Turn 26 -
It’s a God-awful Small Affair
In early January one of the three-collar Jumpships from the Dracs returns at the Nadir point, dropping off the
Aqueduct and a pair of
Leopards, probably CV variants. They boost to Griffin IV as a single
Mule boosts out to the jump point, having evidently dropped off its supplies already.
The clock is ticking again.
You grit your teeth, that base on Griffin IV is a sword of damocles hanging over your head. If you go to full lock down everytime it is possible for the Dracs to attack nothing would ever get done and your economy would completely break down, but not doing so risks the Dracs breaking through your orbital defenses and inflicting enormous damage to you.
It’s Sophie’s Choice, in many ways. And it sucks.
You do have some good news, you’ve taken a peak at your three boys’ grades and they all are in the top 2% of their respective classes. Jeremy hasn’t picked a major yet, although he is most certainly on the Mechwarrior track, while both of the twins have cheerfully decided to pick Marketing as their majors.
(What should Jeremy’s major be? Alita is majoring in Economics)
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The initial set of eruption defenses are in place around Mt Griffsport, with the second and third line defenses nearly completed and the channel to redirect the lava flow into the sea fully prepared.
Just in time as well, as
the eruption starts. It’s a bit early, as it wasn't’ actually expected until the end of the year, but it is also somewhat less energetic. The lava makes a mesmerizing sight, flowing slowly yet inexorably, with occasional erupting flares as gas pockets burst. It is absolutely gorgeous.
The already extant defenses put in place make it relatively safe to view the eruption from close range, and scientists, journalists, and tourists are flocking to Mt Griffsport to take in the spectacle. Revenues from these groups are soaring, driving massive economic growth in the region.
Thanh has managed to not only get her instrument rating, but also multi-engine, high-speed, and her full aerospace rating as well. She’s currently going for a
stunt rating, and you’d put your foot down if you weren’t very aware that stunt maneuvers are very much a part of the ASF pilot curriculum.
She obviously gets the adrenaline junky trait from Willis’ side of the family. You’d blame Tyler too, but you are just too happy that he’s doing so well to manage that effectively.
Sarah is back in school and seems to be doing very well in her recovery, you’ve had counselors meeting with her regularly to help with any issues the lost time she’d spent in the coma would cause.
You decide to check out the bunker complex on Castor yourself now that it appears to have been rendered safe. Sergeant Major Ngo objects a bit, but you can tell it’s rather pro forma as she is nearly as curious as you are. You do take your normal squad with you.
Just before you head out Jake shows up with some documents for you and somehow, via some mysterious Polish alchemy you will never understand winds up accompanying you to the bunker.
You spend the flight chatting, he’s got a number of ideas for implementing some of the suggestions of the various focus groups and town hall participants to go over with you, as well as some plans for further engagement.
He’s also a quite good conversationalist, enough so that the flight to the bunker complex passes in laughter and good humor.
Once you land, of course, things get serious again. You are escorted into the facility and they take you first to see the various cached Mechs and the central attraction as far as the exploration team has been concerned, the
Confederate.
Then they take you to the main control room, promising to show you this ‘Star Citizen’ they found so addictive.
You notice that the control room is extremely large for the size of the base and very well laid out. You see several banks of consoles that the team has set warning signs around that are labeled as for the defensive systems.
You ask the team leader about them and he states that they were simply ‘off’ rather than ‘off-line’, so the team is being very cautious about things. The central computer is active, but appears to be acting in a stand-by mode.
It is as he is giving that explanation that Jake, seemingly quite casually, strolls over to the central command console and flips a single switch.
“Authorization Code Mroczkiewicz Able Baker Four Three X-Ray Foxtrot. Passcode Beware the Widowmaker and Honor McEvedy, Wolverines.” he suddenly says, drawing everybodies attention to him. “Initiate command transfer protocol Khan Baker Nine. Your Majesty, if you could join me?” he looks to you, looking far more formal than you’ve ever seen him before.
You glance over at Sergeant Major Ngo, but then make the decision to step over, narrowing your eyes at Jake.
“Your Majesty, if you could speak your full name.” he says, with the same unwontedly formal tone.
“Jacqueline Alexandra Elizabeth Griffith.” you say, still regarding your political advisor with a hint of disapproval.
“Welcome to the final groundside command post for the survivors of Clan Wolverine. Command is yours, Your Majesty.” he releases the button and the light changes in the command center as every single console boots up and the central computer fully activates.
An extremely detailed system map appears on the main screen, showing a level of detail that you’d never seen in any C&C facility you’d made use of before.
Then an obviously computer generated voice speaks up.
“Marking all units with ‘Armed Forces of Griffin’s Roost’ transponders as designated friendlies. Marking all ‘Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery’ transponders as designated hostiles. Comm-Scanner One… operational. Comm-Scanner Two… operational. Comm-Scanner Three… Operational. Comm-Scanner Four… operational. Comm-Scanner Five… operational. Comm-Scanner Six… offline.” as the feminine voice speaks icons flash on the screen, with the first five planets each flashing a bright green, but the supergiant that is Griffin VI flashing red. “Comm-Scanner Seven… offline. Comm-Scanner Eight… operational. No diagnostic data on offline Comm-Scanners available. Comm-Scanner Six went offline 72.198279 years ago. Comm-Scanner Seven went offline 89.89187 years ago. Facility External Defense Systems… operational… safed. Facility Internal Defense Systems… operational… safed. Facility Maintenance Systems… operational. CASPAR Command And Control System Online and Operational. Requesting instructions.”
What… the…
FUCK
Jake looks equally surprised, he’d not expected that…
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QM Note - Yes, this is an AI system very similar to that found in an SDS system, but it is *not* capable of running an M-5 warship or any other naval unit, it is an AI that was developed to serve as a Command and Control assistant for optimizing logistics and monitoring SigInt and scanners.