Life2.0 - a Broken Shackles Narrative

[HistoryDude]

It's nice to know that Life 2.0 has a plan to deal with MSI, even if it kind of sounds like they're fighting an enemy that's impossible to defeat. Hopefully it ends up like David vs. Goliath...

 

[CBR JGWRR]

There's always two ways to look at Goliath.

1. He's so big, how can we possibly beat him?

2. He's so big, how can we possibly miss?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Leadership Structure - L2NA Freedom​

Position:	Name:	Notes:
Chief Executive Officer	Vaki B'Than (Xenaya)	Valerius has the paperwork ready to register the Freedom as a nomadic merchant enclave as soon as they make contact with Galactic Community members, and therefore, the Captain is effectively Head of State
Arch-Imperatrix	Vaki B'Than (Xenaya)	Ship command in battle
Main Computer Interfacer	Hakkt Okk'KerrTukt (Bevikiran)	Ship's primary Bevkiran
Head of Operations	Mot-Katuq (Maggar)	Responsible for maintaining and running the ship
Head of Astrometrics	Ivory Frond (Yahmieloid)	Responsible for navigation and communications with Unity
Head of Engineering	Yavan uvi-Havfin (Chengpingese)	Responsible for ship-board manufacturing and resource extraction
Head of Armament	Geoffrey Ericksson (Human)	Responsible for ship weapons and defences, both existing and in-transit development
Head of Medical Practice	Ogligh (Kourituk)	Responsible for the health of crew and passengers
Cohort Managers	Ikroo (Lokra-Kitan) Cap-Wak (Naungmonese) Friska Cliffbreaker (Zikk'Hik) Bindu Shikdar (Human) Belaklon (Nhev-Mazarid) Vaki B'Than (Xenaya)	One candidate per race as elected representative
Senior Exchange Negotiator	Binyamin Nasi (Human)	Responsible for trade deals on the journey

A brief look at the command staff on the Freedom at time of departure.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

As an update:

Part of me wants to have the journey of the Freedom being included here. I suspect it might be better off as a spin-off thread though...

The next major post - not just an individual perspective on the events of Snowfall Day, year 9 - will be the departure, and after that, straight into contact with the Flagship. I've already had some ideas, but I'm still putting that section into final decided order.

 

[HistoryDude]

I'd like to see the journey of the ship here. Besides my personal preference, I think having more than one thread per individual save game is against the rules for singleplayer AARs.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Homeward Bound, Part 12"
10th Ykrett, 9 (2187)
Naomi of Unity​

The Muster Field has hosted many gatherings in our time. But this is the biggest yet; everyone has come, or is watching via livestreaming for those who can't, for the last goodbyes. Above us - well, will be shortly - is the Freedom. Our freighter turned colony ship turned battlecarrier.

Snowfall Day.

Now, as then, white dusts the ground. I walk to the main stage, my mind heavy with history.

The command staff of the Freedom meet me there. Hush descends. People look at me expectantly. I take the podium.

"Nine years ago, we stood on this field for the first time to part ways, as our cold preferring friends left the freezers of the ship for the first time, and our warm-preferring friends headed for warmer lands. Today, we gather as a united colony to commission those who will leave us to return home in peace and in safety."

Vaki steps forward. I turn to her. "Vaki B'Than. My sister. As High Queen of the Xenaya, CEO of Life2.0, and Arch-Imperatrix, as much as it grieves me to see you go, I am reminded that not all tears are an evil. I appoint you Princess-Regent of the Xenaya of the homeworld to lead in my stead, and assign you as CEO of our exciting new subsidiary opportunity, and name you Arch-Imperatrix of the Freedom."

She bows. Then picks me up with a hug. We cry.

When she eventually lets go, I look to all her senior staff as she rejoins them. "It's been a long road, getting from here to here. I will miss you all. Thank you." I begin to clap. Those staying join in. Vaki bows again. Hush settles after I stop. I look up; the glimmer of a faint freighter in the sky passes overhead. "Well, it is time. I bid you fair skies, clear horizons, and a keen tailwind."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Annals of the Freedom, 1"
30th Ykrett, 9 (2187)
Vaki B'Than​

Three weeks since we left Unity, we arrive at the first of many Hyperlane connections we will take on our journey home. I leave my ready room to head to the bridge. I look to Hakkt. "Show me Unity, one last time."

"Viewscreen magnified."

The bridge crew pause their lane transit preparations to take one last look. I turn to Ivory. "Ivory, begin recording for broadcast to Unity."

She opens a channel. "You're live Vaki."

"Vaki Imperatrix to Naomi Imperatrix; we are leaving the system. Will confirm safe arrival on exit of the hyperlane. Good luck sister. All hands, please prepare for transit. We will send our last messages while still in the system, and then depart."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Oncoming Storm, Part 1"
5th Pik, 9 (2187)
Rivkah of Unity​

I get back to the campsite, having found myself a tasty furry thing, and the first thing I notice is water has been poured on the fire. Which is odd, we only got it going a little while ago. "Mum? Dad?"

Mum opens the door on our caravan. She opens her mouth, but no words come out. Dad yells from behind her. "Pack up Rivkah, we have company." I sprint inside, check Mum's data display. At first, I don't understand what I'm looking at. A hazy recording of a huge structure orientated vertically looms in the distant darkness. Then it pieces together.

They're here.​

 

[HistoryDude]

I wonder if MSI will attack the Freedom before Unity itself.

Unity seems to be under attack as it is, so how did the Freedom escape the ship's notice? Did it not, and MSI just decided that it wasn't worth the effort to attack?

 

[CBR JGWRR]

The Flagship has just entered the system, while the Freedom is in transit across the next system. (and is able to outrun the Flagship anyway)

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Oncoming Storm: 2nd Contact
5th Pik, 9 (2187)
Li Nakuma​

"One moment folks." My assistant Ooki interrupts my talkshow to pass me the briefing report. My God... I gulp. Oh God. Breathe. Composure. Solace. "Ladies and gentlebeings, we interrupt our scheduled broadcast with confirmed reports from multiple probes of an MSI Flagship having entered our system. The brief details that the information is still too early to obtain as to the path of the Flagship, but we assume it is coming towards us."

I take a moment to breathe again. The phone rings. "One moment please. Nakuma here. Ah, Alexandra, yes, of course, may I put you on broadcast? Ok, you're live."

"Obviously this situation is a developing situation. We ask that people remain calm. The vessel is a confirmed Flagship and by the book* we are expecting a non-violent confrontation, and we request that people do remain peaceful. We will update once more information is known."

---

* In case previous usage wasn't apparent and the Wrath of Khan reference went over people's heads, it's a code phrase; they know MSI can break any encryption, so the best obfustication is to employ pre-arranged code messages. This is the only warning issued; hereafter, all communication until a stand-down order is issued, is coded.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Oncoming Storm: Readiness
5th Pik, 9 (2187)
Alexandra​

It is nightfall by the time Naomi, Buri and Rivkah join us in the command bunker. Rivkah has sharpened her sabres. Naomi speaks first. "Report!"

I look to her. "Enemy vessel is approaching on a high-acceleration brachistochrone transfer, estimated arrival in eighteen days."

"So they're doing roughly one gee, that's within normal procedure. Valerius, your data is much more up to date than mine, what would be maximum these days?"

He shakes his head. "The non-combat hardened stuff starts falling apart if you push them harder than one. Beyond two and the ship's lose integrity. That hasn't changed in a thousand years."

Naomi keeps looking at Valerius. "How would you handle this?"

He highlights the colony's probes. "It's obviously an inexperienced Shareholder in command; a veteran would be pushing the engines having seen these."

"Or their veterans have been overruled."

"Not since we lost the Flagship to the Lokra-Kitan; part of how they succeeded was that the Shareholder in charge decided to ignore the launch of missiles."

I look at Naomi. Her face is still. "Naomi?"

"The trouble I've got is the Captain's book wasn't the full edition, he was too much of a cheapskate to lease it... I don't suppose you did?"

"Yeah, I leased the full version."

I look at both of them as Naomi's face lights up. "What are you two talking about?"

Valerius answers. "MSI charges ship captains for the rights to lease one copy of the handbook. I realised that it could be something of value to trade with, so I went for the all-details version. It's a little out of date now though."

I can't believe it! "You never told me that!"

He looks at me. "By the time we got here and started integrating ourselves, Naomi's strategems indicated she was aware of at least the basics of it, so I figured the colony already had it." He turns to Naomi. "Which version did you have?"

"Datafile, Sergius' version."

Valerius' face darkens. "He really was a cheapskate."

"How cheap?" Both of us asked at the same time. Interesting.

"Sergius has been dead seventeen galactic calendar years. And his version was so sparsely detailed that MSI pulled it from availability because it had too little information. Please tell me you had at least the Cassius edition of it?"

Naomi's face goes blank. She gulps. "I need your handbook as soon as possible."

Valerius rushes out of the room. Naomi leans over a balcony rail. I walk beside her. "Are you ok?"

She looks at me. "I knew it was out of date and under-detailed. But, my planning for ten years now has relied on it because it was the best information I had..."

"And now you've got to the crunch and found it was useless."

"Yep. Now I have eighteen days to memorise a new handbook, work out it's weaknesses and how I can exploit them."

Dark circles are forming around her eyes already.

 

[HistoryDude]

Yeah, Naomi isn't getting a lot of sleep any time soon.

Of course a megacorporation would charge for their tactics handbook. Such a greedy thing to do!

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I've narrowed the originating Roman population uplifted to be the mid-late Roman Republic, but before the massive expansion of generals like Pompey and Julius.

After the uplifting, there was an initial popular liberation movement as they adjusted to the advanced technologies and led to a new Olinbar culture and the biological changes they made, and over time power centralisation led to re-establishing the Patricians and Plebians, without the balances of power the Republic legally had.

By the present day, Shareholders - broadly equivalent in wealth and power to the senators, with a key distinction between them being that Shareholder wealth is measured exclusively in MSI shares (at first, this being considered a "fairer" way to decide political power than the backroom deals and demagoguery of the late Republic) which have voting rights being per share.

And, a dividend; instead of paying to lease everything (and I do mean everything; the handbook is definitely not the most extreme example, it's actually fairly cheap by their standards for even the best edition) your share ownership entitles you to state benefits and subsidies in the form of dividend rewards based on the overall profitability of MSI.

As a result, nearly every Olinbar wants to become a Shareholder, and the Extreme few who are Shareholders advertise the system with lives of absolute luxury and power.

All Olinbar encountered so far have been in the want to become Shareholders bracket, at different levels:

Hortensus represents the poorest Olinbar; down on his luck, owns nothing, leases everything - but still has a luxurious lifestyle with multiple slaves and the ability to leverage his status into command of a ship.

Vopisca and Valerius are both higher status non-Shareholders, with Vopisca a third child (and therefore less important to her parents) and Valerius coming from a family that were building up to Shareholder status before he liquidated everything.

None of them are poor as we call being poor, but more being only a millionaire and not a billionaire. The intentionally designed in segregation in MSI is Olinbar above everyone else.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Oncoming Storm: Best Laid Plans"
7th Pik, 9 (2187)
Rivkah of Unity​

"So, lets recap what we've learned about our enemy's instructions. What the Flagship is supposed to do is come to the planet, secure local space, send down scouts and security personnel to make contact with the downed slaves and contain them, do photo opportunities and then cart the slaves back to MSI."

Valerius nods. "Essentially."

I continue. "We know they have to drop shields to launch fighters and shuttles. That could create opportunities."

Alexandra smiles. "We need to have our forces in space so that we can infiltrate the ship while they are down on the ground looking for us. I've been doing the numbers, and I believe the window will be sufficient to get drilling pods landed on the hull. Detonating low yield nukes in front of the hangars could sweep their fighter support away."

Mum looks a little worried. "Yes, but the new handbook stations a lot more soldiers on board than the old handbook. Hundreds of thousands. We'll have a tough fight on our hands. We'll need everyone."

Valerius shakes his head. "Overcommitting in space will leave the colony weak on the ground."

Mum shrugs. "We lose space, we lose the ground."

Dad looks worried. "How many people could we deploy anyway?"

Mum looks at Alexandra. "What do you think?"

Alexandra smiles. "I think there's potential to land troops in the initial shield drop numbering several thousand. If the initial group manages to get the shields offline, we can land more reinforcements."

Valerius squirms. I look at him. "What's wrong?"

"I'm worried that either our teams will end up being too small and too divided. A hundred to one seems to be very long odds."

I look at the blown-up photo on the table in front of us. "What if we seize one hangar as a beachhead?"

Mum smiles. "MSI won't be able to swamp that formation effectively. But there would be advantages to a distributed attack, as it would disguise our objectives and methods."

Alexandra nods. "Misdirecting the enemy is always useful."

Valerius leans back on his chair. "The thought occurs that a single concentrated attack might be easily dealt with by opening the hangar bay without the atmospheric retention fields up."

Mum flicks through the datapad. "Yeah, there's a section on how to do that."

Alexandra shrugs. "We'd just blow the doors. Can't use it against us if we already did it."

Mum smiles. "Plus, there's an override; there's a secondary bunker in each hangar that can lock down the doors as a means of stopping slave breakouts, and is specifically designed to lock out even if the bridge orders it opened."

I look at her. "Why would they do that?"

"In case a slave rebellion tries to seize the bridge. They've got loads of contingencies for that scenario, practically every system has some secret backup that locks out the bridge."

"Yeah, but... Why?"

Valerius looks at me. "Think of the bridge as merely scenery we use to impress prospective slaves and make them think it is important, and you will realise why we design on the basis that the bridge is compromised. It's a way of luring slave rebellions into a trap."

"Oh. That's clever."

Valerius leans in, stretching his arms. "To take the ship, the real key is main computer control. If we have that, we've got the ship."

Mum looks at Daas and Ykrett. "How is your project coming along?"

Daas does the tentacle thing that's equivalent to a smile. "Thanks to experience with the slave ship and the freighter, and R and D efforts with our own ships If we can get Ykrett and the other Bevkirans to the computer core, then we have the Flagship."

I look at Ykrett. "What happens to you if they try to kick you out the system?"

Ykrett rumbles. "We're ready to do our part. They'll almost certainly try violent shut-down procedures, and those will likely mean some of us will die, and others will lose our minds, but we won't give up."

"Could we do remote accessing the computer?"

Valerius shakes his head. "Every Flagship is encoded on it's own unique operating system, which no records off-ship are maintained for, and all staff responsible for it are permanently assigned to the Flagship they worked on. The Bevkirans are the best shot at hacking in, they are the only truly common component in terms of software."

I frown. "That's one way to make life really hard for hackers."

"Yes."

I have an idea. "Valerius, how many Flagships have been lost to slave rebellions?"

"The only successful attack in living memory was the Lokra-Kitan's effort."

Odoos perks up. "It is a good idea to know what changes were made in response."

"The Lokra-Kitan swarmed the Flagship with thousands of fusion-boosted missiles. Sheer numbers overwhelmed the defences." He looks at Mum. "How many nuclear warheads do you have?"

"Five hundred and eight. Yields ranging from low terrajoule to low petajoule, mostly at the lower end."

"How many could be built in seventeen days?"

Mum looks at Daas. He is silent for a while. "One or two, we just can't scale up production quick enough. I'm sorry."

Mum shakes her head. "It's my fault, it was my decision."

"That's not being fair Mum, you had a lot of priorities to manage."

"War is not fair Rivkah."

Valericus shakes his head. "She is right though. Developing the colony was the correct decision, you had to catch up as quickly as possible, and you made the best call you could on the information you had."

Mum stands, and walks to a window. She's looking at her reflection. I get up, put my arms around her. Buri joins us. Tears roll down her cheeks. She dries them, and turns back to the table. "I am the daughter of a man who burned the country he built with nuclear fire because he would not bow. And I bow to no one. And I will not be a slave."

Ykrett rumbles."Your orders?"

"I made a mistake before in not prioritising more warheads, and I have put the colony in the position where we must win the boarding battle at all costs, otherwise everything we have done will be for nothing. So, we go for taking the Flagship."

I look at Mum. "Really sure we can?"

She smiles grimly. "I started this rebellion with literally nothing but the decisions to crush my rapist's testicles and cut his throat as he recoiled in agony. We've come a very long way in our capability. If not, I die with my friends."

 

[HistoryDude]

A mission to seize their flagship. I can't wait to see MSI's reaction!

 

[Macavity116]

Close quarter fighting in a starship is going to be an intense, bloody affair. Very interested to see how this shakes out.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Oncoming Storm, Part 2
8th Pik, 9 (2187)
Daas​

Vorosh lays a tentacle on one of mine. "Daas, come to bed." She leans in one of her eyestalks. "What are you working on?"

"Geoffrey has just transmitted his latest weapon idea. He calls it a nuclear pulse cannon. I'm reviewing the schematics."

"Pulse cannon? I thought nuclear weapons just exploded?"

I look at her. "You remember that time Valerius mentioned the Orion Drive?"

She stretches her memory. "Vaguely. That's 'the detonate the bomb and use the force of the impact to move a ship' idea, right?"

"Yes. Well, he was thinking about that when he realised that a shaped armour shell could concentrate the explosion into an extremely radioactive beam of plasma. It wastes a lot of energy, but he thinks it could make nuclear bombs into the artillery we wanted to develop when we began working on the asteroids."

"No good for propulsion though."

"Definitely not. But if it means we can hit MSI with nuclear weapons from beyond their shooting down a missile range, then the weapons we have are enough to destroy the Flagship."

"Is there time to develop them?"

"I don't know dear. The theory sounds simple, it's a geometry and materials exercise. We've done the hard work of making the bomb which implodes. This would add a shaped surround that focuses the heat onto a plate of material to vaporise and fire at hundreds or thousands of kilometres per second. Roughly, depends on the bomb's energy release. I need to figure out what materials to use and what shapes for them, and then design adapter plates for the weapons we have. It might be doable to make a usable weapon out of it, although it won't be anywhere near optimised. I just don't know if there is time, we certainly can't test it without MSI knowing it. Fifteen days left. I'm going to work it out, and talk to Naomi tomorrow."

 

[HistoryDude]

Nuking the flagship from afar, huh? I like the idea...

 

[CBR JGWRR]

It's one of the first crossovers from the research for TerraGen Dominion; it's a technology that is still classified.

It's tricky figuring out where realistic weapons fit in with Stellaris' categories, as Stellaris completely handwaves heat dissipation away. (and heat rejection is the biggest restriction on ships with Stellaris' propulsion advances)