It has been three centuries since the founding of the colony, since the slow-boat ships left the system to seek further worlds to settle and stranded some fifty-thousand colonists to either thrive or die a slow death.
With three-hundred years of struggle, pain and hard-fought success under their belts, the people of Home have begun to look to the stars
Traveller The Rise of Empire A Naval Design, Procurement and Command Quest
It has been three centuries since the founding of the colony, since the slow-boat ships left the system to seek further worlds to settle and stranded some fifty-thousand colonists to either thrive or die a slow death. They chose the former, establishing grand cities, massive farms, orbital infrastructure and off-world mining operations to extend their reach to the very heavens. With three-hundred years of struggle, pain and hard-fought success under their belts, the people of Home have begun to look to the stars, fascinated by what may have happened to colonists isolated on other worlds, other systems. They have heard distant radio broadcasts, other planets seeking news of the fates of their fellow descendants of those slow boats.
Home intends to offer them a new future.
What is Traveller?
Traveller is a role-playing system that has existed for some fifty years since its first publication in 1977. It is a tale of grand adventure, discovering ancient mysteries and uncovering deep conspiracies amongst the stars. The version we will be using has been published by Mongoose Publishing in two editions since circa 2008, and we will specifically be using three books: Mongoose Traveller 1ed Core, MT1ed High Guard and MT1ed Trillion Credit Squadron. We are using the expanded rules of the latter including Technological development, Limited communication and some home-brewed rules developed by the author.
What is this quest?
Using the rules laid out in the above books, we will be taking a single colony from its first steps into interstellar diplomacy and exploration to the logical conclusion: Interstellar Naval Warfare and Conquest. We will not be managing the government, domestic policy or infrastructure investment. What we will have control over is exactly what the Head of the Navy should have control over; Technological investment, the work of the yards and the distribution of forces. Sometimes foreign policy will influence us, at other times we will influence foreign policy through out actions. Sometimes we will go to war for the politicians, and sometimes we will force war upon them.
How will it play?
There is currently no set time between turns as some other quests of mine will have. We will time-skip as and when appropriate, though the minimum turn time will be week-by-week. Votes will be on major events, and sometimes I may ask for more expansive write-ins to cover things like policy in specific situations, or spending or such. During war time, time will move slower, during times of peace, time will move more quickly.
So lets get to it shall we? Home has been an established colony for 350 years. It has seen the development of a new culture, new technology and new struggles. It is:
[ ] Home (1) is a world the size of Old Terra, with much of the planet covered in oceans, a thick, breathable atmosphere and a Temperate climate. The planet is ruled by the consensus of the people, as it has been since the early days of colonisation. Technological developments have allowed for the burgeoning population to stay connected and stay informed as more and more people have been enfranchised as part of this system. Despite this democratic system, there is a small but notable faction of Technocrats who believe that a civil service bureaucracy would better serve the people.
The descendants of the ships crew serve as advisors to the bureaucratic system, taking a role akin to viziers but banned from voting on any matter whatsoever. There is also a stark caste system amongst the people, with 'workers' considered more important and vital than 'managers' and in turn they are more important than 'owners' leading to the voices of those who work the machines being given more weight than those who own the machines. This leads to a significant amount of social unrest from both the top and bottom of the pile, and there are significant concerns that the political system may collapse in the not too distant future as tensions reach a boiling point.
[ ] Home (2) is a fat planet with higher than comfortable gravity, leading to a squat, stocky people. Despite this, the atmosphere is thin and while there is a lot of water, much of it is frozen or ice slush due to the cold climate. The planet is ruled by the wealthy, a plutocracy that has survived based on two metrics - the hereditary command of the colony based on ship-ranks and the ownership of various industries that are vital to the colonies survival. There is a political faction that opposes this; a religious minority group that follows a so-called 'Messiah' that promises to lead the colony to a new, more equitable age.
The culture of the planet is progressive and vibrant, constantly evolving and developing with the disadvantaged of the system producing music and art and other things on a scale never seen before. They are constantly breaking rules and reforming traditions, even as those traditions stay stilted and solid amongst the upper classes where the rituals of society are considered utterly vital to the maintenance and transfer of power. These traditions are considered to have saved the colony during a major plague, the scars of which still mark the cities and the population, and while the population is recovering it is doing so slowly.
[ ] Home (3) is a world the size of Old Terra, with significant oceans and a dense atmosphere tainted with a high proportion of Carbon Dioxid3e. The oceans are massive enough to support a large population but they are acidified by the atmosphere and must be treated before they are drinkable, a process that is not helped by the roasting climate. The planet is balkanised, split into three major factions that each propose themselves as the true and rightful leaders of Home. While a decaying bureaucracy holds the current seat of power in the Capital, a charismatic dictator holds sway over the surface militias and the last descendants of the ships crew have the ear of many notable people amongst the population.
Despite the grip of balkanisation and near-revolution, the people of Home are honourable and their word is considered sacrosanct. None would dare to break a promise or an oath, and this is a major part of deal-making and diplomacy amongst their people, hardly seeing the need for written contracts in most cases. Many of the people remember the worlds their slow boats came from, the achievements and the stories and the myths passed down generation to generation without a change in the wording. Language is utterly sacred to these people, and the way it is used is utterly vital to society.
Welcome to my new art quest! I plan to develop deck-plans and drawings for most ships designed and built during this quest, and I hope you will help me make this into a thriving and exciting game!
Adhoc vote count started by 4WheelSword on Jul 9, 2024 at 4:59 AM, finished with 38 posts and 33 votes.
[X] Home (2) is a fat planet with higher than comfortable gravity, leading to a squat, stocky people. Despite this, the atmosphere is thin and while there is a lot of water, much of it is frozen or ice slush due to the cold climate. The planet is ruled by the wealthy, a plutocracy that has survived based on two metrics - the hereditary command of the colony based on ship-ranks and the ownership of various industries that are vital to the colonies survival. There is a political faction that opposes this; a religious minority group that follows a so-called 'Messiah' that promises to lead the colony to a new, more equitable age.
[X] Home (1) is a world the size of Old Terra, with much of the planet covered in oceans, a thick, breathable atmosphere and a Temperate climate. The planet is ruled by the consensus of the people, as it has been since the early days of colonisation. Technological developments have allowed for the burgeoning population to stay connected and stay informed as more and more people have been enfranchised as part of this system. Despite this democratic system, there is a small but notable faction of Technocrats who believe that a civil service bureaucracy would better serve the people.
[X] Home (3) is a world the size of Old Terra, with significant oceans and a dense atmosphere tainted with a high proportion of Carbon Dioxid3e. The oceans are massive enough to support a large population but they are acidified by the atmosphere and must be treated before they are drinkable, a process that is not helped by the roasting climate. The planet is balkanised, split into three major factions that each propose themselves as the true and rightful leaders of Home. While a decaying bureaucracy holds the current seat of power in the Capital, a charismatic dictator holds sway over the surface militias and the last descendants of the ships crew have the ear of many notable people amongst the population.
Home is a fat planet with higher than comfortable gravity, leading to a squat, stocky people. Home's System
A small, dim orange star burns morosely at the centre of the star system, casting the environs of each planet in an eerie, shadowy glow even at the height of midday. A K-type main sequence star, more commonly called a red dwarf, it leaves the planets that orbit it cold and icy, but still provides enough radiation for humanity to live there. Nevertheless, the people of Home only notice this strange glow when standing on the surface of the second planet in the system, their eyes having long since adapted to the odd colouration of their colony world.
Home's star (Small) compared to the star orbited by Old Terra (Large)
That second planet is the only other significant solid body in the star system, a cold, icy world named Periboea that has been the site of significant mining and scientific operations since the development of domestic human spaceflight. The system also has a non-solid giant, a (comparatively) small, fat ice giant that seems to glow a cool blue in telescopes and when viewed from a space ship. While the upper atmosphere of Athos is ideal for surface skimming and aerostat research stations, little other development has been managed in the area.
There is no asteroid belt or other 'dense' collection of rocky sub-planetary objects in the system, forcing exo-planetary mining interests to rely on wandering comets and rogue bodies that happen to fly through the system. Several of these bodies have been moved into orbit around Home or Periboea, heavy rocks that are kept in safe orbits even now they are depleted of all useful resources.
Home Proper
The Plutocrats of Home come in two distinct forms; the 'nobility' are the decision makers, the rulers and leaders, and these are represented by the so-called 'Citizens Council' that expressly elects only landowners and industrialists. These twelve people - men, women and others - make decisions for the tens of millions of citizens that labour and thrive under them, relying on them for warm homes, drinkable water and the survival equipment needed for any expedition outside the cities. The other side of the coin that makes up this power divide are the civil servants, the bureaucrats that all descend from the handful of ships crew that ships crew that elected to stay behind on Home as their slow-boat carried on its long and lonesome journey. These unelected, hereditary positions hold much of the power over day-to-day policy and spending decisions, making them a significant power bloc in their own right.
The Chief of Staff of the Navy is, of course, one of these positions.
There is a fringe of resistance to these ways. A radical political group has formed on the outskirts of society, with several minor cities pledging their support to religious group called the 'Daughters of the People' which claims to envision a future for Home which is led by a messianic figure. They promise a new, more glorious age for Home, a recovery from the plagues of the past and a better future with the systems influence spreading beyond its own boundaries and into distant and disparate empires.
Home's Military
There are three branches of military on home, which can be easily distinguished by age and notoriety:
- The Community Wardens are the oldest uniformed service on Home and they are directly descended from the slow-boats security teams. Still wearing something that purports to look akin to the all-in-one bodysuits worn aboard ship, the Community Wardens are local police, detectives, enforcers, bailiffs and bounty hunters. They perform almost all law enforcement roles, and they often train alongside their cities militias in combat exercises. It must be noted that there is no planet wide law that concerns itself with the things available to the citizenry, so the Community Wardens are remarkably heavily armed.
- The City Militias were formed in the early days of the Plague that struck during the second century of Homes settlement. Initially conceived as a kind of 'people-management' group, empowered by the government of the planet to enforce quarantines and ensure medics and doctors could do their jobs without resistance, the militias have grown into a remarkable fighting force. Equipped with aircraft, icebreakers and tracked vehicles, the militias are an unusually atomised but nonetheless fierce fighting force that train rigorously for an unimaginable invasion of Home. Several Militia battalions are based on space stations and satellites with large populations, and the Navy's marines are drawn from these forces.
- The Navy, officially the Home Space Warfare Branch, is the youngest service but has nonetheless existed since the first permanently inhabited space stations were emplaced in orbit around Home. While initially a sub-branch of the Militia that operated a handful of basic chemical rocket shuttles, the Navy is now a branch in its own right, with five major ships constructed in the last two decades that are currently operational. They consider themselves the first line of defence against any outside aggression, understanding that the first sign of a threat that Home might receive is an enemy ship arriving in system or a near-light RKKV appearing on deep-space sensors.
A militia ice breaker operating on Home
Warships
As mentioned above, Home has built five warships in the yards orbiting Home over the last two decades, all seven of which are in routine service amongst the three planets. They are made up of two 'types':
- The Interplanetary Cruiser is just that - a cruiser that operates between the planets. Each of the ships is 1,000 displacement tons and is given thrust by a large chemical rocket capable of producing 3G's of acceleration. Power is supplied by a small fission plant which requires a service every year or so for refuelling and maintenance in order to ensure the crew of sixteen is kept well supplied with oxygen, heat and water. Armed with twenty-four missile tubes and a pair of experimental particle accelerators, at the time of building these were impossibly advanced ships and it showed in the price tag - each vessel cost Home some 257 million credits.
-- Currently in service: HSWS Camulus, HSWS Macha, HSWS Svetovid
- The System Defence Destroyer is a much more ambitious project that was first envisioned some twelve years ago, with the first steel being cut just five years ago. Built side by side, these two 4,000 ton ships stretched the ship-building capacity of Home to its limits as well as testing the limits of scientific progress. Equipped with the most advanced equipment known to society at the time, each ship is capable of 5G's of reactionless acceleration for as long as they have power, and they are provided this power by a 320 ton fission plant buried deep in the ship. They are also equipped with the best weapons imaginable, a quartet of prototype particle accelerator cannons, twelve small particle accelerators, ninety-six missile tubes and an array of small defensive weapons. Their crew of ninety-five is well protected and well armed, impossibly so to the minds of even half a century ago. The price tag is near unmentionable, with each of these two ships clocking in at 1.7 billion credits.
-- Currently in service: HSWS Deimos, HSWS Zelus
A side-view of the HSWS Deimos
The Here and Now
Scientists have recently made a series of major breakthroughs on gravitic science, which has led to the test of the first ever jump drive. Burning a huge quantity of helium-based fuel, a research ship (the Ceridwen) spent a week in jump space transiting from Home to Athos. While this journey isn't particularly a useful one, the same drive should be capable of transferring a ship across an entire parsec. It is known that there are other planets, other inhabited systems out there, and the Navy is charged with learning more about these systems and the potential threats that exist within them.
The Ceridwen is not equipped to make such a journey, and thus a new ship must be built. The Navy decides it should be:
[ ] A 'welcome wagon', a functionally civilian vessel intended to go out and find new friends.
[ ] A warship with a jump drive, intended to conduct diplomacy under the cover of guns and armour.
[ ] A minimal size ship which hopes to get in and out undetected as fast as possible, gathering a little data before returning home.
[ ] Something else - write-in. There are at least two inhabited worlds nearby enough to be reached by our current jump drives. How many of these scouts should be built?
[ ] One. We should take this slowly but surely.
[ ] Two, one for each inhabited system.
[ ] As many as we can afford based on the current budget, expanding the fleet.
[ ] Something else - write-in.
The Ceridwen is not equipped to make such a journey, and thus a new ship must be built. The Navy decides it should be:A minimal size ship which hopes to get in and out undetected as fast as possible, gathering a little data before returning home. There are at least two inhabited worlds nearby enough to be reached by our current jump drives. How many of these scouts should be built? Two, one for each inhabited system.
Pushing Boundaries
With an objective set for them, the Navy begins work on assessing objectives and defining the criteria for the exploratory ship that will make the first jumps outside of the Home system. It is initially suggested that the Navy should use a hull based on the Interplanetary Cruiser, upgraded with modern technology, but this would be a far larger ship than is absolutely necessary. In truth, a minimum sized ship with a minimum sized crew and a minimum mission package could probably be built at about 100 tons - a tiny little scout boat with just enough drive and fuel to go there and back again while mounting enough sensors to take a look at what's over the horizon. Unfortunately, after the mission objectives are defined, several modules of the ships design are put out to tender and word gets out about the Navy's plan. What follows is exactly what is expected; everyone tries to get some of the pork fat that's suddenly flying around.
A side-view of the HSWS Svetovid
The following modules and elements are recommended and 'suggested' by various significant bodies within Home:
Citizens Council - Even with the hopes of remaining undetected, there is a chance that this ship will be the first point of contact we have with our closest neighbours. As such, the Citizen's Council recommends the inclusion of a diplomatic mission aboard the ship. The advantage of this will be twofold - it will turn the ship into sovereign territory which our neighbours will hopefully respect, and it will also provide experts and specialists in negotiation and diplomacy when they are inevitably needed during just such a scenario. A party of twelve (an Ambassador, a senior negotiator, four diplomatic experts and six other staff) would require some 64 tons aboard the ship.
City Militia - There is a risk, however slight, that our neighbours are hostile and would attempt to attack the ship or even try to board and capture it by force. As such, the ship should not only be armed, but it must carry a complement of marines to protect the crew from any such aggressive actions and to serve as honour guards for the diplomatic mission. While the System Defence Destroyer was able to carry just a single section of marines, this detachment will be out of contact with senior officers for a significant time and must be empowered to use their initiative in all cases. The smallest formation included must be a platoon with two officers, or thirty marines, requiring some 62 tons aboard the ship.
Society for Interplanetary Science - It is broadly understood, based on transit spectroscopy, that one of our neighbour systems contains five planets and multiple asteroid belts (or perhaps some sort of leftover solar swarm or shell) orbiting a red dwarf and the other is a trio of planets orbiting an A-class blue giant. Based on this, and the need to establish a broader understanding of how other star systems develop around different stars, the SIS would formally request that the ship should carry enough probes to leave a string of satellites around most major bodies, constituting some thirty probes and satellites, an additional sensor suite and an on-board laboratory for a group of three to four researchers. This would require some 22 tons.
Steenbeck Security Industries - Based on recommendations that the ship be at least minimally armed, SSI has recommended the most modern versions of their particle weapons previously fitted to both the System Defence Destroyer and the Interplanetary Cruiser. While the exact number is entirely dependent on the final size of the ship as built, they recommend not going below a single particle cannon turret and a pair of particle barbettes as well as any other defensive weapons the ship is fitted with. This would require around 112 tons per 1,000 tons of ship to a minimum of 112 tons.
Energence Heavy - A major mining and manufacturing concern that has factories and facilities across the Home system would like a better understanding of our neighbour systems mineral make-up, and as such would like the mission to include a series of small craft equipped for independent mining and space-side research operations. They would also require a mission specialist team of at least four researchers and an on-board laboratory. This would require 26 tons. In return, Energence Heavy is willing to release plans for a prototype fusion power system that could replace the fission plants previously used aboard Navy ships.
Bearings Machinery Firm - An engineering and engine construction conglomerate, BMF has supplied the Navy with a variety of engines from chemical rockets to the most advanced prototype reactionless drives fitted on the System Defence Destroyer. They would like us to go a step further with this design and fit the most advanced prototypes available, capable of 6G's of continuous thrust without a detrimental impact on crew comfort. This will require a larger power plant as well, but the benefits presumably far outweigh the negatives.
Daughters of the People - Through back-channels a message arrives, originating from the religious sect that holds significant sway over the Northern cities of Home. They ask that no interstellar mission be conducted without the presence of two of their senior members aboard, not because they wish to proselytise but because otherwise they foresee ruin for the mission and for Home. This would require just 4 tons of additional facilities aboard the ship.
All of these additions come along with the already laid out requirements; 20% of tonnage devoted to armour, 20% to jump fuel, 4% to the jump drive, at least 3% for the power plant. Ships crew will likely number at least fifteen before any additional requirements, a shuttle will require some 100 tons. It already looks to be a busy ship.
The final decision on the design of the star ship is the responsibility of the Navy. Which of the above requests will not be acceded to? Select as many or as few of the following as preferred as part of a plan:
[ ] We are not planning to conduct a diplomatic mission. Turn down the Citizen's Council.
[ ] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
[ ] Science is all well and good, but this is a scouting mission, not a research station.
[ ] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
[ ] Mining interests can come later, refuse Energence Heavy.
[ ] Fission plants continue to suit us fine. Refuse Energence Heavy.
[ ] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
[ ] The Daughters of the People are traitors to the legitimate government. Find out how this message arrived.
If you have any questions about the system at work, please don't hesitate to ask! You can also come find my channel (Sections-writing-repository) on the Wordsmiths discord server.
Adhoc vote count started by 4WheelSword on Jul 11, 2024 at 7:36 AM, finished with 43 posts and 23 votes.
[X] Plan Fuck You, Pay Me
-[X] We are not planning to conduct a diplomatic mission. Turn down the Citizen's Council.
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] Science is all well and good, but this is a scouting mission, not a research station.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
-[X] The Daughters of the People are traitors to the legitimate government. Find out how this message arrived.
[X] Plan: Experimental Exploration Capabilities
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
[X] Plan: Exploration Capabilities
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
-[X] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
[X] Plan the Messiah said no violence, I think
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
-[X] Mining interests can come later, refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] Science is all well and good, but this is a scouting mission, not a research station.
[X] A Scout (Not A Warship), No Prototypes, No Daughters.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
-[X] Fission plants continue to suit us fine. Refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
-[X] The Daughters of the People are traitors to the legitimate government. Find out how this message arrived.
[X] Plan Absolute Minimum Viable Product.
-[X] We are not planning to conduct a diplomatic mission. Turn down the Citizen's Council.
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] Science is all well and good, but this is a scouting mission, not a research station.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
-[X] Mining interests can come later, refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] Fission plants continue to suit us fine. Refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
-[X] The Daughters of the People are traitors to the legitimate government. Find out how this message arrived.
-[X] Write In: Extend the fuel tanks for 4 jump range, 2 out, 2 back.
[X] Plan: Steadfast
-[X] Mining interests can come later, refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] Fission plants continue to suit us fine. Refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
[X] Plan: This is an armed scout
-[X] We are not planning to conduct a diplomatic mission. Turn down the Citizen's Council.
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] Science is all well and good, but this is a scouting mission, not a research station.
-[X] Mining interests can come later, refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] Fission plants continue to suit us fine. Refuse Energence Heavy.
-[X] We need a fast ship, not a racing boat. Bearings Machinery Firm can test their prototypes on their own time.
-[X] The Daughters of the People are traitors to the legitimate government. Find out how this message arrived.
-[X] We do not have the space aboard for a platoon of marines. The City Militia will have to be refused.
-[X] The ship will be running with defensive weapons only, to avoid the risk of starting an unnecessary fight.
[X] Write In: While a platoon is unnecessary, safety for our diplomatic team and scientific equipment is paramount; the City Militia should be welcomed to provide a squad of its best counter-boarding troops, not as an honor guard, but a functional security team.
Select as many or as few of the following as preferred as part of a plan: Plan Fuck You, Pay Me
Interstellar Surveyor
With the entire breadth of the Navy catalogue at their disposal, and several components provided for us by non-governmental research and specialist manufacturers, the architects have put together a design for a remarkable little ship. Smaller than any of our current navy ships, the surveyor will nonetheless be an example of systems never before deployed on a Navy ship. Energence Heavy will build a fusion power plant larger than any previous test-bed design, with more than forty tons devoted to supplying the terawatts of power required. Bearings Machinery Firm are constructing a thruster-plate drive that is no larger than any other - in fact its a tenth the size of the one mounted on the System Defence Destroyer - but provides significantly more thrust, as well as the dampers to go with it.
The Drive Decks of the SDD, showing the massive thruster plates
However, in order for the architects achievements to be possible, numerous requests for mission equipment had to be turned down. The Citizens Council is rumoured to be spitting feathers over the lack of a diplomatic mission, despite reassurances that the ships will be commanded by some of the best officers available to the Navy. Equally, the City Militia has lodged several formal protests that their junior service is not acceding to requirements to carry a defensive platoon of marines - what will we do, they ask, when the ship is inevitably boarded by alien aggressors who are able to reverse engineer our jump drives and come marauding into Home? Surely then we will be looking to the City Militia for aid.
They are not the only ones frustrated. The SIS is apparently already looking to civilian shipbuilding concerns for assistance in constructing the first scientific research vessel capable of interstellar travel. Meanwhile, the Home Intelligence Service (HIS) has been notified of the request to bring representatives of the Daughters aboard the ship and several arrests have already been made amongst the junior staff officers of the Navy. A shame, truly - some of those officers were good at their jobs - but sympathising with a powerful political group to the point of aiding and abetting them cannot be allowed.
Nonetheless, despite these issues, we have a design. The Interstellar Surveyor will be a 700 ton, lightly armed, fast and well armoured jump ship with limited defensive weapons and a crew of just fifteen. Despite its small size it will cost us more to build than an Interplanetary Cruiser, with a total build cost of almost 360 million credits per hull. We lay down two, enough for scouting operations into our neighbours systems, and move on to the next problem. After all, they are projected to take some 96 weeks to build.
Naval Doctrine
Until the last few months, the naval doctrine governing our spending has been a simple one: build several capable warships that are able to defend our settlements and stations in the event of some unknown threat coming into the Home system, ships that are also equipped to inspect merchant ships for what little passes for illicit cargo and ensure squabbles over mining rights and settlement charters never escalate beyond words. Now, however, we have several new aspects of warfare to consider. There are also, of course, factions within the Navy to consider:
Admiral Thayer leads the Mengakar party, an old guard group of senior officers who recognise the importance of an armed Navy for the defence of Home and were the main strength behind the design and construction of the System Defence Destroyer. The Menggalists would argue for more large ships with no jump capability, focusing entirely on the defence of the system until more is understood about our neighbours.
The Citizen's Council is firmly of the opinion that we should be building for a future war - Jump Ships should be the priority, making the most of the shipyard space that isn't devoted to our scouts to prepare for any potential warfare that might follow up after first contact. They are not naval architects but surely, they would argue, we could take an SDD or an Interplanetary Cruiser, add a Jump Drive and have an effective space warship?
The Ciwanan party are a collective of junior officers and aide-de-camps to the Admiralty who are firm proponents of what they believe to be the future of warfare. They would prefer a collection of smaller, cheaper hulls, perhaps based on the Interplanetary Cruiser or the new Surveyor, or even smaller, armed for swift, brutal combat with as many missiles as possible and little given over to self-defence. These 'attack boats' would overpower any enemy through numbers and the prodigious deployment of nuclear weapons with little regard given to their survival. We can always build more, after all.
Fundamentally, the question of Doctrine falls to you, as the seniormost body in the Navy. Please create a plan from the following options:
We should operate on the assumption that war will be fought:
[ ] At home, as a defensive conflict
[ ] Abroad, with jump ships
[ ] By a combined defensive/offensive force.
[ ] Write-in. In Designing our ships, we should consider our priority to be:
[ ] Large, survivable ships that can dominate an engagement.
[ ] Small, numerous ships that can overwhelm an opponent.
[ ] Write-in In terms of offensive capability, we should prioritise:
[ ] Particle Accelerators (Long Range, Hard hitting)
[ ] Missiles (Manoeuvrable, Nuclear Capable)
[ ] Prototype Railguns (Short Ranged, Multi-Hit)
[ ] Prototype Torpedoes (Semi-Manoeuvrable, Multi-mission) Is there anything else that should be considered?
[ ] Write-in Again, please formulate your response as a plan.
[X] Plan: The Navy we have at Home. Missile Version
-[X] At home, as a defensive conflict
-[X] Small, numerous ships that can overwhelm an opponent.
-[X] Missiles (Manoeuvrable, Nuclear Capable)
[X] Plan: The Navy we have at Home
-[X] At home, as a defensive conflict
-[X] Small, numerous ships that can overwhelm an opponent.
-[X] Particle Accelerators (Long Range, Hard hitting)
[X] Plan: I cast Throw Rock
-[X] At home, as a defensive conflict
-[X] Large, survivable ships that can dominate an engagement.
-[X] Missiles (Manoeuvrable, Nuclear Capable)
[X] Plan: Dwarven Dreadnaughts
-[X] At home, as a defensive conflict
-[X] Large, survivable ships that can dominate an engagement.
-[X] Particle Accelerators (Long Range, Hard hitting)
[X] Plan: Arsenal Ships
-[X] At home, as a defensive conflict
-[X] Write-in: Large ships that can saturate the enemy from outside the range of reprisal.
-[X] Missiles (Manoeuvrable, Nuclear Capable)
-[X] Write-in: Even more missiles (and some point defence lasers)
[X] Write-in: A 70/30 split fleet building plan of smaller jump capable craft focused on swift hitting assault and heavy intrasolar ships capable of weathering and dominating heavy fleet engagements to defend our system
[X] Write-in: Divert a small amount of weapons funding to research further technologies in railgun and torpedo weapons while keeping the majority of our weapons funding on Particle Accelerators
[X] OPLAN Quarrel-and-Pavise
-[X] By a combined defensive/offensive force.
-[X] Write-in: Medium-class vessels designed with the best in weight-class of defensive armor, well-fueled jump drives, overlapping point-defense systems, and offensive ECM suites, built to fight beyond the visual range both offensively and defensively by detecting, acquiring, and disabling any threat well before either a hostile invader or a foreign power's defensive screen can assemble a response to our well-coordinated fire.
-[X] Particle Accelerators (Long Range, Hard hitting)
-[X] Prototype Torpedoes (Semi-Manoeuvrable, Multi-mission)
-[X] Write-In: variable-energy laser systems intended for both point defense against enemy missiles and close-range combat against both large and small vessels.
[X] Write-in: Medium-class vessels designed with the best in weight-class of defensive armor, well-fueled jump drives, overlapping point-defense systems, and offensive ECM suites, built to fight beyond the visual range both offensively and defensively by detecting, acquiring, and disabling any threat well before either a hostile invader or a foreign power's defensive screen can assemble a response to our well-coordinated fire.
[X] Write-In: variable-energy laser systems intended for both point defense against enemy missiles and close-range combat against both large and small vessels.
Fundamentally, the question of Doctrine falls to you, as the seniormost body in the Navy.
Plan: Great White Space Fleet
- A combined defensive/offensive force.
- Write-in: A 70/30 split fleet building plan of smaller jump capable craft focused on swift hitting assault and heavy intrasolar ships capable of weathering and dominating heavy fleet engagements to defend our system
- Particle Accelerators (Long Range, Hard hitting)
Doctrinal Decisions
The future of the Home Navy is laid out in bare detail for the fiftieth anniversary of the Navies founding; whatever budget offered will be split between the defence of the system and a collection of ships that have the capacity for offensive action.
- Small, fast ships, perhaps similar in construction to our extrasolar scout, will be equipped with Jump Drives and advanced particle accelerator weapons and trained for combined action against larger and more significant threats when penetrating an aggressors system.
- Larger, more survivable ships will be constructed for defence of the Home system, more advanced and more capable than the System Defence Destroyers currently in service. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with the SDD design, and some within the Navy argue that simply building more of them would be better than developing a new design.
The government celebrates this new Doctrine that is developing within the Navy, that is moving with the times and looking forwards towards a better, brighter future with Home leading a great gathering of Humaniti into advancements as yet unimaginable. A great celebration is announced within each of Home's cities, with the day being declared Navy Day before the Citizen's Council retires to coordinate just what will be available to this new navy for its building program.
Budget, Yards, Crew
With an approved doctrine, a plan for the future and an understanding of the Navies goals for the next five to ten years, it is time to get to work: Budget: The Navy has been granted up to nine billion credits per annum in discretionary spending. This years spending currently amounts to:
- 717.51Mcr for the construction of two Interstellar Surveyors.
- 9.54Mcr for the maintenance and life support costs of the current fleet of five warships.
- 7.01Mcr for the salaries of the officers and enlisted sailors aboard those five warships.
The Navy has 8,265.94Mcr available for the coming year. Any unspent money will be reinvested into the Home system. Dockyard Space: The Navy maintains enough yard space to maintain its fleet and to construct up to 8,000 tons of vessel at any time. Currently, 1,400 tons are in use for the construction of the two Interstellar Surveyor class Jump ships. The Navy has 6,600 tons available for construction at this time. Pilots: Astronavigation is a complex and messy task and while much of the work is handled by computers, a human 'pilot' is required for several vital operations as part of the jump process. It is estimated that a populations the size of Homes will produce around 35 pilots, of which four will be assigned to the Interstellar Surveyor class ships.
Speaking of the Interstellar Surveyor, the first Titanium-Steel has been cut for both classes, and while many records still indicated them as IS-001 and IS-002, they have also been assigned actual names. They will be the HSWS Heimdall and HSWS Janus.
The deckplan of the Interstellar Surveyor
The Next Steps
If we are to develop our Navy, and especially the jump-capable squadrons of the Navy that are so necessary for our doctrinal requirements, we must develop a rapport with our naval architects to produce diverse designs that can respond to requests with specific and capable designs. Let us begin by laying out the requirements for our Jump Warship - Please create a plan from the following options:
Our ships must devote ten percent of their mass to fuel per parsec they wish to jump, with each jump requiring a weeks travel. What range should our warships be capable of?
[ ] One parsec, with fuelling occurring before they can jump again (requires scoops or the design of a refuelling barge).
[ ] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
[ ] Four parsecs, two out and two back. What should the principal weapon of the ship be? This will affect minimum size and plant rating.
[ ] Multiple small particle barbettes, trading single shot punch for the likelihood of scoring a hit.
[ ] A single small particle cannon bay of 50 tons.
[ ] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
[ ] A single large particle cannon bay of 100 tons.
[ ] Multiple large particle cannon bays, similar to the SDD-class. What are we willing to make compromises on (Choose as many as appropriate)?
[ ] Armouring - These ships must be fast and powerful.
[ ] Acceleration - Our drives are functional enough, we want survivability.
[ ] Weapons - The longer we can put fires on target, the more likely we are to win.
[ ] Something else - write in. Do you have any other notes for the Architects?
[ ] Write-in - For example, a price maximum, a tonnage maximum, or even a crew maximum.
Adhoc vote count started by 4WheelSword on Jul 13, 2024 at 6:34 AM, finished with 42 posts and 15 votes.
[X] Plan: Hobbittronics
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
-[X] Armouring - These ships must be fast and powerful.
-[X] Write-in - Reduce the size of crew accomodation requirements through extensive use of automated systems and compromising somewhat on crew amenities (e.g. hot-bunking).
-[X] Write-in - Assuming it's lighter than armor, provide ECM capabilities, so we're more difficult to pin down.
[X] Plan: Swarm Them
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple small particle barbettes, trading single shot punch for the likelihood of scoring a hit.
-[X] Acceleration - Our drives are functional enough, we want survivability.
-[X] Write-in - Assuming it's lighter than armor, provide ECM capabilities, so we're more difficult to pin down.
[X] Plan: Death Cannon Swarm
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] A single large particle cannon bay of 100 tons.
-[X] Armouring - These ships must be fast and powerful.
[X] Plan Space High/Low
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
-[X] Small Ship Amenities - The smaller ships of the fleet will only be provided the bare minimum of crew comfort and livability in order to maximize their mission capability.
-[X] Small Ships Lack Armor - Our Small ships must be fast and powerful.
-[X] Large Ships Acceleration - Our drives are functional enough, we want Large Ship survivability.
-[X] Architect Notes: For purposes of build doctrine, Small Ships will be considered anything 1500 tons or less, at least to start
[X] Plan: Heavy Hobbitronics with lifeboat
-[X] One Parsec, but:
--[X] Write-in - We do not want to leave the crew without an escape option. Include a way for the crew to leave the rest of the ship behind and make an emergency jump of One Parsec. This could be done by a dedicated "lifeboat" module, or by allowing the crew quarters to detach from the rest of the ship.
-[X] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
-[X] Write-in - Reduce the size of crew accomodation requirements through extensive use of automated systems and compromising somewhat on crew amnemities (e.g. hot-bunking).
[X] Plan: Less bunks more jumps.
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
-[X] Reduce the number of crew sleeping bays and form a shift sleeping schedule for the crew when not at general quarters or on active combat patrol in a hostile area to reduce the amount of space needed for private bunking, put some of the funding saved into increase the quality of other amenities like food for higher morale with the weight saved by the removal of the bunks being used to help reach the tonnage required to carry two parsecs of fuel.
[X] Plan Basic Big Gun
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple large particle cannon bays, similar to the SDD-class.
-[X] Armouring - These ships must be fast and powerful.
[X] EPLAN Big Fellows, Little Friends
-[X] Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
-[X] Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower. (For small vessels under 10,000 tons displacement.)
-[X] Multiple small particle barbettes, trading single shot punch for the likelihood of scoring a hit. (For large vessels over 10,000 tons displacement.)
-[X] Acceleration - Our drives are functional enough, we want survivability. (For small vessels under 10,000 tons displacement.)
-[X] Weapons - The longer we can put fires on target, the more likely we are to win. (For large vessels over 10,000 tons displacement.)
-[X] Write-in - Design Notes: Small vessels must focus on defensive armor and point defense/CQC systems to protect larger vessels, along with targeting and surveillance radar to feed data to entire fleet. Larger vessels spare particle weapons bays in exchange for mounting previously shelved Q&P multi-mission torpedo systems and considerable ECM capability with high maneuver at speed. All vessels equipped with refueling scoops. General focus on "soft factors" for long patrols-supply, bed space, communications, crew survivability.
Our strike fleet - which will eventually make up 70% of our fleet - will be built with the following capabilities:
- Two parsecs, with there and back again being a possibility.
- Multiple small particle cannon bays, for heavy firepower.
- Armouring - These ships must be fast and powerful.
- Reduce the size of crew accomodation requirements through extensive use of automated systems and compromising somewhat on crew amenities (e.g. hot-bunking).
- Assuming it's lighter than armor, provide ECM capabilities, so we're more difficult to pin down.
Design Requirements
The first design profile of the new interstellar fleet is submitted to the architects, and the designs soon come flooding in in response, basic assessments of what a ship might be based on the priorities of the commission that dispensed them. There are a broad variety of designs that come out of the offices, and several of them have non-standard equipment in order to fulfil the requirements otherwise set.
Minimum Viable Product
A very simple design intended to operate for a short as time as possible, using only pre-existing and non-prototype equipment (other than the jump drive) and capable of meeting the requirements otherwise set. The 500-ton MVP is the smallest submitted design, and it shows in the weapon and drive outfits. Carrying just a pair of Particle Cannon bays and a trio of defensive single turrets and half the thickness of armour that previous designs were capable of carrying, this design even omits the before-this standard surface-to-orbit shuttle that would otherwise carry. Two fifths of the designs tonnage would remain after required equipment for things like crew accommodations, additional stores and other mission equipment.
Interstellar Cruiser
Using the hull designed for the Interplanetary Cruiser, this submitted design would use a large powerplant to mount a larger battery of particle cannons rather than the pair of barbettes carried by the older design. It will be fast, well armed, well equipped, and still remarkably small compared to the heavier counterparts that would remain at home. Six defensive turrets, a shuttle and a crew of around twenty-five will round out a capable interstellar warship that is fundamentally an evolution of the oldest warship design in service.
Armed Scout
Again utilising a pre-designed hull, the Armed Scout takes the 700-ton surveyor we have just laid down and re-equips it for pure offensive combat. Six particle cannon turrets would stud the ship, using almost half of the internal space and reducing defensive weapons to a single sad turret. It would also carry barely any armour, but it would at least be the most heavily armed ship submitted while also, remarkably, only just being the most expensive design.
All of the above designs use the most advanced systems available to the fleet, and it is up to the Navy staff to select one design to take forwards to a full architectural drawing: Select one of the above designs:
[ ] Minimum Viable Product
[ ] Interstellar Cruiser
[ ] Armed Scout
[ ] None of these are acceptable - write in a concept with QM permission.
Other Considerations
We are, perhaps regrettably, not just building a jump fleet. The Home Navy is also required to maintain a significant amount of its force in the Home system as defence forces, with some 30% of the fleet intended to be built to this standard. While there are currently five ships operating for just such a task, they are older, fission-powered and even chemically-driven ships that hardly compare to more modern technology. Even the SDD, the most modern ship available to the fleet, will soon be outpaced as a warship if current trends continue.
If we were to reserve 30% of dockyard space, we would have 2,200 tons for defensive shipbuilding and 4,400 for offensive construction. However, this would limit the size of our defensive vessels to around half the tonnage of our SDD design. How should we move forwards with this program?
[ ] Use an on-off program, building first our offensive ships, then defensive, sequentially.
[ ] Reserve more tonnage for defensive construction (write-in how much)
[ ] Reserve less tonnage for defensive construction (write-in how much)
Select one of the above designs:Interstellar Cruiser How should we move forwards with this program?Use an on-off program, building first our offensive ships, then defensive, sequentially.
Old Hull, New Ship
The Interstellar Cruiser will echo the symbols of the past while pushing Home swiftly into a new future. Taking the basic hull design that has previously been used for the Interplanetary Cruiser, the innards are completely torn out and rearranged to better suit a modern, jump-capable warship. It's primary armament will not be missiles, but four particle cannon turrets arranged in a concentric pattern around the main hull. Defensive turrets, each of a modern, dual-weapon design, will be fitted predominantly with lasers to ensure enemy missile fire cannot make it through to impact the ships hull despite the thick armouring that covers every surface of the warship.
There are prices paid for these offensive and defensive capabilities. The ship will be fast, but not nearly as fast as our scout intends to be, and most of the twenty-five crew will be packed sardine-like into barracks rooms rather than being offered a full stateroom as they are on other ships. They are also only capable of two months of independent operations, without enough room aboard the ship for additional fuel or stores with current technology. Hopefully progress will lead us towards more capable ships in the future in that regard.
As much as that is the case, as much as the ships will have their downsides, the Navy has selected this 1,000 ton design and, with 6,600 tons of dockyard space available, begins cutting the Titanium-Steel for six of these fine new warships. The government, passed the memoranda of purchase, issues six new names for the ships. They will be the HSWS Apedemak, HSWS Apolake, HSWS Ninurta, HSWS Pallas, HSWS Sakumo, and the HSWS Sekhmet. It will be the most expensive order ever developed, with 2,781.61Mcr or almost three-billion credits being spent on these six advanced warships. They will take 120 weeks to build, six months longer than the scouts, though later ships of the same class are likely to have a reduced build time due to yard experience.
Scouting for Pearls
Ninety-six weeks, almost 24 months, a little under two years; that's how long it takes to build the HSWS Heimdall and the HSWS Janus. It isn't until the second anniversary of Navy Day that the first ship of the Interstellar Surveyor class is preparing to make its first jump in earnest, plotting a course for the next system over. Fine, capable crews have been chosen for both ships, officers trained in diplomacy, philosophy and communication as well as the less unusual concepts of war theory and combat tactics.
Side and Front views of the HSWS Heimdall, showing the unusual 'outrigger' drive pods
The two systems have been named according to transliterated radio telescope recordings made of their suns radiation. They are nonsense words, but with no better solutions forthcoming and an eagerness to avoid labelling the homes of sentient life with a string of numbers, they are the best available. Thus, HSWS Heimdall is charting a course for Xyri, while HSWS Janus intends to depart for S'taxu in the days following. Hopefully in a few weeks we will have a far more detailed star chart available - and a better idea of who our neighbours are and whether or not we will need the warships that are now just a few months from completion.
What orders has the Navy given its scout crews? Create a plan from the following options:
What is the main mission of these ships?
[ ] To stay safe, and refuse contact as much as it is possible.
[ ] To gather information on the system, its resources, and what it's value might be to Home.
[ ] To gather information on the people, their level of development, and their potential threat to Home.
[ ] To make contact with the legitimate planetary government, extend the olive branch, and reach out to the stars. What mission duration should be aimed for?
[ ] Six hours, to reduce the chance of the inhabitants responding to the Jump Flash.
[ ] Until a response is detected in the system being scouted.
[ ] A week.
[ ] As long as possible, supplies and fuel lasting.
[ ] Write-in - the ship has two months of supplies and fuel, but must accommodate two weeks of jump travel and a week travel in/out of system. What should be done in case of the risk of capture?
[ ] Scuttle the ship and request mercy. Cruisers will follow up in the coming months.
[ ] Attempt to Jump away if possible.
[ ] Go out fighting.
[ ] Write-in. Are there any additional orders you would issue to the scout crews?
[ ] Write-in.
Adhoc vote count started by 4WheelSword on Jul 15, 2024 at 7:14 AM, finished with 26 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Plan Stealth
-[X] Write-In: Begin with jumping to empty sectors, to verify whether these there are no signs of spacefaring civilizations there, such as refuelling stations, navigation buoys, ect. Practice emerging from jump behind planets or implement other relevant techniques to hide jump flashes and reduce detection risk. Jump to inhabited systems in tandem, with one vessel assigned to scouting and the other holding position and preparing to jump out at the first sign of trouble, so that at least one scout reaches Home with the recording of what happened. Xyri first.
-[X] To gather information on the people, their level of development, and their potential threat to Home.
--[X] Do not open communication. If spoken to, introduce yourself as the scouting mission and offer to schedule a proper meeting for later.
-[X] Six hours, to reduce the chance of the inhabitants responding to the Jump Flash.
--[X] Operation can be extended to up to three days if the technological level of the inhabited systems is low enough as to make detection infeasible.
-[X] Attempt to Jump away if possible.
--[X] EDIT: Write-In: The records of Home's exact location and the jump-drive technology must not fall into the hands of hostiles. Have self-destruct protocols in place to prevent that in case of imminent capture, such as those outlined in the Nightingale Protocol.
[X] Plan: We Come in Peace
-[X] To make contact with the legitimate planetary government (if any), extend the olive branch, and reach out to the stars.
-[X] As long as possible, supplies and fuel lasting.
-[X] Scuttle the ship and request mercy. Cruisers will follow up in the coming months.
-[X] Observe all biological and data contamination rules and security procedures between contacts. Offline and secure storage for all information and any gifts.
[X] Plan Stealth
-[X] Write-In: Begin with jumping to empty sectors, to verify whether these there are no signs of spacefaring civilizations there, such as refuelling stations, navigation buoys, ect. Practice emerging from jump behind planets or implement other relevant techniques to hide jump flashes and reduce detection risk. Jump to inhabited systems in tandem, with one vessel assigned to scouting and the other holding position and preparing to jump out at the first sign of trouble, so that at least one scout reaches Home with the recording of what happened. Xyri first.
-[X] To gather information on the people, their level of development, and their potential threat to Home.
--[X] Do not open communication. If spoken to, introduce yourself as the scouting mission and offer to schedule a proper meeting for later.
-[X] Six hours, to reduce the chance of the inhabitants responding to the Jump Flash.
--[X] Operation can be extended to up to three days if the technological level of the inhabited systems is low enough as to make detection infeasible.
-[X] Attempt to Jump away if possible.
[X]OPLAN Open Palm
-[X] To gather information on the people, their level of development, and their potential threat to Home.
-[X] To make contact with the legitimate planetary government, extend the olive branch, and reach out to the stars.
-[X] Until a response is detected in the system being scouted.
-[X] Write-in: Nightingale Protocol. In event of capture or hostile action, all Scout vessels must destroy all records of Home's location and details of jump drive technology to prevent their attackers from gaining access to our system, then fight until escape via blind jump or complete destruction. If boarded by hostile forces, all personnel whose knowledge would allow a hostile power to gain Home's location under interrogation are authorized to be terminated to prevent capture.
-[X] Write-in, additional orders: All data and physical sanitation and quarantine protocols must be followed to prevent contamination of ourselves or our hosts as as result of contact. Regardless of positive response by foreign powers, members of Scout crews must observe and record all notable military and political buildup and activities through clandestine means in the event of a successful diplomatic mission, such as a visit planetside or to an orbital installation. In the event of a hostile response, the Scouts should attempt to communicate their findings back to Space Warfare Intelligence via encrypted communications prior to enacting the Nightingale Protocol.
What orders has the Navy given its scout crews? Begin with jumping to empty sectors, to verify whether these there are no signs of spacefaring civilizations there, such as refuelling stations, navigation buoys, ect. Practice emerging from jump behind planets or implement other relevant techniques to hide jump flashes and reduce detection risk. Jump to inhabited systems in tandem, with one vessel assigned to scouting and the other holding position and preparing to jump out at the first sign of trouble, so that at least one scout reaches Home with the recording of what happened. Xyri first.
- To gather information on the people, their level of development, and their potential threat to Home.
-- Do not open communication. If spoken to, introduce yourself as the scouting mission and offer to schedule a proper meeting for later.
- Six hours, to reduce the chance of the inhabitants responding to the Jump Flash.
-- Operation can be extended to up to three days if the technological level of the inhabited systems is low enough as to make detection infeasible.
- Attempt to Jump away if possible.
-- The records of Home's exact location and the jump-drive technology must not fall into the hands of hostiles. Have self-destruct protocols in place to prevent that in case of imminent capture, such as those outlined in the Nightingale Protocol.
Dark Skies
With the scouts offered their orders, astronomers begin scanning eagerly for deep space objects they can 'aim' a jump towards. There isn't much to find; deep space is called deep for a reason, like the unknown depths of the ice seas on Home, but nonetheless our finest theoreticians and scientists begin their work in earnest. They have spent so long assessing radio data from Xyri and S'taxu that scanning empty space is almost a refreshing breather after the former.
There is still almost nothing found. Three of the four sectors of space are entirely empty, filled with nothing but the universes singing radiation. The last of them, a sector of space labelled 'Galactic North' on the limited star charts produced by the SIS, holds the jackpot. A single rogue planetoid, deep in the middle of nothing, barely more than a comet. Vitally, however, it's enough for a skilled astrogator to aim for.
HSWS Janus will take the first experimental leap into the dark, a few weeks after the second anniversary of Navy Day.
Ships Log
- Mission Clock Set 0W0D00H-00
- 0W0D00H-08 - Burn for Jump Point, bearing 010 by 354
- 0W0D03H-45 - Arrive at Jump Point
- 0W0D03H-45 - Jump Preparations Complete. Drive Activated.
- 0W0D04H-07 - Ship enters Jump Space
- 0W7D01H-45 - Ship exits Jump Space
- 0W7D01H-52 - Comet labelled Deep Hope identified and logged on sensors
- 0W7D02H-15 - Ship completes transit, closing to within a few kilometres of Deep Hope
- 0W7D03H-08 - Basic Survey of Deep Hope completed.
- 0W7D03H-42 - Ship makes return transit to Deep Space Jump Point
- 0W7D04H-24 - Ship enters Jump Space
- 1W6D21H-24 - Ship exits Jump Space
- 1W6D22H-12 - Ship arrives in orbit around Home. Mission ends.
Results
With a mission duration of almost exactly two weeks, the HSWS Janus's short expedition has already taught us much. First of all, that we can make jumps onto tiny gravity wells. Even an icy comet of just a few tens of kilometres develops enough of a Tailor-Kenson Well that a Jump Drive would sooner collapse the bubble than pass through it. Second, that there is an obscure rock outside of the known systems that could in future serve as a refuelling point for at least a little while. The ice water wrapped around that rock wont last forever, but it's still thousands of tons of hydrogen in a stored form.
Third, and perhaps most important, is that neither of the Janus' jumps, nor those carried out by the Ceridwen have ever been of the exact same length. They have all certainly been around a week in length, but the shortest has been as short as six and a half days, while the longest is closer to seven and a half. With an operational plan that calls for a six-hour stay in a potentially threatening system, the jump length is a vital factor in how plans are to be made. Nonetheless, the time is upon us to begin scouting, and after a short stay in port for maintenance, and several awards for the first crew to enter Interstellar space, the Janus and the Heimdall depart for the Jump Point closest to Xyri, escorted by the System Defence Destroyer Zelus.
Xyri
The first of the two closest systems to Home, Xyri is centred around a pair of K-type main sequence stars that orbit around each other in an eternal dance. Nine planets or planetoids have been detected by long-range spectrography, assessing them through the dimming and brightening of the stars just three lightyears away. Four of the nine are understood to be gas giants of one sort or another, while the others are suspected to be rocks.
Heimdall jumps first, aiming for a planetoid at the very fringes of the Xyri system, followed minutes later by Janus, as the captain of the Zelus wishes them all speed and safe travels.
One hundred and sixty five hours after departure, the Janus and her crew arrival safely 150,000 kilometres from what is currently logged as Xyri-9. Sensor baffles are retracted, receivers are extended and the Janus begins drinking in information as fast as the ships computers can possibly handle it. After an hour, the ships captain knows their jump flash must have reached the inner system. After two, the sensors report several new 'extremely hot' readings from in-system. After three, they have a course on whatever it is responding to them and there is still no sign of the Heimdall.
Whatever is on an approach vector towards the mission point will, fortunately, require several days to reach the Janus's location. Readings are hardly accurate as such massive distances, but it's at least one ship - possibly even several. Whoever is living in Xyri is capable of building and operating spacecraft, assuming these aren't automated systems responding to the Janus' arrival.
As six hours approaches, the captain of the Janus orders the preparation of the Jump Drive. Even if the Heimdall is lost, this information must be returned to Home. Several options are considered, including the leaving of a mining drone behind to act as a message buoy, but this is considered overly risky and may lead the locals to begin working towards coming after our scouts. Finally, the Janus sets a course for home and jumps.
As the Janus translates out, the Heimdall arrives in system six hours after its sister. The last traces of the Janus' jump flash are recorded on automatic sensors, even as the crew recover from the ungentle translation back into real space. Warnings flash up across the tight confines of the bridge, warning of oncoming hot-spots, of the flood of information received on ships systems, and barely a sign of their sister. Panic almost overcomes the bridge crew before the Captain retakes command of the situation. She orders as much information gathered as possible, and the ship readied for a jump as soon as possible.
After just two hours, the Heimdall begins her journey back towards Home, a concerned and anxious crew held together by the relative safety of Jump Space.
Acquired Information
Xyri A - Xyri B : A pair of K-type stars that orbit each other
Xyri-1 : 231 - A 3,200km scorching hot rock with a trace atmosphere
Xyri-2 : 432 - An inhabited planet of small size, orbiting in the systems goldilocks zone, with thin atmosphere and little water.
Xyri-3 : Gas Giant
Xyri-4 : 768 - An 11,200km planet with an atmosphere made up mostly of poison. Frozen chemical oceans.
Xyri-5 : Gas Giant
Xyri-6 : Gas Giant
Xyri-7 : Gas Giant
Xyri-8 : 200 - A 3,200km barren rock with no atmosphere
Xyri-9 : 110 - A 1,600km barren rock with trace atmospherics
The Xyri system is home to a population in the millions, with significant orbital architecture and the ability to build and maintain operational spacecraft. It is suspected that they may be slightly more advanced than the people of Home, but do not have the capacity to make best use of that capability. Nothing is known of local politics or other vital aspects of Xyri's population.
The cruisers are three months from completion and four months from comissionin and active service. Based on the above events, would you like to make any changes to the operational mission doctrine, or should the same standards be maintained for penetration into S'taxu?
[ ] Write in any changes. 2,000 tons of yard space are available to the Navy. What would you like to use that space for?
[ ] Additional Interstellar Surveyors
[ ] Additional Interstellar Cruisers
[ ] A Home defence Monitor of a new design
[ ] Something else - write-in
The Local Cluster, at the time of writing, is understood to be made up of at least five inhabited star systems and a series of uninhabited sectors: Home
System Code: C954730-8 Star: K7V Orange - 100D limit: 87.7Gm - Habitable Zone: 0.3AU-0.4AU/44.8-59.8Gm Orbitals: Home (Mainworld, Single Moon), Home-2 (Icy rock planet, Single Moon), Home-3 (Small Gas Giant, Two Moons)
Xyri
Survey Index: 9 System Code: C432678-9 Trade Codes: Na, Ni, Po Star: K5V-K4V Orange Binary with 27AU mean separation - 100D limit: 97.6Gm - Habitable Zone: 0.4AU-0.6AU/59.8-89.7Gm Orbitals: Xyri-1 (Scorched Rock), Xyri-2 (Mainworld), Xyri-3 (Small Gas Giant, Seven moons), Xyri-4 (Frozen Rock), Xyri-5 (Small Gas Giant, Two moons), Xyri-6 (Small Gas Giant, Five moons), Xyri-7 (Small Gas Giant, Single moon), Xyri-8 (Barren Rock), Xyri-9 (Barren Rock, Single moon)
Cassalon
Survey Index: 9 System Code: C533748-8 Trade Codes: Na, Po Star: A3V Blue - 100D limit: 259.2Gm - Habitable Zone: 3.9AU-5.7AU/583.4-862.7Gm Orbitals: S'Taxu-1 (Wet, Scorched Rock), S'Taxu-2 (Large Gas Giant), S'Taxu-3 (High-Density Terrestrial), S'Taxu-4 (Mainworld, Rocky planet), S'Taxu-5 (Large Gas Giant), S'Taxu-6 (Eccentric Orbital Planetoid Belt), S'Taxu-7 (Icy rocky Planet), S'Taxu-8 (Retrograde Orbital Ice planet)
Heimdall
Survey Index: 10 System Code: -000000-0 Star(s): K2V-K0V Orange Binary with distant M4V companion. Orbitals: -0202-1 (Small Gas Giant, Six moons), -0202-2 (Planetoid Belt), -0202-3 (Small Gas Giant, Five moons)
Nova Refugio
Survey Index: 10
System Code: D227222-8 Star(s): M3V Red - 100D limit: 50.3Gm - Habitable Zone: 0.12AU-0.17AU/17.9-25.4Gm Orbitals: 0002-1 (Planetoid Belt), Nova Refugio (Mainworld), 0002-3 (Planetoid Belt), 0002-4 (Rocky Planet), Nova Refugio-5 (Highly Unusual Composition, XAAA000-0), 0002-6 (Rocky Planet), 0002-7 (Rocky Planet, Two moons), 0002-8 (Planetoid Belt), 0002-9 (Rocky Planet, One moon), 0002-A (Rocky Planet, Two moons)
The Aslan Cluster
A sector of space dominated by our barely understood Aslan neighbours it contains at least three inhabited systems. Keoiri
Survey Index: 10 System Code: B768554-A Star(s): Type F (Yellow-White Star) with distant binary companion Orbitals: Keoiri-1 (Rocky planet), Keoiri-2 (Mainworld, Rocky planet), Keoiri-3 (Small Gas Giant), Keoiri-4 (Rocky planet), Keoiri-5 (Large Gas Giant), Keoiri-6 (Rocky planet), Keoiri-7 (Rocky planet), Keoiri-8 (Small Gas Giant)
03,00
Survey Index: 8 System Code: -323???-? Star(s): Type K (Orange Star) with distant binary companion Orbitals: 0300-1 (Rocky planet), 0300-2 (Small Gas Giant) Comments: Part of Aslan territory
03,01
Survey Index: 8 System Code: -000000-0 Star(s): Brown Dwarf Orbitals: 0301-1 (Rocky planet), 0301-2 (Rocky planet), 0301-1 (Planetoid belt)
02,-03
Survey Index: 8 System Code: ?351???-? Star(s): Type M (Red Star) with distant binary companion Orbitals: 02-03-1 (Rocky planet, Mainworld moon), 02-03-1 (Planetoid Belt), 02-03-1 (Rocky planet), 02-03-1 (Rocky planet), 02-03-1 (Rocky planet in retrograde orbit)
The Southern Cluster
A series of worlds that string out from the identified threat on Hermosa. Equus
Survey Index: 10 System Code: D977589-7 Star(s): Type G (Yellow Star) Orbitals: -0301-1 (Small Gas Giant),-0301-2 (Large Gas Giant), -0301-3 (Rocky planet), -0301-4 (Rocky planet), -0301-5 (Rocky planet), -0301-6 (Rocky planet), -0301-7 (Rocky planet), -0301-8 (Planetoid Belt), -0301-9 (Rocky planet)
Sinone
Survey Index: 8 System Code: ?300???-? Star(s): Type M (Red Star) Orbitals: -0302-1 (Large Gas Giant),-0302-2 (Rocky planet), -0302-3 (Rocky planet), -0302-4 (Small Gas Giant), -0302-5 (Small Gas Giant), -0302-6 (Rocky planet)
Hexos
Survey Index: 10 System Code: C42048C-9 Star(s): Type M (Red Star) with distant Binary companion Orbitals: -0103-1 (Rocky Planet),-0103-2 (Rocky planet)
