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  Elections last quarter.  We voted against the resolution, but it was enacted anyway.

  Fondor.  I'm sure the council can see why it would be an ideal Manufacturing capital.

  Notable construction.  In addition to the Eyes, we also established our Political Capital on Exterra.  They now seem to be as content as the rest of the Initiative.

  Our distant freighters have finally arrived at the homeworlds of the Krynn and Trilarian.  (I had to upgrade both to increase range.  Both were launched from Exterra, but for some reason it chooses another world when you upgrade, seemingly at random.)

  We continue to attract merchant caravans.

  Finally, we have located three of the four Psilonic worlds.  They are tightly clustered in Yor space.  We know little about them other than they seem to be peaceful.

***TRANSMISSION INTERRUPT - STAND BY FOR RECONNECT***

Commander, councilors. I must first say that it is quite good that we have managed to regain communications. I was growing concerned.

Moving on, I will first address the three requests from Commander Mekoides. While I would be interested to see the exact location of Fondor in the sector, I am currently prepared to support the construction of our Manufacturing Capital there. If it is located too far into our core space (as opposed to being on the borders where it could quickly get new ships out), I would be concerned, but due to the nature of the planet, I could still support the proposal even then.

As far as research goes, I would definitely support the immediate development of Galactic Stock Exchanges - while our economy may be going strong at present, putting it on a war footing could cause a slump to occur. Invasion technologies may or may not be the next priority - this brings me to my next question.

Candidly, I think we can all say that a fair amount of opportunism is involved in the decision to attack the Sakkra or Silcoids. As such, in order to choose which would make the best target, I would like to request Minister Sune to present a briefing on both species' capabilities. I am particularly interested in their military (both space forces and ground soldiering skill), location relative to nearby powers (especially the Drath) and relationships with the same, and planet qualities and numbers. Generally speaking, I would recommend an invasion of whichever is the militarily and diplomatically weakest over the one with the more preferable planets if we are forced to choose. A quick, easily won war is the objective for the Initiative.

As for my own concerns, I have a few more requests for information. Firstly, what reason did we have for opposing the UP plan to create a Trade Federation? Given our technological advantages, we can likely win most fleet engagements, but our freighters would be a weak spot in any war. And with our economic strength, the fee we incur for membership cannot be much of a problem.

I would also like to see our diplomatic relationships with other powers, and theirs with each other. Are any species either particularly hostile or particularly friendly at the moment?

Thank you.

I agree with both councilors, especially on the issue of intel on our potential targets. Whichever one is weaker and easier to attack (closer) shall be crushed like an arthropod under durable footwear.

That is all I have to say.

Greetings. I am observing this thread for quite some time now. May I ask you for a recent save of your game?

Commander, Esteemed colleagues and Ministers yes the recent outages were certainly of concern but I am heartened to see you all hale and hearty.

I would certainly agree with the establishment of Fondor as our main Manufacturing Centre. Personally I feel that it should not be close to our borders precisely for that reason-too close to our borders means close also to a potential enemy.

We should certainly start research on Galactic Stock exchanges 

Personally I have no real preference for which of those two races we should open hostilities with and will leave such matters to the strategists and generals amongst you

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G'Norlisk:

  Here is a ballot with the issues of the session, Councilors.  As you can see, the ballot is more free form than usual, allowing councilors to provide their input on the subject.

Research

Provide your own input:

Foreign Relations and Trade

Provide input on final three trading partners:

War

Move against Sakkra, Silicoid, or both:

Social Projects

Establish Fondor as Manufacturing Capital:

Establish Stellar Forge on Fondor:

Councilor Signature:

***END TRANSMISSION***

Research

Galactic Stock Exchanges

No preference after this

Foreign Relations and Trade

No preference at all

War

Move against Silicoid 1st then Saccra

Social Projects

Establish Fondor as Manufacturing Capital: Yes

Establish Stellar Forge on Fondor: Yes

Councilor Signature: qrtxian, NikolaiOmega, Noctilucus, Mambaman

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***FROM: COMMANDER MEKOIDES, EXTERRA COMMAND***

***TO: INITIATIVE COUNCILORS AND ROYALTY, TOLMEKIA PRIME***

***SUBJECT: QUARTERLY REPORT, OCTOBER 01, 2230***

Cmdr Mekoides:

  Greetings, Councilors.  Things have been progressing rapidly since our last meeting.  After receiving the voting results, we moved immediately into war production.  As we speak, a fleet of transports unrivaled in the galaxy descends on Silicoid space.  By the end of the year, we will be poised to sweep them from the stars.

To that end, I personally oversaw a technology exchange and treaty signing with the Iconians.  Normally, such matters are brought before the council, but communications were down and timing was critical.  Not only did the exchange boost our war preparation immensely, but our economic treaty with the Iconians brought our budget back into a healthy surplus.

  21 transport are moving to rally at our starbase on the edge of Silicoid space.  We have a plan to sweep 3 of their 4 planets, the fourth of which is tucked into Korx space.  Speaking of our starbases in the area, we have begun starship construction at our two northwest colonies.  As a first order of business, they have begun sending constructors to fortify and upgrade those starbases.  They have also been able to produce a few transports of their own.

  Our dealings with the Iconians have set us up for rapid conquest of the Silicoid planets.  Their invasion technologies boost our capabilities and have allowed us to begin construction of a Tir Quan training center for our soldiers.  By the time our transports arrive, every measure will have been taken to reduce casualties and speed the war effort.  We have no fear that giving them our laser technologies will impact us at all.  They seem committed to mass driver weapons and continue to research down that path.  Our research treaty will certainly help them, but we have a proposal to keep them busy while we solidify our presence in the area.

  Our current economic outlook.  The Iconian treaty nets us around 330bc, so you can see that there was a considerable incentive to move forward with a deal.  Now we have a sizable cushion while our market planets continue to develop.

  And speaking of economic development, we finished research on Stock Exchanges.  Construction is fast underway on entire economic planets and sectors in an effort to bolster our economy.  A number of new market planets have been designated and economic starbases are being used to speed construction on multiple planets.  Advanced Navigation Centers will be ready soon, leaving us with a choice of future research.

  We also established a second trade route with the Gnolams.  We have two remaining freighters outbound.  (OOC - this is all on me.  I went ahead with playing and by the time I looked back at the vote it was too late.  I'm not ignoring the council, I made a mistake.)

  We completed a number of major projects, as well.  When the manufacturing facilities are complete, Fondor will be the premier shipbuilding planet in the galaxy.

With so many of our citizens leaving home for foreign battles, we also took measures to encourage replacement of our populations.

Several other major projects have been reported around the galaxy, but we haven't shown the here.  We could report them if the council is interested.

Finally, the galaxy is becoming more hostile by the day.  It's only  matter of time before a massive outbreak of warfare.  Our own military standing has fallen considerably as the other powers jockey for domination.  If this past quarter has shown anything, though, it is that we have massive manufacturing capability ready to be turned toward warship construction.  Fondor itself will be ready soon, at which point we are confident that our manufacturing base will be able to overwhelm our enemies.

And speaking of enemies, we are keeping a close eye on the Korx as they wage war against the Trilarian.  We are hoping the distance between them will allow the Trilarian to hold their own until a settlement can be reached.  The Trilarian are friends of the Initiative and have long supported us with both economic and research treaties.  In light of this, we will continue to send warships to the area under the pretense of supporting our war against the Silicoid.  Further measures may be considered as the situation develops.

Remember when I said we had a proposal to keep the Iconians occupied?  Well, here it is.  We had initially considered recruiting the Drath against the Iconians as a way to keep them both busy and to disrupt the emergence of a potential "axis of good".  The distance between them would ensure a long engagement, and the Drath have grown too powerful to ignore.  We then considered that the Drath could be used to check Korx aggression, but their proximity would make it a potential gain for the Drath.  We then considered the possiblity that the Thalans and Torians might make good foils for each other.

We leave it to the council to decide a course of action.

Discussion Points:

• Research direction.  Weapons, hulls, defenses, and logistics may be good ideas.  It is also about time for us to declare as a balanced civilization.  Neutral Shipping would allow even more trade routes for us.
• Any suggestions for dealing with the Korx and supporting the Trilarian.  We have considered setting up a military starbase and gifting it to the Trilarian, or perhaps a small fleet.
• Do we use our "invisible hand" to move various players against one another?

***END TRANSMISSION***

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Cmdr Mekoides:

  Apologies for not being clear on the issue.  Your confusion is understandable.  No formal declaration of war has been made.  We haven't yet begun sending warships in excess of what could be reasonably considered simple defense of our outlying colonies, but our continued massing of forces can't go unnoticed.  As the situation unfolds, we'll have plenty of pretext to move a strong fleet into the area.

***END TRANSMISSION***

Hey, look at all these empty council seats!  Makes one feel a tad lonely. In light of sufficient councilor absence to cause echoes in the council chamber, I'll respond.

First, I call for information.  How long will it take for our transports to be in position to obliterate the Silicoid?  What do our warships look like, as far as capabilities go?  What of those of the Korx and Silicoid?  How many could we spare as a gift to the Trilarian? 

Secondly, I make three motions. 

1. That Commander Mekoides and Minister Sune be given a free hand in turning the Drath against the Iconians.
2. That we gift warships to the Trilarian as supplies allow.
3. That we research defenses sufficient to make a frigate with 1.5x in defense what the Silicoid have in attack, then Xeno Ethics (declaring neutral, obviously.). Secondary importance would be attached to researching either point defenses or shields, whatever wasn't priority 1, up to the final version of the component with defense strength 1. Then, round out lasers.  We're going to war here, may as well do it right.

Thirdly, a few less important details.  If we have any boringly-named planets, particularly current or potential hotspots, be a dear and flatter my ego and rename two of them Jubilee and Beaumonde.  I also submit ship names: Torrolerial, Zarlra, Kithrakyriel, Anagantios, Caelestis, Sandalphon, and Gyra.

And lastly, if this wasn't glaringly obvious:

PLEASE COME BACK, EVERYONE!

I agree with declaring ourselves a neutral civilization, which we should do quickly for the many benefits it gives (ie. instant terraforming).

Turn the Drath against the Iconians, and the Thalan against the Torians. They will drive each other into the ground, hopefully, and we shall continue to rise while they fight. However, we should not sink too much money into these affairs.

We should give ships to the Trilarian under Councillor Noctilucus's conditions.

I support research into defense technologies and larger hulls. Logistics should be considered as well.

Welcome, Councillor Talonschild. We are glad to have another voice at the discussion.

That is all.