Vespae VI - Tick 96 Cycle 4

CRISPR quit on Tick 84 after I indicated we were not allies, and Innoble and I agreed to move our attack forward. 

Four cycles have ended now and I'm in a commanding position, but the prospect of a response from the other players looms large and I have a hunch I am about to be attacked.

Strategic

• Strategic plan A is capture some of CRISPRs territory prioritising soft stars where I wont burn a tonne of ships. The image below outlines the attack vectors. If I get a significant chunk of CRISPRs territory I'll stop capturing it leaving it to Innoble and focus my attention instead on defeating MiniMe.

• Strategic plan B assumes an attack from MiniMe +1/2 in the next 36 ticks where I will be the defender. The tactical section outlines the response. 
• Infrastructure wise I'm adding 2 Science (+28%) and 9 Industry (+32%) this cycle. I expect to add roughly 16 economy which would be a 24% increase. You can see the prospect of conflict is influencing my spend a bit. 

Diplomatic 

• CRISPR responding to my message with 'decline' and then quitting was a surprise, but a welcome one. 
• The alliance with Innoble and Vik Ia seems robust and strong. We are coordinating well and have a clear idea of what we are all doing. 
• Cypher and Vik are both giving impressions they intend to go to war after their NAP expires 12 ticks after Bubblegum is defeated. Lets see.
• One of the flashing warning signals I have going off is that neither MiniMe or Cypher have traded with me despite it being in their interest to do so. 

Tactical

• As mentioned, I think there is a significant chance MiniMe, in coordination with LimitingFactor or A1Cypher or both are about to attack me. Here is how I defend against that
• Fleet movements - The hunch that an attack might come soon has grown and I've bought the carriers and gave the orders to bring fleets west. A significant portion of my fleets are locked up attacking CRISPR (~160 ships around 1/3 of my total force) whilst another third are guarding the wormholes so my 'land border' to the west is soft.
• Cypher - (Diplomatic defense) In any scenario where Cypher attacks I will trust Vik Ia to hold him off and fight back. I might need to withdraw some forces from the wormhole but I will try to hold it with a significant fleet until Vik Ia's fleets arrive and take the heat off.
• MiniMe/LimitingFactor - I dont think I can rely on quick assistance against a joint attack from these two with LF using MiniMe's space as a launchpad. I think it would take Innoble time to respond and he might be willing to let me get a bit bruised. 
• Strength in depth - Time is on my side in an attack. I believe Innoble would, eventually, come to join the fight and my large territory and spread infrastructure means I can be confident of defending for several cycles slowly ceding ground as needed.