DW: Republic of Arcadia, Part 2: Extortion and Treachery

Stardate 2101.03.28  The Gas Mining Station at Arcadia is completed, and construction of an Energy Research Station in orbit around Arcadia Prime begins. The Senate passes a bill to begin construction of a space navy in order to protect Arcadian assets, but the bill is vetoed by President Karl Bendu.  

"We seek only to explore the solar system in peace," says the President. "We have no need to sully space by weaponizing it." Arguments made by the opposition that our stations already have defensive weapons are ignored.

2101.05.11  The Energy Research Station is completed.  Civilians are building ships at Arcadia Prime Space Port, eager to take advantage of the new mining stations.

Meanwhile, Columbia arrives at the gas giant Orcus.

2101.05.20  The first two civilian ships are built, the Gas Mining Ships Profit of Helios and Cautious Bluff.

2101.08.06 More civilian ships are built, and construction begins on a High Technology Research Station.

2101.12.01 Exploration ship Discovery discovers a Stone Tomb at Eta Tucanae 1.

The curious crew decides to explore it, and it leads to an amazing discovery.

With the discovery of hyperdrive technology, soon humanity will truly be able to return to the stars.  Yet, as if in response to the discovery, the Grim Gang pirates decide to show up.

2102.12.02 Two frigates under control of the Grim Gang pirates, Dark Despair and Decisive Scorpion, exit hyperspace in Arcadia orbit. They threaten to attack the newly built mining station unless they are paid protection money. The president urges that the government pay them off, but the Senate vows not to be cowed by this blatant extortion and refuses to authorize it.

In response, Dark Despair and Decisive Scorpion begin an attack run on the Arcadia Mining Station. The RA is powerless to intervene.

In an emergency session the Senate authorizes the construction of a navy to defend the Republic. A corvette to protect the Republic, and order six to be constructed immediately.

The Ikazuchi-class corvette carries barely half the firepower of one of the pirate frigates, but with six of them on order, the Republic Navy (RN) hopes to be able to fend them off when the time comes.

2102.12.15 The Grim Gang initiate a boarding action.  They raid the station and make off with money--however it is far less than what they demanded from the RA.

Apparently the Grim Gang is angered at their small take, so as they depart they brutally destroy the station.

In the aftermath of this tragedy, the Senate uncovers that President Bendu is corrupt. Apparently he has been talking to the pirates and was involved in arranging their arrival, and that is why he vetoed the initial Senate bill to construct a navy. His presidency does not survive the scandal, and he is forced to resign in disgrace. His brother, Thomas Bendu, a noted ambassador, also resigns.

[It was an interesting confluence of events--just as the pirates arrived and dictated terms, my empire's leader acquired the character trait "corrupt." It just made sense, so I decided to go with it and dismiss him. These political maneuverings are not within the game itself, but characters do advance and acquire traits. As the game progresses, I will make similar decisions if it makes sense within the narrative of the story. Also, there is the potential that an empire's leader can remain the leader indefinitely. However, since I decided that my empire is in fact a republic, I will dismiss each leader after his term is up. This may not be the best decision in terms of gameplay, but this is supposed to be a fun exercise. If things really go bad for the government, who knows, there might be a revolution...]

2102.01.01 With the beginning of a new year the Republic is facing difficult challenges. It continues to grow, but the solar system is already more dangerous than expected. The Republic hopes it is up to the task.