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Traveller, The Rise of Empire: A Naval Design, Procurement and Command Quest

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[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.
 
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[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.
 
Presenting OPLAN: Open Palm:

[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.
OPLAN Open Palm is designed to allow smooth, friendly contact with any stellar nations that appear amenable, and to avoid further aggression by any who do not. In the event of our welcoming overtures being returned, our crews will depart for Home flush with good news and better material intelligence on our neighbors. In the event of a hostile response, their brave sacrifice will preserve our security and give us time to prepare to avenge them. Additionally, the required espionage the crew must undertake if welcomed, while morally distasteful, is essential to our further survival. Even if a nation we contact presents a friendly greeting, they may have infernal designs towards our blessed home. Without the presence of a religious delegation to prevent disaster, we must rely on the laity of the Fleet to be the eyes and ears of the People. And our government, of course.

While the Nightingale Protocol is a heavy burden to bear, it is also necessary to prevent any hostile power from threatening Home, or at least doing so immediately. Even if the included termination orders are not enacted by the commanders and crew of the Scouts, such unique and terrible authorization underlines the necessity of the Protocol and how crucial it is to carry it out.
 
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Coyote Niff said:
-[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.
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These two seem self-contradictory, if you expect them to respond you would like to be present to hear the response, wouldn't you? Nevertheless, I think it's too early to be opening communications. Our cruisers aren't ready and there's no way for us back our carrots with sticks just yet.

That said, I approve of the Nightingale Protocol and I don't mind working it into plan Stealth.
 
[X] Plan: We Come in Peace
We appear to be ahead of our neighbors in jump tech, which makes it I think unlikely that they would be able to attack before our jump-ships are ready, as they are either building on a similar schedule or behind. As a result, we have little to lose by attempting peaceful first contact.
 
Raw90 said:
As a result, we have little to lose by attempting peaceful first contact.
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Note that we haven't built a "welcome wagon". We've got no diplomats on this craft. I'd much rather do a quick survey first, pick up the chatter in the system, analyze it so we know what kind of people we're dealing with and prepare our first open visit according to our findings. Information is power.
 
I don't think it's possible for us to jump behind planets in systems we've never been to before, we just don't have any direct knowledge of their layout.
 
grimely said:
I don't think it's possible for us to jump behind planets in systems we've never been to before, we just don't have any direct knowledge of their layout.
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Nothing prevents us from jumping in the general vinicity first, so that we can see the planets from far away and do some calculations as to where the relevant big planet is going to be when the final jump takes place. Unless the Jump Flash can indeed expected to be seen from that far away, but that's more of a question to the QM.
 
Jump flash propagates at the speed of light, and presumably there's a falloff where it stops being recognizable, but that distance also controls what useful information we can get examining another solar system.
 
True, but the only information we'd be interested in at that point is to see the size and orbits of the planets in their system. There's no time limit, we can afford to take it slow to ensure maximum security.
 
Magnificate said:
These two seem self-contradictory, if you expect them to respond you would like to be present to hear the response, wouldn't you? Nevertheless, I think it's too early to be opening communications. Our cruisers aren't ready and there's no way for us back our carrots with sticks just yet.

That said, I approve of the Nightingale Protocol and I don't mind working it into plan Stealth.
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I should clarify; I selected both options because the idea is to surveil and evaluate the inhabited systems and and then, if situations appear positive, make contact.

Glad you appreciate the Nightingale; I was inspired by Halo's Cole Protocol, but that one simply calls for not allowing data on Earth to be captured and not much else; I figure our situation demands a clear operating checklist on how to keep things permanently obscured.
 
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1-8: The End of Isolation
  • Threadmarks
    • 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.
    Click to expand...


    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
     
  • Threadmarks
    • staying quiet and paranoid until we have our first couple of defensive ships is a good idea because we have no idea what is around us.

    we also need to get better jump drives, six hours between translations of ships that jumped minutes apart is just insane and we need to fix it.
     
    No, being paranoid isn't really logical. Why are we assuming everyone we run into is immediately going to want to kill or conquer us?
     
    We've learned two interesting things:
    • Fleet coordination on attack is HARD. Defender still needs time to respond, but in truth all defenders to do is to fortify the jump points and defeat incoming fleet piecemeal.
    • Our sensors are BAD. The information we had was limited, we've learned nothing about their ship configuration.
    4WheelSword said:
    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.
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    Why? What's the limiting factor?
     
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