Nice work, Psillycyber! And I've GOT IT!
... But this may take a while. By sending transports to all three Meklar worlds (and sending them last turn or earlier so I can't veto them) you've ensured we can't win this game by Conquest; it's Extermination or nothing, and exterminating these birds - with their 14 shield layers, ECM VII, and [EDIT: +85] ground combat bonus on defense - is going to require some serious dedication. If they get another level of planetary shielding, we're going to need endgame weapons to get through to them.
So it's a good thing we have an empire that can blow through techs fast if needed - and an empire, in the meantime, that I'm going to try to use to prevent them from ever researching those shields!
... But this may take a while. By sending transports to all three Meklar worlds (and sending them last turn or earlier so I can't veto them) you've ensured we can't win this game by Conquest; it's Extermination or nothing, and exterminating these birds - with their 14 shield layers, ECM VII, and [EDIT: +85] ground combat bonus on defense - is going to require some serious dedication. If they get another level of planetary shielding, we're going to need endgame weapons to get through to them.
So it's a good thing we have an empire that can blow through techs fast if needed - and an empire, in the meantime, that I'm going to try to use to prevent them from ever researching those shields!