Plot Bunny Farm

Emperor Tippy

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How does Tony Stark get away with being Iron Man? I mean a private citizen is going around invading nations, blowing shit up, and killing people pretty much entirely on his own recognizance and has actual WMD's and even orbital strike weapons under his own personal control.

Simple, immediately after going public as Iron Man he had private meetings with various ambassadors (and phone calls with various heads of state) where it was explained to them that they could have no public comment on Iron Man's activities while exerting their influence behind the scenes to get him left alone and in exchange he would avoid operating in their territory without permission, or he would regretfully find it necessary to return to the weapons business where the US would suddenly find its entire navy and airforce the beneficiaries of Arc reactors, Stark Industries would offer the US government very favorably terms to build and launch a ballistic missile defense system, prompt global strike capability via orbital weapons platforms, and a few thousand Iron Man suits.

He also met with the US President and other individuals of influence and informed them of just how other nations would react to the US jumping ahead twenty plus years in military tech and the fears of how they would respond.

Really, it was just all around better for everybody if Tony Stark was left alone. He could blow up terrorists to his heart's content so long as he avoided doing so in the territory of major players without their permission, the worlds other nations knew that if pressed Tony would choose the US over them and would fully support the US in the event of a major war (and thus starting such a war was not a good idea), and the current balance of power was allowed to exist without Tony obsoleting every non-US military on the planet basically overnight.

---
Could do the conversations as a one shot, maybe a two shot with another meeting with world leaders post Loki's attack as Tony is faced with potentially having to arm earth to fend off alien invasion and the consequences of his doing so.

That second bit really is one of the major MCU plot-holes. I mean Tony saw aliens invade Earth, knows that the enemy is still out there, worries about said enemy attacking earth, and yet doesn't actually try to really do anything to respond? The best explanation for that one is actually the international political dynamics as none of the powers that be want to trust any of the rest with the full panoply of goodies that a serious and threatened Tony Stark is able to mass produce, Tony has serious qualms about trusting any of them with that kind of firepower, and none of them are really super thrilled about trusting Stark with fairly openly having things like an entire array of orbital strike platforms that can have a Jericho slamming into any location on Earth in under five minutes or an army of Iron Man armors deployed from orbit.

Although EDITH does say some interesting things both about the global situation post Snap and what Tony could get away with.
 

Morphic Tide

Well-known member
That second bit really is one of the major MCU plot-holes. I mean Tony saw aliens invade Earth, knows that the enemy is still out there, worries about said enemy attacking earth, and yet doesn't actually try to really do anything to respond?
That's what Ultron was for, to be able to set up the enormous quantity of defenses without having to hand the keys to conflicting states and thus risk a full Lensman Arms Race gone hot. And, well, we know how that went...
 

Emperor Tippy

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That's what Ultron was for, to be able to set up the enormous quantity of defenses without having to hand the keys to conflicting states and thus risk a full Lensman Arms Race gone hot. And, well, we know how that went...
Except Ultron was scrapped pre-scepter. And we know that the Scepter both fucks with the mind (not to mention Wanda's antics).

Even then, Stark could have built EDITH as of Iron Man 2 if he wanted. He had all the needed tech for it at least. I mean he didn't really need Ultron, even if he didn't actually trust himself with control then he could have given release codes to multiple different heads of state (and had his own as well) so that the system could only go live if they all agreed (basically only if aliens actually attacked again).

The reality is that the MCU really didn't want stark obsoleting a great deal of the plot and storyline.
 

Doomsought

Well-known member
How does Tony Stark get away with being Iron Man? I mean a private citizen is going around invading nations, blowing shit up, and killing people pretty much entirely on his own recognizance and has actual WMD's and even orbital strike weapons under his own personal control.
In once sentence, you have the actual explanation and completely miss it.

He gets away with it because he can do it.

Tony Stark is capable of invading nations, has WMDs and even orbital strike platforms. He has them all under the control of a conversational AI that is most certainly more loyal to him than a warrant or letter of seizure. You can never be certain that he doesn't have a automated retaliation protocol prepared for the case that he gets captured or assassinated.

Basically, on the political level, he is a landless sovereign due to his war-making potential. You treat with him diplomatically rather than rule him legally.
 

Morphic Tide

Well-known member
Except Ultron was scrapped pre-scepter.
...Ultron was made with the Scepter that Loki used and broke it to get the Mind Stone to make Vision. He was the second Avengers team-up movie villain. He was the response to Loki pulling an invasion force out of his ass, and took over Tony's drone project of the time wholesale for his plan. By all indications, Edith was a backup plan because Tony couldn't even trust an AI he built: Even Dead, I'm The Hero. And she was a control interface, not an independent actor.
 

Emperor Tippy

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...Ultron was made with the Scepter that Loki used and broke it to get the Mind Stone to make Vision. He was the second Avengers team-up movie villain. He was the response to Loki pulling an invasion force out of his ass, and took over Tony's drone project of the time wholesale for his plan. By all indications, Edith was a backup plan because Tony couldn't even trust an AI he built: Even Dead, I'm The Hero. And she was a control interface, not an independent actor.
Ultron was scrapped as a failed project, then the Scepter was recovered and Wanda fucked with Tony's head, then Ultron was revived and worked on with the scepter right there to fuck things up some more.
 

AndrewJTalon

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Walt Disney is a rather complex individual. A visionary and dreamer, a harsh businessman and tyrant, a conservative yet progressive, and sometimes all of these at once. But his most ambitious project was EPCOT City, the Experimental Prototype City of Tomorrow. It was meant to be much more than a simple amusement park, instead, it was meant to be an experimental community funded by amusement park money and corporate sponsorship. It would have had people living in a city designed by Disney himself and his company, and essentially run by Walt Disney himself. It would have been managed by an early computer network system called WEDCOMM, which would provide everything from closed circuit television to medical data for doctors at hospitals and means of tracking everyone in the city.

EPCOT was never realized in its full capacity, instead merely as Disney World. Walt Disney would pass away in 1966, still obsessing over the city as he felt it was his only means of leaving a legacy as more than a mere storyteller or entertainer.

But, what if EPCOT had been built? Not in Florida, but on a remote island in the Pacific by one of Walt's billionaire friends, trying to fulfill Walt Disney's last great dream? What if he even encoded Walt's brain patterns into the WEDCOMM computer system that would run the city? What if it was funded by the US government as a means of not only testing new urban planning concepts and technologies, but top secret military technologies for the Cold War?

What if the city fell apart into anarchy and chaos, and vanished out of memory with the end of the Cold War? Only to be found again, in the modern day, by a castaway?

If it sounds like the set up for a Bioshock-esque game, that's only because... It is. But given how Walt Disney inspired so many video game antagonists, I thought it might be interesting to use the original concept and grow it into its own interpretation of a private city built by a visionary, eccentric billionaire and how things go horribly wrong...
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
So, here is a Gundam 00/A New World snippet, taking place in Episode 1.

(___________________________________________________________________________________)

Advanced European Union (AEU) Orbital Elevator Military Facility, Traning Sector; October 6th, 2307 AD [TEMPORAL DISCREPANCY DETECTED: Local Universe Year 2307, Home Universe Year 0357 NWE/2457 AD]

The slight Equatorial African breeze nuzzled across Training Field #5 of Fort De Gaulle. I was a more superstitious man; I would say that this breeze is lifting a fog that has blinded this world. I'm assigned to oversee the forces that Central has sent here as part of an exercise. So far, it has been an utter embarrassment for the AEU. The AEU-09 'Enact' and its accompanying drones have been consistently handed defeat after defeat alongside their metaphorical ass.

The 'automatons' -as the locals called these drones- were quickly subverted and turned against the AEU pilot. That cost him a few rounds as he got forced to not only deal with the tiny force of SolForce soldiers but also the automatons he deployed. He adapted, though, but that wasn't enough. The biggest problem that the pilot kept facing is the fact that the local infantry doesn't have the weapons to scratch a 'mobile suit' or any vehicle for that matter, but SolForce does. The looks on everyone's faces when the 'Enact' got sim-totaled by two light recoilless rifles were priceless.

"... and that is what a few conscripts can do against the best of the AEU," I stated. The crowd murmured as I continued. "So far, we've been keeping to our affairs while getting data on yours. This exercise is a taste of what is to come if you are to rouse our ire. Tomorrow there will be a series of public statements of SolGov's actions in this universe moving forward; keep this in mind when you report to your superiors."

"Colonel, we've got an unidentified coming in. Can't get a radar lock on it, but the LIDAR signature is vastly different from anything we've seen so far."

"Sorry people, but we've got ourselves an interloper," I stated to the crowd, "Alright, give me an analysis."

"The scanners are giving us indications of a quantum-decay phenomenon, making radio and microwave-based systems useless. This phenomenon generates a blanket jamming effect, limiting us to LIDAR and LasComm systems. Readings also indicate that the phenomenon is part of the armor structure, strengthening it. How much is currently unavailable due to the phenomenon messing with our equipment."

"Alright then, switch from Sim-mode to combat mode and prepare for possible battle," I ordered, "I want contact established with the unknown ASAP. Get the civies out in case this goes pear-shaped."

"Attention everyone, we're advised to evacuate!" one of the AEU officers stated.

"Wait, that isn't an AEU or SolForce machine?" one of the attendees asked.

"It isn't," I answered as I put my helmet on, "evacuate with everyone else." I quickly switched to the battalion channel. "Get the entire battalion on combat alert and have the MR-01Zs start their elephant walk. All units, do not fire the first shot. Hopefully, we can reason with this intruder before things get to shit."

The intruder quickly got into visual range, and it made quite an impression just by its look alone. The unknown's propulsion system went into an active-standby mode when it touched down, but the radio jamming didn't abide. I quickly task my power armor's dumb AI to attempt to make a communications handshake with the unknown. The dumb AI quickly found a laser-com handshake and made a connection.

"Unidentified mobile suit, this is Colonel Richardson of SolGov. You have intruded on a military exercise and jammed radio communications. Normally, these actions would be an act of aggression. Stand down immediately and identify yourself," I communicated, "You are allowed to defend yourself if that hothead over there does anything but nothing more."

A pregnant pause echoed through the scene while everyone was absorbing the unknown.

Several seconds after the unknown touched down, the hotheaded AEU pilot took out his Enact's sonic blade and charged.

"I knew that idiot is going to make things problematic," I thought to myself as the idiot's 'mobile suit' got trashed by the unknown.

"Colonel, the unknown is going after us!" one of the sergeants howled, "Whatever particle beam they're using, it's particularly nasty. It pretty much went quark gun through a dozen reinforced walls. Permission to return fire?"

"Granted," I answered, "This is Battalion-Actual to all units: initiate combat operations. I want an escape route ready ASAP; I don't believe that this guy is alone..."

MR-01Z/0330-1163-45000, "Premier" - 4th Army, 2nd Multi-Role Fighter Squadron "The Flying Circus"; La Tour Orbital Elevator base De Gaulle Airfield #2

"Attention 2nd Multi-Role Squadron, situation update: we have indications of a second unknown in the area. CentCom recommends extreme caution."

I frown, knowing that my current mission is going to get fifty times harder.

I mentally file that bit of information as my squadron moved up the runway. We're going up against one -likely two- enemies with radar and IR stealth capabilities by their very operation, equipped with particle weapons with quark gun-like damage profiles, and are against my squadron's MR-01Zs, the mainstay multi-role fighter of SolForce operations on Earth.

"SolGov squadron, take off on Runway 7 Right. Godspeed."

I immediately put the throttle to max combat thrust and felt a slight tug as the inertia pushed me back slightly. The powerful 300kN hyper fan engines accelerated my aircraft at 1.3Gs, allowing me and my squadron-mates to rocket down the runway, outpacing our AEU 'compatriots of the moment'.

"Alright, people, we've got two objectives: seek and contain the unknown and any possible compatriots and secure a retreat," I stated, "We know our duty, so let's get to it." That was when half of my squadron peeled off to secure an aerial retreat route while my half moved to contain the unknown 'mobile suit' from causing any more havoc.

"Sir looks like the Helions got the unknown cornered," my wingman Ulysses commented, "we're better off working on finding the unknown's compatriot before it does something..."

A bright pink beam of light burst from the ground and into the Helions, ripping them apart.

"Well, the Colonel is right that the unknown has a buddy," I commented, "Alright, Diplomat, you take your wingman and make the other unknown sweat a bit. Give whoever that idiot is a good old SolForce party crasher denial. I'll take Ulysses and keep our first unknown occupied."

"Wilco Premier," Diplomat answered, "Comic, we've got a party crasher that needs a party crasher special."

"Wilco Diplomat,"
Comic answered, "Hey, Premier, leave us a piece of the first party crasher, will ya? The idiot ruined our planned air demonstration, and I want my pound of flesh."

"Oh, join the queue," I semi-joked, "The idiot ruined everyone's chance at the air demonstration today. I'll try to let you have some, but I can't make any promises."

Comic simply sighed as he went off to the second unknown as I sped towards the first.

"Alright, idiot, let's see what you're made of..." I noticed that the Helions were falling back, trying to regroup after reveal that the very ground wasn't as secure as they would have liked. This, predictably, left me an opening to attack the unknown.

"I've got tone!" Ulysses stated as he let one of his JSM-0320 Mk2s off the rails. The powerful multi-role missile quickly maneuvered before releasing its deadly payload of five HEDP warheads. Four of the warheads missed as the machine shifted far too swiftly for its design, but the fifth warhead managed to hit one of the shoulders, damaging it.

I quickly maneuvered as the unknown opened fire with its quark beam gun. The computer swiftly told me that my left wingtip hardpoint had been destroyed, and with a frown, I line up to send a stream of APHE rounds towards the unknown...

SolForce Space Vessel (SFSV) Sword of Damocles -Sword VI class Cosmo Corvette- CIC, Leading SolGov Jupiter-Earth Convoy JE-97644 - Orbital Elevator Heaven's Pillar Near-Space, Geosync Station

"Heaven's Pillar Actual this is Sword of Damocles Actual: SolGov Jupiter-Earth Convoy JE-97644 is entering your jurisdiction. JE-97644 consists of five Behemoth class LRCTs, three Sword VI class corvettes, and five Shield VI cutters. Cargo is 3,820 cargo containers and whatever is in our 30,000 cubic meters of internal cargo bays. We request docking for the five Behemoths," I stated over the radio, stating our intentions.

"Heaven's Pillar Actual to Sword of Damocles Actual, we received your request. Convoy JE-97644 is authorized to dock in bays 7 through 12. JE-97644, be advised that all defense forces are on heightened alert. It's the 10th anniversary of the Elevator's first energy transmission, and we've been getting reports of a possible terrorist attack today."

"Sword of Damocles Actual to Heaven's Pillar Actual: we receive and understood your advisory, we'll keep an eye on things during transfer," I responded, "All ships, go to Condition Yellow. We don't want to be caught with our pants down. Have all strike craft prep for possible combat launch." Quickly the lights took on a slight yellow tinge as the alert status changed, and the PA system signaled the crew to go to combat stations.

"CSO to Captain Reynolds, we've got a lot of activity with the solar panel shields," the CSO stated, "too much to be just old satellites breaking up." I frowned at that information; an old tactic was to use debris as camouflage for various boarding craft. The fact that vacuum is the best insulator and that everyone and their brother was spewing hot propellant everywhere made this tactic practical, at least for a time. Some local idiots might be using the same tactic.

"Then intensify scans in that area," I ordered, "we might be looking at intelligent idiots using old tactics." The CSO nodded and intensified the scans in the designated area.

"I've got a ship that just left the solar array scaffolding. Distance, about three and a half megameters from us," the CSO stated, "I can't get a good reading on it, from the sensor silhouette, it looks like a civilian cargo vessel." I raise an eyebrow at that information. Local civilian craft rarely goes anywhere near the solar panel array. You're effectively blind in that area, thanks to the array's shields producing a lot of EM interference. At least, if your equipment isn't to Jupiter EMF-level spec and you utilize only radar.

"Send a boarding shuttle with an escort to that freighter. Something's fishy about that freighter, and I don't like it one bit," I ordered, "After that, get a CAP operational ASAP; I've got a bad feeling about this." My bad feeling was quickly vindicated.

"I'm getting neutrino radiation signatures," the CSO stated, "consistent with 50MT thermonuclear warheads. Can't get much more than that." I immediately frown at the information as it is excruciatingly hard to manufacture the local's impressive nuclear ordinance. Especially since most of them -outside of a literal handful of smaller 1 megaton and smaller warheads- were decommissioned, dismantled, and the parts left to rot. Black Section hasn't picked up anything about loose nukes, so the most likely situation is that these idiots managed to make their own, which is very troubling.

"Heaven's Pillar Actual, this is Sword of Damocles Actual; our sensors have picked up possible nuclear warheads within sensor range. We can't precisely pinpoint the vehicles, but they're moving towards you," I communicated, "prepare for possible combat. We'll try to intercept."

"Understood Sword of Damocles Actual, received message and scrambling mobile suits. Be advised: our alert squadrons will take 240 seconds for full deployment."

"Advisement understood Heaven's Pillar Actual," I acknowledged, "Our current recommendation is to deploy most of your forces in our sensor shadow. From what the unknowns are doing, they're probably riding in on the debris to get in close."

"Understood Sword of Damocles Actual. Preliminary battlefield prediction indicates that if the unknowns are willing to spend money on getting nukes, they're likely to ensure that they carry out their attack. Just make sure that they don't get through on your end."

"Rodger Heaven's Pillar Actual, we'll try to keep disaster from happening on our end. Sword of Damocles Actual, out," I responded before I switched from general channels to the convoy channel, "Convoy JE-97644, General Quarters. Prepare for possible nuclear combat." While the locals balk at the idea of using nuclear weapons, back in SolGov's home reality, nuclear weapons are simply seen as another weapon. During ground combat, they're extremely limited in use due to the proliferation of anti-artillery and strategic defense lasers, meaning that only casaba howitzers become practical. In space, on the other hand, is where they're commonplace enough that you can barely walk before tripping over a nuclear warhead in laser-head or casaba howitzer configuration.

"This is Saber 2-4 to Sword of Damocles Actual; I'm getting multiple 'mobile suits' on LIDAR. The silhouette profile indicates AEU 'Hellion' mecha, two of them carrying a missile pod of some kind. If I were a betting man, that's where the neutrino emissions are coming from."

"Rodger Saber 2-4, just keep escorting Hauler 1-1, and we'll deal with the Hellions," I communicated, "I've got a feeling that we're going to have a crazy day today."

"CSO to Captain Reynolds, new quick alert," the CSO stated, "I'm getting a radar null-zone above and below the solar array. The scientific sensors indicate that it's a quantum phenomenon of some sort, but it isn't in our databases." I mentally grumbled as things started to get crazy.

"Keep tracking them," I ordered, "as if we don't have enough shit to deal with right now."

"Heaven's Pillar Actual just sent us a sensor data packet. They've detected four Hellion mobile suits coming their way, armed with the same missile pod," my XO stated, "if they're like our dance partners out here..."

"Then we've got too many nukes in play with too many idiots willing to use them," I commented, "This is so going to be messy no matter what we do. We're just working with far too many unknowns at this point. Since these idiots got a hold of strategic nukes and several groups of mecha, we don't know what else they've got up their sleeve. While some methods are rather obvious, the solar array is a tremendous boon to whomever these idiots are."

"Sir, we've got some sort of particle weapon fire on the opposite side of the station," the CSO reported, "whatever it is, it's unlike anything I've ever seen before."

"Anvil has just reported the destruction of the Hellions," my XO stated, "Uno and Mistral are heading towards the particle fire to investigate."

I simply shook my head; today is going to be one of those days...
 

Spartan303

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Osaul
Had a neat little story idea, but not sure where I want to take it. A bit of a spin off of 'Entry with a bang', as it were. Time period for Independence Day Earth is around the movie time (no second alien attack). While the time period for the Inner Sphere is around 3000 to 3010 time frame.

The Lucretia has a serious misjump and ends up in the deep periphery, farther than anyone has ever ventured. They wind up in the Star system of Independence Day Earth (ID Resurgence). ESD makes contact and the Lucretia crew are forced to ask for help in fixing the jump drives which have completely failed. Here we have the big WTF is going on face to face meetings and Earth learning about the Inner Sphere and whats going on. No one can explain what or how this has happened, and no one wants to try. Especially as there now appears to be 2 Earths. But the ESD wants a look at that FTL drive and decide to aid the scientists of the Lucretia in repairing it. And in doing so they reverse engineer the drives, now making them an interstellar nation. And rather than leave, the Lucretia crew offer to stay as this new Earth appears to be a safe harbor away from the madness of the Inner Sphere.

Earth quickly capitalizes on this and begins building ships. Earth starts sending exploratory ships out in all directions. They find a number of periphery worlds and most of them are bad to decent in terms of infrastructure development, but its all run down and in need of serious upkeep. Also, these worlds are seriously impoverished and in need of investment and economic development. And with the new jump drives Earth can now do that. Earth decides to keep well away from the Inner Sphere for the time being, particularly Kurita and Davion, but unfortunately, due to some serious bad luck....run head first into the Clans. In particular Clan Snow Raven, who by a stroke of bad luck are also doing some exploration. There is talk between the two and soon the talks break down and into a shooting incident that kills several people on both sides, in which Earth is forced to leave a few people behind and escape or otherwise be destroyed. In so doing, Snow Raven now knows where ESD Earth is. Rather than inform the other Clans, Snow Raven decides to keep this information to themselves and decides to pursue ESD.

Earth now has its first interstellar war on its hands when Snow Raven invades but ESD proves WAY more than even they bargained for, which forces them to call on some allies. Thus begins the Clan Secret wars with ESD Earth, and Earth deciding that, in order to survive they need to expand, and so they start gobbling up a lot the periphery powers that have otherwise been abandoned. While at the same time ComStar and the great houses start hearing rumors of something going on in the deep periphery but are unsure of as to what it is. So Comstar decides to investigate.

I haven't really refined this beyond the basic outline. Thoughts?
 

PsihoKekec

Swashbuckling Accountant
How reliable are the 120 LY jump drives? Would it be easier for the newcomers to jumpship building to start building 30 LY jump drives first?
 

Spartan303

In Captain America we Trust!
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Osaul
How reliable are the 120 LY jump drives? Would it be easier for the newcomers to jumpship building to start building 30 LY jump drives first?

Pretty reliable from what I can see. But for plot purposes, something went horribly wrong and they needed help. In the novels, the ESD had been researching FTL travel via wormhole generation. They didn't get very far, barely passed the theoreticals, but they would be approaching this from a different perspective. They'd not only learn how the drives work (thanks to the scientists aboard) they build practical and functional drives inside a few years. What's better is that these drives wouldn't need solar sails to deploy to recharge the drives. They'd be able to recharge them from the fusion reactors themselves.

This isa pure WTF moment for the Lucretia crew.
 

AndrewJTalon

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Just a random thought that may be useful for world building or plots for Star Trek:

https://ams.nasa.gov/Documents/AMS in The News/SpaceHarvestingOfAntimatterMightFuelStarships.pdf

Antiprotons confined in the earth’s inner magnetosphere

In essence, antimatter is found in abundant quantities in the magnetosphere of Earth, but is hundreds of times more abundant in the magnetospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. And in lesser but still significant amounts in Uranus and Neptune's magnetospheres. In combination with the huge quantities of hydrogen and helium-3 in the gas giants, the Sol System is awash in resources to fuel a starship industry.

This huge glut of natural resources, with the help of the Vulcans, could have easily fueled Earth's recovery after World War 3 and been what allowed Earth to become an interstellar power so quickly. It would have also pushed humanity's colonization efforts throughout the outer solar system, and to other worlds to get more resources for the warp drive industry. And with experience from mining, harvesting and refining hydrogen, helium, and antimatter, Earth could rapidly expand across the local stellar neighborhood and trade with many other powers.

Having so much fuel would allow Earth to be able to trade with multiple races and polities, and be able to act as a neutral party and power broker more easily.

Thanks to the inept writing of Star Trek: Enterprise, we really don't get a good picture of what kind of power Earth actually is by the 2150s. But with a little real world science, you could have an excellent means of world building this era and beyond.
 

AndrewJTalon

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I imagine that human ingenuity and the desire to rebuild helped with making very advanced refining and harvesting technologies, to the point that humans became first class when it came to harvesting and refining antimatter, hydrogen, helium and plenty of other elements you can get out of gas giants and other planetary atmospheres. And with four gas giants to work with, the Sol System was soon producing massive amounts of fuel for their own purposes and for export.

Any solar system with gas giants (up to the size of brown dwarfs) would be prime real estate for fueling more growth. If they had M-class planets for colonization they became even bigger. And you have a LOT of potential plots with this world building element in place:

-Harvesting and shipping companies could have launched robotic construction ships with warp drive to go out to distant solar systems to begin building refinery infrastructure. NX-01 Enterprise (Or any ship) could go to these target systems and see if the refineries were functioning, and this would also give Enterprise the means to refuel on her journey. Numerous things could have happened to these refineries for plot purposes:
  1. The robot refinery might have found lifeforms living in the gas giant atmospheres, and would be threatening their ecosystems mindlessly. The ship's crew has to fix this.
  2. The robot refinery might have been seized by a local, less advanced species which is using them to fuel their own growth and expansion-And conquest of their neighbors. This would be an argument in favor of the Prime Directive as it was originally intended.
  3. The robot refinery might have been seized by pirates who use it as a home base/trap for other ships, luring them in to capture them.
  4. The robot refinery AI might have become sapient and becomes a threat to the ship and crew.
-Mining and harvesting companies would need shipping companies to move their fuel to customers. This opens up the possibility of piracy and raiders. But given that Gene Roddenberry didn't like the concept of space pirates (and to be fair, it's very hard to realize properly in serious science fiction), you could approach it in a few different ways for interesting plots that still respect science.

Basically, the raiders do not attack fuel transports to steal the fuel-It takes a lot of fuel to get out to a tanker ship to steal its cargo and then go home, to the point it isn't very cost effective. However:
  1. Raiders can extort shipping companies: Either the companies pay the raiders protection money, or the raiders destroy their ships. The ship's crew has to deal with the raiders.
  2. Raiders can capture a fuel tanker and hold the ship and crew ransom that the shipping company has to pay. The ship's crew has to rescue the hostages.
  3. Raiders can be employed by one shipping company to attack their rivals so they can eventually get a monopoly over interstellar shipping. The ship's crew has to expose the scam and bring the company executives to justice.
  4. Raiders are stealing fuel tankers to use as Trojan Horses in an attack on their enemies. They're being backed by the Romulan Star Empire which is seeking to stir up war between the allies of the Vulcans. The ship's crew has to intervene to prevent this.
-A harvest/mining/refinery hub can also be a center of trade and commerce. The ship could stop by and deal with all sorts of potential plots while refueling:
  1. A murder on the station implicates one of the crew members. The crew of the ship must solve the murder.
  2. A crewmember has to do lots of elaborate trades on the station to try and find a critical component for the ship.
  3. A slice of life episode focusing on the crew just relaxing and having little misadventures.
-And of course, Earth's mining and harvesting could expand by doing this under contract for alien powers. All sorts of plots could be done with this:
  1. Disputes between the humans and aliens over the contract and treatment of the workers has the potential to lead to violence. The ship's crew needs to intervene to try and negotiate a peaceful solution!
  2. The human colony on the nearby M-class planet in the system is run by the company, and the company's been getting oppressive and secretive. The ship's crew needs to find out what the company is hiding... And stop it before it becomes a real threat.
  3. Vulcans Free of Logic settle with a human mining colony, and they begin intermarrying. The Vulcan High Command is deeply disturbed by this, but need to find some pretense to get control over the colony to stop this (Since at the time the Vulcan High Command were a bunch of dicks). The ship's crew discovers the ruse and allows the Vulcans and humans to live as they wish.
  4. The humans have set up a mining operation in a system bitterly disputed between two rival powers. The human head of the operations is trying to find a peaceful solution, but his/her efforts are being sabotaged by extremists on both sides. The Starfleet Ship's crew has to help keep the peace and establish humans as a bridge of understanding between enemies.
Again, just a few plots that I came up with in this framework. You could come up with plenty more!
 

Aaron Fox

Well-known member
Here is part 2, originally was going to have some musings on the CB side but... couldn't personally work that out without VEDA and CB in general being OOC...

Territorial Waters of Sri Lanka, SLS Richard Cameron -Grand Admiral class Fleet Carrier- Flight Deck; November 5th, 2307 AD/0375 NWE

The salty air of the Indian Sea assaulted the senses as the SLS Richard Cameron with the rest of SolGov's 1st Blue Fleet neared the troubled island of Sri Lanka. The mission is simple: kick the Human Reform League out of Sri Lanka and end the centuries-old ethnic conflict. So far, the forward elements of the 1st Blue Fleet haven't seen any HRL blue navy assets. Though SolGov's blue navy's swiftness has caught everyone off-guard as the HRL's warships have barely had time to leave port.

My mission? Search and destroy.

Black Section had done a thorough job finding the numerous targets, all defensive installations whose destruction is necessary. That is necessary to ensure that the landing operations go off without a hitch and later crush the opposition so that the Peacekeepers can actually do their job.

Peacekeepers can't keep the peace if they're getting shot at, after all. Especially the fact that Peacekeepers are armed with little in terms of lethal armament.

"So, we're going into a pucker-factor 3 situation," my WSO smirked as we climbed the steep staircase, "a good change of pace from the usual. Hopefully, we'll have something to alleviate our boredom. Perhaps this 'Celestial Being' might give us a challenge, although they might be trying to comprehend that we're not like the locals."

"I wouldn't be so cocksure Knuckles," I corrected, "The ARP from the 4th Army indicates that Celestial Being is playing with some nasty toys. While their ranged weapons might look like particle beams, they're Q-guns in effect." Knuckles rolled his eyes as we got to our MR-01Z.

"Yeah, yeah," Knuckles playfully replied, "it would be far more interesting if they did show up." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. I didn't survive for almost two centuries in the military by being cocky.

"Interesting is what kills you, kid. Remember that," I sagely commented as we boarded our aircraft, "If you want to live well into your first century, then consider interesting deadly."

"Yeah, yeah, old man," Knuckles yapped as he booted the main computer and began the final preflight checklist, "Just keep an eye out for any boogies, and I'll do the rest."

I mentally roll my eyes as I looked at the ACHO with the physical weight sign as my AugReal showed what my plane was telling me. I gave the ACHO a thumbs up, and then the EMAL catapulted me into the air. I put the MR-01Z into supercruise as I climbed to 15 kilometers. As the rest of the squadron formed up. I mentally frowned at what intelligence had dug up on the HRL's defenses at Sri Lanka.

The defenses weren't much to talk about. Mostly a cavalcade of SAMs and AAGs, nothing compared to the Deep Battle-inspired layered IADS network back home. Not only that, but they're very conventional. They don't have quantum radar nor LIDAR, just regular radar. Less said about their AAGs and SAMs, the better. If anything, this is going to be like kicking puppies.

I quickly led my squadron to our assigned assault point, cruising at Mach 2.4, and prepared to let loose.

That was when my missile alert buzzed.

I quickly tasked the LAMS to start swatting the missiles away, causing blue-white streaks of flash-vaporized air to meet them. The missiles didn't even have a chance.

HRL Sri Lanka Base Dmitri

"What do you mean our SAMs aren't hurting them?" my CO practically yelled at the air defense commander over the radio, "Those jets should be swatted out of the sky by now!" I mentally sighed as I kept the incoming combat data up to date. My CO isn't wrong in that regard, as the Tamil Tigers and our garrison have several air defense divisions between us. Yet, SolForce has been simply slaughtering our air defense forces. Their anti-radiation missiles are top-notch and, simply put, ridiculous overkill. They also are high enough that our 155mm AAGs couldn't even touch them. "Get the 5th Air Squadron to scramble and prepare for a naval landing. I want everyone to their positions before they land in force!"

"Sir," I commented, "they're already landing." I heard a rather colorful string of curses coming from my CO, likely in response to the shitshow unfolding around us.

"Send all available units to their beachheads and stop them; they can't be allowed to gain a foothold!" my CO ordered. Everyone in the room quickly sent the order out, but I fear we might be too late...

Tamil Tiger 7th Mobile Suit Company, 2nd Division - Tieren #890-0411

"All units, this is Command; SolGov has landed in Sinhalese and Tamil territory and has been aggressively moving up from the coastline. Current SatInt indicates that they've been establishing a massive beachhead at those sites. We must stop them before they start moving out or we're done for. The HRL's 2nd Fleet isn't going to arrive in time to save us, so we'll have to do it ourselves."

I frowned at that information, as to have one of SolGov's blue-water fleets showing up within five days with an entire ocean command worth of ships speaks volumes about their military. Even though the HRL's 2nd Fleet is headquartered in Taiwan, they're spread across the Pacific and Indochina, meaning they are forced to assemble before redeploying to Sri Lanka. Given that SolGov blue-water ships have a cruising speed of 60 knots, the HRL's 2nd Fleet had to waste precious time to assemble before heading out at half that.

That is when my sensors went off, detecting a vehicle a good kilometer distant. I quickly focused on the unknown vehicle with the Tieren's sensor array. It was an IFV and with an infantry squad. Given what the HRL has gathered on SolGov's infantry capabilities, I kept my distance while signaling my squadmates to hold our position.

"Gowthaman, are you scared of a bunch of infantrymen?" one of my squadmates -Lavinthan- asked mockingly.

"I'm cautious, Lavinthan, not scared," I flatly replied, "I've read the intelligence reports that you've apparently skipped out on. The picture they painted isn't good, given that they've kept kicking the Enact around like a stepchild." I kept scanning for more SolGov forces as I explained. "They managed to destroy an up-armored Flag practically every time. The only win that the Enact managed was when it simply went for collateral damage, and I mean ensure that the buildings they were in were dropped on them. The testing data intelligence got us is... horrifying."

That was when I heard Captain Vinnavan's voice over the radio. "You're going in for remedial training if we live through this, Private Lavinthan. You keep ignoring the most significant part of our training: information is ammunition," Vinnavan reprimanded, "Corporal Gowthaman, with your sighting, that makes a whole mechanized platoon sighted in our company's AO, with possibly more. Corporal Aboorna had trouble picking them up visually, using some sort of adaptive thermo-optical camouflage to mask their equipment. We might be facing more than a platoon if that's the case."

"That wasn't in the intelligence briefing," I complained, "They did pick up on SolGov's armor shifting camouflage patterns without assistance; this thermo-optical camouflage system wasn't used." I sigh in disappointment. "Given we're likely going to be in serious trouble if they're keeping us in the dark about their full capabilities." That was when I noticed that my sensors were detecting some sort of metallic dust in the air. A short while after this, my sensor lock alert went crazy.

"My e-sensor is going nuts!" Aboorna complained, "I'm getting sensor lock alerts from all directions!"

That was when it hit me.

"Everyone, the metallic dust we detected isn't sensor chaff but microsensors!" I explained, "We're wide fucking open!" That was when the IFV opened up with its autocannon. A short stream of golden tracers whizzed by me and into my squad. Several shots hit my right arm, annihilating it.

"Shit! My right arm and torso are fucked!" Lavinthan cursed as his Tieren got wrecked, "What are they shooting at us with? A piddly autocannon shouldn't be able to go through three centimeters of E-Carbon like this!" I'm forced to agree with Lavinthan in this case; the autocannon displayed penetration capabilities on par with a tank cannon.

"Fall back to Line Vasily!" Vinnavan ordered, "We've lost the element of surprise and are reacting aggressively to our presence. I've already sent what we've gained to command!" I quickly throw my Tieren into reverse as the sighted SolForce vehicles and infantry surged forward, intent on killing us. The infantry promptly started to move up, holding their fire while readying their anti-tank weapons. That was when one round hit one of my squadmates, and the effects were devastating. The round wasn't a chemical effect warhead but some kind of shaped plasma warhead, and it went through E-Carbon like a hot knife through butter. I heard Iniyaa scream as her Tieren exploded due to the damage inflicted.

"Damn it, we've lost Iniyaa!"

"Command, we've encountered a SolGov vanguard in our sector, and they're starting to slaughter us! Get everyone to Vasily and dig in there!"
Vinnavan exclaimed, "They're going to slaughter us in detail if we don't solidify our lines!"

"We know Captain Vinnavan; we're getting similar reports all across the front line. SolGov forces have already penetrated our initial cordons and are moving inland. At their current rate, they'll be at Line Vasily within the hour. From SIGINT, the Sinhalese have already surrendered to SolGov forces. Retreat to Line Yelena at your best possible speed."

"Alright, you've heard Command,"
Vinnavan commanded, "retreat to Line Yelena. Don't even think about fighting these guys."

That was when I sighted SolForce tanks. These tanks weren't like the ones intelligence encountered at Fort De Gaulle, although they have the distinct barrel of SolForce's EM guns. If I had to guess, due to their size, they're some kind of light tank. Yet why would you have light tanks with your mechanized infantry?

That was when I saw one of the tanks fire, sending a projectile at incredible speeds... and right into my left torso. The damage inflicted was fatal, leaving me with only the emergency batteries to keep my sensors, communications, and life support operational. My Tieren fell over, hitting the ground with a tremendous crash.

"Gowthaman is down! What are they using for ammunition!?!"

"I don't know what it is, but it's definitely not tungsten or depleted uranium! The flight profile is too fast and straight for either!"

"Launch smoke and make a run for it!"


"This is Gowthaman; my machine is dead, and I'm only running critical instruments and on battery power. I'll try to use the blowout system and escape on foot," I stated, "Head to Yelena without me. My position is already overrun as it is."

"... roger Gowthaman. Vinnavan company, you've heard the man: pop obscurants and retreat full throttle," Vinnavan ordered, "Just make it back in one piece, alright?"

"Understood, Captain," I answered, "I'm activating the blowout system now." My Tieren shuddered as the shaped explosive charges detonated, blowing out the cockpit hatch in its entirety. I quickly unbuckle my seat and swiftly grabbed my PDW. But as I exited, I saw SolForce infantry surrounding my now-useless Tieren.

"Drop your weapon and any grenades on the ground and put your hands in the air," one of the infantrymen ordered, "That is if you want to live. If you have a death wish, then just try us." I mentally cursed myself as I put my PDW and pistol onto the ground. Looks like I'm going to be a POW...
_________________​
The Kingdom of Azadistan, Tehran - Royal Palace, Royal Office; November 5th, 2307 AD/0357 NWE

Princess Ismail smiled as I took a sip of the incredible tea that she prepared for our meeting. We had a rather pleasant conference for the last hour and a half. Talking about getting assistance for her nation and how SolGov will carry out that assistance. It was surprising that she -and her life-long friend and confidant Shirin Bakhtiar- had a detailed analysis of the problems that Azadistan was facing. It was even more surprising that she actually sought external assistance in solving those problems.

That is rare and a common problem with political leaders all over. A trait that had been demonized, and it took detaching leadership from politics, in general, and limiting politics to make it acceptable again.

I smiled at the two as I shifted my body. "I must admit, my experience has told me to prepare to meet leaders who are groveling at my feet for SolGov assistance. I'll admit, SolGov and I had poor expectations, expectations that you've exceeded with flying colors," I complimented, the two smiling at the praise. "Your plans and insight have merit, but there's going to be a price tag attached to this, I'm afraid."

"We thought as much," Shirin cynically commented, "What sort of price is your assistance going to cost?"

I frown slightly, trying to figure out a way to gently give them the answer. "Time, madam Shirin, time," I answered, "you must understand that humans are resistant to change in general. Your conservatives are just one such example. To ensure that your people -and I mean all people- will prosper, it'll take generations of work to undertake. While we've got an immense understanding of how human-line sentients think, the only constant we can't change without literal brainwashing is time." Ismail and Shirin's faces went pensive. "We've got to break down the psychological barriers to change people. Their biases and preconceptions. Their memes. You can't rush things like this without unintended consequences, and I've seen that enough times in my one and a half centuries of service within the Special Actions Division."

"I see," Ismail replied pensively, "and there is no other way?"

"No, I'm afraid," I answered, but before I could explain, the doors to the office swung open, revealing a staffer.

"Princess!" the staffer exclaimed as he practically tripped over himself, "Sri Lanka has been invaded by SolGov!" Ismail then turned on her desk screen, showing a breaking news newscast.

"I see that they went ahead with it," I frowned.

"You knew that this was going to happen?" Ismail exclaimed in fear.

"Yes, I'm afraid," I answered flatly, "Our diplomatic corps is closely tied to the military and intelligence services. You could say that they're joined to the hip at times. Though, they've bumped up the timetable by a few weeks. Something in Analytics must have spooked them, likely Celestial Being." I sighed. "Though, this level of force is going to be used anyway, given the circumstances."

"You can't..." Ismail began before I interrupted her.

"Use force to stop the fighting?" I completed, "That is, sadly, a pretty naive way to see things, Princess Ismail." I slowly stood up and walked towards the windows. "Humanity is a very violent and irrational species, Princess Ismail. Its history is so blood-soaked that practically all of written and unwritten history is how humans made violence with each other. Killing for land, for resources, for women, for ideology, or for anything really." Ismail and Shirin visibly shuddered at what I said, not liking it one bit. "People think men like Hobbes, Locke, Machiavelli, and Clausewitz are idiots when the reality is that they are damn close to the human condition and things connected to it. It is why our solar system is such a war-torn hell. Something that we in SolGov don't want to have inflicted upon everyone here."

"That's pretty cynical," Shirin commented, "yet idealistic. A contradiction if I've ever heard of one."

"Cynicism is when a realist is thoroughly depressed at the world," I responded, "much like how paranoids are convinced that someone is after them for reasons real and/or imagined. Sri Lanka's current destiny is to be an example. An example of what happens when two sides want to keep their nation broken. We're hoping to use Azadistan as an example of what happens when you ask for our aid. Yes, we'll be wrecking a lot of your culture in the process, but that's normal for any change, I'm afraid." I paused for a moment, trying to think of something to ease the two. "My childhood dream was always to be a historian, a student of history. I find it so heartbreaking that Islam would be so self-destructive despite such great promise. Some might say that it was Islam's fate to become self-destructive as all religions do. Although, they say it without actually digging into history. What we have here is to help Islam become what it promised to be." That got the two to raise their eyebrows in interest.
 

AndrewJTalon

Well-known member
Founder
Basically, towards the end of Krypton's life, the Science Council became rather tyrannical-Especially after attempted coups by Zod and other Kryptonians of the Military caste. They tightened their control over every aspect of life on Krypton, almost suffocatingly so. They had numerous political dissidents and non-violent offenders.

Though in truth, most of these offenders' "crimes" consisted of things like "disagreed with something the Science Council did", "being somehow associated with one of the rebellions against them," and (most common) "enjoying sex for procreation and pleasure".

But putting all of them into the Phantom Zone wasn't practical. Most of these "offenders" were members of the Labor Caste, and without them, they couldn't keep Krypton running. So instead, they set up a penal colony on a planet orbiting a nearby orange dwarf star. This world was called Neon.

(Krypton, Argo, Neon-All names based on noble gases. Get it?)

Neon is supposed to be a prison, but it is essentially a colony (much like Australia). The warden and the guards act primarily as a police force. The colonists themselves created an elected government, a City Council and a Mayor. Neon was low in metals and other natural resources, so it grew high end crops and other commodities to export back to Krypton. The orange sunlight made them stronger than Kryptonians, but nowhere near the level of Kryptonians around a yellow or blue star. It did however make them tougher, better able to handle the wild, untamed wilderness of Neon. They didn't have much industry, and few spacecraft to ensure they couldn't build a military capacity or escape the planet.

(Though in all honesty, many of the dissidents were happy to be away from Krypton and the tyranny of the Science Council-And Brainiac, the all powerful AI running things if you go with a DCAU-flavored incarnation. After all, would you be happy to live on a planet where sex was outlawed?)

The dissidents, again, were mainly Labor Caste. They consisted primarily of:

-Laborers
-Accountants
-Small Business Owners
-Nurses
-Mechanics
-Farmers
-Chemists
-Ranchers
-Technicians
-Cooks
-Plumbers
-Entertainers
-Journalists
-Pilots and Teamsters

Along with a few soldiers, a few doctors, and a few members of the Science and Military Castes who fell out of favor (along with their families).

After Krypton's destruction, Neon sends a few ships back to search for survivors. They may have found a few on Argo. But they mostly tried to keep a low profile-They didn't know how Krypton was destroyed. It was entirely possible it was from an alien attack, and they wanted to avoid becoming a target.

Neon is now on its own. So they send out their few ships to start trying to find additional resources: Metals, elements they lack, and new foodstuffs to grow.

During this time, they run into a few local pirates... Around a yellow sun. They are not really fighters-They only have a few actual soldiers-But their superpowers let them defeat these pirates easily. This gets out to several local systems, and the Neonites are now exposed.

So... They decide to bluff. They say they're a FEARSOME race of mercenary warriors who will DESTROY YOUR ENEMIES! They really play it up, wearing scary armor, talking about "HONOR" and "GLORIOUS BATTLE". They keep Neon's location secret and don't let on that they're Kryptonians. They're able to build weapons and better armor to improve their mercenary business, but keep themselves carefully neutral. Their population is sustainable, but they only have one planet with only one major city, most of their population living in farms and suburbs. And not much industry.

So they keep themselves mysterious and again, play up being FEARSOME WARRIOR RACE GUYS.

Eventually, they accept a job to help Rann against Gordanian Invaders. They join a force of Rann soldiers and members of the Justice League... Including Superman.

Superman is suspicious of the Neonites. They talk a good game, and have fearsome names (Like "BLOODSTORM THE ALL CAPITALIZED" and "SILENT DEATH!!!") but their body language and armor designs are very Kryptonian.

So he tries to talk to one of the younger "hardened mercenaries"... In Kryptonian.

Superman: <"You are an excellent fighter, Death Ribbon.">

Death Ribbon: cheerfully <"Hey, thanks! You're pretty amazing-Er, honorable, too!">

Superman: <"And your Kryptonian is impeccable.">

Death Ribbon: <"Thank you!">

Superman: smiles

Death Ribbon: <"... Um... I mean... Que?">

So now there's another world of Kryptonians for Clark to relate to. How might this go?
 

stephen the barbarian

Well-known member
Neon snip
much venting will be had.

"i wanted to take over the farm, but when you're a 5th son you take the job that's available."
"do you have any idea how annoying these pauldrons are? i can barely move my head"
" no one takes you seriously unless you fluff up your name a bit, 'Blood River' or 'Spike Ripper' is fine, but Ke Ith? That's not scary and most people would be embarrassed to say it."
 

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