PROJECT DESTINY: The Nepleslian Super-Soldier Discussion

[Legix]

PROJECT DESTINY​

First up, this isn't set-in-stone, nor has Gunhand approved it. This is simply a method to bring Nepleslia some well-needed incentives to keep up with Yamatai and to also fit the fact that soon (more than likely) they will be getting involved in conflict where this sort of soldier will once again have a home. Many people know of the ID-SOL and like the idea of playing as them, based on prior threads that were necro'd during the Necromancer event as well as chats that have happened before I've arrived and since. Because of this, I figured it was about time to finally give Nepleslia something to work with. It's still very rough, so this idea is being put here to be discussed and worked on. It bears many similarities and inspiration (in this current form) to the SPARTAN project from Halo. This is due, however, not to choice but that it seems like a logical use of the ID-SOL bloodline that makes up many of the natives to Nepleslia currently along with the idea that (as we see in the Spartan 4 project) even normal soldiers can be augmented down the line.

The first stage of the project, as we so far figure it, would involve Nepleslians wanting a way to shove it in Yamatai's face without being a declaration of war. An initial look into the idea of FURTHER augmenting ID-SOL/ID-SOL descendants, this is simply something at first to make them tougher. Initially, it seems likely to create some sort of PA-assist mindware or just mindware in general to make them more "linked up" than common soldiers. It's at this point they come into an actual conflict, inspiring Nepleslia to dig further. This is essentially the equal to something like the SPARTAN I's, where they're not doing much more than idle experimentation because they have time and resources. An idle start that is so minute that most of the nation ignores it or laughs at it.

The second stage, spurred by conflict, will be where they make genuine attempts with the successes of their first wave. The first generation and more candidates are brought in and biologically upgraded with a sort of PA-assisting skeleton and modifying part. Not akin to something like the SPINE and various other Neko improvements, but rather something that allows the Nepleslian soldier to activate a "burst" of power. Something that burns reserves of calories/nutrients and uses a built-up charge (perhaps) in the device to push their power armor/physical limits further. This would allow them to withstand/handle greater pressures and tests of might within power armor that might be outright scary to others. A brief, perhaps once-per-battle burst of action that would require time to recover. This burst is obviously the peak of their performance, but these upgrades would generally help withstand the strains of pressure to make even better soldiers by default. At this stage, they're a mockery trying to make themselves known. Fighting on fronts among people who have no respect for them.

Stage three comes once they've proven/had time to be effective. Nepleslia potentially designs a new suit around these individuals and has been able to reproduce at least one version for their standard elite troops. This can be akin to how Spartans came first and led to advancements for the ODST in terms of technology and stimulants. In short, this is the stage where people who are curious and of proper rank will be selected and upgraded while the survivors from the first wave become iconic as a potentially new division of the military. This is safely a long-term point (hoping it's received well), that would lead them into the final stage.

Final stage is quite simple: at this point, the elite soldiers of Nepleslia are able to be selected for the full-version project. Everyone has been upgraded and likely these units support a unique sort of PA to assist in their "burst" of power and have even begun to field cybernetic upgrades atop their traditional stuff. At this point, they've become phased in as the elite super-soldier infantry, rather than some specialist soldier. This would give Nepleslia a standing (albeit small) ability to be on par with many nations and species with enhanced soldiers. At this point, the ID-SOL is remarked as a laughable joke of a soldier compared to these new ones. ID-SOL or not, the best of the best have found ways to become more capable soldiers and have gear designed around these augmentations.

It's a lengthy read, but the TLDR is that it's very akin to the Spartan project. Ideas are similar all the time, but this isn't meant to be viewed as a rip-off. It's why this is a discussion. This idea seems sound (to those who were involved in the initial reading and breakdown into this idea), but we know full well that it should be both a group decision and one backed by the FM of Nepleslia how this looks. Diversifying this from the Spartan project is also something we can work on together... so let's do that =3=b

Real TLDR: Read and reply, give input and ideas. Let's make a new soldier-type for Nepleslia to help stir-up the potential action! Let's make Nepleslia great again! =3=7

(Not that it's not great. Don't shoot me based lord Gunhand. @Gunhand4171 @CadetNewb , for two important tags. You two are pretty solid for input on this, obviously, but everyone else shouldn't feel discouraged either =3=7)

 

[Edto Xar'Sivaree]

I give this my stamp of approval. #DATNAME! Proud of that.

If anyone cares to know, the reason it's called "Project: DESTINY" is because the name of the Ship that spurred Nepleslian Independence from Yamatai was the YSS Destiny.

So the general motif and message of the name is to insinuate that these soldiers will protect the independence and freedom of Nepleslia, at all costs. Wanted to make it historically relevant to the setting.

 

[Fred]

This seems plausible. Though it runs a bit contrary to the value system I've seen roleplayed with Nepleslians within the Star Military.

Of course, private concerns can have a very different outlook from the usual environment PCs are in, and corporate interests could certainly value having a 'better' private army than usual, which could eventually bleed into the actual military.

 

[Legix]

This seems plausible. Though it runs a bit contrary to the value system I've seen roleplayed with Nepleslians within the Star Military.

Of course, private concerns can have a very different outlook from the usual environment PCs are in, and corporate interests could certainly value having a 'better' private army than usual, which could eventually bleed into the actual military.

This is why I can imagine initially this not being a state-sponsored venture. Like the first step/stage could entirely be some genetics/research firm that budded up within Nepleslia dabbling in this and contracting out. A PMC of genetically upgraded soldiers picked up to fight on the cheap, maybe? It'd be a bit iffy, obviously, but this is why an idea that got shot down before held promise as a sort of "corporate venture, government backed"-style thing. The idea of a better soldier to compete with the effectiveness of the Neko is something anyone would no doubt LOVE to market, after all.

It's also not meant to necessarily devalue soldiers. Initially, I can see the system doing so or outright seeming irresponsible. But in the later stages of the project, this would be amended via shortcuts/leaps in the process. I almost imagine that these "upgrades" could be offered as a reward for soldiers too. Not to mention it could boom some civilian companies as we found out that this sort of system would very likely be taxing and require a potential additional ship to fleets to feed/support these soldiers post-"burst". It could help diversify and spawn potentially more RP's just in how people might want to handle this. All-in-all, I think that from a military standpoint it could prove its worth in the gradual long-term. Nepleslia has nothing to lose (truly) investing minute amounts into the initial project and once it proves successful and gets invested in it would prove fruitful and increase the individual value of every soldier they have.

TLDR: It's been somewhat weird seeing Nepleslia had super-soldiers that fell out in terms of usage in comparison to something like the Neko. If they had a way to produce better soldiers (who would be able to apply this technology/upgrade out of combat down the road), then it seems like something that ICly even bickering politicians could get behind. It's just a really fun topic, too, as it can help bring a spark back to the Nepleslians if they rolled out some new content with the revival attempts going on from Gunhand.

 

[Edto Xar'Sivaree]

The whole benefit I could see of this is that whichever company decides to sponsor the program, they could send messages to people who are having issues. Keep it all black op, "you don't contact us, we contact you" sorta secrecy. Take the Kodian Civil War which was brought up. The company messages one of the sides and tells them that for a cost, they can make a certain problem "Go away" be it a high value commander, or just obliterate a highly defended factory/lab. Any kind of high profile mission could be given to these soldiers, and it would all be black op. Making them like the Isreal Special Forces in their methods.

Q: Why do you never hear an eyewitness account of an ISF attack?
A: Because there are no eyewitnesses to make the account

Make sure there is no identifying features, and the company can make these people invisible people. Strip volunteers of everything to make them soldiers. The BEST soldiers. This way if the company fails, there is nothing to point to them for the attack. If they succeed, well now they have a reputation. This Reputation grows more and more until finally, the Company goes to Nepleslia to say "Hey, we created the ultimate Super Soldiers. Here is our resume" and Nep goes "Woah, we should back this". Government funding becomes a license to print money and BOOM! You got your Super Soldiers. Project: DESTINY, the Ultimate in non-Vatborn Soldier!

Given my sudden realization that the Vekimen have no true ties to Yamatai, other than a treaty that actually hasn't been written, I am very interested in getting them involved. They don't have much Money wise, but who would suspect there being a Super Soldier Program starting on their planet? I'm always on the lookout for ways for the Vekimen Government to earn some KS, and if it's going to have it's start with a Company then I could see it starting there. Not to mention I am going to get starting on making Komodo a PMC hub if I can.

 

[Doshii Jun]

I thought that one of the concerns at the time was that ID-SOLs were just crazy super and that we needed to back off of that to bolster Neko and to really show off how regular Neps could do things. (Been awhile, obviously ... )

 

[Legix]

I thought that one of the concerns at the time was that ID-SOLs were just crazy super and that we needed to back off of that to bolster Neko and to really show off how regular Neps could do things. (Been awhile, obviously ... )

I don't think Neps not being able to do things is the problem anymore. I think it's more in-line with the fact that the Neps have no way to really match Neko in the long-run without them. Neko are out the wazoo nowadays, so a gradual return to SOME super soldier presence can't be a bad thing.

Edit: I also think that in a time where the Neps NEED some attractive flair (more, anyway) that this is a perfectly reasonable action. Bringing incentives when the population has dropped so low is the best way to ensuring it can catch up and get some life for sure. This also isn't a way to "surpass Neko Gear", but rather a way to come close/even it out more. Even then, their strongest attribute (the proposed "burst" of further enhanced abilities) isn't a sustained capability. They're still going to have issues likely going toe-to-toe with a warmachine like the Neko.

 

[Edto Xar'Sivaree]

I thought that one of the concerns at the time was that ID-SOLs were just crazy super and that we needed to back off of that to bolster Neko and to really show off how regular Neps could do things. (Been awhile, obviously ... )

I think the main goal of this is to at least attempt to even the playing field.

Let's face it, as the setting is written if you are not a Neko then you are not as good as you can be. Neko's are /the/ super soldier, and because of the non-existent/super rare(?) males in the Neko's ranks, this will also open up the Super Soldier path to people who want guys. ID-SOL's and the new thing that Alex and Jason are, are the only options right now, and even they pale to the Neko. Don't quote me on the male thing, that is just what I see in the setting.

This will possibly bring more attention to the Nepleslia Faction when it comes to new folks. Just need to get a start too it.

 

[Doshii Jun]

No problem; not arguing. Just trying to remember why they went away to begin with. Yamatai switched its people from separate civilian and military subspecies/models (Yamataians and Nekovalkyrja) to up/downrating either species depending on military service status, so now everyone on Yamatai has the ability to become super-awesome. So I get the pursuit.

 

[Edto Xar'Sivaree]

What is your opinion on the idea of leveling the playing field a little and possibly shaking the domination Yamatai has over the Super Soldier category @Doshii Jun? I'm curious?

 

[Doshii Jun]

No opinion. I'm a quasi-FM. Wes' opinion matters. As long as Nepleslia and Yamatai don't fight, I'm happy.

 

[Edto Xar'Sivaree]

I wasn't asking your opinion as a FM, I was asking your opinion as another person but if that is how you would like to answer I won't press further

 

[Legix]

No worries, brother. As indicated, this is a stage where bringing light onto the idea is useful. It's just good to remember that right now, Nepleslia needs players and this could be what helps get them. I'm a bit annoyed that it could be turned down worrying about Yamatain superiority. Assuming this DOES somehow match or (somehow) surpass Neko, Yamatai still has countless technological advantages one would imagine. So I'm not really sure what's to worry about in terms of another faction. Nor does it belittle the mass-produced war machine species for a more time-consuming and selective program.

Beats me, though.

 

[Wes]

1. Since it broke from Yamatai and there was the Species Restriction Order that sent players of human and Nepleslian players flocking to that faction, Nepleslia's defining feature has been that it's the faction that you go to when you want to play humans.That's its niche and role and what brings Nepleslia players. When you sign up for Yamatai you know that you're going to be a Nekovalkyrja, a Minkan (almost as strong), or that you'll some other species that's more "normal" and just deal with being less capable by the numbers. It's exciting to be the underdog and if that's your thing, cool. But when you sign up for Nepleslia, in general you know the other player characters around you are mostly cybernetic humans like your character. There's a mostly level playing field. And this idea could change that so that Nepleslia is divided into the humans people have come to Nepleslia to play, and the superhumans who are Nepleslia's version of Nekovalkyrja, making Nepleslia more like Yamatai. As the FM of Yamatai I would prefer our factions keep some of the things that make us distinct from each other.

2. Why is this even necessary? In a setting where all of serious combat takes place in power armor, how is making Nepleslians into The Hulk going to actually benefit them in non-recreational combat? It's a sci-fi RP. When you have a exosuit with a computer-assisted railgun it's not going to matter if you can benchpress a Delsaurian or not. Yamatai realized this long ago and considers modern Nekovalkyrja to be only part of a combat system that also includes the Mindy or Daisy. That's why we don't need or make the physically overpowered models of the old days anymore. If regular Nepleslians can fight as well as these "Destiny" guys can in armor combat, then there's no reason to make them. And if they are better power armor operators, is that fair to existing Nepleslian players who suddenly will find the very essence of Nepleslia shifting under their feet? ID-SOLs were kept rare because we wanted them to stay rare.

 

[Legix]

1: So what's that make Yamatai? The faction you want to play when you want to be OP/anything but humans? Also, I'm not sure where the argument for being either a Neko, Minkan, or "some other species" really works. Why is this sort of thing being mentioned? As a defense that Nepleslia can't have more than humans? Not only that, but this project isn't changing the fact they'd still be upgraded humans. Even then, less so significantly in comparison to a Neko or Minkan which are fully made.

Atop this, characters using cybernetics often aren't doing so as an upgrade but to replace parts. This just seems like a complaint being made because Nepleslia who have super soldiers again. Realistically, people aren't picking a faction for the race. Minkan are human in appearance, as well as countless other faction species. They're picking it for the culture. That culture doesn't change with the inclusion of these guys. They're still 100% man-mode Nepleslia. They just have an additional outlet for how you play, which I don't see any sort of problem with.

2:Why was the ID-SOL necessary? Why were the Neko necessary? "It's a sci-fi RP" isn't a defense. That's dodging and trying to write this off. The Neko existing is due to you wanting it. Power armor or not, Neko are absurd. Being better power armor operators via physical prowess is significantly different than Neko which gain massive boons in their armor in comparison to everything else. These guys have a brief gain or SLIGHT benefit in power armor via their burst/more durable changes.

You can't defend this as some thing that isn't necessary. Otherwise, why would Neko be necessary? Because they aren't. People have been wanting ID-SOL throughout the years to return. Nepleslia needs more boons for it. If this project brings super-soldiers into the fray and that helps (because let's face it, there's 10000000000 reasons to pick Yamatai over Nepleslia currently because you pick Minkan and you might as well be a human) Nepleslia then why frown on it? It's necessary in the same light that Neko are: it's an asset ICly and it's an incentive to play the faction OOCly. This won't "kill" the rate of normal Nepleslians. In fact, I imagine most Nepleslians would be human and played with a focus on growing more adept. This means people would be playing the faction longer if they want to unlock this (barring plots fixed around these guys, which I could foresee requiring FM approval) and would ultimately give Nepleslia more activity and reward those who WANT the project for staying invested to become elites ICly.

Overall, I'm bit confused why these defenses are being used. Nepleslia has been suffering and the "defining feature" clearly hasn't been enough. This has been a faction that (being brutally honest) has just suffered more and more because of a lack of incentives to pick Nepleslia over Yamatai for what's sheerly available. This degrading Nepleslia? I don't see it. And again, if you want to preach that super soldiers aren't necessary... why aren't we putting the Neko into reduced bodies on a physical and technological scale? Oh, right. Because they need the only super soldiers with top-of-the-line Power Armor, top-of-the-line equipment, and top of the line fleets.

This smells like Yamatai feels threatened. And it might sound insulting, but that's because the main problems presented against it is "why" (which is IMMEDIATELY answered by the fact people have wanted ID-SOL back and that it provides an incentive to Nepleslian elites IC and OOCLY?) and that it'd somehow degrade Nepleslia. ID-SOL aren't rare, nearly as much as utterly removed from play. They've been utterly frowned out of existence into mostly half-breeds with like... maybe a handful of ID-SOL I've even been able to find. Rare is one thing, but you guys have all but phased out a species that is iconic to the macho-Nepleslian image. You phased out the soldiers because they were a clearly-stated Neko pre-cursor. You basically stripped Nepleslia of something that Yamatai abused and now holds over their heads. Why on earth wouldn't/couldn't Nepleslia take the time to produce these new soldiers? Having your own PA-operating super-soldiers seems to have worked LEAGUES for Yamatai. And I doubt this would discourage/replace the entirety of Nepleslia's base soldiers. The very idea that Nepleslia would be flooded PURELY for DESTINY soldiers is just silly. Especially when it even mentions that this would be for Elite soldiers. This isn't some species-replacing immediate option. This is for specific-designed plots and Neps who have lasted long enough to likely earn it. Insulting it as something that could damage Nepleslia just seems outright not concerned about the fact Nepleslia has little incentives (honestly) in the light of a faction like Yamatai that provides humans/near humans.

 

[Amaryllis]

All you're doing is making a really poor case by attacking the owner of the site by saying everything is an agenda to keep Nepleslia down. You act like everything is a stats/numbers game because you're making it one and choosing to think that way. You didn't even show an understanding of simple reasons why people preferred power armor to Mecha like them being more immersive/relatable as they aren't huge and you wear them like clothing or a suit of armor. Now you're going on about this. A Nep FM and co-FM left simultaneously not long ago. Before that Sigma was managing two plots and I think he was FM and he got upset about stuff and left. Yamatai has always had Wes. It has had Nashoba, Doshii and Fred for ages. It has had the Eucharis as the go to fast paced plot for new members to get their feet wet. Nepleslia didn't have that. Yamatai let's you make characters with very little background, direction or personality guilt free through Neko. Nepleslia doesn't have that to the same degree. Yamatai has more content creators and overlapping creators shared with Nepleslia and people willing to put down money for art. Yamatai endures any site drama because it has Wes and others. Those are clear reasons why it has more players.

There's nothing wrong with saying adding more super people stuff detracts from Nepleslia as it is. Other people have have been here way longer but I can still say I know things as a "veteran" that might not be immediately obvious to you. People have constantly said they didn't want to use all the Neko superpowers/abilities including basic stuff like floating and telepathy and even when they did there were problems with people portraying their consequences and logical use well. People go to Nepleslia to get away from super anime people. Not all do but that's a draw. People like playing people as in ordinary humans who become badass through extraordinary events and circumstances which everyday Nepleslia is full of. Nepleslia could use aether too. It has stuff listed as using aether but it doesn't mainly use it for style reasons. It doesn't make more super people for style reasons. It doesn't have revival technology like Yamatai does for style reasons. Go ahead and mention brain spiders. Lots of people didn't like them and wanted them gone or didn't want to acknowledge their existence. Nepleslia players could all get their own equivalent of an NSP but they don't for style reasons. They instead get something like the heavy high power whatever gun that has high recoil and uses solid bullets. They could have super fast agile bioborgs but they don't for stylistic reasons. They instead get cybernetics. Giving them greater bio bodies would reduce the appeal of cybernetics. Your whole mindset for suggesting things for Nepleslia sounds "unacceptable" for me when you say Wes' arguments aren't valid as you don't seem to understand why things are the way they are which causes you to act on a false premise.

It doesn't surprise me you're jumping into things with a poorly framed argument when you're already making a faction when you may as well have just got here and we've seen that fail plenty.

 

[Navian]

While it's true that people are playing Nepleslians for the culture, not for the ability to play humans, it's not for the reasons you gave. Minkans and Nekos aren't human, even if they look human. Nepleslians are human. I'm playing two Nepleslian characters for that reason, even though I'm playing them both as loyal to Yamatai.

I didn't exactly have a free choice, though, it was either play them on Yamatai or not play them at all, because there was only one Nepleslian faction plot open at the time, and it was full. There's no Nepleslian martial arts school plot. That's just because no one's GMing one... which certainly has nothing to do with ID-SOLs.

I think you're overcomplicating things... Nekos, mass-produced war machines, are the most key feature the Star Army of Yamatai has, it's their essence. Giving Nepleslians the same thing is an attempt to compete with them at their point of strength while moving away from what makes Nepleslians interesting in the first place, which is harmful to the setting in general, and to the faction the supersoldiers are added to, in specific.

The point of playing Nekos is not to 'be OP'. They are 'OP' by design, and if they weren't, they'd serve no real purpose in-setting. But what's interesting about playing them is the conflict between doing what they were created to do, and trying to grow as a person. Being a living weapon isn't all roses, though it obviously has its perks. Everyone else in the Star Army of Yamatai has to cope with not being a Neko--for reasons of conformity, even moreso than anything about 'power level'--and that's supposed to be a point of interest for playing such characters.

Nepleslia is not like Yamatai. It's that simple, and extreme care needs to be taken when adding any content that would make Nepleslia more like Yamatai, or that would make Yamatai more like Nepleslia. The goal is to maintain niche protection for both, and ensure those playing either faction still find what they came for, instead of feeling like it's being eroded away by someone else trying to beat them at their own game.

The ID-SOL were not 'necessary', they were fun. The most vital role they served at the time was providing a contrast between the super-manly Nepleslians and the cutesy catgirl Nekovalkrja. There's a few reasons why we don't have them anymore, and while I can't say authoritatively what they are, I can guess it's because 'who is better than who' is an unhealthy dynamic to add to the roleplay, and both factions have turned toward having increased diversity in their ranks, so they don't serve well as contrast anymore.

The contrast is instead between the somewhat staid and orderly Star Army, and the chaotic and inventive Nesplesians. I'm crudely oversimplifying here, but Order vs. Chaos is a much different dichotomy than Dolls vs. Action Figures. The latter still remains as an aesthetic conflict, but it's no longer an essential one, so the demand for Super-Dolls and Super-Action Figures has passed. It's been replaced by a demand for paragons and renegades, with Yamatai being far better-suited for the former and Nepleslia much more for the latter.

I think all the biggest problems this RP has ever had were due to other player factions competing directly with the SAoY at the point of its greatest strengths. You can't do that unless you're playing an antagonist, and the antagonists have to lose eventually, or the story is over. This creates a lot of drama, because few players are happy playing doomed antagonists, or being defeated without at least trying to make themselves look good. That creates massive amounts of OOC conflict, attempts to distort the setting reality, and bad roleplaying.

My recommendation would be, if you aren't happy with a faction being 'not as good' as the Star Army, the solution is to make them be better than the Star Army at something the Star Army doesn't try to be good at, and has no particular investment in. The Star Army doesn't have the best cyborgs or the best VR tech, and they don't really try to be good at much other than fighting wars and providing for the public welfare, so Nepleslia already has some obvious routes to distinguish itself, and has already been moving in these directions. Going back to bioengineered super-soldiers is going back to the past for a misadventure, and that's only fun if you know what you're getting into, and don't overcommit to the point where the setting gets broken.

It's worth saying again, what stopped me from making a Nepleslian character was a lack of plots, not a lack of character options. This is still a problem. The solution is having things for the players to do, not things for the players to play. Yamatai's greatest strength is the plotships, not the availability of character types. Note that non-Neko characters are actually very common, despite that there's no bar for entry to play a Neko.

 

[Wes]

Between the two great posts above, they've basically said everything I need to say, although I want to note that I don't think of Nepleslia through a lens of being Yamatai's antagonist. Nepleslia has a special place in my heart because I based it on stuff from my childhood. It was also once a key portion of Yamatai until it became its own faction. I want Nepleslia to be successful, and I think the way to do that is to keep the things that made it such as success in the first place. I think anything that displaces the hardcore humans being Nepleslian's frontline marines is a danger to the faction's character.

As for ID-SOLs, there's technically nothing stopping the government from turning on the ancient clone factories again to pump out more humans or to start cloning ID-SOLs. You could even make various ID-SOL models like the there are with Nekovalkyrja, but I urge you to take it easy on the superhumans for the reasons outlined above.

Keep in mind that in Yamatai, the Nekovalkyrja started small too but have effectively taken over the country that created them. The Empress and Premier are now Nekovalkyrja, the citizens are Minkan which is a civilian Nekovalkryja, and the population is skewed because there's so many million Nekovalkyrja entering the population.

We've also seen this before where the Plebeians of Elysia were eliminated by their faction manager in favor of a genetically enhanced replacement species, and it basically wiped out the dynamic that made the Patricians (and Elysian society) notable and now that faction is a ghost town.

 

[ArsenicJohn]

I can see both sides of this debate. Let's look at it from an IC perspective to see if it makes sense, regardless of whether or not OOCly Nepleslia is Yamatai's antagonist. You live next to a historically expansionist nation that your country has been at odds with before. They are technologically superior, more numerous, and physically superior. Would you not agree that trying to somehow close that gap makes sense? Maybe instead of pointing fingers(that isn't directed at anyone specific) we can work on coming up with a more acceptable alternative that could bring Nepleslia closer to Yamatai's strength.

 

[Navian]

The standard way for Nepleslians to close the gap is with cybernetics, cloning, and capitalism, all of which they use, already. As pointed out earlier, what really matters for in-character conflicts is how effective power armour pilots are, not how much a soldier can bench press, or how many shuriken they can throw at once.

Truly effective programs for 'closing the gap' in-character are subtle to the point of invisibility from a player's perspective. The only in-character motivation for a highly-visible and inappropriate supersoldier program is for the sake of posturing... and that kind of posturing would create conflict with Yamatai, without really helping to protect Nepleslia. It could even undermine the existing military.

So, Nepleslia is already trying to close the gap by means it's already been using, we don't need to work on that. There's room to work on specific examples, but they needn't be revolutionary, and probably shouldn't mimic Yamatai's more centralized, top-down, big government policies.