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2300
I start the new year off by discarding our plans for weapons of war and redesigning the scout, crysoning it the Neoscout. There's nothing really new about it, just a little cheaper to make. I have one commissioned to be built by the next year. I plan on having one built each year until we have all stars in range patroled by one. I send our colony ship to our closest neighbor, a yellow star. We are likely to find a habitable planet there.
2303
I receive word that a planet in the Celtsi system has been colonized. I will send a select few there each year while the founders research local diseases and wildlife. If Mentar begins to expand rapidly, I may send even more over there, but only time will tell. **Note, I will be trying out a way to rapidly build up each world by using other worlds to fill it up until half copassity. I know this will slow the growth of my other planets in the mean time.
2309
I believe all stars have a ship going to them, so I cut funding for the scouts and begin instigating grants for research. I am most interested in Planetology and Propulsion, but Computers and Construction look promising. What little ship building that is left has been redirected towards building a Colony Ship, also of a *new*, cheaper design.
2311
The Scout at Vega has reported that his scans of the planet show it has rich mineral deposits. I will attempt to land there as soon as possible.
2314
As my scout reached Endoria, not one, but two alien spacecrafts were spotted. One was a small ship, similar to our scouts, and the other large ship, possibly like our colony ships. The odd thing was, each was so very different to one another in design. Endoria may be our link to such a fascinating discovery of new life!
2316
Yet another small craft was spotted, this time near Rhilus. Given it's unique design, I conclude that there are at least two alien intelligences in our local space. My aid, however, is of the Unified Alien doctrine. He claims that this is merely a different type of scout ship by a large and ancient alien race. I wonder which one of us will be proven right.
2317
With all this talk of aliens, my council has become restless for expansion. I agree and declare that all our colonies, when able to build 6 million factories a year, must then divert resources elsewhere to further our cause. I split Mentar's own resources among ships and grants.
2318
Finally, the grants are starting to pay off. I divert all grants to better send and receive messages between the stars, a better way to clean up after our factories, and a way to increase our round about range by two parsecs. My council advises me that I should merely look for a way to increase it by one, as that would be cheaper, but I look to the future, not just the paycheck.
2320
Again, that same large ship has been spotted, this time at Rha. I truly hope we can expand in that direction to meet them.
2331
After so long, we have finally launched another colony ship. This one is headed to Tyr. Also, many times, that large ships design has been seen at both Endoria and Rha.
2334
With the founding of Tyr, I send 40 million (Yes folks, I think I'm nuts as well) from Mentar. I also send 20 million from Celtsi to Mentar to help speed up re-population. These men and women will be paid handsomely for their 'efforts' in that regard.
2337
It must have been quite the shock to see 40 million colonists land on Tyr. In fact, the current media joke is that the first buildings constructed by these new inhabitants were vast medical facilities to house the original 2 million who had a collective heart attack. Ah well, such is the march of progress. I have even given orders that next year's colony ship will go in that direction to settle Vega. Looks like some of the people of Tyr will find their stay a short one.
2340
Our scout that was sent to Neptunus has found the source of the large ships. There is an alien colony there. The aliens there are quite alien, seemingly silicon based rock-like beings. No official contact has been made, as the scout does not have the right equipment nor knowledge to try to attempt communication. I let the scout stay in orbit to try to gather as much information as possible.
2342
Vega has been settled. I send 13 million of Tyr's citizens to populate it. Since neither Tyr itself is not a mature colony nor will it take much to build up Vega, I don't send a re-breeding population from Mentar. Much to the dismay of many Mentar youth. Also, a large ship, unlike the supposed colony ship, was seen in Neptunus's orbit. When it started seeking out the scout, the scout decided it would be a good idea to flee. Quite a good idea, in fact, as the ship seemed to have weapons. Here is the scout's notes on what she has found.
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From what I have tried to pick up on their broadcasts, I believe I have discovered what their language is. It wasn't too hard to convert the signals to a video feed. I then used that to try to pick up any spikes in information to correlate a sound feed based on visual cues, such as wind blowing, something falling, explosions, and interactions with the environment. This brought me to a revelation.
At first, it appeared that their language was light based, as bulbs on their 'faces' would light up and change color in a non-random fashion. With the inclusion of sound, I found that a hum would accompany this change. Later on, I found that hum was not the same, even if it was the same bulb and color. This could be an indication of either grammar or linguistic nuance. I must say that I was quite proud of myself.
But there was on mystery left. There was a bit of what seemed to be junk data with every transmission. At first, I brushed it off as some sort of station indicator, until I found that there was a pattern to it. More confusing was that there were patterns shared by random broadcasts and not one broadcast kept it's 'pattern' on a daily or even weekly basis. This lead me to try out many fruitless ways it interpret this not-so-junk data.
The data seemed to be some sort of wave, so I tried it as second sound track. This produced an odd, monotonous buzz. It did not seem to co-inced with anything that the beings did, nor did it match anything in the surroundings. After a couple of weeks of super-imposing different tracks, light, infrared, chiaroscuro, etc., I thought this might be a sensory input than sight or hearing. Since I was quite sure most any creature would find it impractical to lick the TV, I tried to see if this was the oft joked Smell-o-vision. I hooked it up to my food replicator and configured it to produce molecules in tiny puffs of air.
I though I was at another breakthrough when I tried watching a war movie. I am quite sure the aftermath of a grenade does NOT smell like flowers. I was about to give up in frustration when I realized something. What about touch? I dulled a spare Vibro-knife from my med kit and hooked it up to oscillate at the indicated frequency. I held on and waited.
Not too long into the action, I was assaulted with information. I FELT it when a grenade went off, I FELT it when a tank rumbled past, I FELT it when the guns went off. But all along, it would buzz when they were 'talking', especially when it centered on a certain solder. Enlightenment struck when I figured it out. This was another part of their language! Subsonic vibrations meant to be felt, not heard. This epiphany made even their nature docmuentaries more interesting.
I have included in my report all the transmissions and all the codices; visual, audio, and rumble. Unfortunately, I fear until we either find a Rosetta Stone or can come close enough to make regular contact, their language would be a mystery.
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In other news, a small grant I made decades ago to better the factories has returned with a factory design that is 10% cheaper to build. This would allow colonies to set up faster. I encourage this type of research, against the protest of the council to better our ships' hulls and armor. I feel no need to be so defensive minded. I just hope this doesn't come back to bite me later on.
2343
This year showed the public unveiling of the Deep Space Scanner. This allowed us to see more ships in space. We have also found more transmissions of the Rock-Alien origin. These are huge! Maybe is this their homeworld?
When I talked to the research team, I asked them to try to improve the Robotics controls for our factories. Most were dismayed that they weren't allowed to branch out into anti-missile defense or targeting computers, but I still feel no need to expect war.
2344
Year after year, there's something new, it seems! A new fuel type can now let our ships travel 5 parsecs from a planet. I ask the scientists if they can use this fuel to boost the speed of our ships. Again, I had to quiet down grumbling of even better range or stabling rockets.
A few months later, a collective self kicking happened when Tyr realized it was 5 parsecs away from Neptunus. Fleets of science ships were launched in a effort to reach them. With a responsive and seemingly curious audience, we were able to translate their language. But when I was finally able to talk with their leader, I hope there was a mistranslation. We shall not 'prosper under their rule'.
2345
And now the Conversationalists will be happy. A new clean up tech allows us a 50% increase in the efficiency of our waste recycling. This, of course, makes me happy since that lets me pour more money into other things. Out of all the plans the team proposes, I chose a new archology design. More people means more funds. More funds means more research.
2348
Now that Vega is maturing nicely, I will make it our second Colony ship builder. It's rich resources will help us greatly in many ways in the future.
2349
With the founding of Rana, I send 35 from Celtsi and 18 repop from Mentar.
2353
A Silicoid Fleet reached Rha. That large armed ship was with it this time. So when the fleet contacted the scout and announced that the Rha system was under Silicoid control, he fled. Hard to argue with that many guns. Fortunately, the Colony ship I had planned to send to Rha had just reached Tyr. I redirected it to Endoria. I hope it will get there before another battle ship does.
2355
More bad news. My scout sent to Nazin has found that it was guarded by 4 large ships. And there were missile bases on the planet. The wealth of transmissions indicate that this might be a homeworld, or a very mature colony. It's a shame that the scout couldn't stick around to find out.
2356
More alien ships... more guns... This time at Hyades.
2358
So many things happened with the founding of Endoria. First, I ordered 23 from Tyr to there and 12 repop from Mentar.
Not too long after, a strange signal overwrote all the communications on Endoria for one hour. Those that were video communications reported a shadowy figure in a purple cloak with glowing red eyes. This figure gave a message to stay away from Nazin and Quayal. It spoke perfect Psilon. That was the most unsettling part. After weeks of trying to establish contact, a reluctant answer came. They are the Darloks. They don't like people. They will talk, but only on their terms. They still won't answer how they learned our language.
With all this increase in interstellar communication, new messages came through from the north. Jittery and mis-phrased messages. Official communications showed that these were a race called the Klackons. They have learned a patched translation of a translation of our language through the Silicoids.
2360
Every nay-sayer seems to be lining up to tell me "I told you so!". The Darloks seems to have had enough with speaking with us. Granted, we never spoke outside of meeting and embassy establishment. Unfortunately, the phrase "We never want to talk to you again!" can be better translated as "We will ensure you never speak again!". They appear to be at war with us. As such, I start promoting our scientists with ideas of how to protect ourselves. I also have ordered Vega to send it's metals to other planets to promote growth. Especially since we have nowhere else to go once we land our last three Colony Ships.
Also, another alien race contacts us. These are the ones to the West. They call themselves the Mrrshans. It seems this has killed the last vestages of the Unified Alien Theory.
2364
A double unveiling happened this year. Not only are our factories cheaper, but more of the factory is automated. I decide to push for anti-missile technology and an upgrade for our ships' hulls.
2366
A stronger shield has been developed. I now see if we can do the same for our troops. Since we have completely established our embassy in the Silicoid empire, I ask them for a trade agreement. Crystous agrees to a moderate 100 bc a year.
2368
Ah, finally, the new archologies are ready for use. For most of our planets, I send these plans right away. Some are too young to benefit. I look to a simple way to get our last planets in our part of the galaxy.
2369
A Darlok fleet has snuck up on Endoria. I will send everything we have to build up defenses. I only with I had made preparations for this sooner.
2371
I fear that even with our preparations, I feel that the inbound troop transports will annihilate our colony on Endoria.
2372
My fears are realized as the single missile base was effortlessly destroyed. Shortly after, 50 troops landed and slaughtered every man, woman, and child. With this horror fresh in my mind, I condone a horrible project, codenamed the Cinobuob Project.
2375
All known races have come together to decide on a peaceful way to end all wars. It was decided that the best way would be to have one ruler over all, to be decided by popular vote. I have the most votes at 5, with everyone else in the 2 to 4 range. The most populous, I and the Silicoids, are the contestants. The final tally is 6 votes for the Silicoids (4 from themselves and 2 from the Darloks) and 0 for myself. I have no wish to anger the Silicoids by voting against them, even if it is for myself.
2377
With popular opinion surging towards this, I begin the construction of an armada. I design a fighter with the best engines and shielding (2 across the board).
2378
With war on the horizon, as soon as the increase in range technology comes in, I push for better stabilizing rockets.
2380
We finally make a tentative embassy on Mrrshan territory. I call Jasana and agree to 100 bc/yr.
2381
With a portable shield for our warriors, I push our scientists to create one that can effectively cover an entire planet.
2383
Grave news. Crystous have sent us a message of war. He accused us of a political scandal that I have no knowledge of. I fear that the Darloks may have something to do with it. I send some scout ships to check up on their transmisions. (I start espionage)Desperate to keep a large war from breaking out, I contact Jasana and ask for a Non-Aggression Pact. She folds her ears back and growls.
Frustrated, I send our 19 Star Streaks to Endoria to attempt to take it back. I also send 30 million from Mentar and plan to send 30 more from Celtsi next year.
2384
Ah, the newly dubbed Duraloy Alloy has been perfect and ready for mass production. Now I see if we can design a system to keep our ships and bases in combat longer.
2387
The two projects that I have both dreaded and anxiously waited for. The deadly Cinobuob Project has come into fruition. It allows us to use biological bombs to wipe out the population but keep the infrastructure intact. This may be the only way we can defeat the Darloks. We also get our first ECM Rocket Jamming system. I never wanted to go to war.
I allow our scientists to experiment with increasing our out dated targeting computers. With the advent of the Cinobuob Project, I try to ease my guilt by trying to see if we can devise a way to clean up after our factories better. I just hope it will help me sleep at night.
And this just in, Keeta has been mined into the poor house. This year just keeps getting better and better.
2389
(#%^$#@@#$#$! I forgot about the "no invasions because you could get weapons tech rule". I didn't think to bomb them because I never normally get tech unless there are 100+ factories. Guess what the only tech I got was...)
Oh this is horrible! Among the ruins of the Darlok's factories, we find an improved version of our missiles. I refuse to use this horrible device in combat. Unfortunately, I know that my colonies won't share this feeling, so I must never construct or use Missile Bases. This may prove costly, but I vow to never use these types of weapons.
2390
Only one year after we take back Endoria, the Darloks attempt a bombing raid to destroy our factories. Possibly to keep their horrible secrets from falling into our hands. I wish they had succeed. But a dark plan forms in my mind. Monsters like these should never be allowed to live. We will build a grand ship that has only one purpose: the utter eradication of all life on Darlok worlds. With those monsters dead, they can never create such weapons again. I call this ship design the Sun Fire, for their evil planets shall burn under their suns.
2391
Now that our ships can become more stabilized, I turn towards an even more effective long range engine.
2393
Why, why does Crystous hate me? This horrible affront on Tyr makes me change all my plans. He has used a deadly toxin similar to our own Cinobuob Spores. So many of my people will die if I can't build a missile base. So I decide to fight horror with horror. One Missile base should have more than enough defenses to stop his normal attacks, so it should be able to take out his colony ship. Rha shall be my first target.
2405
Oh, the years of this war have flown by. We have once again lost Endoria, but I have a new plan. The attack on Rha failed miserably, but it showed me the horrible weapons of the Silicoids. Missiles that explode to reveal more missiles. This is madness. We must wipe this madness from the galaxy at all costs. Not a soul should be left to try this horror on others. I have created two new types of fighters for this exact purpose. One was built before the newest engines were made, one after. Each carries ten payloads of two Spore Bombs apiece. Once we amass enough of them, no planet, no matter the horror that guards it, shall survive.
2406
Vega has been captured. So this shall be our new testing grounds. Off they go.
2409
Both Vega and Rha have been great successes. We plan on taking out Nitzer until we can find a way to colonize there.
2465
It's ironic. Of all things, a computer virus was what stopped the destruction of my logs. And it erased what little we 'knew' of the enemy's weapons. The war has been at a stand still for a few decades. Our research has yielded many powerful defenses that our enemies can barely penetrate. But mistakes in the early war allowed them to take much of our hard earned defenses. This will not happen again. Using the tried and true Heavy Laser, we have created a Nova design with 35 of them and the best tech we had available at that time. Including a new Repulsar Beam. Jasana and I have been the two top leaders in the polls for Supreme Ruler. We quickly gained more than enough population to have half of the votes on the Council.
2468
The cloaking device. Such a wondrous technology. Perfect for getting our spore bombers to the enemy unseen until we reach their planets. Nothing shall stand in our way!
2476
All of our ships have begun to take a heavy toll on our economy, so I dial back all ship production except for Nova production and Rha producing our clocked Corona ships. By the looks of it, I should target Nazin next, now that we have Endoria, Rha, and Nitzer under our rule. And because Neptunus has 20 missile bases. I would need far more Corona ships to take out the population in time. That, or sacrifice many of our laser Star Blade ships. Not that we don't have many of those.
2482
It seems the Klackons have developed an antidote to our Cinobuob Spores. I push my scientists to create a stronger variant to attack them.
2487
I attempt a daring raid against the Silicoids on Neptunus, who do not share the Klackon's discovery of an immunity.
2488
And Neptunus falls to us.
2497
Jasana has shown her true colors. She "tires of diplomatic games" and declares war on us.
2550
A Plague has broken out on the newly captured Kholdan. It seems that the long occupation of Klackons has proved poisonous. It will take decades to clean the planet of the long unused communiques*.
2560
We've cleaned up Kholdan well enough that the "Klackon Cough" has stopped being fatal, but the hospitals in the archologies are still full of those who need quarantine to clear themselves. (Seriously, the plauge is still going on, but a combination of a Gaia planet and Eco spending is still increasing the population of Kholdan rather than dropping it.)
2604
And with the last little discovery, the Psilon race has discovered all theorized technologies. We have reached a near omniscient enlightenment in which we have decided that our blood feud with the primitive races of the galaxy shall come to a close. Come the next vote, we shall declare ourselves the ruler and show our young ones the true way to enlightenment.
2625
And so we unite the galaxy, even the Darloks, whom we feared extinct, and are on our way to greeting a wondrous new future. The Light is so bright, it blinds us all!
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Wooohhhh... I didn't realize that today was the posting day for this. Almost didn't make it.
Oh, and I have a demerit of 3 or 4 (Weapons tech 4).
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![[Image: DONOTSWALLOW.jpg]](http://realmsbeyond.net/image/DONOTSWALLOW.jpg)
So I guess it's time to address it.![[Image: screen76.jpg]](http://img194.imageshack.us/i/screen76.jpg/)
![[Image: screen77.jpg]](http://img194.imageshack.us/i/screen77.jpg/)
![[Image: screen78.jpg]](http://img194.imageshack.us/i/screen78.jpg/)