave peace while insulting Us by offering useless trinkets!? Moreso, they have guts to send Us a breakdown of how much it costs to build a freighter, in the very same letter in which they state that Our spaceship was worth merely a fraction of this amount! And that's not counting the loss of civilian life an valuable cargo on board.
 House Li Halan has shown it's true colours. It is clear now, that they're bent on belitteling our Noble House, harming our people, distrupting our economy, and destroying the peaceful balance of powers.
 Still, even now, after being treated with such disrespect, our leader, Il Palazzo, in willing to show forgivenes for all the ills caused to him, under the condition of House Li Halan's immediate acceptance of the terms stated in our previous letter. This is considered a statement, and as such, it's terms are not open to negotiations.
 Should our considerate offer be refused, We shall treat our previous agreements with Lord Wayne as null and void, and proceed to unleash our righteous revenge upon the Li Halan.

[mainiac]

The Li Halan delegate angrily stood and shouted a reply.
"And does the noble delegate from al-Malik think we are fools or cowards?  When a thug points a gun in your face, you do not pause to philosophize on if the gun is loaded or not.  You act out of self defense.  The loss of your freighter was a tragedy at best, but you seem to insist that it was intentional, that you would hide behind civilian lives.  This is despite never having established there were no troops on that ship to begin with!  Pay close attention, fellow lords of the empire!  Such is the arrogance of the al-Malik, they believe they have the divine right to threaten your people and believe no one has the right to defend themselves from such bullying.
"We would never, never, give one talon in payment to those who threaten our people.  What we offered is a gift, freely volentered out of sympathy for your loss.  Such is the patience of my noble liege that we still will offer this gift to soothe offended pride.  But surely, this manufactured outrage must be drawn to an end and a decent peace must be established."