A New Era

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

OKAY WOAH, WHERE ARE WE?
As we've hit a new year, I think it's time for a recap. With pictures. Note that the pictures will be from a tiny bit ahead in the future where my game is currently.

System

The Home system has a binary star configuration, with a sizable central star and a much smaller secondary star. Wrixom, First Stop and Rube orbit the primary, which, in game, is cooling down slightly over time. This is simulated by me adding some anti-greenhouse gasses to the relevant planets every once in a while. New Wrixom is the intended destination for the majority of the Wrix as it orbits the secondary which is not cooling down. So far, none of the other stellar bodies have been exploited as I have been able to obtain sufficient minerals from these four. This will most likely change as soon as production begins in earnest.

Spaceships

The only two non-civilian ships are the Endymion and the Sir Francis Drake. The Endymion is fitted as a geo-survey craft, but also served as a test vessel for the first generation of TN engines. It is under the control of Swarm Hive. The Drake is nothing but a courier vessel with no fitted function under the command of Gamma Hive. It has been retrofitted with the same TN engines used by the Endymion and is actually slightly faster now. Both of these ships have been whiling away the days sitting in spacedock for lack of anything else to do.
The Swarm-owned civilian fleet consists of two small Myrkul II freighters, each with 5k cargo space and three Myrkul IIB freighters refitted to carry living creatures (colonizer ships).  Each handles 20k colonists. Neither of these designs have cargo handling equipment, making loading and unloading painfully slow. In addition, one of the colonizers is actually controlled by Gamma and is permanently busy shipping her Hive offworld to First Stop.
Epsilon and her allies in the Epsilon Conglomerate have a total of 4 small freighters, 2 large freighters and 2 colony ships. These are my civilian shipping lines. It should be noted that even the smallest of these freighters is double the size of a Myrkul II. At the moment, I've gotten ahead of the infrastructure curve so the freighters are mostly just sitting idle while the colonizers scramble frantically to get as many drones off Wrixom as possible.

Industry

I am ticking along nicely, with good industrial growth. Wrixom's industry is above. First Stop has 18 mines and a few assorted other structures such as a Genetic Modification Facility salvaged from the ruins I found there. New Wrixom has 4 mines and a construction facility slowly building more construction facilities.

Mines

Mineral-wise I'm doing okay. Nothing is screaming out ABOUT TO RUN OUT and I have decent amounts left to be harvested at at least average availability of everything somewhere. Hmm. That sentence made no sense. Let's just say I'm mining more than I'm using and that doesn't look like it's going to be changing soon.
My GFTF (Ground Forces Training Facility) has been doing nothing but churning out Construction Brigades since each of them provide as much production as a construction factory.
   
Research

I'm up to six research facilities with a seventh in the pipeline. I am aware that this is quite low, I'm actually hoping to loot one or two from the ruins of Wrixom if I could do that without setting off some cataclysmic Precursor event. It is perhaps a little unclear what researchers I have so here is a little summary of the best in each field.
Biology/Genetics:  LA-14-OZF - 35%
Construction/Production:  N/A 
Defensive Systems: TP-73-VOW - 15%
Energy Weapons: DD-73-QJL - 25%
Logistics / Ground Combat: EK-73-RKM - 10%
Missiles / Kinetics: EF-48-MBJ - 10%
Power / Propulsion: DP-35-PNT - 15%
Sensors / FC: SY-19-ENN - 10%
So I have at least one of everything except for C/P, arguably the most important one. Sometimes I hate the RNG. My plan for the future is to complete research 240 then get Cargo Handling before designing a bigger and better  transport. After that I'm not sure. Note that the picture is from a bit ahead in time.

Factions
No image since this is more the RP side of things. I'll give a brief rundown of each of the major factions and what's up with them.

Swarm Hive - These are our main characters, IM, US, PC and so on. I'm actually including Lambda and her hive here at the moment as she has aligned herself with the Swarm, at least for now. With access to Lambda's expertise and assets, security at the hive itself has been significantly improved from 'leaky as an empty hole' to 'leaky as a sieve'. At least they now have safe areas where drones are not allowed to go. US and PC both have a little secret - they are fertile, unlike IM and all of the other queens in Swarm Hive. US was the previous Hive Queen of Delta Hive before she went looking for greener pastures and PC was a leftover queen from Beta Hive when a succession happened. If she had stayed, she would have been killed. It should also be noted that IM is from Lambda Hive and as such is technically a daughter of Lambda. The Wrix aren't big on family connections, though.

Gamma - Gamma Hive is currently the most powerful Hive in the system. I say 'in the system' since a significant part of her hive is currently deployed to First Stop. However, that alone makes her the most powerful Hive; no other hive controls an entire planet. As part of an agreement with the Swarm she has been allowing other hives to expand to First Stop, on the condition that none of them contest her hegemony.

Kappa - Though it used to be the most technologically advanced Hive on Wrixom, the proliferation of Swarm-controlled research facilities have greatly marginalized Kappa Hive's influence, and by extension that of its queen. Kappa was the original founder of the Swarm and discoverer of the cooling-sun phenomenon, but was masterfully out politicked by US (then Delta) some time ago. She has a grudge against IM and the entire Swarm Command for having 'stolen' the Swarm from her, as well as a spiteful and vindictive personality. While she is toeing the line for the moment due to the recent success of the Swarm, she remains a vocal opponent to IM and patiently waits for the day her hive is out of danger and she is free to act. An ally of convenience of Gamma.

Lambda - Lambda is a bit of an oddity. While she has been aiding Swarm Hive for several years now with intelligence and counter-intelligence assets, her motives remain mysterious. She is known as the Spymaster among the Queens and knows much, but rarely interferes.

Epsilon Conglomerate - The EC has assumed its role as the 'civilian' arm of the Swarm. It consists of Epsilon Hive and a few smaller hives that have allied themselves and pooled resources. Even though it is technically a competitor to the Swarm, its members remain members of the Swarm in an extremely convoluted set of allegiances and responsibilities. It helps, of course, that the EC has undertaken the bulk of the evacuation, including shipping more infrastructure to the new colonies as they become required with their fleet of massive freighters. The EC also owns the mining outpost on Rube, though they exchange most of the TN minerals extracted with the Swarm for vast quantities of more common resources.

The Drone Collective - This is the most secretive group to date. Even Lambda appears not to have discovered their existence. They claim to consist solely of drones that have come to realize the fallibility of their queens and as such have begun to take actions without their queens knowledge to ensure the survival of the Wrix. It appears to consist of drones from a variety of different hives working together. If that is the case, it is quite plausible that their numbers have swelled significantly since the different hives have started working together under the Swarm. At the moment, the Drone Collective act as guardians of the ruins secretly found on Wrixom.

Updates are going to be a bit more widely spaced in terms of in-game time from here on and I'm not going to comment on every construction project that starts and finishes. Everything that is happening has basically happened before so it isn't that interesting. Think of it as a research/construction/preperation/exodus montage. I'll still put it in when something interesting happens.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

2 January 2026
As her project is almost complete, LA-14 hands off the work of implementing her findings to her protégé, GY-66-BPR, an infertile that has shown an uncanny gift with the subject matter of production processes. It is hoped that this will increase research speeds by approximately 20%. LA intends to spend her time working more on genetics, perhaps even touring the recently discovered Genetics  Facility on First Stop if Gamma allows it.

OOC:
YES YES YES YES!!!! I have finally gotten a scientist with a skill in Construction/Production!... right when there is 40 rp left of the 5k project I started several years ago. Yay. But still, at least I'm now better set up for the future.

12 January 2026
The final implementation of the advances developed by LA-14 is completed. All laboratories are now equipped with the new scanning devices and research speeds have accelerated. The laboratories are turned over to the expertise of EK-73-RKM as she has proposed a method of miniaturizing the loading and unloading equipment of the spaceport, hopefully increasing the ability of freighters to perform this function themselves.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

24 January 2026
"Can I speak to you for a moment?"  US asked with her head peeking into IM's office.
IM grumbled and looked up from a stack of paperwork in front of her. Bureaucracy created paperwork with equal vigor, no matter which race you were.
"I'm busy. What is it?" she snapped.
"It's important. There is an irregularity at one of our mines, and I have no idea what to make of it" US replied, stepping inside and ignoring IM's mood.
IM sighed. "Explain."
The other queen dropped a single page in front of her. "This is a request for some equipment to be shipped to one of the southern mines. It was misfiled, but that is not what was odd. This mine has been closed for several years. Mined out."
IM could feel her hackles rise. She knew exactly what mine US was talking about.
"Perhaps the request was just dated wrong? That would explain the misfiling" IM tried  to explain.
"I considered that" US replied, "but the nature of the equipment is also a bit strange. Collapsible barricades, a few advanced computers, not the kind of things you would really need on a mine. Besides, I went around and asked some of the pilots, and one of them admitted to me that he had dropped off a few things there."
Dammit! Why couldn't the Collective had kept things quiet? Perhaps they weren't as widespread after all...
"Do you think it could be one of the other hives undermining us, so to speak?" IM asked quietly, but US shook her head and pointed at the walls and ceiling, mouthing 'bugs'.
Then she pointed at the symbols on the page until she spelt out 'Lambda', before shrugging in an exaggerated fashion. IM nodded slowly, more to give herself time to think than agreement, but US took the motion as an affirmative.
"I don't trust her" she growled softly, "so I'll keep an eye out. Maybe do a little digging of my own. You know..." She winked.
Double smeg, now US was going to send a few of her Delta drones over to take a look! This could ruin everything and force the Collective to blow up the whole find! She had to run interference...
"Don't!" IM said. "It's too risky. Let's just keep our heads down and keep going. How much damage could a few left over minerals do, anyway? It's not like we were using them."
US frowned at her boss. This wasn't like her. Then her face relaxed and she just shrugged.
"Alright, if you say so" she said and headed back out, taking the page with her.
IM breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back in her chair as US left. Unfortunately, US had been playing politics for longer than IM had, and she had no intention of letting things go. Now, she just wanted to find out how IM was involved with it...

OOC
I'm sort of back after a bit of a hiatus. We'll see whether I will keep this going or get bored with it again.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

7 February 2026
A storage area full of automated mining equipment is discovered in the ruins under Wrixom. It appeared as if they were some of the machines used to excavate the underground area. They are quickly shipped to a new mining site and started, the sudden appearance of an entire mine's worth of automated equipment cleverly 'disappeared' in the paperwork of Swarm Hive by the Collective.

19 February 2026
Three times US had sent out a few clandestine drones to check out the suspicious southern mine and three times they had returned saying the place was quiet as a grave with nothing going on. And yet the last time she sent them out was after she found an actual load of heavy duty industrial equipment that was to be delivered to that exact mine! The drones guarding it of course had no idea what it was for or where it was headed, and when she came back after trying to find someone who did, the consignment had disappeared without a trace.
To make matters worse, IM treated her like she was mad whenever she brought it up. The only conclusion that made sense was that Lambda or one of the other queens in Swarm Hive were trying to frakk with her mind. Well, she'd show them. She would ignore it completely.
The Drone Collective breathed a collective sigh of relief  when she expressed these sentiments to one of their members in her ranks. All it would have taken for their illusion to fall apart was for her to notice that no matter which drones she sent to the mine, it was always the same three who reported back. The same three who were guarding the industrial shipment and promptly slapped a 'priority shipment' sticker on it the moment her back was turned.

7 March 2026
Several of the structures in the 'Wrixom Ruins' were fully disassembled for study, but were found to be of little technological use. In order to get rid of the clutter of the disassembled building components, they were snuck into Wrixom's infrastructure stores and the stock lists were altered. Unfortunately, this pretty much doubled the stockpile, so it would perhaps not be so easy to hide.

OOC
380 infrastructure recovered. This is good, it means I can continue expanding my offworld colonies without having to waste time building infrastructure, at least for a while.

NEW
17 April 2026
Power is restored to a strange looking facility in the Wrixom ruins and is found to have once been used for scientific research. Its databases are in bad condition, but while large portions are corrupted due to age, enough of it is recoverable to assist in bringing all the strange equipment in the lab back to operating condition. The data it contains also seems to hint at the ability to travel between stars, but provides no information on why the city was built underground or why it was abandoned.
The facility itself is staffed by Collective drones in contact with their counterparts working in the legitimate laboratories across Wrixom. It is decided that it will assist with any research that aids in moving the maximum number of Wrix off their doomed world, such as the current loading equipment miniaturization technology. It results in a significant - albeit unnoticed - increase in research and development speed.
None of this information is shared with IM or any of the queens as the Collective decides to keep the knowledge secret, for now.
NEW

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

2 July 2026
Wrix scientists under the leadership of EK-73-RKM develops compact loading and unloading that can be installed in a spacecraft to assist spaceport-based facilities or perform all such tasks in case no spaceport is available - as is the case on all the current colony worlds.
Gamma makes an immediate demand for her Myrkul colony vessel to be upgraded first, but IM gives her the metaphorical finger and immediately orders one of the Swarm Hive's Myrkul's upgradedas soon as current construction is finished. The plan is to alternate upgrades between the bulk and colony variants of the venerable transport ships so that immigration would not outstrip the available life support systems.
In order to keep the refits as small and simple as possible, the refit would involve replacing a fuel tank on each of the two Myrkul designs with the cargo management system. Some concerns were raised by PC about the consequences of reducing their range by half, such as that they can no longer reach the outer asteroid belts with sufficient fuel for a return trip, but IM overrode these concerns. The Myrkul's were nearing the end of their useful lifespan anyway and these refits were a stopgap measure at best. To mollify her, PC was asked to develop a new, larger freighter over the course of the next six months.
Future research is directed towards an industrial overhaul of current TN factories, as GY-66-BPR believes that the current processes they employ make suboptimal use of resources.

OOC
Cargo Handling complete, but the shipyard only finishes what it is busy with next year. Bit of an oversight on my part there.

7 September 2026
Four strange machines are recovered from a hermetically sealed chamber deep in the ruins. According to databases recovered so far, they should some kind of engines, but nobody can figure out how they work. They do not appear to generate any thrust whatsoever. Additional tests are scheduled.
On an unrelated note, the Swarm Yards lay down an additional slipway to increase the rate of construction. PC also completes her design for a new transporter chassis. Her new design, named the Beshaba, is designed for flexibility right off the bat. The '-F' variant has 25000 cargo space (measured in Wrixian standard units) in a single, vast hold while the '-C' variant instead sports cryo chambers to keep 50000 drones or queens in suspended animation.
PC proudly states that the Beshaba is going to be the first true evacuation vessel of the Wrix, at least as soon as construction is started.

8 September 2026
Tests determine that the engines are still in functional condition, despite their age. They just don't seem to do anything. They  hum, draw tons of power, then just switch off. The Collective is very puzzled.

OOC
Take a wild guess what kind of engines these are. And I got 4 of the things! I think I'm going to scrap 3 to boost my research (that will work, right?) and keep the other one to actually fit to my ship. It seems I can actually fit these things without ever researching jump theory, and since my alien ruins have revealed all the jump points in the system, this could result in me leaving the solar system in as little as a year! The question now is, do I want to?

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

2 October 2026
An intricate factory is recovered that appears to have been designed to produce complex aircraft at an incredible rate. Unfortunately, its databanks are wiped clean, leaving behind no blueprints, and the Wrix own aircraft are incompatible with it. Still, it provides a decent glimpse into alien architecture and construction processes.

OOC
Fighter factory recovered. Wish I could snag a couple more research labs or mines.

3 October 2026
DP-35-PNT sat and dozed in the small, cramped, air-transport as it soared through the night sky. The hum of the small craft's turbine engines always made her cozy and sleepy. She could name every component in them and had even designed one or two herself. Engines was what she did. At least, what she used to do until the rather sudden and extremely vague transfer order to the rear end of nowhere. Those in charge did as they did and the scientists like her begged for budgets, or in this case, access to the TN laboratories and equipment.
The tiniest change in the tone of the craft's engine woke her up. It was on final approach.
Left forward injector is out of alignment she thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes and released her straps. Not critical, but could cause problems if not checked out.
She peered out the window, trying to see where the now slowly descending craft was headed, but saw nothing but blackness. Strange.
Puzzled, she crawled through the port to the cockpit area and addressed the pilot.
"Everything alright?" she asked.
"Doing just fine, ma'am. Coming in to land right now" he replied.
"I don't see any lights. You sure this is the right place?"
"Please return to your seat and refasten your seatbelt to prevent injury" the co-pilot stated calmly, completely ignoring her question.
For a moment, she stared at the pair, trying to figure out what was going on, before shrugging and returning to her seat. All this clandestine stuff was beyond her and it wasn't like she had any enemies.
The landing proceeded smoothly, with a small circle of lights lighting up seemingly at the last minute and only staying lit until the small craft touched down on the tarmac.
Once all three of them had disembarked and wrapped up against the bitingly cold wind, DP-35 finally took the opportunity to look around. It appeared to be an old mine of some kind, complete with rusty machinery. Her welcoming committee consisted of... only drones? Very strange. At least in the modern non-hive-centric Wrix society.
"How was your flight?" one of the drones asked. He was wearing a mottled coat and holding a rather large pulse rifle in his claws.
"Boring. Why am I here?" she cut back. Discomfort always annoyed her and the cold was quite uncomfortable, even with the thick greatcoat. Her claws and face was still uncovered.
The armed drone gave a brief grin. "We have something to show you. Two things actually. Well, five things, technically, but four of them are rather similar. Shall we take this inside?"
"Let's. Who are 'we'? she asked as they began walking to the small elevator off to the side.
"Ah, that's... complicated" one of the other drones replied.
DP sighed. "Isn't it always? At least tell me whether you're working for Swarm Hive or not. Not that I particularly care, mind you, they might just get a tad upset if I just disappear. Premiere propulsion expert and all."
"Not exactly" the armed drone replied as a few of the drones joined them in the elevator. "But we have their best interests at heart."
What have I gotten myself into? she wondered idly as the elevator started to descend.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

7 October 2026
DP-35 begins making inroads into discovering the functionality of the four strange engines. Her progress is hamstrung by one important fact, however: the Wrix simply do not have the science to even begin to explain what they do. Guided by some vague notes and recovered documents from the Ruin Science Complex computers, she eventually manages to determine that the engines are some kind of... warp devices which can only be used under very precise conditions. Where or what these conditions would occur, however, she has no idea. Still, the implications are staggering.
The drones agree to put the RSC fully at her disposal to develop this new branch of science. A comprehensive understanding of it is expected to take a really long time though.

OOC:
Starting research into warp theory with 1 research lab for ~RP reasons~. The idea of refitting on of my scout craft with one of the warp engines is starting to grow on me. I'm just rather afraid of accidentally activating some TN tech NPC races/Star Swarms right next to my home system, especially since I have no real way of using any neighbouring systems yet. Curiosity would be the only reason to attempt this.

22 October 2026
Excavation of a strange pipe leads to the discovery of two large tanks embedded into the foundation of the ruins. Analysis of their contents determines it to be pure sorium-based fuel, still usable. The smaller tank, holding just over 4 million litres, still has a functional pump and monitoring equipment and can immediately be put to use. The second tank's pumping system had been destroyed by a rare structural collapse and a new system would have to be jury-rigged before the tank can be used as a fuel supply.
The Collective keeps this find to themselves, as it gives them both the ability to undertake their own space missions (if they can find a starship!) and access to an extremely valuable bargaining chip. The smaller tank alone holds just less than double the total fuel stockpiles of the Swarm.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

2 January 2027
After much difficulty due to efforts not to damage the surrounding structures, the second tank is hooked up to a makeshift pump. Surveys and some calculations determine that the tank holds almost ten million litres. The Collective now has access to fuel supplies that far, far outstrip the rather meager stockpiles that the Swarm have produced so far. The Collective is undecided about what to do with it, but since they have nowhere else to put the fuel anyway, they leave it as it is for now.

12 January 2027
Another Myrkul drone transporter is completed. The process of refitting the entire transport fleet with the new system is started immediately. The refit itself is relatively quick, taking only about 2 weeks, but is a severe disruption of the ships' supply routes.

27 January 2027
The first Myrkul II is refitted to the Myrkul III design with cargo handling equipment. It is expected that a full refit of the fleet will be completed by approximately the end of April, if all goes well.

1 March 2027
Now armed with some very basic understanding of warp theory, DP-35 is given permission to disassemble one of the warp engines for study. As rare and valuable as they are, being able to reproduce them as soon as possible would be even more valuable.
Unfortunately, while disassembly gives some insight into replication of the technology, it provides no new advances in understanding of the theory upon which it operates.

OOC
Disassembled a jump drive. Got 50-100 RP in each of the component techs, but nothing in Jump Theory. Oh well.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

26 March 2027
The EC mining complexes on Rube are expanded with some new equipment as part of the Epsilon Conglomerate's  aggressive growth strategy. Whether anything further will come of it is unknown as  yet.

7 April 2027
Wrixom goes through one of the coldest times in recorded history as it experiences as sudden drop in average global temperatures. Weatherologists speculate that it was caused by a sudden drop in greenhouse containment due to some peculiar weather systems with insufficient solar energy received from Home, their star, to make up for the loss.
The weather also means food is becoming less plentiful and the hives discuss establishing farms and other self-contained food production facilities on First Stop and New Wrixom. Gamma had already embraced the new technology and while First Stop was not yet fully self-sufficient, supply requirements were already vastly lower than was to be expected from an approximately six million strong colony with more plans in the pipeline for further expansion. The secondary First Stop hives were already busy trading resources for food.
Unbeknownst to the other queens, Gamma also takes this opportunity to begin final preparations for her own move to First Stop. She did not plan on abandoning her holdings on Wrixom, but the weather was far more pleasant to her aging body on her new planet, even if the air was a bit thin.

29 April 2027
Exactly on schedule, the last Myrkul IIB class colonist transporter has its cargo handling equipment installed. The whole transport fleet is now refitted and working faster than ever, moving drones and production facilities offworld. On paper, they are already outdated and outclassed by the Beshaba class, but it will take a long time for the Swarm Yards to be ready to begin production of these monstrous vessels. With the cold starting to be felt, even in the traditionally 'warmer' areas, the pressure is on.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

9 May 2027
A new tunnel is uncovered leading deeper into the ground, riddled with life-supporting equipment. It seems as if it used to function as a type of bomb-shelter or something, although why a bomb-shelter was needed when the entire city was already deep underground is a mystery. Mapping and recovery efforts commence immediately.

OOC:
240 infrastructure recovered.

19 May 2027
Deep below the ruins of Wrixom, at the end of a long tunnel an amazing find is made. A deep fissure in the crust from the planet's mantle allows magma to push up deep into the crust. In time, it would probably have formed a volcano or other geological event. As it was, someone had 'capped' the fissure many many years ago with a machine of mindboggling complexity and resilience. Constructed almost entirely of nearly pure Duranium, the massive black construct worked to 'sieve' the magma as it flowed through, filtering out useful TN and conventional metals, before transporting the already pseudo-refined lumps of filtered metal to the main complex. Unfortunately, while amazingly there appeared to be no structural faults with the MagmaSieve despite the long contact with molten rock, the inside of the device had completely gummed up as the magma had cooled. It appeared as if it would require plenty of continuous maintenance and cleaning to keep the thing functioning.

OOC:
Mine recovered. But I'm sort of running  with a theme here.

29 July 2027
With the last of the gummed up works cleaned and a few minor repairs, the MagmaSieve slowly starts to churn away, sucking up magma before filtering it for useful compounds and ejecting it some distance away. The seismic disturbances threaten to give away its location, but sneaking a few sympathetic drones into the low priority tasks of monitoring the sensors proves to be a simple solution to the problem.
More interestingly, a secondary function of the MagmaSieve is discovered. As well as extracting metals for production, it also filters out the gasses emitted by the molten rock, including oxygen, nitrogen and numerous other toxic gasses, separating and stockpiling them on an industrial scale. No containment tanks for these gasses are available besides the Sieve's own small tanks, so gas production is turned way down to only supply the air for the underground ruins themselves. This vastly reduces the pressure on external intakes and it is hoped that it would reduce the chances of discovery by the other hives.

OOC
Terraforming Installation recovered. I've fluffed it that even though the MagmaSieve doubles perfectly as a Terraforming Installation, capable of dispersing a wide variety of gasses into the atmosphere, nobody in the Drone Collective considered the option and they have not informed any of the queens.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

19 August 2027
Further exploration of the deep tunnels reveal traces of two more MagmaSieve devices! Unfortunately, it seems that in the many many years since they were last manned, the majority of both had collapsed into the magma sea and were now unrecoverable.

OOC:
Found two quick facilities beyond repair.

9 October 2027
Elsewhere on Wrixom, Swarm-led research efforts make a breakthrough in new TN construction methods. Application is expected to increase production of existing industry by up to 20%. It is believed that vaguely similar processes can be applied to mining to increase output and this is slated to be the next avenue of research. It is important for the Swarm to get maximum use of its existing industry as most of it will need to be transported offworld at some point.

OOC
Research into Con 12 completed.

1 November 2027
"...so basically, it should be possible to travel to other Solar Systems. Probably. Theoretically. Maybe."
It wasn't the first time IM had visited DP-35 in the depths of the Wrixom Ruins, but it was the first time she had had something of substance to report.
"But you don't know how it works?" IM asked. They were wandering through the vast underground city as they spoke.
DP sighed. "It's way more complicated than that. I know the basic... idea about how it works, but the math doesn't work out. It shouldn't work, mathematically, but I suspect that merely means that our current understanding of physics is inadequate, if not plain wrong. Not that that would surprise me, we've already picked up a few things we can't explain."
"Such as?" IM asked, almost dreading the answer. Drones were busy all around them, cataloguing every detail of the place or just shifting rubble or mechanical parts. It was eerie to see them working on such complex and sensitive tasks with no queen oversight. She had gotten so used to the way it worked at Swarm Hive.
"Oh, just a few edge cases. Light, not behaving as it should under certain conditions, gravity not measuring exactly what it is supposed to, a few unexplained phenomena on the subatomic level, that kind of thing. Nothing noticable."
"And having these discrepancies is normal in science?" IM questioned sceptically.
"Pretty much. One can never know everything" DP-35 replied.
They walked in silence for a while.
"Wow, other stars, huh?" IM remarked, gazing up at the buildings vanishing into the darkness above her. "Never even considered leaving our system in my lifetime. Just been focused on getting us past this damned ice age we have coming."
"I know what you mean. I was thinking we could maybe develop and send out a few generation ships at best. After all, we are going to have to do something with all those evacuation ships once Wrixom is left behind" DP mused.
"Yeah. Although now it looks like we might have a new use for them.  Say, could we actually use these things?" IM asked as a sudden idea sprang into her head.
"You mean the alien jump engines? Um... I guess. They appear to still be functional, if that is what you are asking" DP said.
"No, I mean, can we hook them up to a ship and use it to go to other systems? Or do we need something else?"
This elicited a bark of laughter from DP. "Hah! They're almost half the size of the Drake!  What ship do you plan on attaching them too? And no, before you ask, they are not powerful enough to jump a Myrkul."
"What is their capacity?" IM asked.
"Hard to say. Five to six thousand tons if I have to hazard a guess based on what evidence I have" DP answered.
"So it can jump the Endymion pretty easily. Can we strap it to the ship somehow?"
DP shrugged. "You will have to ask a ship designer that. But I suspect it will be difficult, simply due to the size. You can't just chain it to the ship and expect it to work right. There are structural stresses that need to be considered."
"But there is no reason we can't use this on one of our ships, right? The technology is compatible, or whatever" IM said.
"All it needs is electricity and what amounts to a button press. So yeah, I'd say it's rather compatible" DP remarked.
IM grinned. An idea had begun to form in her mind. Something amazing. Now if only she could get PC in on things somehow without having to tell that airhead everything.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

4 November 2027
"Why do you want a new ship?" PC asked. "What's wrong with the Endymion? We can crank out a couple more Balor classes if you want."
IM waved her off. They were sitting in the section of Swarm Hive that PC considered her 'office'. She did all her designing there and sketches and diagrams of wings, engines and hulls littered every available surface. "The Balor class was designed as a test bed for the new TN engines. It's obsolete by now."
PC waved her claws in exasperation. "That's why we stuck a full sensor suite on the Endymion! So that it has some other uses besides 'test bed'. How can you say it is obsolete? It hasn't done anything these past few years besides run a few trials."
"Exactly my point. It isn't suited for anything we might need it for because it lacks utility. That's why I think we should build a new, bigger, better ship."
PC just stared at IM skeptically.
"Here is what I'm thinking. We design the ship with all the same sensors as the Endymion, maybe a few extra, and then we also give it a nice, big, utility bay for whatever else the eggheads might come up with at a later date. You know, give it some modularity" IM explained.
"Uh huh. And how big do you propose we make this 'utility bay'?"
IM handed PC a scrap of paper.
"I was thinking we use these dimensions, and put power couplings here, here, here and here, making sure they can provide at least this amount of sustained power from each" she said, pointing out the values and locations on the sketch.
"Wow. That's... oddly specific" PC remarked. "Is there something specific you want to be able to fit in there?"
"No, no, not at all, you just have to start somewhere, you know?  Once we have this, we can design all the equipment to fit in there.  Once we have some equipment, of course" IM said quickly. "Can you do it?"
"Doesn't seem all that tricky. I will probably just take the Balor's design and move a few things around or something. But what aren't you telling me, IM?"
IM sighed. "PC, in this case, let's just say that it is better that you don't know. But it is important. More important than you can imagine..."

OOC:
I'm starting to set the stage for designing the first jump capable Swarm vessel. I've decided against simply strapping an alien jumpdrive to the Endymion simply due to how massive it is. Simpler to just build a new ship. Easier to fit that rp-wise, as well.

24 November 2027
A second MagmaSieve is recovered intact and in functioning condition. With lessons learnt from the previous one, cleanup is far quicker and it isn't long before it also starts churning the magma, filtering out minerals and gases. On an unrelated note, some additional research labs are completed by one of the smaller hives. These things are going up like toadstools.

OOC
Another automated mine and terraforming facility is recovered. Sounds like a MagmaSieve to me.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

24 December 2027   
Epsilon's mining complex on Rube is expanded. Mercassium levels on Wrixom reach critically low levels, threatening to slow production. Luckily, there are significant stockpiles awaiting transport on Rube. One of the Myrkul III's are diverted to do the pickup.

30 December 2027
Following the pipes leading out from the fuel tanks, an underground fuel refinery is discovered among the ruins. It appeared to have been automatically converting its sorium stockpiles to fuel for many, many years, hence the reason both its main and overflow tanks were completely full. It was only then that its emergency systems shut it down to prevent damage to the fuel system. In the years since, its sorium tank had been ruptured and whatever had remained is lost.

5 January 2028
The first local construction on New Wrixom is completed, a Construction Factory to assist in future production. Coincidentally, another Myrkul III freighter is also completed. Mostly outdated, it will still help to fill the gap until the construction of the first Beshabas start.

OOC
As soon as the Beshabas start rolling off the production line, we can kick this evacuation into overdrive. Until then, I'm just setting the stage, getting a things in place. Retooling time is really slow, though 

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

20 January 2028
IM sat in her 'office' and looked at the paper the drone had handed to her without a word before vanishing around a corner, and puzzled over its meaning. It was from DP down in the ruins, that much was certain.

'Further analysis of objects reveal additional requirement for operation. Very specific set of local circumstances required in order to achieve functionality.
Originally thought object created local conditions; hypothesis was revealed to be erroneous. High probability of natural existence of conditions, but location unknown. Methods to determine location unknown. Exact conditions required unknown. More work required.
Note: Key factor is gravity.'

The 'objects' were clearly the jump engines DP were working on, but what was the deal with these 'local conditions'? Why would the aliens build such engines if they couldn't work? And these weren't prototypes, either. This was an established technology. Clearly these conditions had to exist somewhere.
'Location' gave her an idea, though. It reminded her of a sleepy conversation she had had with that biologist, LA, about three years ago.
She tapped a few keys on her computer and brought up the old report on the file that had originally been discovered on First Stop, the one that had lead to the search for the Wrixom Ruins in the first place after LA had cracked its encryption.
There. Besides Wrixom, there were four more locations of note contained in the document which had originally been a navigational chart of some kind. They were all quite far out, however.
Could it be? Could those be the locations of the 'specific set of local conditions'?
Sending a ship wouldn't help. They had no idea what they were looking for. The truth was, the only way she could figure out if her hunch was right was to activate the alien engine at that location.
So basically, she could not know whether the new ship class would be worth it until its construction finished. What a catch-22.

30 January 2028
Due to some last minute design alterations, it is decided to significantly increase the operational range of the new vessel - now named the Azazel class - by increasing the size of its fuel tanks and increasing its fuel efficiency. The 'civilian' engines employed by the Myrkul's are deemed too slow and bulky, while the more compact and powerful engines fitted to the Drake and the Endymion are simply too fuel-hungry and lack the range required. Eventually, the Swarm Academy is tasked with  developing a new generation of engines that take the middle path between power and fuel efficiency.
The other hives make only a minor issue of this. They are mostly busy planning their hive placements on New Wrixom and organizing their logistics for the move. Transport space is still very limited, so prioritization is essential.

OOC
Four research labs are switched to developing a new engine.

[Rabid_Cog (OP)]

25 February 2028
Designs for the new engine arrive at Swarm Command and the Swarm Academy continues its work on improving mining technology. The final schematics for the Azazel Class are drawn up and the Gamma Yards begin retooling to construct the Azazal Class after laying idle for a long time.

OOC
Engine research completed. Retool for the Azazel started.

21 March 2028
"IM, we have a slight problem."
IM sighed and rubbed her eyes before looking up from the latest production figures on her desk. PC was peering around the edge of her doorless doorway with a look of consternation on her face.
"What?" she asked simply.
"There has been a slight mixup with the shipments to New Wrixom. It's a bit of a crisis" PC explained.
"How can a 'slight mixup' result in a crisis? You know what? Nevermind. I'm coming" IM said. "Explain what's going on while we walk."
In the short walk to the command section, PC explained. With the temperatures dropping and the pressure to evacuate increasing, Swarm Command had been under significant pressure from the Hive Queens to transport their drones to New Wrixom so that they could start setting up hives there and PC had been doing her utmost to fulfill their demands as well as she could, but between being harassed by the Hive Queens and having the design IM's new ship, some things slipped through the cracks. Specifically, the infrastructure shipments necessary to support life on New Wrixom. Now supplies were running low and there were too many drones for the oxygen scrubbers to be able to keep up and fights had started to break out.
"... and US is in the command chair trying to sort something out, but it's a big mess!" PC finished as they stepped into the cavernous command area.
"US, what's going on?" IM demanded. "What went wrong?"
US snorted. "This airhead shipped too many drones to New Wrixom, that's what went wrong" she said, pointing at PC. "And now we have about forty Hive Queens exacerbating the situation as best they are able, egging on fights and outright theft between hives."
"For goodness sakes, I'm not in the mood for this!" IM exclaimed. "Can't we just pick them back up and bring them back to Wrixom until there is enough infrastructure in place?"
"That's the problem. The Queens have all ordered their drones not to budge. To make matters worse, the drones still on their way from Wrixom have made it clear that if we tried to make their ships turn back they would take control of the ship and make it drop them off on New Wrixom."
IM threw her claws up in frustration. "Are those drones stupid? If they get dropped off on New Wrixom they would either asphyxiate or starve! How can they follow orders so damn blindly?"
This drew strange looks from both PC and US.
"Uh, IM, they are just drones" PC said. "They do what they are told."
Of course, IM thought. She had gotten so used to the drones from the Drone Collective she had forgotten how fanatically loyal most drones were. She was going to have to sort this out with the Queens directly.

OOC
Some unrest on New Wrixom due to overcrowding. It seems I had been shipping population to New Wrixom faster than I had been shipping infrastructure. I will have to rectify this.