Covert Operations - Morgan

[Googlie]

Morgan has 3 longstriders in service, 2 of which are garrisoning bases.

His trannie is out and about (pointing West)

I'm surmising that he's about to pay a call on Zak at Climatic Research to extract a tech coincidentally with researching/getting from us Ecol Eng

If, next turn, we take Otk-Dis and bully Zak into transferring control of Monitoring Station, how about we buylly him into selling Climatic Research to us as well?

that way, assuming Morgan is still en-route, he'll have to risk Vendetta with us to steal a tech (of course he'll infiltrate us if we don't have a probe defender there, but we're reckoning it's only a matter of time before they get Governorship anyway

Pippi (Longstrider) would be in ClimRes suburbs anyway with 9 tiles of road between Argos and E x 1 from Otk-Dis, so it may be moot anyway (assuming that we don't use him for taking down the perim defense at MonStat)

[Maniac]

Of course the more bases we can get for free from Zakharov, the better. But I don't understand why you would be willing to risk infiltration by the Morganites by taking over Climactic Research while we don't have any probes near. Why else have we been building all those Crypteia if it isn't for protection against the Morganites? I hope not to defend against the Angels and Gaians, who only just recently acquired DocFlex? If Zak accepted submission, could we not ask to turn over Climactic Research later, if we wanted to?

Is it really a matter of time before Morgan will become governor? Could we not convince the other factions to all vote for Yang, because voting for a human would make him too powerful?

[Googlie]

Originally posted by Maniac
But I don't understand why you would be willing to risk infiltration by the Morganites by taking over Climactic Research while we don't have any probes near. Why else have we been building all those Crypteia if it isn't for protection against the Morganites? I hope not to defend against the Angels and Gaians, who only just recently acquired DocFlex? If Zak accepted submission, could we not ask to turn over Climactic Research later, if we wanted to?

That's exactly what I've been advocating.

If his 3 longstrider probes are in bases, and his 2 probefoils accounted for, it'd be a go for Clim Res in 2154.

Otherwiae we call Zak and buy it in 2155, by which time our own Longstrider will be there (assuming in 2154 that we rush Argos' Crypteia)

[Googlie]

Interesting to see how paranoid Morgan has become re getting infiltrated by the Angels/Gaians "doing a Sparta"

He's doubled his basic probe defenders in his Eastern and Western seaboard bases - just left his northern 2 with one apiece

[Snoddasmannen]

Should be tougher for the Gaian/Angels to get infiltration then, and I guess that they will have to buy their info from us Is that typically done in MP games? Selling infiltration info?

[Googlie]

Yeah - it's quite common

[Maniac]

Originally posted by Googlie
Interesting to see how paranoid Morgan has become re getting infiltrated by the Angels/Gaians "doing a Sparta"

He's doubled his basic probe defenders in his Eastern and Western seaboard bases - just left his northern 2 with one apiece

Perhaps we should send them a message: "We are flattered you deem it necessary to guard your eastern bases so well."

[Googlie]

And it won't help them a hoot when the 1st Expeditionary Army, commanded by Major Kassiopeia, moves off Arcadia thru Climatic Research to storm the beaches at Morgan Musssels, and the 2nd Expeditionary Army, led by Lt Col Maniac and his Spartan Kel, storms ashore at Vander Eudaimonics!!!

[Snoddasmannen]

Originally posted by Maniac
Perhaps we should send them a message: "We are flattered you deem it necessary to guard your eastern bases so well."

Hey perhaps we should?

What of the psychology involved? It tells them that we are watching them, sure, but it also tells them we don't really mind them knowing that we are watching them. It might even be perceived as a casual mocking remark, which simply by the fact that we are making such casual remarks indicates that we are not planning an attack (in which case such remarks would be much more taboo).

Oh just a thought. And anyway, it would be fun for them to receive, and it would be fun to see the response we get

[Googlie]

Here's their pre-war builds and their during-war builds

Looks like they popped a couple of pods (insta speeder crawler and also a gator boat rushed for 8 turns)

But it doesn't look l;ike much of a war footing to me

[Snoddasmannen]

It looks like they will not be a threat to us militarily, they certainly have nothing to attack us with. I guess they just decided that having a strategic cooperation with us was no longer desirable. They must also have thought (silly people!) that an attack was imminent and probably just took the opportunity to seize the initiative...

[Kassiopeia]

It is probable that they somehow determined that we were going to go to war with them and they decided to try to force the issue to a moment when they'd gain the most of it - ergo, they cut off the payments as soon as possible and grabbed thte Hunter while at it. I suppose it nets them an advantage in the long run - but how did they surmise that we were ready to attack them?

[Snoddasmannen]

I guess it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that there's a high possibility we might. We are a military faction, with a large standing army, and they are our biggest competitor.

Also, we weren't being extremely friendly, what with the whole probe thing and the Modo doctrine.

[Googlie]

I think that they are still smarting over the whole infiltration/probeteam loss situation and that's being exacerbated by our Modo Doctrine.

They saw a chance to "get even" and being opportunistic, took it.

I'm sure that they think we have our work cut out for us with the Arcadia Invasion, and thus will be powerless to react - or at least, give them a few turns to beef up defences. (They'd get a surprise when they read the Phalanx and saw how readily Zak surrendered!!)

Little do they know of the steely determination of the Spartan Federation - we are poised like a cobra, to strike in any direction!!

[Modo44]

Originally posted by Googlie
They saw a chance to "get even" and being opportunistic, took it.

That's a possibility, yes. A stupid move for them, but hey - they are greedy people, as we know.

Originally posted by Googlie
I'm sure that they think we have our work cut out for us with the Arcadia Invasion, and thus will be powerless to react - or at least, give them a few turns to beef up defences. (They'd get a surprise when they read the Phalanx and saw how readily Zak surrendered!!)

I don't think so. The recent movements on their borders show they considered us a threat, even before Zak surrendered. My guess is, they might a bit stunned by the quick end to that war, but not completely surprised. I guess we'll know much better next turn.

Originally posted by Googlie
Little do they know of the steely determination of the Spartan Federation - we are poised like a cobra, to strike in any direction!!

I concur.