Children of Sol: Multiplayer Aurora

[OAM47]

The Martian High Command was a bit miffed at the fact that Earth had launched a cargo ship so soon.  Of course, it was probably a goal of all three powers to have such a capacity, and it wasn't exactly realistic to assume that they had a lead, not in all areas, not in any area.  The officers were optimistic about the situation, though, and immediately welcomed any trade, granting the Earthlings permission to send the ship to Mars.  It would be watched carefully, of course, at least until it was determined to indeed be unarmed.

As usual, the idealistic diplomats found the chance to interject one of their own ideas into every situation.  In this case, they believed, it was time to reveal another treaty they'd come up with sometime ago, but had been wary to propose.  They had no idea what the other planets' timetables were, and had not predicted needing to bring up the issue for another year or two, but now that there was a cargo ship known to exist, it was time to start hammering out what the official procedure for claiming worlds would be.  While the other two peoples probably didn't know it, the Martians had a real love for Red Tape.

-----

Greetings Sentients,

We the people of Mars agree to accept free and open trade throughout the system.  However, we have another concern that we wish to bring before the interplanetary community.  We believe that with the advent of cheap transport, an inevitable race will occur for the planets and moons of our system.  To prevent tension for throwing our civilizations back into the horrors of war, we propose the following treaty.

Treaty of Utopia Planitia

The undersigned parties agree that

A)  Only individual solid planets or moons may be claimed by a civilization.  (Freedom of fuel from gas giants)

B)  Only one claim can be made a month of a single body.

C)  New claims can only be made if a signatory can exploit the claim within two years.

D)  For a new claim made by one signatory, each other power is allowed to make a claim without the previous requirement.

-----

We are open to any changes suggested by other powers.

[Antagonist]

Earth would like to make the following changes to help balance a resources race:

1) Claims on habitable bodies are exclusive.  
 a) Unless an individual treaty stating otherwise is formed then only one faction may have a population on any world.
 b) Treaties to transfer claims may be made between factions.

2) Claims on bodies intended for unmanned installations are non-exclusive with the following caveats:
 a) The prime claimant is the first one who can place an installation on the body.
 b) Exploitation of this body is limited by the exploitation of the prime claimant.  The number of mining installations (shipboard or through automated mines) may not exceed that of the prime claimant.  This is to reduce overexploitation by those who arrive later.
 c) The presence of deep space tracking stations is not limited in Sol, though any such installations not on a inhabited world has to be claimed.  Deep space tracking stations based on the homeworlds can already cover other homeworlds, so limits on these don't have any particular security value.

3) Claims on inhabited non-human bodies are invalid.  Claims on these extra-solar worlds can only be made through right of conquest.  If the conquest is a shared effort then some measure of compensation has to made to all participating factions.


-------
In terms of the above:
Earth claims Asteroid #21 by right having equipment placed on it (by time of next turn).
Earth claims that Titan shall soon receive infrastructure and civilians to become the first new world colonized by man.

((OOC EDIT: Okay, civilian traffic.  Will that happen automagically soon as we have a treaty?  In my games they only tend to happen after Mars colonization, aka they are given something to do.  If the treaty allows them to be spawned, wonderful, else I'm gonna rush the Titan thing to try spawn them.  Wealth generation through trade should be significant, but will see.  Also, is there heat death to the universe reasons why turning on transponders for all civilian ships(civ and player controlled non-mil)?  Might be worth appending to a trade treaty, though I suppose not yet.))

[OAM47]

OOC:  That change is acceptable.  I kind assumed they'd all be exclusive unless said otherwise, but spelling extra rules out is okay.

I'll look for what I want to claim soon and post more in an hour or so.

[OAM47]

Official Reply:

We of Mars find these changes and clarifications acceptable, though we are wary of the provisions relating to any potential conquest.  We shall claim Titania and Asteroid #2.  However, despite technically being allowed to claim one colony per month, we warn other parties that we should not be too hasty in expansion.

[sublight (OP)]

2056 - Year of Bragging and Retirement
The new Syndicate Freighter was the envy of the system. It was big, bright, shiny, and impossible to miss. With a thermal signature of 1,000 any planet with a single Deep Space tracking station could see it from 250m km away, and couldn't help but watch as the ship made multiple trips to and from the asteroid belt. Mars swore they too would be launching a version of there own soon. For now, the bragging rights were with the earthlings, yet it was only the start of system wide boasting. The syndicate claimed an asteroid and moon. Mars made claims of their own. Venus refused to acknowledge either claim. The other children of sol imagined the Dragons were caught up in ritual battle to determine public policy toward this new development, but that is just bad tv drama. Probably.

Excluding the Syndicate's asteroid, all the boasting, so far, has been but empty words. 2056 saw some races once again make empire wide crew rotations, and saw others organize mass-retirment events for lack of ships to command.

((OOC: I gave Earth and Mars reciprocal civilian trade agreements, so we'll see if anything happens. ))

Spy Report: 2052

Code: [Select]

Planet Population SY workers SY size Fleet Size Industry Logistic Labs
Mars 422.3m  1.2m 2,000 113.1 kT 40m 0.5m 5
Earth 422.3m  2.8m 38,000 117.8 kT 43m 1.4m 5
Venus 423.3m    2.5m 14,000 111.2 kT 37.5m 2.8m 5
Players, welcome to 2057.
Save has been updated, and I'll be sending out individual reports a bit latter today.

[Panopticon]

A long awaited response to treaty options comes from Venus via a slightly singed ambassador.

Access to the home world is granted to all parties so long as they are unarmed and without active sensors and that our own ships gain equal access.

We claim Asteroid 40 for the Dragon, and will be placing mines on Titania. We look forward to working alongside our neighbors in exploitation of the system, we have much to learn from one another.

[Antagonist]

Earth would like to announce that it is willing to sell a Trade class Freighter to one of its neighbors that thus far have not been able to obtain such a vessel on their own.

-----
Trade class Cargo Ship    48 600 tons     482 Crew     534.6 BP      TCS 972  TH 1000  EM 0
1028 km/s     Armour 1-118     Shields 0-0     Sensors 1/1/0/0     Damage Control Rating 1     PPV 0
MSP 7    Max Repair 16 MSP
Cargo 25000    Cargo Handling Multiplier 10   

Nuclear Thermal Engine E1 (16)    Power 62.5    Fuel Use 10%    Signature 62.5    Armour 0    Exp 1%
Fuel Capacity 200 000 Litres    Range 74.0 billion km   (833 days at full power)

This design is classed as a Commercial Vessel for maintenance purposes
-----

A 5% markup special is offered on it, resulting in a cost of:
561.33 BC
322.98 Duranium
201.6 Gallicite
31.5 Mercassium
5.25 Corbomite

Earth hopes to be able to make many such offers in the future.  Including a Colony class vessel once retooling is complete.

[OAM47]

Mars will buy one ship.  We have no quallums about using foreign ships.

(I don't have it in front of me, but I assume I have the resouces for such a purchase)

[sublight (OP)]

((OOC: Venus added to reciprocal civilian trade agreements))

2057 - Year of Trade
This year, in the name of cooperation, trade flourished as never before. In a grand gesture of the new cooperative spirit the Earthlings sold the Martians a massive, fully functional, freighter - at cost (plus 5% shipping). In the first week of January The Syndicates two freighters settled grandly into Mars orbit, where with minor ceremony one vessel under went a crew exchange while the second was loaded with a modest few hundred tons of refined trans-newtonian minerals as payment.

It is with this starting example that the year concluded with the start of a second trade relations. In December, a Syndicate corporation became the second entity to announce owning a freighter, and promptly began a lively exchanging in soft goods between worlds. True to the political offers of the year, fine wine was indeed one of the first cargos carried.

Spy Report: 2053

Code: [Select]

Planet Population SY workers SY size Fleet Size Industry Logistic Labs
Mars 423.8m  1.4m 4,000 115.0 kT 40m 0.5m 6
Earth 423.8m  3.1m 55,000 124.5 kT 43m 1.5m 5
Venus    425.3m    2.7m 25,000 115.0 kT 37.5m    2.8m 6
Players, welcome to 2058.
Save has been updated, and I'll be sending out individual reports a bit latter today.

[Panopticon]

Venus claims her neighbor Mercury for the purposes of starting an experimental colony and research station.

[OAM47]

We of Mars claim Asteroid 135 in reciprocation.

(Venus, you need to set it to welcome screen more often remember!)

[Panopticon]

I could have sworn I actually left it on welcome this time, oh well.

[sublight (OP)]

2058 - Year of the Entrepreneur
'E' is for Entrepreneurial Earthling. Those shrewd traders will build anything to make a profit, and in the last year managed to construct 4 new privately owned vessels of tremendous size. The shipping line has established a wine-spice trade between Mars and Venus and are moving goods at an unsustainable rate, according to market gurus. For now, however, the wine/spice commodities remain in high demand on the planets. The greatest complaints are coming from the Syndicate's own citizens, who are annoyed that their own goods are not getting sold to new markets. The most indignant conspiracy theorists have alleged that the merchants are aiding an Earthling-burger recipe swap between the Martians and Venusians, while profiting of the transport on the condiments for said earthling-burger recipes. The Syndicate's public relations officer has refused to comment except to say that as long as the taxes get paid the merchants are free to trade as they will.

Spy Report: 2054

Code: [Select]

Planet Population SY workers SY size Fleet Size Industry Logistic Labs
Mars 445.7m  1.4m 4,000 115.0 kT 40m 0.5m 7
Earth 445.7m  3.5m 75,000 124.5 kT 43m 1.5m 5
Venus    447.6m    3.0m 37,000 125.6 kT 37.5m    2.8m 7
2059 awaits. Personalized messages coming later.
Edit: Out of time, personalized messages coming much later.

[Panopticon]

Venus expresses an interest in purchasing a colony ship from any nation that has one available to aid its experimental colony on Mercury, will pay in minerals, wealth, a combination of both, or in trade for one of our new Myrkul class freighters.

[Garfunkel]

Good start guys, keep it up! If this experiment works well, I'd be quite interested to join in a future game.