This is the third of my situation reports (Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) of my ongoing Stellaris game which is propelling humankind into space under the aegis of the United Nations of Earth.

Overview

Very little in the larger scheme of things has changed since the last situation report. Mostly on the strategic level, things are moving along in a consolidation sort of phase. The rough boundaries are defined for the star empires now. I have pretty fast borders with most of my neighbours and there are Federation alliances with the more congenial of the neighbours. However, there are disturbing reports of a rival Federation forming on the other side of the galaxy.

There is also a large unexplored and unclaimed sector in the North of the galaxy. There are many rich resources and uncolonised worlds on offer in this sector and so the United Nations of Earth has made the strategic decision to being a second non-contiguous sector of the empire in this area to lay claim to the riches. Time will tell whether or not splitting the United Nations empire into two distinct sections was a good idea or not. However, on the plus side, the empire that seperates the two halves is nominally friendly, and so trade and travel across their borders is not currently a foreseeable problem. Every Star Empire with Galactic ambitions needs to have contingency plans though, and the United Nations of Earth is laying down the foundations for a second Battle Fleet to be based in the newer sector, as an insurance against secession and on the off chance that the intervening empire turns hostile.

Bio-engineering Humans

Via the interception of some long lost alien artifacts, we have been gifted with the ability to enhance the genetic line of the core Human race that makes up the bulk of the population of the United Nations of Earth. After the careful and subtle application of this technological marvel, we have gifted the bulk of the Human race with the ability of Limited Regeneration. This has led to longer lifespans and a increased Ground Combat ability, all worthwhile traits that will be handed down through to the future generations.

... shortly after this exploration discovery, our own scientists found a method to further enhance the genome of the Human Race (and also that of the other alien races). To date, we have only used this technology sparingly to remove the "Wasteful" trait that has plagued the Human race since the beginning of time. With this trait being slowly removed over the next generations, it is hoped that we can more efficiently utilise the resources under our command.

The Terra-forming Gambit

Having recently discovered the ability to terraform planets (all hail the Scientific Heroes of the empire!), the United Nations of Earth has begun the ambitious plan of terra-forming otherwise uninhabitable worlds to ocean/continental worlds that would be ideally habitable for the Human race. The cost in both treasure and time is phenomenal, luckily we had a large treasury reserve to spend on this long-term endeavor. The potential payoff of additional habitable planets for our citizens is really a worthwhile long-term investment. As we are not at war, and there are no current demands on our money, it was seen that the century long time span of these investments would be more than worth the effort.

Dangerous Technology Advances

Whilst on the topic of our heroic Scientists, a technology branch of creating "Sapient Combat Simulations" (essentially an aware military Artificial Intelligence) has shown up on our technology list. At the moment, the decision was taken to shelve this potential technology. The advantages of having an AI take over our military forces is something that is quite tempting... however, the potential disadvantages of this dangerous technology is something that we are not prepared to risk. However, science and technology is universal, the United Nations of Earth has chosen to not pursue this path but we can not prevent other empires (barring lethal force) from making unwise decisions.

Politics

As the United Nations of Earth grows, we are starting to become one of the most dominant forces in the galaxy from the point of view of economy, military and technology. As such, we are relatively secure against the outside threats of the other newer empires, however this is not true of the Ancient Fallen empires who we are doing our best not to antagonise or to rouse from their indifference.

This means that our current greatest threat to our prosperity lies from within our own political Senate. Over the centuries of our star-faring existence, the number of factions within the Senate has grown from the single main party to a total of seven factions with wildly differing philosophies. This has been an expected development as we have chosen governmental paths that allowed freedom of speech and settlement, and we have been tolerant of alien species joining the United Nations of Earth with full citizenship rights.

The two large parties, Liberty Now Alliance (Freedom) and the Alien Protection Initiative (Alien relations), espouse philosophies that are in complete harmony with our current strategic plans. Together, they account for over 95% of the population support of the empire, so we are currently in a good standing with the majority of the population.

Of the minor parties, we are on friendly terms with the Strength Through Conquest Coalition (Hawks) and the Institute of Scientific Ascendancy (Technology). Both parties promote policies that aim to prove the ascendancy of the United Nations of Earth over the rival star empires. Doing this via Scientific Ascendancy is not a problem, however we are not willing to wage pointless wars to prove our worth. This means that it might be necessary to keep the hawks under close and covert watch.

The parties that are at odds with our governing philosophies are the Committee of the True Gospel (anti-science), Internal Strength Network (Law and order) and the Loyal Citizenry Group (Human rights). Dealing with these would require a large and oppositional shift in our strategic principles which is not acceptable. These parties currently have very minority support (and it not currently concentrated enough on any particular planet to pose a secession risk), Thus, the current course of action is to ignore their demands and keep their operatives under close watch. More force is not currently warranted and would be counter-productive.

The Abyssal Host

Since the dawn of our Galactic exploration, we have had this infestation of unusual sentients known more commonly as the Abyssal Host. They have not responded to any communications and are openly hostile to our science vessels. For centuries, we have ignored them as their power has been enough to destroy our empire many times over if they chose.

However, with the support of our Federation allies and the gifts from the Ancients (detailed in the previous SitRep), it has been deemed to be a good time to finally deal with this problem. Over the course of the previous year, we have upgraded and gathered the Battle Fleet and the Federation Fleet to the star systems adjacent to the Abyssal Host.

The Federation Fleet was much more numerous, but of a much lower technological level (due to the inferior technologies of our allies). The Battle Fleet was by far a superior fleet, but was completely owned by the United Nations of Earth. The decision was taken to send in the Federation Fleet first to soak up damage, followed with Battle Fleet jumping in an hour later as the decisive punch.

The after-action report shows that we did manage to destroy most of the Abyssal Host (we are not currently sure if the survivors will resurface in a different system...) whilst sustaining acceptable losses in the Federation Fleet. The prized ships of the Battle Fleet were unscathed, and there was a wealth of new technologies to pick through when we salvaged the debris of the battle.

The Iron Age Primitives

Meanwhile, under our protection and the watchful eyes of the scientists of the United Nations of Earth, the Fungoid Iron age primitives have managed to achieve the technological marvel of the "Printing Press". From here, it will be easier the Fungoids to spread and share knowledge, and as the skill of reading starts to percolate through the population, it is expected that their civilisation will surge through an Enlightenment period. We now need to be closer on guard against being discovered, as it will be more and more difficult to shut down sightings of our craft and space stations in the populations of the primitives.

Projected Plans

In a word, Consolidation. There are no external threats to the United Nations of Earth that are worthy. The old enemies of the Euruxi have been shattered and humiliated, and their empire is splintering into various secession movements. Some of these we have taken under our wing, and will use them as proxies against the other unfriendly splinters.

In the northern reaches of the galaxy, we have split our empire to take advantage of these riches. We need to quickly build up the Second Fleet to be able to counter any threats to the newborn territories. At the moment, the response time from planet Earth is far too long for it to be secure.

Other than that, we are looking to keep furthering our Scientific and Technological advances.Keeping ahead in these fields will ensure the superiority of our fleets when and if the time comes to settle border disputes. Internally, we are starting to keep an eye on the different factions that have arisen in the Senate, however, it is a careful watch only. More drastic measures (covert or overt) are being held in reserve until the time is necessary, hopefully these counter-philosophies will remain in the absolute minority and their poisonous ideas will not concentrate on any particular colony.