NC Part 20: May 2052 - August 2052

[Steve Walmsley (OP)]

This is a very brief update but I just wanted to bring the Nemesis campaign up to date before I move on to the new test campaign for 0.6 onwards.

7th June 2052
Dracon completes her overhaul. Work on overhauling Akagi and Argo has been temporarily halted until more resources are available.

8th July 2052
The First Gravitational Survey Squadron completes the survey of Chimera, finding two new jump points.

12th July 2052
The Fast Colony Fleet returns to Earth. An Artemis and six Themistocles are mothballed while a second Artemis enters the shipyards for an overhaul. The rest of the fleet tops up with what little supplies are available and begins loading a new cargo of 450,000 colonists and ten manned mines. The planned trip to Acheron is postponed once again as the overhaul of Akagi has resumed.

17th July 2052
Development of the MB-10 Magneto-plasma Drive is completed. Our scientists now begin work on improving the production of our mining facilities. Upgrade of our ships with the new engine technology will have to wait until we either have sufficient resources available to build jump gates at the Mycenae

[rmcrowe]

to quote David Weber: "tum-te-tum-tum".

robert-

[TrueZuluwiz]

it would be interesting to check the population density of that planet. If the dominant race needs helmets to survive, then they didn't evolve there. Ergo: a colony. Not a good development for the Earthers, as they are already running out of minerals, and can't afford to go looking for more.

[Father Tim]

I'm sure it's just a fashion dictate, a crazy fad adopted by the peaceful and friendly race who do not wish to overwhelm galactic visitors with their inherent, ethereal beauty.

Really.

I'm sure that's it.

#:-]

[Michael Sandy]

I wonder if it would have been smarter to have one of the survey ships do the contact, while the Jump Cruiser takes the remaining survey ships back with the news.

I take it back.  I have great certainty that that would have been a better choice.  Fortunately, the Jump Cruiser is apparently significantly faster than the Dark Helmut ships.

I also disagree with the claim that the Commonwealth is in particular economic distress.  At the point of encounter it is less than two years from developing Mining 4, for a 25% increase in mining output.  Added to the slowed increase in manned mines at Thebes, that means that the Commonwealth can probably start reactivating stuff in 2 years.  With a jump cruiser stationed at the Mycenae-Thebes warp point it would not need to proceed in convoys and could start upgrading ships with the new engines.

Within 5 years, the Commonwealth could probably upgrade its entire economic expansion fleet, giving a 50% increase in lift capability.

The Commonwealth, within surveyed space, has effectively unlimited minerals.  How much trouble they are in depends not only on the current economic strength of the Dark Helmuts, but what minerals they are short on.  And if communications can be achieved, the Commonwealth could always offer to trade.