Sirius Business - a C# Aurora forum game. v2.5

[randakar]

Bork scouts are no big deal.

In their place, we would be scouting too.

I'm not sure. Wouldn't this be an excellent chance to get them to recognize a claim on a system -- before they start trying to colonize it?

If we had set a suggest leave status on Harmony before they send in anything bigger they might have recognized it.

 

[randakar]

I've resumed my thread archeology.

I think that will be one of the mottos of the Earth Defense Force:

"If brute force isn't working, you aren't using enough."

Sounds like one of the Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries

 

[Nikolai II]

April 29th, 2031.

The usual polite suggestion from the Bork. Diplo +78.9

As long as they remain polite, and as long as it remains just a suggestion, we can hope that our relations are actually going up, not down.

Just in case their relations are actually slowly dropping, we could expect a harsher demand which would then equate to a swifter drop in relations if ignored.

Do we have any preparations done for actually vacating the system quickly in case this would happen at an inopportunate moment (i.e. within the next 2-3 years)?

(After that we might be more likely to relish a war since we'll have a whole new complex built up just to invade other planets and looting them for servitors.)

 

[randakar]

Wrecked.

For the first time in weeks, no Pirates are visible on our sensors.

Twenty-five Pirate wrecks (and three of our own Freighter wrecks) are strewn around the Tau Ceti system.

One Armageddon, three Typhos, eleven Jerkmobiles and ten Achernars.

Only three Sabres are still firing... all the rest (six more) are re-loading spare parts.

A tenth one is on his way to Earth for drydock repairs.

Oh, the days when 25 wrecks in a system was a lot ..

 

[randakar]

Somebody is getting the crap shot out of them in some other part of the galaxy. None of this is happening within mt sensor range.

View attachment 1097167

Ancient but note the time increment length. 420 seconds? Someone else is using reduced size launchers and it's not the Modron ..

 

[randakar]

I unveil... the Laser Fighter!

---

Berserker class Heavy Fighter (P) 500 tons 8 Crew 255.6 BP TCS 10 TH 42 EM 0
12002 km/s Armour 1-5 Shields 0-0 HTK 4 Sensors 0/0/0/0 DCR 0-0 PPV 4
Maint Life 2.33 Years MSP 150 AFR 100% IFR 1.4% 1YR 38 5YR 563 Max Repair 105 MSP
Lieutenant Commander Control Rating 1
Intended Deployment Time: 3 days Morale Check Required

FTR Magnetic Fusion Drive EP120.00 1999 (1) Power 120 Fuel Use 1742.84% Signature 42.00 Explosion 30%
Fuel Capacity 15,000 Litres Range 0.31 billion km (7 hours at full power)

12cm C4 Far Ultraviolet Laser 2004 (1) Range 200,000km TS: 12,002 km/s Power 4-4 RM 50,000 km ROF 5
1998 Beam Fire Control R320-TS10000 (SW) (1) Max Range: 320,000 km TS: 10,000 km/s ECCM-1 97 94 91 88 84 81 78 75 72 69
Tokamak Fusion Reactor R4 1996b (1) Total Power Output 4 Exp 5%

This design is classed as a Fighter for production, combat and planetary interaction
This design is classed as a Fighter for auto-assignment purposes

---

Had to use a 12cm Laser instead of 15cm, in order to fit it all into a Fighter's displacement.

Only four damage per hit (at point blank range... less at long range). But it fires every five seconds... that adds up!

Enough repair parts to correct one malfunction.

hmm, I wonder what this looks like with modern 2030's era tech rather than 1998 tech ..

 

[randakar]

Mata Hari turns off their IFF transponder and attempts the jump, using an induced field created by the jump drive on one of Iche Bins' Admiral IIs.

View attachment 1131522

View attachment 1131523

... now THAT is interesting. The Jerx obviously raided the Rakhas while we were gone... and got their ass handed to them.

This is one for the threadmarks: The start of the battle for Lalande 21185. Aka the Rakhas-held planet we obliterated from orbit.

 

[blue emu]

I'm not sure. Wouldn't this be an excellent chance to get them to recognize a claim on a system -- before they start trying to colonize it?

If we had set a suggest leave status on Harmony before they send in anything bigger they might have recognized it.

We've had "suggest leave" on AX Microscopii and Luyten's Star for weeks.

 

[randakar]

In that case, carry on

 

[randakar]

Oooops.

View attachment 1132251

At 600,000 km, they open fire on our Snooper!

View attachment 1132253

Fifty-six shots... and no hits. The odds must have been around 2 percent per shot

Well... RobbieAB earns an Alien Marksmanship Medal, and we'll haul ass out of THERE.

This is sort of relevant. Back then the "kill the STO" stage of the invasion was a massive issue. We ended up bombarding the hell out of the Goon's planet because of it.
Given the high level laser tech the Modron have, I would not be surprised if this time around we'll run into a similar issue. They will have STO, and that STO may out-tech our gunships. Even when we now *have* gunships, at least, it may be dangerous.

That laser warhead tech may actually come in handy to counter that, though.

 

[blue emu]

ESN Orion has finished shore leave and overhaul, collected a modern wing of Fighters (more than twice the strike range of the previous squadron, and better ECCM as well) on planet Harmony and is returning to station so that other Carriers and their escorts can take their place in the anchorage. We are gradually "hot-berthing" the whole fleet, a few at a time, to give everybody a chance to rest.

 

[blue emu]

The wreck of the Sarthe yields up some of its secrets... 12,500 research points toward longer-ranged Lasers.

Recall that - like the Rakshas - the Sarthe opened fire at 600,000 km.

 

[blue emu]

May 4th, 2031.

The usual polite suggestion from the Bork. Diplo +80.1

Still building ground troops. Working on assembling our fourth division of Light Infantry; with each division consisting of 16 battalions (20 including attachments).

Later this month some of our commercial slipways will clear! And some more the following month.

 

[randakar]

The wreck of the Sarthe yields up some of its secrets... 12,500 research points toward longer-ranged Lasers.

Recall that - like the Rakshas - the Sarthe opened fire at 600,000 km.

View attachment 1293005

5 reactors too! Very nice.

 

[blue emu]

More useful tech data.

So he can shoot at Fighters out to the maximum range of his missiles (max 48 million km).

The AMMs he's been using are less than 5 million km max range.

I wonder if he carries any actual long-range size-1 missiles, specifically for killing enemy Fighters?

Probably not. The AI is not good at outside-the-box thinking.

I do so much outside-the-box thinking that it's like being INSIDE the box, for me.

5 reactors too! Very nice.

Yeah, that was pretty sweet.

 

[blue emu]

May 9th, 2031.

Another polite suggestion. Diplo +81.3

Another re-tooling completes, for Manticores (a modern Fortress module).

As soon as the second group of Phalanxes clears the slips, we can lay down Manticores.

 

[randakar]

When do you start shipping those components back home?

 

[blue emu]

May 14th, 2031.

Another polite suggestion from the Bork. Diplo +82.6

When do you start shipping those components back home?

I formated each Salvager with a group of five Mule-class Freighters, to collect any overflow. So far they aren't even 20% full.

This one is 10% full, for example:

 

[randakar]

Wow.

OK, there's a LOT of stuff on that planet, including Armored units.

Combat report -

Good news : We hit them with 452 nine-factor nukes. That's a lot of pain.

Bad news : There's still lots of them left. We might want to repeat that Fighter strike. Maybe a few times...

First there's several pages like this:

View attachment 1135269

... and then a summary.

View attachment 1135270

Nuclear Armageddon. If you are going to threadmark the Rakhas, this is the other place I'd put it.

 

[blue emu]

We've made quite a bit of forward progress, so far today.

More than half a month. And more still to come.