Orbiter Solar Nations V

[GW_Simulations]

Level-1 encoded transmission to Chancellor of the CIM.

The attack you mention is possible, but as I mentioned, we'd need to send a huge backup fleet.
We fitted an asteroid out with a number of engines and got it doing 20 Au/h a while back...
Not big enough to do any damage, but it proves the concept.
We could pack the equiptment on transports and use an asteroid from the centuri system itself.
It would take several months to set up such equiptment, but it's still possible, as long as we are all still here.
I suggest that we officially declare it unworkable, and keep all details classified.

Are you interested.

End Transmission

[oli_chose123]

Mercurian Battleship, scouting near pluto, 0654

-Sir, detecting enemy ship closing in on our position, should we retreat?
-no, let's test our new defence system. Lieutenant, activate the shield grid...
-Initiating shield grid, aye sir. Shields are at 67%, power consumption is of 34kwh
-Fire on the ennemy ship!
-We damaged their hull, they are fireing at us!
..
...
....
-no...no damage sir, the shield grid has lost 4% of it's capacity
-Fire on the enemy ship!
-Fireing lasers...           Enemy ship destroyed.
-All hands, stand down. Lieutenant, we can add a destroyer to our kill score.

--------------------------------
oli, on the SDLSE flagship meeting room: what you saw here was the test of our new shield grid, using Positron
based integrity. we have threee prototypes, and are in the way of equiping all of our (remaining) ships with this
technology. This could help slow down the alien invasion in this system. In 1vs1, this shields are jewels, but against
large fleets, the grid can only substain 20 to 40 shots before going down. The porosed tactic is hit and run attacks. If
you are interested, SDL, we can sell you some. They take time to build, but should revolutionalise(spelling? you know
what i mean ) the armor technology used today, for a price.

[paraflyer]

[tightbeam transmission to UFMP]

I am placing Professor Nels Lindstrom on, he can provide the details.

Nels: As I explained to the Chancellor, the freedrive isn't even ready at this stage of the game. We only discovered
the artifact within the last couple of months, and although the research and testing so far has gone well, it will be at
least two months before it's ready for fitting on the CFD Bain Sidhe.

The research we have conducted have proven out that the power-mass ratio is roughly 2 to 1 with smaller vessels
such as the Omega-class Sidhe. We have noted that this is definately not a constant, calculations have predicted that
moving an asteroid the size of Eros would  would require the reactive power of a small fleet (roughly the fusion
output from 38 Omega reactors)....you see where the problem is, it's power generation. A planetoid large enough to
cause a nova reaction would need to be near the size of Pandora, and the energy consumption would be near
astronomical.

Of course, a smaller planetoid would cause a larger reaction based on the type of star; for instance, Eros would
initiate stellar breakdown in a small blue or white star, whereas it wouldn't even be noticed if launched into a red
giant.

The entire exchange between myself and the Chancellor at this point was nothing more than musing aloud; at this
time we are restricting the freedrive's use to our fleet when we have deemed it suitable and stable enough to deploy.
........Back to you, Chancellor.

Xorth:  You see our predicament; we are developing the technology, but it is too soon for us to deploy into our own
fleet, much less the fleets of other nations, or even as a strategic weapon.

<<<<<Quick jump to the "real world":  In case anyone's wondering, I'm currently playing around with some C++
ideas that may actually be able to interact as this "freedrive" in Orbiter, although it'll be some time before I get it
anywhere near alpha testing. I've been a fan of E. E. Smith's "Lensman" series, and somehow his idea of an
inertialess drive system appealed enough for me to attempt some programming along those lines; the series of books
actually does support the fact that the drive only cancels out the inertial state at the time of engagement...and when
shut down the ship will have to fire thrusters or even main engines to cancel out the old state in favor of a new
orbital path.  I'm not sure if "Nels'" idea of two to four months will be true, though....I only dabble in coding thus
far.>>>>>

[GW_Simulations]

You could increase the power to Helium fusion. That should increase efficiency by 1000%. Then, only 4 reactors would
be required. We will look at the possibility of sub neutron propulsion for such a project instead.

If the programme - Codename "Nova" - should ever be iniciated, there are some very large rocks in several of the
ECPS systems that could be used.

[oli_chose123]

OCC: did I miss a post? what is the freedrive? is it the beam drive, or a new tech?
number 2: Its sometime boring when 2 nation leaders role play and let the others out...


IC:
oli: Anything new on these comm signals?
officer: yes sir, two nation leaders are talking about a way to get to the ennemy's system to destroy it's sun
oli:sound interesting, open a comm channel with them
officer:but, sir, they don't even know we are listening to their conversations
oli: I don't care, open it...

officer: channel open...
oli: UFMP leader, it seems you have some "drive" problems to solve. I'd like to know how did the ennemy's fleet came here? If they still know who you are, then its possble it didnt took them much time. You could check their ship's engines for anything out of the ordinary(I heard you captured some). Hope that helps



Post Edited ( 02-18-06 23:57 )

[Xianus]

Logbook: Mission day 7

Three days have passed since i've completly lost SOL from my scanners. Air supply at 81%, should be enough to
spend a few days on searching and to go back. Beam Drive is working fine. The travel is pretty boring now, there is
absolutely nothing to do. I will try to catch something tomorrow at max scanning range. I am wandering what is
happening on Rhea. I hope they were able to destroy the whole complex. There must be no sign of any research. OK,
thats all for today.

---End of record---

OOC: Im back

[oli_chose123]

OCC: AT LAST!!

IC:
Officer: Incoming!
Captain: All hands! brace for impact!
**
Captain: Damage report!
Officer: Deck C report hull breach, Deck D didnt report as ordered...
Captain: I need these shields back online!
Officer: They're going as fast as they can sir... damn it... Incoming!
Captain: Point defence?
Officer: Online sir
Captain: Target the missile! Fire!
Officer: Missile destroyed sir, shields are back up!
Captain: Target the first ship, Fire!!
Officer: Ship destroyed sir, the others are retreating...
Captain: Stand down...
Officer: Receiving comm from fleet 2. They will arrive in 2 hours
Captain: Good, have the crew repair de damage, and prepare for an attack

***************
Notes: There are only 2 fleet left in the mercurian military
-Fleet 1 is composed of 1 battleship(shield system installed) and 2 cruisers(1 with shield), 5 support ships and fighter
escort(6 ships). They have on board 56 crewmen(battleship), 24+21 crewmen(2 cruisers), 5 crew per support ships
and 1 per fighter (132 crewmen in total)

Fleet 2 is composed of 3 battleships(no -shields but long range missiles) 1 transport and 3 cruisers, 12 fighter escort
Battleship_1   89 crewmen
battleship_2   78 crewmen
battleship_3   102 crewmen
suport   5x5 = 25 crewmen
Transport        1000 troops
fighters 1x12 =12 pilots
total: 1306

This is what's left of the mercurian military: 1306 + 132
The remaining population: 3 millions(was 7 millions before the attack)

The scientific department: 300 + 5000(scientific + colonists)
They are building a colony ship, and we hope we'll get our hand on a beam drive to colonize others systems

[GW_Simulations]

Transmission to the ME:
The ships we have captured all utilise Sub-Neutron or Helium Fusion drives.

Sub-Neutron drives are the standard type for most starships in the known galaxy. They can propel your average ship
to about 10AU/Hr. They work by destablising large quantities of atoms, and then discharging particles from vents in
the hull. The end result is that they are just as quick in reverse as they are in forward flight.

Helium Fusion drives are a relativly new propulsion system, and can be pretty dangerous. Helium Fusion bombs are
about 10 times as powerful as your average H-bomb, and work in the same way as a red giant star. The Ultanium (An
alloy of Platinum, Titanium, Steel, Gold, and Lead) hull of the ship is capable of withstanding the explosion, and
focuses the exhaust backwards, with immense force. The exact speed of this drive cannot be obtained from our
current data, but it must be very near to, or exceeding, the speed of light.

It is unlikley they knew that I was here as they were surprised to see us.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the dark night, a huge fleet of ships slips silently into orbit around SOL. They are painted black, and the only
marking on them is the blue and red diamond of the UFMP starfleet. They head in past SOL-5, and decellerate to
match speeds with the Asteroid 90 Antiope. Then a shuttle is released from the command ship, which lands on the
asteroid.

A mysterious woman steps out of it, and proceeds toward the UFMP headquaters, through the pressurised tunnel
that connected her ship's landing pad. She goes to the Supreme Commander's office.

Supreme Commander: Come in
Woman: Good Evening, Sir
Supreme Commander: Good Evening Admiral. What brings you to Sol
Woman: We cannot find anywhere else
Supreme Commander: So now you return to my side
Woman: It is impossible to get away from the ECPS. They are here, they followed us
Supreme Commander: How many ships do you have
Woman: Fifty... It's not enough
Supreme Commander: We need everything we can get. Even with everyone in this system, it's still barley 500
Woman: The ECPS has ten thousand ships ready to strike
Supreme Commander: I know
Woman: This is the last free system in the sector
Supreme Commander: How about outside help
Woman: The UGC will do nothing, but the Coalition of Orion Systems may be persuaded, no-one else is taking an
interest
Supreme Commander: Thank you. You may stay

[Travis Reed]

Dawn breaks on Mars as Simon Monroe gets out of bed. He eats a quick breakfast and begins prepping his ship for departure.

Having heard/seen only snippets of news over the past few months he knows there's war coming and he intends to remain out of
it...no matter what it means...

About 40 minutes later, the ships is fueled, all supplies having been stowed aboard the previous night (man it's packed...).

With no ceremony, he grabs those personal possesions he keeps for sentimental value and stows them in the last nooks and
crannys onboard. Then, with no furthur ado, he departs, making LMO in record time.

After that, he plots a course that will take him on an orbit around Sol itself and begins the ejection burn.

O/T: MadMike, the ship is not untrackable. It does not reflect radar and similar means, it cannot be picked up on infared
UNLESS the engines are in use (this includes the thrusters, but the detection range is much less). It even has black paint
(with stars, see the DG3 Stealth skin, and it is a special paint as well). The stealth properties are inherrent in the
materials used in construction, and the design plans for thise prototype were lost in war some time ago. He does occasionally
listen to local transmissions, but is usually enroute and there is little to interest him.

[oli_chose123]

Mercurian Research Projects
FILE: 3454E
ID: 453I66-44GR30F
TYPE:CONFIDENTIAL
FILENAME:Shielding Technology


Follow the instructions to download this video, its only 2,66 mb, but the host like ads...
http://www.filefactory.com/get/f.php?f=dd0e503808bdc79def66c146
Wait 15 seconds, then click on Don't want a premium download? Click here to access our free download links. Then wait 30 seconds.............. Then choose one of the servers for download(right click and save as...)

Shielding technology is relatively new in this system, but has been in developpement for months.
The system is made of 2 parts, red and yellow.(see video, real parts are actually grey, made of steel and supraconductors )
The red system is a small power grid that will convert the power generated by the fusion core(blue part) into useable
power for the yellow part. This part is an emmiter that will create a spherical electron dome around the ship.

Defence: Electron based, the shield will easily repulse other electron based weapons, and the proton based ones will
dissipate around the sphere. The electrons will overload remote weapons like missiles and torpedoes on impact, and
this "electric wall" will protect the ship against any explosions.

Problems:
The technology requires MASSIVE power, and mercurian ships need to maneuver with RCS when it's activated.
Every hit on the shields will result in the emmiter to become hotter, and will overload after some time. only skilled
engineers can make it work again for a short time, but maintenance from a starbase or planet is required

FIELD TEST
Fight against an ECPS ship, the ennemy ship was destroyed after 5 minutes of battle...




Post Edited ( 02-22-06 22:29 )

[Travis Reed]

With the burn completed, Simon only has to wait for the proper time...

All non-essential systems are powered down, and everything else is set to the absolute minimum settings. With that done, he
flips open the protective cover to breaker #9 (which is not found on the stock DG3) and flips the switch. There is a slight
hum as the unused powere that the ship is generating is collected into capacitors for the (as yet) undisclosed system.

Then, he simply goes off to take a nap for a few hours.

OOC: It should be noted that only one generator is currently in use, he can turn on the generator to decrease the charge-up time.

[Travis Reed]

*hours later*
Simon wakes up from his nap, notes the state of an indicator light, then checks his navigation system (running in passive
mode) for relative position.

Satisfied that certain prerequisites have been met he opens a program on the ship's computer (going through several layers of
passwords and other security measures) and begins plotting a course with it.

When the course is cpmpleted he powers up the second generator, then ties it into the (as yet) undisclosed system. Once this
is done, he hits a single key and the system is activated.

A second later his ship vanishes from the point in space it was and; seeing as how his ship is a stealth ship, no one
declared an attempt to track him, and it is very difficult to track something using the system he just used; it is near
impossible to track where he went, where he is now, or where he is going...


*the scene fades to black*

[GW_Simulations]

EMERGENCY TRANSMISSION TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE SOL SYSTEM:

"This is the UFMP..........Communications...............jammed........................ECPS.......ready..destroy SOL-
3....................in place.....sending fleet....defend planet.......all costs......."

Signal Lost

NOTE: This means that all communications are intermittant untill the jammers can be destroyed.

[oli_chose123]

Captain: damn it... lieutenant, set course for earth
Officer: Aye sir! Course set! ETA 6 hours
Captain: Fire engines, and have the engineers prepare the shield grid, we'll need it...
Officer: Sir, fleet 2 is changing course too, heading for Earth.
Captain: good...

[GW_Simulations]

We have located and destroyed the communication jamming systems.

The fleet bound for SOL-3 is small (10 ships, mostly fighters), but it will take a lot to destroy the planetry destroyer.

[Xianus]

--- TRANSMISSION TO ALL NATION LEADERS ---

This is fleet admiral Lenard, commander of the Rhea Star Force. We have recieved the message about the possible
earth invasion, and we will respond. We are sending our newest fleet addition - two newly constructed F-class
battleships. They will be escorted by two cruisers and fighters. Other ships will stay here to protect Rhea. We can't
do anything more before chancellor will return.

Technical data about the F-class ships:
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/3355/fclasswip12xm.jpg

                     * * *

somewhere in the Arrento system...

Logbook entry, mission day: unknown

I don't know exactly what happened three days ago. I think i entered the asteroid belt when i turned off the beam
drive. The collision with an asteroid damaged some of the ship's systems. Scanners are showing Three major planets.
The first one have almost completly melted surface. The second one is more interesting: sensors showed that it has
atmosphere with with nitrogen and oxygen. Interesting... but i don't have time right now. The third planet is a gas
giant, 4 major moons detected, 3 of them have nitrogen atmosphere. Many smaller objects detected in orbit. I will
start my searches there. Some of the objects orbitting the last planet are really strange... the scanners weren't able
to recognise them. They should be only space rocks, but they doesn't look like rocks. Actually, they doesn't look like
anything known to me. Im sure there is something there. Unfortunately my comm device was badly damaged during
the collision. Sometimes it works great, but after a while it is completly dead. I think it is the tachyon converter's
malfunction. But, by the way, i don't think i would need it. The closest comm satellite is many, manylightyears from
here. I only hope i will be able to see Rhea once again...

--- end of record ---


O/T: I've almost completed the missing ship model, but i've got some problems with importing it to ORBITER. I would
be grateful if anyone would be interested in helping me.

[oli_chose123]

OCC: What is the extension of the file? what is your problem, maybe I can help

IC:
A DGIII entered Rhea's orbit, and opened a comm channel with the fleet admiral
oli: Admiral, I really must ask all data on the beam drive, we need it to start colonization process, and having your
only prototype... away, far away... I'd like any relevant data on the technology so we may try to reproduce it...

[Xianus]

OOC: I've made the model completly in Anim8r, and the problem is, that after conversion (i use 3ds2max ) in ORBITER
it is covered by only one material.

IC:
- I think we've got a bad news for you, Oli. All the data about the beam drive were kept in our research complex. The
whole complex was destroyed shortly after Xianus' departure to keep those plans in secret. The complete database
is now onboard the SF "Ghost",which is currently... far away. However, we have some other inventions you can find
useful. Please land in Rhea Starport Alpha, and i will show you everything what we have here.

[Travis Reed]

Simon was in trouble, he knew it from the moment he hit the button to engage the drive. There was a large shower of sparks,
lighting flickered, and the next thing he knew, he was somewhere in the Arrento system barreling toward a ship of some kind
(the SF "Ghost") at slightly over 3c.

Right then, his pilot's instincts took over, he turned hard about using RCS (one of the few systems still functioning
properly), plotted a course to within 25km of that ship with a final relative velocity of absolute 0 (this would change over
time after the jump), and engaged the jump drive using only the power that the ship was generating (thankfully it was
enough...barely...). After he came to a 'stop' he had time to be glad there had been no objects between him and the strange
ship. All this occured without doing anything that woud give away his presence (except the RCS) to those not looking for him.

He decided it was time to investigate the strange ship and began manuvering around it to see if he could find any sort of
writing or logos/emblems on it (so, Xianus...any such things on your ship?).

[oli_chose123]

The DG3 finally landed on the rhea base.
oli came out of the shuttle, and saw the admiral coming. At last they would be able to discuss buisness

OCC: I had the same problems with anim8r, or it might have been 3ds2msh. The old version of 3ds2msh created a
text file that you had to check to change .bmp textures to .dds. If you have the old version, maybe check that all
materials are the good ones. I had problems with the new one, took me time to figure out how it worked. The anim8r
3ds are not 3dsmax standars, as I can't open them with it. I think 3ds2msh actually wants 2dsmax files, so it has
problems with anim8r ones... If it still doesn't work, maybe you can try another program...

[Xianus]

OOC: So, Travis, i think you should at least say hello... by the way, where have you found the coordinates?

IC:
logbook entry, mission day: unknown (T +1 from collision)

I've managed to repair almost all damaged systems. Only the manevrouer engines don't work properly... sometimes
they just shut off. I decided to stay in the current orbit until i fully fix them. I don't want another failure during the
interception burn or something like that. The radio works now... at least i hope it works. One hour ago i've send a
simple signal to test it. No voice, just an energy impulse. And here is the biggest problem: the instruments showed
that somewhere near my ship the signal was weaken a bit. In the other words, someone or something had recieved
my message. 30 minutes later i've sent another signal. The same thing happened, but the signal was weaken in
another place. I had absolutely no idea what was happening here. I decided to send another message. Only one
word: Xianus, and some coordinates of my current position. This strange chat makes me almost insane... i fell i have a
headache. I must rest for a while; i haven't slept for more than 20 hours...
--- end of record ---


             * * *

Rhea Base alpha, Landing pad 12
- Admiral, im glad i can see you. Now tell me...
- Look, Oli, it is the worst place to chat. Please follow me to my quarters. I will explain everything there.

Admiral's quarters...
- So, Admiral?
- Well, the whole affair with the beam drive is so confusing, that even i don't know what is going on. I can only say
that that system was too dangerous to exist. Shortly before Xianus' departure we discovered another, much more
dangerous way to use it. I am not a scientist, so i cant explain you the details, but here is what i know. Our scientists
were able to reproduce at least some elements of the drive. We were mainly testing different combinations of the
spires: different materials, lentghs, et cetera, et cetera. Of course we were using much smaller energies, and
therefore much shorter beams. Look at this scheme:

One day someone did another change - he combined two pairs of spires. The energy was about 7 to 8 Megawatts.
When both devices were running in the same way, they worked like the single device. But when they were powered
in opposite directions, the efect was totally unpredictable: The beams were generated between the ends of the
corresponding spires with abnormally high frequency. In a few seconds we had many millions of ultra-thin tachyon
beams generated between the spires, like in this scheme.

When the twin devices were shutted both in the same time, the beams just disappeared. But when only one device
was shut, the generated beams were rapidly spreaded in both directions with full lentgh. Look here:

Now, one beam does only a little efect, but that number of beams spreading through the vacuum space worked like
tsunami against a paper boat. We named that effect "beamwave". Our calculations revealed, that the twin device
would be powered with our most powerful generator, the wave could spread in almost 100 000 kilometers range,
squashing everything on its way. When i say everything, i mean everything - ships, asteroids, even planets. The
whole project was too dangerous too keep it exist. Currently we have only one working device hidden deep into
subsurface hangar. There is only one person who have entry codes to that hangar. We cannot give you the plans,
simply because your scientists would create the same device in about month. Imagine when someone else would use
it against us...
- My god...
- Now you see. Im sorry but i don't have anything more for you. I just wanted you to know. Chancellor Xianus is our
only hope now. Good bye, Oli.

EDIT: OOC: Travis, if you want to see details of my ship, there are some images in the previous topic (the post about bases i think).



Post Edited ( 02-26-06 22:23 )

[Travis Reed]

OOC: I really ought to stop posting when half-asleep...I forgot an important detail...let me fix...

Travis Reed wrote:
OOC: *plays Lost In Space theme music*
IC: Simon was in trouble, he knew it from the moment he hit the button to engage the drive. There was a large shower of sparks,
lighting flickered, and the next thing he knew, he was somewhere in the Arrento system barreling toward a ship of some kind
( the SF "Ghost" ) at slightly over 3c.

Right then, his pilot's instincts took over, he turned hard about using RCS (one of the few systems still functioning
properly), plotted a course to within 25km of that ship with a final relative velocity of absolute 0 (this would change over
time after the jump), and engaged the jump drive using only the power that the ship was generating (thankfully it was
enough...barely...). After he came to a 'stop' he had time to be glad there had been no objects between him and the strange
ship. All this occured without doing anything that woud give away his presence (except the RCS) to those not looking for him.

He decided it was time to investigate the strange ship and began manuvering around it to see if he could find any sort of
writing or logos/emblems on it ( so, Xianus...any such things on your ship? ).

Now, I saw the images, however, there is no texturing ( and that is usually a part of the modeling proccess that occurs when
the model itself is completed...usually ). Are you saying there's no writing on it at all?



Post Edited ( 02-27-06 16:05 )

[Travis Reed]

IC:
Seeing no apparrent markings on the vessel, Simon decided it was time to check for any radio transmissions eminating from it.
After fiddling with the radio, he turns the reciever on, just in time to pick up the name Xianus and a set of coordinates. He
immediately attempts to respond with a greeting, however, it is soon apparrent that his transmitter is busted... Time to
assess the damage...

*hours later*

Thankfully, the only thing permanently damaged was the Type 26 (old style, circa 2060 and not made anymore...as there's much
better on the market now) capacitor bank used in the JumpDrive. Heck, the JumpDrive itself is still fully operational, though
it's limited now to shorter hops... Now for repairs...

*more hours later*

With all other systems fixed he deploys the AE-35 antenna and the radiator.

*a few minutes later the AE-35 finishes deploying*

Another few keystrokes and the radar system begins mapping the area, and locating other ships, etc (RCS is fired
automatically to roll/pitch the ship as needed for full coverage).

*more minutes pass as the scan completes*
With the scan finally done, Simon locks the antenna onto the strange looking ship now outside his front viewport.
He then trasmits (tight beam) the name Simon and his coordinates with regard to the local (dominant) gravity source.
And now, he waits for a response...

[Xianus]

OOC: Well, the ship was supposed to be stealth, so there is no sign of its origin. Furthermore, it is partialy
constructed from the parts of an alien vessel. As you've noticed, it is in early alpha stage. Now im waiting for some
fresh ideas. If you want to somehow identify it, you can concentrate on the radio signals i've been sending twice.

EDIT: oops... same posting time



Post Edited ( 02-27-06 16:31 )

[Travis Reed]

Xianus wrote:
OOC: Well, the ship was supposed to be stealth, so there is no sign of its origin. Furthermore, it is partialy
constructed from the parts of an alien vessel. As you've noticed, it is in early alpha stage. Now im waiting for some
fresh ideas. If you want to somehow identify it, you can concentrate on the radio signals i've been sending twice.

OOC: Erm... *poke* ^  Not your fault, I was still posting the IC thing when you started posting...