Diplomatic conundrum... |
I've a situation.
(I'm playing Unnamed Mod w/ 1.66 patch, though I notice this is also a quirk in the stock game.)
A little background first.
I'm playing the Romulan Star Empire, and have amassed a modest little empire. It's a later stage game, and the galaxy has evolved into a nice little group of five empires. Myself, the Xiati Empire, Norak Continuum (Eee) Temmeth Protectorate and the Athichox Consortium.
Early in the game, the Eee and I hit it off, and I formed the Romulan Star Alliance. One by one, (eventually) all the other empires joined the Alliance. Over the course of the next 25 years, all but two proved to be unreliable allies, stirring up trouble with the other members. They would vote to remove fellow allies, make unfair demands, and exercise intelligence operations against allies. At my behest, they were removed, and all was well. The next five years proved quiet, and myself, the Norak Continuum and the Temmeth Protectorate peacefully governed our respective quadrants of the galaxy, while the others went to war.
Now, the problem.
Every five years or so, an unknown entity would pop up. First, it was the Lhathichu Alliance, who I lost contact with shortly after first contact. Then it was the Iyiquel Society, followed by the Afuroq Empire, Gaxghi Imperium and the Ecuphun Imperium. These "new additions" would randomly pop up, and then vanish, vanquished rapidly by the other races, almost the instant they appeared.
At first, I was confused, as I did not know the game randomly spawned new players. Then, I was alarmed with the rate at which enemies and allies alike were committing genocide, and lastly, annoyed, as I wanted the opportunity to make these newfound races members of my own growing alliance and benefit from their technology and distinctiveness.
I scrambled as each new race appeared, to propose membership to the fledgling races, and offer them our protection, and the chance to evolve. I finally had my chance. The Ecuphun Imperium had popped up in the Kartogia system, sandwiched between the Xiati Empire and the Athichox Consortium.
Between myself and the Ecuphun Imperium lay the Azoxegh Federation, my troublesome neighbor, with whom I had no quarrel. It was an uneventful, unimaginative, and peaceful race and I had no intention of conquering them. But the moment my fleet warped into their system, inbound to assist one of these new fledgling races, their mood changed to "Terrified", and they went to war. As an afterthought, really, I demanded their surrender, and moved on to my original mission. Save the Ecuphun Imperium. I didn't even leave so much as a single ship in the Teshanna system. I dropped a satellite and a few mines at the warp point to Vindintrinium, and my fleet raced outwards to Kartogia and the Ecuphun Imperium.
It was a fool's errand to go to war with me, and I had no intention of actually prosecuting the war with them, as the five systems I controlled had one warp point, a chokepoint I had heavily mined and defended. As a token of my might, and a show of force, I did send in one (unescorted) armed troop transport and seized control of Teshanna IV.
My fleet never reached the Ecuphun Imperium. The Xiati Empire destroyed their infant civilization the following month as my fleet raced to meet up with them. Disheartened, the fleet turned back to Romulus. This would make five new civilizations who had fallen in as many years. In symbolic protest, I slapped trade sanctions on the Xiati, and the following month, cut off diplomatic relations.
As the fleet re-entered the Teshanna system, bound for Romulus, a new race popped up, IN the Teshanna system. The previous month, I had surrendered control of Teshanna IV, returning it to the control of the Azoxegh Federation. (My point made - and taken, the Azoxegh sued for peace) The world I had intended to return to their control became the capital for a new, nascent civilization. The Selles Hive. I immediately positioned my fleet between the Azoxegh and the Selles, and in the Alliance Chambers, tabled a proposal to approach the fledgling civilization with an offer to join the Romulan Star Alliance. They accepted.
Oddly, the Selles had popped onto the grid with remarkably advanced technology, including the coveted Temporal tree. I doubly wanted to protect them. I wanted their technology. In the one encounter I've had with the Selles, one of my destroyers surveying Teshanna IX ran across a Selles frigate. It was a rude surprise. I could only scan engines, armor, and weaponry, but the little frigate boasted a clear 10-20 TL advantage over that of my allies. With the size and composition of my fleet, coupled with this technological advantage, I could master this quadrant of space, and assure my dominance in this century.
But I had a problem. The Selles were terrified. The mood of the alliance shifted to terrified as well. The following month, the Azoxegh surrendered to the Romulan Star Empire. (My demand for their surrender lagging a month - due to radio transmission times?) I now had firm control of the entire Teshanna system, which I intended to transfer to the control of the Selles, to husband their resources and forces, while they grew. In the meantime, I intended to use the strength of my fleet to protect them, and to create a military and political buffer zone between myself and the Xiati Empire.
My problem was now twofold. A) The mood of my alliance - Terrified. B) My inability to speak directly to the Selles. As they were now part of the Romulan Star Alliance, I could not speak to them directly to offer economic assistance, OR transfer the control of the remaining worlds of the Teshanna system to them. In the Alliance Chambers, I can send a message to the entire alliance, or propose a gift to the entire alliance, but not the Selles.
My question then, is this.
Is there a way for me to speak directly to an Alliance member without using the Alliance Chambers? I do not want my alliance mood to remain "Terrified", and I want to continue to support the Selles, and see them mature. I've put way too much effort into this, at this point, to abondon the project.
This alliance is approaching it's 50th anniversary, and I'm entertaining the idea of abandoning it to save the Selles. Please tell me there's something I've missed and that there's a way to speak to ONE ally as opposed to the entire alliance.
Help?
