With the arrival of patch 1.3 and the Leviathan DLC I decided to try my hand at an AAR. So without further ado, I give you the first chapter of the tale of the Keb-Thu'un, the Children of Thu'un.
The Dawn of a New Age
We have debated this move for a generation, but the time for deliberation has passed and we have committed ourselves to the journey. As we once roamed the Shell of the Great Mother Thu'un, now we shall travel amongst the stars. The vision of our newly elected Grand Orator will come to pass.
Our own planet is poor in minerals, but rich in the resources necessary to fuel both life and industry. Hopefully, our star system can provide what we lack closer to home. And if not here, than perhaps the nearby system of Diam can give us the material wealth necessary to build our future.
We construct a second exploration vessel and send it forth under the command of Hask'Sornas while a brilliant young scientist takes up his work on orbital energy capture. Closer to home, we begin constructing a station to exploit a collection of especially mineral rich asteroids our original exploration ship had found. And then, exciting news from far Diam.
Hask'Sornas has found indications of life on inhospitable Diam I. Excited, he asks for permission to launch an expedition to study the phenomenon closer, but the Orators deny his request. His field of expertise is Electronics, not Biology.
It takes many days of discussion before he grudgingly relents and moves on to Rogveddi. Yet what he finds there might be even more important.
It seems the third planet is not only life-bearing, but in conditions resembles Thu'un itself! Hask'Sornas keeps to the original mission plan, yet as they survey one empty world after another, his mind is elsewhere. It seems he has not accepted the Assembly's decision with as much grace as thought.
Such dedication is to be applauded, yet the Assembly is not swayed from its decision. Torba'Inrab is already on his way to Diam I and he will be the one to determine what was the cause of the tantalizing readings Hask'Sornas took.
Hask'Sornas, however, gets what he wishes after all. It is he who confirms the existence of not only alien life, but complex organisms. Combined with the clear signs of mineral wealth on the planet and it seems we have found a prime candidate for our first extra-Thu'un colony.
But we lack the resources to assemble the ship necessary for such an endeavor and will for many years. But what is a decade to a Child of Thu'un?
In the excitement, many overlook Torba'Inrab's discovery of silicon-based life on Diam I. But the Orators take note of the mineral wealth those simple lifeforms have deposited upon the surface of their planet and if our people's dreams are to come to fruition, it will be in part thanks to those overlooked worms tireless efforts.
Leaving Diam behind him, Torba'Inrab moves on to the Hofram system while Hask'Sornas heads for Mergra. But trouble stirs. Not in orbit of some distant star, on a planet whose name is only known to a few Stargazers. No, it is right here at home.
Their existence does not come as a surprise, renegades have always been with us. Yet this group has somehow assembled a fleet of warships as large as the Assembly's. Where did they find the resources, what shipyard were they built at that could escape our notice?
Fortunately, it seems they are not looking for a direct confrontation as of yet. They appear contend to hover around the planet Mil'Feldrak. But their presence halts our people's efforts to develop the resources of our home system and we need to funnel what minerals we do have into building a fleet capable of stopping these renegades.
The Orators cast about for an admiral to lead this effort, but even our best are ill-qualified for a conflict such as this. War is a thing of the past, and even then it was never fought with anything that even resembled a spaceship.
Perhaps youthful energy will make up for that lack of experience. The Assembly makes a public announcement naming Torba'Keldi as the head of our effort to make our home safe once more. As she settles into her assignment we receive word from Hask'Sornas, he has found evidence of more aliens. Intelligent ones!
An entire shipyard, and more infrastucture orbiting the gas giant itself. Hask'Sornas requests the honor to study the remnants, but the Orators once more deny him. They chose Torba'Inrab for their first exploration ship for a good reason, but it will be many months before he can reach Mergra.
Angry, Hask'Sornas leaves the system and heads for the nearly empty system of Shellak.
Good news, our military build-up continues a pace while the renegades still have not made move. What are they waiting for?
Given the speed and trajectory of the object, Torba'Inrab speculates that it is artificial and as such proof that at one point in the past, this entire region of space was inhabited by a highly intelligent species. Which begs the question, where are they now?
Right now, we will not get an answer. Our ships and crews are simply not up to the task to safely approach the object. Hopefully, Torba'Inrab will find an answer in Mergra, but first he will explore Qeffoth.
Qeffoth III appears to lack Rogveddi's hostile fauna, but it is also mineral poor. Still, another good spot for a colony. If we can ever find the resources to put into such an effort. And speaking of where our efforts, how is our defense fleet coming along?
Excellent, it is time to put an end to these renegades.
We have put an end to their menace, but at the cost of the Alam'Hinthab, the first war ship to ever been laid down. Their brave sacrifice will never be forgotten. But now our people can breathe more easily, knowing that the threat of the Throne no longer hovers above their heads …
But these after-action reports are troubling, analysis showing the Throne ships are no mere copies of our own Argument-class but are indeed notably more advanced than anything the Blessed Assembly fields. Torpedoes, fusion reactors, where did they get this technology?
The rot had spread further than we realized, but now we know how these ships were built in the first place. They must have some sort of stronghold, a colony. How they'd managed that is more than the Orators can say, but our course is clear.
But our current fleet may not be strong enough, if they have more ships. Yet we cannot afford to build anymore at this point, we have already diverted resources to constructing more mining stations and our current ships are outclassed. Quantity may prevail, but the Assembly is hesitant to spend Keb-Thu'un lives so freely.
But while the Orators' attention was on domestic affairs, Hask'Sornas made use of that distraction to excavate alien ruins he'd found on Chiiban II. We are unsure what impresses us more. His findings, or his boldness.
As a reward, and because we dare not send our science vessels any further with the threat of the Thrones out there, we relent and allow Hask'Sornas to return to Mergra and study the remains there. It is not like we don't have anything for Torba'Inrab to do.
A couple of months later, the results of Hask'Sornas project begin to roll in and an opportunity presents itself.
We lack the expertise to tease the secrets out of the satellite, but perhaps we can get the shipyard working again. If the Yuht were as advanced as we believe, then their ships may be our answer to the Throne's technological lead.
While we await the results, news comes from Eiol and Torba'Inrab, who has found more traces of an advanced alien civilization. If this is the Yuht as well, then they had spread fairly far. We tell Torba'Inrab not to disturb the site and leave it to our expert, once he's finished with his present task.
Excellent news. It is unfortunate that we will have no more of these hyper-advanced ships, but even this trio may be enough reinforcements to allow us to finally hunt down these Throne renegades.
The Dawn of a New Age
We have debated this move for a generation, but the time for deliberation has passed and we have committed ourselves to the journey. As we once roamed the Shell of the Great Mother Thu'un, now we shall travel amongst the stars. The vision of our newly elected Grand Orator will come to pass.
Our own planet is poor in minerals, but rich in the resources necessary to fuel both life and industry. Hopefully, our star system can provide what we lack closer to home. And if not here, than perhaps the nearby system of Diam can give us the material wealth necessary to build our future.
We construct a second exploration vessel and send it forth under the command of Hask'Sornas while a brilliant young scientist takes up his work on orbital energy capture. Closer to home, we begin constructing a station to exploit a collection of especially mineral rich asteroids our original exploration ship had found. And then, exciting news from far Diam.
Hask'Sornas has found indications of life on inhospitable Diam I. Excited, he asks for permission to launch an expedition to study the phenomenon closer, but the Orators deny his request. His field of expertise is Electronics, not Biology.
It takes many days of discussion before he grudgingly relents and moves on to Rogveddi. Yet what he finds there might be even more important.
It seems the third planet is not only life-bearing, but in conditions resembles Thu'un itself! Hask'Sornas keeps to the original mission plan, yet as they survey one empty world after another, his mind is elsewhere. It seems he has not accepted the Assembly's decision with as much grace as thought.
Such dedication is to be applauded, yet the Assembly is not swayed from its decision. Torba'Inrab is already on his way to Diam I and he will be the one to determine what was the cause of the tantalizing readings Hask'Sornas took.
Hask'Sornas, however, gets what he wishes after all. It is he who confirms the existence of not only alien life, but complex organisms. Combined with the clear signs of mineral wealth on the planet and it seems we have found a prime candidate for our first extra-Thu'un colony.
But we lack the resources to assemble the ship necessary for such an endeavor and will for many years. But what is a decade to a Child of Thu'un?
In the excitement, many overlook Torba'Inrab's discovery of silicon-based life on Diam I. But the Orators take note of the mineral wealth those simple lifeforms have deposited upon the surface of their planet and if our people's dreams are to come to fruition, it will be in part thanks to those overlooked worms tireless efforts.
Leaving Diam behind him, Torba'Inrab moves on to the Hofram system while Hask'Sornas heads for Mergra. But trouble stirs. Not in orbit of some distant star, on a planet whose name is only known to a few Stargazers. No, it is right here at home.
Their existence does not come as a surprise, renegades have always been with us. Yet this group has somehow assembled a fleet of warships as large as the Assembly's. Where did they find the resources, what shipyard were they built at that could escape our notice?
Fortunately, it seems they are not looking for a direct confrontation as of yet. They appear contend to hover around the planet Mil'Feldrak. But their presence halts our people's efforts to develop the resources of our home system and we need to funnel what minerals we do have into building a fleet capable of stopping these renegades.
The Orators cast about for an admiral to lead this effort, but even our best are ill-qualified for a conflict such as this. War is a thing of the past, and even then it was never fought with anything that even resembled a spaceship.
Perhaps youthful energy will make up for that lack of experience. The Assembly makes a public announcement naming Torba'Keldi as the head of our effort to make our home safe once more. As she settles into her assignment we receive word from Hask'Sornas, he has found evidence of more aliens. Intelligent ones!
An entire shipyard, and more infrastucture orbiting the gas giant itself. Hask'Sornas requests the honor to study the remnants, but the Orators once more deny him. They chose Torba'Inrab for their first exploration ship for a good reason, but it will be many months before he can reach Mergra.
Angry, Hask'Sornas leaves the system and heads for the nearly empty system of Shellak.
Good news, our military build-up continues a pace while the renegades still have not made move. What are they waiting for?
Given the speed and trajectory of the object, Torba'Inrab speculates that it is artificial and as such proof that at one point in the past, this entire region of space was inhabited by a highly intelligent species. Which begs the question, where are they now?
Right now, we will not get an answer. Our ships and crews are simply not up to the task to safely approach the object. Hopefully, Torba'Inrab will find an answer in Mergra, but first he will explore Qeffoth.
Qeffoth III appears to lack Rogveddi's hostile fauna, but it is also mineral poor. Still, another good spot for a colony. If we can ever find the resources to put into such an effort. And speaking of where our efforts, how is our defense fleet coming along?
Excellent, it is time to put an end to these renegades.
We have put an end to their menace, but at the cost of the Alam'Hinthab, the first war ship to ever been laid down. Their brave sacrifice will never be forgotten. But now our people can breathe more easily, knowing that the threat of the Throne no longer hovers above their heads …
But these after-action reports are troubling, analysis showing the Throne ships are no mere copies of our own Argument-class but are indeed notably more advanced than anything the Blessed Assembly fields. Torpedoes, fusion reactors, where did they get this technology?
The rot had spread further than we realized, but now we know how these ships were built in the first place. They must have some sort of stronghold, a colony. How they'd managed that is more than the Orators can say, but our course is clear.
But our current fleet may not be strong enough, if they have more ships. Yet we cannot afford to build anymore at this point, we have already diverted resources to constructing more mining stations and our current ships are outclassed. Quantity may prevail, but the Assembly is hesitant to spend Keb-Thu'un lives so freely.
But while the Orators' attention was on domestic affairs, Hask'Sornas made use of that distraction to excavate alien ruins he'd found on Chiiban II. We are unsure what impresses us more. His findings, or his boldness.
As a reward, and because we dare not send our science vessels any further with the threat of the Thrones out there, we relent and allow Hask'Sornas to return to Mergra and study the remains there. It is not like we don't have anything for Torba'Inrab to do.
A couple of months later, the results of Hask'Sornas project begin to roll in and an opportunity presents itself.
We lack the expertise to tease the secrets out of the satellite, but perhaps we can get the shipyard working again. If the Yuht were as advanced as we believe, then their ships may be our answer to the Throne's technological lead.
While we await the results, news comes from Eiol and Torba'Inrab, who has found more traces of an advanced alien civilization. If this is the Yuht as well, then they had spread fairly far. We tell Torba'Inrab not to disturb the site and leave it to our expert, once he's finished with his present task.
Excellent news. It is unfortunate that we will have no more of these hyper-advanced ships, but even this trio may be enough reinforcements to allow us to finally hunt down these Throne renegades.