I need to share the latest dispatches from my present game due to the sheer good fortune involved. For the context, the Lerosian Union (a human outpost slowly redeveloping after a mysterious cataclysm cut them off from the jump network and Earth almost two centuries ago), roughly three years ago in 2434, stumbled across the Marmaras system, which contained with four potentially-colonizable (colonization cost below 3) planets, some of which only required the slightest increase on oxygen to render fully habitable. At the time, this drew some interest but did not particularly recommend itself due to the fact that the Union was one jump away from two 0-cost planets in the Syrna and Megisti systems, while Marmaras was three jumps away at its closest. The fact that the system also included eight wrecks of an unknown species ranging from 7.7ktons to 23.1 ktons made it a moderate target for salvagers, but did not immediately suggest a long-term presence, especially since a network of three star systems (Pserimos, Prasonisi, and Paros) contained eight wrecks between them in a position far closer to not one, but two alien empires and thus needed to be prioritized for recovery before they could be stolen away. Likewise, the fact that Marmaras was at the far end of a rapidly-growing but not yet fully explored network of jump gates encompassing at least seven star systems (the Strongyli network, named after what appears to be its hub) raised strategic questions should that jump gate network be tied directly to Leros, creating a highway to our largest and most important star system when there were serious questions raised of late about our ability to defend against several of the races discovered out there. As such, the Union's primary strategic assessment was to secure the nearby system of Syrnas first and worry about the Strongyli network, including Marmaras, only after a period of military development.
This strategic assessment was turned on its head when an Antikytheria P-variant surveyor arrived to conduct a full assay of the mineral wealth of the system, only to uncover massive evidence that Marmaras used to be the core of a major alien empire: an abandoned colony was discovered on the fourth world out only to be eclipsed by the successful discovery of a partially-intact city on the fifth world (around which those wrecks were orbiting). While the system was confirmed to be mineral-poor, it's just become an absolute priority to secure this system before the nearby alien empires can advance up the jump chain to cut me off from it. This, however, will also have the potential risks outlined above, and given the fact that the smallest of these wrecks also coincidentally matches the tonnage of the three known classes of warships utilized by the mysterious and inscrutable Dragons (Precursors) who are believed to have destroyed several scouts, the risks of opening our homeworld up to direct Dragon attack must be contrasted with the possibility of securing Dragon technology for our own use.
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Topic: Aurora - The Dwarf Fortress of 4X Games (Read 2848409 times)