The Codexian Saga LP

[Radisshu]

Great generals do not make foolish decisions. They are cunning, not boisterous. What is power without proper implementation, and focus?

 

[Angthoron]

We got to a standstill at the moment. Sure, if we fully mobilize, we might gain momentum - but the neutral clans will go against us, and then the Hin'in will have a legitimate case against us and they will be intervening to help, both making their eventual blitz easier and making us weaker.

They'll do what the Turanei did to the Phyrries and roll onwards with new resources, except Turanei actually sound honourable, if brutal. C is the way, comrades!

 

[laclongquan]

My fellow councillors! Our might is great, our cunning is greater!

Why do we have to rush to defeat them to preserve the Confederacy? That's what choice A amount to.

Both A and C lead to the final destination: the mighty Codexia show its hyperweapon to heaven.

But in A. the jewbugs retain its reedy Confederacy, while C will lead to the gigiantic monolith Codexia with the formless horde of jewbugs milling around.

I ask again, why do we need to preserve their society?

 

[treave]

Actually there's no certainty at all that the Confederacy will be dismantled in C.

The only difference is that in A, we go at it immediately, while in C we attempt to gather the support of the clans before going at it. Either way it is likely that the Confederacy will be preserved, albeit with us having a greater influence in the end.

Remember, option C only says that we reveal the treachery of the Hin'in to the clans. It doesn't even say if we join in the battle on the Raumen side.

edit: Of course, I'm curious if we can't just begin the major offensive while broadcasting to all clans the extent of Hin'in interference - using their presence as an excuse to put our foot down and launch a heavy assault on Four Suns territory. That would certainly sway some clans, keeping them off our backs and possibly even netting us allies, while allowing us to maintain our momentum. Once they see Hin'in warships defending the Four Suns, they will be convinced and throw their lot in with us anyway.

 

[Angthoron]

Option A will likely mean a Great Clan Gathering against us. Option C will likely mean a Great Clan Gathering against Hin'in. The benefit is rather clear.

See, if we invade full strength without announcing our motives, we're seen as invaders. If we set Hin'in up, we'll be seen as something slightly more positive.

 

[treave]

On the point of the Great Clan Gathering, are we privy to any information regarding the number of clans in the Three Tone, the Four Suns and neutral clans?

If what I suspect is correct, a war of such magnitude has likely split most of the Confederacy in two. I do not believe any of the neutral clans are strong enough to challenge us, or it would have been a three-way war. They are in no position to call a Muster, weakened and divided as they are.

Of course, all bets are off if the Hin'in Council picks option C and fabricates lies with which to slander us, claiming that we offered to split the Raumen Confederacy with them and that our spies started this conflict.

 

[Jack]

We will handle the Hin'in in due time.
I think we need to resolve this bug conflict first.
The Hin'in are worthy opponents of Codexia, but I rather not fight them and the bugs at the same time.

Codexia is great but not invincible.
After we have claimed the bugs territory as our own we can again gather the strength to lift our great war hammer.
We will strike hard and fearless, in due time.

The Hin'in are hourable, they have told us their intentions.
We should not attack them in any way, that would give both the bugs and them reason to unite against us.

 

[Conkrete Knight]

Hmmm, A seems to be impossible to win. And even if we would it would come at a great price.
Raumenispace as puppet state would however be a nice thing.

B is tempting. It would seriuosly strengthen our empire. However had the Hiin been our neighbours, we would not have gotten that loan.
We would have gotten an invading fleet, free of charge.
A neighbour bend on conquest is not a nice thing in any way.

C depends wholly on how the Raumenei see the situation. Is there a moral difference between what we are doing and the Hiin position?
That and the fact that we do not have an influence on who the leader of the great muster would be, possibly risking a anti-codexian faction gaining power.


In the moment however I am going to vote C

May it trigger a great muster, a crusade into Hiin lands in which our troops may gather experience alongside our venerated customers!

 

[praetor]

Of course, all bets are off if the Hin'in Council picks option C and fabricates lies with which to slander us, claiming that we offered to split the Raumen Confederacy with them and that our spies started this conflict.

that's what i'm afraid of, and give that they seem like especially cunning and devious creatures i would wager that would be their preferred outcome.

and let us not forget that the hin'n previously defeated a great mustering of all clans. dwell on that

for now, my choice would be B, but with immediately starting a covert campaign of sabotage and subterfuge (secretly revealing the hin'in plans to the clans and hope for the best etc...)

 

[Angthoron]

They weren't defeated enough to become part of the Hin'in empire, however.

 

[laclongquan]

That possibility is indeed worthy of thoughts. And should that happen, it will come down to whether the bugs trust us better than the Hiin or not. We had one war with them, and a long term trade relationship.

On the other hand, I would like my fellow councillors to think of this: the mindslaved clan elders accuse us of backdealing with the Hiin, and this Civil war happened due to our meddling. And this action happen WHILE we are attacking full strength (option A).

From these two happy thoughts, I still think option C is better. Sometimes moral highground is still better, esp when we had no alternative.

 

[obediah]

VOTE: C

Justification:

I can't tell much of a difference between A and C, except that A alludes to telling the noodles about the Hin'in plot and C explicitely states it. I'm in favor of supporting our bugs to the bitter end (or at least their existence as our puppet buffer), and exposing the Hin'in plot as promising way of securing the rest of the bugs to our cause.

B is a recipe for disaster. While some of our councilors may support expansion at the cost of our humanity, our history shows us that the citizens of Codexia are going to have issues with another war and the cost of indefinite occupation.

I thought I was reasonably clearly picking C

You were, obediah, that was the Barbarian's baseline illiteracy at work.

no worries, illiteracy is better than gridlock!

 

[obediah]

And here's a little question for the Barbarian.

How does the conquest of an empire work in his universe? Is it clean 4X style, where you kill their ships and a few marines and then build movie theatres for a year or two and everything is cool? Or is it more the grimdark stuff of resistance, xenophobia, planetary destruction and near extinction?

From previous rounds, it seems much more the latter, at least for the current level of civilization in our galactic neighborhood.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Do you really think anyone would believe us in option C? They have killed millions of each other, if not billions. You think they would just drop that because we have some fuzzy video showing Hin'in dealings?

Nay, let's go with B but we'll play the role of Ribbentrop! Get the area settled, up ramp our military production, fortify the border, spy on the telepaths (are we sure they are telepaths? Have we tried scanning on the whole ME range - maybe they communicate with microwaves or gamma rays that we could block/eavesdrop) and then KICK THEIR ASS!

But for now, option B is the only sane choice!

 

[Angthoron]

Do you really think anyone would believe us in option C? They have killed millions of each other, if not billions. You think they would just drop that because we have some fuzzy video showing Hin'in dealings?

Nay, let's go with [b]B[/b] but we'll play the role of Ribbentrop! Get the area settled, up ramp our military production, fortify the border, spy on the telepaths (are we sure they are telepaths? Have we tried scanning on the whole ME range - maybe they communicate with microwaves or gamma rays that we could block/eavesdrop) and then KICK THEIR ASS!

But for now, option B is the only sane choice!

Sane how? Come on, it's an obvious trap. Our delegates were unprepared for telepathy and gave up all they knew within moments. Of course they offered us this deal. Once Raumen find out about it - and they will - they won't look at us as a simple side helping out a couple of clans fight out a civil war. We will be seen as invaders that the Hin'in trapped in a cunning trap. The Hin'in aren't stupid - they want the Raumen empire, as much of it as they can, and they want us crippled. Both first options are leading up to being crippled - we just do what they would expect us to do. We must dictate our own terms, we must fight our own battles. They can control one, ten, hundred leaders - but they cannot control entire empires through their mind tricks. Combined powers of Codexia and Raumen would crush their offensive. Yes, we would be gaining an enemy.

But enemies are the price of honour.

 

[madbringer]

*limps inside the council chamber, covered from beard to toes in frosty residue*

Ladies, gentlemen, fellow councillors! I have missed much due to a forced absence, and i see much has changed in fair Codexia. And for the worse, i might add. Oh well, notjing i could do to avoid that freak accident involving scotch and a banana peel in the cryo storage locker.

Still, i am bewildered - nay, distasted, at some things i've observed. Why, on my way here a rotund bear manservant offered me a cup of tea! A door spoke to me, demanding a verification of identity before letting me in here, all the while mocking my cold-bound predicament! Verily, insanity is abound. And now i learned we are in the middle of a inner-bug civil war, aiding a side instead of either letting them bleed out and coming in later to pick up the pieces or outright slaughtering the whole vile lot!

*shakes head*

I need to study the archives in more detail to form an accurate assessment of our current situation. Meanwhile, i put forth a project to ban bananas. And doors. Damn their malicious ways!

 

[The Barbarian]

Or is it more the grimdark stuff of resistance, xenophobia, planetary destruction and near extinction?

The Barbarian takes a common sense approach to these things - which usually leads to grimdark.

 

[Jack]

Do you really think anyone would believe us in option C? They have killed millions of each other, if not billions. You think they would just drop that because we have some fuzzy video showing Hin'in dealings?

Nay, let's go with [b]B[/b] but we'll play the role of Ribbentrop! Get the area settled, up ramp our military production, fortify the border, spy on the telepaths (are we sure they are telepaths? Have we tried scanning on the whole ME range - maybe they communicate with microwaves or gamma rays that we could block/eavesdrop) and then KICK THEIR ASS!

But for now, option B is the only sane choice!

Sane how? Come on, it's an obvious trap. Our delegates were unprepared for telepathy and gave up all they knew within moments. Of course they offered us this deal. Once Raumen find out about it - and they will - they won't look at us as a simple side helping out a couple of clans fight out a civil war. We will be seen as invaders that the Hin'in trapped in a cunning trap. The Hin'in aren't stupid - they want the Raumen empire, as much of it as they can, and they want us crippled. Both first options are leading up to being crippled - we just do what they would expect us to do. We must dictate our own terms, we must fight our own battles. They can control one, ten, hundred leaders - but they cannot control entire empires through their mind tricks. Combined powers of Codexia and Raumen would crush their offensive. Yes, we would be gaining an enemy.

But enemies are the price of honour.

Perhaps they aren't even telepathic, trough my neural implants I can give orders to 252 captains at once without uttering a word.
I have already taken the necessary precautions and am now more machine than man. Even if they are telepathic they wouldn't be able to control me.
Every brainwave is monitored.
I am now capable of running dozens of simulations and evaluations as I analyze problems.
I have ascended.
My hate and wisdom are ethernal.

*limps inside the council chamber, covered from beard to toes in frosty residue*

Ladies, gentlemen, fellow councillors! I have missed much due to a forced absence, and i see much has changed in fair Codexia. And for the worse, i might add. Oh well, notjing i could do to avoid that freak accident involving scotch and a banana peel in the cryo storage locker.

Still, i am bewildered - nay, distasted, at some things i've observed. Why, on my way here a rotund bear manservant offered me a cup of tea! A door spoke to me, demanding a verification of identity before letting me in here, all the while mocking my cold-bound predicament! Verily, insanity is abound. And now i learned we are in the middle of a inner-bug civil war, aiding a side instead of either letting them bleed out and coming in later to pick up the pieces or outright slaughtering the whole vile lot!

*shakes head*

I need to study the archives in more detail to form an accurate assessment of our current situation. Meanwhile, i put forth a project to ban bananas. And doors. Damn their malicious ways!

Glad to have you back, councillor.

 

[Jaedar]

By the way, what happened to our loan when the confederacy dissipated? Or did we just borrow from a specific clan(the original question still stands though)?

 

[Angthoron]

And yet, Councillor, perhaps they are. You take these aliens for granted too much. We've only recently caught up. We're only on par with the other powers around us - presumably. You were not in the delegation - unfortunately. But be this as it may, we're not gods yet. There are things others possess that are more powerful than what we do. The Hin'in are ready for a war. And they might have knowledge of us through the Raumen that we do not have of them.



On a sidenote, another question to Barbarian! What do the Hin'in creatures look like anyway? I mean, besides already mentioned. Is there anything of note?

 

[treave]

What is the current status of voting, Calculator-Magos Jack?

 

[Angthoron]

1-9-9, 1-10-10 with Orgasm's vote.

Hooray for Orgasm!

Hooray for accidentally skipping vote counts! :cough:

 

[Orgasm]

VOTE: C

Mark your votes clearly for future easy counting. First line in a reply. Like above.
Btw, that is my vote, you warmongering savages.

 

[treave]

You sure option B has 9 people?

root, taplonaplo, TNO, juggernaut, Jack, lightbane, Jaedar, heechee1, praetor, Garfunkel voted for B if I'm not mistaken...

 

[Angthoron]

Ah, yes, my bad, one vote slipped my eye somehow.

1-10-10 it is.