Bad Company General Report Seventeen

You caught me in a real bad mood. I'm having trouble with this software - this is the third attempt to get this BCGn out without destroying it in the process. The entire Letters disk is corrupted. If I haven't sent you a letter by now, and you haven't heard from me for ages, chances are that I don't realize I'm supposed to be writing - a lot of letters were destroyed.

If any of you want to communicate by disk that's fine by me. I can read/write Amiga and low density PC disks. If you are lucky enough to be able to use this medium, you get all Reports and Blurbs! I simply duplicate my (working) disks for you. Good, eh?

Another reason why I haven't written for a while were the exams. This affected quite a few of us, Colonel Smegly included. Watch out for students changing their address over the summer. My address is Tadpole Cottage, [REMOVED], as from now - don't forget!

BCU1 should be enclosed if the Reports disk isn't bad. Do your best to make these work! It is very difficult to keep Brothers together in their original Units when mass promotions are made. I will do my level best to keep you with Brothers you know but in the event that I can't you'll have to accept this.

Things are generally looking good. I've finally sorted The Map out! Even if it's wrong, there's nothing I can do about it now. Most maps I've got have been overlaid. If I've got any maps you want back, tell me and I'll get on to it.

How many of you know anything about THoS? I seem to remember telling the THoS story in a BCGn though I'm not about to check. Basically what happened is that they refused to negotiate a Contract of Alliance with us on the grounds that we knew a Light Group. Several incidents occurred that caused an otherwise neutral attitude to deteriorate. Recently I wrote to Gorth Doomdabbler asking him to review the option of Alliance as THoS's map would come in more than a bit handy in a route which is being planned. He wrote back saying that they didn't have a map! Although Gorth also said they knew the location of every single Far Structure...

Basically they've refused to return the information I sent - they could construct a map from their turns if nothing else. And if I "do not agree (to a Contract of Alliance), then we will do battle." That was ok by me, and I assumed a War with THoS was inevitable. However, Gorth wrote back with a complete change in attitude! He's agreed to compile a map for us, and exchange other information. No information will be swapped until a Contract is drawn up though - I'm still trying to work out what a Shroud Norman is doing wandering around our Temple.

Unfortunately, there is an article in MIAB which Doomdabbler might not appreciate. This was written some time ago and shouldn't have been printed. So at this point in time it's not clear what is happening with THoS. Brothers should decide. We'll hold a Vote - you have 3 options. Alliance, Neutrality and War. If you have a preference then be sure to let me know.

We need a plan. When we've decided on a plan, all Brothers will be expected to follow it. Note that if you've put much effort into Bad Company (Rebuilding, mapping, information, etc), your opinion will have serious weight. The Brothers who are committed to Bad Company will ultimately get to determine our future - they are the hard core of Bad Company. Without them we are nothing.

Now we come to my proposed plan of action, along with the reasoning.

Firstly, we should keep together to ensure both safety and efficiency. We've got a problem now The Temple is up, namely that some Brothers will become eligible for Discipledom soon afterwards but others will have a wait of 12 or so turns. Say it takes another 3 turns to actually become a Disciple. 15 turns will also be enough time for virtually all Brothers to get here.

What then? We'll need another 3 Temples. Rebuilding Temples will be interesting enough on account of the Spells. But it's always best to add that little something. I suggest that we take a route that allows us to get better Weaponry, Armour and Skills at Far Structures.

This accepted, which route? Obviously, we won't want to cover the same ground twice if we can help it. If we travel Northeast to The Polished Rod (178,32) we can Rebuild another Temple there. Then South to Spigot Red's Far Forge (179,-19) to Rebuild another Temple. And South again to visit The Silver Hook (176,-68) to Rebuild another Temple. I've given the name of the Far Forge in each case, though a Far Inn and Far Post will be found very near each Far Forge as they exist in clumps.

There is good reason for not going to Spigot Red's first. It is about 5 turns East of The Temple. But The Polished Rod is about 5 turns Northeast of The Temple. If we visit The Polished Rod and work South, we'll hit 3 Far Forges over 100 squares. If we visit Spigot Red's, we'll have to retrace our steps to hit the same Far Forges, which will mean travelling over 150 squares. If we don't hit these 3 Far Forges and choose others instead, we'll lose what they have to offer along with the corresponding Far Inn. The above route will leave us in a position in the centre of The Island. We will then be able to choose whether to continue South to the next Far Forge, or get past The Crystal Hills. We could conceivably hit every Far Forge bar Korn's Hammer, although the 3 Far Forges above will give us everything Far Forges sell.

Some Brothers will not be ready to leave this area for 15 turns, and it will take 5 turns to get to The Polished Rod. I suggest that Brothers do whatever during this period, and arrive at The Polished Rod in exactly 20 turns time. This will be around mid December. Whereupon the Rebuilding of the next Temple will commence. Since this rest will have been so long we might then immediately move South (no rest) to find the next Temple near Spigot Red's.

There will be a Vote on this plan. All interested Brothers should get their Vote to me as soon as possible, together with any suggestions or modifications.

Things like Rebuilding Towers and Forts have yet to be examined properly. I believe that no Group has ever managed to get the knowledge required to Rebuild the last 500 APs of Tower. And although Forts have been enabled, the Resident Instructor has yet to be seen. If any Brother hears of updates on this through First Class or similar, let me know.

Finally, some Brothers have said that they know of several potential recruits. The more Brothers we have, the more we get done. Write to any Prospect and see whether they would be interested in joining Bad Company. Tell them to write to me if they are. Never stop recruiting. If you encounter a non-Religious or Fuvian Monster, write and see what the score is.

Finally (II), Reports should be going out regularly again now the trauma is over for this year. Don't forget to contact your UC/Brothers as soon as possible. Don't forget to tell any relevant Brother any change of address over the summer. My phone number will be [REMOVED] at my summer address. I'll be able to phone you from there as I don't have to pay for bills (easy life!) within reason. While not the best way to communicate information, the phone is obviously the best way to discuss things bar E-Mail. I'll be using E-Mail to communicate as from next October. Any Brother with this facility should use it.

If I'm supposed to be sending you stuff, remind me. The Big Map is ready too.