(Construct Chain (Solarium Forge-Gawain): 1 +10 (Violet) +7 (Wealth) = 18)
Progress: 4/5. In Progress.
Solarium was an ever precious resource for the Helmsmen, being the key component to their rise to greatness. Yet it was not a material without a stained history, also having almost brought their civilization to crumbling ruin. So even in the time ever since the rediscovery of the Solarium Codex, there were outliers who remembered the days of ruin and saw solarium not as a gift from the heavens, but a deviled temptation to expose the worst of people. While their braying could usually be safely ignored, it seemed the announcement of a new Solarium Forge had stirred up such hidden feelings once again.
Most alarmingly was how the ones who spoke out this time were those who happened to have a degree of influence in society, and following the thread showed they had a multitude of reasons to oppose the return to glory. From business owners who depended on privatized space mining to tenured professors that immersed themselves too deeply in history, there was the beginnings of a coalition that wanted to pause or even fully end the dependency of solarium from House Iris. They made the argument that if this was a new beginning, this was truly a time to break cleanly from the past and find a new path. One that surely would be filled with struggle and sweat, but one clean of the tainted past.
Their message was quite idealistic, delivered with quite a bit of charisma to them. It began to make it to media outlets, members of the movement being invited onboard to give earnest talks and lectures about the folly that was solarium. Even experts were being consulted for the realistic proposal of eliminating the variable that was solarium from the economy, from the military, from the people.
You had no choice. It was sedition.
A few days after tugged on some strings, you casually activated your desk computer and immediately saw the breaking news. A wave brought up a relevant clip, showing a rather distraught looking news anchor who shakily read the reports. "We...we have received reports that at the site for the Solarium Forge, there has been an attempted suicide bombing by the leader of the 'Dusk' movement. Midday, a motor vehicle matching details of the leader's personal vehicle rammed through the security checkpoints and sped all the way into the site. It was halfway to the actual station in construction before gunfire from on-site security brought it to a stop. Then, it exploded, injuring several who attempted to advance." They sucked in a breath and leaned heavily on the desk, visibly distraught. "...oh stars, I'm sorry. I was just talking to them a few days ago, they seemed so nice and well-off! But to attempt a suicide bombing-! No, no I won't believe it. Not until we get actual confirmation from analyzing the body."
It was going to be a perfect match and you knew it. After all, it could only have been them, driven to do the one thing that had usurped their entire livelihood. Their business? Suddenly in dire straits when all of their customers decided to swap to solarium. Their finances? Suddenly in the gutters due to unpaid taxes compounding in interest for building the solarium forge. Their family?
A sudden personal and agonizing split when one of them applied and was accepted into becoming a squire for a Brilliance Knight, escalating into an incident of domestic violence. One that surely would soon be discovered and pushed in the news to paint the deceased leader of the 'Dusk' as a troubled individual. It wouldn't be long before condemnations of them and their cause came trickling in, soundly destroying the coalition against building the Solarium Forge. That was the win that you earned for House Iris this day.
All you had to do was destroy somebody's life and drive them to the point of desperate insanity.
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(Design Ship (Corona-class): 27 +15 (Kat) +7 (Wealth) = 49)
Progress 7/6. Finished!
Corona-class Cruisers have been successfully tested.
Kat meekly nodded and gave the order in a quivering voice. "B-begin the t-tests. Test one...commence."
The Prisms looked eagerly while Corona in orbit was targeted by the test platform. A few minutes later, the signal flashed and a wave of projectiles was fired from one of the mounted batteries, simulating a missile attack on the cruiser. Across said ship, turrets came to life with hearty roars and began to spit out a wall of chaff that confused and prematurely detonated the incoming projectiles. Within moments, the attack was defeated and Corona was unscathed.
The Hyacinth Prism flinched from the round of sudden clapping and cheers from her peers and almost shirked, only to muster enough courage to remind everybody that the trial was ongoing. "T-test two! We...we will commence!" She squeaked.
Next from the test platform, a series of tubes fired off large pieces of crudely shaped metal that represented targets. Now it was time for Corona to demonstrate her offensive capabilities. There was the hiss of her own batteries unveiling themselves, their silo doors neatly sliding open. A moment later, then there was a flood of long-range missiles soaring towards the targets. They were hits without doubt, and the targets were torn apart to the whoops of the watching researchers.
Still, Kat managed to retain her calm and choked out the final part. "C-commence...commence test three!" This was the one that had the others immediately quiet and still, eyes locked on to the final performance of the cruiser before them today. It was also the most dangerous one, hence the decision to leave it for last, and to take time building it up.
The large cannon barrel slowly cranked into place while those onboard Corona scrambled to positions and braced. Nearby emergency ships warmed up their engines and prepared for the worst. Then, the platform fired the simulation of a ballistic attack at the prototype ship. The solid shot hit the side at the calculated angle and properly ricocheted off, a glancing hit that definitely wasn't going to be the true battlefield experience but as close as they dared in these test conditions with a crew onboard.
There was a moment where everybody waited with bated breath, unsure if to let the crew onboard swiftly assess damage or if to already begin rescue operations. Seconds before the agreed-upon 'failure' deadline, the all-clear signal was broadcast from Corona, along with a helpful damage report. Minor structural damage, nothing too significant. Estimated fix time: the same amount of time it would take to get some paint buckets to cover up the hit.
Now there was nothing to hold back the collective Prisms from excitedly celebrating their success. They had done it, their first Cruiser for the reborn House Iris, the first ship under the newly crowned Solar Queen! Kat unfortunately found herself at the center of these eager handshakes and hugs, looking like she wanted nothing more than to melt into the floor. The best she could do is muster a very awkward and halfhearted smiles to the representatives from the Andernia Defense Systems Corporation.
She really wished her lady was here instead, she was the perfect individual for these social situations!
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- Normally, Violet is not that brutal, especially to her own people. But it's a Nat 1. It felt appropriate to have a little grim reminder that for all the silliness she can be, Webmaster Violet is very scary.
- Man, the rolls this turn really were lacking huh? Wonder if perhaps that's the shock finally settling in about the brave new galaxy.
