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Major Empires Revealed
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by Veteran Gerakken - 2/15/2004 5:46:33 PM
Welcome to Major Empires Revealed. I am your host, Spymaster Gerakken. This is a sporadic series of reports detailing some of what makes top ten empires tick in terms of alignment, preferred difficulty level, and some insight into their culture.
Note: Due to a sudden shift in the Metaverse so close to press time, today's report actually highlights the current #11 empire.
The Meta can be a harsh place. Many, many battles are fought every day. Territory changes hands often, and empires can rise or fall quickly. But in this rough place survives an empire of jolly, fun-loving overlords who rose out of obscurity and spread their culture across the Metaverse. This report highlights the Aldarian Empire.
Very Good : 2
Chaotic Good: 7
Neutral : 0
Chaotic Evil: 1
Very Evil : 0
Overall alignment: 90% good.
Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 0
Simple : 1
Beginner : 0
Normal : 1
Challenging: 1
Tough : 1
Painful : 1
Crippling : 2
Masochistic: 3
Suicidal: 0
Toughness : 7.70
Aldar was one of those children the jocks shunned: the last kid picked for any team. It was a lonely existance, but it toughened Aldar up for the trials ahead. Aldar eventually joined the ranks of the Metaverse overlords only to once again be a loner. Undiscouraged and determined to make his own way in the Meta despite the odds, Aldar made his own empire and started the Kingdom of Aldar. Many months passed and Aldar was still alone, a king with no subjects, but never did he despair. He was confident that one day he could show them all that he was not at the mercy of anyone else. If he were to be an outcast and a misfit it would be by his own rules and not subject to the whims of popular people.
Finally, a few other overlords started to join his Kingdom. Some because they too felt like the last kid picked and others simply out of admiration of such a determined leader willing to defy what seemed to be an entire Metaverse single handedly. The Kingdom then morphed in to the Aldarian Republic to better represent the interests of the members. These misfits of the Meta play by their own rules. They have fun, play hard, and drink even harder. There was no need to be beholden to the calendar and culture of others. They just made their own calendar with its very own holidays, all being good excuses to drink heavily and behave badly, called DHABB for short. Soon the popular people took notice of these Aldarians. Aldarian parties were simply cooler than the normal social affairs. Few empires could match such drunken and disorderly affairs where every day could be a party. At least a party on somebody's calendar somewhere and therefore a good excuse to live it up.
Even more joined the Republic. The increasing Aldarian popularity both in attracting new members and spreading their unique culture across the rest of the Meta led to Aldar deciding a Republic was too unwieldy for the Aldarian lifestyle. So many unregulated parties made handling conflicting party logistics a nightmare and loosely guarded borders tempted visitors and they were also adding to the chaos already happening within. This made administration a hassle. A more direct, centralized government was deemed necessary to maintain a semblance of order. The now active Aldarian social life needed to be well catered, foreign guests had to be kept from misbehaving too badly outside of government sanctioned events, and international incidents involving Aldarian citizens causing too much chaos in foreign space had to be contained. It was thought an empire would have a stronger hand for these tasks and the Aldarian Republic morphed into the Aldarian Empire of today.
Aldarian military doctrine is unique in that it uses a drunken fighting style. A small number of large command ships mounted with huge energy cannons and their screen of missile cruisers and small interceptors oversee the battle and engage at long ranges, much like a conventional fleet, but the main battle is fought by hordes of skirmishing small ships and fighters all executing sloppy and erratic movements. Whether these movements are intentional or accidental depends on each pilot's current level of DHABB activity, but the net effect is to throw the enemy off balance. One does not know where the thrust of the attack will come from, and a sudden change in tactics is impossible to read. A frustrated enemy may then fall into a deadly trap by simply trying to plow through the skirmishers to charge the command fleet and try to end the fight by taking them out. Then the enemy gets surrounded and not only take fire from all sides from the skirmishers, but are also pinned neatly into place for the command fleet's deadly fire. The major weakness is a lack of heavy weapons in front. The skirmishers have only light energy weapons and mostly agile light missiles designed for engaging fighters. They are not very effective in killing large ships, and thus try to cripple the larger enemy ships for the command group to finish off with their large guns and waves of large anti-ship missiles. Collisions and friendly fire incidents are, of course, also common, and controlling such inherently loose and unstable formations of skirmishers is difficult. But despite these shortcomings many enemy commanders have been overwhelmed by a fluid, ever-changing battle situation that is hard to get a handle on, if they don't get too hasty or frustrated and charge in too fast, right into the deadly trap.
        
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#7
by Veteran Gerakken - 2/23/2004 3:07:52 PM
Born out of the fires of a powerful superstar empire, a new crusade sweeps across the Meta. These valiant warriors charge up the Meta rankings carrying on a fight for justice and honor. They are the Galactic Guardians Empire:
Very Good : 1
Chaotic Good: 6
Neutral : 1
Chaotic Evil: 1
Very Evil : 1
Overall alignment: 70% good.
Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 0
Simple : 0
Beginner : 2
Normal : 0
Challenging: 2
Tough : 0
Painful : 1
Crippling : 1
Masochistic: 4
Suicidal: 0
Toughness : 7.70
The Galactic Guardians are a militant offshoot of the Fellowship. Their exact beliefs are unknown to outsiders and probably coincide with some Fellowship ideals, but a few details are obvious. Their well known motto is Honor and Justice. They also train relentlessly, being well versed in the art of war, but are also kind to visitors and maintain good relationship with other empires. This suggests a philosophy espousing a strong offense both militarily and diplomatically will ultimately make a strong defense. Guardians hate Yor with a passion, though, never missing an opportunity to slaughter them. They are already a powerful presence in the Metaverse, gaining ground in a steady, constant advance toward the top.
The roots of understanding these crusaders may ultimately lie withing their history. After a lengthy and loyal service to the Fellowship of the Ring, Theoden of Rohan felt restless. The Fellowship was and still is one of the mightiest empires to ever rule the Meta. It brought stability and order, but maybe too much so, as complacency seeped through the ranks. Focus and direction were lost as the legendary Fellowship leader Ray the Wanderer went into seclusion. Theoden found a drive within him. Maybe the huge and complacent Fellowship had lost sight of its goals, but Theoden could go forth and plant the seeds of a new order that had the zeal and drive to change the Meta much like the Fellowship did in its younger days.
Theoden set forth with a small but well escorted colonization fleet deep into Yor space. The fleet had been travelling long and far through hostile space. Though a trail of Yor wreckage was left in their wake, the Yor had been extracting a high price. Even though the fleet had some basic terraforming equipment, the planets discovered so far could not be terraformed up to standards. The fleet could not go on forever searching. Worse yet, Theoden was informed that there was a small Yor outpost harboring a strong sector fleet detachment ahead. The choice was either to try and go around the sector out of the reach of this large fleet, turn back, or defeat the fleet and take the outpost. Turning back was no longer an option, as they were past the point of no return in both fuel and supplies. Going around the sector in what was ever increasingly becoming a vain hope of finding a decent planet would also take too long and only cost more lives as the relentless Yor patrols would continue to attack. The outpost had to be at least a minimally habitable planet and it was nearby.
In a daring do-or-die raid, Theoden took command of his remaining warships to send all of them ahead in a risky frontal assault. The Yor came out to fight, confident in their numerical superiority, but were unable to stand up to the reckless, almost fanatical zeal, of these intruders who had nothing to lose. The Yor fleet was destroyed, and soon the planet they came from was in sight. It was a lovely planet already, and must have only been recently colonized by the Yor judging the few small settlements on the surface. The settlements were decimated by bombs before Theoden's finest knights from among the colonists arrived to slaughter all Yor who survived. Theoden would name this star system Rohan, and the conquered planet would be called Raven's Claw. The colonists landed and the terraforming equipment enhanced the planet even further to make it a true paradise. Theoden knew the Yor would not take this loss lightly, for they had sent a strong fleet to watch over such a small colony. This planet must be important to them, so constant vigilance would be required. The new arrivals would guard this planet well and strive to eventually spread their dominion far and wide, thus becoming the Galactic Guardians.
The Guardian's military doctrine involves using large, heavily armed and armored ships in rigid formations, all being directed by a command ship. The gigantic command ship called a Citadel. The Citadel has incredibly thick armor and shields, but relatively few turrets for its size. But the energy cannons on those turrets are very large, bigger than almost any cannon in any empire's arsenal, and have extremely long range. The Citadel also serves as a large carrier. It is also slow and very unmanueverable. Flanking the Citadel are several large ships called Archers. The Archers have impressive armor, but their main job is to launch volleys of anti-ship and anti-fighter missiles. Archers are also fairly slow in linear flight, but can rotate quite fast to get the right weapons facing the right enemy. On the outer wings are the Knights. The Knights have slightly less armor than the Archer and are built for speed as well as firepower, sporting a fore and aft turret containing three large cannons each. All along the sides of the Knight are smaller defensive guns designed to take down fighters and missiles, but are relatively ineffective on large ships.
When the battle is joined, the Archers fire waves of missiles into the oncoming enemy and the Citadel launches its fighters and tries to take down enemy command vessels at extreme range with its turrets. The Knights charge along the flanks, waiting for the initial Archer volleys to pass, and then break into small formations that engage the enemy. Knight formations are not very manueverable, but they are fast. The Knights execute a series of slashing passes at the main enemy formations using their front turrets first as they approach and parting shots from the rear turret as they pass. Any ship breaking through the Knight's line faces fire from the rear line comprised of the Archers and the Citadel. The Citadel's fighters are mostly used to cover the rear ships and rarely go into the front line battle unless they are cleaning up an already won fight. The strength of this doctrine is its brute force. The enemy is basically crushed under the charging Knights and picked off by the other ships as the opportunity presents itself. The biggest weakness is the Knight's vulnerability to side attacks and it takes the Knights a fair amount of time to pivot after a run to set up for the next pass. Another weakness is that the Citadel cannot retreat very well if the battle goes badly. Other ships will have to buy it time to get out of the fight due to its lack of speed.
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Gerakken,
An excellent report once again! Thanks! 
      
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Thak you Gerakken!! Great stuff!!
  
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yeah but az day 'ad splinter groups, defections, mad emperors disbandin' da whole empire, rum rebellions, produced da finest players da meta az ever seen etc etc |
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dA o'EVIL s , hAS sAYED dA tRUTH 
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#17
by Veteran Gerakken - 3/1/2004 3:58:09 PM
No new top 10 empire needs to be profiled right now, so this is a good excuse to updates an old report.
The Sea of Stars can be a place of danger and despair where unwary overlords and empires alike can meet their end in a number of ways. It can also be a place of opportunity and hope where the fortuitous and skillful can survive and even thrive. The members of one empire in particular readily brave the dangers of open space, seeing it as a place of freedom where the bold and resourceful can forge their own destinies. Sailing through the void, weathering whatever storms a relentless Metaverse provides, the pirates of G.R.O.S.S. plow on:
Very Good : 1
Chaotic Good: 9
Neutral : 5
Chaotic Evil:19
Very Evil : 4
Overall alignment: 60.5% evil.
Cakewalk : 2
Easy : 2
Simple : 4
Beginner : 5
Normal : 3
Challenging: 6
Tough : 5
Painful : 4
Crippling : 3
Masochistic: 2
Suicidal: 1
Toughness : 5.78
The aliens surround us, the aliens are among us, and the aliens will subjugate or destroy humanity. This thought drove a bold pilot and his accomplice to steal an experimental survey ship to Get Rid Of Slimy alienS (G.R.O.S.S.) anywhere they could find them. Christening it Doom, the crew of the stolen ship started small, ambushing vulnerable alien ships one at a time in lightning quick raids, living on whatever supplies could be salvaged from the victims. Raiding the space lanes could yield a steady supply of loot, but could also bring down the wrath of real warships the undergunned Doom could not yet defeat. Every visit to black market ports favored by smugglers and pirates was an opportunity for resupply and repairs, a chance for gaining new recruits, and to convert the plundered loot into a more desirable form of currency, but such a stop could also result in lethal encounters with whatever navy controlled the space around the port.
To minimize this risk, it was decided to use the survey ship for its primary purpose: The small but growing pirate crew explored the depths of uncharted space to examine the many strange anomolies of the void. The exploration yielded valuable data as well as ancient or little-known devices considered strange to human or alien alike. This voyage of discovery was indeed lean times. Obviously hated by aliens and considered criminals and exiles by fellow human empires, the pirates of G.R.O.S.S. were no strangers to hardship. Suitable ships ripe for plundering were rare way out in the frontier of space, and going back and forth from the black market smuggling ports was fraught with hazards. Self-sufficiency was now essential. Every plundered ship had to be stripped of anything that could be useful both at the time and later on. Repairs and refits were done in the field. When conventional types of food ran out, even slain alien crew were taken and eaten. This was a survival tactic back then, but veteran GROSS officers of today still enjoy dabbling in this form of alien cooking and it is now considered traditional G.R.O.S.S. gourmet cuisine.
Countless anomolies led to a lot of ad hoc refits that kept Doom growing. The crew was lean, mean, and highly experienced in battle. Doom was now a powerful warship in its own right. G.R.O.S.S. would no longer have to slink around the edges of civilization, taking down targets of opportunity while avoiding warships. It was time for G.R.O.S.S. to don the Jolly Roger and become true, fearless pirates able to take down merchant or warship alike.
G.R.O.S.S. was already considered a criminal organization by human empires, but had only fought fellow humans in self defense in the past. Of course, the ships of these fallen humans were looted and stripped like any other vessel if it came down to a fight, except that there would be no eating humans. The survivors would be offered the usual pirate choice: join the crew or be subject to the whims of the Captain. By now, though, both sides had crossed too many lines with each other. G.R.O.S.S. was seen as a group of savage, merciless pirates who would take down the ships of any flag, rogue killers that could not be contained or controlled. The empires of Earth were seen as soft, alien-loving hypocrites whose leaders would sell the future of humanity down the river to line their own pockets and assure their own security. G.R.O.S.S. thought there was nothing left to lose. They were already marked for extinction even by the very humans they sought to protect in the first place. Unrestricted warfare was authorized.
Soon Doom was patrolling its own territory. Anything in it could be plundered at the discretion of the pirates. G.R.O.S.S. created its own smuggling ports and relied on local sympathizers to form a loose criminal and governmental infrastructure throughout the territory. G.R.O.S.S. was a nomadic empire of power, influence, and corruption built upon shifting sands. There were no fixed borders and no list of controlled star systems. Aliens and other empires sometimes contested G.R.O.S.S. patrolled sectors and took over friendly ports, but the empire of Doom would merely expand its influence elsewhere if it did not retake the contested space later.
The already vast territory of G.R.O.S.S. would expand even more. Due to a chain events within the ANZAC empire, a band of disatisfied mutants left ANZAC to form Freedom Force. Freedom Force was considered to be a band of free spirits fighting for the right to exist in a mean Metaverse, but Freedom Force floundered and eventually disbanded. Most of the mutants discovered they already had an affinity to the pirate lifestyle and fate led them to G.R.O.S.S. They would become the Pirates Of the South SEas, the Posse, an equal partner in the G.R.O.S.S. pirate empire. G.R.O.S.S. was the supreme superpower of the Meta, but as is so often the way of the Meta, this era would not last forever. The Posse gained strength and confidence in their time under the G.R.O.S.S. banner. They eventually went their own way to become the mercenary band known as the Special Forces, the current reigning powerhouse of the Meta.
Although G.R.O.S.S. has less home territory than when it was at its height of power, the pirates have managed to spread their influence in other ways. Always looking out for profitable opportunities both legal and illicit, the G.R.O.S.S. syndicate has numerous business ventures. The G.R.O.S.S. tradition of using aliens as food became a highly successful chain of fast food franchises, the best known being KFD, Kentucky Fried Drengin. Alcohol is a form of currency in G.R.O.S.S. space, and the pirates are always ready to please the locals by raiding exotic liquor to barter back at port for whatever essentials and luxuries can be had. There is also a profitable pornography franchise that caters to the tastes of rival empires to make even more money from them than what raiding alone can net. The other empires that once all hunted the dreaded G.R.O.S.S. pirates with ruthless abandon now found them to be useful mercenaries and scape goats. When direct confrontation is not desired, empires hire the pirates to raid the shipping of other empires, or even to protect their own shipping lanes. There is little cargo that makes its way through the spacelanes without the pirates getting a cut, whether it be through pay-offs or raiding. To accomodate this increased demand, the G.R.O.S.S. fleet has adopted a more decentralized fleet command structure. Several large flagships were commissioned or taken as prizes in order to expand fleet operations across the Meta, but none of these are as big as the mighty Doom.
The pirates are a determined lot and do what it takes to win, whether they are on the top of the heap or not. G.R.O.S.S. has little concern about the methods used, because only results count to them. They are survivalists who experienced much adversity, and that attitude is still with them even today.
Combat at point blank range is a G.R.O.S.S. specialty. It has to be, since the goal is usually to board the target ship and raid its cargo. All G.R.O.S.S. craft are extremely fast, both to overtake target ships and to outrun any undesired engagements. All ships are armed with several large beam weapon turrets. While the G.R.O.S.S. arsenal is light on missiles, fighter craft and small boarding craft are common. Beam broadsides at close range disable the target while the smaller ships harass and encircle the enemy and corral them into a trap, where the target can and either boarded or destroyed if necessary. The biggest G.R.O.S.S. vessel, the monstrous Doom, has a gigantic front-mounted Super Space Distortion Cannon (SSDC) and prefers charging straight toward the target while unleashing full salvos at any enemies nearby. While the large beam turrets do have some range to them, G.R.O.S.S. ships have problems with sustained long range combat. Concentrated waves of missiles are the best means to put the pirates on the defensive. If an enemy can keep G.R.O.S.S. at bay and hammer them with long range fire, the pirates might be driven off. But if one gives them an opening they charge in and the battle may well be lost.
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We're heading for number 10....
Alex
    
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#19
by Veteran Gerakken - 4/8/2004 1:40:53 AM
I should be finishing my long range recon of the Diplomats, but instead I bring you this special interim report!
Secrets of the Meta revealed, male player success and how it relates to relationships with females:
The greatest male players of the Meta seem to be singles who either do not have girlfriends, or one they are on good terms with, or like playing with fire by catching who they can when they can. This group has plenty of time, frustration, and aliens to kill and they tend to make exceptional overlords in regard to Meta rankings.
The next most successful group in general seem to be married family men. Afterall, they feel like they have already been consigned to a special Hell on Earth and it tends to have names such as the garage, basement, or shed. In extreme cases this place can also be called the bedroom. But if it has already gotten to that stage, then the poor man is contemplating killing far more than aliens. This special period in the family man's life also gives him some spare time to contemplate whether fatherhood and putting up with the old lady is worth any special reward in a decent afterlife as well as time for killing aliens. Besides, any overlord's ranking is sure to be bolstered by psychosis.
The next group is childless married men, especially newlyweds. They have little time to contemplate killing. The demands of love are just too great. Life is good and death carries little pleasure, even if it does involve doing terrible things to the Fundies who just took over 10 systems. Expect mediocre rankings on average. Afterall, a man needs certain things to be motivated in life, such as pain, suffering, frustration, and guilt. These poor men have lost most of their will to fight.
The last group are the retirees and the total slackers. What, aliens? Got no problem with them anymore. Time to bask in the sun and have another drink. This group is in no hurry to go anywhere and tends to sink to the depths of the Meta over time for retirees and lurk near the bottom where they always were for slackers. Who knows, maybe they are the lucky ones.
This concludes the Spymaster's special report. I will return at a later date with further updates.
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#21
by Veteran Gerakken - 4/13/2004 6:20:46 PM
Sometimes situations in the Metaverse spiral out control. In troubled times, there is an empire that is willing to intervene and lend a helping hand. Whether it be something as simple as a voice of reason, or a tricky hotspot requiring a combat transport full of peacekeepers, or even a delicate and complex negotiation requiring a party palace terror star the Diplomats will be there to solve any crisis:
Very Good : 2
Chaotic Good: 7
Neutral : 2
Chaotic Evil: 1
Very Evil : 3
Overall alignment: 60.0% good.
Cakewalk : 0
Easy : 0
Simple : 2
Beginner : 2
Normal : 2
Challenging: 0
Tough : 1
Painful : 1
Crippling : 1
Masochistic: 6
Toughness : 7.20.
The Diplomats enjoy company, welcoming all to their sectors of space for anything ranging from a visit to intense multi-lateral negotiations. The Diplomats policies are well known: Members engaging in hostile takeovers (games) with alien empires may only conclude negotiation via alliance or military conquest, because there has to be active agreement among the aliens or the uncooperative parties must be taken out of the equation. Cultural victory or tech victory is not allowed due to a lack of an absolute solution; in these cases, it just either a de facto decision reached without alien input or an isolationist building a wall to keep the aliens out. Members must also file a report at the conclusion of such negotiations. Members may not resort to using terror stars to destroy systems without prior authorization of the Senate. Terror stars may still be built and employed for other purposes, though. Members cannot discredit or disrespect (flame/abuse) other members, as that would undercut the credibility of the Diplomats in the various negotiations they conduct around the Meta. Lastly, a member's past before joining the empire is irrelevant; the Diplomats have overlords of many varied backgrounds and do not tolerate any internal dissent erupting because of past issues that should have been put to rest.
While no outsider can be truly sure what makes the Diplomats such an effective mediator of conflicts, it should be noted that the emperor and some key members were once part of the Evil Empire and that lends a unique perspective in resolving disputes when more passive measures have failed. (Apologies to the Diplomats about being insensitive to their last rule in the preceding paragraph, but this chronicler has to see both past and present to remain objective in his reports.)
The Diplomats are a respected member of the top 10 enjoying good relations with the majority if not all the Meta. Diplomat culture has spread to many places and it is common to see their embassy staff (overlords) throughout known space. Diplomat territory has expanded accordingly, not only because of prestige, but also because as they become involved with problems, they become part of the solution and also gain from a successful conclusion. And the Diplomats have a good record in regard to achieving positive results. The Diplomats unique role in the Meta makes this is an interesting empire to watch. While the Diplomats may not currently have the runaway momentum of the current Meta superpower (the Galactic Guardians), they have a steady grip as they hold the Meta by the horns and ride it through all of its twists and unpredictable turns. This has been a very stable empire so far in its relatively young life, and this stability is of great aid in negotiations. If there is a problem in the Meta and you can't solve it, call the Diplomats and maybe they can.
Not everything in Diplomatic life can be an alliance victory. Sometimes the military option is inevitable. Luckily, the Diplomatic Fleet is well equipped for the task. The plenipotentiary power of the fleet lies within the Ambassador class command ships. These can range in size from a very large capital ship up to (rarely) full-sized terror stars. The battle does not truly start nor stop unless the Ambassadors say so. These command vessels lurk at the edges of the battle at the outset and eventually end up dealing the finishing blows in the midst of the battle if the conflict ends in favor of the Diplomats. Their weapon of choice is a dozen four gun batteries of very large particle cannons. These cannons have a fair all-around capability for both short and long ranged engagements, but have a slow rate of fire. Thus, the batteries tend to be fired in staggered order so that some are always ready at any one time. The Ambassadors have only defensive missiles primarily designed to take out fighters and other missiles. Sometimes the Ambassadors will be supplemented by the huge Attache class anti-matter missiles which are specifically designed to take out capital ships and are transported to the battle separately on a case-by-case basis. Ambassadors have a sophisticated communications array that is very difficult to jam. This enables them to keep the fleet continually updated with new orders despite the chaos on the battlefield.
First into any Diplomat fight though is the Counselor class corvettes and their fighter escorts. These small craft employ light beam weapons that are highly accurate and have a rapid rate of fire, but are best at engaging missiles and other small craft due to lack of power and only short-to-medium range capabilities. Counselors serve as the scouts of the Diplomat Fleet, gathering information on the enemy and serving as a screen for larger ships that will join in later. Although the Counselor's communications array is small and relatively easy to jam, a sheer multitude of numbers ensure that the rest of the fleet will get proper battle assessments. While Counselors rarely cripple or destroy any large ships on their own, they can deliver a lot of harrying fire to distract and corral the enemy or to provide cover for larger friendly ships.
Once the Counselors are fully engaged, the bulk of the Diplomat forces, the Envoy class cruisers, come into play. These vessels have three top mounted twin turrets of particle cannons similar to the weapons on the Ambassadors, but with only about half the firepower per gun. The usual offensive tactic is to engage in strafing runs alternate between a two turret salvo followed by the lone turret in order to compensate for the slow rate of fire and maintain a constant barrage. The Envoys also have a multitude of small beam cannons for defensive fire and passing shots, but the power of these cannons is much like the Counselors: weak and of limited range. Lastly, the Envoys have a large compliment of defensive missiles. While half of these missiles are designed to take out fighters and other missiles, they can also be fired in a large cluster to cripple or destroy large ships. The other half of the missiles carry special munitions such as visual and electronic jammers and small space mines.
In a fully involved battle, Counselors will be protecting the Envoys while they strafe the enemy and finally the Ambassadors will close in for the kill to end it. The strength of the Diplomat fleet is in its communications. There is a rigid chain of command and orders are flowing constantly. Every ship knows not only exactly what it must do, but also what the other ships are doing. The Ambassadors don't move in too quickly and hold position on the edges until the Envoys say it is time, and the Counselors relay an accurate battle assessment while providing cover. If a retreat has to be called, it tends to be a very organized affair: the Ambassadors get out first, followed by whatever Envoys that can make it. Counselors, of course, have a very high loss rate in a retreat scenario, but they are cheap and easy to build.
The potential weak spots in the Diplomat Fleet is twofold: First, the slow rate of fire of the main guns on the Ambassadors and Envoys. Sometimes concentrated fire is necessary to break an enemy strong point and there is a vulnerability in the lull when all the batteries must synchronize. This is no problem in an ambush scenario or to deliver a coup de grace to an already battered enemy unable to effectively fight back, but can be dangerous in the chaos of a firefight. The second potential vulnerability lies in an enemy who is successful in hacking the very communications grid the fleet depends on so much and uses it to relay false orders, or finds a way to jam too much of the battlefield chatter. A lack of reliable orders causes confusion in the fleet's ranks, being since there is normally a strong command presence, and false orders can be even deadlier.
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He He, good report again Spymaster
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