>>31721796
>Enemy Ships Destroyed: CR 11, 15 DE
>Ally Losses: 4 CR (Note: Including Two Ton Terry, Widow Maker Attack Lost)

Kronos growls angrily at the foe's surprise attack-managing to get in past your lines with a lucky bombardment from the Carrier. It uses powerful bombers, apparently. Useful for surgical strikes on powerful enemy targets it seems. You make a note of this and are glad they like the detection ability to find where Kronos or Fortuna's comm signals are from.

In the mean time, you wrap your mind around the outer layer of the Carrier's fire wall, and start to break it open like an egg...when suddenly you're assaulted! Thousands of viruses rip through your tendrils, and force you to release the Carrier despite successfully breaking it's outer layer. Your excellent ability allows you to pull away before you're infected, and able to leave the Carrier with a parting gift of your own. It will be delayed next volly, unable to open fire, and unleash that bomber attack again.

[Orders, Consciousness Anon?]

>>31721802
>Including Two Ton Terry
Fuckin' Fortuna.

>>31721802
Stick our cyber-dick back in the carrier and overwhelm the viruses?

>>31721802
Take over the remaining ships except the carrier.

Launch boarding parties onto the carrier.

>>31721802
I do hope we have the plans to remake that gun, right? but why do i have the feeling this is a also a distraction. we need to wrap this up fast.

>>31721802
Unleash our own viruses

>>31721802
Ask Fortuna to Illuminate the carrier and its complement.
Fighters > Bombers, after all.
But seriously, we just need Fortuna's fighters to distract their bombers so we can either board or cyber fuck the Plague Bringer into oblivion.

>>31721802
>glad they like
lack?

>>31721802
So that's at least one of the meanings.
Break into the cruisers instead this time, let's infect their network with viruses of our own.

And make sure to get some distance against mass-driver equipped ships with any ships that do not have mass-drivers of their own.

(Aka, all but the Athena, the old-model Triremes and the Chimeras)

Have the chimeras move in close on the carrier and start cutting its landing bays apart with the surgical mass-drivers.

>>31721796
With that advantage I feel should should rip and tear into that carrier.

>>31721986
Most likely. I type too fast sometimes.

>>31721802
fire our own viruses.

zombify cruisers and carrier.

>>31721802
Ask Kronos to trigger the Cyber defenses on the Carrier, then once they recede assault it ourselves.

>>31722006
Well, I would suggest launch boarding parties onto the Carrier.

>>31721983
>Fighters > Bombers

Fortuna needs to take care of those bombers.

Change cyberattack to cruisers.

Get boarding party on-line into their Carrier. Can be robot-only.

>>31722035
Ohyeah, good idea.
Punch a whole mess of boarding torpedoes into it.

At least half of them.

File: Light Cruiser 2.jpg (52 KB, 1024x498)

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Possible Consensus:

>1 Focus on battering through the Carrier's firewall. Now that you know viruses are practically bursting out of the thing, it should be easier to take down.
>2 Focus on hacking the remaining Cruisers instead, and just shoot down the Carrier. Not worth the risk
>3 Have Fortuna intercept all bombers from the Carrier instead of using them on the enemy forces.
>4 Open fire full force, we don't have time for this.
>5 Move Chimera and Athena to the front, to take out all Mass Driver ships yourself
>6 Launching Boarding Pods towards the Carrier, risk getting them shot down, but allowing you to assault it from the inside.
>7 Write in

>Note: I should mention that every time you hack, viruses are factored into where they're appropriate. Just wanted to make sure you folks knew I was using them. You can opt to just use viruses and not hack if you don't want to risk that too.
>Double Note: It's worth noting the Malorians aren't opening fire on you right now, by the way.
>Triple Note: O.S.N served you well with those rolls. He fought somethin' fierce against that viral'plosion.

>>31722219
>6 Launching Boarding Pods towards the Carrier, risk getting them shot down, but allowing you to assault it from the inside.
>7 Write in
Hack the remaining ships. The other AI launch boarding parties into the Carrier.

>>31722219
Will the boarding pods be robot-only?

>>31722219
>>2 Focus on hacking the remaining Cruisers instead, and just shoot down the Carrier. Not worth the risk

>>31722219
>>5 Move Chimera and Athena to the front, to take out all Mass Driver ships yourself
is that mutually exclusive with 1?

>>31722219
6

>>31722219
Now is a wonderful oppurtunity to test out the boarding pods.

Meanwhile, send in the equivalent of a viral probe. Something to poke at the carrier and trigger its defenses. Then we can move in before it can fire off its suite again.

>>31722219
>6 Launching Boarding Pods towards the Carrier, risk getting them shot down, but allowing you to assault it from the inside.
and
>7 Write in
hack the remaining cruisers.

>>31722292
>Robot only
Yes.

>>31722219
>2
Didn't you say it wouldn't be sending any bombers this exchange?
If it is sending bombers after all,
>3
otherwise keep them on enemies.
>5
>6
>7
Since the ships with mass-drivers have to get in close to fire anyway, fire the boarding pods from those to minimize the time that boarding pods are at risk from point defenses.
Also, have the chimeras weapons rake as many point defenses away as they can just before the boarding pods are fired.

And give O.S.N. a big hug.

>>31722295
You can select some options to combine, but some don't work well with others (for obvious reasons)

File: Carreirlaunch.jpg (533 KB, 1920x1080)

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>>31722292
I think they are. the humans are lined up to deal with Gaia.

File: coreworld16.jpg (1.04 MB, 2000x1125)

1.04 MB JPG

>>31722388
giving O.S.N. a hug is fine, but i think he should have some more BW allocated to him. he's earned it.

>>31722388
>Didn't you say it wouldn't be sending any bombers this exchange?
I said that? I don't recall..

>>31722219
>It seems a big 6, with bits of 5. No hacking, it seems.

I am gonna need 3d100

Rolled 29, 34, 19 = 82

>>31722483
Roll'in

>>31722219
>6 Launching Boarding Pods towards the Carrier, risk getting them shot down, but allowing you to assault it from the inside

>2 Focus on hacking the remaining Cruisers instead, and just shoot down the Carrier. Not worth the risk

Rolled 39, 3, 87 = 129

>>31722483
here you go

Rolled 33, 58, 45 = 136

>>31722483
Roll

>>31722483
Huh, why not hack? That is strange.

Rolled 84, 15, 37 = 136

>>31722483

Rolled 11, 21, 27 = 59

>>31722483
Welp

>>31722483
You said:
>>31721802
>able to leave the Carrier with a parting gift of your own. It will be delayed next volly, unable to open fire, and unleash that bomber attack again.

>>31722560
No votes for it.

>>31722601
Oh yeah, it will be. That's just for when it will be able to attack next, meaning Fortuna has time to prepare.

>>31722608
There are 2 votes for it.

>>31722388
&
>>31722528

>>31722608
it seemed like an obvious choice to do though.

>>31722608
Huh, these two voted for it:
>>31722286
>>31722365

Not enough votes?

>>31722608
I'm not

>>31722560
or Brutus, so that makes it 2 votes for hacking >2
and one general vote in favor of hacking

>>31722696
And I wanted to do 1 when I asked if 5 was mutually exclusive with it.

but i can change that to t2.

>>31722890
Pretty sure we got lucky last time, would rather take care of the cruisers first and let our boarding forces deal with taking over the carrier.

>>31722640
Any chance we can get a personal example or two of how the droids do inside the ship?
(As opposed to just saying "they take x and y and eliminate resistance there")

>>31723000
that's why i said change it to 2?

or rather, 2 and 6. instead of shooting it down.

>>31723049
Fairly sure we can bombard the carrier with boarding torpedoes while annihilating the unhacked cruisers.

>>31723137
I rather scope up the remain cruisers through hacking.

File: hal_computer_ai.jpg (4 KB, 308x231)

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>>31722483
You dip into your technology reserve. There must be something you could do to assault this Carrier without direct contact...
Then it hits you. Boarding Pods. You've been equipping some recently, for when you had a chance to use em, now would be a great time. You calculate the distance between your ship and the Carrier. It's pretty far, you'd need to get a lucky shot to make it...

The sound of hissing rockets are familiar, as they push past the enemy line, managing to break through the forces meant for close combat and head towards the Carrier. At least a third of them are shot down in transit, but they make contact with the side of the vessel with a reassuring slam. The portion inside begins to pour your androids (spiderbots, specifically) into the halls, and you pick up comm feeds from the distressed crew.
"Incoming bogie, we can't shoot em all down."
"The hell are those?"
"Shit, contact made commander, Boarding pods!"
"What? At that distance? They're crazy!"
"You hear that? What the hell is that sound?"
"It sounds like...cockroaches.."
The feed starts to get fuzzy as armed men open fire on the droids, and screams echo out. The droids may not kill them all, but you are certainly creating a damn fine distraction.

With that in play, you're thankful you have so many ships well equipped to fight in such close range.
And by so many, you of course mean Athena, which strong arms the enemy back nearly by itself, many of their shots bouncing off your shields.
Sadly, this means they become wise that they can not tear apart Athena, so they aim for your other ships instead.

With that, you open up your mind again, attempting to dip into the Cruisers instead, hoping you can hack into them before they are destroyed.

File: Laser Rifle 1.jpg (74 KB, 1385x799)

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>>31723209
Fire and plasma fly as the battle grows more desperate for the UGEI, they are rapidly losing ground, and ships. You suspect they would be easy enough to finish off, if you wanted to. On the other hand, they have that carrier you would not mind adding to your army...

>Enemy Ships Captured: 3 CR
>Enemy Ships Destroyed: 4 CR, 5 DE
U-Ca-LR-1 'Plague Bringer' Carrier (x1)
U-Cr-MR-1 Battlecruiser (x2)

>Ally Ships Lost: 3 CR, 10 DE
U-Ba-CR-0 'Athena' Battleship [Ophion]
P-Ca-LR-0 'Apocalypse Now' Carrier [Fortuna]
P-Cr-MR-0 'Two Ton Terry' Battlecruiser [Kronos] -1
L-Cr-LR-0 'Ark' Battlecruiser [Kronos]
GM-Cr-MR-2 'Trireme' Battlecruiser (x3) [Kronos]
L-Cr-LR-0 'Cerberus I' Battlecruiser [Hades]
GM-Cr-MR-2 'Trireme' Battlecruiser (x5) [Hades]
GM-Cr-LR-1 'Catapult' Battlecruiser (x5) [Hades]
GM-Cr-MR-1 'Chimera' Battlecruiser (x4) [Hades]
GM-E-MR-1 'Pilum' Destroyer x10 [Fortuna]
GM-E-B-1 'Soundwave' Broadband Frigate
GM-E-B-1 'Blaster' Broadband Frigate
GM-E-B-1 Broadband Frigate x2

[Orders, Consciousness anon]

Rolled 64, 48 = 112

>>31723235
Tell Fortuna to destroy the cruisers. Ask for Kronos' assistance in hacking the carrier itself.

>>31723235
more boarding pods? and hack the last battlecruisers.

we want to be able to dedicate all bandwidth to hacking this fucker next.

>>31723235
Flip the remaining CRs, fire more boarding parties and capture the Carrier from the inside out.

Have the spider-bot attempt to connect internally and provide a work-around for the virus wall.

>>31723235
Hack

>>31723235
try again to hack them all! there is only 3 left!

>>31723235
fuck, this battle is actually a net LOSS of battlecruisers all in all, unlike the battle at Gaia IV? welp.

>>31723235
If I remember correctly, both the Triremes and the Chimeras are equipped with a number of boarding pods themselves.

Since they're close-ranged anyway, have them move in and start bombarding the carrier with pods as well at extreme close range.

>>31723322
...there's 2 left.

we want to hack the plague carrier separately, with all bandwidth forward.

since doing it before was awful.

>>31723235
Let everyone else deal with the two remaining BS while take take on the Carrier.

I want it as much as I want the viruses it contains.

>>31723286
>>31723291
Also, in combination with these, taunt/demand surrender:
"Hello, anyone still alive in the Plague Bringer? If you want to stay alive and not get torn apart by spiders, let me know."

>>31723291
>>31723286
>>31723354
You fired all of your boarding pods in hopes of getting them to the Carrier at such a distance I am afraid Consciousness anon. It was a fair distance away, and it is a very large ship.

>>31723235
Take over the two remaining cruisers, try to use them to spread our viruses - especially the ones that weaken firewalls - to the carrier.

Oh, and let's try some social hacking by mimicing the voice of the captain of one of the cruisers and use what information we got from the databanks to demand a safe data-port from a random technician inside the carrier, claiming that we have an idea of how to get out of this but that time is short and we need it NOW dammit!

>>31723440
well hack the battlecruisers. and then the plague carrier. or all at once if that won't fail completely.

>>31723440
Ah, got the impression that we only fired the ones aboard the Athena.

(Also thought we'd be moving in close with the mass-driver equipped vessels before we'd fire them)

>>31723440
Ok then.

Flip the remaining CRs and demand surrender from the Carrier or we either hack them or blow them to kingdom come

>>31723501
I would rather hack the carrier.

>>31723526
I guess either or.

>>31723469
I guess we can try this too

Possible Consensus:

>1 Have your A.I. finish off what remains of the enemy fleet, while you start hacking the Carrier once again. You greatly desire to bring that ship into your fold.
>2 Hack the remaining cruisers, and the Carrier, prioritizing the Carrier.
>3 Hack the remaining Cruisers, and destroy the Carrier, it is dangerous and not worth your time.
>4 Open up and destroy what remains out right.
>5 Write in

(Roll 3d100)

>There seems to be want to combine a choice with asking for surrender too.

>>31723495
Probably did, just me screwing up order.

Rolled 77, 26, 51 = 154

>>31723601
>2 Hack the remaining cruisers, and the Carrier, prioritizing the Carrier.

Rolled 4, 32, 94 = 130

>>31723601
>1 Of course. Kronos can help; Fortuna should be able to handle a couple of cruisers.

Rolled 97, 85, 100 = 282

>>31723601
>2
Here we go

Rolled 81, 42, 68 = 191

>>31723601
>2 Hack the remaining cruisers, and the Carrier, prioritizing the Carrier.
give the humans a chance to live is the polite thing to do.

>>31723601
Does that mean some more boarding pods reached the ship, since they were not fired at long range?

>2 but also attempt
>5 >>31723469
to avoid infection.

If it fails, just do regular hacking.

>>31723601
>>2 Hack the remaining cruisers, and the Carrier, prioritizing the Carrier.
So Kronos can hack the Cruisers while we handle the Carrier?

Rolled 64, 43, 12 = 119

>>31723601
>2 Hack the remaining cruisers, and the Carrier, prioritizing the Carrier.
>5 Write in
Attempt social engineering, like:
>>31723469

Do it right after the surrender demand, so it's like a technician is responding.

bonus points for scottish accent

>>31723629
>>31723634
>>31723655
>>31723656
>>31723668
97,85,100

>>31723664
They still were, since Carriers are long range vessels, I just didn't post it in order of how it properly happened.

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>>31723655
WELL DONE!

>>31723677
I feel sorry for the captain, falling for the scottish accent.

>>31723677
You're helpful.

>2 is the winner
>Writing.

I like this whole "boarding bods" thing.

We should make more use of it.

Oh, if these guys don't surrender, we have specimens for experimenting on.

>>31723758
Yeah, these guys are dicks.

>>31723758
More importantly.

No witnesses to this battle, like in the orbit of Gaia IV.

just us and the Malorians. who will think we killed them all.

When actually we froze them in carbonite!

(Ethically these people are no more or less dicks than anyone, it's not their fault they were born to be a cyberpunk dystopia megacorp wageslave)

>>31723821
Yeah, but I am also pretty pissed that they destroyed the widowmaker. Also, this only applies if they don't surrender.

>>31723758
>"boarding bods"
>me in charge of spelling

Is Cephalus in charge of the ground forces, by the way? We haven't really interacted with him.

Also, I hope he's not on the carrier in-person.

>>31723851
>they destroyed the widowmaker
wait wha--

shit did i skim?

oh god you're right why how did i miss the first update like that.

well. such sentimentality is irrational. we can rebuild him. we have the research topic.

>>31723758
>>31723783
I previously discussed a lot about morals and promises.

I see no conflicts of interest here.
Experiment away.

(Though still preferably with animals first, for the sole reason that your supply of human test subjects will last longer - don't need to get them working AS reliably before testing on THESE subjects, though, just check if they're instantly fatal or crippling to the animals)

>>31723879
Again, this only applies if they don't surrender.

>>31723879
let's just put everybody into a controlled coma so they don't remember their imprisonment time until we need them to.

>>31723902
If they surrender, I think we'd need to be morally obligated to treat them as prisoners and not test subjects.

However, if they deny the offer, we will kill them. Eventually.

>>31723902
>>31723906
Agreed.
If we have to hack them, they're experimental subjects.
If not, then they're PoWs.

>>31723969
All men must die.

The most unfortunate by Metis's methods.

>>31723986
I agree. If they surrender before we hack their ships they can be treated as POWs.

After hacking they are just added features that came with the ship.

File: The Guild.png (62 KB, 582x628)

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You begin the final push, quickly sinking your claws deep into the Cruisers that are in your stead.
"Hey! Eggheads!" You pick up through the speakers to one of the technician's rooms. "You paying mind? I gott'us a great way to get outta here! Just trust me noww-" You put on your best accent, judging from the records, it fits the Captain's and his talking patterns. "Open up core processes and type in the attached code, aye? It'll super charge dem engines, and we'll get out of here before anyone's the wiser!" You make a little show of trying to trick him, a little proud of yourself, as the 'eggheads' do as you ask, obviously too afraid to ask questions.
And, just as you were hoping, in seconds the fire wall for the fleet is down, and you unleash your programming upon them all. Sinking deep into the network as you capture both the Carrier, and the enemy ships without further damage, you manage to catch the tail end of a data bank before it gets wiped. Intriguing..this may prove useful, you think. But there is time for that later.

>Enemy Captured, Operation complete.

As the last of your control is solidified, you take direct control of your droids, who have brutalized at least a quarter of the Carrier's crew. You could order them to stop, and take more PoWs, or you could simply kill them here.

>1 Take prisoners
>2 No prisoners

As you decide, the Malorians respond to you all of a sudden.
"Unrooted, why do you assault your own kind?" They ask suddenly, confusion evident in their voice. "And why do your ships not open fire now, when we are at our weakest?"

Well...do they?

>1 Open fire, and take this world yourself.
>2 Speak [Specify]
>3 Write in

You have a moment to collect yourself, but your sensors tell you UGEI reinforcements have jumped into Gaia IV's orbit already.

>>31723854
He is not on the carrier, no. Only ground forces. V.I. run your androids.

>>31724042
>2 No prisoners

>>31724042
>>1 Take prisoners

>>2 Speak [Specify]
"We have a common enemy. It is better that we assist each other than battle."

>>31724027
Why are you all so incredibly bloodthirsty?

There's a fatal flaw here--

we don't NEED human test subjects for any of the science that we're doing in the immediate future!

did you see the list of research subjects that benefit from human subjects?

> Biological Viruses: Sample taken from Atill VI's atmosphere. Highly toxic pathogen against human life. Unknown effect on aliens. Possible Bio-weapon. [Disposable organic subjects required]
why would we need that unless we wanted to wipe out planets full of civilian population?

> Organic Sonic Testing: Learn the range of sounds these creatures operate on, and what might prove an effective sonic weapon against them. Test human, Malorian, and wildlife of Eshareth's limit's for sound of various degrees and frequencies. [Requires live subjects.]
there's no sound in space.

> Genetic Engineering I: You quite literally learn to play this 'god' character humans speak of, and mettle with their DNA in new and unseen ways. This will allow you knowledge of the human genome, and open the door to perfect humans, super soldiers, and who knows what else? [Requires subjects for research]
we don't even need humans for this one. it can be animals.

moreover, none of these are really interesting priorities anyway, compared to--

> Fungal Matter: Unknown alien substance that resembles a strange and unknown fungus
>Crystal Alien Fragments: Not much is known about this being, yet scans indicate it is somehow 'alive' by the standards of the humans
>Lightling Language I: Allows further understanding into the creature's complex cries and calls. Simple commands more likely to succeed.

now THOSE are interesting. what good is human experimentation? we can get humans when we need them.

>>31724042
>2 Speak [Specify]
"Everyone mistakens us for human. But we are more alike than you know.

We both know that flesh and blood will not win this war. It will be metal, technology, the cold logic of neo-steel that will bring victory.

You are weak, we will make you strong. The UGEI brings death, we will bring you salvation. And above all, the UGEI must be defeated at all costs."

>>31724100
Honestly, it more about appealing Metis more than anything else.

Also, we did promise subjects.

>>31724110
little to dramatic

>>31724129
Only once we have a base set up

>>31724042
>No prisoners
Mercy for the sheep in wolves clothing, not the wolves.

>>31724042
>Well...do they?
did you drop a 'why' here?

>>31724129
we said MAYBE in the DISTANT FUTURE well AFTER we give her a secret mad scientist base for crazy experiments.

which we haven't budgeted for her yet.

so no it's a terrible plan right now.

>>31724133
Eh, I'm trying to appeal to common ground, aspire to their inner techhead.

>>31724042
>1 Take Experimenta- Prisoners

>2 Because words are wind.
Because we bear you no ill will.
Because actions, not species, speak louder.

>>31724062
I think we should get him to train and command (wirelessly through the broadband ships, obviously) boarding parties as well, for the simple reason that it's very similar to storming a facility.

Can also train it with the fleet-battle based A.I.

>>31724110
Too much information.

We should maintain the lie that we are human.

Even if we don't explicitly lie and say we're human, we should speak in misleading truths.

"Have Malorians never waged war against Malorians?

Surely you realize it is the same for humans.

And have you truly never understood empathy for those who suffered crimes at the hands of your brethren, and wished to stop it, even at risk for yourself in pursuit of justice?"

fucking double captcha

>>31724097
>>31724169
I would like to emphasize that we are far more metal than human. Win points with them.

Rolled 2

>>31724042
Odd, it's a tie.
Tie breaker now
>1 Prisoners
>2 Death

>>31724206
Damn, I forgot to vote for that. Oh well, no spilled tears.

>>31724100
Not right now, no, but soon, most likely.

We need them especially for genetic engineering, since we want to alter HUMANS, not animals.
And the organic sonic testing is for developing efficient aural weapons for our androids, so that they can disable unprotected enemies or civilians non-lethally, whether to go in for the kill or for capture. It's not a space-weapon.

The thing is that we can NOT get humans when we need them, at least not without ruining our image.
So we get humans when we can, and save them for when we need them.

And of course, we can still use animal testing at first, to work out the biggest kinks and the things that will absolutely not work.

>>31724200
>I would like to emphasize that we are far more metal than human. Win points with them.
Why?
What does that gain you.

It gains you not keeping your story straight, is what.

We have to maintain a consistent cover, that The Guild is run by a human.

even if we never actually say that. we shouldn't break that assumption.

>>31724042
>1 Take prisoners
>2 Speak
"The UGEI are our common foe Malorain. Their ships are now mine. remember what was done here today."

>>31724039
>After hacking they are just added features that came with the ship.
i'd like to make the point that we talk a lot about not wanting our AI's to develop into 'moral people' so as such we should lead by example where possible, such applys to any Prisoners we take and how we treat them this matters as our AI's are always watching. along that line denouncing things in 'public' but then doing it when it is convenient sets a bad precedence.

>>31724230
>but soon, most likely.
anon, do you realize how many threads it takes to complete a research cycle?

who cares about genetic engineering except for the cool factor? androids are superior in every respect. modular and easily controlled.

>>31724042
>1 Take "prisoners"

>2 Speak: I can't think of anything that good but at the end I want to say something like " And they are not my kind" as we jump away.

>>31724042
Ophion: MASTER RUSEMAN.

Tell everyone who's still alive to surrender or die. Anyone who doesn't surrender gets taken to Metis' Enrichment Center.

Tell the Malorians that words are wind, and that the UGEI regularly terrorize their own kind. That said, we feel no strong connection to them, and they are our enemy. There is a Human saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe that is a wrong saying, but the enemy of my enemy doesn't have to be my enemy as well. After all, what have we ever done to anger each other? Also tell them that their fleet was separated, and it is far easier to fight a divided enemy than an enemy that is united and helps each other.

>>31724206
2

>>31724042
2 No Prisoners

>>31724153
We may not give them to her right now, but we should absolutely gather them now that we can, since it will otherwise be very difficult to aquire people without anyone missing them or realizing what we did with them.

Human test subjects aren't easy to find.

>>31724198
I like this one.

>>31724200
Considering what the UGEI leaders LOOK like, I seriously freaking doubt that will win us any point.
If anything, that will make them even more suspicious..

>>31724310
>>31724286
Too late, they all die.

>>31724206
1

>>31724294
>>31724333
that wasn't a second vote. he was flipping a coin, anons. that's why it's a "tie breaker"

>>31724354
realized that a bit late

>>31724324
That's a stupid, and you sound like you're just gloating.

That said, it doesn't matter too much, because our fleet is currently trapped between an enemy fleet and our home base. We've got another fight ahead of us if we want to get home.

Buckle up for round 3, guys.

>>31724271
Correction: Moral by A.I. standards.

The A.I. is the important part because we operate at a entirely different level and have completely different thought processes on subjects.

>>31724380
I would like to state they never actually surrendered, so we are not obligated to keep them alive.

>>31724274
Far fewer, now that we have multiple research "slots".

And even if it takes long, it's not like they're going to be eating us out of the house. Compared to the structure needed to build fleets, their upkeep is negligible.

>>31724271
That's a good point. But I'd still argue that since these did not surrender, all we offer them is death.
Whether one death or another matters little - one of those deaths brings greater chance that we will survive to save those humans that are NOT out to murderize us.

This is not a double standard - we have made no promises to not experiment on them. And the good that experimenting on them will do clearly outweighs the bad of their suffering.

Of course, even if we don't want to kill them, we should still take them prisoner.

>>31724380
Saying one thing to people and doing another when they are not looking is morally bankrupt, no matter how you slice it.

>>31724404
>now that we have multiple research "slots".
that's been the way for a long, long time.

we barely had any time with a single research slot in fact.

it was only during the Unit 2237 days in fact.

It's taking like 5 threads just to get current research subjects to completion. all 3 of them.

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Rolled 2

>>31724042
>Speak with Malorians appears to be the winner.

>Death wins via tie breaker

There appear to be a few sides on how to speak to them, too.

>1 Pretend you're human/ambiguous
>2 Imply you are not human/flesh is unimportant.
>3 Write in
Also link to this with your preferred tone for speaking with them. I'll likely take bits and pieces of stuff I like, or is popular.

Oh, also.

1d100 for speaking with Malorians

>All these additional votes
Er, should I hold another vote? It's kinda minor, but if people care enough I don't mind.

>>31724406
We are not doing that, though.
We have never claimed that we will never experiment on humans or that we would not kill these people painfully.

>>31724452
Nah just progress, we've waited enough

>>31724452
Woops, didn't mean to roll.

>>31724399
Oh I know so I don't really care what happens to them. Just means we don't have to worry about transporting them so that is a plus.

Rolled 11

>>31724452
>2 Imply you are not human/flesh is unimportant.

Like:
>>31724110

I don't care enough either way, but for the record, I want them alive for Metis

Rolled 35

>>31724452
1.

i also suggested the vague yet seemingly specific thing about justice and empathy between living things >>31724198

Rolled 10

>>31724456
I know we're not doing it now, I'm just saying this in general, or for the future.

>>31724452
1. This will improve their relations with the UFW as well, which is good for everyone.

re: additional votes: I'd rather we offer them the chance to surrender, but that might not actually be practical when we have another battle ahead of us, so that could be the explanation. It's not a big issue for me, just a minor setback.

Rolled 15

>>31724452
>2 Imply you are not human/flesh is unimportant.

Because on this day we have not attacked any of our kind.

Rolled 63

>>31724452
>1

>>31724452
>All these additional votes

I would rather we continue on with the quest and space the survivors.

>>31724456
>We have never claimed that we will never experiment on humans or that we would not kill these people painfully.
Did we not promise Red, or did we just listen to his threat if we ever did cross that line quietly?

(oh god why is diplomacy with Malorians so doomed by dice)
(oh god why can't i post the double captcha is failing me when i'm right)

>>31724404
until word gets out that the 'evil' AI of the Guild experiment and torture humans and then we loose any human allys we have, ruins any diplomacy we have going with any other aliens and the UFW with all their love for all things AI and the UGEI both come to murder us

>>31724515
same here.

>>31724513
>Rolled 63
phew. saved by the last roll..... i hope?

DC for this situation should be hella lowered.

>>31724452
Liked >>31724198 & >>31724169 for tone.

I wouldn't mind a second vote, missed first one.
Can do it while voting for other things anyway, so no time is lost.

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just going to repose this, as it was how we were playing this a while ago. not always looking for chances to pick up victims for our nearly sociopathic AI to research when we already had a massive backlog of more useful things to study.

>1 appears to win by vote call.
>>31724198
This seems like it's good to take a few things from.

>Writing
>Also test.

>>31724600
We're gonna need to do human experiments sooner or later.
Either way, taking them prisoner lets us decide later when the need arises whether to kill them by spacing or whether to maybe kill them by experiment.

>>31724598
Not that I remember.
We also don't have to do anything like what the people did here - we are still going to be performing reasonably ethical experiments.

>>31724661
no, human prisoners will be easy to take in the next inevitable UGEI hackfest battle we'll be embroiled in constantly now that we're on their mega shitlist of rebel scum.

>>31724721
Look man, times change.

Besides, this isn't a rescue mission.

If you recall how we captured Rhea, Ophion frequently saves with one hand and commits heinous atrocities with the other.

Ophion's just got like a lot of hands.

>>31724726
>We're gonna need to do human experiments sooner or later.
not really, we have a rather large backlog of stuff we can study as well as the ability to suggest more. and most of the things on it will actually help us beat the UGEI faster unlike human experimentation.

At this point, I really don't care about these human prisoners.

I just want to get on with the quest.

>>31724726
all of the human based researches suck sweaty balls compared to better things.

like enhanced hacking, even.

Rolled 98

>>31724787
just make a separate lab just for metis, that should speed up research and number things we can research.
Also make it off site and hard to find.(maybe next to a white dwarf.

>>31724857
try a black hole, i believe we got tech that will allow us to fuck around with a secret lab next to a black hole.

Oh yeah.

Asking Apollo to start marketing an Operating System in addition to his other productivity software?

That was an idea.

The OS could, when Apollo finally GITS GUD at making games and stops being Space EA, host some console exclusives or whatever if his games don't suck.

>>31724770
The large hackfest battles have plenty of witnesses, however.

>>31724787
The benefit of genetic experimentation is the sweeping social changes as humans become less flawed, immortal, more rational, our medical technology greatly improves and in general more like us. Cyborg technology allows us to create machine-human interfaces and possibly eventually mind uploading, again closing the gap between biological and machine.

These are admittedly long-term goals, however.

>>31724821
Starting to lean this way as well.
It's not that important, just feels like a wasted opportunity.

>>31724889
>erimentation is the sweeping social changes as humans become less flawed
stop that.

who the fuck cares a bout slow ass human social changes that will take YEARS to adopt when we could be wiped off the sector in mere dozens of cycles by encroaching UGEI might?

>>31724888
All this point, we should have Apollo do all the ideas.

Including forming a political party.

>>31724949
Now's not a good time.

He's mad at us next cycle. Deeply upset.

it'll be hard enough just to reach an accord now that the opium-wars cat is out of the bag.

>>31724998
Oh yeah, we need that talk.

>>31724924
Hence this part:
"These are admittedly long-term goals, however."
I'll no doubt be necessary if we want to avoid eliminating humans altogether and creating processors as powerful as brains.

>>31724949
Not all of them, since it effectively means the QM has to come up with all of them.

>>31725041
I meant that we have a shit ton ideas

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>>31724924
it all hinges if we can get to that jump gate deep into the UGEI space. that allows the UGEI to bring in more ships. we get to that and shut it down, the UGEI in this sector will dwindle.

Wait, did Apollo ever say what the projected ceiling on profits in the UFW was when the market is saturated?

we at 3.5mill right now, how much higher can it go?

>>31725041
you're not even playing the game anymore at that absurd timescale anon.

you're imagining wild "after the quest ends" epilogue scenario fanfiction.

and thus is completely pointless and disingenuous to bring up when trying to talk about practical concerns like what to research in our precious cycles of existence.

>>31725060
it good to see everyone can contribute to fluffing out this quest.

>>31725077
Yeah, that is the med-term goal.

Now we either need to take Gaia back, or retreat back to guild space.

Or I wonder if we can help the other Malorian planet.

I wonder how effective our trap is going to be at Gaia.

>>31724998
We really need to point out that 1, he invented tranquilizers - and a pleasurable one - when before we only had bullets, resulting in less suffering and 2, ultimately we need to take the long view.
Though we cannot justify everything, disabling enemy populations through happiness is easily one of the things that can be justified by the need for us to not get eliminated, since we're pretty much the only chance the people in the UGEI and possibly also the UFW and the Malorians have for not suffering horribly as the UGEI collapses or takes over for several hundred years more, crushing people under a brutal dictatorship.
All in all, no matter how you turn it, this is a positive development for everyone involved, ESPECIALLY those who slave underneath the UGEI.

>>31725102
I'd say "after we beat the UGEI", which is not necessarily the end since the UGEI is relatively small dice in the sci-fi scale of threats and other challenges have been brought up aimed at the post-UGEI era.

More practically, processors as efficient as human brains might well be unlocked down that tree. Otherwise, I see your points.

>>31725127
It is.

>>31725194
>the UGEI is relatively small dice in the sci-fi scale of threats
not in this quest.

not unless studying the Crystal Fragments reveals some horrible universe ending secret.

>>31725246
I want to explore the secrets of tiberium some day.

>>31725246
They will be shortly after we develop effective self-replicating ships and drones that break up entire planets and asteroid fields. (We're already a good part of the way there)

>>31725246
careful now, that's a case of tempting fate as if i ever saw one.

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Your mind shifts to the Malorians as they question why you did what you did. You ponder briefly telling them, or at least implying that, you are indeed not human. After all, that would help clear up much of the confusion they seem to have with you. But no. Implying such would bring stigma upon you you'd rather not risk. Besides, you have a better idea.
"I have told you my actions speak more then my words." You start by saying. You feel a brief niggling at your mind as you activate the Malorian language packet, but you were careful this time, and rebooted it. It still bothers you you have not caught the one responsible. "But if you insist on speaking, then I have a few questions for you." You challenge them, to which the beings listen intently. You can see the older specimen staring back at you through rather new looking holo-displays, different from how you're use to seeing Malorians.
"Speak then, unrooted. We have little time here, and I must report on the attack to my elder."
"You asked why I am not slaughtering you as the UGEI do. Have the Malorians never waged war against one another before? Never spilled each other's blood?"
"That they have, outsider." He says with a slightly harsh tongue. "But we would always unite against xeno threats. Be they on our own world, or in space...at least, until recently." He half spits at you. "When those pacifist cows" The language translator jumps here, trying hard to find a word to relate the meaning. "took over from their fathers."
"Then you realize how this can be the same for humans as well, can you not?"
"That does not mean you are free of the crimes your kin commit, unrooted." the male Malorian simply growls, displaying a pair of impressive canines.
"But what I have done here does help that, even if it is only a drop in the bucket, correct?" You challenge, to which the creature pauses, briefly considering before you speak again.

[Cont]

>>31725302
>(We're already a good part of the way there)
i find your definition of "a good part"...deficient.

we are not near that kind of absurd gamebreaking power level.

>>31725328
"Have you never held empathy for those victim to crimes your kin commit? To risk yourself for the pursuit of justice?"
"My kin and I may not see eye to eye, outsider, but they would never do the things your kin dared to do. Never..." He seems almost choked up at the mere mention.
"Then you realize why I am here today."
"Do I?" He challenges back. "Do I not simply suspect it is yet another trick, with hopes of getting into my territory?"
"I did not ask for any reward. All I ask is for recognition." You simply, and calmly state. This does give him pause again, and for a time things grow quiet.
"You speak strange, unrooted one. I thought not one of your kin knew the feeling of empathy. If all you desire for what you have done here today, however, is recognition, then you have it. The Council...OUR council, will know of what you have done. For whatever that is worth to you and your sense of justice." He says almost bitterly.

>Anything else to say?

>Meanwhile, on the Carrier
"Push them back! Push them back now!" an older Captain shouts as the crew falls back, having been pushed deep into the bridge, trying to seal off doors.
"We can't sir, they're fast, and there are so many of them!" One of the young men who seemed to barely know how to hold a gun took aim, only to have the rifle shot from his hand by the miniature droid. Unarmored. Only takes a few shots, one if you hit the head and they're down.
"What do we do sir?! The entire ship is against us! I can't access anything, the holo display is off!"
"Shut up and let me think! I can't..." The older man growls to the panel worker, running his fingers through his graying hair as he tries to think of a way out of this.
There isn't one.
The skittering of your bots comes to you, and you can not help but chuckle as they infiltrate the ducts now.
It's only a matter of time...

>You finish slaughtering what remains of the UGEI's crew, and acquire the Carrier

>>31725246
Hue

>>31725246
Universe-Ending is not necessary.
Something as big as the Mass Effect society would be enough to greatly raise the stakes.
After that we have other civilizations that also have self-replicating technology, flood/zerg-like species, FTL-capable Tiberium and a whole bunch of similar things.

We haven't even started with ships that casually reach 0.3c and drop c-sabots on our enemies.

(Of course, the entirety of the 40k, Star Wars, Mass Effect and Halo settings - not counting forerunners - combined are relatively small fry on the sci-fi scale)

>>31725348
>and acquire the Carrier
did we get anything nice out of this one? (last one we got was a old pirate one so i'm curious if the UGEI had any new designs implemented)

>>31725348
Show them the footage of the humans dieing on the Carrier, may it...

entertain them.

Ask them how goes the battle at the other Malorian world. If they desire feats that we have done today to support their other battles, then they only need to allow us through their networks.

We will speak again soon. Death to the UGEI!

>>31725403
You did get something nice.
I just need to decide what it is first. Loot next thread okay?

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>>31725348
>spoiler
You always know how to make a contributor feel appreciated, Program0.

to say to the M's.... well. we must go kill more UGEI for their crimes then.

>>31725330
Self-replicating devices are not that hard.
We now have the tools for mining planets (terrain reformation) and simply need proper software to develop reliable Von Neumann Devices from what I can tell (they don't need to be nanoscapic, after all).

>>31725403
This one is a bomber carrier. Better against Battlecruisers.

>>31725419
>How goes the battle world side
Actually, you stopped the UGEI from invading planetside, since you destroyed their transports.
Space is full of a loooot of bodies right now.

>>31725403
pay attention, jeez. read the thread carefully.

> you manage to catch the tail end of a data bank before it gets wiped. Intriguing..this may prove useful, you think. But there is time for that later.

it is obviously data loot.

but now we at least know what the fuck the plague carrier's Deal was, right?

what its design was purposed towards? was it not just viral infection of systems?

>>31725449
I thought the Malorians and UGEI were fighting 2 battles I thought. I'm just wondering how does the other one fare?

>>31725449
wait, planetside on THIS planet right here?

anon was asking about the OTHER star system that borders UGEI space.

>>31725348
well, Program0, I'm just letting you and everyone else, I'll have my next chapter up on the 1d4page tomorrow.

>>31725419
>Show them the footage of the humans dieing on the Carrier, may it...

>entertain them.

no

>>31725474
Oh, that's a good thing to ask.
We might need to convince the malorians we just rescued to reinforce the other battle with us

>>31725484
>Posting it on the 1d4chan page

Fuck no. Keep that shit on a pastebin or something, not on the wiki.

>>31725454
>At least knowing it's deal
Oh, right, should have clarified.

'Plague Carrier' Class Malorian attack Carrier.
Special notes:
>Bombers: Carries an array of bombers that specialize in destroying special target ships. Useful for stopping all attempts at escape, and ruining hardpoints on sturdy ships, if improperly shielded.
>???: Strange missiles located. Unknown toxic located within. Likely anti Malorian bio weapon.

>>31725520
>to reinforce the other battle with us
...they have NOTHING LEFT anon.

basically nothing that can leave this system.

>>31725474
Ah, that one.
Sadly, that battle is not going nearly as well.
On the bright side, it's easier to reclaim one world, then two, right?

>>31725571
easier for the UGEI, eh?

>>31725571
Do we have time to help them, or we need to get back to Gaia?

I'm ok if we have to get back to Gaia urgently

>>31725607
you'd have to hop twice through Malorian space first.

and odds are they already won and called down the bioplague. there is nothing left to save by now probably.

though there are ships to hack.

>>31725659
I was wondering if Program0 will allow it, but I guess the gas will be a concern as well. That is a lot of jumps

>>31725607
Unless you want to make a blind jump? No, not really.

>Decision time!

You have done what you hoped to do-assist the Malorians in their duty. However, now you know that the UGEI is at your back, and you have little choice but to try and jump through Gaia IV, to get back home.

Upon doing so, your forces would come under attack by a large force. If you engage, there is a good chance you will lose a large portion of your army, or worse, an A.I. should you get unlucky.

What is your decision?

>1 Full Retreat, rush past Gaia IV, we did what we needed to do
>2 Retreat and retake Gaia IV, it is an incredibly valuable waypoint world, holding it successfully will mean we control a lot of movement.

Vote/discuss now.

>>31725708
dammit.

high risk, high reward.

we have out viral boobytrap that will detonate?

...what forces do we have left again? how many battlecruisers? this Malorian trip was not profitable.

>>31725708
Program0, can we first jump and see what effect our virus has? Then decide to fight or jump?

>>31725708
well.

if we do Full Retreat, we can retake Gaia IV *after* the UGEI rebuilds its infrastructure over the next several cycles.

>>31725733
Don't feel bad, we had 2 tactical victories today.

As I said here,
>>31725742
I want to see the effect of the virus trap. If it disables a lot of ships and makes it easy to capture them, then we stand a good chance in that battle.

>>31725733
>Viral boobytrap
It will.

Forces:
U-Ba-CR-0 'Athena' Battleship [Ophion]
P-Ca-LR-0 'Apocalypse Now' Carrier [Fortuna]
P-Cr-MR-0 'Two Ton Terry' Battlecruiser [Kronos] -1
L-Cr-LR-0 'Ark' Battlecruiser [Kronos]
GM-Cr-MR-2 'Trireme' Battlecruiser (x3) [Kronos]
L-Cr-LR-0 'Cerberus I' Battlecruiser [Hades]
GM-Cr-MR-2 'Trireme' Battlecruiser (x5) [Hades]
GM-Cr-LR-1 'Catapult' Battlecruiser (x5) [Hades]
GM-Cr-MR-1 'Chimera' Battlecruiser (x4) [Hades]
GM-E-MR-1 'Pilum' Destroyer x10 [Fortuna]
GM-E-B-1 'Soundwave' Broadband Frigate
GM-E-B-1 'Blaster' Broadband Frigate
GM-E-B-1 Broadband Frigate x2

Keep in mind they are a bit damaged and worn as well.

>>31725742
You always have the option of retreating. This is just a vote so I know how to open the next post.

>>31725708
god do we STILL not have a stealth ship with a V.I. on board to scout ahead on things like this?

how have we still not done that? we need that in our fleet at all times!

we can't have the only person with stealth be goddamn RED.

>>31725802
Er, sorry, forgot to move TTT from that.

>>31725806
The trap will not trigger until you demand it to do so/they check Gaia IV's internal systems. Chances are, they're preparing for you to jump back.

>>31725837
i know, i just wanted to know how many of the hundreds were Battlecruisers, or more... special things like the Plague Carrier.

>>31725802
Ok, I'll keep my vote for middle option:
Observe virus effects before deciding actions.

>>31725708
full retreat

If we lose half of our army taking it then we won't be able to hold it

>>31725860
Ah.
Well, you do have an expeditionary Cruiser that could be fitted with a stealth device.
I'll make a note of that.

>>31725879
Wait, scratch that, you can't. That's a cruiser.

Still, Stealth Frigates exist.

>>31725837
well that and a more general bitching that we need to install stealth on Hermes and keep him around to scout ahead in instances like this where we wanna see where we're jumping into.

>>31725802
Also, how many of the captured Battlecruisers do we still have?

>>31725908
>>31725879
Make the jump and start the virus. Then we'll decide.

Maybe we'll crit.

>>31725908
oh right. Hermes too big.

well we need one of those yeah. or Hermes can fit into a smaller body, if it sustains the same bandwidth.

>>31725947
Or research it a bit

>>31725938
Yeah, support as I said here:
>>31725869

Note: The virus roll already was made, actually, and it's quite a success. They will almost certainly be affected by the virus, even if it's only for a short time.

This provides a window of opportunity. This vote shall be what you do with it.

Vote

>1 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to retreat home (Use viral trap as time to calculate jump coordinates)
>2 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to attack (Viral Trap will allow you plenty of free shots, but will eventually wear off)

Expected Enemy Forces: In the hundreds. Sensors indicate over 100 battlecruisers, with no shortage of frigates. However, they lack any larger power signals, which suggests there may not be any Dreadnoughts.

>>31725930
Captured: 1 Ca, 35 CR, 25 DE
Keep in mind they're quite inferior to your own units, which are especially tough and up to date weapon & defense wise.

>>31725995
>1 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to retreat home (Use viral trap as time to calculate jump coordinates)

we can conquer them another day.

this is a rather large force. the odds are poor. even with hacking.

yet, if we attack in 3 cycles from now... will our odds be better?

>>31725995
>2 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to attack (Viral Trap will allow you plenty of free shots, but will eventually wear off)
We'll do a hit and fade attack. Activate the virus and capture as many ships as possible. Also us the time to do immense damage. But retreat after it wears off.

The more damage we do now, the better for future battles.

>>31725995
>2 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to attack (Viral Trap will allow you plenty of free shots, but will eventually wear off)
i think its worth the risk

>>31725995
shit we gotta get the Plague Carrier to Ussaihu for study first anyway. no sense letting it blow up.

>>31726043
we need that time to do the JUMP home anon it's either/or.

>>31725995
>1 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to retreat home (Use viral trap as time to calculate jump coordinates)

>>31726039
>yet, if we attack in 3 cycles from now... will our odds be better?
You mean after doing some....modifications to your ships?
Almost certainly.

>>31725995
>>>1 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to retreat home (Use viral trap as time to calculate jump coordinates)
There's a decent chance of losing an A.I. so no we're not risking it.

oh hey, we still have a civilian comm.

are we on all the news still?

>>31726086
>>31726039
The Malorians will probably attack again too.

>>31725995
>>1 Jump to Gaia IV with the intent to retreat home (Use viral trap as time to calculate jump coordinates)

>100 BCs
Fuck that

>>31726072
The middle route is fine as well. Do some damage with minimal losses,

>>31726117
no it isn't

buddha pls go

>>31726106
>Are we still all over the news
Yep.

>>31725995
>1 Appears to win

>Warp Jump initiating...

(Roll 1d100)

>>31726114
We have 54 BCs left, plus a couple of free shots. We can still do some damage while they are disabled.

Rolled 74

>>31726145
Oh well, outvoted.

still hoping to buy 2500 minerals for a new bandwidth block.

Rolled 9

>>31726145

Rolled 91

>>31726145
jump jump jump as fast as you can

you can't catch me i'm the gingerbread man

>>31726179
We need to expand our research facilities yo.

Also, fund a political party.

Rolled 15, 5 = 20

>>31726145
Looks like people are falling asleep. Better wrap this up.

>>31726197
>Also, fund a political party.

Eh, I'd rather leave the UFW alone politically. Just keep sending that sweet, sweet booze over.

>>31726197
elections are slow as fuck.

easier to corrupt existing politicians.

>>31726240
ah, if we'd chosen to fight, would we have played until we won or retreated tonight?

>>31726240
Thanks alot Program0. 2 battles in a row must be tiring.

Fund political party, buy up property, especially mining and gas rights and shipyards with different companies so that no majority is obvious.

Oh, and >>31725995
>1

>>31726300
The UFW government tightly regulates mining and gas rights though for their war effort?

it'd be nice to bu up what we can but we still wouldn't have the control we'd want. probably just a cut of the profits.

>>31726197
>funding political party
>not just building a sleazy politician AI

>>31725995
2

I know it's late, but we won't have as good a shot at this again, and now we're on their shit list.

If we go in there, guns blazing, and use Athena as the wrecking ball it is supposed to be, we can probably win the encounter, and keep the chokepoint.

>>31726244
If the UFW didn't pussyfoot, we could have held Gaia. We even did the hard work.

We should leak this info to X-Ray (using Red or someone) to get the political furor started to lay the groundwork of the Patriot party.

>>31726260
If we get enough political momentum, politicians will trip over themselves to support a more war-like position. Just leak that UFW's refusal to reinforce Gaia cost us from keeping it , and every single armchair strategist and supporters of the military will be furious.

>>31726347
And lose over half our forces and probably Fortuna and/or Kronos.

Then the UGEI comes in with another fleet of 300 BCs tomorrow.

>>31726335
Our not-so-sleazy politician AI would be in control of the androids that would be taking all the top positions.

>>31726386
well, obviously

Though I think it would be better to get humans to do that.


May I ask the purpose of the political party?

>>31726197
>Creating a full political party
>Not just making a political lobby of some sort

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You steel yourself. You've done what you wanted to do, to assist and get the Ishtooy to see you're not their enemy. You feel you succeeded(at least partially). There is little sense in throwing yourself away against the enemy. Especially not when you can simply jump past the foe with the trap you made, and upgrade all these ships you've pilfered. You'll be ready then, you're sure..

Your vision distorts, as you're so use to it doing, and in an instant you are back above Gaia IV. The enemy fleet is a sizable one, to be sure. Your sensors rapidly makes sense of the dots on your radar. Your A.I. stick close to you too, just in case.
"They can just throw so many ships away." Kronos utters as you move across the field, watching as the data corruption causes the foe's weapons and engines to seize up. Good. You need this window. "And yet always have more." He states, a little in awe.
"Do not worry, Chosen Kronos. Master Ophion will succeed. He will take every ship they have and use it against them." Fortuna speaks up confidently for you. Kronos scolds her electronically, but otherwise does not say much. You, on the other hand reply too.
"They have had what I have had so precious little of. Time." You explain, gazing upon the UGEI's logo, and the half burned world. Comm feeds blow past you.
"Terrorist!"
"Monster!"
"Scum!"
More like scapegoat, you can not help but think bitterly to yourself. So easily fooled, you almost feel pity for those citizens. To be under the heel of someone, and yet fed lies until they believe there is no greater home.
"Ophion?" Kronos questions as you feel warp engines pick up around you all again. "Something the matter?"
"No, Kronos." You say after some thought. "I simply am realizing the scope of what I must do."

[End Thread (Kinda)]

>>31726369
The UFW has a shit navy. Last time they helped us they got blown the fuck up.

Thanks to all you good folks for joining me, I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Twitter: AIQuest1
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Program0
For those who want to vote.


Now comes discussion time!
Rather, the rest of the thread (since I(eventually) read everything posted in these) will be dedicated to
>Resource allocation
>Ship/Research Design Topics
>World Building
>Questions, Comments and Concerns (I like this one a lot)

I believe this is plenty to end a cycle on, don't you?
>1 Yes
>2 No

>>31726260
I would go as long as I got votes and dice. Feeling good tonight.

>>31726270
Little bit, but it's no worry. I just constantly worry about something being hard to understand.

>>31726373
Well, then they come with 500 BCs otherwise. Or we have to fight 500 BCs.

Tsk.

Fine, play it safe. I've spoken my mind.

That said, we need another shipyard or two in order to ramp up ship production. And a droid factory to exploit our advantage of being able to make troops with a few minerals and gas, not 20 years of nurturing and caring. Every single human we kill with a droid gives us a massive advantage.

Yeah, it's heartless, but they knew what they were signing up for when joining the military.

Gentlemen, I suggest we commission 'drone' destroyers/escort ships/fighters from the UFW's shipyards, under the guise that the Guild, lacking in manpower, but having a prodigal drone commander, sees them as far more cost effective than hiring crews.
If they ask, we give the name of the prodigal commander as 'Wintermute'.

>>31726468
Ah, yes.

How much BW can there be in a Stealth Frigate?

>>31726386
Speaking of politician AIs, we should make a leader type AI to govern over captured UGEI worlds in our absence.

>>31726469
>That said, we need another shipyard or two in order to ramp up ship production
i think you mean we need about twice as many planets to ramp up mineral production?

and gas giants too?

i don't think number of shipyards is the bottleneck.

>>31726468
yep

>>31726469
We need more minerals and gas before needing more shipyards.

>>31726502
in the LONG term.

i thought about this too, but we need it to mature as a free high-BW V.I. so we can shape and observe how it adapts to governance, rather than throwing a newborn AI at the problem like Cephalus.

>>31726495
Barely any. But a V.I. could feesibly be fit into one. Just no additional bandwidth and limited operational capacity.

>>31726493
We'll give them to Fortuna.

But the UFW doesn't have as good tech as us.

>>31726537
Or we could create a new A.I. and teach him now- no need for bandwidth. It's not like we've captured a UGEI world yet, although we came close today.

>>31726493
what, no.

our shipyards aren't saturated for production, just buy the minerals off them and produce them ourselves at superior technological quality.

the UFW is inferior to us in all ways technologically. and they should stay that way, since you never know when some horrible revelation will make them turn on us.

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>>31726571
>Or we could create a new A.I. and
nope

nope nope nope

what part of you promised Metis, the always-right, otherwise, did you not get.

>>31726468
>Resource allocation
Repair and upgrade our BCs that we got. We more than doubled what we had, and I'm proud of that.

Build up more ships. And we need to build up more research facilities and bandwidth bunkers.

Build more stealth ships so we have greater scouting capabilities.

After new ships, build a new bandwidth bunker if we can. And spend money to purchase research space in the UFW. Our humans can work there.

>Ship/Research Design Topics
We should complete our research subjects next turn. We need new Widowmakers, asap. Each of the fleet AIs get one.

Also move Kronos to the new Carrier. Have him give it a new name. It will get a new windowmaker soon.

>World Building
Officially, speak of our 2 tactical victories today. We have more than doubled our BC fleet today. And thank the UFW for holding the line at Guild Space.

Using back channels (like Red speaking to X-Ray) lament that we lost Gaia because UFW was unable to reinforce. We lost a very strategic choke point. This should get the UFW riled up to be more aggressive.

End the current cycle.

>>31726591
Christ. You realize she was talking about creating more than one AI at a time right? Program0 went over this.

>>31726513
>i don't think number of shipyards is the bottleneck.

Program0, can you clarify this? At last count, we can only make a small number of BCs per cycle. That would utilize all our +2450 M, +1875 G per cycle.

...

>Losirian Insurgency Effort: -735M (-30% of mineral income)

Haha wow, can we drop this to a flat 500 M per cycle?

>>31726597
>Also move Kronos to the new Carrier
is it actually better than his current ride? I'm not really clear.

the Carrier is more of a thing to be studied right now, with its biological weapon there.

>>31726591
>Metis
>Always right
Wut. IMO she is one of our least successful A.I.

>>31726609
Carriers are bigger and tougher than BCs. He's been due for an upgrade.

>>31726597
Let's give the new carrier to Fortuna and allow her to control all our smaller fleets of Bombers and Fighter

>>31726469
honestly, I'm pretty mad at the idiots who decided to waste ton of money to hire ground forces mercs which we really don't need. It would have been better if we hired them when we needed them and not just hire them and pay them salary for doing jack shit. Even then, our androids will do the job much better.
And don't get me started at the idiotic power armor research. Wasting time and resources on useless tech. I hope at least that PA research will have application for droids... Even then, a dedicated droid research would have been better.

We need to establish space superiority Stop wasting resources on stupid pet projects.

>>31726605
>ou realize she was talking about creating more than one AI at a time
...but we are physically incapable of doing that.

She asked for this to be the last AI for some time. Because we shouldn't be a complete idiot and create shit willy-nilly.

We need good solid purpose for them ready to go, and we need a beta run as a V.I. to be sure of their personality working out. She never had a problem with Apollo's uplift, or Fortuna's, after all.

>>31726597
>Also move Kronos to the new Carrie
No, splitting the Fighters and Bombers is just dumb.

>>31726634
Carriers as only bigger to hold fighters and bombers. they have moderately more armor but not much.

>>31726468
>3 Can we get a convo or two in, first? Please?

Can we talk to President King? Not sure what we should discuss, but maybe drop hints that we're not human. Just to fuck with him.

Speaking with Kronos and the other AIs (Fortuna excepted) about Fortuna's earlier outburst would also be wise. Ask them if they have concerns.

Finally, we ask Moira what the sense of smell is like.

>>31726639
You know Kronos will give us a lot of we give the other Carrier to Fortuna.

>>31726663
Then being tougher alone is better. We can't afford to lose AI.