[sachmo]

Innovations

The city of Turian on Remorhaz, capitol of both the planet of Remorhaz and the Remorhaz Society, was known for it’s beautiful architecture. From the regal government buildings located in the Quadrangle to the colorful, vibrant shops located in the Merchant’s Quarter, the city was packed with interesting sights. In the case of the headquarters of the Research Guild, form did not follow function. The building was long and gray, with a total lack of innovation in its design. Square and utilitarian were words that came to mind when people walked past. It didn’t fit in Turian at all, the citizens believed.
Inside of the building, innovation was the watchword. The main task of the brilliant minds that worked inside this eyesore was to coordinate the research efforts in all corners of the Remorhaz Society for maximum productivity. Without their efforts, many of the latest innovations would still be locked up inside the minds of their inventors.
Doctor Genoviv Mustali was the current head of the Research Guild. It was her job to oversee the coordination of the scientists, students, and thinkers in the Society, and also to emphasize the direction in which the research effort should be headed. The emphasis was not decided solely by her, but in concert with the Chairman, the military, and any number of other organizations. It was a job that threatened to pull a person apart at the seams, but thankfully Genoviv was made of stern stuff.
She reviewed her notes one Last time as Grand Admiral Urian and Commandant Hunter came into the meeting room. She rose and moved toward them, flashing them her widest smile. She shook hands with them both before offering them refreshments. Both men declined.
“Grand Admiral, I saw the latest vid from the Bardron front. It’s wonderful news. I can’t believe that we are so close to victory against the Rage.” Genoviv said.
Urian looked across the table at her. She was a nice looking woman, with a grace that always reminded him of a dancer, or of a forest cat.
“We think that Bardron VI is their Last planet. Hopefully, they will be out of the war by the end of the year, if everything goes well.”
She nodded. “I’m sure it will, sir.” She turned her head slightly to address Commandant Hunter.
“Your Space Marines have done an incredible job, Commandant Hunter. You must be very proud. They’ve had remarkable success.”
He glanced up from his data pad.
“We couldn’t have done it without you, Doctor. The efforts of you and your people have given my Space Marines the right tools for the job. We are in your debt.”
Genoviv blushed slightly. The Commandant wasn’t the type to waste words, and so she knew he meant what he was saying. The fact that he had said anything spoke volumes.
“We do what we can, sir. We’re happy to help.”
A few moments later, Chairman Sachmo and his entourage came into the room, accompanies by Admiral Hilger Ash, the head of the Naval Design Bureau and Field Marshall Fredrick Gulman, commander of the Grand Army of the Remorhaz Society.
Everyone stood as the Chairman moved around the room, greeting everyone present. When he finally got around to Genoviv, he shook her hand warmly.
“Doctor, I hear you’ve got some excellent news for us,” the Chairman said.
“I do indeed sir.”
“If everyone is ready?” She glanced around the room, and everyone began taking their seats. She moved to her data pad as the lights dimmed.
“Let’s begin.”
A hologram appeared in the center of the table, showing the schematics of a weapon.
“When the war against the Rage began, they held advantages in propulsion and missile technology. As the war progressed, we narrowed that gap. Because of this, we eventually countered their gains, and began to push them back. Our superior numbers and aggressive tactics seemed to be effective against them.”
“Once we reached Lezzari, we found that they had again leapt past us in the technology race. When the Rage unleashed their phased energy weapons against us, it was a nasty shock. They had a longer range and did more damage than our depleted uranium cannon. In fact, they almost outdistanced our missiles. This technology gap was one that we could not overcome, until now.”
The schematic was replaced by a vid of tests being conducted on captured Rage equipment. Genoviv began again.
“Thanks to the efforts of many scientists throughout the Society, we now have our own Version of the phased polaron beam. It’s not quite as powerful as the Rage designs, but we feel that the current model is more than adequate for fleet service. Admiral Ash? ”
Admiral Ash tapped his data pad, and three different ship designs appeared in the hologram, along with a space fighter design, a defense satellite design, and a new Blazer design. There was also what looked like a service rifle for the Space Marines based on the new beam technology.
As Ash began discussing the new design proposals to incorporate the new phased polaron beam weapons, everyone in that room knew that the technology gap between the Ukra-Tal and Remorhaz had just become much smaller.
During the meeting, it was decided that the current research effort should remain unchanged, which was focused on next generation targeting computers for the fleet. Once this was completed, all effort would be put into increasing the effectiveness of the polaron beam. In the meantime, the new designs proposed by the Naval Design Bureau were approved, with the initial deployment being the phased beam battle rifle for the Space Marines. It was thought that this new weapon would increase their combat power by at least thirty percent, and would be the cheapest to implement quickly. Before long, the entire Remorhaz military would be armed with this new weapon, just in time for the offensive against the Ukra-Tal.