(Not really a gamey update, but more of an emphasis on story and background. As it turns out, apparently the Feds are REALLY behind in technology, and as a result, military. However, even if their economy's a bit slumped too, they've at least got a surplus, so a lot of my game involves buying technologies, offering gifts of money so I'm friendly with the stronger powers, and slowly, slowly, and slowly build up; along with fending off the occassional declaration of war from a power that really has no ability to do so. Also, so far, we've got about nineteen worlds, if anyone's curious. However, rest be sured that with the bogged down way this game's beccoming for me, not to mention the plain oddity of having two Terrans on the field, you can be SURE I'll be making another attempt, now a bit wiser for the effort. And since the game crashed after the Precursor event, please do ignore such.
ALso, keep in note that I'm trying to bring this particular game to an end as soon as I can, which, if I play my cards right, might not be so far off...)
Much of Prime Minister Mitchell's efforts in leaping from the springboard Bradley had set down after he retired was focused on consolidating the Federation's admittedly tenous hold as a power in its own pocket. With several foreign worlds scattered within its own borders (though any influence they might have incurred was nullified by several nearby worlds acting as embassies and cultural vacation sites), and with several powerful neighbors nearby, Mitchell knew for a fact that, despite Harding's urging, the Terran Federation was NOT ready to act as a military power, nor was it quite an economic powerhouse, and neither was it influential in galactic politics. What it did possess, and even the Thalans and the Korath would admit, was determined grit to survive. And Mitchell proved beyond a doubt that he had the diplomatic ability to sail the Federation through tough times.
Negotiating with other powers for technologies the Federation lacked proved to be much simpler than anticipated. Weaker regional powers such as the Drath Legion proved receptive to any offers of a combination of money and technologies they lacked in exchange for what they had already researched, as anything at this point was a boon to Federal efforts. Whenever the treasury was not being drained in state gifts to other powers, they were redirected towards building up the infrastructure of Federal worlds, specifically those dedicated to research. Even with the technological focus, research seemed to go too slowly for anyone's pace, especially when the other powers were concerned, but there was one particular field that the Terran Federation was determined to NOT be beaten in. If there was anything they were noted for in their blood-soaked history, it was a proud land-based tradition, something the FSC was determined to have the edge in.
Much to some of the militarily minded powers' surprise, the Federation was succeeding in doing just that. The Dauntless class powered armor suit considered standard issue to Federal Marines, already a considerable step up from the traditional flak armor vests considered more fit for their ancestors than for modern warfare, was obsoleted almsot immediately in favor of a rising multitude of power armor classes. One such powered armor was the Hunter-class powered armor used by the elite Fallschirmjaeger Pathfinder Corps, a throwback to the old days of airborne units. Capable of being dropped into possible landing zones right after bombardment from suborbital gliders, they cleared the way for armored and more conventional assets to make their way planetside.
The navy was not being neglected either, but due to practical constraints, the delay was understandable. A new Stalwart class cruiser chassis was already in the works to fill the ranks of the navy. It was just a matter of procurring weapons and developing suitable defenses in the face of superior firepower.
Not all development was military, however. In circles such as New Harvard and New Cairo, the intellectual centers of the Federation, there was an ongoing philosophical debate about ethics. The primary school of thought, however, was one of balance. Professor Zhan Ru of New Harvard, PhD, proposed that what most powers believed was a struggle of either a power of "Good" or "Evil." Neither extreme was to be really any favorable to the Federation. "Good" powers, as far and few in the universe as they were, tended not to exercise rational judgment and were more zealots than anything. "Evil" powers, which were more numerous, were fickle, petty, and eager to start wars at the drop of a hat, which Lord Kona, the ill tempered leader of the Drengin, was rumored to have done at one point. Neither ways, Zhan Ru pointed out, served the purposes of the Federation, weak as it was relative to the other powers. What he proposed was "Neutrality," or more officially known as the "School of Balance." The Federation still had a unique position; it was far, far away from the inter galactic squabbles that plagued the north-east, and the Federation could act as an uninterested (which was genuine in most cases) third party mediator. By maintaining a careful indifference and balance, he argued, the Federation was likely to survive long enough to build up, along with being less likely to incur the wrath of any other powers.
His ideas spread quickly across the Federation, as well as with the prominent merchant classes, who in war zones maintained a strictly Balanced mentality. "If you could pay for the goods, you were fine, but keep your fighting OUT OF MY SHIP." As a result, as more races were inclined to trust the Federation not to take sides, they allowed more trade vessels to sail through their borders, and soon it was made a standard practice to always have on board of a merchant vessel a qualified Arbitrator to use the ship as neutral ground to hear and suggest ways to settle disputes.
However, at the same time, the Terran Federation was now considered a friend to most, barley all, of the powers in the galaxy, even the normally ill tempered Korath and Drengin, with the Korx and the Terran Alliance not far off. Barring the previous two, Mitchell then did something that would change the political landscape of the galaxy by a fair margin. He united all but the Korx and the Terran Alliance into one massive Alliance. Suddenly, the Federation was no longer in such a precarious position; it now had the backing of some of the most powerful militaries known to the galaxy. However, things became a bit complicated when the Drath Legion was losing its war against the Terran Alliance. In a move to deny the Alliance the worlds it desired, the Drath Legion, on January 8th of 2235, surrendered to the Terran Federation. Just as taken back as Bradley must have been when he admitted the Thalan Martian colonists many years ago, Prime Minister Mitchell admitted all the worlds of the Drath Legion, with Altarian worlds included, as full member states of the Federation with all rights conferred to them. The Federation had just doubled its size, but at teh same time, it was unsure if Mitchell could protect these new worlds. He took steps to placate who he nicknamed "Doppleganger Bradley." At the same time, while uniting all of these powers together, Mitchell realized a way to ensure not only the Federation's survival, but everyone's, without ever hearing another shot fired ever again...
