Thread #6373892
File: Opener.png (850 KB)
850 KB PNG
The past few months had been rough. Your severance package turned out to be worthless in the wake of post war inflation, and even in one of the supposed seats of Pact Joint Command you couldn't find a stable job. Trying find work outside the Pact was nearly impossible with how destroyed your reputation was with the Raihan Empire.
One drink turned to three quickly, and soon you were telling anyone who would listen about the hardships. The undue, unjust, and entirely of no fault of your own, hardships.
---
Make a choice. You are currently a little buzzed, but a few more drinks shouldn't hurt.
>Complain about having to moonlight in the pharmaceutical industry, and getting no thanks. A bump couldn't hurt.
>Decry the squalid living conditions you've had to endure, despite your charitable work at the local clinics. Pound one.
>Rail against Solei, who is an unimaginative prick. Take a shot.
83 RepliesView Thread
Showing all 83 replies.>>
>>
>>
>>
>>6373892
>>6373894
>>6373898
You crushed a small capsule between your fingers and inhaled sharply. Cold, burning, a burst of euphoria and suddenly crystal clear with the lingering smell of titanium fire. "Amp. Ampheticaine. It existed before, right? AKSG product all the way." The guy one seat over rolled his eyes. "here we go again." His lack of enthusiasm for very important facts did not deter you.
"I..." you sneezed like an undignified kitten "I perfected it!. Well, after NuAmp, Diet Amp, but I got it right. Got it exact! Biological chemistry... nominally outside my real of interest, but not my genius. Was I rewarded? No! NO I WAS NOT!" You started to stand up, mid proclamation, but a firm hand on your shoulder from a bouncer grounded you back into your seat, forcefully. This world was like clay, crude, demanding a hand to shape it. "A vision to realize it." Internal monologue leaked quite externally from your lips.
Ampheticaine was ubiquitous here, the lifeblood of industry perhaps. You rolled a drained shotglass in contemplation. Drops of cheap liquor rolled out onto your palms. "I did good work. Just like for the PJC. Took an imperfect idea, then purified and concentrated it! Did you see the videos of the Megaton Rain before they butchered it? Just like that....and just like that as soon as my work was done I was thrown away again."
The local grey market was always eager to capitalize on any resource. You had happened to be one, if only for a moment. Once developed, your utility quickly ended as the illicit pharmacorp found your personality difficult to work with and left you with a broken finger and busted nose. Shortly after the compounding process and formula proliferated outside the hands of your former employers. Sadly it also saw your apartment explode while you were elsewhere.
>>6373900
You slam a shot your neighbor bought for you, in a bid to shut you up. Poison and fire twisted into your gullet, the phantom of being strangled quickly passed, tension numbing slightly.
"It was as fucking bad as working with Solei! He was so damn smug when he got the Director position of PJC R&D. Well fuck him, Whats the PJC now? Barely anything." You pull out a medal case and show your increasingly weary audience. "I...EARNED this! Not Solei, and they accused me of being iterative for designs that were placeholders!" you leaned on non existent back of your stool and fell to the floor.
The bouncer looked at you with a grimmace. He was spiked, you knew him in passing. A patient. The spike's death sentence was reduced to a life of inconvenience with a firmware update and a very minor hardware augmentation.
"Glasner. Time for you to go. Need a hand?"
----
You are intoxicated. Another drink doesn't sound so bad though. Make a choice.
>Ignore him, Get up and Keep drinking.
>Take the hand and ambulate your way "home."
>Slap his hand away and be combative.
>>
>>
File: starwind.png (382.9 KB)
382.9 KB PNG
>>6373916
"Only lost my balance. Just got started."
The bouncer looked at you with a mixture of pity and frustration before walking away. This had been your routine for the past few weeks, it wasn't going to change tonight. "Don't have much else to do or anywhere else to be." Your living situation was best described as nomadic. You spent your "evenings" in the station's bowls with other vagrants, trying to stay ahead of individuals who desired to collect on petty debts. "Galaxssys' a..'ard place man."The seat next to you had been empty for a while.
A few more beers were put into storage for conversion into future piss before you noticed commotion. A group of attractive women were taking part in a brawl that was wrapping up. The bouncer from earlier was on the floor. You went over to see what this was about, no need for people to act so savage.
A guy comes in from outside your peripheral vision before you can get any closer. "Not for you Mr. Drunk. Today's your lucky day though, just walk away."
---
You are three sheets to the wind. What do you do?
>Push your way past.
>Try to reason with him.
>Take his advice and walk away.
>Approximate a challenge to him in a display of dominance.
>Write in
>>
>>
>>6373985
You look around, and realize that the full attention of this man and his battle harem are now on you, as are the patrons of this establishment. Attempts to talk come out as a stutter. You pull yourself from a slouch to full height and attempt some semblance of dignity "I..hu huhu...I am the F former Director of the" and then it hits. Your body rejects the toxic swill in your stomach, a pain unlike any you've felt racks your being, doubling you over and causing you to put a death grip on the nearest available object. Starwind's shoulders. He was already executing a slick martial arts move that was no doubt going to break something.
A shame, today had been going so well.
>Roll for Glasner Beam effectiveness. 1d20.
>>
>>
File: Cmdr_Shepard_Meme.jpg (87.6 KB)
87.6 KB JPG
Rolled 7 (1d20)
>>6373892
I'm Cognis and I approve this licensed third party spin off.
Remember to link the previous thread so new comers have context.
https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Space +Shipyard
>>6374003
Chargin the bile cannon!
>>6373898
>Wasn't expecting to see another Space Shipyard quest so soon, relatively speaking.
Well NonCognis got infected with the brain worm and really wanted to explore the setting some more. Given that I thought Ex Nihilo was an interesting hook but was too busy run it myself I gave my blessing for this quest.
>>
>>6374013
>5:A poor showing
The Glasner beam had long powerup, requiring a long belch that allowed Starwind enough time to lean to the side, avoiding all but the particulate splatter of your projectile vomit. The rest of the incident is a blur, involving you getting violently kicked, thrown, then stomped on by a group of rather attractive women. In retrospect some men pay for that, so this could be considered a minor victory, if not for the grievous bodily injuries.
It would have been a mercy to have passed out right away, but instead some purple haired floozy grabbed you by the face and scanned your eye "No. The Arc-itect bounty was rescinded with the death of it's sponsor." The voices were hard to focus on. "Yeah. Looks like we missed out on this one. What? Patent infringement?" She hauls you up and the group poses around you. Your face was swollen to the point where you couldn't get a good look, but it seemed like one of the patrons took a picture. You tried to talk but spitting out mouthfuls of blood made it hard. "Whufdafuqmahn?"
"Hey look, you have a bounty on you, I, beloved hero collect it, and cover the cost of coming to this dead end. They just wanted you roughed up. Also stop building rotary cannons or something. I don't know. Also this is for my jacket." You never saw the next punch coming. "Come on Ladies. Lets go see if that cute engineer wants to join the team."
---
"Wow. I've never seen someone shit himself from getting hit like that. It was really impressive!" She was your nurse, and a former knight pilot. Apparently she lost her frame in the war and had been disowned by her family, with no way to really get back into their graces. You'd feel worse for her if not for the constant replay of your ass beating she tended to play while doing routine care. Your gritted your teeth as she twisted and adjusted a brace that kept your shattered arm in one piece. "Almost as impressive as loosing a knight to strike fighters." The quip had upset her the first few times, once you learned enough about her to utilize it, but now it seemed ineffective. "Hmm, yes, but I think people will remember this more. Because it's funny. Also Galatan Starwind. Mmmm." She had a far off look in her eyes for a moment. "Anyway, my master is coming to see you shortly. Please appreciate what you are being offered."
A moment later a ragged looking man entered. He was lean, and masked. The infra and ultrasonic emissions from extensive augmentations made him unpleasant to be with in the same room. Your teeth almost hurt being near him. "Harris Glasner. The Alchemist wishes you well. I wish you well." You can't see his face, but he leans in closer to your bed, grabbing the railing tightly. "On her behalf, I would like to extend an offer. No need to act. Now." If not for the medical catheter already inserted inside your more delicate anatomy, you would have pissed yourself.
When you look down at your bedside tray, next to a cup of chocolate pudding is a letter.
>>
File: starting out.png (13.4 KB)
13.4 KB PNG
>>6374028
You skim the contents of the letter, it was brief, and to the point. A job offer. blah blah blah responsibility. Something something well being of the station community. Where was the job title....Director. "OH HELL YEAH! I am an artist, and this will be my canvas!" You jumped out of bed and re fractured your arm. "Fuck!"
---
It was a few weeks of ongoing therapy, but you were fully recovered, with new teeth even. Surprisingly nice teeth for such a backwater station. Granted if it could be had, it would be here. Your official new duty. Director. The pep in your step was arrested slightly as you stepped into a massive open bay. It looked like some sort of forward operational base in a military campaign had sex with a homeless encampment. There were clearly signs of industrial activity, but none of it was pristine. Overhead gantries hauled massive components into place while a robotics assembly line busied itself with unrelated tasks. Numerous specialty "Shops" handled sub components.
"Its beautiful. Isn't it? Harris Glasner." The masked man had snuck up on you. "We made many things here once. Strike craft, torpedoes, corvettes, even frigates. The Kaszanka type, if you are familiar. I know you are." He walked in lockstep with you, explaining the various shops and locations. You spotted a decommissioned hotdog being stripped for components, apparently cannibalized for it's engines. "We use those for Zweihänders. Waste not."
You'd had enough of him. "Yes, yes. Want not. Who are you anyway?" you adjusted your glasses more out of a nervous fidget than any real need. You felt him grinning through that opaque, featureless mask.
"I'm just a Bastard. You can even call me that. In fact, I insist. But, that is much. Less. Important than the job at hand You. Need to make choices."
He guided you over to a small open air elevator. It lead you up to an overhead director's cubicle on one of the mobile cranes. This place was a shithole. The whole thing was. Before you could say anything the Bastard motioned it's head towards the empty yard. "The artist needs a canvas, and this the brush with which you will work. Try not to have a tragic fall."
>>
>>6374041
>>6374041
On your Director's display was a notification of the first job order you had to deal with.
"Our customer is the provisional government of Shima. To be honest its sort of an occupied territory of the PJC, and they are quickly loosing influence as the member states of the pact maneuver against eachother for favored trade deals and political ties. The upside is, we are nominally part of the PJC, so this funds us.
Shima has the capacity of build strikecraft, and has stocked up on them, but the craft aren't FTL capable. They need to patrol their territory and have requested between 6 and 12 patrol craft. The Pact has elected new builds rather than donating existing surplus craft, probably because the surplus got obliterated during the war.
These things don't need to be much more than their mission, so keep tight to the requirements and we can cash in on surplus exotic matter at the expense of going heavy on common matter. You also aren't going to have access to most of the familiar goods here, we make everything in house.
Ex-Nihilo's equipment is a little different, we can import, sure, but that eats into operational costs, so for now learn about what we have, develop the lines, and make do. Below is an overview of the current frigate frame and available sub components.
(1/2)
>>
>>6374065
(2/2)
---
From: MX ProSuper
"The Knife Fighter was made to be incredibly affordable, accomplish a patrol, and come home. Damage control wasn't part of the plan. We have two example configurations for you to review. A type offers a fast gunship equipped with the lantern core, B type is a pocket carrier that can take a hit or two. Neither are ideal, but its what the team could make before you came into the picture.
1. Deck houses provide a living and command space. The bigger the more functionality, think on equipment in mission repairs, command and control, room for EVA and recovery. The smallest simply provides the crew room to exist. The more crew you have the bigger you have to go.
2. Sensors. From a basic comms blade, to a jammer, to a C4 ISR node. The heavier you go the more power you need.
3. Armor and heatsinks. I'd argue heatsinks could be armor.
4. The E-Drive. If you are gonna jump you need it, and this ship needs it.
5. Lantern Core. This takes the place of multiple engines and powerplants. Gratuitous speed and power output, less efficiency, and it explodes violently if ruptured while under power. Its also cheaper than multiple engines and power cores.
6. Power core and basic engines. They don't explode, but you are either going to be slow as fuck, or come out more costly and still less than fast.
7. Armament. We are a little underdeveloped here. Our best tech in house are probably the missiles, but we also have basic particle beams. I'd say something about the strike craft but our customer can supply their own so that's always a consideration. Use the existing unit as a placeholder for locations.
8. Capacitors and shield tiles. We pioneered these ones. Much cheaper than a power plant, but they only have enough juice for a hit then you are systems dead until recharged. The tiles are happy being fed from a direct power source or capacitor array. Doesn't matter much to em.
And hey, we wrote the book on doing things the wrong way. Literally. Check out the Chimera manual sometime. Yeah, you shouldn't daisychain E-drives together, but if you know whats gonna blow first, you can plan for downstream failures and on station repairs. That said, this probably isin't the contract for that kinda shit. Anyway Glasner, welcome to the team, good to have you as a boss, go knock yourself out. Maybe you got some ideas we didn't think of."
---
Alright players. Describe the kind of ship you want to make with whats available, and see if you can hit consensus. We'll have a ship within the next few hours, unless I pass out before then. The picture is mostly to help you visualize whats going on and what you have, rather than any expectation of drawing or creating anything, but if you do, thats cool too.
>>
>>
>>6374070
>>6374074
They want a patrol frigate, let's give em one. Large deckhouse so the ship is capable of performing limited EVA, boarding, rescue etc... would be useful in a "police" vessel. Lantern drive for cost and speed (we shouldn't be going into situations that are too hairy. Maybe advise training crews on emergency shutdown drills, or work some kind of CASE blowout panels into the superstructure to mitigate the effects of a full drive explosion.)
Then, capitalizing on the power output, slap on shields, heatsinks and particle beams. Going all in on energy should produce a ship that's cheaper to resupply while still being able to perform its intended function.
1. Biggest deckhouse, special emphasis on having a small EVA/recovery bay.
2. basic comms blade.
3. Heat sinks
4. E-Drive: Yes
5. Lantern Core.
7. Particle Beams
8. Shield Tiles
>>
>>
>>
>>
File: bay 1 KF.png (14.3 KB)
14.3 KB PNG
>>6374085
>>6374242
>>6374252
>>6374262
These things were certainly...interesting. Ex-Nihilo engineering up close. If you had access to a hyperdrive maybe it would be possible to reverse engineer it, but this was unlikely given the political climate. E-Drives were the best option for something as large as a system territory. Inefficent to be fair, but they also did offer some redundancy in supporting each other should a large enough threat emerge.
You worked the overhead crane system, and sent out commands periodically to the work teams. They were dysfunctional, fooling around, getting hurt now and again, but they also got the job done. You didn't like it, but it also made sense how this place churned out the raw amount of very mediocre ships it did. However...THIS TIME WOULD BE DIFFERENT. "Mine is a lighter touch..." you muttered as you worked the controls. The oversized drive core had come in earlier today, along with the heatsinks and E-drive. The components were crude, but the integration could be optimized. It also wasn't going too hard on additional resources yet...
Its a civil ship. But there was room for more. They didn't ask for more though...but you were director. You had stared at the schematics of the particle beams long enough to get ideas. Better than ideas. Eventualities.
---
Pick one.
>Finish the ship, and start cranking out the rest of the Shima patrol fleet. (control yourself. Produce 12 totally fine, if unremarkable frigates.)
>Commit to a slight optimization. Ever so slight. It'd need more power, and that would eat into the materials budget for the fleet, but you could still reach the customers minimum ship count requirements, even if it was one or two under, they'd understand for what they were getting. (roll 1 d20 to reach for glory and risk an absurd boondoggle)
>>
>>6374338
>Finish the ship, and start cranking out the rest of the Shima patrol fleet. (control yourself. Produce 12 totally fine, if unremarkable frigates.)
Solei thought we couldn't do boring but practical!? Well we'll show him! We'll make a ship so boring it'll put even him to sleep!...Ugh, we are going to need a drink after this.
>>
>>6374338
>Commit to a slight optimization. Ever so slight. It'd need more power, and that would eat into the materials budget for the fleet, but you could still reach the customers minimum ship count requirements, even if it was one or two under, they'd understand for what they were getting.
We've tried the boring option before, like refitting old ships, and in the end it earned us the boot. No more! Glasner's Revengeance starts now!
>>
File: the bastard.png (205.1 KB)
205.1 KB PNG
Rolled 8 (1d20)
>>6374395
>(roll 1 d20 to reach for glory and risk an absurd boondoggle)
in the options field put "dice+1d20"
I'll allow multiple people to be normal, and multiple people to try and roll. Lets see which of glasner's demons wins out.
If more people vote for keeping it practical, we go that way.
If one person rolls a 20, a 1, or more people roll, we go that way.
>>
>>
File: bay 1 KF2.png (17 KB)
17 KB PNG
>>6374528
two more hours. if no further rolls, or choices, we go with that 7.
---
You looked at the ship. It was fine. Fine enough, but, hmm. No. "It's not good enough. It wouldn't last a second against a patrol frigate." It wasn't made to. You knew that. That was not the mission, and yet, it galled you. Galled you badly.
>>
>>
File: Knife fighter.png (5.4 KB)
5.4 KB PNG
>>6374587
>15
You gritted your teeth and looked at the design one last time. Constraints and eventualities played out in your imagination. Shima thought it needed cheap ships to get a job done right now, but there was obviously little thought about after "right now". It was short sighted. In theory they could upgrade the ships, in practice, they would fuck it up. You leaned back into your chair and let your hands glide through the air as you played with the design in augmented reality....When your "design trance" ended you looked over what was wrought, and found it satisfactory. The changes were obvious, but nuanced. Not catastrophically expensive, and not outside the realm of what was asked.
"Hey, ProSuper. I've got some changes, get the crews to work." the schematics were pushed out and you received download notices.
There was audible swearing over the channel before you got an intelligible reply. "You sure about these changes? It won't stretch worktime too much, but uhh, this is a little bit fancier than what we had ya know? We won't hit our target numbers for total units."
You cringed at his inability to think in the long term. "Push the damn changes. I know what I'm doing." You directed, he expedited, if he wanted to run the show he missed the chance when the Alchemist hired you.
Your upgrades touched the weapon systems, shield emitters, and sensors. A jammer was added along with a C4ISR Suite. You rounded the ship out with an extra reactor and heat sump. It was going to be able to coordinate with the other ships of it's class, get in, get out, and hit first without being detected.
The back half was a powder keg, but it was a well defended powder keg with good isolation measures, so even if core were to go critical the craft could be blown in half and in theory the E-drive and crew compartment would be salvageable.
The extra resource cost from your discretionary modifications brought the total ship count down to a still respectable fleet of 9 craft.
---
In the following three weeks the craft were constructed, shaken down, and delivered. The representatives of the Shima Provisional government were skeptical, and more than slightly frustrated at the lower ship count, but the crews of the ship quickly grew to appreciate the Knife Fighter. It lived up to the hype.
You were paid with compensated room and board, and enough scratch to pay off petty debts. No more broken fingers! You spun around in your chair a few times celebrating. Maybe more than a few times. Maybe life was going to be ok. Tonight you would go to the bar to drink! Nay! To FEAST! You were inspired, your mind ablaze with new ideas, and Amp. Glorious Amp!
---
Pick a route:
>Glasner's feast.
>A strange proposition.
>A lesson in humility and rage.
and pick an upgrade to work on:
>Lantern core. Could be faster, less prone to exploding.
>Particle beams. Find a way around the scaling issue.
>Shield emitters. They are too fragile.
>>
>>
>>
>>
File: upgrades.png (1.6 KB)
1.6 KB PNG
>>6374670
>>6374705
>>6374706
Upon completion of the order, you briefly met with the Alchemist at their office. It was a very utilitarian room, filled with archaic terminals and other tools for individuals who would not have possessed even the most basic of implants to use Augmented reality. A grimy window looked out over the gas giant which the station orbited. At a desk sat the Alchemist. Another masked individual. perhaps a strange affect of this station. "Between you and, ah, "The Bastard", I've noticed a trend towards masks. Will I be getting one?"
You heard a distorted chuckle from a voice modulator. "Not unless you fuck up, Harris Glasner. So try to keep your face. We've got good news for you. A little gift, and Something you'll be familiar with. The good Lord Hyron Banfield has deigned to gift our station a pair of mass fabricators from the Megaton Rain. Wonders of engineering that they are, there is little in the way of exotic matter for recycling. He thinks we might actually output a net positive with them, so make that happen. But no rush, how these are utilized is up to you...Director."
A lot of feelings washed over you, horror at what had happened to your masterpiece. Resignation. Betrayal. Rage. Fuck Solei. and even more so, an odd sense of freedom. There was a much that could be done with those units. Ignorant individuals would only see them as bespoke machines to make heavy torpedoes. With a little time and work, they could be reconfigured for any form of mass production. This could dramatically improve the output and quality of the station, at least in your hands. "I uh. Please pass my gratitude to Lord Banfield."
The Alchemist simply tapped it's mask. "You'll have that opportunity yourself, soon enough. Enjoy yourself for a few days." The figure simply gestured you away with a shooing motion. You saw yourself out, still at a loss for words, this was not what you expected, and the Alchemist was eccentric, but not nearly as taciturn as described. With little else to do, you made your way back to your CORPORATE FURNISHED APARTMENT.
>1/2
>>
>>6375121
>2/2
Work was done, the boss had ordered you to enjoy time off. You had a job you liked, a position that offered you respect, and the evening before was exactly what you wanted; a giant meal, ample drink, and unexpectedly pleasant company. A powerfully built woman with a prodigious appetite was entertained by your witticisms and anecdotes. A shame she left before you could culminate your seduction of her. Still, there was always the memory of that figure and her form fitting body glove. You sighed and looked around your home.
The apartment. No, your apartment. What a beautiful thing. It was stocked with beer, and someone even left a little crystal bowl full of amp capsules on the counter top. You shouldn't. no no. What the hell, you earned it.
*crack* SNRRRRT.
---
A few beautiful days were spent optimizing Ex-Nihilo components, and with it your understanding of their design philosophy. Oversized components and brute force made up for a lack of advanced fabrication or elaborate workarounds for limited exotic materials. You found their willingness to simply explore what was possible very refreshing, regardless of if that desire was founded in desperation or not. Designs from the knife fighter emerged, in particular you were happy with how you massaged out some of the less desirable traits of the lantern. It could still explore, but it wasn't going to do it so readily, and on top of that you believed there was a way to further integrate other systems into the lantern core, raising its overall cost slightly, but reducing total system costs.
Another capsule cracked between your fingers, followed with an undignified snort. Another plastic package thrown into a small pile. "Hmm." These particle beams, there was something in there beyond just the weapon, maybe more valuable than the weapon itself. The idea was there teasing you. There was also the "Chimera Handbook" to finish reading, ghastly as it was. More of a study on how to do everything in ship design no one should ever do, but there was value to it... the thought was swiftly interrupted by a very unwanted ping to your augmented reality messenger. Shima contact, but originating local. Corporate identity. Interesting, and worth checking out.
You thought about how to start, so many ways to answer. This was the new you. Business you. "Glasner. What's your business?" no, too lame. Cool you. "Business or pleasure?" Fuck man. no that was weird. Wait, wait... they were the ones calling. Maybe staying quiet until they talk first would work. Social anxiety was creeping higher, and an Ampheticaine buzz was decidedly not helping. The call connected. You stayed silent. Frozen.
"uhh.. y'ello?" The voice as familiar. Male. You voice caught in your throat.
"Is this Glasner? Look man. I've got some business, I know how we parted way wasn't great, but uh, lets have a drink and let bygones be bygones huh?"
...Horner.
--
pick one.
>"Fuck you man."
>"Whats the business?"
>write in.
>>
>>6375131
>>write in.
"Are you fucking serious!? After everything you and your partner did to me, you dare approach me for 'business'!?... But of course you would. You've always been as stupid as you are lucky Jack, how else would you still be alive? And lucky for you, I'm in a good mood. So if this business just happens to be a project worthy of my genius, maybe, just maybe. I'll consider it."
>>
>>6375163
>"Are you fucking serious!? After everything you and your partner did to me, you dare approach me for 'business'!?... But of course you would. You've always been as stupid as you are lucky Jack, how else would you still be alive? And lucky for you, I'm in a good mood. So if this business just happens to be a project worthy of my genius, maybe, just maybe. I'll consider it.
There was a pause, he was composing himself. It lasted for less than a half a second, considering his strategy then just blurts it out.
"Lets cut the crap and put everything on the table. We have a Chimera, and it needs fixing."
He was asking you to fix stolen war salvage. That belonged to Noto first, maybe the Pact, but certainly not Jack mother fucking Horner. "That is PJC property."
"Nominally, it isn't. Your guys left it deep in the territory of the Raihans, after it very publicly defected to the empire, after they refurbed it, and after we found it, fixed it, and are trying to keep it. So are you in or are you going to blow another opportunity?"
He was worthless, his business was worthless, and the Chimeras weren't worth anything beyond a mobile platform. You grinned. He needed you, and now you didn't need him. "No Jack. I think I'm fine to let this one pass by..." Just before you hung up you heard a woman shouting. It was Mayumi, and her voice dominated the link. "Director Glasner, we..I, would express significant gratitude to work with you just once more. Would that you hear my offer." Her voice was slightly husky. Suggestive. Your mouth was suddenly very dry. "Go ahead." you almost croaked.
"This ship, it needs special attention, and discretion. Our position in the tragic aftermath of this horrible...horrible conflict is regrettably strained. What we can offer you is a business alliance, between our two markets, and a modest amount of material to offset your labor costs." Her syrup voice couldn't disguise how shitty this deal was, and how many details were lacking.
"I'm ending this call." you started to gesture to your temple, ready to cut the link.
"We have a hyperdrive on this ship...Director. You'd like to see this, I am sure. Would you like to get a long...hard...deep look. At the hyperdrive? All the time you need to study it. Feel it. Know it."
"I uh. yeah. I do." You gulped a few times. Suddenly her voice was all business.
"Wonderful. You'll have the details of the contract shortly, and remember. Discretion."
Jack was already complaining "With him? Like that?!" The link cut.
His suffering tipped mental scales for you. It was worth it. All of it.
>>
>>6375186
The contract rolled in through official channels, but it was fully laden with NDAs but the crux of it was simple enough.
--
Requested platform: Corvette.
Function: Utility
Primary: Wreckage recovery, ship breaking, towing, and on site salvage processing.
Secondary: Local fabrication, material fusing, and component recovery.
Tertiary: Minimize the crew. Ideally none.
Customer: Horned Princess Shipyards.
Addendum:
Contract critical: On site supervision by Director Harris Glasner. All transport, lodging, and per diem will be handled by HPG LLC.
--
Surprisingly the Alchemist had already approved the contract for your final approval. It looked like it was time to cook. You had already pulled up a utility ship concept from the Ex-Nihilo archives that the maintenance team cooked up. It was very close to ideal for the task, if unimaginative, and mundane, but you could get away with automating it and not draw too much attention. They called it the "Mite".
On the other hand...from your own genius, a frigate. Optimized for remote operations, housing all the needs listed, and while not capable of being everywhere, certainly capable of the task described for the task at hand. Admittedly you'd could only field two at most.
---
Choose
>Mite Corvette
>Wrecker Frigate
>>
>>
>>
File: the mite.png (9.5 KB)
9.5 KB PNG
>>6375211
It was a battle of ego, if a momentary one. The Mite had no glamour, no sleek lines, and nothing to stand out. Your work crews had been busy fabricating through the night to get the prototype assembled. When you woke up you were pleasantly surprised to see how far work had progressed in your absence.
A little note was available for review on maintenance log. "Thanks for choosing our design boss, its not much, but we're proud of it. - Homeless Mike"
A little digging into supervisory logs revealed "Homeless Mike" was an elderly member of the work crew who seemed to live in the refuse heap near building 2. His work history goes back to the earliest days of the war, and he was arguably living on the station before it was reactivated for the war effort. He wasn't a risk. You turned your attention to more important maters. The mite. It was really only capable of "Moving and shredding things." as per the original description. A large maw on the front of the craft was lined with simple mechanical manipulators and cutting tools. Integrating very basic welding equipment into the aperture wouldn't be particularly difficult. It was all just space constrained. You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration. It was VERY space constrained. There was realistically no way to fit everything in here.
It could be tweaked to be modular, go heavy on the robotics. There wouldn't be much room for the crew though.
--
Make a choice
>Commit to keeping the design simple. Fails most of the secondary and tertiary goals.
>To to do a moderate improvement to the design at a cost of increased complexity. Will accomplish the secondary goals, but increase crew requirements.
>Act with supreme arrogance, and shove everything in. Its arguably a more fragile design, maintenance hungry design, but with good engineering and a competent crew its more than doable. (roll a 1d20, best of 3, or a crit.)
>>
Rolled 2 (1d20)
>>6375294
"I built a ship around an enormous rotary cannon and still managed to squeeze over a thousand rounds of 200mm shells into a frigate hull; how hard could this be?"
>Act with supreme arrogance, and shove everything in. Its arguably a more fragile design, maintenance hungry design, but with good engineering and a competent crew its more than doable. (roll a 1d20, best of 3, or a crit.)
>>
Rolled 13 (1d20)
>>6375294
>Act with supreme arrogance, and shove everything in. Its arguably a more fragile design, maintenance hungry design, but with good engineering and a competent crew its more than doable. (roll a 1d20, best of 3, or a crit.)
>>
>>
>>
File: a reasonable deathtrap.png (4.5 KB)
4.5 KB PNG
>>6375421
>>6375409
>>6375363
You worked over the Mite half a dozen times, considering extreme variations before reminding yourself of two things. Too much change was almost as bad as a clean sheet design, and you didn't care for these particular customers.
You patted yourself on the back, mentally of course. "It is...perfect. Everything is there." You called over the Maintenance leader (MX ProSuper) to see the design for his opinion, in reality, you just wanted someone to notice the subtle changes you made. The use of space wrapping around the internal fabricators for an unexpected, if very cozy, living space. How you podded the various tools and put them into the units manipulators, or how the primary cutting and processing array now sported a faceted multi phase array laser...or how it was missing the entire fucking engine and power plant.
"Damnit! I'm an idiot!" Looking over at the lantern core concept you quickly scale down a digital model, then slap a safety cage around the most vulnerable section. "I'm a genius!" As a last minute after thought you threw on another cooling ring simply because it would fit. As you were finishing the last of the design your MX ProSuper came over and looked at the design for a bit. "yeah, that's the Mite alright. But why's it got one of those bombs on it's back?" you sighed. "It is not a bomb. It is a lantern corn, and this version is even more stable than the last."
"So it doesn't explode no more?"
"No it will certainly explode if you damage it during peak operation."
"An' thats whats with the cage?"
"Yes."
"K'." He shrugged and left.
You looked at the craft and frowned. "I should have built the frigate. Still. It's no mite." a last minute name change was done to the production unit. "Tardigrade"
>>
>>6375478
During the shakedown run of the first unit a few quirks were discovered. The core was violently overpowered for what it was, and without inertial dampeners you needed to code in an acceleration gradient for the engine control unit. Dozens of small issues were found and fixed. The funniest one was when the containment cage heat soaked and started to undergo elastic deformation. The pilots really though they were going to die, and never realized the transparent reactor housing was good for another thousand degrees. Those goofballs barely know their materials science.
After the pleasantries of completing the production line, you concluded everything had been avoided long enough. It was time, and your least favorite part of any project. Communication. You opted for text, mostly out of contempt. Partially out of social avoidance. "Lot 1 ready for delivery. No Eigen Drives. 2 crew minimum. 6 corvettes total."
Jack's response was fast, and also text. Coordinates on the opposite side of the local gas giant, and rudimentary instruction. "You, the ships. Be positioned for pickup, sans crew." Luckily for him, the autopilot on the Tardigrades was good enough to do coordinate maneuvering and anti collision.
You found yourself getting ready to helm your own product. An interesting experience.
---
Choices:
>Go solo.
>Bring a friend (write in)
>>
>>
>>6375585
>>6375585
Having to pilot a space ship was an interesting experience. It wasn't something you really bothered with much. The Tardigrade was somewhat temperamental and slightly violent even with the adjustments you had made. The blue glare of the Lantern core was omnipresent, and the sheer energy output of it set your teeth on edge. It was like sitting next to the Bastard. Still, you were able to function, and after 20 minutes of punishing operations you had grown acclimated to the experience...
As you approached your rendezvous point, a contact on the ships limited sensors popped up. To be fair though, you saw it visually first. It was a chimera to be sure, the mangled lines of the glory class were visible in it, but this one had been heavily worked over by the Empire; or at least what was left of it.
Automatic docking permission was granted for the swarm of corvettes as you approached. The ship was barely touching the extreme edge of the gas giant's upper atmosphere, and you could already spot fragments of it falling off like glitter. One engine was in poor repair. If not for the valuable hyperdrive, it would be a mercy for the wretched ship to just plunge into the depths below. Instead you felt the solid impact as the Tardigrade magnetically clamped itself to the warped deck plate of the "Kobito" Ex-Midget, ex 3 other ships. You reached out over your local link and found nothing, there was massive electromagnetic interference from the planet below. Instead the docking light winked several times, and you felt the ship shudder before pulling away from the gravitational field. It was getting ready to jump.
--
Being strapped to the surface of a ship during translation is very, very, different than being on the inside of a ship. You suspected this brand of hospitality was Horner's doing. The stars were unfamiliar at first, but you soon recognized a few constellations. "Shima." Likely the very edge of the territory. "Alright. Your delivery is complete, the Tardigrades meet the written needs. What else do you want? I've fulfilled my end of the contract."
Silence. just silence. It wasn't like they were going to have some halfassed scheme to kidnap you. Eventually Horner deigned to speak.
"Eh, Sorry about that Glasner. The ship doesn't like to jump, we had to put out a few metaphorical fires. You know what I mean?"
"You mean real fires." There was another long pause before he responded back.
"Yeah. Anyway, you are probably wondering why we are out here in the middle of nowhere trying to repair this colossal piece of shit, and I assure you, there is a very good reason."
You really weren't. "No. I only care about the hyperdrive module."
"Ok! Great, eye on the prize." The man naturally greasy. "So here's the thing. We have the drive, but if we go back to HPG, it will probably be seized. If we send this ship anywhere to get stripped, it gets seized. This leaves us with a very.."
You cut him off and get to the point. "You need me."
>(1/2)
>>
>>6375622
There was something not too far from the Kobito. Maybe a ship.
"Yep. Won't act like we're too close Glasner. You're smart, and prone to risks. That wasn't what we needed back then, but it is now."
You were almost outraged at first, with how callous this man was towards throwing you away, and now needing you again. It was also honest, but it was also probably a manipulation tactic. Horner was clever in his own way, and his arena of intelligence was different than yours. An inferior one, but at this moment one that was in play. You opted to reach for what was familiar to him.
"Whats in it for me?" You pop a video feed to the AR stream.
Eventually you sorted out what the object nearby was. It wasn't a ship It was the fore section of the kobito.
Jack was mindlessly smoothing over his hair. Pacing. Still, he was letting you see this. It was in character. "We already agreed on access to the hyperdrive, you learn it, and maybe down the road you are able to fabricate it. Maybe we do business, you as a prime supplier." You knew damn well that bitch Mayumi was listening.
"I've got a counter offer. Your struggling business dies trying to hold onto this thing, or you ship it to Ex-Nihilo station, you get my protection as Director. DIRECTOR...and we work from there, corner the market on new build hyperdrives. Whatever you want though." You push some repair options Jacks way, things you had literally created as you were speaking.
----
Alright players, make a choice.
>Truncate the Kobito. It'd be cut down to something a little bigger than a Glory, but they wouldn't be able to contest a breach of contract. Doable here. Gets the job done and ends your suffering.
>Stabilize the two sections, send it to Ex-Nihilo for repair and negotiate their services protecting the "battle of noto" scrap field. You gain an asset that will ensure your own leaders remain pleased with you, but will raise eyebrows with the Pact. (Bully Jack enough via a 1d20s)
>Prep for mass integration. Send it to HPS, Mayumi would merge her shipyard into the kobito to make up for the missing mass. You might end up seeing them again, or maybe they hyperjump into a star and die. Both are fine. (default if you fail the bottom option, but its more of a fail forward than a hard loss. Open to choice if it interests you most.)
>The Glasner offer: Scrap the damn ship and establish a joint venture in one of the surplus areas of Ex-Nihilo, with them under your thumb. (you will have to battle Mayumi's dice rolls, this will only happen if enough players opt for it.)
>>
Rolled 20 (1d20)
>>6375650
>Stabilize the two sections, send it to Ex-Nihilo for repair and negotiate their services protecting the "battle of noto" scrap field. You gain an asset that will ensure your own leaders remain pleased with you, but will raise eyebrows with the Pact. (Bully Jack enough via a 1d20s)
Both Jack and the Pact can suck my dick.
>>
>>
File: kobito cripple.png (25.2 KB)
25.2 KB PNG
>>6375673
>20: well then.
Mayumi responded first. "Your arrogance is is befitting nobility, if only your business acumen matched it. I..."
You cut her off
"...wouldn't have come to me if you weren't desperate, and a little light reading shows exactly how well your shipyard is doing. By the way, is the family well?"
You knew her family was very much not well. It was likely she was the sole survivor of her siblings. No solid confirmations, but trivial gossip was easy to find, even if some of it was likely be embellished. Brother fucker. Really? Absurd. The Tardigrades omitted any form of gravity generation, and as you flicked a crushed amp capsule away from yourself it glided and smacked into the armored viewport to your left, then spun off somewhere to be forgotten. Eventually Jack called in. "Look, Glasner, you are going places you shouldn't be, know what I mean?"
"I do, but your constant use of epigrammatic speech is...killing me."
"I, uh. what?"
"Idioms. Turn of phrase in lay speak."
"Alright, fuck. Ease up man."
---
The Tardigrades preformed excellently, even with whatever scab crews Jack and Mayumi had manage to scrape together. You oversaw the stabilization effort; creating a virtualized maintenance plan that was then displayed over augmented reality overlays and holographic guides.The Kobito's forward section was partially cannibalized into hollow tube braces and foamed metal beams. As you worked, it was obvious that the front half of the ship had already been heavily salvaged very recently. Entire cooling modules were missing, and all the wiring was stripped in numerous sections.
It was going to take at least 72 hours of non stop work, but the ships were equipped with a small berth for two crew member rotation and enough rationed food for a solar week. Given that you had been continuously optimizing the automation routines of the repair fleet and sending out remote updates, it was an increasingly plausible time frame.
--
Your EVA time was actually enjoyable, even with the company and setting. True to your customer's words, you got ample hands on with the Hyperdrive. Some called you a technophile, but they were just narrow-minded. Art was art, in all its forms, and your appreciation of this sculpted beauty was not lacking as you cut all connections and feeds for a moment of more intimate observation and examination.
--
>1/2
>>
>>6376059
>(2/2)
The drive was old. Very old. Your disassembly was limited to very surface level elements but even that confirmed theories you had. Multi spectral scanning tools penetrated deeper into the unit, but it was still just enough to further more guesswork. It would need to be studied in an actual laboratory. For now you settled for powering it on. Calibration would take time. This unit was just lumped into the Chimera in the most superficial way possible.
Jack reached out over your link, disrupting your work. You realized he had embedded crude, if effective physical equipment in the drive room. "Done fucking the hyperdrive yet?" You ignored the barb. Despite your reverence for the machine, you'd never debase it like that. They were pure, and something like Horner couldn't comprehend that.
"The drive is powered, but not operational. It's going to take time, so go keep Mayumi Company. I doubt she keeps you around for your managerial skills."
---
The next several days were constant verbal degradation and abuse to both Jack and Mayumi, interlaced with poignant truths about their position, and past work. You received many a retort in turn, but were quick to point out it was your job to design, and theirs to lead, and it turned out you did both better than either of them and you let them know it. You pointed out how Ex-Nihilo's growth capacity was outright horrific and made the Horned Princess Shipyard look like an amateur effort, because it was. Mayumi lost her composure and reminded you she was perfectly capable of removing your head with her bare hands. "..and Mr.Harris, its becoming, an increasingly desirable outcome. Please don't test my patience any further. Jack, meet me in the shuttle." You've thoroughly enjoy your moment of superiority with your prior boss, but all things must come to an end.
"It's done. We have power, but Don't try to use it and the Eigen drive at the same time. Your main bus wouldn't handle it, but neither would anything in a 10 kilometer sphere. Including us. The ship is structurally stable for the short term, but without a massive refit, its going to fail in short order."
"That's not your problem. We have the hyperdrive..." the thought of these two trying to manage that beautiful machine, all its concealed knowledge, set you off again.
"You wouldn't even know how to manage the hyperdrive, or establishing a manufacturing line. You couldn't even get it running without me, and another few E-Jumps would have shredded this wreck. You know it. I've set coordinates for Ex-Nihilo. The ship can be fully serviced there, and you can see for yourself what the opportunity you are ignoring."
--
An hour later, the former Midget, now Kobito, had returned home. It just so happened to be that a group of Glory-B's were staring down a capital ship of unknown providence, and Admiral Ruhi was screaming in your ear over a priority channel.
The quest will continue.
>>
>>6376063
"Glasner, what is this!? PJC is starving for a fleet, Noto is damn near defenseless, we can barely keep scavengers from our debris field, and you are out here working for House Shimada's heir and by virtue the Raihan court!"
You weren't too concerned with anything she just said. "How about you brief me on why there is a PJC fleet right in front of Ex-Nihilo, with a vessel of unknown providence."
"Coincidence. These ships are to be reclaimed. The unknown was already here as a customer for the past week." Had that much time really gone by? You were rather focused.
"You mean broken. Stripped. Didin't you just say the PJC is resource strained? Ruhi, what is this?" Those were your designs, a vast improvement over the near archaic Glory-A. This was Solei's doing, you knew it.
she raised her voice, and her octave started to climb "Don't try to reverse this. Why are you working with the enemy?"
"The war is over Admiral, and I played a significant part in ending it. So to be very concise; why are you here?"
"We can discuss it in person. Ruhi Out."
---
You met the Admiral on station, and ended up settling for a private meeting in your apartment. It was informal, and discussed over your modest dining table and several beers.
Your conversation revealed that she was at the station to oversee the reclamation of the Gory-B class. All of it. There were concerns that you wouldn't comply. The Glory-B's were paort of the PJC fleet, but were also property of their respective systems. Systems who no longer required a high performance warship with a significant investment of exotic matter. They wanted it back. The common matter was of limited concern to them, and its value was diminished with the prospect of transport. In the end the hulls of the stripped ships were earmarked for raw materials and an approximation of payment, given that state of Pact currency.
Solei had personally laid out the plan to the council, which was swiftly approved. He reasoned that with the threat of the Raihan empire removed, any potential threat was insignificant enough that a homogenized and simplified fleet could manage it. Any larger threat represented something that Pact had no chance of defending against. Higg was going to handle fleet upgrades of existing ships, and several minor locations were responsible for shipbreaking, but apparently he insisted that Noto, in particular Ex-Nihilo handle scrapping the B's. Ruhi explained the logic, but you were unable to keep your calm and threw a beer across the room. "Fuck man!"
You saw her. There was surprise and pity. You'd seen it all before, when they thought you couldn't understand, when you explained a greatness they couldn't comprehend. That look. Like you were the defect.
Her eyes unfocused for a bit before she spoke again. "It doesn't matter. I need whatever you can scrape together or Banfield will have my ass, and then yours."
>(1/2)
>>
>>6376428
>(2/2)
The alcohol numbed some of your indignation, and you weren't so insensitive as to miss the constant pained expression of Ruhi. A little more probing revealed how strained the PJC was, in that it was almost nothing now. A collection of mutual aid agreements, a handful of ships stationed over Noto's capital, and a near total lack of funding. Right now they were able to secure a modest resource stream via claiming anti piracy and formerly policing functions for intra-member state disputes before the function was de-funded.
"So your request, is it for the PJC, or is it for Noto?"
"Nominally the PJC, but realistically its Noto as soon as Banfield decides it is. We are serving a function as long as there is perceived value to the rest of pact, but as soon as that runs out...I don't know. At the moment I'm officially autonomous, and Noto has no real forcing factor, but they will eventually, and I've already lost, well, everything." She sighed, lowering her face into her hands.
You considered your options. The post war environment was chaos, and well, as it was said "In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity." You'd almost forgotten about the Unknown ship that had been patiently waiting. Notes from your administrative staff indicated it was a Blorg colony ship, and that apparently their ship was "sick." However there was only so much of you to go around.
----
A simple text came through that you dismissed as fast as you read it. "Damn Harris, you really are in the middle of it." A nonpoint from Jack, very on brand of him. The Kobito was parked at the extreme south of the station, with Mayumi and Jack enjoying the finest hospitality you would afford them, which was the same hospitality everyone else got on this station. You'd already seen several security reports involving the owner of HPS breaking limbs with overly curious locals. Hmm. Not your problem. You'd love to start work on something larger than a frigate, but the other docks were still congested with existing contracts or bulk cargo storage. You reached out to your production supervisor. "Get me Homeless mike. Have him start a work detail on the Ex-Midget, Let them know its called the Kobito now." You were about to end the call before you querried him on another item "The fabricators, were you able to get unit 01 installed?"
"Yeah Boss, went in easy. No idea how it works."
"It's fine, don't touch it. Halt installation of unit 02, I might have other plans for it." on a second thought you remotely locked the fabricator from operation. You knew your men, and the limits of how much trust could be placed in their ability to not "touch the thing." as an afterthought "Get the rest of the crews ready, we have ship breaking to do. Tell them not to be overly aggressive with the hulls."
>>
>>6376436
>Choice time:
Pick from each category, your strategies can feed off one another if you chose wisely. I'll take the options most selected by the players.
1. Fading Glory: You need to decide what to do with the hulks of the stripped Glory-Bs.
>Contact Solei and let him know you could refit the Glory-B hulls to match his standardization. Clients eat the cost. Glory to the Pact. Will yield improved particle fields, conventional engines, and armor. Gain Ruhi's acknowledgement.
>Sell Ruhi on refitting most of the hulls with available Ex-Nihilo tech. Its a quick answer to the PJC's fleet size. Noto Stands! Improved beams and missiles. PJC will secure Noto's salvage fields.
2. PJC: The Pact Joint Command is barely scraping by and can't really afford new cruisers.
>Create an expensive, high end corvette with enough firepower to pose a threat to to a frigate, but be cheaper than an entire frigate with a lower crew count. Develop improved power generators and heat management.
>Sell them on the wrecker frigate, but retool it for combat. Improved armor and missiles.
>Just reheat the production line for the previous frigate and improve it based off what you've learned. Improved beams and lantern core.
3. The Horned Princess you know: Mayumi seems invested in the Chimera, you suspect you know why.
>Send the Kobito to the salvage fields to recover chimera fragments for repair. Mayumi will provide protection for your salvage fields for a time, before using her personal warship to influence negotiations on Shima and within the Raihan empire.
>Earmark a few Glroy hulls to create a fresh Chimera hull for Horner and Mayumi. Existing components and engines will be stripped from the Kobito. You will include the second fabricator from Megaton Rain, configured for production of whole drones and corvette parts. No weapons. Starts a venture between Ex-Nihilo and HPS.
4. ...and The Blorg you don't: These fungal aliens reside on a ship of unknown providence, with potential room for discovery. Its a shame its a toxic hellhole deadly to human life. They are willing to
>Contact Horner and Mayumi for a joint refit of two surplus Glory hulls. Will deepen cooperation between Ex Nihilo and HPS,.
>Personally enter the craft and try to discover the issue with their failing ship. (dice minigame)
>This is 100% not your problem. See if Benny can help. Results may vary.
(1/2)
>>
>>6376466
(2/2)
5. Upgrades:
Your time spent with the Kobito and it's unique hyperspace drive were enlightening. The first hand look at a chimera, and Raihan engineering attempts to improve a flawed design also lent insight into potential building techniques.
>Upgrade the lantern core and integrate the Eigen drive. While this increases the individual cost and complexity of the core, it drives down the total use of exotic materials is reduced due to shared functions and components within the core. You suspected you could squeeze some modest improvements in speed, and explosion resistance out of this design.
>The Raihan modified engines were elegant and robust, but you could do better and provide a line of propulsion without the inherent dangers of the lantern core, which some customers may appreciate.
>You didn't want to make engines, you wanted to make larger particle beams!!!
----
Players and lurkers, hello. I wanted to give some background. This quest was made to come in blind and unfamiliar, but for those familiar with the setting, hopefully you are enjoying my rendition of familiar faces. Of note, the title image was generously provided by Cognis, depicting Glasner, Admiral Ruhi, and the masked Alchemist.
I wanted to know if you would like to focus on raw ship building with every post, or if you are enjoying the interludes and more character focused story. Your feedback will shape the quest going forward.
>>
>>6376472
>Contact Solei and let him know you could refit the Glory-B hulls to match his standardization.
>Create an expensive, high end corvette
>Earmark a few Glroy hulls to create a fresh Chimera hull for Horner and Mayumi.
>Personally enter the craft and try to discover the issue with their failing ship. (dice minigame)
>The Raihan modified engines were elegant and robust, but you could do better and provide a line of propulsion without the inherent dangers of the lantern core, which some customers may appreciate.
I only caught the second shipyard thread and missed the first and third outings. Just happy to catch this one. Raw shipbuilding is fun when there are enough players to create discontinuity, and generates the most humor in this series. That said, Glasner is growing on me.
>>
>>
>>6376466
>Contact Solei and let him know you could refit the Glory-B hulls to match his standardization. Clients eat the cost. Glory to the Pact. Will yield improved particle fields, conventional engines, and armor. Gain Ruhi's acknowledgement.
>Just reheat the production line for the previous frigate and improve it based off what you've learned. Improved beams and lantern core.
>Send the Kobito to the salvage fields to recover chimera fragments for repair. Mayumi will provide protection for your salvage fields for a time, before using her personal warship to influence negotiations on Shima and within the Raihan empire.
>Contact Horner and Mayumi for a joint refit of two surplus Glory hulls. Will deepen cooperation between Ex Nihilo and HPS,.
>Upgrade the lantern core and integrate the Eigen drive. While this increases the individual cost and complexity of the core, it drives down the total use of exotic materials is reduced due to shared functions and components within the core. You suspected you could squeeze some modest improvements in speed, and explosion resistance out of this design.
Why the hell would we give away the highly complex one-of-a-kind fabricator unit that was the most critical component of the Megaton?
>>
>>
>>6376466
>Contact Solei and let him know you could refit the Glory-B hulls to match his standardization. Clients eat the cost. Glory to the Pact. Will yield improved particle fields, conventional engines, and armor. Gain Ruhi's acknowledgement.
>Just reheat the production line for the previous frigate and improve it based off what you've learned. Improved beams and lantern core.
>Send the Kobito to the salvage fields to recover chimera fragments for repair. Mayumi will provide protection for your salvage fields for a time, before using her personal warship to influence negotiations on Shima and within the Raihan empire.
>Contact Horner and Mayumi for a joint refit of two surplus Glory hulls. Will deepen cooperation between Ex Nihilo and HPS,.
>Upgrade the lantern core and integrate the Eigen drive. While this increases the individual cost and complexity of the core, it drives down the total use of exotic materials is reduced due to shared functions and components within the core. You suspected you could squeeze some modest improvements in speed, and explosion resistance out of this design.
>>
>>6376526
That's weird considering Ruhi is the only one I've actually drawn. Pics for Mayumi and her Sister were ripped from the interwebs.
I guess they look similar since they've all got that long faced east asian matriarch thing going on.
>>
>>
File: Glroy-S detachment.png (56.2 KB)
56.2 KB PNG
>>6376525
>>6376557
>>6376713
You watched the the stripped hulls of the Glory-B's from an armored window. By no means were they representative of your full genius, but to see them reduced like this did sting. Slightly. An upgraded "Glory S" from Higg was parked in orbit near the process, almost like Merik Solei himself was overseeing the process. From this distance the changes didn't look like much, and maybe that was his art. Doing just enough, or maybe the most with the least. It was painfully reductive to your sensibilities, but you'd had enough time now to think and examine. The PJC common network was still available to you, and with it the schematics for that refit.
You spent no more than a half hour fully examining what had been done, which truly, was barely anything. Solei had added on applique upgrades; plasma tiles, chemrail extensions to the mainguns, and not even an entire replacement of the engines, it was just a partial replacement of the lower third and some components that would have been regular wear items. Everything else was untouched. Extra power draw was resolved by throwing in the minimum amount of capacitor arrays necessary.
"Unbelievable. He is unreal, a sea of choices and he does this?" you spoke to your AR display, the armored window, and no one in particular. This wasn't arrogance, or hostility. It was who he wants. The realization in that moment was almost painful. You doubted you would ever have common ground with a man like that, but maybe, you could work to match his speed...between the stations various production shops and the newly installed fabricators, you should be able to construct a majority of the components needed. It would be trivial actually. You sent an encrypted message over the PJC channel.
"Get me Solei. I have a proposition for him and by extension the council."
---
Solei displayed little emotion beyond a slightly raised eyebrow at your proposal and included schematics. "Glasner, this is cost effective. Sensible. I didn't know it was in you."" He hadn't pushed to refit the hulls due to slight differences between them that would lead to difficulties. You had elegantly worked around those issues, using standardized equipment despite the differences in superstructures between the A and B models, creating an effective unified class of ship. The council members were pleased with effectively getting a bargain, and the in the end you were left with just a few B hulls that had been damaged in the war and weren't cost effective to return to service as warships.
---
You received a short message from Ruhi. "The timeline for total refit is several weeks out, but the council has agreed to immediately allot some of the "bonus" ships to the PJC on a temporary basis. Your quick thinking is a credit to Noto and Lord Hyron Banfield." You extrapolated the politics of that for a moment before deciding it wasn't worth the effort. There was beer. That was enough.
>>
>>6376943
>Just reheat the production line for the previous frigate and improve it based off what you've learned. Improved beams and lantern core.
>>Upgrade the lantern core and integrate the Eigen drive. While this increases the individual cost and complexity of the core, it drives down the total use of exotic materials is reduced due to shared functions and components within the core. You suspected you could squeeze some modest improvements in speed, and explosion resistance out of this design.
The next day was a little blurry. You didn't have a hangover, not exactly, but the lack of amp was certain a factor in feeling rough. Ruhi's hat was still sitting on your kitchen table; she'd forgotten it in your last meeting. You knew It was easily replaceable, but intended to return it at some point. For now, it was an affect of hers, which reminded you of the The PJC frigate project. You rubbed your hand down your face. Unkempt stubble bristled against you. Today was not ideal, your head wasn't in the ship building process, and maybe the lingering effects of emulating Solei's minimalism were sticking with you. Horrible. "Just horrible." The usual energy wasn't there, so you defaulted to the only available ship class the station could readily make. A knife fighter.
You slowly chugged through the space around you, augmented reality visible to you alone at this moment. An outsider would make mistaken you for moving in a stupor, hallucinating at phantoms. They would only be partially right. You became more animated as you started to focus on the weapons and lantern core. There were some improvements you had wanted to try for weeks, and getting them out of your head and into the electrons would be a relief. You rebuilt the lantern once, then scrapped it and rebuilt it again....and again. Eventually you finalized something that was a true "core". It contained all critical functions of the ship, wrapped in layers of complimentary machinery and electronics, both more complex in its dependencies and elegantly simple for its component count than then sum of it's functions.
---
You were interrupted several times throughout the day over trivial things. "The Blorg's ship is falling apart." Everyone was so hyperbolic in their speech. Aura and the Bastard invited themselves in, trying to get your time for a supplemental knight frame. "No time. Dealing with cannons and Blorg." You really weren't dealing with the Blorg, and didn't want to. It wasn't that you hated them, just that there was something revolting about them, on a biological level. social level. Perhaps metaphysical.
"You. Would kill them? Very un.expected." The Bastard's low level electronic hum increased in volume, pulsing, grating on your nerves and hurting your teeth. A chuckle might have been mixed in with that oscillating noise. You didn't know how aura wasn't bothered. You gestured to your table, it had some petty food items and drinks. "Help yourself, then leave. No distractions."
>(1/2)
>>
File: Duelist.png (9.2 KB)
9.2 KB PNG
>>6376993
>(2/2)
Kill them? What was he talking about? All you mentioned were the cannons and blorg. "No! I'm designing cannons, AND dealing with...Aura? Hello? Anyone?" They were gone. Honestly it was a relief.
Work on the enlarged particle beams was fruitful. They would be able to scale a few more times before you ran into real limitations. Right now it was purely power and cost requirements. Your own exposure to salvaged Raihan weapons had given you some useful cliff notes. Admittedly, yours were of a different breed. Not necessarily inferior. A continuous beam took more time on target than a single blast, but the cost differential was there. It was a fair trade.
After more internal coping you sighed and looked back at the knife fighter hull. It was limiting, but with the improved lantern core, the deckhouse could be moved reward now that the back half wasn't an immediate explosion hazard. The extra power was useful for what might have been slightly oversized cannons, but one must allow for a bit of flare from time to time. The final touch. The plasma screen. Your reproduction of Solei's work highlighted some optimizations to be made. You resisted on the Glorys, but now, you were free.
A little more re configuring left you with a formidable little ship housing systems engineered to it's absolute limits. Hopefully Ruhi would like it. You smiled and looked over at her hat...and it was gone. A crude written note was left behind by the Knight pilots. "If you ever want to to see your hat again, build the knight." an archaic smile emoticon included.
"Son of a bitch!"
>PJC Fire support frigate "Duelist" Class, has entered production
---
Choose:
>Let the hat go. Its just a hat. You still have to deal with HPS and the Blorg. Stay the course and fix the Kobito, deal with the blorg. Its a long day thats going to keep getting longer.
>GO GET THAT HAT. Mayumi and Jack and handle their own bullshit. (start an HPS interlude sequence, Jack and Mayumi will be bumblefucking around Ex-Nihilo doin the building. Glasner will be busy making Aura a custom knight.)
>>
>>6377075
>GO GET THAT HAT. Mayumi and Jack and handle their own bullshit. (start an HPS interlude sequence, Jack and Mayumi will be bumblefucking around Ex-Nihilo doin the building. Glasner will be busy making Aura a custom knight.)
>>
>>
>>6377075
>Let the hat go. Its just a hat. You still have to deal with HPS and the Blorg.
We're not going to abandon legitimate business over a hat.
Although... our bratty knight needs correction. >:)
When the time comes we shouldmake her knight have a suitably ironic design flaw to piss her off.
>>
>>6377268
>>6377310
>>6377233
This whole situation was juvenile. You almost hissed, your cool lost. "Ohhh...that bratty knight needs correction. Both of them." You gave a silent apology to Ruhi for your failure of hat stewardship. The hat would wait.
Horner and Mayumi were opportunists, but opportunists with a shipyard. They'd need to be kept busy and the Blorg project would work. Finding them wasn't so hard, not with the level of surveillance available to you. Mayumi was wandering the station with a small detachment of guards. She had been for the past few days. Periodic stops at each major assembly hub, bay, and hanger. You allowed it, there were no true secrets here. The Raihans still had a few of their own contacts here, but spying had gradually turned to covert business with those houses who were desperate enough during the post war months.
Jack was slipperier. He was absolutly equipped with some sort of espionage equipment, and kept vanishing and reappearing off the station's internal sensors. PJC personnel, coupled with civilian contacts had done an admirable job keeping tabs on him. For a businessman he seemed to have hobbies outside the norm. You finally found him in the upper area of the station trying to poach a frigate contract with a representative from Shima. "...see you again." Static. "Glad you picked HPS for..." more interference. "Refits. The Ex-Nihilo models, already seen em." You decided to interrupt then and there. Your own link request was boosted through the station's emitters. increasing frequency amplitude to a point where you burned through any countermeasures and bored into his skull.
"Jack. If you need business, I have some for you." Over the security feed you saw him grab his face for a moment. That transmission probably hurt a little.
"Good."
"Good what, Glasner? That fucking hurt by the way. Asshole."
---
You explained the job. The Blorg needed a new ship and your crews weren't about to walk onto a floating biohazard that was already beyond economical repair. HPS had experience with the Blorg, several times over. They would provide xenoergonomic fitments and additional custom life support equipment, and work directly with the Blorg. Your crews would do prep work and finish the hulls. Back and fourth negotiations concluded with allowing the Kobito a refit from the scrap fields, within reason, and incentive bonuses for a satisfactory job to include at least a partial overhaul by you.
Mayumi argued heavily for rights to the spare fabricator unit, but in the words of Lord Banfield himself, who personally nixed that decision "Why the hell would we give away the highly complex one-of-a-kind fabricator unit?"
---
Roll 3d20.
>HPS work with the Blorg and subassemblies. Determines how much bonus work HPS will get on their Chimera.
>Ex-Nihilo Work on the Blorg ship hull. Determines the overall quality of the ship.
>How much the Blorg like it. Influences repeat business and reputation.
>>
>>
File: Aww_Fuck.png (1.1 MB)
1.1 MB PNG
>>6377627
How could this happen? We're smarter than this!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
File: Kobito and the problem.png (47.4 KB)
47.4 KB PNG
>>6377627
>>6377648
"I'm sure it could always be worse" the prophet said
>>6377708
based roller, and Blorg racist.
>>6377712
Totals: 13,11,1
---
Repair work was at a point that the Kobito was able to jump. It had languished next to several deralict hulls and a decaying blorg craft that looked worse by the day. Its time languishing in the shadow of Ex-Nihilo was coming to an end as the Kobito's long dormant hyperdrive was finally brought up to criticality and it executed a jump, crossing the enormous gulf between the Ex-Ninilo station and a pocket of neutral space containing the Horned Princess Shipyard. In reality it was several jumps, but that took away a little bit of the gravitas of the moment. Mayumi's staff had been busily preparing modules as described for an off site project, with little to go off of other than dimension scans of Pact variant glory class ships and the understanding that this would be for Blorg clients. When her staff asked if they needed to arrange a Charon, she simply told them no.
The Kobito jumped in system and pulled up to HPS like it was a common occurrence, loading prepacked modules and taking on dozens of small VCS drones, derivatives of a simple drone fighter now converted to construction duty. Mayumi knew it was petty, but she didn't want video footage of Glasner's worker craft dominating the effort. The presence of her own product lineup was trivial, but an important face saving move.
A sizable portion of Mayumi's own staff were also brought along inside the Kobito, it's cavernous bulk more than capable of supporting temporary habitation. The crew were a mix of engineers, technicians, and xenospecialists.
--
"Jack. How do I look?" Mayumi looked every bit like she always did. Immaculate. Ageless. Jack ran a hand through his hair before answering. "Presentable, given our past few weeks." She looked over at him. He was wearing a suit that was mismatched again. It was a pointless exercise in correcting him anymore. "Get my things. We're heading out." This was a long standing ritual. Perhaps it was Raihan tradition, Jack didn't know. He had several workers grab her personal luggage while he carried a small handbag.
--
The Kobito's return to Ex-Nihilo was nothing short of chaotic, with VCS drones pouring out of it before the ship had even fully exited the hyperspace gate. Work on the Blorg craft started immediately.
>(1/2)
>>
File: blorge.png (11.3 KB)
11.3 KB PNG
>>6377719
((OP got range banned, posting on his behalf))
You looked over the work Mayumi's crew had done, and found no notable deficiencies. The Blorg for their part had become increasingly vocal and persistent about getting a new ship. You had explained to them several times that there wasn't a hull available to meet their exact specifications. They would have to settle with the two glory-B hulls.
A walk through provided by Mayumi and "Homeless" Mike was given to the Blorg's leadership, who promptly detested everything about the ships, from the long hallways, to the ergonomic considerations, even after several minor refits. Their complaints were nonstop, even going so far as to state "You should pay us to take these [undefined explatives]." Further complaints about pricing, and then criticisms and refusal of almost all local equipment resulted in their decaying ship being stripped for any available components by the Blorg's own work crews. Attempts to offer aid at this point were met with refusal over "technological secrets".
The Blorg work crews then attempted to demand pay. They demanded compensation for the value of the ruined hulk of their first ship. They demanded access to the station. It took another day before the refitted ships were complete and you stared at the carcass of the Blorg Bioship with contempt. "I should have let you drop into the upper atmosphere." Your own security teams informed you that the Blorg had attempted to take the ships for an unauthorized cruise before payment, not one but multiple times. Confrontation yielded denials, strange complaints, and circular illogical arguments that ignored their own initial subject matter and rapidly jumped to other topics.
The rest of the ordeal was as unpleasant as the first, with escalating complaints leading into legal threats over ownership rights for the carcass of their original ship, hostile living conditions, and more. They weren't a unified species, you reminded yourself of that. This was just one colony. Was this hate you felt? You were sure that such base feelings were below you, yet here it was. Hate. You hated the Blorg. You hated almost everything about them. "Their money wasn't worth it." you hissed through clenched teeth. To top it off, Mayumi was overtly pleased. Her work was done, and the Kobito had already translated to the salvage fields with a short jump.
Finally you had enough. Your security handled the issue with a short message. "You are trespassing on a PJC Military installation. Leave immediately or be destroyed." several warning shots from the parked Glory-S's were enough to send them on their way, blasting out idle threats and complaints.
>(2/2)
>>
>>
((OP is still having trouble. I will continue to post on his behalf.))
With the Blorg gone, the Tardigrades began cutting off diseased chunks and pushing them into low orbit for atmospheric capture. You watched the chunks fall away, the PCJ didn't want this biohazard salvaged. Specialized ships had already come and gone, sampling and studying. HPS was not one to let an opportunity pass, and a selection of modified VCS drones had assisted with the "autopsy". All that was left after a few hours was the incident report; some of it redacted even for you.
The Bioship was a total unknown. Cellular structures and even molecular machinery fully deviated from any known records, no element of it's genetic makeup could be confirmed for a repurposed organism, but it also couldn't be discounted. What was understood was the organism appeared to have been grown, then implanted with inorganic components which were interfaced with organic elements. The Blog colony that had inhabited it was unaware of the ships exact nature, and continued to constantly integrate Blorg technology onto the craft as systems failed from systemic infection. You shook your head at the loss of knowledge and data. The thing was mostly inert biological structures and a liquefied slurry by the time the aliens had approached for help.
As you continued reading, the Blorg's own symbiotic microflora infested and destroyed the ship. Researchers found a complex central nervous system and brain like organelles, and internal sensory organs theorized in use for aural, chemical, and visual processing. Postmortem analysis by your researchers showed heightened levels chemicals analogous to stress hormones. It didn't just die bad, it died angry. There was a moment of pity for the organism before logic dominated again. It was dead and gone, its passing regrettable but no longer an item that could be controlled. You cracked an amp capsule and inhaled sharply.
Those particular Blorg, you wouldn't bemoan their passing. There were more pressing matters though, and the alchemist had requested a meeting with you. You habitually cleaned your glasses in preparation for engagement. Sleep would wait.
---
The Kobito crawled awkwardly through the debris fields of the Noto War. The Pact had taken to calling it a "salvage field". Lady Mayumi Shimada considered it a grave site, and it was hard not to. Periodic bodies pelted the massive craft as it entered denser areas of wreckage. The war dead were here, awaiting recovery, but they would continue to wait. Salvage was what was being guarded here, not honor.
Tied to Jack, for better or worse, if this played out right the future would be less of a shameful struggle. They were hedging their bets with uncertain gambles. Stealing the Kobito was bold, and admittedly Jack's idea, but he was arguably right. It was derelict, and whoever was fastest, most capable, would hold onto it. This abomination represented something akin to hope for her. Maybe for him too.
>(1/2)
>>
>>6378144
>(2/2)
Jack considered the last few weeks. Working with Glasner had to have been a punishment for a past sin. Given the past, perhaps it was obvious though. Between working over Pact contacts and exploiting a demand for work he had managed to secure a few minor contracts for drones, frigates, and carved out joint ownership of hypderdrive production with the Pact. That one was probably going to bite him in the ass later, but the initial cost to return on investment had too much potential. Each hyperdrive made by the pact would see a small, very small, percent of it's value as royalty to HPS. It was arguable the pact was going to reverse engineer the drives anyway, so maybe the Empire wouldn't be too testy. Still, it was a guaranteed source of income for the time being. That was cause for celebration, and drinking. A lot of things were cause for drinking. He had been working at a bottle of wine, Raihan vintage. It was good, but the memory was bitter. It came from Shirin when the shipyard had finally started to turn around, before things really went to shit with the Empire. Mayumi was fixed at a console by the armored glass of the kobito's deckhouse, the look on her face was almost a trance. He held the bottle up and offered a sip that would have been rejected anyone. "No? Ok. More for me."
"Mayumi." Jack had been talking for a while, but Mayumi was distracted by her own thoughts, and a lack of sleep. They had both jumped at the chance to drum up business. With the fall of Shima, and Mayumi' sister missing, likely dead, the House Shimada was driven into a position of near irrelevance. The shipyard was still struggling post war. Even with the demand of reconstruction from the empire, the shipyard wasn't in a politically favorable position within the court. One off sales to flaky customers wasn't going to keep the lights on. The noble woman was frozen, staring into space, lost in thought. Jack set his hand on her shoulder expecting a slap, a threat, or snide comment...fuck anything. She gave nothing, said nothing. Despite being a genetically perfected specimen of humanity, there was still vulnerability in her. Jack kept his hand in place and stared out into the void with her.
VCS drones and Tardigrades awaited deployment.
---
Roll 2d20 to see what sort of salvage the Kobito recovers, and what sort of mishaps the brave crew finds in the salvage field.
Players can suggest equipment to look for. e.g.: drones, parts of the hand, carriers, beam cannons, chimera wreckage, specific classes of ship that interest you. These examples were not exhaustive.
>>
>>
>>6378146
Parliament class carriers offer the best loot, namely hyper drives and possibly Tile X-2 fighters. The Hand of Throne did have a hyper drive with tactical jump capability, but the odds are that it got blown apart along with the rest of the ship. Lastly, Otori Kai's cannon might be worth looking into because credit where credit is due, they stole a bastardized version of our admittedly questionable design and turned it into something actually usable.
As for mishaps, I imagine there's more than a few unexploded Hotdogs either floating about or wedged inside Raihan ships.
>>
Rolled 17, 20 = 37 (2d20)
>>6378146
>Shipyard quest is back
We aro so ba...
>OP got range banned
It's over.
Is the roll first come first serve or is it just the best one from all anons?
Could there be half blown up knight frames that we could frankenstein for our bratty pilot?