Let's Play Stellaris: Part 37 - Rebuilding

"Whatever has the Homolog worried. Find it before it finds us." - Oligarch Septima Egnatius addressing <<redacted>> 

Stardate: 11-10-2407

With the war concluded and the Unified Uriy Suns being forced to accept becoming a corporate subsidiary of the Cartel they once again turned their attention inward. Whilst it was without a doubt an overwhelming victory it was the most costly military campaign to date. Dozens of corvette and destroyer class vessels had been lost in the years of fighting and nearly five entire divisions of ground forces had been lost taking the Uriy Suns capital. It was decided by the board to adopt a defensive mindset whilst losses were replenished and new technologies integrated into the fleet.

However, the Uriy Suns had been an easy target, to begin with, given their isolationist tendencies whomever their next target would be would not be quite so easy to deal with. The possibilities were debated at length but Oligarch Septima Egnatius was far more cautious with the New Dyss Khanate an enormous potential threat and the Galactic Ymacera Assembly ever eager to hurl insults there were clearly no easy choices.

Whilst the debate was furious on both sides it was eventually decided to hold off on any further aggressive expansion pending a complete refit of the navy as well as the expansion of all three current fleets with plans for a fourth being drawn up. Also with the new additions to Cartel territory a defensive plan was also put into place to shore up what the board dubbed the outer-systems. The core of Cartel space remained the highest priority for any form of defence spending.

The war and the preparations for it had been costly, depleting the Cartel's vast reserves in order to fund their growing military but the subsidisation of the Uriy Suns proved to be a massive boost allowing the Cartel to quickly recover and begin the monumental task of rebuilding the fleets.

The galaxy at large, sees power consolidating with larger empires and smaller ones being consumed.

The economies quick recovery ensured that the efforts of the Cartel could be directed elsewhere after only a year, with Oligarch Septima Egnatius opting to fund a massive increase in the scientific output of the Cartel. This was fuelled by the increasing realisation that they were for all intents and purposes standing alone with their association status among the Golden Alliance being no more than a glorified non-aggression pact by the board and military command alike.

With that in mind and knowing they could never match the numbers of the rapidly growing empire of the Dyss nor ever be accepted into any kind of true federation, they opted to widen the technological gap further. Colonia Dwarvian originally slated to become a vast urban world soon became instead a world dedicated to research, with laboratory complexes rivalling the size of some city-states.

The initiative soon gained an official title within the Cartel merely dubbed 'Plan: Think Tank' it was put into action midway through 2409, with every world being required to construct and staff at least one research complex or at the very least provide materials needed to support those of other worlds.

The victorious first fleet awaiting much-needed repairs and fresh ships following the Uriy Sun's campaign.

Technologies once thought the realm of fantasy soon became more feasible, projects previously thought to take decades to research were now possible within years. The pace at which new technology was researched during this period was immense and quickly looked to outpace all but the vast machine intelligence of the Prime Wardens. The public face painted it as a technological golden age, proving the Cartel's superiority intellectually as well as militarily for all to see. However, behind closed doors plans were in motion to hone the already vast fleet to the razor's edge of technology with the New Dyss Khanate being the most likely next target.

In 2412, research into the precursor race known as the Yuht finally made significant progress after centuries of it being no more than a scientific curiosity. Relics and ruins were scoured and all the information they had collated and catalogued finally moving it from mere history to potentially profitable, scientists had located the system of the Yuht's homeworld.

A previously undiscovered hyper-lane link in the Jor Mon Dir system near the heart of Cartel space was located and a science ship immediately deployed to investigate. The Yuuhtan system proved to be well worth the effort of discovering if not for learning the fate of the Yuuht then the vast quantities of resources the system held.

The fate of the Yuuht was something of a cautionary tale, beginning as explorers hunting for other intelligent life for a long time in vain they eventually stumbled across a younger race whose very nature terrified them. Opting to destroy them rather than co-exist the Yuuht attempted to wipe them out only to be beaten back by technologies the Yuuht had not even considered and were eventually obliterated entirely by the younger race. The only remnant of this vast empire was the remains of ships in orbit and the bombed-out remnants of the Yuuht's arcologies.

A science ship examines the broken remnants of the Yuht homeworld. 

The Public Relations department spun it as a tale to never under-estimate an opponent, something which resonated after the war with the Uriy Suns but the board of directors and military command were more concerned. What had happened to this younger race who had annihilated an entire species and if they still existed at all.

As 2417 began the most enigmatic of the Cartel's neighbours, the Homolog Continuum once again proved to be a boon as they granted the Cartel three of their escort class vessels, these destroyer sized vessels rivalled even the Aurora class cruisers of the Cartel in firepower and endurance. Whilst certainly grateful of the added firepower Oligarch Septima Egnatius along with the board began to worry. Whilst their goals for the last two hundred years had always been convoluted a clear pattern was beginning to emerge they were being prepared to fight or at least survive some unnamed threat.

All attempts to gain further information as to the nature of this threat were all ignored by the Homolog Continuum leaving the Cartel wondering if they were just faulty robots or this threat was truly real. Likely the most secretive plan to date and given no more than the vague title of 'Directive 1' the Black Ops Site aboard Targon station was given the singular goal of finding this unnamed threat so as to better prepare a course of action. The galaxy wide criminal network was also put into action for the same purpose although no-one outside the board of directors knew the purpose of Directive 1.

Whatever it was, they wanted to know about it sooner rather than later.

The Homolog Continuum's latest gift of three Escort class destroyers, carrying almost as much firepower as the Cartel's Constantine class battleships.

If you missed the last part you can find it here!