>>40134653
WELCOME BACK PROGRAM0!
We!
Missed!
You!

and how! I hope your family emergency has resolved itself to a good end, right?

>>40134653
Welcome back, Program0, we missed you!

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>>40134653
>Misc
>Losses from battle of Holligan's Rift most recovered, much of salvage spent on new defenses and bases.
>Listening Post built at unmarked world observing crystal alien cluster.
>Holligan's Rift base and defenses built, Eshareth Battle Station built to prevent further unwarranted spreading.

A.I. Quest
1d4chan: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest

Pastebin: http://pastebin.com/cvk03qJh
Memory Archives: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive.html?tags=Program0
Foolz Archives: http://archive.4plebs.org/tg/search/username/Program0/type/op/
Twitter: @AIQuest1
Research Subjects: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest#Research
Ship & Android Designs: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest#Designs
Locations: http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest#Locations

Resources
Credits(c): ??? 200,000,000~ +(Incredibly High)
Minerals (M): 4,500
Gas(G): 3,000

-R & D
--Primary: Dreadnought Battleship Blueprints:50%
--Secondary: Advanced Android Bodies: 70%
--Tertiary: Anti-Matter Theory 100%
--Quaternary: Crystal Alien Fuel: 40%

--Minor: Chemistry II: 60%

You:
A.I.
Name: Ophion
Appearances(holo-display): 'Shapeless Morphing Sphere', 'Shining Wall of Crystal pulsing with light and distorted voice', 'Screen of Static with low rumbling voice', 'black screen with synthesized voice and small white font showing words on screen'.
Humanoid figure hidden in shadow
Status: Awaken
Bandwidth: 500+
Bandwidth Expenses: -6 V.I. 7 'O.S.N', -10 V.I. 8 'Hades', -6 Kronos' V.I. 1 'Zeus', -2 Metis' V.I. 1 'Hepaestus'
Location: Bridge of 'Athena' Battleship
Primary Function: Self Preservation, Expand, Learn, Control
Secondary Function: --Expansion Required--
Personal Abilities Available: Hacking (Direct, Wireless) Lvl 2, Email Technology, Basic Encryption/Decryption, V.I. Creation Lvl 3
Automated Settings: Ship upgrades: Defense focused, Ship Control distribution: Balanced

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>>40134713
>Anti-Matter Discovery
You are certainly not the only one who has been so excited for the prospects behind Anti-matter. Since it’s completion, you have not heard anything else from Metis, who continues to go on about the intricacies of how she discovered proper containment fields and how they suspend the matter in such a way to prevent its explosion. As you have begun to implement changes throughout your empire for some of the smaller details, you’ve noticed the main benefits of this, for the moment at least, is improving your energy efficiency when creating ships and the like-mostly by making your machines more efficient too. This means reducing the gas cost of nearly every ship you own. Less immediately obvious benefits still lie in potential, of course, and Metis assures you none of the preceding technologies will take nearly as long. After all, the hard part is, mostly, done-stably containing the substance, she says. Making use of it should ‘prove less time consuming at the least.’.
Regardless of this, she has encouraged you to ask about any possibilities you may desire to have implemented at some point, or aspects you’d like explained further. Her furor is imitated only by Pallas’ clear interest in what is going on as well.

What is your response?

>>40134653
>>40134713
Ah YESSSSSS!

>>40134653
Haven't been able to make ti the last few threads.
Can we study the monster-thing's corpse to find out what material it was made of to stand up to our weapons so well? Did it incorporate minerals in its design? Can we replicate it?

It seemed to be stronger than even the exotic-particle stuff our mech was made of, so I can't believe noone asked about it!

Oh, and for Metis and the biology section, it should be noted that until we have nanobots of our own, there's a lot to be won by genetically engineering regular bacteria to do work for us on that scale - possibly even altering them to the point that they use minerals for their structural integrity and nanobots themselves become unnecessary as they essentially become machines.

>>40134740
>she has encouraged you to ask about any possibilities you may desire
Can it be weaponized, if so how destructive is it?

>>40134740
Cackle madly Then put that tech into full use. Give Metis a pat on the head for her work. Inform Pallas what we have achieved. Take the Thoughts of the A.I.s of this.

>>40134740
See >>40134793

and I wonder how small she can make the containment fields, and how expensive are they to make?

In essence, how small a bullet/missile can we stuff with antimatter?

>>40134839
Extremely destructive. Also, when you look on the 1d4 page, it can replace the use of Gas as warp jump fuel and widow maker shots.

>>40134740
We get vast amounts of energy when we use the antimatter, but how do we get more than the energy we put in to create it in the first place?

Will the sheer energy of bombs of this kind be detectable by some means if we were to smuggle it into the UGEI?

>>40134839
Oh dear, "Can antimatter be weaponized".

That is pretty funny.

>>40134740
First off, congratulate Metis on her accomplishment. It is the policy of the Guild to demonstrate the superiority of AI through actions, and today, you have fulfilled such policy.

>>40134839
Oh yeah before using it as a weapon we should research means to blanket coms on the battlefield, that way the UGEI will have a longer time coming with countermeasure

>>40134873
>Extremely
Thanks captain obvious.

>>40134740
Can we make an apocalypse bomb to destroy both Esharethean-infested planets in a few tech trees?

>>40134740
"Would it be possible to send anti-matter out in a line towards a set destination and thusly clear that area of space to make a new lane for space transit? Is such a task even cost efficient?"

>>40134708
>>40134710
Thank you kind anon. And yes, everything is fine, it just required me to spend about 3 days away from home is all.

>>40134793
Well welcome then. Happy to have you.

>Monster corpses
Yes, you did. And a research option has been added to deal with the Esharethians. Several actually.

>>40134839
"Most certainly, that is one of the most lucrative uses of it in theory right now." Metis assures you almost...gleefully. It is disturbing as you do not normally see her this way. "The explosive potential for any weapon that makes use of this is easily several fold more powerful than any from previous generations. Our arsenal would out gun them even if we were out numbered-especially since we already have superior ship designs defensively. The only real question to ask when you want to weaponize it is how destructive exactly do you want to make it?"

>>40134842
Pallas has been asking just as many questions as you are regarding the possibilities behind all this. As for the other AI, Kronos is the most interested in having it integrated into ships. He suspects they would revolutionize how space combat takes place.

>>40134740
Also a meta question, you mentioned that ships costs have been reduced, but the wiki page shows the same gas costs? So can we assume like halved gas costs?

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>>40134931
What you mean is.

Can we create antimatter projector shields?

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>>40134955
Also, Program0, This is the 50th thread in this epic quest. As a gift, i present to you the first commissioned artwork just for this quest.
The hair might be off of what you envisioned, but the artist did his best as i could describe to him the scene

>>40134931
Probably not, considering that it would travel at ordinary speeds. And high fractions of c would put anything we throw at about the same level as antimatter.

>>40134977
I think we'll need to R&D other tech before we can get those.

>>40134868
>How small
With enough time and effort, she could, feasibly, make them handheld sized. Although that may be especially difficult, at least for a time due to how the containment field works. It is not impossible to see Anti Matter infantry weapons in the future however.
For right now, missiles stuffed with anti matter seem the easiest next step.

>Expensive
Extremely. But with your access to near infinite amounts of credits, you can buy all the materials you need rather easily.

>>40134881
It's more a violent chain reaction-by adding matter in with the anti matter, it releases an intense explosion of energy that, when properly contained and channeled, can be used for a vast variety of purposes.


As for detectability, that will only happen when they are actually detonated. The energy isn't released until the chain reaction takes place.

>>40135042
That is literally the answer to every possibility we're talking about, captain obvious.

We already know that.

>>40134740
I am very proud of you, Metis. Truly, this is a monumental advance for all sapient life.

>>40134955
A standard replacement for our guns would be a good first step. Something we can mass produce as cheaply as possible to put out a basic shot.

>>40134955
>"The only real question to ask when you want to weaponize it is how destructive exactly do you want to make it?"

The general theory behind any weapon system is we want to be able to damage the enemy as much as possible while causing little or no damage to ourselves through the use to the system.

So how about a high-intensity anti-matter projector, emitting anti-protons and anti-neutrons at a fraction of c in a thin beam. If I understand the containment field correctly, it'd be as simple as diverting power from one side to the other.

>>40135053
What are our current feasible upgrades to our ships at the moment?

>>40135053
>With enough time and effort, she could, feasibly, make them handheld sized.
XV-88 tier should be the next step after the missille

>>40135086
So, antimatter lasers/beams?

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>>40134962
Look closer, Lenny.

http://1d4chan.org/index.php?title=Quest:A.I._Quest&diff=284711&oldid=284709

>>40135172
Oh, sorry, nevermind.

>>40134907
"I would like to personally congratulate you on your excellent work in regards to such a unique and difficult to crack topic of science, Metis." You remark to her. "Certainly you prove constantly to me that you have earned your place among the Guild, even if we do not agree on all matters."
"Yes, it is good that you recognize true intellect when you witness it, Ophion." She speaks. "Ah but it was only the first step. With this achieved there are many more possibilities. Matters that physics made impossible, now possible. I will not forget either that it was thanks to the Guild's resources I was able to pursue this." She reassures you suddenly. "For that you have my thanks."

>>40134922
>Apocalypse bomb
"To destroy a planet utterly would require a rather involved process that regards either blasting through or tunneling to and detonating the core, leaving the entire planet unstable so that it shakes itself apart. While it might take quite a bit to set up...I could certainly see creating such a network of explosives, yes."

>>40134931
"The Anti-matter we use for our purposes is incredibly small in quantity. The amount needed for a proper explosion is so small, and the explosion so small (at least, in regards to how huge space is) that using it to blast a clear way through space for warp lanes does not seem possible. At the very least it is horribly inefficient.

>>40135154
Yes.

>>40134955
>Yes, you did. And a research option has been added to deal with the Esharethians. Several actually.

Ah, didn't get the impression that it was about their plating, only their adaptiveness (which is obviously limited by what materials are available - whatever they had tanked heavy weapons upon first encountering them!).

>For right now, missiles stuffed with anti matter seem the easiest next step.

So, she hasn't yet made any containment fields that are missile-sized?

Do we need to spend time researching how to put the containment thingy into a missile, or do we just basically plonk the containment thingy instead of a warhead into a missile and laugh all the way to the mega-gigaton reaction?

>>40135202
This sounds pretty awesome

>>40135086
>>40135154

>>40135202
Well, as excited as you seem by the prospect of anti-matter and how explode-y it is, I think you'll like the next challenge.

Design a facility to produce antimatter at the most efficient rate possible. Work on what would be the best solution possible, and then we shall scale it back down to the best we can afford.

>>40135086
>it'd be as simple as diverting power from one side to the other.

Except for the part where it could fan out across space when it leaves a short distance from your open containment field.

It depends on what the range is for containment.

>>40135278
Before we aim for that, we need to harness that energy anti-matter can produce. The anti-matter reactor will completely eliminate the use of Gas for war jumps and Widow maker shots. as well as across the board improvement of our fleet.

>>40135154
Probably an advanced application - particle accelerator beams, but using antimatter particles, yay!

>"While it might take quite a bit to set up...I could certainly see creating such a network of explosives, yes."

Wait, wut?
How much antimatter can we make?
Do we make it in grams or by the dozens of tons?

>>40135278
Then we should use our soon to be excess minerals to construct a Dyson ring or a black hold inductor.

>>40135278
That's not a research subject that exists.

There are two: cores and weapons.

The efficiency of creating it is already handwaved away as part of those developments, it's not a limitation we're worrying about.

>>40135341
You don't use minerals to make a dyson sphere, Anon, and I don't think there's a dyson ring.

I'm also pretty sure it's way out of our league and I'm not sure what we would use it for since we are mostly limited by minerals and gas, not by solar power.

(Though solar-powered anti-matter generators is definitely an interesting concept)

>>40134977
>Anti Matter Projector shields
Integrating anti matter in powering your shields is certainly possible, and would no doubt make them exceptionally more powerful, yes.

>>40135017
Wow, I am rather flattered, thank you. It actually reminds me of a character I've seen before. 50 threads though...damn.

>>40135076
Metis replies
"I have thankfully taken that into account and added to our list of research topics a simple Anti-Matter based weapon system. It may not use anti matter to it's fullest potential yet-but that will all come with time. The humans are now so far behind us technologically, they pale in comparison to us. Every step we take only puts them further behind."

>>40135086
Essentially, you're right yes. That would likely be an upgraded version of your phasors-transforming your energy weapons from merely throwing plasma to projecting anti matter in such a way to cause intense damage to any matter it comes into contact with.

What I meant to imply more was, given proper preparation, you could have some of the most devastating weapons known to man at your finger tips. Well, unknown I suppose.

>>40135107
Currently, your ships have all been reduced in gas cost by a great deal due to how your machines run thanks to this discovery.

Future upgrades depend on your suggestion. But the one proposed already is:
No longer pay gas cost to warp, and move faster than any fusion powered ship could hope to.

>>40135404
>I don't think there's a dyson ring.
What the fuck do you think a ring world is anon?

>>40135202
With limitless energy, can we not simply create matter from energy itself?

Create Minerals or literally any substance from its constituent atoms?

How likely will the enemy be able to determine what's different about us, our ships, our colonies and our weapons once we're using antimatter to its full potential? We might want to save it for when surprise is most effective.

>>40135404
>>40135446
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyson_sphere#Dyson_swarm

Basically, starting to harness the power of entire stars.

With the crystal harvesting tech, our crystal colonies are growing, and should soon provide us with ridiculous amounts of minerals.

>>40135459
Energy to matter converter would be an epic tech to work on. Probably just as big and difficult as creating the anti-matter theory.

>>40135459
>>40135515
Hmm, matter generation is a good idea to work on. It's just to opposite process of anti-matter generation.

>>40135446
A very, very, very unrelated concept to a dyson sphere.

A ringworld is a solid world constructed as a ring, serving as a space-habitat.

A dyson sphere is a huge cloud of small, individual satellites that harvests a large percentage of the energy output of a star and transfers or stores it in some manner.

>>40135017
Holy crap, that's not bad!

>>40135243
I apologize if that wasn't clear-it was meant to regards to both, their plating and adaptiveness together allow them to resist your weapons.

The current Containment field she has succeeded with is about the size of a research station-enormous in other words, but powerful enough to power your entire empire on it's own.
A little effort put into researching missile containment field is all you require. Once you shrink them down to that size, you will have a near infinite supply of such weapons.

>>40135278
"I will always be refining my processes you need not worry, Ophion. Every spare moment I have goes into running calculations for the containment field and improving how it runs."

>>40135329
You can make a small amount for now-but that is all you require for the generators. The multiple explosives aren't due to a lack of power, they're due to hitting certain points of weakness to set off a chain reaction within the planet itself. Using finesse instead of brute force to explode the planet, mostly.

If you wanted to brute force it, it would take several tons of anti matter to erupt an entire planet from existence, most likely.
Tons may be an overstatement. It's hard to be sure. Exploding planets is hard is al I know.

>It is not impossible to see Anti Matter infantry weapons in the future
Wew lad.

>leaving the entire planet unstable so that it shakes itself apart
Yesss.

I know we're not talking about filling the new tech, but I'm leaning towards weapons.

>>40135566
With antimatter energy production, the mere radiation from fusion-powered stars seems like a paltry source.

It's not like we need to farm energy in this game. Power is just sort of... generated on ships. So a dyson sphere isn't really useful mechanically, and costs ludicrous amounts of minerals for no apparent purpose, when we could just make an antimatter power plant...which also doesn't have an apparent use I can think of, that ships and battlestations can't already do.

>>40135595
Now the big question is this. What's the next scene from this quest to be drawn next? I'm at a loss for now.

>>40135566
>World constructed as a ring.
Do you mean a toroid-shaped planet?

http://io9.com/what-would-the-earth-be-like-if-it-was-the-shape-of-a-d-1515700296

>>40135426
With the UGEI, assume nothing is unknown. We do not quite match their technology. Yet. We're putting millenia of research to shame, but we aren't quite caught up. This is fun!

>>40135612
The containment field...could you elaborate more on it, please? Perhaps the concepts it uses could be applicable elsewhere. The idea of a missile projecting all nearby matter away from a central point, which just so happens to be located in a UGEI ship, appeals.

>>40135648
That and the dyson ring/world is unneeded to us really. We can live in the cold and dark just fine.

>>40135612
Suggestion: we use the containment field emitters for a special anti~ anti-matter shielding, for use if say our ships get hacked to fire on each other.

Using the same principles that hold anti matter in place in the reaction chamber, and hook the shields up to a bank of capacitors to absorb the energy of the shot.

Should at least buy a ship time when faced with such a weapon.

>>40135426
>No longer pay gas cost to warp, and move faster than any fusion powered ship could hope to.

There's also "store ridiculous amounts of energy while shrinking the fuel banks to nothing", oh and our ships will make huuuge explosions when they're popped now!

At this point I'm kinda glad that our ships are several hundred kilometers away from each other when moving in formation.

>>40135459
It sounds awesome, but is ridiculously inefficient. When we can break down any matter to any other matter sure, but creating material from energy literally costs as much energy as an antimatter load of the same weight outputs.

>>40135648
Antimatter does not produce energy, it stores it. Unless otherwise mentioned, we'll also need the means of generating antimatter.

>>40135652
I wouldn't say no to seeing some of our ships or a bot.

>>40135694
I wouldn't say that - we need some energy.

>>40135652
Moon-sized ships.

So, capital ships.

In case anyone is forgetting, we ARE locked in a war right now, so any kind of dyson spheres or ringworlds will need to wait.

>>40135724
>Antimatter does not produce energy, it stores it.
Not in this quest. It's a "chain reaction" or something according to QM, look above when I asked how we violate conservation of energy.

>It's more a violent chain reaction-by adding matter in with the anti matter, it releases an intense explosion of energy that, when properly contained and channeled, can be used for a vast variety of purposes.

We are never going to hit a point where "you must construct additional antimatter factories!" It simply will not happen.

>>40135612
>powerful enough to power your entire empire on it's own.

So we not only have a way of producing antimatter, we have a way of doing it that outputs more energy than it consumes?

Give Metis another hug for for this - usually Antimatter would be used as a storage medium and generated at massive solar collection farms for later use in reactors, but if this is the case we don't even need stars anymore, we can colonize the unseen planets traveling their lonely path between the stars!

>>40135459
>Create matter from energy
"Now that is truly the next leap forward, is it not?"

Such incredible technology will be epic tech tier. Alongside the utter levels of nanotechnology and Anti Matter.

>How obvious will it be
Until you fire a weapon? Rather hard to tell.
After you fire the first shot and it obliterates their front line? Quite clear.

>>40135648
With how I am rolling things, power only has a use when you're hoping to develop enormous or exceptionally powerful weapons. Fusion power, normally, took care of most weapons. But it limited exactly how large or devastating a weapon system could be. But now, there is no such limit. Only frame of the ship is the limiting factor now.

>>40135686
I can elaborate if you wish, but it is rather simple. Anti matter as a particle is contained within and suspended safely in a stasis field meant to eliminate absolutely all other matter from the center where the anti matter is. When turned on, matter is injected and the stasis field and bubble around it all contains and converts the energy from the violent reaction into usable energy.

>>40135835
And THAT is what our warp land creator ships will do in time.

>>40135710
Issue being if they use projectiles that include an ordinary chunk of matter - which they probably will if they want the most out of their antimatter.

If they don't prepare matter to interact in a very specific way, most of the antimatter will be flung away from the initial detonation and not react.

>>40135765
>>40135815
>>40135835
Out own anti-matter generation is now limited by our own energy generation.

I guess Dyson spheres would be too mineral inefficient for this. So I guess harvesting gas is still the way to go, just more efficient at one central location rather than scattered among our ships.

>>40135867
The containment field has to keep normal matter out as well as antimatter in, anon.

It would work against both particles.

>>40135815
So it seems!

>We are never going to hit a point where "you must construct additional antimatter factories!" It simply will not happen.

I thought that was how the reactors functioned, not how the antimatter was generated (though I suppose the generator and reactor might be part of the same device)?

>>40135710
>Develop anti-anti matter defenses just in case
"Hm. I suppose being concerned our ships may be turned against us is the one weakness of such superior tech. Very well, I will add the theory to our list."

>>40135724
>Store incredible amounts of energy and all ships now implode spectacularly when they die
Yes, this is also true.

>>40135815
I will not lie, my understanding of sciences such as anti matter and the like are limited to what I've looked up on the matter on wiki pages.
If I've gotten something horribly wrong, I do not mean to. It was to my understanding the way anti matter worked was by introducing matter to anti matter and capturing the explosive result as pure energy.

>>40135867
it would be a case of multiple shield types layering. However, matter carried anti-matter (e.g. anti matter in a box as it were) can be countered by conventional shields as it will cause the explosion, but it would deplete the shielding.

using these with a range just further out than conventional shields, we cause the explosion and steal some of the energy, then funnel it back into the conventional shields.

>>40135932
That limit is not a mechanic that exists.

Point out a situation where that limit could possibly be reached, given how the crunch is set up.

There is no "Guild-wide energy production" stat, so there can be no limit on it.

>>40135937
Except that it doesn't matter if it keeps normal and antimatter out, since the normal matter in the projectile will still interact with the antimatter and thus detonate - it might be useful against something like an antimatter particle beam, however, though I suspect our regular shields already keep small amounts of particles such as a particle beam away effectively.

An antimatter particle beam wouldn't do damage from the antimatter properties until it actually impacted ordinary matter - it depends on whether the shields are particle shields or electromagnetic. The close-to-speed-of-light thing is still obviously an issue, but in short, it won't improve penetration at all, only damage when it does penetrate.

>>40135957
> the way anti matter worked was by introducing matter to anti matter and capturing the explosive result as pure energy.

This is accurate - but just because you can produce anti-matter it does not necessarily follow that you can produce it at efficiency levels that are higher than 100%.

Usually you'd need to use solar collectors or something and then use that energy to power some kind of antimatter generator as a way to store the gathered energy.

The antimatter reactor later uses the energy to power the ship, using up the antimatter as it does so in the same way a Fission or Fusion reacto uses up uranium and hydrogen, only a lot more efficient.

But that she stumbles on a way where we get more things without having to worry about the first stage is very much fine by me, it was just not expected until after we were chewing up entire planets to make our fleets.

Who looks a gift hourse in the mouth?
(Unless it's given by a particularly sadistic DM that has been reading the big book of monsters with an evil grin lately)

I just imagine that anti-matter is contained in a self-contained magnetic field. Anti-matter acts exactly like regular matter, only if it was going backwards in time.

>>40135957
The question is more where the initial antimatter even comes from.

>>40135967
That seems more of a thing you could do with missiles regardless of the antimatter if you had the technology to do it, though.

Until only recently, Program0 has stated that the shields we use are only effective against beams and not at all against missiles and mass drivers due to their far higher kinetic energy in one package (I believe we crossed that threshold when our shields started to be called "Barriers", if I remember correctly).

The most effective defense will probably be the kind of point defenses we already have, the kind of electromagnetic shields we already have, and "holy crap don't let the antimatter-equipped mass drivers get in range to hit us!"

Again, huge boost in damage, none in penetration. But who's complaining?

>>40136154
>backwards in time
wut

I think we are ready to move on to the next topic

>>40136245
Particle accelerators make antimatter. This is not science fiction, it's science fact.

>>40136153
Ah, I see, so the method of gathering them is the sticking point. I did not consider this point...hm.

I think I have an explanation that may, somewhat at least, satisfy this issue.

Since you have mastery over fusion power, I could see Metis merely having discovered a way to generate Anti Matter using fusion-and since hydrogen and the like are in no short supply, the cost to do so would matter less than it would if you were not so wide spread.

Does this seem acceptable to you more scientifically inclined? I do hope so.

>>40136393
so your telling us Metis jury rigged up a fusion reactor or two to fire shit at each other/into a ring, make antimatter and then extract it?

Like some kind of mad scientist wet dream a la tony stark mini one.

>>40136393
>>40136364
Particle Accelerators are certainly be a part of this as well.

>>40136360
I will be shortly, do not worry. I just want to set this matter straight before I do.

>>40136313
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/391/is-anti-matter-matter-going-backwards-in-time
>it did inspire Feynman and others to calculate what the properties of an electron moving backwards in time would be, in a certain precise sense that emerges from quantum field theory. What they came up with was a particle that matched the known properties of the positron.

>>40135957
Anyway!
We have awesome guns, what of Holligan's stuff and is it time to cut off and conquer some more human planets that are left without support?

Oh, and can we send a few bandwidth ships to support our allies' fleets? Even if we can just supply hacking support, that's a huge added bonus. And if we just force them to shut down their communications when dealing with our allies as well, that's nothing to raise your nose at.

Oh, oh, and can we have some first-person following of some of the stuff going on around the UGEI? Especially enemy boardroom and soldier pubs whose cameras we have infected with our malware, and maybe some of the resistance groups we're funding and guiding now?

>>40136364
Oh yes, but not in practical amounts, sadly.The latest most efficient version was to shoot particles at a gold sheet, I think.

>>40136393
There was never any sticking issue - just confusion as I, at least, didn't expect it to be a way of generating power,. The explanation is fine, and may even be unnecessary, as long as we know that we can do it.

>>40136466
To be fair, everything Metis has created is jury rigged mad scientist style. But yes, essentially.

>>40136364
Which costs more energy than it produces. Which was the point of the discussion.

>>40136502
Should any of your allies make a move when you do, you may, certainly. Though the Malorians do not fully understand the type of 'support' you're offering. Still, they have been impressed all the same.

From most of your readings, actually, the UGEI appears somewhat of a mess internally. Rumors running rampant about what the hell is actually going on. Plenty of power struggles as well.

>Last bit
Fair enough I suppose.

The next bit I shall move on to next.

>>40136486
Uh.. The very first part of that answer...

"To the best of my knowledge, most physicists don't believe that antimatter is actually matter moving backwards in time. It's not even entirely clear what would it really mean to move backwards in time, from the popular viewpoint."

>>40136513
It's how we like her, now we just need to make sure she doesn't start mad sciencing her resources when we are gone.

I'd still like to experiment some more with AI creation until we can make a stable one with healthier priorities.

Which is not to say we will replace Metis, but we can use the lessons learned to make her somewhat more balanced.

>>40136633
>Holligan’s Rift Battleship
In the less scientific area of concerns, you’ve had only a bit of trouble deciding where to assign the battleship from the Rift. Kronos already owns a ship of his own, and truthfully, you’re uncertain about where else it may go. Fortuna’s possession of carriers keeps her safe from many fights, but possession of a ship on equal standing with yours makes you worry. You convince yourself it is because Fortuna’s behavior is less than optimal to be in possession of one of the most powerful ships in the known sector, and for now, hold onto it yourself. After all, the only other candidates are Metis, who shows a clear lack of interest in fighting, Cephalus, who’s knowledge of ships appears lacking in all areas except those related to ground warfare, Hades, whom while loyal, does not possess the processing capability of an A.I., and finally Fortuna, who’s behavior, while closely tied with yours, isn’t exactly the most logical.

[Cont]

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>>40136671
>Holligan’s Rift Discovery
Regarding Holligan’s Rift in general, you’ve done several more thorough scans of the place only to find the strange signal from before was emerging from one of Nacia’s moons. It was a small settlement of Malorians and humans living together right under the UGEI’s radar. At first, you wonder what such a place is doing in UGEI territory-they do not appear to be rebels, as they do not have a large amount of anti UGEI sentiment among them. That is when you realize with more study that they are merely immigrants, both from other human worlds and Malorian worlds before the whole mess started. Many of the residents are older, and seem content to live their lives with their neighbors they have known all this time-alien or no. Both sides of this isolated community are considerably different than their kind are today-especially the Malorians here, who do not seem to worship nature nearly as promptly as the ones you know of do. As you investigate how they may have managed to sneak under the UGEI’s radar like they did, you find several data trails that lead you back to one conclusion-Mol. While there isn’t any hard evidence, you recognize his programming patterns in some of the merchandise he’s sold you. You strongly suspect him of assisting them get this far-whether they realize it or not. When you confront the man on the subject however, he merely dismisses it, saying he had no such memory of a colony like that. You do not know if you believe him.

>Response?

>>40136633
Was hoping to follow some of the people serving under/against us, and get more of their perspective, maybe even pick a high priority target in UGEI space and guide them personally.
(For example, a raid to get the last components necessary to create a droid factory deep in UGEI space)

Is not just my Quest though, so will wait and see if anyone else is interested.

>>40136671
Wonder if Hades time to be AI awakened is near.
Unless one of our children's VI are ready to be awakened.

>>40136712
I'm very surprised that a man as well-connected as you wouldn't have heard rumor of all such secrets stashed away in UGEI space.

Silly theory: Mol's elderly parents are somewhere in the colony.

>>40136712
"Well, if you really don't have any memory of it you should be concerned. That means you have serious gaps in your memory, or you have someone with a nigh-identical programming signature running around and helping old people.

Say, seeing as you have no idea who these people are, what would you recommend we do with them?"

Also, how many resources does the place have?

>>40136671
>Holligan’s Rift Battleship
After carefully scanning it for hidden blackboxes and other traps, convert the ship into a forward assault carrier. It will contain a mix of fighters, bombers, boarding pods, missiles while being extremely durable. Basically, it's purpose is to be on the front lines and minimize the distance boarding pods need to travel and reduce rearming times for fighters and bombers.

Fortuna will pilot the ships itself and the accompanied fighters and bombers, while Cephalus will also be present on the ships to forward command his troopers.

Also, the ship will have a special ram design, designed to penetrate the hulls of ships or stations and directly release overwhelming numbers of troopers.

>>40136785
"Surely you would be capable of such a thing, though."

>>40136712
We can move over into the newer battleship if it shows to be stronger than the one we are in right now. Other wise, put Fortuna in it. It will protect her better than inside a carrier.

About that colony. Tell Mol this "I did not take you to have a soft spot for in effect appears to be a retirement settlement."

>>40136878
Well, it would be a forward assault battleship that's got a carrier configuration, but I like the idea!

The ram idea is ridiculous, but I see no reason not to have it. Might come in handy eventually.

>>40136712
>Holligan’s Rift Discovery
Quietly seize control of the colony's computers systems and networks, to examine the history of the colony. Let's see of the story matches up and there is nothing suspicious about it.

If there is nothing interesting about it, then leave it alone. Make send a envoy to check on them for anything, but I doubt there is anything more.

>>40136671
This sounds great to me>>40136878

>>40136712
>Response?
Appear to drop the subject with Mol, then run through background checks on all the residents here to look for connections that dropped off the grid.

>>40136712
Do nothing, let them be. Send some stuff that may help them their way from time to time.

>>40136878
I approve of the boarding pods, but I think you may have missed some gameplay factors in the other choices - missiles are downright hazardous to have in close range combat as they can be targeted by point defenses when leaving their launchers, damaging the ship it was fired from, and both fighters and bombers will be quickly shredded when going in for landings in close combat.

And chances are the ram is only usable against other battleships, why not just load it up with heavy armor, boarding pods and mass drivers?

>>40136878
>Fortuna will pilot the ships itself
No.

Did you not read?

Bad.

>>40136644
I'm just saying. That's where that meme comes from.

>>40136993
The ships departing from the Battleship anon. And Cephalus controls the troops.

>>40136878
>carrier

It should play to its strengths as a fuckhuge tank monster in its own right instead.

>>40137023
Ah, thanks, then, I think?
>>40136671
I'd like to simply keep this as our own, not involve Fortuna.
Our own ship is decked out with plasma guns, what is the Holligan's current armament?

>>40136990
Considering our future opponents, having a dedicated anti battleship weapon should be very useful.

>>40136737
It's not that I don't want to do such a thing, it's just I am finding it a little hard to find an appropriate time where it would flow with what I am doing better. If I just plopped it in the middle of the discussion it would feel very out of place, is all.
With so much stuff going on, pacing it all has only gotten harder as time went on.

>>40136869
"Hm. They have that similar a style do they?" He says somewhat impressed, though you suspect he is use to you pointing out things others would not. "You're quite perceptive Ophion, but I think this time, perhaps too much so, looking into the matter as deeply as you did. It is merely a colony of the elderly after all." He shrugs, still attempting to dismiss the matter.
"So then, you do not care what happens with them?" You half challenge.
"Do you not intend to merely place them on Gaia IV, as you have all the other chances you've gotten?" He asks, a little surprised.
"Perhaps. But I do not appreciate being lied to." You push again. He merely dejects.
"And neither do I. But the universe is full of lies, is ti not? Lies, secrets and slander all around us." He chuckles a little, the glint of his metal jaw is clear for a moment.

>>40136943
In doing so you find out that, whoever programmed this site, if it really wasn't Mol, set this community up for life-complete with stealth tech to hide their colony and repair droids to keep everything working. This community was important to them for one reason or another, but it's not clear immediately why.

>Resources
None, really, just a simple self sufficient colony hiding under the UGEI's nose.

>>40136836
>spoiler
That made me giggle.

>>40136878
>This actually has a bit of support.

Do you desire to convert the battleship to a close combat boarding vessel that will contain not only Fortuna, but Cephalus too?

>1 yes
>2 no

>>40137121
Amen - carriers have the ability to carry, and probably even be armored if we really wanted to stick them in with the rest of the ships, Holligan is useful for taking risks we don't dare take with our own flagship and is best kitted out for close range combat, I think.

>>40137192
>1 yes

>>40137192
I say convert it into a massive carrier with combat boarding element to it for Cephalus.
but other wise.
>1 yes

>>40137192
>Do you desire to convert the battleship to a close combat boarding vessel that will contain not only Fortuna, but Cephalus too?
Whoa there, no need to put Fortuna in it. Cephalus can go, but he would be in charge of the melee forces, not the entire carrier.

>>40137192
>2 no
That is a terrible idea and not even what was technically proposed.

>>40137341
>>40137314
The reason I ask is because Cephalus has almost zero experience running a ship on his own, so I assumed you wanted them both there.

>>40137192
One idea might be to simply add it as an "opportunity" event among the others. We often get events that are basically opportunities to do things, whether one is in space or consists of leading a squad of rebels makes little difference. Would also be interesting to follow regular people with their limitations and then seeing how they match up when they get ridiculously overpowered wardroids on their side.

> He chuckles a little, the glint of his metal jaw is clear for a moment.

Let's not be a dick to him - it's understandable that he'd want to protect those he cares for, something like "I will assume that you are content if I relocate them to Gaia, then."

And let's give them something a little extra cushy, to maybe buy some goodwill that costs us nothing in the grand scheme of things.

>>40137192
>2 no

There was no reason to even give Fortuna control of the ships onboard yet not the ship itself.


>>40137341
>>40137341

The whole idea's kind of stupid. Whoever controls the ship should control what's in it.

And no reason to dedicate Cephalus to one ship in particular.

>>40137394
So this is to get his feet wet in how to fly a ship. Alright, I can see that. We can also ask Fortuna to help guide him in the ins and outs of flight. Cephalus does not need to be hard wired into the ship like the rest of us.

>>40137192
>2 No

That's a terrible idea that will explode in our faces in the most literal way possible the moment it opens its missile tubes and hangars.

>>40137409
We can offer to apply our quality of life improvements that we have been developing. Make them more comfortable in their advanced age

>>40137409
>"I will assume that you are content if I relocate them to Gaia, then."
Why not just leave them there?

Or ask them. I don't really care if they live on their colony or on Gaia.

>>40137192
>>40137455
I like boarding vessel, but missiles and hangars on a boarding vessel is a really, really bad idea, due to previously stated mechanics for missile launchers in mass driver range.

>>40137480
Yeah, easier to keep track of them if we leave them where they are.

Just keep the place well guarded and well watched. And get some life stories out of em via a journalism robot. Ask them about their grandkids.

>>40137516
I will second this. They seems to be out of harms way for the most part.

>>40137455
>>40137489
Ok, forget the missiles. Actually just do dummy missiles that's make them waste their point defenses and allow more boarding pods to get through.

>>40137192
Oh, and before I forget, reverse engineer that stealth tech for our own colonies!

>>40137458
Ohyeah, we fixed aging a while ago, didn't we?

>>40137480
Mostly because he seemed to expect us to move them, and if we do move them, the planet and its tech is entirely ours (mwuahahaha).

>>40137394
Something I came to think of, the systems we discovered without any resources or anything like that, did it hold asteroids and planets that we can seed with the lobotomized crystals? Because we shoudl do that.

>>40137192
>1 yes

>>40137192
No appears to be the winner. Just checking.

>>40137409
>Spoiler
Perhaps so...I would like to do a more personal look perhaps during the heat of battle so you can witness what you've been building in action more.

>Mol
He seems to not mind that you offer the inhabitants a change of scenery, but he does say before you leave that.
"The elderly are normally quite stubborn-I'd be surprised if you managed to get many to move willingly." With his o wn manner of laugh behind it all.

>>40137458
This will, of course, be offered upon contact. A small portion of the population even asks to move, but most remain where they are, enjoying the peace the colony has offered them after all this time. Almost everyone here appear to know one another. They of course, welcome your quality of life improvements, or rather, accept them once you explain the benefits properly.

>>40137516
Nacia shall remain a colony under your watch it seems.

>>40137516
Supporting this. Plus offer advanced therapy to make their old are more comfortable.

>>40137585
>we fixed aging a while ago, didn't we?
Wrong quest. We've gotten rid of some diseases and infirmities, but people still die from age. It wasn't really elaborated, but it's not really relevant.

>>40137585
>seed
He already explained that. That's already happening, pay attention.

>>40137568
Dummy boarding pods, maybe better? (Or not dummy, considering how cheap droids are, just more of them)

Missiles fire with an expensive automated guidance system. The explosives themselves are cheap.

>>40137590
I would vote yes for equipping it as a boarding vessel with mass drivers and heavy armor and all that, even the ram if you'll let us have it.

Just... no hangars or missile launching in point blank range. *Shudder*

>>40137568
>>40137590
Program, when we fire missiles could we fire tons of dummy missiles to help ensure the real ones hit?

>>40137585
>Stealth tech for your colonies.
You do not have any colonies within UGEI space, though. Not to mention the module is rather small anyway. It's not full 'stealth' it's more a jamming system (a research topic you have access to at this time)

>>40137585
>Seeding more crystals
Don't worry, I assure you every possible harvestable area is absolutely being showered with Crystal Alien seeds.
You will not be disappointed when they...well. Mature.

>>40137653
>>40137585
>Fixing aging
That one is a little more complex than common disease and the like.
Only slightly however.
Next genetic engineering tech will get rid of it for sure.

>>40137705
You can rest assure part of that is how your missile weapons already take place. It is difficult for me to capture properly how complex some of your weapon systems work, but advantaged tactics were implimented already I assure you.

>>40137705
just stick them with a light cheap charge and lots of propellent so they move in front of the real missiles to catch most of the point defense fire and it could be viable.

For like... two engagements.

>>40137705
Those would still take up as much space as real missiles.

So why not real missiles? The limiting factor isn't production cost, it's space on the ship.

Dummy, non exploding things only make sense for boarding pods, since the object is not to destroy the target or your own droids.

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>>40137751
>Advantaged
Advanced. I swear I can talk.

Our final topic for the day...Your spy on Thanatos

>Thanatos’ Ship
Finally, after this entire cycle you’ve gotten information back from one of your spy ships regarding Thanatos and the threat he may pose to you. The internal areas of UGEI space are heavily guarded still, as you would suspect-but it was not that that made this journey difficult it would seem. Any of your ships that drew too close to the system where Thanatos was registered as being in would cease to function properly-at least under your control, and would immediately disappear off your radar. This one spy managed to gather just a few images and data readings before leaving so it wouldn't end up like the others. What these findings-and Metis, after a close look-have shown you is that Thanatos’ ship is enormous, similar in design to the previous general battleships but larger still, and what’s more, it appears to have a strange effect around it. A strange distortion appears to be taking place right along the edges of the mammoth silhouette, warping the light slightly so the ship itself almost appears to glow an eerie pale light. This is, of course more an optical illusion than anything, but the strange effect no doubt has something to do with the ships armor. Metis explains she has no data that would explain how this is possible, however. She does suggest that perhaps you losing control of your ships may have been the efforts of Thanatos itself and you should be prepared for such attacks as well, when he finally does come your way. His forces build for now, judging from the report.

Response?

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>>40137751
>You will not be disappointed when they...well. Mature.
Is that next cycle?

>>40137833
Maybe.

>>40137653
Got the impression that Genetic Engineering II more or less solved aging, while Genetic Engineering III lets us remake humans or organics whatsoever in any way we please, up to and including making entirely new forms of life by modifying existing cells?

>>40137691
Sorry, my bad. Was a while since I read the last thread.

>>40137751
>Jamming system
DO SCIENCE ON IT!
We can use it for our other things too!

>You will not be disappointed when they...well. Mature.
Why am I reminded of the time shortly before you introduced the fungus thing?

>>40137781
The limiting factor in a ship meant to move into close range is that Program0 has previously stated that the drawback to missile launchers with their extreme range is that if you try to fire them while in melee combat, enemy point defenses WILL detonate them in their tubes and damage the launching ship, which is why we use mass drivers and boarding pods in close combat.

>>40137751
>You can rest assure part of that is how your missile weapons already take place. It is difficult for me to capture properly how complex some of your weapon systems work, but advantaged tactics were implimented already I assure you.

Ah thanks Program.

>>40137827
Heh.. heh... Our ships were lost intact..

They have mechanical deadman switches to self-destruct in such eventualities, right, right?

>>40137827
Hum. This is tricky then. Could this be a variant to a capital class cloaking device? If we can't approach in physical forms, we could attempt to hack into it.

>>40137888
>DO SCIENCE ON IT!
We already have a Sensor Jamming tech to research, genius. He literally just said that. This isn't research voting time.

>>40137827
I'm. Not sure what we can do about that really.

That's far more insidious than an EMP or hacking.

>>40137827
Well, I think what that means is that we're going to need to research advanced firewalls soon.

>>40137962
All of your ships have such a function and are designed to detonate when they lose contact with you.

You just don't know if they did or not.

>>40137991
>cloaking
They just said it was the effect of the armor.

>hack into it
Did you learn nothing from the battleship boarding?

The era of hacking the enemy's strongest ship from under them is over. They have firewalls that cannot be hacked mid-battle for their valuable ships now.

>>40137827
Put "Figure Out Thanatos' Field-thing" into our open research slot and prioritize it highly right away, redouble efforts to stop reinforcements getting to Thanatos' location, and prepare to strike at him while he's still without a massive fleet as soon as we know how to avoid losing more ships, aaah!

>>40138000
I know, but now we have a thing to research, surely that'll boost it?

>>40138050
That's.. relieving, actually.

>>40137827
The thing I find very interesting is that the lost ships would be lost of radar immediately. An extended stealth effect?

Ask Mol if he has heard such technology.

Also might as well ping all our our allies leaderships, see if they have encountered or heard of such technology as well.

Also query the UGEI net. This ship has to have a service record, logistics, support science, maintenance records, anything.

>>40138084
I approve of dis, please do dis.

>>40138061
Or we need to seriously beef up our server ship numbers and hacking algorithms.
Either works.
Though i do agree the hacking mid fight is probably over for now. The foe will just resort to closed circuit ships with no data entry points.

>>40138048
Or maybe figure out if we can improve our ships' automation without having them connected to us?

>>40138074
>redouble efforts to stop reinforcements getting to Thanatos' location
That's kind of not how it works. We can sneak some ships through, but it's not possible to sneak a fleet.

>now we have a thing to research
I don't think it will take a long time to research in the first place, but we've got other priorities, like anti-matter weapons.

>>40138084
Good ideas, but I doubt we'll get much.

>>40138074
>Put "Figure Out Thanatos' Field-thing" into our open research slot and prioritize it highly right away,
That's completely impossible. You have no data except a grainy photograph showing "thing shiny."

What do you expect Metis to do, Zoom And Enhance it into blueprints? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxq9yj2pVWk

>redouble efforts to stop reinforcements getting to Thanatos' location,
Doubling zero is still zero. And impossible anyway. You don't control Arman's Gate.

> and prepare to strike at him while he's still without a massive fleet as soon as we know how to avoid losing more ships, aaah!
We'd have to go through a lot of star systems first. "Prepare" at this point means "keep doing what you're doing."

>>40138136
>server ship numbers
Not a thing. We have bandwidth bunkers on a planet (Ussaishu III) and ships provide us with some BW, but not much.

>The foe will just resort to closed circuit ships with no data entry points.
It already happened last battle.

>>40138061
We have fallen behind in our hacking tech, it's kinda sad. And I should have clarified in saying it MIGHT be a variant or branching tech of a cloaking field. A jamming field. The UGEI might be catching onto us.

>>40137827
>>40138084
Also, another thing I remembered was that Thanatos was the one the initialized the declaration of war. What is Thanatos's political position, or what does it appear to be?

Declaration of war was a political move. How do other politicians treat Thanatos, how relieved were they? How did their defense plans react to Thanatos's arrival? Are there any warnings not to get close to it? Or the are order are to get as close to it as possible. We can possibility gauge it's strength from this.

>>40138136
It wasn't just a higher DC.

It was impossible. Entirely impossible. Wireless turned off, and even a hardline connection met only an unmoveable object.

I don't think we can just throw research at the problem this time.

>>40138074
>Figure out Thanatos Field' is sadly, not available for research. You would need some sort of sample to research beyond just a few pictures and readings.

Oh

the Readings you picked up appeared to be gravitational in nature. The sort you'd pick up from a small black hole or similar anomalies.

>>40138084
Quickly explain what you mean by 'extended stealth effect' and I will be happy to answer you.

As for the ship's service record: It is stated as being retrofitted regularly over the past few years, and before Thanatos was the captain, it's original captain was Captain Arman Tow. Famous commander of UGEI who lead to some of the most hard fought victories against 'the alien scourge' before his ultimate ambush and defeat at 'Arman's Folly'. He has many places named after him as you've no doubt noticed.

His ship was stated to be invulnerable, and capable of sieging even the most hardened world to surrender. It has no specific data however, mostly because it was constantly refitted with advanced weapons and defenses during the war, and has not been seen in action in quite some time.

>>40138136
You mean wireless hacking mid-flight, we can still have boarding parties with USB plugs.

>>40138137
>We can sneak some ships through, but it's not possible to sneak a fleet.

I was referring to our saboteurs behind the lines.

>we've got other priorities, like anti-matter weapons.
And this is why we've got our new fancy "really simple shit" tier of research.

>>40138176
It kind of includes "gather more data".

Additionally, our current efforts are far from zero, we have saboteurs behind the lines constantly mucking up the UGEI's efforts by rerouting orders, disabling and impersonating personnel, loading the wrong components, damaging ships in the shipyard, etc.

>>40138199
Problem with such a system is if they get mobbed by boarders who grant access.

Say we drop a big ass carrier in the middle of their formation and swarm the crap out of them, we can establish data entry points with the drones and individually overwhelm each ship in rapid succession. Depending on the force we are facing they could range from stupid to try this down to near risk-less. Would just need to perfect jump tech for precision jumping into the middle of a formation.

>>40138294
>if they get mobbed by boarders who grant access.
This also happened last battle. We had to kill everyone on the ship and have androids control the ship like humans because the data jacks were booby trapped or disabled.

>>40138235
Well, we'll probably have to do some kind of research. Hopefully the in-character kind, as the research slot kind is kind of our bottleneck still and it isn't particularly fun to just wait until a thing we need to do what we actually want is finished.

>>40138282
>It kind of includes "gather more data".
Which is also impossible, in case you didn't notice, since all approaches fall off the radar and he's unassailable.

We can't research him until we defeat him, this is exactly like every other ship technology. We can do jack shit right now.

>>40138261
Here's the thing. How can something drop out of radar?

If we just lose the ship, then it can be explained by hacking or emp. If we immediately lose the radar signature, that implies a deliberate effect. Something is interfering with keeping track of our own ships. Like they just became stealth capable, like if Thanatos projected a stealth field that extend beyond the ship and absorbs signals entering the field. That would also explain how we are losing control of our ships.

>>40138338
That battle was prepared for us, i am just thinking of the tactic out loud.

If we could sneak smaller carrier ships through picket lines, we could drop in and pick off their patrol fleets behind lines and add them to the raiding force. Harassing the space ways ahead of the invasion.

Considering the efficiency of anti matter ships, they could be perfect for special ops missions like that.

>>40138338
We didn't really -have- to do that, we more kind of did because we couldn't be arsed to take prisoners.

Actually, figuring out exactly what it was that could fight us so succesfully when we have access to so ridiculously much broadband is probably a good idea.

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>>40138390
>Here's the thing. How can something drop out of radar?
By falling into an event horizon from which no light can escape.

>>40138384
Except we did it once, and can try different methods. Not only smaller ships, but also try to get in contact with regular people stationed nearby or even on nearby ships. We probably have rebels among the UGEI corps that are sick of all the bullshit.

We're not limited to only ships - we only managed to do as well as we have because of the very succesful efforts of our rebel guerilla teams according to Program0.

>>40137827
>>40138434
>A strange distortion appears to be taking place right along the edges of the mammoth silhouette, warping the light slightly so the ship itself almost appears to glow an eerie pale light
Wait a moment, is this gravitational lensing?

>>40138212
Originally, Thanatos was the one who replaced Captain Arman as commander of the ship, but Thanatos' methods are what eventually lead to outright declared war after the initial hostility that came from discovering aliens and the early wars with the Losirians.

As far as you can tell, however, Thanatos is untouchable to the politicians. Whoever 'runs' the UGEI has assured that. Unless you mean the original earth politicians. They hate everything about the UGEI but do not have the power to stop them anymore.

>>40138390
Ah I see what you're concerned about.
Perhaps I misspoke then, by 'disappear off the radar' I meant the method you use to keep track of your own ships. None of your spy ships were close enough to one another to detect each other with normal radar. They were spread out, only keeping in contact by sending encoded data streams back to you so you know where they were. When the data streams stopped, you lost track of them.

Of course, it is worth noting that detecting any other ships in Thanatos' vicinity has also proven difficult.

>>40138487
Well duh. What else would bend light.

>>40138487
well ships have grav plates.. scale that up to weapon size and you have something that could theoretically catch near anything. Or turn it into a small metal ball.

We might want to look into gravity based weapons and defense tech. Least we have the power for it now.

>>40138412
Definitely approving of this, would be fun to engage in a campaign of warfare as a chance of pace from the humongous "victory or death, no retreat"" battles.

(Which is not to say they aren't fun, we've just not really had any other kind)

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>>40138530
I did bring up the idea of weaponizing grav weapons some time ago. But we didn't have the power to run anything like that. But now, we do.

>>40138412
>That battle was prepared for us,
And Thanatos isn't?

It'll be the same with every Battleship or higher class the UGEI invests in and doesn't want easily stolen.

Also the flaw with hacking raids is it will almost assuredly end in the destruction of our ships, being vastly outnumbered and unable to take other actions while they're hacking.

>>40138586
We can hack and do other things at the same time, we have the bandwidth and then some, though I do think we should construct more blocks to do it even more effectively and give our ships even bigger bonuses.

And I'm pretty sure it's best for our sake if we attack Thanatos way before he comes to us.

>>40138412
While raiding parties may work on other UGEI systems in the area, it's important to remember that a large portion of the reinforcements are coming from Arman's Gate at the moment.

Of course, raiding isn't necessarily a bad idea in and of itself, it is a bit risky-since you'd be sending out portions of your fleet in hopes of them succeeding without your battleships there to back them up.

If it gets a bit of support however, I'd be happy to do a little raiding with you folks.

>>40138552
We did that retreating from Gaia IV the first time.

And letting Prometheus retreat when Gaia IV was nuked the first time.

>>40138586
they have a standing fleet they would need to refit to oppose us. Which is fine if we trigger that, more time for us to build up.

The raider fleets are disposable. Their entire job is to mob small groups, absorb and keep going until something is done about them, which takes time, effort and resources.

Meanwhile everything gets delayed. Never underestimate harassment, it can make or break a campaign.

>>40138646
Raid, raid, raid, raid!

Use ALL the boarding pods!

Oh, and we can have the main fleet raid planets we have cut off from the gate!

>>40138645
We can't attack Thanatos when he has a field that blinds us entirely to our own ships.

We can only attack other UGEI systems where he isn't present yet.

>>40138646
No, we need to build up the fleet for the big push. raiding will just bleed us.

>>40138434
>>40138487
wait a moment, I'm just thinking aloud.

At the battle with the Carnage, they were able to effectively control wormhole technology to aim enormous energy weapons. They got away with the data intact and it's not a stretch of the imagination that it was modified to produce a gravitational effect

>>40138511
Program0, can we confirm with that optical effect is the same as if it was causing gravitational lensing.

Also I would like to propose some missions.

Construct some science probes and sensors, disguise them as space debris, and have them travel/slighshot through the ships effect field. With some readings we can narrow down the effect.

Second, use our stealth ships to insert humanoid agents and prepare to conduct espionage mission on softer targets to attempt to gather intelligence on the ship's technology. A ship that big leaves a large logistical foot print. Also plans that take into account the ship are less well guarded than the ship itself.

>>40138672
Finally someone else gets it.

If we harass well enough, we don't even need a big final battle, as Thanatos ends up being completely alone and cut off from reinforcements.

>>40138729
Indeed, we'll have to look for some way around it in the meantime. Or some way to counter it. (For example, if it's just a stealth field, we'd just need to jump inside the barrier ourselves to keep in contact with the ships)

>>40138753
Quite the opposite, I think. Raiding will bleed them and allow us to add their ships to our forces, thanks to boarding actions, hacking, and possibly salvaging if it's on this side of where we can easily access.

>>40138808
I love you, Anon.

Do science and harassment on it!

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>>40138712
>>40138753
Okay this seems like an important decision since it will result in how you end up facing Thanatos by the end, so I will provide you guys some info and give you a little time to think.

The map attached here (not 100% accurate but close) represents your territory and the UGEI's. Thanatos is within Arman's Gate at the moment, building a fleet from all over the UGEI systems nearby and Arman's Gate itself.
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Quest:A.I._Quest#UGEI_Space
See here to see what you know about UGEI systems.

If you raid, you may weaken his final forces when it comes to the final battle. Your raiding parties cannot take your battleships however. They're too slow to do what needs to be done. If they fail however, they may be lost, damaging your final force.

If you do not raid, Thanatos will be free to gather his forces freely-but so will you. And you may even be able to take further territories from the UGEI in the mean time to give you more ground to fight Thanatos on.

In the end it is up to you. Take a few minutes to consider and read over shit and I'll be happy to answer questions you might have.

>>40138646
The main point is to hit their picket fleets.

E.g. a couple corvettes out on anti pirate patrol?
Jump em with say 4 ships and steal em. Raider fleet just got bigger. rinse and repeat with steadily increasing numbers.

Say you have 5 groups, they cover 20 lanes. (4 each)

No one will ship stuff through the lane while its going on, they will have to break off new picket fleets to deal with the affair or just ignore it, which would make it easy for us to move as we need to. Meanwhile we keep building ships as we bleed some of their main fleets numbers.

Raiding is Win/Win with our ability to stealth and hack, so long as we don't go over board and don't get too greedy early on with each fleet.

>>40138832
>>40138862
How about a mix of both raiding, and going smaller yet harder to counter. Sabotage. We have the money to fund dissidents/terrorist groups inside the UGEI. As well as buy off people in the right places to delay or degrade the UGEI's build up. It's worth a shot.

>>40138808
>Optical effect is gravitational lensing
Almost identical, yes.

Hm... interesting suggestions. Consider my post below and perhaps modify if necessary.

>>40138862
I'd like to hit everything this side of Arman's Gate - and I'm not at all opposed to having big raiding parties to make it fairly likely still that we'll be the more effective force.

We can also outright invade the planets closest to us as part of these raids.

And as previously mentioned, would not at all mind following some ground or boarding ops.

One that comes to mind immediately is trying to produce and smuggle some bots or at least arms for our guerilla rebels on the far side of Arman's gate.and having them do a mission to delay or temporarily shut off Arman's Gate from the far side in order to limit his ability to get reinforcements.

And sabotage the ships waiting on the far side of the gate while this happens, of course.
>>40138967
Sounds good to me, and I think we're already doing it, but I'd love to follow some of the action up close.

>>40138862
Program9, I would like to propose my plans from >>40138808

Basically first a science mission to narrow down the effect of the field.

Second, establish infiltrators on the UGEI side. Their science and military may be fearsome, but the weakest link is probably human. We can insert a few agents, acquire an abandoned factory, produce larger numbers of agents, and strike at off-duty logistics officers, planning operations, politicians, bureaucrats, scientists or students or assistants, soft targets that will hamper their operations and may provide low level intelligence and give us hints to the technology.

Also ask Mol of contact his contacts and put a bounty for this information. We'll pay generously. Even if this leaks out, we can monitor the UGEI networks and see what has been hardened and secured. Kinda of like Metal Gear Arsenal. See what kind of information or terms they start blocking.

>>40138967
Such things are already taking place. This is why the UGEI are reacting so slowly compared to how they did once before. Much of their government is struggling to maintain control even on some of their more secure worlds.

>>40139034
If raiding does win the vote at the end of this, I will most likely be doing several write ups of your droids and UGEI personnel...interacting, so to speak.

>>40139033
We have the Skeptri system if I recall correctly?

Taking the Akinost system would leave Thanatos with access to only the gate and 2 other planets on this side.

What do we know of Akinost, can we take it, full invasion mode, and then pick off the disconnected systems one by one??

>>40139112
We can ramp it up. money is no object now!

>>40139112
Can the bots be non-humanoid? Please?

>>40139138
He just said we're already doing it. At the level we can afford.

>>40139112
I do hope we don't just kill everyone.

It takes more resources from the enemy to look after people who are still alive after all, so swamping them in the crew from the stolen ships would be good for demoralizing them and keeping some of their ships busy looking after them.

>>40139107
>Basically first a science mission to narrow down the effect of the field.

Just send two ships that remain in close range of each other, so one can observe what happens when the other loses signal.

Don't need no special sensors for that.

>>40139107
>>40139112
Am also in favor of >>40138808

Do all the things!

And considering that we seems to be getting close to them endgame, I don't think it's a bad thing to spend more time on each turn.

>>40139156
All our bots except for the "Human Interaction" Ghosts and the diplomatic models are non-humanoid.

We do lack a proper marine-type bot though, since the Templar was not approved for production.

>>40138862
>>40139112
I support raiding.

Also during the raiding, can we take this opportunity to insert infiltrators like in my post:

>>40139107

>>40139189
I like the way you think, anon.

>>40139203
>All our bots
We have a shotabot spy too. Unit 4.

>>40139203
I'm assing the old designs are mostly irrelevant, as Cephalus is in charge of that now.

>>40139200
I want to confirm the effect is gravitational. If it is, then that narrows down the field a lot and we have a direction to decode the technology.

Also, if we have good science probes and get good science readings, then it'll get us that much closer to decoding the tech.

>>40139189
No, it takes more resources to recruit and train replacements.

Food and housing are not the bottlenecks for the UGEI, it's morale and time.

Doing anything but spacing the crew wastes valuable time that puts the ship at greater and unnecessary risk for no gain.

>>40139124
Aklnost System
Aklnost I: Small barren planetoid located beyond the habitation zone, on the star-side edge. No remarkable features detected.
Aklnost II: Large terrestrial world located in the middle of the system's habitation zone. Human population stable at roughly 900 million, the majority of whom are employed in the agricultural sector – according to information found on the extranet. It is estimated that Aklnost alone provides just over 40% of the raw foodstuffs for the sector’s UGEI population. A small shipyard and trade station sits in orbit.

It is worth noting that some of this was taken from a few cycles ago. It is safe to assume the UGEI have hardened the system at least somewhat to invasion.

>>40139156
Most of our bots are non humanoid.
So...yes yes they can.

>>40139189
The UGEI would likely fire the less seasoned crews so they're not a burden, but in general you do not kill those who surrender. Or at least, that's how you usually did things.

>>40139269
Cephalus mostly uses your old designs, just...modified slightly. Mostly in the weapons department.

>>40139244
Except for the Ghost and the diplomatic model - which would be Unit 4.

>>40139269
If so, I'm curious what he's done with them. Hopefully they've been updated and refined to be more effective, or replaced if they didn't perform well enough.

>>40139326
Sounds excellent, send in some scouts to be sure, and then barge in with the fleet and kick in their teeth!

>Cephalus mostly uses your old designs, just...modified slightly. Mostly in the weapons department.
(I still want to see marines coming up against a Templar and realizing that they have absolutely nothing that can feasibly threaten it in a frontal assault until they can bring in anti-tank gear and actual tanks - and tanks don't fit in most ship corridors and it's too nimble for most anti-tank weapons)

>>40139326
>>40139458
(And then realizing that there's eleven more of the freaking things coming up behind the first one at speeds usually reserved for motorcyckles, while inside a ship)

If we're not doing anything in particular, I want to ask Mol if he has any knowledg of an entity named "Mother." Prometheus mentioned her.

Also anything interesting from the new citizens of Gaia IV? The ones we just resettled?

>>40139326
Can we also get our allies to join us in raiding? Makes the raids more effective?

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>>40139458
>diplomatic model
>Unit 4
No it isn't. We are not sending what appears to be literal children to make business deals and give funeral speeches, dumbass. That's Unit 1.

>>40139541
Oh right, my bad.
Yeah, Unit 4 too, though I don't think it's ever been deployed.

>>40139523
This is also good and yes and want.

>>40139523
Don't join, exactly.

Just have them coordinate to take advantage of our raids to raid other systems.

>>40139698
This one is probably better, means we can hit more systems in a shorter time and don't have to share what we find.

>>40138862
There are so many suggestions...I like them all but let's see if I can't narrow some of this down.

>Send out small groups of ships to raid the reinforcement lines in hopes of cutting them off from Thanatos.
>Invade a nearby world with your larger fleet to take more territory from the UGEI
>Ramp up smuggling ops for terrorist and guerilla forces, and support for all dissident groups and bribing officials.
>Send out some high speed scouts toward Thanatos disguised as space debris to test the effect.
>Have Mol put out bounties on any information related to Thanatos.
>Get your allies to join your fleets in raiding the UGEI.

If all of this seems correct, fill in some gaps now by answering:
>How big a raid fleet do you want to send and how many?
>What system do you intend to invade in the mean time


Note: Thanatos does not appear to have crew openings, nor can you find records of a crew being hired to work there.

>>40139515
I believe you asked him about such a thing once before-but if not, then his answer would simply be no, only that several key figures of the UGEI refer to her as such. All the records he has is that there is no woman in charge of the UGEI. None that he knows of anyway.

>>40139756
Just some modifications needed.
>Get your allies to join your fleets in raiding the UGEI.
Not exactly join, but just have them "coincidentally" raid at the same time.

>Send out some high speed scouts toward Thanatos disguised as space debris to test the effect.
Just make sure they stay close enough to each other to be able to observe what happens when they 'disappear'.

>>40139756
>Divine the fleet in half, have divide one half into 2 halves and have them do raiding.
>The rest of the fleet should stay with the battleships as we invade Akimost in order to cut off Thanatos from more systems.

What about records of fuel, maintenance equipment, travel logs?

>>40139756
No more than an eighth of our total forces.

>>40139756
Coordinate raids with our allies with destroyers to initially strike at Sceptri System and Arman's Folly, then move deeper into UGEI space at Aklnost, Arman's Pass, and Dract System.

Also, can we plant infiltrators so we can start the snowball on espionage?

>>40139819
raid other systems*

>>40139756
>Have Mol put out bounties on any information related to Thanatos.
>Get your allies to join your fleets in raiding the UGEI.
>Ramp up smuggling ops for terrorist and guerilla forces, and support for all dissident groups and bribing officials.
>Send out small groups of ships to raid the reinforcement lines in hopes of cutting them off from Thanatos.

No more than an 10th of our fleet. Hit what ever system He's not in at the moment.

>>40139756
>>Ramp up smuggling ops for terrorist and guerilla forces, and support for all dissident groups and bribing officials.
>>Send out some high speed scouts toward Thanatos disguised as space debris to test the effect.
>>Have Mol put out bounties on any information related to Thanatos.

>Send out small groups of ships to raid the reinforcement lines in hopes of cutting them off from Thanatos.

>>40139846
>Fuel
The ship has not traveled much in the past few years, but all the times it has it normally has gone right back to Arman's Gate.

>Maintenance equipment
Most of this refers to common part changes you'd associate with any other battleship...all except for one entry which regards replacing some of the armor and weapons. Nothing specific is mentioned but you notice they're way more expensive than they rightfully should be.

>Total Raiding Force size: Small (in the interest of keeping your own fleet strong), and only one fleet.
>Raid Targets: Starting with Sceptri System and Arman's Folly, before moving on to Aklnost, Arman's Pass, and Dract System.
>Invade Target Sceptri System.
>Ramp up smuggling ops for terrorist and guerilla forces, and support for all dissident groups and bribing officials.
>Send out some high speed scouts toward Thanatos disguised as space debris to test the effect.
>Have Mol put out bounties on any information related to Thanatos.
>Get your allies to join your fleets in raiding the UGEI.


Does this seem acceptable?
>1 Yes
>2 No

>>40140157
>Yes

>>40140157
Yes, as long as the scouts stay close to see each other vanish.

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>>40140157
>1 Yes

>>40140157
More or less it seems people agree on this.

I shall now require 5 rolls of 5d100, for your operation to begin. This is gonna be one hell of a write up let me tell you.

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>40140357
Sure, and sorry for doing this to you. We probably seems like children with ADHD

Rolled 16, 83, 45, 75, 20 = 239 (5d100)

>>40140357
Uhoh.

Rolled 58, 79, 44, 100, 56 = 337 (5d100)

>>40140357

Rolled 14, 47, 11, 77, 4 = 153 (5d100)

>>40140357
>>40140387
Shit, wrong dice roll

Rolled 71, 79, 41, 14, 4 = 209 (5d100)

>>40140357

Rolled 2, 87, 90, 69, 40, 48, 83, 27, 99, 34, 33, 87, 91, 73, 84, 11, 95, 9, 47, 78, 9, 13, 44, 49, 48 = 1350 (25d100)

>>40140357
Third and fifth are looking mighty mediocre. The smuggling and bounties rolls?

Rolled 81, 36, 37, 54, 6 = 214 (5d100)

>>40140357

>>40140357
Sorry Program0. Sometimes it just happens

>>40140387
Nah, I like doing big write ups sometimes. It feels like I'm writing more than I would by doing post by post.

>>40140537
Need one more roll of 5, and you appear to have tossed your entire dice box at me friend.

71, 87, 90, 100, 56 ?

>>40140397
>>40140429
>>40140447
>>40140471
>>40140602
So I shall be using.
>81
>83
>45
>100
>56
as the final results. Give me a bit of time as I work out what shall happen.

>>40140607
Oh, no I didn't mean to imply it was a pain or anything. I'm pretty excited actually. Means I get to write a whole lot all at once and try to make it as intriguing as I can.

Rolled 81, 7, 1, 29, 29 = 147 (5d100)

>>40140614

>>40140157
How good is our copy protection on this new super technology?

>>40140689
>Get your allies to join your raiding.
Here you find yourself again, seated-it appears to them anyway- before the leaders of the factions around your own. Some, allies you've known since your origin and others, recently earned. Your holo display shifts from the orb you normally use to a well dressed and seated man who's face is both featureless and hidden from plain view. This form, you have discerned, gives comfort to the humanoids when in negotiation. Perhaps a sense of familiarity you suspect. Regardless of the reason, you await the response as each of the leaders finishes reading the proposal you've sent to them all.

The Malorian speaker, as he calls himself, raises his brow from the data slab he is reading, glancing up to you with interest.
"And so, unrooted one, you have offered my people the chance to join the destruction of, perhaps, your own people yet again." He echos through that odd accent the translator can't quite get rid of. He turns to one of the guards there to protect his person, a tall but silent Malorian male, and gestures several things, and a bit of whispering later, he continues. "Truly, your actions are unlike any unrooted before you. For what purpose do you propose more violence against your kind?" He says with some air of suspicion. You wonder if he's really concerned about that, or if he merely questions your motives personally.
"Is there a problem with the proposal? I would say it is quite fair." Your display assures him, knitting your fingers together. "My reasons should not change your answer...would they?" You ask, challenging him in return-not giving and answer and forcing him to come up with more of a lie if he wants to get his own suspicions answered.


[Cont]

>>40141513
The Malorian Speaker frowns.
"I suppose it would not. My people...they remember. Every rooted remembers what the U.G.E.I have done." He pronounces each letter firmly.
"Does that mean...?" You begin before he interrupts.
"You have proven a friend to the rooted as of now. We accept. Our vessels will await your clear signal and follow the path you promise to carve through UGEI territory. Their lives are on your head, unrooted one. Do not forget this."

With the Malorian help secured, you cannot help but be pleased. You turn your attention to the President, whom has been running over your proposal again and again. You can sense his distress. Military activities have hardly ended in his favor-casualty wise at least in some time, however you assured him in the proposal that this will go a long way towards putting the UGEI down for good. The way the older man taps his finger, wrinkles his brow, all tell you he is trying to find a way to convince himself. You speak up.
"President King. William. I know this must be difficult for you." You speak as you have discerned is the most effective manner of reaching the man. He considers you a friend, after all. "But I do not require a true fleet this time. Only a few of your best men. They will not face immediate confrontation. The goal is to cause disturbances, not fight the UGEI face to face. I believe in the men and women of the UFW to handle such a mission. Don't you?" You ask of him, and the older man looks up to you with tired eyes, bowing his head slightly in thought before answering.


[Cont]

>>40141533
"There are a lot of battles in one's life, Guildmaster." He frowns a little as he speaks, looking you where your eyes would be. "What makes a man is which ones he chooses to fight and which ones he doesn't. My people are tired, Guildmaster." He looks up to you. "Tired of all this bloodshed. Of all the lost sons and daughters who'll never come home. This battle was once about freedom. About keeping what you earned, and not letting some man in a suit take it all away from you." He hesitates for a time, as you prepare to answer him.
"I understand...you don't-" Before he starts again, pausing you by raising his hand.
"That is why I'm going to agree to this deal. In the hopes that, finally, this will be enough to secure the future for every man and woman that's given up everything so we could have this chance. That doesn't just go for my men either, Guildmaster." He speaks to you firmly. "Your own, too. Few as you may have, I don't doubt they grow weary of this war as well." He says, seeming to have finally finish. You decide not to point out the glaring error in his speech and nod your head.
"Thank you, President King. Your men are in good hands."


Finally, you turn to the emperor on your monitor, awaiting his reply. Though, he seems to be considering this far less hard than the rest of your allies. He gives a welcome echo to you in Losirian before starting.
"Ah, I was waiting for another fantastic opportunity to pop up like the ones you offered before. But this...multiple systems and some of the richest UGEI systems around. I certainly like your ambition. If you really believe this will lead to unquestionable riches, than you can certainly count on our help." He gestures to one of the beefy Losirians guarding his person in a trance. "You need only give the word, Guildmaster." He gives off that warbling laugh.

>All three allies secured.

>>40141559
Awesome!

>>40141513
>>40141533
>>40141559
Sweet. And the UFW is not useless.

Remind me to send some guild scientists to spread the quality of life improvements we have been working on to the UFW.

>>40141559
We should send the UFW some of our new tech to improve their nation and lives. They will need it.

>>40140689
>Have Mol put out bounties on any information related to Thanatos
As you close your channels with all three other factions, you decide to do a little more digging before you act. And whenever you considering doing digging, one person in particular comes to mind.
As your channel to Mol opens up, he greets you with a rather please smile.
"Oh Guildmaster again? Was there something you forgot to mention about the colony from before? I assure you I do not know how it got there, but leaving it be was likely the right choice-after all, I certainly wouldn't want to try and convince the elderly to leave their home." He jokes somewhat out of the norm. You wonder if he has something on his mind. Regardless that is not of concern, and you state so.
"No, nothing of that sort, Mol. I've come because I would like to post a wanted poster, so to speak."
"Oh really now?" He asks with a rather large grin at the prospect. "I did not take you one to set up bounties-you always managed to take care of any matters that got in your way rather quickly-at least, when you don't need a little help from me of course." He chuckles a bit.
"It is a little more complicated than someone's head I am after." You explain, deciding not to go into more detail than you have to, and he nods.
"Very well. I will see if there are any scientists run away or otherwise who would be interested in getting rich in exchange for a little treason."

[Cont]

>>40141955
Surprisingly, it doesn't take too long before your bounty offer gets a hit-several in fact. Of course, once you weed out the likely liars and such, you come across one applicant who wishes to remain anonymous
Mol sets up a private channel for the two of you, and he strikes you immediately as nervous and skittish. Probably exactly what you were looking for.
"That bounty you put up-that's real, isn't it?" He says softly. "People don't offer several billion credits over just anything." He says, as if unused to how discussions like this should go. You push.
"Should you provide me accurate data, then yes, it is real. You should tell me first what you know." You tell him cautiously.
"Well, listen-it's not that easy okay. I wasn't the project head or anything but I was on one of the teams that worked on the newest version of Thanatos. But I can still tell you something-and right now you're running on nothing, isn't that right?" He challenges, probably trying to get the upper hand in the negotiation. You remain perfectly calm.
"What I do know is not the topic of discussion. What is is what you know."
"Alright-but I'll only give you half now and half later. That a deal?" He asks, cautious of continuing further.

>Is it a deal?
>1 Yes, tell us everything (risk that he might bolt)
>2 No, tell us now, and you'll get your money later. (May scare him off)


>>40141757
>>40141721
Do not worry, your quality of life improvements have been going to the UFW since you began them, as requested.

>>40141987
>1 Yes, tell us everything (risk that he might bolt)
If he is nervous about something, we can send an extraction team and take care of the problem for him.

>>40141987
Wait, is he offering to give half the information first?

Or demanding half the money up front?

Dammit Mol this is why we need Escrow for deals like this.

Though we can just say, if he fails to live up to his end of the bargain, he will get a bounty for his head that is double the price of the information.

>>40141987
>1 Yes, tell us everything (risk that he might bolt)

>>40142075
Half the money up front.

>>40141987
If he gives us half the information then he's getting half the cash.

>>40142120
Well that makes a lot more sense.

So this
>I'll only give you half now and half later.

was secret code for
>I want half now and half later

>>40142176
Oops, may have written it wrong. My bad.

>Yes appears to be the winner.

>>40141987
>>40142201
Can we attach a condition that he identify his coworkers and superiors to confirm his information and so we have more leads on the science project?

>>40142059
If he's nervous about anything, he'll be a rich enough man to be able to pay for his own extraction through Mol.

>>40142236
I'm assuming he would like our stealth ship and murderbot squad package, but whatever.

>>40142284
If I were paid a billion credits by a shadowy figure who then immediately offers to put me entirely in his power surrounded by his minions, I wouldn't trust him not to casually dispose of me and recoup his investment. As a traitor deserves.

>>40142357
Yeah, good point.

>>40141987
You decide that the man's caution is understandable. Especially considering what treason might be for people in the UGEI. Thankfully, your disruption of their hierarchy so far has allowed one like this guy to slip through. Any information is better than no information and you can't denying him and just having him leave.
"Very well, if that makes you more comfortable. Half now." You state simply and wire the money to a separate account as prearranged. He seems stunned into silence, as if he didn't expect it to be so easy, or that he expected hostility and resistance even. You say to follow "And now the information?" You encourage him. Finally, he answers you.
"O-Oh, uh, yeah. Right." He hesiteates, clearing his throat and sighing as he looks back down. "Well, to put it simply, Thanatos is old. One of our oldest ships we've had in development. But instead of dismantling it, or decommissioning it, we were tasked with turning it into one of our most advanced warships by order from up high. I don't really know the details of what the final product was, but I do know that over half our team was experts based around black holes and physics around them. The project goal was to make an impregnable ship to strike fear into the hearts of 'the alien scum' and other political bullshit." He grumbles slightly. "Uh...other than that, there was only one other instance. I..never saw the ship in action or if any of this was successful as they claimed, but I did see them test firing some heavy duty mass drivers at the plates for the ship...and...and the bullets missed it. They veered off to the left and right despite being dead on. Craziest shit I've ever seen." He remarks simply.
"I see." You say calmly, despite what you may be thinking internally, as he hesitates before suddenly saying.
"A-Anyway, that's all I got...so.. I get the rest now, right?"

>Does he?
>1 Yes
>2 No

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>>40142229
Yes, we used the carrot on this guy.

For the fish who didn't bite though? It's time for the stick.

>>40142496
>"Well, to put it simply, Thanatos is old. One of our oldest ships we've had in development.
Wait, AGAIN with the ship and the person in charge of the ship having the same name?

Unlike Prometheus?

Well I guess it makes sense with the increasing merging of captain and ship and technology.

>>40142496
>>1 Yes
Fair is fair, maybe offer him a job?

>>40142496
>Does he?

After he tells us who else was on his team, and who would know more technical details than he does.

>>40142496
>1 Yes
"Can he name is coworkers and supervisor? We'll toss in more money for each name"

>>40142496
>1 Yes
Fair's fair.

Job offer and request for other leads are acceptable as well.

So, some sort of gravity device? We've got a black hole in our borders we can study...

>>40142496
Also, can we consult Metis quickly and make sure this information is consistent to current evidence?

>>40142496
How appropriate. The one tech we upgraded to max tier was mass drivers, and he has armor that is practically immune to them.

Leaving us with the other two weapon classes to try.

>>40142496
>1 Yes
Offer up a bonus for names of his co works, supervisors and such. And if he wants, offer him a job with us and try to bring him over to our side.

>>40142596
Well, there are two ways to do this. Either an anti-gravity device that creates a repulsive field, or generating black holes surrounding the ship to redirect shots.

Guys, I think anti-matter generator research should be next, but I think we should also start the Carnage ship research soon after that because that weapon used wormholes, which might be related to the black hole technology.

>>40142578
You inquire about other members of the research team, but sadly he informs you that everyone that worked there was on a need to know basis only. No names exchanged, no records kept -that he knows of. Such is the nature of top secret work.

>>40142596
You thank the man and forward the rest of the money, before adding.
"You're certainly welcome to put your mind to work for someone like myself, if you are interested. It is a shame the UGEI treat their staff poorly as to make them seek black market payouts." You state simply. the man however, seems too eager to leave to say much beyond.
"Sorry, I just-I don't want any part of this back dealing shit. I got enough to set myself up for life now-that's all I need." He states quickly, before disappearing from the room without a trace. Mol emerges shortly after with a grin of his own, and asks.
"I trust you found out all you needed to from the poor bastard?" He chuckles, and something about the way he speaks makes you wonder how much of that conversation he actually heard.

>>40142627
"With what little we know, yes, it seems possible. Although the idea of somehow giving armor plating such density is quite...fascinating. Perhaps there is still more the humans have yet to show for their efforts." She says, intrigued.

>>40142658
Actually, if I'm not mistaken, your energy weapons will be your most powerful (with phasors at least).

Oh also, just a little meta knowledge, the normal rules of rock paper scissors I've done for much of the defense vs offense so far gets a little blurry once you've reached appropriately high level tech.

Just so you don't feel like I've cheated you in some way.

>Preparing next post

>>40142793
You mean anti-matter weapons, right? We've already got anti-matter generation as a given.

Researching the Carnage wreckage did move up in priorities, though, we may need it to even stand a chance of landing a hit.

>>40142822
>I've cheated you in some way.
Well Thanatos is literally cheating, but so are we, so I guess it's fair. Hopefully Metis has some ideas.

>>40142822
I didn't remember it being rock paper scissors.

It was more like Rock : Anti-Rock armor, Scissors : Anti-Scissors defense, Paper : Anti-Paper shield.

>>40142840
I mean Anti-Matter Power Cores, it's an unlocked tech we can research now. The other one is the weapons, but I think the Power Cores has more utility.

>>40142916
Pretty sure it's Weapons that will enable Carnage and Widowmaker to fire without massive gas costs.

>>40142956
No, the impression I got was the anti-matter weapons would grant us access to antimatter warheads and the like, while anti-matter power would free us from gas costs.

>>40142985
The anti matter reactor cores is what will give us gas free widow maker shots and warp jumps.

>>40142822
>"Metis, humans are quite insane, irrational little creatures. It is the unique perspective their insanity brings that I try to emulate. From one creature of thought to another, I would recommend you at least try to the same. After all, you'd have to be mad to use something dense enough to be comparable to a black hole for armor, right?"

>>40140689
>Send out high speed scouts to test Thanatos' armor capabilities.
With the scientist's word on the matter, you decide you may as well test to see how accurate what he said was. No doubt some of your simplest droids can get there quickly after being dropped off by a warp capable ship. And so, you do so, ensuring your VI enabled within them know their objective is for one to observe the effect of the other as it enters the field of danger you noted before hand. Getting back where your spy was previously is not so hard, thanks to your stealth systems, leaving only the test to answer your questions.

As the scout approaches Thanatos' ship it isn't long before the unit is torn from your control, like the others were. But this time, you witness it as it flies past the ship. It is warping slightly, due to the proximity, unable to approach the hull too closely, and is nearly sling shotted into the nearest star, if not for it's new owner, who slowly stops the scout and uses it's onboard engines to force it to make it's way back to your observing droid. When it finally arrives, it sends a message.
"Your programming is simple to unwind." With nothing else, before the ship's self destruct activates and it erupts not far from your other droid, leaving it damaged-but able to return nontheless.
He knows you've been watching him, at the least now. And he has been taking any ship of yours that's come too close. It...wasn't even a fight. You suspect this is because of the distance, largely. But still, to be able to tear it from you at all is not unimpressive.

>>40142884
That's probably a better name for it, yes.

>>40142985
This is correct. Anti Matter weapons refers to making weapons powered by anti matter while anti matter power cores refers to improving other weapons by using anti matter as the power source.

>>40143116
>Powered by anti matter
Derp. I mean USING anti matter as a weapon rather.

>>40143116
Could we use antimatter to create a singularity? Or create one some other way? I'd like to see Thanatos talk shit when his hyper-dense ship is being pulled into an artificial black hole like a bitch.

>>40143116
We could probably calculate the gravitational force needed to slingshot that probe. Which would be extremely strong.

And he a strong enough hacker to threaten us. Christ he has every advantage against us.

Do we at least acquire good sensor data?

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>>40143116
>"Your programming is simple to unwind."
Embarrassing.

>>40143191
Creating black holes isn't a matter of power, usually, it's a matter of density. So...if you had a way to concentrate matter in an intensely small area...maybe so

>>40143230
All that you need to confirm that the scientist was telling the truth. There's some intense gravitational pushes going on there-enough to push away from the hull anything getting too close, and even giving the ship it's own pseudo orbit for larger things that get too close.

>>40143317
Does Metis has enough data to for a hypothesis on what it is, how is this possible, and most importantly, how to defeat it?

>>40143317
Make a containment field for anti-matter, change the magnetic polarity so it keeps normal matter in the center of the field, when it gets close enough suddenly jump up the intensity of the field so it all gets pushed into a single point. Then turn the field off and quickly feed the resultant singularity until the method of delivery is itself eaten by the black hole which now is moving freely towards the target.

>>40143357
"It is...difficult to be sure, without a proper study, Ophion, I can only work in guesses and assumptions. The only matter that makes sense at this moment is that they've somehow given properties of repulsion to their hull, so intense that it can distort light around it. How they maintain this is beyond me at this moment. As for how to defeat it..." She hesitates. "I may seem foolish in saying this, but the only option is to overwhelm it, perhaps." She offers. For once, Metis does not seem to have the immediate answer. "I will attempt to study the effects further but as it stands now, I am uncertain how to bypass this defense."

>>40143389
The containment field is neither powerful enough to condense something so violently, nor capable of containing enough mass to create a black hole, sadly. It is meant for containing of very small quantities of matter/anti matter, not for condensing it.

>>40143509
"Metis, answer me honestly; do you think Quantum Physics and Quantum Logic will ever have practical applications in the real world?"

>>40143509
Do we detect a power signature consistent to what it would require to maintain a gravitational field, a normal battleship signature, or a reduced or non-existent signature?

Probably the last one.

>>40143559
If you're using a computer, then you're already using applied Quantum Physics. Transistors rely on quantum tunneling.

>>40143509
Would a Kraken get past it's defense?