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Chapter Eighty-One - RELEASE ME!
  • Stellaris Play & Learn
    Chapter Eighty-One - RELEASE ME!

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    There was some more news from the frontier. A reptilian species on Straeng, in the Hauer system, were noticed by the crew of the ISS Donabb as it was scanning the planet.

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    Seems they were showing a form of intelligence and had evolved to dominate their world. Jondru has run tests that suggested the pre-sapient species COULD have their evolution sped up. It was a option if the right technology could be developed.

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    Then there was a report from the Dome. Of mixed results. Very mixed results. The crew, when they opened the last gate, were hit by waves of intense psionic energy. Many collapsed in agony and only a few made it into the last layer.

    It seemed the crew of the ISS Kodram found what they think was a large temple. There seemed to be a massive altar in the middle of it. The walls were covered with different star systems and a repeated diagram focused on Ovastivum.

    As they approached the altar the Scientists realize they were looking at some kind of machine. And they decided to tinker with it.

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    As they pushed buttons, pulled levers, and turned wheels they were hit with a shared auditory hallucination. A screaming command by something powerful to be let out. Visions of a creature ripping the system apart repeated in their heads. Was it a promise? A warning? The past? The future? Many Scientist and crew members fell to the floor. They were unable to deal with the pain.

    But something happened. From the depths of the minds of the Scientists and the crew members still standing came an ancient power. It came screaming out of the darkness and beat back the Elder One. The Hive Mind, for one shining moment, had returned. (1)

    Maybe it was instinct? Maybe a old defense mechanism? But under control of the Hive Mind the many moved as one. And ripped the machine into pieces. Then, like a whisper captured by the wind, it went away.

    Even Monnobak, the Minister of Peace, wasn't too upset about this. The idea of releasing some kind of monster that could destroy whole star systems wasn't something even it wanted to deal with at the moment.

    The ISS Kodram, and its recovering crew, was sent off to help in the Fevallion system. The First Thinker felt that might be a more relaxing assignment. Or safer anyway.

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    The Hemtares Station was finally finished in the Hemtares system. So the ISS Rukimar was ordered to build a Research Station around the star.

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    Back on Nest the government started a public Recycling Campaign. The people had to be taught to make less waste. The universe wasn't made up of limitless resources after all!

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    Author's Notes:

    1. Was trying to think of a in-story reason for them being able to overcome a monster's overwhelming power. And I remembered the Hive Mind.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Two - Expanding The Empire
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    Chapter Eighty-Two - Expanding The Empire

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    The Empire was still having issues with resources. The stations and colonies had to work harder. And smarter. And they needed more Construction Ships out there.

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    So the Daystar A Station was ordered to make a new Construction Ship.

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    Also Dongar Station finished making their Crew Quarters. Which made the station staff very happy.

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    The ISS Rukimar, the Construction Ship in the Hemtares system, had finished making the Research Station about the sun. The ship and its crew was sent to Hemtares IIa to build a Mining Station there.

    Jondru and the ISS Donabb were waiting in orbit around Spjuuht. They were waiting because they could not study the dig until the Hauer system was part of the Empire. It was a unclaimed system and would be wrong to start a dig in a unclaimed system.

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    So the ISS Bemalon was ordered to Hauer. Hopefully by the time it arrived there would be enough material to make a Starbase.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Three - Science!
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    Chapter Eighty-Three - Science!

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    The First Thinker got a interesting report from the ISS Lomatik in the orbit of Chergamore I. Seems below the surface of the planet was some kind of spores. They were massive spores when compared to those of the homeworld.

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    And the strangest thing about them was they seemed to form a network that generated a signal. A very weak signal to be honest but the crew felt they could found out the signal's destination. They were given the okay to study the spores and they named the Special Project The Fungal Trail. Elemano, the Commander of the Science Ship, was happy to study the spores. It liked spores.

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    Then the ISS Rukimar in Hemtares finished the Mining Station around Hemtares IIa. The crew was then ordered to Hemtares V where they would ordered to build another Mining Station.

    Then the Dothan Starbase finished its Crew Quarters. Which made the station staff happy. Nice big sleeping rooms, working tele-rooms, warm greenhouses, and, of course, a proper kitchen area. The space food was still made by auto-chefs programmed by food preparers overseen by the Chief but at least it was now prepared in nice shiny clean dining area. With free refills on drinks! FREE REFILLS!

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    After studying the Vultaum Satellite in the Fevallion system the crew of the ISS Yhlat found the machinery had nothing of interest. On the other claw the software used might improve their understanding of Vultaum programmg language. Which would help decipher the Vultaum data in the future!

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    The ISS Rukimar finished the Mining Station around Hemtares V. The Construction Ship was sent to Hemtares X to make another Mining Station. Can never have too many Mining Stations.

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    Then the Research Department announced that they had developed Administrative AI.

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    It was decided to work on AI-Controlled Colony Ships. The AIs would, once the ship landed, help develop the colony.

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    It was also decided to Adopt a NEW Tradition. To Boldly Go! There is a galaxy full of stuff and the Tandi wanted it! Well, not ALL of it. Just the important stuff.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Four - Agri-Worlds
  • Stellaris Play & Learn
    Chapter Eighty-Four - Agri-Worlds

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    The First Thinker received some good news. The ISS Bemalon the Distrustful had finally come out of Hyper-Space and arrived in the Hauer system. It also found pre-delivered material waiting for it.

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    Which allowed it to start on making a Starbase. Which was wonderful news that would allow other operations to be carried out in the system. Research and colonization for example.

    But the First Thinker noticed a few other things. One, that the Empire needed more alloys. And second, many of the colonies were now, what the media called, Agri-Worlds. Worlds where crops could flourish. He ordered the colonies, those that could, to try to increase the output of both alloys and food.

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    The Dongar Prime was told to build Alloy Foundries. But not to make another Agriculture District. Not yet. Dry land, on a ocean world, needed to be carefully used.

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    The settlers on Toiubos Prime were told to work on Alloy Foundries then to make another Agriculture District. They needed food.

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    While the settlers on Syrma Prime were told to build a Agriculture District first and then the Alloy Foundries next. They also needed food.

    The First Thinker was pleased. Soon the Empire would have more of both Alloys and Food.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Five - Too Many Mysteries? New
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    Chapter Eighty-Five - Too Many Mysteries?

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    As the Empire found more and more planets available for turning into colonies the First Thinker ordered the Daystar A Station to start working on the next Colony Ship.

    The Fevallion system was still being mapped out. How long does it take to explore one system?

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    Then there was a data package for First Thinker and the government from Elemano of the ISS Lomatik who had detected a energy readings on Chergamore III. Which was weird. The First Thinker was sure the Science Ship, and its crew, had been to told to stay in orbit around Chergamore I to study the spores? What about the giant spores? Or maybe the spores needed a proper research project?

    Once they had finished studying the energy readings they would continue mapping out the system. And maybe get back to the spores?

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    While this was going on the ISS Rukimar completed the Mining Station in orbit of Hemtares X. It was then ordered to move onto Grugmora. There was nothing left in Hemtares to mine or study. While Grugmora needed a Starbase to join the Empire.

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    Also the ISS Bemalon had finished the Au'Reyon Starbase in orbit of Au'Reyon in the Hauer system. Though nobody knew WHO had named the sun Au'Reyon. The name of a well known fast food chain back on Nest. Famous for its deep fried prawns. (1)

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    Then there was news from the ISS Donabb and Jondru about Spjuuht. Seems the strange reading detected there was giving...off a strange reading? Well, everybody knew about the strange reading even BEFORE the Drones had been destroyed. At least the crew could start working on finding out what it was all about.

    In Hauer the ISS Bemalon, having finished making the Starbase, was now making a Mining Station around the star.

    Also the crew of the ISS Linntyl decided to have a go at the Ring Thingie. And totally failed to detect it. They were just as annoyed as the crew of the ISS Donabb had been.

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    Then the Hauer system was added to the Home Sector and all the maps changed.

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    Author's Notes:

    1. I found it funny that, as mankind goes into space, one space station might be called McDonalds. So why not the Tandi?
     
    Chapter Eighty-Six - More Mysteries! New
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    Chapter Eighty-Six - More Mysteries! *SIGH*

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    The First Thinker woke up to a beeping. The tele-room had a package that the machines felt needed to be seen by Sebakhir at once. It had decided that there was beeping the emergency beep. Not to be confused with the offspring are calling beep or important government official calling beep.

    It woke up confused but went to the tele-room as swiftly it could do so. The information from the ISS Lomatik was....interesting.

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    The third planet around Chergamore had a massive underground bunker. All scans suggested a computer. The size of a spaceship.

    The crew suspect it had been there for several thousand years and, this was the important part, it was working still. Trying to solve something.

    Sadly, the thinking machine was protected by some kind of security. Which had to be destroyed after frying some of the crew. But before it was destroyed it sent off a message.

    So there was three choices. One, scrap the computer for parts. Two, use it to boost Tandi research. And third, let it continue on its calculations. The First Thinker told the ISS Lomatik to leave it alone. The First Thinker also reminded itself to send some more crew members to the ISS Lomatik.

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    Then, later, there was another message from the ISS Lomatik. Seems the moon of Chergamore III had a resource the crew has called Zro. The source of Zro seemed to be metor impacts. If ingested by psionically-gifted individuals it could enhance their abilities. But it could also be addictive. The Chergamore system was full of surprises.

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    On top of that, while scanning the moon, they also detected structures that peaked up out of the toxic clouds of the moon's atmosphere. Structures that the ship's computer said were artificial. Too many edges and points to be natural. The First Think told them they could research it.

    Yes, the Chergamore system was becoming one big series of surprises.
     
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    Chapter Eighty-Seven - Rolling Along New
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    Chapter Eighty-Seven - Rolling Along

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    The Tandish Assembly kept clicking along even as the big surprises hit the tele-rooms. Government officials audio-recorded their reports, miners went to work gathering materials, and educators updated the students new data bases with the new maps. Meals were prepared, buildings were grown, and offspring were hatched.

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    But there were also important choices. It was decided, within the government, to push more Faith in Science. And a new Tradition was adopted.

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    The ISS Bemalon the Distrustful had finished the Mining Station in Hauer system and was sent to Fevallion system. Hopefully the system would soon be mapped and they could start building stations.

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    Elemano and the ISS Lomatik were still in orbit above Chergamore IIIa. No doubt it was happy about all the data is was gathering.

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    As this was happening the ISS Linntyl the Sharp was coming to study the Fungal Trail. In other words the giant spores.

    And life continued.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Eight -Energy Needs New
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    Chapter Eighty-Eight -Energy Needs

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    It was brought to the First Thinker's attention that the Empire was cosuming more energy than it was producing.

    Sebakhir ordered that the colonies try to do something about this. They needed to produce their own energy.

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    Toiubos Prime placed a Generator District on their Build Queue. Under the Alloy Foundries and the Agriculture District.

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    Dongar Prime placed a Generator District on their Build Queue. Under the Alloy Foundries. Where they would place them with so little dry land available was not something discussed at the time. They would figure it out.

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    Syrma Prime placed a Generator Districy on their Build Queue. Under the Alloy Foundries.

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    And Tenecca Prime, the Arctic World...well, a Moon really, also started working on a Generator District. Though there some worry still about the developing factions among the colonists.

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    Next the Toiubos Station was given permission to build a Shipyard, a Trade Hub, and Crew Quarters.

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    So while the Empire wasn't growing bigger it was growing stronger.
     
    Chapter Eighty-Nine -Expanding The Mind New
  • Stellaris Play & Learn
    Chapter Eighty-Nine -Expanding The Mind

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    The First Thinker met up with the others. It had a tele-room meeting with the Minister of Peace, the Head of Thinking, and the Minister of Talking. The tele-room had a slight issues with some of the images. Lines and flickering spots covered the Minster of Science and the Minister of Peace. But the meeting was needed.

    First it was decided to launch the Agenda of Open Arms. That the Tandish Assembly would welcome all who came to them. That the borders were open and we were all citizens of the same galaxy.

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    They decided to also start working on the next Council Agenda. Give and Take. That the Assembly must encourage compromises and repect for differing views.

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    They also decided on a New Edicts to add the list of those being already carried out. Map The Stars. It pushed for further galactic exploration, to bring light to darkness and find what wonders lie beyond. To learn, to discover, to expand their knowledge.

    As the meeting came to an end, and they all gave their farewells to each other, the First Thinker felt a tad better. It felt they were steering a proper course for the Empire.