Celestial+Empire+Old+Responses

Response Turn 15
Your intensive propaganda campaign rallies your people. You gain +++ morale.

The Apollo's Chariot is complete. Representing the very best of University sparky technology and Celestial Empire military know how it is a sight to behold. Released from it's moorings in Celaenae it floats towards your capital bristling with weapons and armor. You gain ++++ mil.

Your diplomats begin using your reputation to sway the University sparks around to your point of view, and on that front everything goes smoothly. However your more clandestine agents run into a problem. While they are able to begin convincing some of the University students and stuff to side with the Celestial Empire point of view they are nowhere near as successful as they might have been. This is because they are not the only ones trying to do this. There are other agents in the University, from at least two other powers if your agents analysis is correct. And while neither of the other sides is as effective as your agents the combination has essentially resulted in a subtle propaganda war between the three of you as your agents vie for the University's hearts and minds. It has also kept your agents from gaining any sort of intelligence into the details of the University's operations.

There is quite a bit of salvage in Algeria, not just from the recent battles, but from the many past battles which no one ever cleaned up. However due to your armies not having brought any appropriate equipment along they are only able to get a small portion of the old equipment up and running again. You gain + mil.

Your engineers do note that the Transylvanian's are far better at this than them. Whereas the Celestial mechanics painstakingly gather scrap from dozens of abandoned engines and built new clanks and war machines that Transylvanian apparently just scooped up the most readily available piles and quickly repaired it even bringing the corpses back to life as constructs, all while retreating off the battlefield. Your analysts estimate that they were able to restore ++ mil out of ++ scraps. While your own engineers were only able to scrape + mil out of +++- scraps. And they didn't spend as long at it. Which more or less confirms the Italians theory that the Transylvanian have some kind of device which is immensely useful to them, and which could potentially upset the balance of power.

You gained ++ random points.

Subvert University of Celaenae (+++++ +++++ +++++ ESPO) 15 vs 10 35 vs 32 = 3

Your recruiting campaign draws in a large number of eager volunteers. You gain + mil.

Your homeland agents have managed to recruit a good number of potential field operatives. You gain +- esp o.

The University has started work on a giant airship. So far they have managed to build the gas bag and install a few turbines and weapons. It is not finished, but could be launched prematurely for ++- mil.

The Knights Hospitallers have started a recruitment drive in the original portions of the Celestial Empire. They have begun stirring up religious sentiment. Nothing overtly dissenting has has been said, but there are strong overtones of religious zeal and not quite hatred towards the heathen. They have taken great care to emphasize that the former Ottomans are by no means any sort of heathens and that they should be treated as the equal citizens that they no doubt are. Many of your citizens have openly converted to the Knight's particular sect, and several have attempted to give donations to the knights, but the knights have refused instead using the money to set up centers to help the poor. Both citizens of the Empire who are down on their luck and refugees who have made it all the way from Spain and France in search of a place to rebuild their lives. You lose + morale, and ++ econ.

The monster suppressor is built and erected in Theosoph lands, chosen for both its proximity and the fact that the Theosophs contributed the largest number of sparks to the effort. Throughout France and Spain the many mobile relays do their job and large portions of the hordes stream out of the area docile, and ready to obey their new masters.Your forces are easily able to handle the remaining monsters in eastern France, however this is less because of the suppressors and more because of the streams of Jaeger reinforcements as the Heterodyne leads her army to confront the wretched Kaiser's Guard and protect her allies the Army of Othar. Unfortunately at this point things deviate from the plan. Because the Kaiser's Guard makes no move to enter France, instead fortifying its borders and apparently waiting to see what happens. Not quite willing to hit such a heavily defended border, at least not while there are so much more fulfilling targets at hand the Heterodyne then proceeds to play Monster Slayer and lead her armies through France alongside yours systematically hunting down monsters. However the Jaegers are also systematically looting gifts for their Lady. They ensure that the split of plunder between your forces is entirely fair and honest. With each army looting according to its contribution. Which unfortunately is the problem. The Heterodyne's forces are nearly the size of the entire combined Army of the Architect, Celestial, and Theosoph coalition, and your generals are not able to gain quite the amounts that their superiors had hoped for.

You gain - espd and ++ econ.

**Response**
Your training efforts provide results as your soldiers become more adept at covert activities. You gain - mil.

The University's factories produce a new shipment of military clanks. Which they send to you. You gain + mil.

Your agents detect no untoward infiltration of the University. And your spark remains loyal to you. However the University's leadership is a byzantine maze of loyalties and differing levels. Your agents can't actually figure out who is in charge, if there is even one person, or even one group, that could be called in charge.

Saladin gives a rousing speech and can tell that the spirits of the French populace have been uplifted by it.

Your merchants attack on the Knights of the Hospitaller's markets is sudden and overwhelming. Their markets throughout the Medditeranean are seized and goods redirected towards Celestial accounts. By the end the only thing they have left is what little they have on the isle of Malta itself. You gain +++++ ++++ ECON.

Unfortunately even with the defensive espionage alliance the combined for of the Spanish and KoBS agents were simply to skilled. Moving behind French they managed to disable 40% of your combined forces before the fight even began. Needless to say things did not go well for France and your forces. The entire front has been pushed north towards the heart of France taking French soldiers, your own troops, and whats left of the mercenaries France hired with it.

Losses France: 14 Celestial Empire: +++ Mercenaries: ++++

Celestial (+++ ECON Burned, +++++ +++++ +++++ ECON) Attack Knights Hospitallers
 * Projects**
 * Note nothing on Malta

Econ Attack 45d8 vs 10d8

Random Growth

**Response**
Your recruitment campaign is going well. Several new sparks have decided to work for you rather than enroll in the University of Celaenae. You gain +- spark. You do receive several polite diplomat messages from the University asking why you have apparently decided increase the capacity of your own spark labs rather than let them handle all sparky matters as they have in the past.

Your agents do a sweep and then double check and triple check their results in surprise. Then they submit there report. As far as they can tell sometime in the last year whoever set up the espionage networks in your country has pulled out totally. There is no trace of it anywhere. There best guess is that the foreign power must have decided it wasn't worth dealing with the constant ever increasing sweeps. The sudden security has increased your counter intelligence's effectiveness significantly. You gain +++ espd.

You can use your espionage to protect the University with it still counting as in your borders. However using your defensive espionage to try and infiltrate them somehow would still give you penalties.

Your diplomats sent to the Heterodyne lands report success. The new Heterodyne is still not likely to actually ally with either side, but appears likely to target Spain in the coming war.

Your forces have two run ins with the Holy Privateers during the year with two very different results. In Corsica the Privateers attempt to pull off a quick raid, but between your forces and slightly larger Italian force sent for much the same reason as your own they are quickly repelled. Unfortunately another Privateer raider fleet also assaults the Celestial Empire itself. And with many of your forces elsewhere it is able to smash through your defenders despite their heightened alert and plunder not only the former Ottoman lands, but also the University of Celaenae. The only bright side is that the privateer fleet was too small to do much looting before your forces were able to regroup and push them back. You lose + mil and - econ.

Russia and Italy

Italian will attempt an espionage attack. If they succeed then they will be able to fully withdraw. Italy vs. Celestial 56.5 vs 11

**Response**
Your efforts in Corsica are going well. However your agents report two problems. First Italy has turned its attention on the last holdout City State Hold out. And while the internal politics are still fractured and prevent the full weight of its resources to come to bear what is available is still enough to challenge your hold on the City State. Second and considerably pressing the Knights Hospitallers have taken interest in the island and their efforts are considerably more aggressive than yours or Italy's. They have launched a campaign of quiet religious conversion. And while they have taken a lesson from their previous adventure in Algeria and kept this campaign strictly to their priests they have also sent a lot of priests. Corsica is on the brink of a religious schism which will likely tear the country apart and directly into the hands of the Knights.

After considerable discussion amongst themselves the remaining citizens of the Ottoman Republic have decided to join your Empire. You have gained +- mil, ++ defensive espionage, and +- offensive espionage. You have also lost + morale as the Ottomans are brought up to your current living standards.

The Russian Legion pulled out yes.

You could infiltrate someone back more easily if you actually specified someone for infiltration. However the whole point of them getting easier access with an alliance is that they know what your doing so its not an automatic thing. Or the increased counter espionage efforts would negate the bonuses they get. So from what I'm reading of your PM I take that to mean you still want to cancel your alliances.

Scattered reports are coming in that the University of Celanae has suffered some form of attack. Although nothing has passed your borders to get to them.

The NPCs do take their EoTs at the same time as PCs. However in this case the Sultan left as soon as the turn started. Which means he's ahead of you. Your expedition doesn't have any trouble entering Russia. Although there is a distinct undertone of annoyance on the part of the Russian officials about allowing an uninvited foreign military expedition within its borders. Your agents however have slightly different results. Quickly moving ahead of the main expedition they chase after the Sultan's expedition. However they soon start filtering back with reports of accidents, bad weather, bandits, and a disproportionately high number of bear attacks.