Chapter 4: Power in Unity​

[X] 0: Fusion Reactor (Test Phase [Roll for Efficiency])
[X] 1: Fusion Powered Aerospike Array (Prototype [Rolls for Efficiency, Thrust Power])
[X] 2: 2 Solar Arrays

4th Quarter 1796 P.R.

In daring to take the leap with fusion power as your preferred energy system, you not only intend to power this mission with what is most likely the energy of the future, but also demonstrate the viability of MFD's fusion systems in what could generously be considered everyday operation (an incomparable boon for their marketing department you have been well aware of since the proposal was made). However, old hands wisely suggest and get approval for the new generation of solar panel arrays, the most recent iteration of the kind that have graced the satellites and probes your world has thus far created, to be fitted onto the ship as well. The solar arrays are inset into recessed spaces on the port and starboard of the widest part of the ship, to be better protected from any stray astral debris, and the fact that they're almost wing-like when extended lends a strange sort of grace to the design.

In terms of rigorous experimentation and testing in space and on the ground, with Confederacy resources at your disposal, your findings show that the Fusion Reactor, with the right combination of alloys and parts that only a power connected to the military could procure, has a somewhat higher output than the scientists at MFD had expected. Their thrusters, on the other hand, fall somewhat short of their creators' expectations, but still manage, especially with their linkage to the reactor, to surpass even the best standard fuel mixes in terms of thrust.

[Roll Results: 11 [out of possible 12] for Fusion Reactor (Provides listed power +2). Fusion Thruster, 7 on Thrust Power (top speed of 14.5 kps), and 6 (thoroughly standard in performance)]

Now, however, the time has come to move on to the internal modules that are going to be the backbone of Project Lunar Seer's mission. There are no small number of potential toys that the ship design could take Husena to consider, mostly separated into two rough categories: scanning and processing.

In terms of scanning, you have three options. The first is an advanced ground-penetrating radar sourced from some of the most advanced geology and volcanology labs on Menthelenis. While usually used as part of a ground installation, it can be easily modified for use in orbital scanning. But, while it won't disturb the surface of the moon or the structures underneath it, it is a remarkable power hog, and having it installed will draw away power that might be needed from other systems. As well, the mission will likely need more time for the radar to fully sweep the area around the structures.

Your second option takes 'ground-penetrating' far more literally, being a burrowing probe-launcher. While you run the risk of potentially damaging the structures with a misplaced shot, the probes will likely get a far clearer picture of the area surrounding them, potentially speeding along the process with a well-placed probe 'net', at a much cheaper power cost. However, such probes are bulky (needing to survive the rigors of being shot from orbit and burrowing to a sufficient depth requires such, after all), and once the probe storage runs empty, that is that.

The final option is to take a mixture of both technologies, a few dozen mid-line probes supplementing a less powerful, but still useful GPR. This option cuts in the middle in terms of both bulk and power budget, but the compromise comes at the cost of individual components' power, and the setup will likely need its fair share of help in the next department that it is connected to: processing.

There are two methods that are in the running for the ship's processing of the vast amounts of raw data that will no doubt be gathered on this mission. The first is conducting your own processing with a built-in dedicated computer system and beaming it home after on-site analysis. While the ship would have to contend with the space and power draw such a system would take up, the potential exists for multiple computer systems to link up with each other, speeding the process along potentially exponentially. The second is installing a powerful transmitter that will send the data, in a still mostly raw form, back to Menthenelis. While only a single ship would need to use the transmitter at any given moment, the lag between transmission, an understanding of the data received, and any necessary information being relayed back to the ships over Husena is notable, and may make any response to potential sudden events (of which countless kinds have been proposed concerning the structures, from the realistic to the utterly outlandish) slower than it needs to be.

Finally, the discussion comes up about armoring and weaponizing such a vessel. Though as far as you can tell, your little corner of the stellar neighborhood is as quiet as can be, S'Tal-Munthi-6 has made every probe you've sent their way for the past 90 years disappear, with no way to make sense of what little data you've managed to keep from probes that have flown far enough away to not get drawn into what seems like a whirlpool of interference and loss of control. For as focused as your expedition may be on Husena, tactically-minded souls have counseled that it might be prudent to put, if not outright weaponry, then at least some armor in critical locations of the ship, just in case S'tal-Munthi-6's reach extends beyond its current orbit. However, with an entire other planet between you, there's more than enough reason to forego weaponry and armor at the moment, it would seem.

[ ] 0: Advanced Ground-Penetrating Radar
[ ] 0: Burrowing Probe Launcher Unit
[ ] 0: Mixed Probe/Radar Unit

[ ] 1: Integrated Computer System
[ ] 1: High-Power Transmitter

[ ] 2: Armor the Ship
[ ] 2: Weaponize the Ship
[ ] 2: Fully Militarize the Ship
[ ] 2: Abstain from Militarizing







Two Hour Moratorium Before Voting Begins