In Progress CYOA: Star Trek: Dukat

[CappenVarra]

the Ferengi will strike when you are weak, don't go there

drink alone as befits a man of your station

B2

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I wonder what our production is looking like with this huge influx of new labourers in the wake of the riots. They'll all have been arrested with their families, right? A large workforce, appropriately cowed.

It will take a couple of updates to get to that (provided I remember), but I think it should improve substantially.

The incentive programs were a big minus to production. Incentives don't do much for people who only real want is to be able to leave. That's why the Guls who had such programs saw the lowest production in The Specter of War update. Even giving them time off or money doesn't seem to matter when you have 12 hour days. You look for any excuse you can to slack off out of exhaustion. In the end, all the choice did was tie the Guls' hands when it came to motivation and discipline.

There was a way to get a positive outcome even with that btw, it just wasn't to meet the double production goal, but then again that goal was difficult by nature.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

drink alone as befits a man of your station

 

[tsuke]

the Ferengi will strike when you are weak, don't go there

drink alone as befits a man of your station

B2

i wasnt going to vote since I had no preference but you convinced me.

B2.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

B2 bandwagon it is.

Why you guys think becoming an alcoholic and potentially doing something embarrassing in a drunken stupor is better than shagging a hologram or spinning a roulette wheel a few times is beyond me, but here we go...

Gonna roll for what you do drunk. Highest roll wins. If the highest rolls are equal, you do both. Doing something cancels out doing nothing in such a case.

edit: looks like it's drunk dial time.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

The Plot Thickens

It's late. You look over at the half-empty bottle of kanar on your desk alongside your glass. You think about pouring yourself another drink, but you aren't sure if you should.
Drinking too much is a problem you've never had before, but today is different. The recent crisis with the Bajorans has put you on edge. You've never been one for anxiety, at least not since you were a youth.
You reach over and pour another drink, downing it in one gulp. You immediately top off your glass and take a sip.
Maybe you should slow down, but your nerves won't let you. You're jumpy, and the only way you know how to deal with it is to get drunk.
You reach over to your personal intercom. Nothing. You press it again.
"Y-yes sir?" Ral's voice comes back, her voice sounding sleepy.
"Have anything to drink?"
"I'm in my bed, sir."
"I'm having something to drink..."
"Drinking doesn't sound like a good idea right now, sir."
"You're a beautiful woman, Ral..."
"Sir, I'm your subordinate."
"Of course you are!"
Ral's voice sounds upset now. "Is there anything else sir?"
"No, that will be all. Thank you, Ral."
You gruffly cut the line. "Stupid woman...I'd like to have a drink with her."
Your vision blurs. You take another drink.
You knock back yet another glass. The kanar burns as it goes down, and you feel it warm your insides.
You drop your glass on the floor. It shatters.
"Shi..." You begin to curse, but you can't find the energy to swear properly.
You lie back and fall asleep on the couch.

-----

You're awakened by the chirping of an alarm clock.
"The time is zero seven hundred hours." the station computer announces.
You blink repeatedly and look around.
Your head hurts. You must have had more to drink than you thought.
You suddenly realize your pants feel a bit wet. You sigh, understanding that you've pissed yourself in the night.
You go to the shower and clean yourself up, changing into a fresh uniform. You feel a bit more like yourself.
You access your computer and check the time. You have a long day ahead of you, with several meetings.
Your communicator chirps.
"Madred to Gul Dukat." Security Chief Madred's voice says.
"Yes..."
"I'd like to see you in my office at your earliest convenience. There's been a development in my investigation."
"On my way."
You groggily stagger out of your room and head towards the security office.
Yes, it's definitely going to be a long day...

-----

Madred sits at his console in the Security Office, typing his criminal activity reports for the day. It's been relatively quiet. Thankfully, the prisoners working in ore processing didn't revolt like the miners at the various "refugee" camps.
He looks up and stands as you enter the room.
"Gul Dukat. I'm glad you're here. I wanted to tell you what I found out about how the bomb that killed your predecessor was smuggled on board the station.
"Oh? This sounds interesting. Please, tell me what you know." You say, leaning against a wall.
He turns around and activates the screen on the back of his wall. An image of a young woman in a holding cell appears on the screen. You think you recognize her as one of the barmaids in Quark's, but it's been a while since you went there.
"This is Roana. She works at Quark's." Madred says.
"Ah yes, one of Quark's barmaids. What of her?" You say, a bit impatiently.
"After extensive review of security footage, including restored footage we found deleted from the archive, we think that she's the one who received the bomb." he explains. "Somehow, she got her hands on a Cardassian optolythic data rod containing level 5 security clearance. We found the rod in her quarters and we have security footage of her using it to disable the security sensors on the docking port as we received a new batch of workers about a week before the bomb went off. Any one of them could have smuggled the bomb to her, but we think it was a worker found dead with his stomach cut open shortly afterward." Madred explains.
"Was Quark involved?" you ask.
"We don't know, but there's no evidence to point to it. I've known Quark for years. I have trouble believing that he'd do anything to help in an assassination. It's just not profitable."
"I see. Makes sense that a barmaid would have easy access to the alcohol to get a worker drunk. Then she would have taken him somewhere and cut the bomb out of him." you say. "Do you know if the smuggler was willing or...?"
"We don't know. The dead worker's records don't show him to be a terroist or a sympathizer. They just show that he was a worker scheduled to be shipped here." Madred says.
"I want to talk to this Roana. Now." You say, pushing off the wall.
"Yes, sir." Madred says, leading you to her holding cell in the other room.
Roana sits in her cell when Madred and you enter. She looks scared, but defiant.
"The Prefect is here to speak with you." Madred says.
"I have only one thing to say to any Cardassian: Bajor is for Bajorans!" She hisses.
"Roana," you say. "Your guilt has already been determined. You will be tried and executed for your crimes, that is already certain. What is not certain is how much you will suffer before then."
"Oh, believe me, I wouldn't expect an acquittal under Cardassian 'justice'." She says.
"Where did you get the data rod?" you ask.
"Does it matter? A friend gave it to me. An ally." Roana responds.
"Was Quark in involved? Was he your ally?" you ask.
"Ha! Quark was no one's ally, especially not a Bajoran woman! He treats his female staff like objects. All he cares about is latinum. He'd sell his own mother for the right price." Roana says.
You take a moment to gather your thoughts, before continuing.
"So who was it?" you ask.
"I'm not talking." Roana says with a defiant smirk before ignoring you and staring at the wall of her cell.
The discussion is clearly over. You and Madred leave the room.

A. You have her tortured.
B. You skip her trial and have her publicly executed.
C. Leave her in her cell to await her trial and conviction.
D. Torture her, but also install a a tracking device in her when you install the torture device. Then fake a power outage and allow her to escape, hopefully leading you back to her cell. (ERYFKRAD)
-----

Ral is sitting in your office when you return. She is reading a datapad and doesn't look up.
"Good morning, sir..." Ral says, her tone indicating that she isn't exactly impressed to see you.
"Good morning, Ral." You say, slightly confused.
She finally looks up at you and frowns.
"Is something wrong?" you ask.
"You...you don't remember?" Ral asks.
"Remember what?" you ask, slightly annoyed.
"Never mind." Ral says, looking away again. "I wanted to speak to you about morale, sir. Three Guls died due to your reforms last month. And although you cleaned up the problem quickly and decisively, I think a lot of the officers are still upset."
"I see. What do you suggest?" you ask.
"The previous Prefect had an unofficial policy of occasionally procuring 'comfort women' from Bajor and hosting celebrations for the officers with them here on the station. I think we should adopt a similar policy." Ral says.
"Comfort women?" you ask. "You mean prostitutes?"
"Not exactly." Ral responds. "True, they do provide a similar service, but comfort women are different. They're normal Bajoran females who have been selected by the soldiers for their attractiveness. They are then brought to the station to serve their Cardassian masters in a...carnal capacity."
You wince at the idea.
"Why do we need Bajorans to satisfy the carnal desires of my officers? Can't we find Cardassian women for the job?" you ask.
"Sir, it's not military policy to turn our own women into whores." Ral says, seeming offended by the idea. "Besides, I assure you this is a purely voluntary arrangement for the Bajorans. After being selected, they are offered the choice of whether or not to come in exchange for food and provisions for their families for the duration of their service."
"I see." you say. "And if they don't agree?"
"They're sent back to where they came from, sir."
You mull over Ral's proposal.

A. You allow 'comfort women' to be brought from Bajor.
B. You try hosting a party for the Guls and senior officers without any girls.
C. You ignore the problem of officer morale for now.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

As regards Roana, how feasible is it to plant a tracking device on her and engineer her escape?

For the second, B.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

As regards Roana, how feasible is it to plant a tracking device on her and engineer her escape?

In order for it to be effective, it would need to be placed in her body somehow. She'd probably notice that sort of procedure. You would probably need that level of tracking though.

Spoiler

Trek technology is a 1990s vision of the future, so it didn't get into undetectable microchips in your food or whatever unless you were dealing with some kind of advanced race or secret organization with special technology.

edit: oh, also, in order to effectively fake an escape, you would need to threaten Quark into "rescuing" her and helping her get to one of the shuttle bays. Your station has 3 shuttles and this could lose you one of them. Or maybe the transporter would work, but in that case a tracker is definitely necessary, since it's not even as if you could track the ship.

edit: I went ahead and added the option. Keep in mind, just because it sounds complicated doesn't mean it will work. I make no guarantee either way.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

She'd probably notice that sort of procedure. You would probably need that level of tracking though.

edit: oh, also, in order to effectively fake an escape, you would need to threaten Quark into "rescuing" her and helping her get to one of the shuttle bays. Your station has 3 shuttles and this could lose you one of them. Or maybe the transporter would work, but in that case a tracker is definitely necessary, since it's not even as if you could track the ship.

I was hoping we could add the tracker on her in the guise of torture, and let her slip her own way out. Don't want more people in on this than necessary.

I'll go for C unless the plan can be refined/finetuned by more trekkie minds than I.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I was hoping we could add the tracker on her in the guise of torture

This is possible, given that Cardassian torture involves inserting a pain implant. Of course, she would 100% know something was there and would probably want to remove it before contacting her cell.

let her slip her own way out.

Yeah, that's tricky. You could feign a power outage to lower the forcefield on her cell and try to leave her a clear route of escape. Updated the choice.

 

[hello friend]

E. Prepare a slightly nice house discretely bugged to the tits, move her family there, give her parents some money and have your men given orders not to harass them. Then release Roana completely unmolested, and keep her and her parents under close (but discrete) watch. The terrorists will probably think they've been betrayed, and try to make a violent example of her. This will help in uncovering terrorist cells. If we're properly prepared, it will be difficult for them to escape, and perhaps captives can even be taken covertly. Also bring Ral in on this.

B.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

E. Prepare a slightly nice house discretely bugged to the tits, move her family there, give her parents some money and have your men given orders not to harass them. Then release Roana completely unmolested, and keep her and her parents under close (but discrete) watch. The terrorists will probably think they've been betrayed, and try to make a violent example of her. This will help in uncovering terrorist cells. If we're properly prepared, it will be difficult for them to escape, and perhaps captives can even be taken covertly. Also bring Ral in on this.

Keep in mind that your resources aren't limitless here and that you don't control a spy organization replete with listening devices, but a planetary bureaucracy guarded by thousands of dumb soldiers and their officers.

Something like this would be more the Obsidian Order's purview. They're basically like Cardassian KGB. You can turn her over to them, but I doubt you will ever hear anything about it after that. The Order kind of does its own thing.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I'm going to let this ride for another day, but if there's no other votes by tomorrow, I'll just roll between the two of you.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Seems enthusiasm is dying down. Interestingly enough, I think your choices for the past few updates, including this one, while not the best from a utilitarian or strategic perspective, might have done enough open up another path narrative-wise. Or at least, the possibility of one...

Regardless, it looks like I will need to roll between ERYFKRAD's C vote and hello friend's custom E.

10 or under is ERYFKRAD, and 11 or over is hello friend.

edit: looks like we're going with the sting operation.

 

[Kalarion]

I'll start participating, at least. It may be productive to ping the regulars. Speaking for myself I only look in on the Playground once a week or so to check for new/interesting content unless I'm pinged (my hands are full just reading my watched threads most days).

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I'll start participating, at least. It may be productive to ping the regulars. Speaking for myself I only look in on the Playground once a week or so to check for new/interesting content unless I'm pinged (my hands are full just reading my watched threads most days).

I don't want to beg. If they're enjoying it, they'll respond.

I can see why some might have quit though, given that things haven't been going well. My DM philosophy is for this is basically to get as close to realism as the setting will allow, even if it means the players lose, so that means that certain paths are going to be harder than others. And some options I put in even though I know they won't lead to a good outcome because I know they're possible.

For example, I don't do this for every choice, but I mapped out the possible combinations for the riot choice and came up with basic outlines for the outcomes. I even still have it in my txt:

A. You implement a curfew with arrests.
1. Soldiers issued stun batons and disruptor rifles. - quells the riots with minimal causalities on either side, but takes time. makes people like you less.
2. Soldiers issued stun batons only. - does not quell the riots, only holds them at bay, casualties on the cardassian side. resistance activity increases.
B. A curfew with shoot on sight orders. - ends the riots, results in the people hating you, but also fearing you.
In attempting to restore order to the camps and rescue any guards that are held hostage:
A. You send in strike teams. - quick solution.
1. Soldiers issued stun batons and disruptor rifles. - prisoners die, but guards are relatively unscathed. - lowered production for the next month/until replacements can be found.
2. Soldiers issued stun batons only. - prisoners are all captured, but a number of guards are injured or killed - possible decrease in reputation for the rank and file.
B. You surround each of the camps in a siege and wait for them to surrender. - slow. causes one camp to be liberated in 1A1, and three camps to be liberated in 1A2. 1B results in no casualties whatsoever.

So here, the worst case would have been sending in non-lethal-only riot police AND surrounding the camps. The chaos and the fact that most of your troops would be spread thin between the sieges and the riots have allowed the resistance (probably the Shakar terror cell, who I would have introduced in that update) to liberate several of the camps. Thankfully, you didn't to that, but the possibility was there. Conversely, you could have paired the sieges with a quick resolution of the riots and thus had plenty of troops to focus on the sieges, thus incurring no loss of prisoners or guards.

I will give you the rope. You may choose to climb with it or to hang yourself.

 

[Kalarion]

I don't want to beg. If they're enjoying it, they'll respond.

I wasn't trying to suggest that, apologies if that's how it came across. Rather I was thinking maybe others are like me... only actively checking the Playground for new content occasionally. Pinging them isn't begging in my mind. Just bringing their attention to the thread faster then they would normally get around to it on their own.

And I wouldn't suggest pinging those who have already posted here, I agree that would be kind of cringe. But I haven't for instance seen Azira / Helly / Sukhāvatī / CappenVarra / Nevill /Tigranes / Baltika9 etc post yet, it might be productive to ping them ( :D )

I can see why some might have quit though, given that things haven't been going well.

Weird. My take on you guys is that you've been cheerfully taking fucked paths in CYOAs- and thoroughly enjoying the consequences- for years.

Although fwiw I generally agree with the thrust of decisions made so far in this CYOA; I'm a big fan of the iron fist/satin glove approach.

 

[True Ukrainian]

This game moves faster than other CYOAs. And not everyone checks in regularly.

Anyway, AB

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Crossroads

You say "I don't think that's a good idea, Glinn. Let's try hosting a party without any women instead."
"Very well, sir. I should warn you, the men might like that option even less." Ral says. "But we'll try it your way."
You give a sigh of relief.

-----

"So...where are the girls?" Gul Harka asks.
"What?" Glinn Gamlel responds.
"The comfort women, where are they?" he asks.
"Didn't you read the invitation?" Gamlel answers incredulously. "Gul Dukat isn't giving us any women. Why do you think so few of the officers showed up? I only came myself in order to drink and use one of Quark's holosuites while I'm on the station."
"You're having me on."
"I'm not. This is a pattern of behavior on Dukat's part. He seems a bit soft on the Bajora, if you ask me."
Glinn Reilmad, who's been listening in, laughs.
"Soft? The man turned the streets into a slaughterhouse to end the riots. I hear the locals are calling him "The Butcherer of Bajor" right now."
"I don't know. Maybe he's just soft in the head." Gamlel says, gulping down the kanar left in his glass.
"You forget yourself, Glinn. That's still a Gul you're talking about." Haraka says with a frown.
"Right, sorry, sir."
"Quiet. Here he comes." Harka says before turning and smiling at you.
You spend the rest of the evening drinking and talking with the officers, but the party eventually winds down. By the time most of the participants have left, you're more than a little drunk. Your bodyguard walks you to your quarters at Ral and Madred's insistence.

-----

Stardate 23322.54
(April 28, 2346)
Ral has called you to Ops with an urgent report about the situation with Roana, the barmaid turned terrorist.
You had set her and her family up in a house near the Bajoran city of Anaret. Your hope was that the terrorists would see her luxurious living conditions, assume she was now a collaborator and try to kill her, however, things have been quiet until today when the strike team monitoring the house nearby failed to check in with Ral at the scheduled time.
As you exit the turbolift to Ops, Ral greets you.
"Sir. The away team has arrived on the planet and has reported in on the status of the monitoring detail assigned to the house."
"And?"
"They're all dead, sir."
"What?"
"The men are dead, sir, Roana's mother and father are dead, and Roana herself is also dead." she responds. "Scans of burn marks on the ground indicate they were each vaporized by pulse disruptor rifle blasts set to kill and the genetic remnants match both the team, Roana and her parents. The records we've recovered suggest all surveillance devices were disabled just before the attack began. It was a surgical strike, sir."
You curse under your breath.
"I knew the terrorists might try to kill her, but to wipe out an entire strike team and her family at the same time? What are we dealing with here?" you ask.
"I'm not entirely sure, sir. We're running some scans of the surrounding area nearby for anything out of the ordinary, but we haven't got any results back yet."
This is...unexpected. You unconsciously put your hand on the flask of spirits you keep attached to your belt and bite your lip as you consider what you've just heard.

-----

Trooper Endal walks beside you as you stroll through the Promenade.
Your shift is over. You should head to bed, but something makes you want to stretch your legs for a bit first. You take out your flask and sip deeply. The fiery liquid burns your throat as it goes down, and you wince.
"You alright sir?"
"Yes," you say, setting the flask back on your belt. "Just...thinking."
Things haven't been going as smoothly as you would like. You guess that only reason Central Command hasn't recalled you after the riots is because production is now up close to eighty-five percent over what it was and terrorist activity has been greatly restricted now that the planet is in an indefinite state of martial law.
But at what cost?
The endless sweeps, the curfews, and the constant fear in the faces of your Bajorans as they go about their day...has it been worth it?
You look at the tired laborers' faces behind the cage-like barricade as they sit, resting or waiting for the next shift. The dull, hopeless expressions that you've seen too many of... You've known Cardassian soldiers that have looked like that after a long battle. Are they so different?
You shake your head. You're a Cardassian and they're Bajorans. That's enough. Isn't it?
You are about to look away when your eye catches on an old Bajoran man who is standing by the barricade, staring directly at you. Not listlessly, but purposefully. As if he's waiting for something.
Filled with a strange curiosity, you approach him. As you come closer to the barricade, the tension rises. The other Bajorans begin to whisper among themselves and you hear your name whispered a few times. "It's Dukat, The Butcherer."
The old man just stares at you impassively until the two of you are face to face.
"What is it you want?" you ask as you look down on him. The old man is short and somewhat hunched with age, but there is a strange strength in his eyes.
"I want my freedom, of course. But that's not the important question." he says.
"And what is?"
"The important question is: what is it that you want, Skrain?"
"Excuse me?" you say, taken aback by the fact that this old man would address you by your first name.
The old man reaches his empty hand up toward your face slowly, but deliberately.

A. You slap his hand away.
B. You let him touch you.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

And I wouldn't suggest pinging those who have already posted here, I agree that would be kind of cringe. But I haven't for instance seen Azira / Helly / Sukhāvatī / CappenVarra / Nevill /Tigranes / Baltika9 etc post yet, it might be productive to ping them ( :D )

Thx lol.

Weird. My take on you guys is that you've been cheerfully taking fucked paths in CYOAs- and thoroughly enjoying the consequences- for years.

Well, sometimes less than thoroughly. Someone in another thread was just complaining about certain writing choices another codexer made, but I take your point.

This game moves faster than other CYOAs. And not everyone checks in regularly.

Ah, I see. Yeah, I guess my writing frequency is a bit faster than most here. I forgot about that.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Yeah, I guess my writing frequency is a bit faster than most here. I forgot about that

Using a storyfagbot is not without its merits afterall.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Yeah, I guess my writing frequency is a bit faster than most here. I forgot about that

Using a storyfagbot is not without its merits afterall.

It certainly helps avoid writers block and I use it when generating new characters. That said, I think I'm probably doing the majority of the writing, since it will usually veer way off where I want it to go, inventing new races or turning you into a bajoran at the drop of a hat. It seems to do better on general fantasy writing than Star Trek fanfic writing. It knows what a PADD is though, I'll give it that. I just wish it wouldn't give every character one and just expect people to know what it is.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

Oh right. Voting Bad idea.

 

[True Ukrainian]

A

 

[Azira]

Oh, fondling by a hostile stranger! Yes, that does sound fun.
Since we're playing a deranged alcoholic who can't make up his own mind, let's have a go at getting strangled.

B