Ambition and Ambiguity. X3:AP DiD

[Poseidon]

One of your ships is under attack.

I hurriedly pulled up my fleet management console. Rottweiler was doing a delivery to... Spaceweed Grove? How had I not blacklisted this already?

I pulled up the autopilot... where was a local Shipyard? Ianamus Zura. Ok, jump to North Gate. Go. 10... 9...

I held my breath.

Your ship Rottweiler was destroyed in sector Spaceweed Grove by Pirate Centaur

...

Sigh.

I pulled up the Shipyard in Legend's Home, ordered 2 more Mistral SFs, and sent them towards the local Trade Station for Speed Upgrades. Then I blacklisted Spaceweed Grove.

****.

-----

Hey Babe,

I finished sketching out what I'd like to do with Harmony of Perpetuity. It's a rough draft, but it'll support my future research efforts, and maybe make the universe a little bit better fed.

The small version costs 35M to run self-sustained, although its output is pretty low. I wanted to run a larger version, but the silicon in the sector severely limits what I can do without importing goods.
http://goo.gl/LUrGY

I don't think the Goners will mind if we help feed the Universe.

Let me know when we can get started.

Loves,
Maddy

[Triaxx2]

Added to the DiD listing.

[Poseidon]

@Triaxx2: Thanks!

To everyone else: Leave a message letting me know you're reading; it helps with the motivation. Also, mention what you'd like to see. I've got a number of things planned, and I'm open to suggestions.

-----

Complex Building is Hard. Also, it is Not Fun.

Station building?.. that's cake. Lay out a fancy grid, spend some money on Jumpdrive energy, and wallah! Stations. Add a Frieighter or two and you win.

Rumor has it, complex tube auto-routing has improved by leaps and bounds in the recent years. I must be running old software. I swear, whenever I build something, the Complex Hub draws inspiration from Cthulhu folklore, Japanese tentacle porn, or whatever the Boron God of Death happens to be.

I chased down a simulation package, and spent an inordinate amount of time doing practice runs with various station configuration. I scoured the Cortex, and stumbled across an excellent instructional book by Simoom: http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=4035808. Highly Recommended.

Next, I had to track down a Tractor Beam. This took a lot longer than expected, even with my Satellite Network in place. I started with the Paranid, given their technological excellence, but there were none to be found. After circling the map, I ended up in Albion Beta, buying from an Argon. Who whould have thought?

All that practice paid off, and aside from the unexpected distance-from-complex-hub requirements, and making a number of loops through the sector with Silicon Mine in tow, it went together smoothly. The end result? A self-sustaining, 20 station complex that produces raw bio goods, plus a few excess intermediaries. It has rooms for 350k excess Energy Cells, which boggles my mind a bit.


[ external image ]

It's still missing the Terran bio-wares, but they barely tolerate my presence at the moment anyway. It'll be a while before I can buy a station from them.

I parked Duster and Tequila Weasel, and purchased a Skiron M6, with full shields, and a strange assortment of weaponry. It seemed prudent. I explored more Terran space, and attempted a couple of the smaller missions they offered, but very little was accomplished.

I decided to see what this Galactic Stock Exchange was all about.

Given that it was a financial system, I started with the Teladi. I hopped out to Grand Exchange, paid the 10k credits, and started buying everything that was listed at minimum price. I played the market for a while, and earned about 5 million through day-trading. I still have a large amount invested, but I don't mind the long-term investment.


[ external image ]

I undocked right into a swarm of Xenon fighters, but the new Corvette took them apart pretty easily. One of the new weapons I was trying out was the Ion Pulse Generator, and I'm mostly not impressed. Phased Repeater Guns and good turret coverage go a long way; 1GJ of shielding doesn't hurt either. Still, the IPG did burn out the systems on one of the M3s.

I claimed my new Xenon L, and sent it to the local shipyard for repairs and parking. I wasn't ready to put it through its paces just yet. Off to play with the stock market some more.

My government required me to build a station in their space first. Given the resources available in The Wall, plus the additional Wheat they've had me build there in recent construction jobs, it seemed like a good place to try out a Space Fuel Distillery. I was careful. I used Pink to deliver it. I headed off into a far corner, off the primary zoom level, and dropped it there. A couple hours later, I got notification my station was under attack. Pirates, right? Of course it's pirates.

Nope. A Military Heavy Centaur, a Minotaur, and a frigging Cerberus. Destroying my station.

They could have just asked me to move it.

/facepalm

Whatever. I didn't want to cause more trouble, so I swung by, withdrew my credits, and hopped out. I called up Pink, and sent it to Grand Exchange to pick up the Xenon L.

You know it's not your day when your TL jumps into a sector, only to be facing down a Xenon Q.

I jumped over to help, and was relieved to see the local Rapid Response team arrive shortly thereafter. Still, I took a swing at it.

Dashcam Video Clip

I headed back to Harmony of Perpetuity to take stock. I had a decent personal combat fleet, but I had a sector that needed protection. My Universe Trader fleet had been replenished, and all my Pilots were top of the line. I had plans for a Space Fuel complex, but that was going to cost close to 85M credits. I also want to spend more time studying these alien ships... the Kha'ak Scout and the Xenon L.

Actually, I have 78M credits now, so my bank account isn't looking too bad.


[ external image ]

So, the TODO list:

• - Protection Fleet for Harmony of Perpetuity
  - Laser Towers for Harmony of Perpetuity
  - Dedicated Freighter for Harmony of Perpetuity
  - Personal Ship for Maddy
  - Equipment Dock in Unknown Sector on Unseen Domain
  - Terran Reputation
  - Space Fuel Complex in Unknown Sector on Clarity's End

{Images posted directly to the forums should not be greater than 640x480 or 100kb, oversize image now linked - Terre}

@Terre: I was wondering why people were posting links instead of images. Thank you. I have fixed the above images, and will use smaller images or post links in the future.

[Poseidon]

OOC: I'm beginning to encroach on SPOILER territory. I will use tags this time, but no guarantees in future chapters. This DiD is not planned to be Spoiler Free.

-----

Building a fleet can be harder than it sounds.

Recent acquisitions include:
- Zephyrus "Saya" M7C
- Venti "Katana" M3
- Solano "Wakizashi" M4
- Kestral "Tanto" M5
- Angel (unnamed) TP

Following the theme, I've named the Skiron "Nodachi".

I created Blue Wing from the 3 fighters, and docked them on Saya. I travel in Saya now, and take whatever ship meets the needs of the current sector. Most of my recent time was spent exploring Terran Space.

Spoiler

Show

Terran Space. Holy Shit. I found Aldrin. The journey there was quite the spectacle. Here's a quick montage of the trip.

Dashcam Video Clip (link)

So much Terraformer Destruction. I am going to build up enough rep to buy a few of the deca's though. There's a lot of good tech in there I'd like to examine.

Speaking of tech to examine, I want to dismantle one of those Laser Towers. I've never seen a weapon quite like it.

Anyway, for now, I'm finishing up the final touches on the Merry Photon Farm and surrounding sector. I earned enough rep to buy a Terran Protein Paste station, and a Carbo Cake station. They have been added to the Complex, along with another M-class BoGas and BoFu station. This puts every resource in the Complex at a net positive output, which should make things easier on Maddy when she arrives.

-----

Speaking of which... I toggled the commlink. "Hey Maddy. How do you feel about a Cerberus for your personal ship?"

She quasi-skipped over to the terminal. Her hair was pulled back in clips, her hands were dirty with soil, and there was a big grin on her face. Her yellow t-shirt read, 'Keep Calm and then Exterminate Exterminate Exterminate.'

"You're buying me a Destroyer?!" Her eyes grew wide with surprise and excitement. I could see the gears turning in her head and she ran through the possibilities. She pulled up specifications and images. "Nice shields. That's a lot of Flak Cannons. It's... kind of ugly."

"It's just a Frigate, and it was an option. I wanted to get your input. I've got 2 Heavy Osprey planned for sector defense, so you don't technically need a full-on combat vessel, but you can't really go wrong with that much shie-"

"The Boron Thresher is pretty."

...

"You want a Thresher," I said, deadpan.

"It has PPCs," she said, diplomatically. "And it's pretty."

I chuckled. I was sitting on close to 120M credits, and she was right. It had PPCs.

-----

We sorted out the details, then chat for a while. I reviewed what I had done with her Farm, and she was mostly ok with it. I fully expected her to completely revamp internal policy when she arrived.

Your ship Bulldog was destroyed in sector Harmony of Perpetuity by Pirate Lasertower

I'm sorry, what?! That's here.

"Hey Dan. Did you build a Pirate Base next to our farm?"

"No dear. Why?"

"Well, there's one there now."

I sighed, pulled up the Boron Shipyard in Queen's Retribution, and ordered a Marlin. Time to do some Spring Cleaning.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Nice read :

A little bit sketchy at times but it will be good to see where you are going.

[Poseidon]

Could you clarify 'sketchy'? If there's something I'm doing wrong, or something I could improve, please let me know.

[Poseidon]

I've attached a link to my latest save; the Unmodified flag is still intact.
Latest Save

-----

"...and so I would like you to remove your station from this sector. I have no issue with pirates and piracy, but I have a large complex in this sector, and your clientele have already destroyed one of my vessels," I concluded in a reasonable tone.

The 'owner' of the Pirate Base sat across from me, resting his feet on a hackneyed metal desk. Behind me, on either side of the only exit from the room, stood two guards. "I don't think we'll be doing that Mr. Clery. I think you'll be giving us protection money to keep us from destroying your complex."

I sighed. Why did they always have to do things the hard way? I discretely pressed a hidden button on my cufflink, and stared down the pirate captain, silent. A few moments later, two loud explosions could be heard.

The guards exchanged looks, and the captain sat up alert. "What the hell was that?!"

"That was the sound of Hammerhead Missiles destroying your Lasertowers. Would you like to reconsider the negotiation terms?"

He blinked. "Yeah, we'll renegotiation. You two, take him down to the slave pens. I'm going to call in some buddies, and we'll take his complex."

I held my cufflink up to my mouth. "Burn it all down, " I said calmly. The flickering of a transporter device surrounded me as the first of the Tomahawk Missiles rocked the station. The captain drew his plasma blaster remarkably fast, and fired. The bolt passed through the region my torso had occupied moments before. The bridge of Nodachi came into focus as the transporter device reassembled me.

I collapsed into a chair, and let the adrenaline overwhelm me. That had been close.

The Pirate Base took the punishment better than expected, but eventually succumbed to the Missile Barrage.

I set up Lasertowers by the South Gate, and dropped a grid of Advanced Satellites to provide excellent vision on the entire sector. I wasn't doing this again.

[Sabrina Bergin]

Sorry:

That was not intended to be a criticism rather a comment, by the speed of your narration I gather you are playing as you write. (or visa versa)

Recalling the high points and not going into elaborate detail.

That is fine by me it is your story and as I said a good read keep it coming.

I would ask what are your goals other than to get your partner a destroyer I mean what are your motives ?. That might give me more of an insight as to where you are going next.

[Poseidon]

Your questions are fair. Some context...

Out Of Character:

This is my first X game since June 2010. I chose DiD since the contemplation of consequences adds to the immersion for me, and I find it best to try for maximum immersion on a 'virgin' playthrough. I still have quite a bit of experience with the series (been playing since X:BTF), and I haven't lost much of my piloting skill, hence the frequent references to 'time spent in the simulators'.

So I'm returning to the X Universe, and the plot has moved forward. I intend to play through the new plots, and I thought it might be interesting to see my reactions as I'm exposed to them for the first time.

As for the Highlight Reel... yeah, that's intentional. DiDs frequently have a tendency to explicitly declare every little action. It can provide certain insights into the story, but it slowed down the gameplay for me, and it can be difficult to turn some of the more common/tedious aspects into compelling narrative. I chose to play the game naturally, and write about what stands out after a gameplay session. If it was interesting enough to remember, it's worth the effort to turn into narrative.

I have a number of goals, out of character.

• * I want to play through the Plots.
  * I've never built a financial empire of any reasonable size; I want something more robust than any I've previously built.
  * I want to write a couple mods, and incorporate them into the game in a manner that supports the narrative.

And then I want to let the Plot Bunnies do their thing. But plot doesn't spin itself from a dead world or empty characters, so I've been trying to fill in bits and pieces as they become important, or as the choices have to be made. Early on, you saw a conversation between the two main characters that occurred in my head when I tried to address their reaction to illegal trade. In some cases, I've had to go to people I know that have similar personalities, and get their opinions on real-world analogues.

What you end up seeing is a divergence in my personal goals, and the goals of the characters.

In Character:

Riordan was a competent engineer with a good job and lifestyle. He was Top 10%, and lived accordingly, but he always felt he could do more. Maybe it was Ego, maybe it was recognition of his own talent, maybe it was Fear of settling down... for whatever reason, when faced with the prospect of a mortgage and family, he wasn't ready to give up on his dreams of success.

His dreams are large and vague, hence the name of the DiD... Ambition and Ambiguity. He also wants to create something unique; he isn't terribly picky, but his talents lean a certain direction. He wants to have enough means to pursue whatever he wants, without needing to worry about lack of time or resources. The only way to do that is to become independently wealthy. He wasn't certain how he would do it, or what he would do, but he knew the Frontier was the easiest place to do it.

Maddy is less ambitious. She wants the same freedom from time and financial limitations, but she's also very good at being content in her current situation. While Riordan's talents tend to favor technology and engineering, her talents favor creative subjects, and she is better at a larger spread of topics. She's always had a soft spot for horticulture and astronomy, and farming in space scratches both of those itches.

After some discussion, they agreed to give Riordan one more chance to pursue a dangerous ambition. If it failed, they would settle back into a reasonable lifestyle and hedge their bets in the future. If it succeeded, it was a non-issue... but the definition of success came with a couple requirements.

• * Maddy needed a place to do more Plants-In-Space research.
  * Riordan needed a place to do more Engineering R&D.
  * They needed a safe home.
  * Their financials needed to be robust to project costs and unexpected setbacks
  * They needed enough free time to pursue their desired hobbies

So the Destroyer isn't an explicit goal, but rather the natural evolution of a character goal after discovering the options available given their current level of success.

Once Maddy is safely established at Merry Photon Farm, the story can move on to the Plots, and the Modding Subplot I have quasi-planned out for Riordan. None of this was planned at the outset; I've let it occur to me and evolve as I play. As such, it could change in the future.

Does that help?

[Poseidon]

Pirates are bad for peace-of-mind.

This recent episode with an inconvenient pirate base made me reconsider my plans for a Space Fuel complex. Did I really want to try and police a lawless sector, just so I could sell something as troublesome as illegal hooch? It sounded like Cat Herding, only with booze and firearms. I set the plans aside. The layout and design was complete, but I wasn't ready to sink that much into a high-maintenance investment.

I examined my assets:

• 1x TM (1 Zephyrus)
  1x M8 (1 Marlin)
  3x M6 (1 Skiron, 2 Heavy Ospreys)
  4x M3 (2 Venti, 1 Mamba Raider, 1 L)
  6x M4 (5 Asp, 1 Solano)
  3x M5 (1 Fujin Raider, 1 Kestral, 1 Kha'ak Scout)
  
  1x TL (1 Elephant)
  1x TP (1 Angel)
  10x TS UTs (1 Demeter SF XL, 9 Mistral SF)
  
  1x Trade Goods Complex (Merry Photon Farm)

Not as impressive when listed like that. Also, not a lot of income, frankly.

I ordered 10 more Mistral SFs, and set about provisioning them to be Universe Traders. That ate 30M credits. I assigned them to locations for Sector trader training.

I was going to need a ready supply of weaponry, and I wasn't finding it as easily as I'd like.

I built a complex in Argon Prime:

• Phased Repeater Gun forge
  Concussion Impulse Generator forge
  Photon Pulse Cannon forge
  Tomahawm Missile Manufacturing Plant
  Lasertower factory

There will be additional weapon forges installed later. I also purchsed 3 more Mistrals (non-SF), and assigned them to resource purchasing duties.

After all these purchases, I was down to 50M credits. Only one of the Heavy Ospreys was equipped enough for combat, so I named it Sacchi and set it to patrol Harmony of Perpetuity.

So, I need a new plan of attack for generating income. Perhaps I should do a quick audit on the universe and see where I could place a few profitable commodity factories?

That doesn't sound like fun. I'll let the UTs earn the income. I'm going to go take apart a Lasertower.

-----

Your ship Sacchi was destroyed in sector Harmony of Perpetuity by Pirate Lasertower.

FML

[Poseidon]

They built a second Pirate Base in almost exactly the same place as the first. wtf.

The assault on the second Pirate Base went much like the first. They didn't even respond to my communication attempts this time, and they had 5 Lasertowers. I brought the Skiron into range of the towers, strafed to draw their fire, then dropped my payload. It took 3 Hammerhead Missiles to clear the Lasertowers, 20-someodd Tomahawks to bring the station down quickly, and then it was over.

I spent some time managing the new Mk3 Trader trainees... they're learning pretty fast. A couple are already ranked in the high teens. My income started to flow again.

I was scanning some logs from my trip through Aldrin, and decided it was time to earn the Terran's trust. I wanted to buy a #deca. Turns out, once you get past their short timelines, it's not so bad... a lot of taxi service. Geisha, my Boron Angel, combined with the local Jump Beacons, managed to make all the deliveries and meetings on time. It wasn't a fun day, but it was successful.

I swung by Aldrin, and picked up a Springblossom, a #deca.cefa, and a Spitfyre. I had Saya jump to Aldrin 2, dock with them, and hop them back... all except the Springblossom. I took a quick joyride around Aldrin, and purchased all the Experimental and Prototype weaponry I could find.

That made it a fun day. It was like Christmas. I had a Kha'ak Scout, a Xenon L, a #deca.cefa, and a bunch of new ships and weapons to take apart.

-----

I pulled into dock at Merry Photon Farm, and made my way down the passenger skyway. There were a couple OTAS ships docked with odd markings... they weren't mine, and I wasn't used to seeing OTAS ships out and about.

My curiosity was answered as I entered the lounge. Four marines stood with plasma blaster rifles at the ready, their matte off-white combat suits showing scuffs and abrasions that could only have been caused from live combat. A fifth man in a pressed but faded officers uniform rose to greet me. The way he moved spoke of authority, control, and reluctant but brutal violence.

"Welcome back, Mr. Clery. I trust your enjoyed your time in Terran Space? We're here to debrief you; I'm going to have to insist."

[Poseidon]

Colonel Edgar Tarquin dismissed the marines, returned to one of the more comfortable chairs in the lounge, and gestured for me to sit across from him. He picked up the datapad he had left on the table, and began scanning its contents.

“Graduate Degree from a top 50 engineering school. Private Sector R&D experience. A few years doing project work for the Department of Energy. Expired Top Secret clearance, with access to Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information. One brother, two sisters, both parents still alive. One significant other, Maddy Steele; Laboratory Director for a Geodome Wildlife Preserve, one of the better known Evolutionary Astrobiology scientists. You left your career to become an Entrepreneur on the Frontier, and you're not doing too bad by the looks of it. The Argon Government labels you a Hero, and you’re in excellent standing with the other Commonwealth races.

"So, why’d you turn traitor?”

I blinked, and sat silent for a moment. He didn’t really think I was a traitor. Otherwise, he would have scrapped or commandeered this complex while I was away. To say nothing of the publicly accessible weapons complex I’ve built in Argon Prime. I wondered at his angle here.

“I’m not a traitor, sir. I’m not certain what has given you that impression.”

“Really?” he said with heavy sarcasm. “Your name has begun to show up in our spy reports. You’re a bloody hero to the Terrans as well! The ATF has given you Research Access, and the Terrans consider you… what did that report say? A ‘Guardian of Earth’? And now, when we come to see what’s going on, you return from an extended stay in Terran space flying a classified Terran Corvette? Not to mention this complex was built outside Argon controlled space. It all paints a pretty dirty picture.”

He didn’t know the half of it. I’m glad the Spitfyre and the #deca had returned while docked inside Saya... nevermind all the prototype weaponry that came home with me.

I shrugged at the Colonel. “I did some odd jobs for them, and they began to trust me. The Springblossom was almost necessary given the size of their sectors.”

The marine officer snorted. “Odd jobs, he says. We’ve had undercover agents ask for odd jobs to build their rapport as well. Who’d you kill, boy? Who died for your shiny ship?”

“I don’t take hit jobs,” I said a bit heated. “Not for the Commonwealth, and not for the Terrans. You can check my records, and that’ll hold up. Polygraph if you want. I didn’t build my success on murder.”

“And this station?” he said, gesturing around him. “It appears to be completely self-sufficient. And outside Argon space. How do you explain that?”

“It’s a farm in Goner space. Think of it as a soup kitchen. It’s about as non-threatening as you can get. And I’ve already cleared two Pirate Bases out of this sector. I’m not turning traitor.”

The colonel stood, and began to pace. “You’ll have a chance to prove that.”

“How so?”

“You’ve been issued an interim security clearance until we can reinstate your old TS clearance. The background check is already in progress. You are now a clandestine operations officer, reporting directly to me.” He smiled.

I didn't want to join the military, but I didn't want to piss off the Argon government either. He’d played me pretty well. If I said no, he could claim traitor. If I said yes, I became a covert asset. It looks like I had little choice. This didn't look to be completely sanctioned though, so perhaps I could get something in return.

“Fine,” I said. “But there are conditions.”

The colonel raised an eyebrow and stopped pacing.

“First, this base is off limits. I built it for Maddy, for her to continue her research. It is not a military asset. She will set policy here; I expect your men and women will be welcome, but I also expect she will enforce these grounds as neutral territory for all races.” And I'll need to provide her with the muscle to back that up, I thought.

He nodded.

“Second, I remain free to advance my financial pursuits. Any work you assign me will be completed in a reasonable time frame, but it will be at my own pace.”

He shook his head. “Orders I give you will be of an urgent nature. I can't afford to wonder if you’re going to get around to it.”

“Understood, sir. If you make it clear when your orders are urgent, I will drop everything and complete them as quickly as possible. In all cases, I will do my best to complete missions in a timely manner.”

He nodded his agreement to the compromise.

“Third, I have starship and weapons research of my own I wish to conduct. I’ll set up shop in the Unknown Sector behind Legend’s Home, and fund it myself. In exchange for your non-interference and occasional cooperation, I’ll make all my facilities and results available to you.”

He thought for a moment, and then nodded.

Oh shit, this is going to be bad, I thought. There’s no way he should have agreed to that.

“That’s it. We can renegotiate in the future if there’s a conflict.”

The officer smiled and extended his hand. A Gentlemen’s Agreement then. None of this would be on record. I smiled back, and shook his hand.

He turned towards the skyway back to the hanger. “Glad to be working with you, Mr. Clery. Hrm, we’ll need to give you a callsign. In the meantime, I have your first orders.

“We hear the ATF have been making improvements on the Tyr. You’re going to acquire the latest schematics for us.”

[Idleking]

Good job so far Poseidon. Keep it up

Maddy is a very nice addition to your story and your dialogues made me smile - I found various points being discussed on which I've spent quite some time too during gameplay

"Oh shit, this is going to be bad[..]"
I really hope you continue this storyline as awesome as you started it

[Poseidon]

@Idleking: Thanks. Don't set your expectations too high; I'm just a dude playing a video game and writing about it. I'll do what I can to keep it interesting though, and I appreciate the comments. Feedback from the readers is what keeps the motivation alive.

-----

I watched the Colonel and his marines board their Phantom, and head towards the gate. To my surprise, they looped around behind it and kept flying out of range my Sensor Network. Clever. The gate was 51km from the center of the sector, and I had multiple satellites giving complete sensor coverage out to 100km in all directions. I prompted the station computer to track the Phantom visually, and apply Vision Enhancement.

The Phantom was pulling up next to a Sirokos and an Aquilla.

Huh. So Edgar had planned ahead, just in case I was... disagreeable. And he suspected I would be watching him leave, so he was using the opportunity to make a point. Dangerous man.

The longest range Torpedos I knew about were only good for 76km range, so the complex would have about.... 90 seconds to evacuate after the alarm sounded. Less if they jumped in at the gate and immediately fired. I suddenly wished I had placed the complex further from the gate.

A Thresher wasn't going to be enough to keep Maddy safe. I'm not certain anything would be enough, short of my full cooperation.

The commlink chirped. "Dan? Are you there?" Maddy's voice sounded from the nearby terminal. "I was just approached by Argon Federal Agents; they were asking about your trustworthiness for handling Federation secrets. We had talked about this. I thought we were done with clearance work? I hate when we can't talk about our day."

This wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

[Poseidon]

My premonitions about the entertainment value of the conversation were not incorrect.

Maddy and I had worked dark projects before, and it just sucked. "How was work today? It was alright. What did you work on? Stuff." It was part of the reason I left that career path; self-censorship does not make for a healthy relationship. The solution was to get her a security clearance as well. While generally not an option, this entire situation felt a little off-kilter; maybe if I offered to pay for the background check, the Colonel would be willing to sponsor her clearance.

I told Maddy everything, and we came to an understanding. Neither one of us is happy with the result, but it was implicitly understood that this was temporary... until we could find a way out. My work was cut out for me.

I started by buying that Thresher for her, and sent Geisha to pick up its armaments: 10 PPCs, 7 FAA, 6 CIG, and a full 3GJ shields. Also, grabbed a couple more Lasertowers for defense of the Farm.

Next, I purchased 10 more Mistral Superfrieghters. Yes, another 10. I rarely see any of them on Standby which makes me believe they still provide a reasonable return on investment. I'm going to be funding a lot of separate projects out of pocket, and every credit will matter. Also, I lost Beagle to a Xenon PX in here somewhere, so I needed to provision a new UT anyway.

That's one way to blow through 60M credits in an afternoon.

I still need to pick up some Missiles for Sacchi Prime (the new Thresher). She can't use the really big ones, but I want her to have something other than Mosquito defense.

Other things I need to do...

The ATF won't allow just anybody to have access to sensitive information about the Tyr. Even though they proclaim I have 'Research Access', that information requires an even higher security clearance. Honestly, I doubt they'll hand over the schematics no matter how much they like me. So, we're back to espionage.

You can't start an espionage program without an information network, preferably one that is low key. That means extending my Satellite Network, and building some Commodity Factories that require local goods... the incoming traders will bring information. I'll need to be careful to balance my political involvement though. Perhaps one station in Commonwealth space for every station I build in Terran space?

Perhaps I should start training some mercenaries. I'm involved in the military again, but this time in the lawless reaches of space. I'll likely have a need for a local militia... and when the time comes to make a grab for those schematics, I'll need competent people on the ground.

Also, I need to make plans for the military research facilities in the Unknown Sector next to Legend's Home. That's a very cumbersome label... how about US-LH? Works for me.

And then there's where to place my safe-house. I had originally considered the Unknown Sectors near Unseen Domain and Clarity's End, but those feel too exposed now, and they're not exceptionally rich in resources. There is that Unknown Sector across the Xenon Sector from Aldrin. Rich in resources, doubly isolated due to remote location and the Xenon Sector. If I need a place to run from the entire Universe, that seems the best place for it.

That's a lot of work to do. I best get started.

-----

1x TM (1 Zephyrus)
1x M8 (1 Marlin)
1x M7 (1 Thresher)
3x M6 (1 Skiron, 1 Heavy Osprey, 1 Springblossom)
6x M3 (2 Venti, 1 Mamba Raider, 1 L, 1 Spitfyre, 1 #deca.cefa)
6x M4 (5 Asp, 1 Solano)
3x M5 (1 Fujin Raider, 1 Kestral, 1 Kha'ak Scout)

1x TL (1 Elephant)
1x TP (1 Angel)
29x TS UTs (1 Demeter SF XL, 28 Mistral SF)
3x TS Factory Traders (3 Mistral)

1x Trade Goods Complex (Merry Photon Farm)
1x Weapons Complex (ACME Armory - Argon Prime)

Militant Mogul
51M credits

[Idleking]

Hell yeah, the Thresher is a truly badass ship. 10 PPCs are an awesome load to make your opponents rethink their attitude
If it only was a bit smaller and thus a bit less bullet-catchy one could say it wasn't undershielded too bad with only 3GJ..

[Poseidon]

I honestly wanted to buy a Cerberus, but the voices in my head told me Maddy would object. That conversation actually happened. I may have issues.

I'm not disappointed though. The Thresher is a good ship. The shields are sad, but it's an M7, not an M2. :-p

-----

Despite placing numerous orders to the shipyards in Legend’s Home, and seeing the sector multiple times, I never quite acclimated to the scale of OTAS HQ and the nearby Federation Shipyard.

I docked my unnamed Springblossom at OTAS HQ, and disembarked. I was met by the Colonel’s fireteam, and escorted through a dizzying maze of uniform off-white corridors, checkpoints, and stairwells. Stairwell? Really? I had a suspicion the area was re-configurable to support frequently changing projects with various clearance requirements.

We stopped at one of many nondescript doors; this one at the end of a hallway, on the left. The marines stood at attention, and ignored me. I guess I was supposed to go in alone.

I entered a reception area. Behind the desk was a dark haired woman with excellent tattoos running up her arm. Long hair, slender and muscular, mid to late 20s. The nameplate on the desk read Stacy.

“You are?” she asked, not looking up.

“Old MacDonald, here to discuss a Protein Paste delivery.”

She looked at me.

“Riordan Clery. The Colonel asked to see me.”

She smiled and turned back to the terminal. “Nice to finally meet you. We've had to pull some strings to accommodate your special needs. Hopefully that won’t be a common occurrence.”

“I’m afraid it will, ma’am. I tend to end up in strange situations, and I can be a bit demanding.”

“Do I look old enough to be a ma’am?” she asked mockingly stern.

I chuckled. “Not at all. I’m not sure what is correct etiquette here.”

“So you default to archaic condescension? I’ll keep that in mind. You can call me Stacy, Ops, or since you favor anachronism, My Queen. Ma’am is reserved for the boyfriend. Here’s your packet; go right in. I’ll have another packet for you when you leave.”

I smiled and slotted the microchip into my datapad.

Holy shit, she was good. My TS clearance was already approved, along with a couple other acronyms… some familiar, others not. That one was access to the Unknown Sector behind Legend’s Home… ahh, and I had been given limited authority to deal with unauthorized intrusions. And she’d made arrangements for Maddy to have matching clearances; I hadn’t even had to ask. Damn.

The next room was only a little larger, with an extra table and a couple chairs. The sterile motif remained the same. Colonel Tarquin looked up as I entered. I remained standing.

“Mr. Clery. Welcome. What’s your status?” he asked with an authority that assumed obedience.

“I’ve tied up the loose ends in Harmony of Perpetuity, so I don’t need to concern myself with security there any longer. I’ve begun training a politically neutral combat team to support me while in the presence of malcontents, so I can avoid scandal if violence becomes necessary. My information network is still in the formative stages, but I’ve begun implementation and have a path forward. Research support facilities in US-LH are still being planned.”

“So what you’re telling me is that you’ve ignored my orders and continued with your personal pursuits.”

“No sir. I’ve spent around 70M credits specifically on OTAS or project support assets since we last spoke. While some of these may serve double duty, they are completely at your disposal,” I said.

Nevermind the additional 60M I spent on personal expenses, I thought.

“I can provide an expense report, if you’d like,” I added.

“That won’t be necessary,” Edgar said dryly.

“As for my pace… given the lengths you’ve gone to recruit an untrained civilian for your clandestine operations, I assume I’m one of your only deep cover assets with access to Terran technology. I’m trying to be frugal with how I spend their trust. It seems prudent to devote a little time to building a backstory that will hold up to scrutiny.”

Not that I ever plan to blow my cover, my internal monologue rambled. But somehow, I don’t think you're the type to let a resource get away unspent.

“Fine, fine. Regarding your research facilities; what kind up manufacturing support can we expect? We have a high demand for PPCs, Gauss and Ion Cannons, Flak Arrays, as well as Flail and Hammer Torpedos.”

Wow. So, basically, every primary M2 and M7M weapon?

“I’m still in the planning stages, sir. There’s a limited amount of Silicon and Ore in the sector, but I’ll make sure to include support for provisioning Capital Ships.”

“Very good. I trust Stacy has taken care of your other concerns?”

“Yes sir. She appears to be exceptionally competent.”

“She is. She also holds the rank of Major, yet insists on being my Lead Administrator. Don’t piss her off. Thank you for stopping by, ‘Mac’. Dismissed.”

Mac? Oh shit, did she take that seriously?

I stepped back into the reception area and Stacy slid another chip towards me, again, without looking away from her terminal. Under her breath I heard her mutter, lyrically, “Ee Ai Ee Ai Oh…”

The chip contained a set of OTAS credentials issued to Captain Old MacDonald.

-----

The problem with large ambitions is, they take a lot of work.

Sacchi Prime is now fully equipped, including Firestorm Torpedos from a factory I added to the ACME Armory complex in Argon Prime.

There was a Heavy Osprey idling at the Farm, so I finished equipping it (11x CIG, 3 PRG, 600MJ), named it Chipmunk, and ordered it to Attack anything the Thresher thought was a target.

Musket, the Marlin M8, was restocked with Tomahawk Missiles from the same complex and given similar orders.

The Pirate Bases taught me a couple things... don't place your Lasertowers within a Blast Radius of each other. Harmony of Perpetuity now has 7 strategically placed Lasertowers.

I started running low on funds, so I spent some time doing odd jobs. I favored construction jobs, since they did wonders for the local economy.

I was commuting through Scale Plate Green when a Xenon War Party invaded, and was met by a Teladi Military force. By the time I was in range to help, it was mostly resolved. I polished off a few Ms and Ns, and went looking for salvage. Instead, I found eight 4-star Teladi Marines that were stranded when their ship was destroyed. I offered each 100k credit signing bonus, and now I have the beginnings of my militia. I assigned them to Argon Prime Equipment Dock for Training and R&R; that was not a pretty fight.

(OOC: I emulated the signing bonus by purchasing 800k worth of goods from various Teladi stations, ejecting the goods and destroying them)

I've begun building out my Factory Infrastructure, starting with a couple Commonwealth installations: a SPP XL in Akeela's Beacon, and Silicon Mine (25) / Crystal Fab L Complex in Aladna Hill. It's intentionally not self-sufficient. I need external traders if I want to gather information, and to avoid suspicion, I need to set a precedent for my infrastructure in Commonwealth space before replicating it in Terran space. Also, those sectors have a desperate need for Crystals.

After that, I buckled down and started designing the research facilities for US-LH.

[Poseidon]

R&D is Expensive
http://goo.gl/O7A0D

Once you add in the Equipment Dock for Capital Ship docking, you're looking at 300M credits, and it still runs at an Energy deficit.

And I fought for the privilege to build it. WTF.

[Song Of Obsidian]

“She is. She also holds the rank of Major, yet insists on being my Lead Administrator. Don’t piss her off. Thank you for stopping by, ‘Mac’. Dismissed.”

Mac? Oh shit, did she take that seriously?

I stepped back into the reception area and Stacy slid another chip towards me, again, without looking away from her terminal. Under her breath I heard her mutter, lyrically, “Ee Ai Ee Ai Oh…”

The chip contained a set of OTAS credentials issued to Captain Old MacDonald.

You're killing me.

[Idleking]

[..]“She is. She also holds the rank of Major, yet insists on being my Lead Administrator. Don’t piss her off. Thank you for stopping by, ‘Mac’. Dismissed.”

Mac? Oh shit, did she take that seriously?

I stepped back into the reception area and Stacy slid another chip towards me, again, without looking away from her terminal. Under her breath I heard her mutter, lyrically, “Ee Ai Ee Ai Oh…”

The chip contained a set of OTAS credentials issued to Captain Old MacDonald.[..]

Made my day!

But seriously, you even have a farm...

On another topic:
I took the freedom to review your plans for US-LH and I think you could increase the output of your R&D facilities.
Feel free to look up this one if you're in the mood:
833-characters-long-link-made-short (:D)
It spits out some additional weapons (Mass Driver & Ammo, PSP, PSG instead of Tractor Beam, ISR).
It loses some Silicon over time, but it has a slight energy, ore and crystal overproduction, so I think that might cancel out the shortage of silicon in the long run.