Turn 49 - Up Ahead In The Distance
You are absolutely certain that Willis knew about this, but hadn’t warned you. The massive bulk of the new Imperial Yacht, HMS Renown, loomed over the palace from the nearby dropship pad, evidently the ‘essential renovations’ work that had been done there had been a cover to prep it for a hundred thousand ton monster of a dropship. The ship was impressive enough, but the detailed work… There was actual gilt filigree and designs adorning the vessel, including a fifty foot tall enameled Imperial Crest that seemed to have the blacks done in sheets of jet, actual gold, and artificial rubies for the eyes. The bottom third of the hull seemed to be solid gold, for God’s sake, and as you watch you see the carbon scoring from reentry and landing fall away under the water curtain of the pad cooling system, leaving the gold pristine. Above the gold, and providing a backdrop for the filigree and the enormous Imperial Griffon, the hull seemed to be an enameled eggshell white that positively glistened in the sun. It looked like somebody had seen an image of one of those ancient Faberge eggs and got inspired.
“The entire hull has a centimeter thick layer of transparent armor of the same sort used on ASF cockpits.” is a wholly inadequate explanation for why somebody
thought this was a good idea. Then you realize that it had to be Willis, and the Lee family is infamous for their flamboyance.
Later that day you tour the interior. The crew spaces are well enough appointed and somewhat oversized, but when you reach the
entire three decks set aside for the Imperial party it again gets ludicrous. Luscious hardwood paneling everywhere, with plush and gloriously scarlet velvet padding. More gold filigree work, acceleration couches that look like they could double as massage tables… oh wait, they all have individual heating, cooling, and
massage functions, not to mention built in drink cabinets. The ‘deck’ is covered with luxurious carpeting, although Thanh is able to point out all the clever tricks used to conceal service hatches without blocking them. There are mirrors everywhere, conformal video screens… then you find the
zero g pool... the bathrooms feature gold plated convertible toilets (with regular and zero-g modes)... there’s a proper old style lounge, a full-service beauty salon, a private and public dining room… it is all far too much.
Sergeant Ngo takes the time to show you the security features, your personal suit of power armor is in a discrete charging cubicle with automated gear to help you put it on in an emergency, for example. From her smirk, you know full well that she was also in on this, and didn’t bother to tell you about it.
Then you peak into the hangar decks and have to resist the urge to throttle your laughing daughter as your jaw nearly drops… gold plated
Eagle ASFs? A pair of shuttles that faithfully mimic in miniature the ridiculously gaudy exterior of the ship itself?
This monstrosity has to cost more than a dozen regular combat dropships! And just as you are winding up to complain about the sheer extravagance and waste of money, Willis pulls the most treacherous move yet and reveals that the entire thing was paid for via a subscription campaign conducted by schoolchildren throughout the Empire and the decoration scheme had been the one the darling little demons, including some of your own grandchildren you realize, voted for.
So you grit your teeth, smile broadly, and pretend to be totally fine with it all, even as the economist in you curls up and sobs in the corner joined by the infantrywoman you once were. At times like this you miss the mud.
Parliament, especially the Lords, is being unusually helpful, working with your advisors to make final arrangements for Jeremy to temporarily hold down the fort as Regent while you are absent from the Empire and on your trip to the NRI.
They are also conducting some actual business this year. The scandal from the Griffon Inner Asteroid Belt is spreading, as several other instances are discovered of corrupt union officials taking bribes from corrupt corporate officers to conceal worker abuses. A pattern soon emerges, showing that one of the largest and most powerful unions in the Empire seems to be quite thoroughly corruptible, at least at the upper ranks. Arrests and prosecutions are showing up in the news feeds on a daily basis, mostly of union bosses, but also a good number of corporate officers who’ve been bribing them to look the other way.
Janet wants to unleash the Special Branch on the unions. That could get… spectacular.
[] | Cry Havoc and let slip the Jane of War |
- Progresses the event chain
|
[] | Can’t we all just get along? |
- Progresses the event chain
|
Parliament, meanwhile, wants To Act And Be Seen Acting. Oh boy. There are two competing proposals, both of which have at least some bipartisan support between your supporters and opponents. One is to impose stricter Imperial oversight over unions, the other is to establish independent Imperial ombudsman offices outside both union and management control for individual employees to report abuses to without needing to first go through union or management channels.
[] | Imperial oversight over unions |
- -5 Politics
- +2 support Chamber of Delegates
- +2 support Imperial Senate
- +1 Approval Change
- Prevents certain events
|
[] | Imperial Ombudsman Service |
- Upkeep of 50,000 a year
- +3 support Chamber of Delegates
- +3 support Imperial Senate
- -5 Economy Rating
- -5 Economy Event
- +1 Approval Change
- Prevents certain events
|
[] | Why not both? |
- Upkeep of 50,000 a year
- -5 Politics
- +4 support Chamber of Delegates
- +4 support Imperial Senate
- +2 Approval Change
- -5 Economy Rating
- -5 Economy Event
- Prevents certain events
|
You hadn’t noticed, with how busy you’ve been, but now that it’s reached the headlines you do pay a bit of attention, mostly for the sheer… impact. And that was a bad pun, because the event in question is the collision of a small train of asteroids into Griffon VI’s atmosphere resulting in some absolutely glorious imagery. Astronomers estimate that this is something that happens roughly once every ten thousand years or so, as the supergiant acts as a gigantic broom sweeping up orbital debris before it can threaten the inner system. The extra-system comet that hammered Griffon II is a stark reminder of what could happen absent such protection, and seeing impact features in the atmosphere of the supergiant larger than Griffin’s Roost itself is… mind-blowing.
Some scientists do bring a troubling supposition to you, however. Griffon VI is a failed star, a supergiant that is just barely short of igniting into a full fledged star in its own right. They are a bit concerned, what happens if Griffon VI ever accumulates enough mass from debris to cross over that threshold and ignite into a second star in the system?
[] | That is worrisome, put DoME on the case! | Event Chain VI-D |
[] | Time for Science! | Event Chain VI-S |