Quoted By:
This is bad. Not only are the Consortium serious about trying to take The Stand and humiliate the Hegemony's military- they are now on the verge of having a nigh-unbeatable weapon. While the Consortium will almost certainly not press the attack and advantage- as in they won't invade the Hegemony past The Stand- it does mean you'll lose the Azurium, as well as whatever civilian presence has since moved there- and experience a great loss of prestige for your own reign. You would loathe to lose your first and only battle against a bunch of filthy, honorless <span class="mu-i">capitalists</span>.
To make things worse- the prototype is being build deep in Consortium space, meaning it cannot be written off as a border conflict if you went to destroy it with your main fleet- such a thing would be the same as a massive invasion- an all-out war with the Consortium. This is the exact sort of prolonged conflict you would likely lose to them- given their superior population and manufacturing output. They could drown you in their mass.
You are now at an impasse. You cannot allow the Consortium to finish this Battleship- or face certain defeat. But neither can you simply waltz over and crush it with your might. Your short reign has always relied on the prestige and authority of your position to get what you want- and now you cannot use either to stop this threat. You have to actually solve a serious problem- and none of the solutions are without loss or risk.
<span class="mu-g">”...What are my options, Threes?”</span>
“I have assorted a list with possible outcomes based on predictable models. Our advantage- technology and the element of surprise. Their advantage? Time- the battleship will be finished in just a few short years. I will begin our attack the moment you decide. Please choose wisely, my Lord.”
<span class="mu-s">1-Post IDs cannot vote on this prompt.</span>
>Use the Biobots to Assassinate key figures (50% chance to succeed OR delay the Attack by +1d6 years: Biobots are discovered in both scenarios)
>Send in the Stealth Cruisers (100% chance to succeed, your Stealth Cruisers are no longer a secret to all factions going forward, slightly escalates conflict, suicide mission for the crews)
>Launch an FTL Nuclear Payload (75% chance to succeed, escalates conflict, violates a core Hegemony belief)
>Do Nothing (Battleship will increase Consortium Fleet Strength by +100% during invasion sequence)
