Duranium Legion Vol. 2 - Comments Thread

[Warer]

Let us all take a moment of silence as we remember the poor suffering people of Alpha Centauri-B II, forced to live so many decades with no light refreshments to punctuate their fraught existence. Truly a tragedy on a scale never before seen in history. As for the instigators of this tragedy, well, they shall remain the subject of reckless speculation for now...

You see tragedy I see an untapped market.
-BritCoTheThird Rep

[El Pip]

Even so, no one seriously considered calling off the survey before it was completed, as even in spite of the dreadful economic situation of the moment Lord High Admiral Laura Tyrol had no intention of setting a precedent that her command should ever be subject to the whims of such a banal force as economics.

At least some standards are being maintained in the Legion

In his concluding remarks, Captain Zelos noted that while the retreat actions of the 19th Mechanized and the colonists under their protection were perhaps cowardly and unbecoming, such actions had ultimately preserved a small fraction of the colonists, and in any case the bravery and hardiness of the remnant colonists was certainly as much as any citizen of the Legion could aspire to.

The clear implication being that if relief had arrived in 90 days and not 90 years then the actions of the 19th Mechanized and colonists would have reverted back to being cowardly and unbecoming.

I feel Zelos has the potential to go far in the Admiralty.

For once in Legion history, economic necessities came before military desires, though many were left to wonder if “for once” would in fact also be “for all time”.

The third worst thing to ever happen to the Legion, the second being the Collapse and the first being the current ongoing lack of light refreshments.

Legion ship naming remains a source of joy and delight. The Seahammer in particular is a classic, it's an item that sounds impressive and violent but would be deeply disappointing in reality due to some pesky physics that none of the Lords Admiralty would know or care about.

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

Let us all take a moment of silence as we remember the poor suffering people of Alpha Centauri-B II, forced to live so many decades with no light refreshments to punctuate their fraught existence. Truly a tragedy on a scale never before seen in history. As for the instigators of this tragedy, well, they shall remain the subject of reckless speculation for now...

You see tragedy I see an untapped market.
-BritCoTheThird Rep

Sounds like the Dutch East Alpha Centauri Company is going into business. Which is perhaps a bit of a problem for them, as presently Alpha Centauri-B is on the "west" side of the map, not that such terms have any meaning in space of course.

The clear implication being that if relief had arrived in 90 days and not 90 years then the actions of the 19th Mechanized and colonists would have reverted back to being cowardly and unbecoming.

It is sometimes quite impressive what dying and being succeeded by one's descendants does for one's reputation.

Legion ship naming remains a source of joy and delight. The Seahammer in particular is a classic, it's an item that sounds impressive and violent but would be deeply disappointing in reality due to some pesky physics that none of the Lords Admiralty would know or care about.

It is as always nice to know that some among the readership do appreciate what is truly important in life. 

Though one might note that a sufficiently large "seahammer" would in fact still be quite violent and impressive, albeit for rather different reasons than one usually associates with hammers.

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OOC Comments

Quote tag for Chapter III:

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[quote author=nuclearslurpee link=topic=13094.msg162589#msg162589 date=1664066576][/quote]
In a contrast to my usual style of gameplay, there is not a lot happening early on in terms of exploration due to the limited survey assets, thus not a lot of action for the impressive-looking warships the Lords Admiral are so proud of. The contrast of course is that I am paying much more attention to mineral sources than I usually do in the early game, as the Legion is frankly out of everything but can only get some things at a time. Spoilers, probably: next on the list will be mercassium and neutronium as the Legion will need both very soon if they want to do anything fun in this century.

I hope this perhaps unusual focus is appreciated by some, not too intolerable to the rest, and an adequate substitute for the chronic lack of light refreshments for all. I have my doubts about the latter but one can always hope as we have seen.

[El Pip]

Frankly, no one had been paying attention to the stockpiles of what was usually a tertiary mineral, until now perhaps half of the Lords Admiral had not even known the word “corbomite” in all honesty.

There are only 11 TN minerals and yet that is still clearly at least one too many for the Lords Admiralty to keep track of. It is reassuring that so little has changed inside the Legion over the decades.

The question of whether heads ought to roll over this was a popular subject of discussion both inside and outside of the Legion high command offices.

There is only one correct Legion approved answer to this question, I only hope it was reached.

Thus ended the year 4101, with the Legion looking outwards with hope and anticipation

I don't want Lord Admirals with hope, I want them deranged with blood thirsty dreams of driving even close to the enemy so they can shoot them in the face at point blank.

Let us hope this is a brief interlude of economic concerns and that normal service is soon resumed.

Or that instead this work goes full on macrosocio-economic with the Lords Admirals being over-thrown by the Lords Actuary, a group devoted to building an economically efficient empire with a few military types scrabbling for scraps. It would be a bold change in direction but one I think the world deserves to see.

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

As it is once again time for an update, it is also once again time for a comment reply. I shall endeavor to be brief in the face of this voluminous task ahead of me:

There are only 11 TN minerals and yet that is still clearly at least one too many for the Lords Admiralty to keep track of. It is reassuring that so little has changed inside the Legion over the decades.

The Lords Admiral must be excused here, they do after all only have ten fingers at the most on which to keep track of such things.

I don't want Lord Admirals with hope, I want them deranged with blood thirsty dreams of driving even close to the enemy so they can shoot them in the face at point blank.

As this is their default state this is not a hard desire to satisfy, albeit perhaps narratively it may be more difficult to highlight in the absence of enemies to drive closer to and shoot.

Let us hope this is a brief interlude of economic concerns and that normal service is soon resumed.

Indeed.

Or that instead this work goes full on macrosocio-economic with the Lords Admirals being over-thrown by the Lords Actuary, a group devoted to building an economically efficient empire with a few military types scrabbling for scraps. It would be a bold change in direction but one I think the world deserves to see.

There remains some concern that this may be what happens. Mostly within the Lords Actuary, which are about the only group of people who imagine this to be even remotely possible and spend at least half of their working hours fretting about the terrible expenses they would incur in such a situation.

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OOC Comments:

Quote Tag for Chapter IV:

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[quote author=nuclearslurpee link=topic=13094.msg162817#msg162817 date=1665286949][/quote]
I am sure El Pip will have no difficulty identifying the most relevant and important part of the update, of course.

Otherwise, let us all pray that these logistical endeavors are soon interrupted by the discovery of some terrible alien foe who might be fought unto death, if nothing else this should raise the ratio of words written to increments passed and thus, in theory, the pace of updates and/or buffer construction. Alternatively, the mineral crisis may be easily solved if the requirement for maintenance supplies is sufficiently alleviated by whatever actions follow from this discovery.

[El Pip]

why the crucial task of ensuring colonial safety was only being performed after colonization had begun.

Are you suggesting that colonists actually need safety? Such cowardliness is unbecoming a true Legion colonist.

though the eagerness of the crews to do the same was perhaps not quite so effervescent.

The potentially very dangerous exploration will continue until morale improves.

Naturally, this required selection of a suitable body for colonization, a task made rather complicated by the lack of suitable bodies for colonization.

I am disappointed by the lack of a multi-part colonisation conference where the various Admiralty factions childishly squabble discuss this and make a decision.

Ultimately, as the astute student of the Legion might well expect, the choice was made in favor of the riskier, but potentially far more rapid, option.

It is good to see standards being maintained.

and inertia as with most laws of physics would certainly not stop the Lords Admiral from doing as they liked.

It won't stop them issuing whatever orders they like certainly and that is basically the same as doing whatever they like.

To the casual observer, the Xanadu-class survey frigates were merely a pale imitation of the famous Ars Magica classes

Hyperion Drive Yards HR-225 Deep Space Engine 'Eidolon'

I do hope this engine name is deliberate.

much to Lord High Admiral Tyrol’s mild annoyance.

I am growing to like LHA Tyrol, that is entirely the correct response.

As this particular mission had been a great success, in the sense that it had effectively proven that Barnard’s Star was unlikely to be threatened by any nearby carnivorous aliens,

That is one definition of success. But perhaps not one that most of the Legion would share, or indeed the readership.

y this time, some in the Legion high command were arguing for a reduction of survey efforts, given that any further discoveries would not be exploitable anytime soon, and thus there was only risk to be found in the form of accidentally alerting an alien species to the existence of the Legion

Cowards.

Naturally, others among the Lords Admiralty were eager to tolerate this risk as the natural consequences of taking such a risk could be considered very much tolerable

Yes, ill-advised over-expansion done with a still crippled industrial base leading to a war fought with a handful of irreplaceable Lost Tech ships and no prospect of even second rate reinforcements due to an ongoing mineral shortage. Who could possibly object to this plan?

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

As another update fast approaches, I must confess my tremendous disappointment that no-one among the readership appears to have noticed nor to have taken pleasure in the name of Commandant Damneus Zagreus. Perhaps if he had been named Damneus Iteus, there would have been some response, but alas the random name generator is not so wise in the ways of garnering public attention. Thus, we forge onwards slightly the worse for the wear.

I am disappointed by the lack of a multi-part colonisation conference where the various Admiralty factions childishly squabble discuss this and make a decision.

Your disappointment will not last too much longer, albeit we will not yet go whole-hog for Conferences while the AAR has yet to really get moving, but there will be some Conference-like material produced nevertheless.

I do hope this engine name is deliberate.

I remember looking up the name after thinking of it and considering it quite fitting, this is enough evidence of fault for me and so I will take credit.

I am growing to like LHA Tyrol, that is entirely the correct response.

Okay, your disappointment may continue as you shall soon read.

Yes, ill-advised over-expansion done with a still crippled industrial base leading to a war fought with a handful of irreplaceable Lost Tech ships and no prospect of even second rate reinforcements due to an ongoing mineral shortage. Who could possibly object to this plan?

Particularly if the economic recovery is seen to be proceeding well, and certain members of the naval aristocracy might let their dreams of glory motivate an overly optimistic assessment of what this admittedly strong recovery can realistically support? Is this question rhetorical? We must proceed to the update to find out...

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OOC Comments:

Quote tag for Chapter V:

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[quote author=nuclearslurpee link=topic=13094.msg162984#msg162984 date=1666068514][/quote]
I am posting a bit late in the evening for myself, so in a bit of a rush + tired, as such I do apologize for any typos, grammatical errors, or worst - missed italicization of ship and class names. 

Rather a lengthy update this time, though for anyone illiterate who might be reading I have provided not one but two images, never you mind that they are still mostly words. The reason for the length is that the frequency of notable events has somewhat reduced, and in line with this I wanted to press onward until reaching a particular point of some criticality - what this is, the readership may speculate at leisure.

I expect the next update to be in the form of the noted Appendix A, for sake of the update schedule and to give each post its proper spotlight, it is not included with the main post but shall be provided later. I have not yet decided, but I am leaning towards a separate thread for "Appendices" as this seems only natural and fitting. Thought from the readership on this critical question of format and organization will of course be taken into consideration. Or taped to a dartboard, depending on contents and/or tone.

[El Pip]

As another update fast approaches, I must confess my tremendous disappointment that no-one among the readership appears to have noticed nor to have taken pleasure in the name of Commandant Damneus Zagreus.

If we are expected to take note of every legion commander with an elaborate name then we will never have time to get anything done.

I expect the next update to be in the form of the noted Appendix A, for sake of the update schedule and to give each post its proper spotlight, it is not included with the main post but shall be provided later. I have not yet decided, but I am leaning towards a separate thread for "Appendices" as this seems only natural and fitting.

A third thread would be a suitably appropriate act of empire building, so why not?

While some cooler heads objected to this rash and unconscionable throwing-away of resources, these were largely silenced by the majority of Lords eager to return to normal, for a definition of “normal” dated nearly a century in the past.

Cooler heads appears to be Legion code for "cowards".

Despite the fact that Lord Captain Catreus only had actual command over a fraction of these assets, the orders ultimately were given without significant undue delay and only minimal spatting over turf

I like the cut of Catreus' jib and being named after an ancient snake god is suitably exciting. As I am in need of a new favourite for tragic reasons to be discussed later he will do for now.

Captain Thomas Zelos

I understand we readers are now required to note such names?

By 11 August, the reality of the mineral situation could no longer be papered over, as the Martian ground forces construction department reported a complete lack of vendarite

In contrast to previous mineral shortages, however, the Lords Admiral were alarmingly quick to declare this particular bottoming-out as rather less than urgent

By mid-August, the vendarite crisis had reached an intolerable height, dragging to a halt even the freighter construction in the Duratus orbital shipyards

Given it appears to have been scant days between Mars running out of vendarite and then the Duratus orbital yards running out, The Lords Admirals had to act alarmingly quickly in declaring the problem not urgent, or it would have been obvious even to them that it was urgent.

The morning of 5 June saw another classic Legion tradition once again come into common practice, this being the category of happenstance wherein a seemingly innocuous and well-meaning act of a Lord Admiral leads to vociferous controversy, superfluous debate at exorbitant volume levels, and an elevated probability of fisticuffs.

I was worried this tradition had been lost in the anarchy.

In this case, the innocuous act was the retirement of Lord High Admiral Laura Tyrol,

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Let me assure you there was nothing innocuous about that act. And following on from losing LHA Ander and his derangedly optimistic leadership of Logistics Command. Dark times indeed.

it became clear that the only resolution would be found in some form of Naval Conference to resolve the issue.

Huzzah! I am concerned that Appendix A is described as 'abridged', which is very much missing the point of a Legion Naval Conference, but I await it impatiently nevertheless.

as well as the BritCo Light Refreshments Corporation on-site representative for unexplained reasons.

A mystery for the ages.

While some took her personal statements claiming that the Lords Grand Admiral in place at the time were clearly not as well-qualified and she could “beat the snot out of them at any place and any time” as evidence of this, others considered such statements to be well within par-for-the-course for any member of the Lords Admiralty.

Why can't both be true? . In any event, good to see that she went out (verbally) fighting.

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

If we are expected to take note of every legion commander with an elaborate name then we will never have time to get anything done.
[...]
I understand we readers are now required to note such names?

Just the good ones, of course. Named after curse words and the like, you know how it is.

Given it appears to have been scant days between Mars running out of vendarite and then the Duratus orbital yards running out, The Lords Admirals had to act alarmingly quickly in declaring the problem not urgent, or it would have been obvious even to them that it was urgent.

While you're not wrong, I would note that the intervening time period of approximately a year between these statements suggests that "scant days" may be one of the more misleading ways to describe the situation, frankly even for someone with your incredibly tenuous connection to the concept of linear time.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Let me assure you there was nothing innocuous about that act. And following on from losing LHA Ander and his derangedly optimistic leadership of Logistics Command. Dark times indeed.

Correct, actually she did it completely and exclusively to spite the readership, and I congratulate Steve on such an impressively self-aware AI.

Huzzah! I am concerned that Appendix A is described as 'abridged', which is very much missing the point of a Legion Naval Conference, but I await it impatiently nevertheless.

Others of the readership would doubtless object to the unabridged timeline. I recognize of course that bowing to the whims of the readership has never been in keeping with the ethos of these works, but we do pay lip service for advertising purposes regardless.

[Garfunkel]

"Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days."

Does that mean it's time for an update? 

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

Unfortunately not. I never got around to posting in here, but I had a database corruption that rendered the save unplayable - so this one is sadly over.   

I have a plan for a more ambitious project I want to attempt when 2.2 rolls out, but it will take a while to set up so I won't be writing anything on this forum besides long-winded posts about game mechanics for a while, I think.

[El Pip]

Well this is deeply disappointing news, bordering on the tragic.

It seems the Duranium Legion is a concept too beautiful for this fallen world and thus reality conspires to ensure it's full tale is never told.

[nuclearslurpee (OP)]

"Beautiful" is one word for it...