Turn 58 - Can You Hear The Quanta Calling Back?
You receive an extremely classified report, aside from you only a handful of people have read this.
Atarashi is dead. And thank God that the crews that went down to find out what happened followed the strictest level of CBW safety, because otherwise you would have more dead worlds on your hands.
A particularly horrific bioweapon, obviously released from the now destroyed research facility. According to analysis of samples taken from the CBW suits under strict isolation conditions, this bioweapon is a mixture of an Age of War era Kuritan bioweapon called XCON-73 and a pathogen local to Atarashi that boosted the originals lethality and persistence by several orders of magnitude. Onset time is estimated to be almost a year, making it a strategic weapon of horrific magnitude.
And for all you know, the Dracs may still have samples. That is nightmare fuel, although it is very possible that destroying that Drac convoy may have destroyed any such samples. Luckily nobody had bothered with salvaging any of the
Overlords.
You order the wreckage sterilized with nuclear ordnance, on the simple grounds of
making damn sure.
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More bad news comes from one of the medical institutes working with the freed Kilborough slaves. After significant study they have found that all of the freed slaves had signs of artificial brain damage centered on the same locations in the brain, damage that seemed to render them completely docile. Even the best medical techniques available could only ameliorate further degradation, not reverse the existing damage.
It would be possible for the freed slaves to care for themselves with significant occupational therapy, but they would be an extremely vulnerable population, in that simply telling one to do something in a firm voice would yield instant obedience.
The best long term solution may be to build an O’Neill Cylinder to house the freed slaves, with on-site occupational therapy provided to them, all under strict oversight to ensure that the freed slaves aren’t taken advantage of. Expensive, but may be the best way to handle this.
The Senators from the Griffon II Orbitals have volunteered to have the Cylinder being built there dedicated to this purpose.
[] | Accept |
- When the currently under construction O’Neill Cylinder is completed trade the usual bonuses for the following
- Upkeep - 1,000,000
- +2 Griffon II Orbitals Economy
- +1 Griffon II Orbitals Rating Change
- 1 reroll of failed Griffon II Orbitals Economy rating rolls
- Prevents certain events
|
[] | Refuse | |
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The Imperial Parliament sends you several bills, and it seems that they are trying to be helpful, in their own way. You’re not sure if they are ‘Helping’ or ‘Halping’ sometimes, but still, it seems that ever since you got the corrupt idiots out of there they’ve at least been trying to work with instead of against you.
The first one is a result of extended debate over the situation on Nowa Warszawa. The enormous difficulty being faced in setting up any sort of civilian administration has resulted in both the Chamber of Delegates and the Imperial Senate voting to simply appoint an Imperial Governor and annex the system into the Empire as a whole. Interestingly, the proposal was actually sponsored by one of the second-generation refugees from Nowy Gdansk, and appears to be rather popular among that population.
They recognize that you do not yet fully control the planet, but the argument being made is that it is better to get in front of the challenges of long term rule than have to play catch up, and the locals are proving to be utterly incapable of governing themselves without dueling atrocities.
[] | Agree to Parliament plan |
- Annexes Nowa Warszawa into the Griffon Empire
- Triggers a decision on who to appoint as Imperial Governor
- 10,000,000 upfront cost, 2,000,000 upkeep
|
[] | Veto Parliament plan |
- -5 support Imperial Senate
- -5 support Chamber of Delegates
|
The second has to do with Calliope, specifically Calliope IV. Parliament would like to hold a referendum on that planet on annexation into the Empire, with a package of incentives and a planned timeline for them becoming fully part of the Empire.
The main concern is that this might be jumping the gun a bit. The latest report shows that you are quite popular on Calliope IV, and there is majority support for such a move, but a very large minority is strongly against being annexed, which could cause trouble. The efforts that you are making, while slower than the Parliament’s plan, are within a few years of bearing fruit, so it may be wiser to wait until later.
[] | Hold the referendum |
- Calliope IV joins the Griffon Empire
- Opens up decision trees related to this
- Current ongoing actions ‘Promote Calliope IV Integration’ and ‘Begin Legal Review of Possible Calliope IV Integration’ are cancelled
- 10,000,000 upfront cost, 2,000,000 upkeep
|
[] | Wait until the time is ripe | |
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Nowa Warszawa
The success of the latest offensive, and the news about the false Otomo, has led to an acceleration of the time table for securing the planet.
There are three competing plans on the table.
The first, Operation Black Champion, is a focused strike, aiming to take the main fortified ‘palace’ via direct orbital drop in hopes of securing Siriwan’s little brother and breaking the back of the enemy defenses in a single blow. Both Pathfinder regiments would execute an orbital drop directly on the palace, attempting to suppress enemy air defenses and allowing the main assault force to land safely.
Forces committed to this assault would be as follows.
- Initial Drop
- Pathfinder regiments will make orbital drops, special operations regiments would make use of stealth to strike on the ground
- 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division
- 1st Pathfinder Regiment
- 1st Special Operations Regiment
- 1st Brigade, 2nd Armored Division
- 1st Pathfinder Regiment
- 1st Special Operations Regiment
- Main Assault
- Once the fortifications air defenses are suppressed, these forces will be landed via Newport dropship.
- 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division
- 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division
- 5th Brigade, 1st Armored Division
- 5th Brigade, 2nd Armored Division
- Enemy Force Evaluation
- 1 ‘Otomo’ Regiment of converted Stinger light mechs piloted by non-Mechwarriors
- 2 training regiments of light mechs, a mix of Wasp and Stinger
- 1 regiment of AFV
- 4 infantry regiments
- Fortress turrets (29% destroyed)
The other two plans are more methodical. Operation Tarzan would strike at the next most lightly defended continent, which has only a trio of AFV regiments, a training battalion of Mechs, and approximately 10 regiments worth of foot infantry. While Operation Harlequin is a more conventional assault on the main continent, making use of dispersed landing sites in order to minimize the threat of the central fortress then placing it under siege.
[] | Approve Operation Black Champion |
[] | Approve Operation Tarzan |
[] | Approve Operation Harlequin |
[] | Hold in place for now |