Ok... this is going to be a long one... As you may have noticed, money has become less and less of an issue for the characters. Although you don't have the money on hand, you are now richer than most of the independent businesses on OuterReach. You already have plans to expand operations on LostReach, although naturally you will have some competition there. The megacorps aren't stupid - they're going for the same golden eggs you are. Luckily, most of them like to work cooperatively instead of making destructive competition. Yes, there will be some of that, but better business happens when everyone is happy. You aren't a megacorp, and that would take years of work, mostly bluebooking. Alternately, you'd need to make a really big score again. You can't really expect such to happen on OuterReach now, b/c you've become bigshots, and just keeping the paparazzi off you is going to cost a lot of money. The UPF has made it clear that those willing to explore and exploit new systems can become practical owners. However, the competition there is already heating up as well. The megacorps are hiring crews like mad, and spacer skills are becoming a hot item. Dramune is on the road to recovery. The reason OuterReach was such a criminal hole is that it WAS a criminal hole. Chicken and the egg. That is quickly fixing itself, especially with the new election. It's always going to be a backwater, because the mining just isn't big money. On the other hand, it's a great manufacturing world, because the resources are local, the power is free and there's no environmental regulations - and no need for such. Living on an asteroid has become much more efficient than a gravity well with the newly "gifted" technology delivered by the Sathar (which is still suspicious), but people like their gravity. The big money is out in the belts, but planets still have their charms. So the question is... what now? You can frankly make money faster at this point, by hiring people and letting them do the work and take all the risks. The only major goal outstanding that was on my original list is "remove the Sathar threat", but that's the hardest goal in my repertoire. The UPF has been working on that for years, and they have more resources than a full-fledged megacorp. Admittedly, you never really figured out the Rabbit's organization, but it's not terribly important, and he's acting like an ally now, even sharing full spy information with the UPF. I'm concerned that I don't have much left that I can challenge you with as characters. You have some enemies, but most of them are smart enough to realize that it's better to just leave you alone. They might succeed if they send assassins after you, but it isn't worth the risk if they get caught at it. I know you have lots of things you want your characters to do, but I'm worried that most of them don't actually matter much. You can build a fleet of starships... and make more money. You can invent railguns and whatever else, but it appears the pirates are on the run and the Sathar have returned to a cloak-and-dagger war. I'll tell you upfront that you aren't going to get a finale from that direction - they have purposes that don't fit that storyline. You've pretty much explored (and overcome) most of the world setting that I have. I can invent new problems and enemies, but that would sort of be cheating. When I design a world setting, I try to keep it self-consistent. Creating new big enemies from thin air throws all sorts of wrenches in the gears. My point is that this is the late game. Do you have any more BIG goals that you want to finish? Are these things that require play time, or would it work just as well in bluebooking? I'm beginning to think that the game using these characters is almost over. You could "retire" them, and maybe take on new roles as new hires of the NeonTygers. Maybe go on an exploratory mission - more similar to the original StarFrontiers modules. If so, I have a few worlds sketched out, but if you give me warning and time, I can flesh them out with more detail. Finally, I don't know how much longer I should go as GM. It might soon be time to let someone else take the hat. It's been a really good game, but eventually the creative juices run dry, and it's time to rest and just play for a while.
