This should be fun: I get to come out of the research lab and run the whole empire for a change! I wonder if I'll be any good at it. Let's see. Everything looks okay, except for one huge problem: We're not doing enough research! I fix this immediately. Oh, and we apparently formed a Non-Aggression Pact with the erratic Klackons at some point. I'm not sure Ixitixl is actually any crazier than we are! Oh, well. I'll try and make the most of it anyway.
2361: We finally have spies in Klackon space again. The bugs now have Controlled Barren Environment - the clock is ticking - and Inertial Stabilizer. I'm sure Refcon will find this very enlightening. For my part, I ... well, I guess our spies can maybe advance the cause of science ... a little ... maybe.
2362: Hey, look at that! I guess they really can!
Our choice in effect is between ECM Jammer Mark I and Why Would Anyone Want to Live on a Hostile Planet technology, since the collection of zanies who ruled our empire before me didn't bother picking up any technology as advanced as the Klackons' Irridium cells. Obviously, I go for the computers; this should help future spying efforts a bit at least. Oh, and you can see here that Meklon is about to finally complete its infrastructure. I don't think we'll be lacking research anymore for a little while.
2365: Shield research finally comes through; that means a single missile base should obviate an infinite number of Klackon fighters as long as it can fend off whatever larger support they bring. The best I can do from here is to try and miniaturize it into a Personal Deflector Shield, which is of no real use except to open the way toward new ideas. I'll invest in it v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y; there are just too many other projects that are more important, and (apart from Hyper-V rockets) they're all going to take a long time. ... A very long time. I kind of miss being back in the lab, actually doing things.
2366: I wonder what they're doing with the advanced linear accelerator now. I bet they're advancing the state of the art and everything. I wonder if they could put a mock-up of me in the throne room so I could go down there and join them. I wonder ... mumhmmm ... not so much to do as emperor, is there, really? Still, it's ... an ... um ... honorrr ... ummum ... zzzzzzzzzzzzz....
Hey there! Travel Minister Refcreactional Turing here! Bored reading some stupid scientist's report that's hit a slow bit? Looking for something interesting to see? Why not tour the Meklar Empire? Here's an exerpt from one of our amazing package tours!
And on the tour itself, you'll actually get to visit those worlds! Imagine relaxing for your health in a restorative mud bath on Jinga, or filling your pockets with Berel "fools' sapphires" - trick your friends and family! - and then kicking back for the trip through space in our luxury liners in between worlds! All for just a few BC!
OOC COMMENTS: Okay, so remember how Incedius looked like a hostile planet from the combat screen but turned out to be habitable? Well, I realized why. Above are my favorite results (so far!) of the map edit Sullla had to do to make this game work out properly. It actually will affect gameplay very slightly, as I won't always know which worlds to prioritize as targets from the combat screen, but I'll just take that to be part of our variant: A planet's environment type can not be absolutely determined without removing its defenses.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled report from the Acting Head! Take it away, Refrens eBook!
2370: Wha ... numm ... errr... No! I'm awake! I'm awake! Wasn't sleeping! At all! Especially not for a continuous period of several years! Okay! Uh ... let's see here. Looks like that blue star south of the bugs is barren (or something - they might have just pulled Tundra, or it might have been a habitable they forgot for a few decades) as it's now the Klackon colony of Arietis. The insects are feeling amiable, a state which could change instantly for no reason. We could have breakthroughs in computers and weapons at any moment, and our trade with the bugs is in the black, yielding a whopping three billion credits per year (yipeeeee...). Empire-wide unemployment is down to about 60% in spite of heavy research spending, with our planets almost fully populated. And ... uh ... that's it. How come I got the boring years?
_______________
Next: Cha-Ching!
