World 1 (Space Engineers), Chapter 2
We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
(Luke)
I was tending to the hydroponic garden when my suit's radio came back with "Hey Luke, this is Catherine, and we've probably got pirates inbound. I'll be on my way back shortly." I facepalmed, and silently thanked myself for finishing the laser turret.
Let's think for a moment, there are likely pirates inbound. If they're jump capable, they'll be here inside of 30 minutes at most once light lag is accounted for. If they aren't, I can probably expect them within a week. There isn't much that can be done to prepare for a pirate raid inside 30 minutes, so I'll assume I've got a week of preparation time.
With my limits established, I immediately set to work designing something that could do a number on some pirates. First, I drew up plans for a bank of missile silos for the base. They weren't going to be using conventional or kinetic payloads however. After all, I had several tons of refined Uranium available to me, and it had more uses than just power generation.
As the drones got to the task of constructing the addition I was going to be firing from, I proceeded to draw up plans for a nuclear shaped charge that should do the job. While I knew the critical mass of Uranium like the back of my hand now, ROB had not been so kind as to provide information on how to build nuclear weapons. Fortunately, I could brute force the matter by simply building a gun-type nuclear device. Yes, the efficiency would be bad, but it should work well enough to get the job done.
As the drones began their task of constructing the new defenses, I was myself busy with another project. Namely, I was drawing up plans for an automated defense corvette that could be easily produced by the shipyard drones in large numbers. Coming in at 40 meters in length and armed with a single FEL. That FEL was fed by a plasma wakefield accelerator running 10 meters down the length of the ship for an electron energy of around 850 GeV. This was then fed into a 10 meter long wiggler, and the resulting beam had a minimum achievable wavelength of 1.812e-15 meters, which was well into the gamma band. However, it could only put out a 100 Kilowatt beam at that setting. Most of the time it would be firing in the X-ray band with an effective wattage of 60 megawatts, making use of a FEL's ability to tune its frequency.
For propulsion and maneuvering, it had a pair of long embedded nacelles full of Artificial Mass. Strategically placed gravity generators then pushed and pulled said artificial mass, not only being responsible for forwards acceleration, but also allowing the corvette to turn and maneuver. It was powered by a single 300 megawatt nuclear reactor with a 5 MwH battery backup, and had 5 meters of heavy armor in most locations. It was also equipped with a single Jump Drive and a pair of missile pods, meaning that it had more options than just the laser.
As the drones began assembling the first of the Bouncer class automated combat craft, Catherine sent back a transmission of "Alright Home Base, this is Runaround requesting permission to dock."
I returned "Sure thing Catherine, there's a docking spire ready and waiting for you." Catherine docked, and came back down the docking spire. I moved to meet her in the hub it connected to, and as she pulled off her helmet, I greeted her with "Welcome home, it's good to see you again."
Catherine nodded, before saying "I missed you too." and pulling me into a hug.
(Catherine)
As Luke and I released from our embrace, I asked "What have you started for defenses, and what else needs doing?"
He answered "There's some nuclear missile silos being built, and the shipyard's currently churning out automated laser corvettes as fast as the requisite materials can be refined; I call them Bouncers."
I thought to ask then "Could we realistically make this go any faster if we started to increase our rate of resource extraction?"
Luke nodded before saying "Yes we could. It would also probably be prudent to set up a second shipyard to make something big to draw hostile fire while the laser drones swarm them. So, do you want to design the ship, or expand the base?"
I took a few seconds to decide "I think I'll handle warship design while you expand the base. I'm going to go grab a tablet and head to the park while you get that dealt with." And with that, we went our separate ways for the time being.
The park as I'd decided to call it back when me and Luke were still the same person was a medium-sized room directly adjacent to the main hydroponics bay designed as a place to de-stress. Encased in a double-layered dome of blue-tinted bulletproof glass windows, it had been intended to look as much like being on Earth as possible. This included a small stream running roughly down the middle of it, and several flowering plants in discrete hydroponic cells. A coating of artificial turf and a very real-looking fake tree completed the illusion.
As I lay on the grass, I began to both design what I'd call the Valiant class automated cruiser as well as muse on me and Luke's relationship. Hmm... this ship's going to be drawing immense amounts of fire pretty much constantly. 5 meters of Graphene/Steel composite should cover defensive needs, and a meter of armor between compartments to keep damage contained.
(Johnathan Burnstead)
As I sipped my orange juice, one of my many subordinates interrupted my downtime with "Sir, one of the informant drones just spotted something and I think you'll want to know about it."
I nodded and asked "What is it then?" as I set my drink in the cupholder attached to my chair in the grey and red CIC.
Wilson answered "About 3 degrees prograde from us in the asteroid belt the informant spotted a relatively small craft, probably a single ship, that was being propelled to a relative stop via gravity drive at around 2 gees. The Informant proceeded to trace its trajectory back to an asteroid effectively adjacent to the one it was surveying, and found a habitat complex attached to an automated shipyard. At that point, what we're guessing is a defensive turret of some variety rotated to face the Informant before we lost contact with it, presumably from having been fired upon."
I groaned, before saying "Could you please show me these pictures? I'd like to see them so I can make an informed decision." Wilson acquiesced, and I went over the 100 pixel by 100 pixel shot the drone had managed to get of the base in question before it died. I quickly picked out the hab he'd mentioned, along with the automated factory and a docking spire. However, there was one major thing bugging me.
Eventually, I just came out and said "If you think it's a Dominion FOB, you're wrong."
Wilson nodded before asking "What makes you think that sir?"
I simply told him "It's too small. That hab can't have a sustainable population larger than 8 at most, and Dominion bases are always at least 200 men strong. We're probably looking at a small group of people who decided to have a go at Voidsteading."
Wilson then noted "Of course. I would however like to note that they looked to be starting to construct a series of missile silos before we lost contact with the drone."
I stroked my goatee before remarking "Yes, I saw that as well. It's a reasonable reaction. We're an unknown, and they're preparing for a possible threat. I'd do the same. It doesn't mean we have to jump straight to violence however. Helm, jump us in to a distance of one light second. Once we're there I want communications to open up a video call with them. Let's clear up the murk surrounding this situation before it has a chance to escalate any further."
Next time on Welcome Aboard: An enlightening conversation is had, construction is commenced, and ROB is a major ass.
I was tending to the hydroponic garden when my suit's radio came back with "Hey Luke, this is Catherine, and we've probably got pirates inbound. I'll be on my way back shortly." I facepalmed, and silently thanked myself for finishing the laser turret.
Let's think for a moment, there are likely pirates inbound. If they're jump capable, they'll be here inside of 30 minutes at most once light lag is accounted for. If they aren't, I can probably expect them within a week. There isn't much that can be done to prepare for a pirate raid inside 30 minutes, so I'll assume I've got a week of preparation time.
With my limits established, I immediately set to work designing something that could do a number on some pirates. First, I drew up plans for a bank of missile silos for the base. They weren't going to be using conventional or kinetic payloads however. After all, I had several tons of refined Uranium available to me, and it had more uses than just power generation.
As the drones got to the task of constructing the addition I was going to be firing from, I proceeded to draw up plans for a nuclear shaped charge that should do the job. While I knew the critical mass of Uranium like the back of my hand now, ROB had not been so kind as to provide information on how to build nuclear weapons. Fortunately, I could brute force the matter by simply building a gun-type nuclear device. Yes, the efficiency would be bad, but it should work well enough to get the job done.
As the drones began their task of constructing the new defenses, I was myself busy with another project. Namely, I was drawing up plans for an automated defense corvette that could be easily produced by the shipyard drones in large numbers. Coming in at 40 meters in length and armed with a single FEL. That FEL was fed by a plasma wakefield accelerator running 10 meters down the length of the ship for an electron energy of around 850 GeV. This was then fed into a 10 meter long wiggler, and the resulting beam had a minimum achievable wavelength of 1.812e-15 meters, which was well into the gamma band. However, it could only put out a 100 Kilowatt beam at that setting. Most of the time it would be firing in the X-ray band with an effective wattage of 60 megawatts, making use of a FEL's ability to tune its frequency.
For propulsion and maneuvering, it had a pair of long embedded nacelles full of Artificial Mass. Strategically placed gravity generators then pushed and pulled said artificial mass, not only being responsible for forwards acceleration, but also allowing the corvette to turn and maneuver. It was powered by a single 300 megawatt nuclear reactor with a 5 MwH battery backup, and had 5 meters of heavy armor in most locations. It was also equipped with a single Jump Drive and a pair of missile pods, meaning that it had more options than just the laser.
As the drones began assembling the first of the Bouncer class automated combat craft, Catherine sent back a transmission of "Alright Home Base, this is Runaround requesting permission to dock."
I returned "Sure thing Catherine, there's a docking spire ready and waiting for you." Catherine docked, and came back down the docking spire. I moved to meet her in the hub it connected to, and as she pulled off her helmet, I greeted her with "Welcome home, it's good to see you again."
Catherine nodded, before saying "I missed you too." and pulling me into a hug.
(Catherine)
As Luke and I released from our embrace, I asked "What have you started for defenses, and what else needs doing?"
He answered "There's some nuclear missile silos being built, and the shipyard's currently churning out automated laser corvettes as fast as the requisite materials can be refined; I call them Bouncers."
I thought to ask then "Could we realistically make this go any faster if we started to increase our rate of resource extraction?"
Luke nodded before saying "Yes we could. It would also probably be prudent to set up a second shipyard to make something big to draw hostile fire while the laser drones swarm them. So, do you want to design the ship, or expand the base?"
I took a few seconds to decide "I think I'll handle warship design while you expand the base. I'm going to go grab a tablet and head to the park while you get that dealt with." And with that, we went our separate ways for the time being.
The park as I'd decided to call it back when me and Luke were still the same person was a medium-sized room directly adjacent to the main hydroponics bay designed as a place to de-stress. Encased in a double-layered dome of blue-tinted bulletproof glass windows, it had been intended to look as much like being on Earth as possible. This included a small stream running roughly down the middle of it, and several flowering plants in discrete hydroponic cells. A coating of artificial turf and a very real-looking fake tree completed the illusion.
As I lay on the grass, I began to both design what I'd call the Valiant class automated cruiser as well as muse on me and Luke's relationship. Hmm... this ship's going to be drawing immense amounts of fire pretty much constantly. 5 meters of Graphene/Steel composite should cover defensive needs, and a meter of armor between compartments to keep damage contained.
Just how am I related to Luke, anyways?
The gravitic nacelles seem like they're working well enough on the bouncer, let's use them on the Valiant as well. Hmm... We should probably also have some backup propulsion. Eh, installing conventional thrusters would just weaken the armor. Weaponry should probably also include lasers as primary, with missiles as secondary.
Am I his sister? Daughter? Seriously, this is confusing.
Let's think... Yeah, let's put a set of 4 turrets, each carrying a 100 megawatt X-Ray laser. Stagger the hull a bit so all 4 can fire at a single target to the fore, and that opens up a bit of room for me to move the rearmost turrets all the way aft. Next thing I did was put in the actual missile tubes and magazines in the front compartment. This thing wouldn't be packing nukes, so instead let's go for kinetic penetrators.
Yeah... I think I'm his sister, genetically speaking.
And finally, to finish it off, stick some backup processors, sensors and power in each compartment. Also, let's break the grav nacelles into 3 compartments to increase their ability to sustain damage and still work.
So.. I guess that makes him my big brother, technically?
(Johnathan Burnstead)
As I sipped my orange juice, one of my many subordinates interrupted my downtime with "Sir, one of the informant drones just spotted something and I think you'll want to know about it."
I nodded and asked "What is it then?" as I set my drink in the cupholder attached to my chair in the grey and red CIC.
Wilson answered "About 3 degrees prograde from us in the asteroid belt the informant spotted a relatively small craft, probably a single ship, that was being propelled to a relative stop via gravity drive at around 2 gees. The Informant proceeded to trace its trajectory back to an asteroid effectively adjacent to the one it was surveying, and found a habitat complex attached to an automated shipyard. At that point, what we're guessing is a defensive turret of some variety rotated to face the Informant before we lost contact with it, presumably from having been fired upon."
I groaned, before saying "Could you please show me these pictures? I'd like to see them so I can make an informed decision." Wilson acquiesced, and I went over the 100 pixel by 100 pixel shot the drone had managed to get of the base in question before it died. I quickly picked out the hab he'd mentioned, along with the automated factory and a docking spire. However, there was one major thing bugging me.
Eventually, I just came out and said "If you think it's a Dominion FOB, you're wrong."
Wilson nodded before asking "What makes you think that sir?"
I simply told him "It's too small. That hab can't have a sustainable population larger than 8 at most, and Dominion bases are always at least 200 men strong. We're probably looking at a small group of people who decided to have a go at Voidsteading."
Wilson then noted "Of course. I would however like to note that they looked to be starting to construct a series of missile silos before we lost contact with the drone."
I stroked my goatee before remarking "Yes, I saw that as well. It's a reasonable reaction. We're an unknown, and they're preparing for a possible threat. I'd do the same. It doesn't mean we have to jump straight to violence however. Helm, jump us in to a distance of one light second. Once we're there I want communications to open up a video call with them. Let's clear up the murk surrounding this situation before it has a chance to escalate any further."
Next time on Welcome Aboard: An enlightening conversation is had, construction is commenced, and ROB is a major ass.
Neither of us has any idea what the other is trying to tell us.
