While I tend to forget the long timescale of endless space in-game, sometimes certain actions really hammer it in. Using dust to complete a ship, for instance: in gameplay terms, throwing money at it to speed up the production. In timescale terms, utilising a small horde of nanobots to ensure that a ship will simply be completed within a year.



Then we get to invasions. Invasions can take a very long time, having to completely crush a system's defenses, often taking several decades early game. So, without further ado, I present part one of Fifteen Turns.



Extracts from the diary of Vilja Brosia:



Day Zero



I finally saw my sister again today. She signed up with the military a while ago and only just returned from training. It's been, what, two years? Apparently she's being deployed on some fancy new destroyer, the Wrathful Gaze. We couldn't talk for long, as the ship is being put on patrol, but she gave me the contact code for her communications terminal on the ship. Mum's gonna be so proud of her!



Day One



The system's being invaded. The news vids came in the morning, instructing everyone to proceed to the nearest war shelter, five possessions maximum. Surprisingly, it all went smoothly. No screaming or shouting, all of it organised queuing and small talk. I'm sitting in civilian bunker RC #218 right now, watching the feeds from the ships. Heck, the UE had enough resources to spare us a cruiser to help with the defense, a Sheredyn cruiser! Damn that ship's impressive, red and gold and black everywhere. I don't know what these invaders are, but they must be very wrong in the head judging by the appearance of their ships. The things are so badly put together I could probably destroy one of their dreadnoughts by coughing!



Day Twenty



Our defenses are holding easily against the invader forces. No wonder, given that their ships seemed to have rusted in a vacuum, somehow. The UE sent a duo of corvettes with kinetics to provide support for the fleet. We'll win this fight easily, but spaceships take ages to move, especially those owned by the invaders. The feeds from the ships were cut yesterday, due to the fleet moving outside of effective broadcast range.



Day Seventy Five



I don't know how they did it, but they did. They broke through our lines and are landing troops on the planet. No time to write, have to find safehouse.



Day Eighty



Finally got a look at one of these things today. To be honest, I don't know how they can stand up. Those legs are just too thin, and even if it was mainly muscle, all that armour plating should've made it too heavy to move. It was alone, didn't really seem to be thinking any of its actions through. Just seemed hungry. Good, their supplies must be running out. I shot the thing through the centre of the box it calls its head and cannibalised the metal on it for future use.



Day One Hundred



I saw a group of those things butcher a squad of our soldiers today. Most of them got killed, but a couple survived. The just seemed to forget about their guns after a few seconds and just charged. After the ones that made it through the gunfire killed the soldiers, they began to eat them. I don't even know how they did it, with those clumsy augs. After that they were still hungry, and attacked eachother. I hate these things.



Year One



It's been one year since the beginning of all this. We've organised into covert militia movements, for the most part. I ate what little flesh was on one of the invaders today. Felt good, like irony should. Had to smash the thing's head in before it stopped moving completely. Not that it could've done much with the amount of burn tissue on it's arms. Improvised flamers tend to do that to anything in the way.



And so ends part one. I would appreciate any feedback you have to offer, and would also appreciate tips on portraying the Cravers from an opposing, somewhat xenophobic side.

Thanks for reading!

Pretty cool. The diary aspect is great, allows you not to get too bogged down in details. Nice and fluid, especially suited for what I assume is going to be fairly epic tale, especially in such a complex universe as ES.

I like it a lot and can't wait for the next diary page

Though there are some gaps in the story that interest me. On day one Vilja goes into the shelter and yet on day seventy five he's looking for a safe place to hide. Why? What happened to the war shelter?

Part Two



[AccessingDatabase]



[DATABASECORRUPT]

[AUTOMATEDSEARCHFUNCTIONDISABLED]

[SPECIFYDESIREDENTRY]



/READ ENTRY DAY SEVENTY



[FILECORRUPT]



/READ ENTRY DAY SEVENTYONE



[FILECORRUPT]



/RED ENTRY DAY SEVENTRYTHREE



[LINEERASED]



/READ ENTRY DAY SEVENTYFOUR



[ACCESSING]



Day Seventy Four



Our defense is finally faltering. I don't want to believe it. I can't believe it. The others in the bunker don't want to believe it either. A group has banded together, claiming the whole thing is a set up. They've started rioting, using whatever they can throw together in under half an hour that won't blow up in their face. I've locked myself inside my room, and I'm going to make a run for it tomorrow. There have to be people that didn't evacuate, there have to be!



Year 1, Day Twenty Three



I can't believe our luck. Wwere combing through a military compound that had been very hastily abandoned once the fihtng moved to the planet's surface. I don't know why they abandon such a defensible position, but someone's stupidity fially worked inour favour this time. In the1r rush to relocate, they forgot something tat could very well elay this invasion: Dark Matter ri fl#s, hns t g



[FILECORRUPT]



End of Part Two



Sorry for the short post but I'm extremely tired and have had a bit of difficulty with this section. I should have more up by the Monday, though.

This Story's really great. Can't wait for more.

Nice nice, I'm waiting for more too!

Will there come more?