Tools of the Trade (Protectorate Technical Folks)

[Skree Ariko]

Skree nodded hesitantly. "In passing." She said. "It 'increases combat capability', right?"
Or at least, it does if I'm remembering Dad's lectures right... She reflected.

@[member="Noah Corek"]

 

[Noah Corek]

@[member="Skree Ariko"]
"Well that's one of the multiple definitions for it,but my definition is this:'The use of small numbers of specialists to create larger effective forces.' Noah said as he read it from his HoloPad. "Basically,its training and arming local rebels and guerillas to fight against the larger threats."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea raised her hand. “The small, elite groups doctrine is fine in most cases, but against a Fringe or Sith invasion, it would avail us little by itself. Omega Pyre is an elite group, but the ODF is a proper army and navy now. Therefore we must prepare solutions for both small and large scale conflicts.”

 

[Jsc]

Karen kept her mouth shut. The room was full of two different types of people. And it only need one. People who create solutions. All Karen needed was a problem. Then she could solve it. Until the Exarch's gave her a problem to solve? She was just another pretty face taking up desk space.

What exactly did Alcori need that SAAT could build?

 

[HK-36]

@Siobhan Kerrigan @Tegaea Alcori @Karen Roberts @Noah Corek @Skree Ariko
"I think Master Roberts has a point."
HK spoke up through their discussion
"We should not neglect the aspect of air-superiority, once the concerns of Colonel Kerrigan are addressed, and I do agree that our armored forces need update, we should look into our gunships and low-altitude transports."
He also added afterwards
"And perhaps we could look into my idea being used in artillery shells as well? Although I am not sure if we can provide Force breaker in great enough amounts."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="HK-36"], @[member="Noah Corek"]


"Or an invasion by the Republic," Siobhan added, with an edge and a trace of bitterness in her voice. Was she being overly paranoid? Perhaps, but then she was a naturally suspicious person and the 'Betrayal of Metalorn' had only amplified this.

Of course, one might add that the Protectorate's insular foreign policy had not exactly been conducive to winning friends - presently it had no allies after all! But if Siobhan was conscious of that, then it was buried deep within her. She was probably too invested to be anything other than a loyalist - especially since she had joined the ruling class or rather married into it, so she obviously had blinkers on.


"I wouldn't rule it out anymore after Metalorn and their Chancellor's 'OP is the evil empire' ranting in the Senate. We're already stretched across a long border. The Pyre's a great unit and last thing I'd want to do is turn it around, but even it needs a tech update. Hence artillery tank - mobile, fast-firing missile launcher, softens up enemy formations and modular in design to be flexible. And heavier armour for the ODF since it'll shoulder the biggest burden. I do agree that air power is important - armour's useless if the sky's not ours and our standard gunship is still the Peregrine. There's also our planetary defences. On many worlds they were developed against Reavers and raiders," she shrugged.

"But I don't think we can resolve all these issues in one go. Personally I'd put the member states' forces under ODF command with the current situation to ensure unity of doctrine and response and bring them up to spec, but that's another matter." Introducing conscription also sounded like a good idea to her given the present situation, which gave little cause for optimism. If the buildup and the burdens that came with it caused discontent among the populace, they would deal with it.

 

[Noah Corek]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]
Noah shook his head and sighed,they weren't getting his meaning. "I don't mean send only the small teams to attack,we would send them to not only attack but to train rebel and insurgents to fight them and therefore we don't lose our men and we have an entire rebel army,spanning the entire enemy territory."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Noah Corek"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

Siobhan had understood what he meant but her job was to get the army ready to defend the Protectorate's borders and hit back hard to beat the enemy. "The focus is on getting the Protectorate's military back on track for a conventional war possibly on multiple fronts. Which right now it's not ready for. Unconventional warfare behind enemy lines can be useful - we do have the expertise of Captain Jorus Merrill and Moira Skaldi - but rebels in foreign countries don't help much if you're getting invaded. They're an asset if you're about to launch an offensive and want to stir up trouble behind enemy lines, assuming they don't get slaughtered for their troubles before they can make an impact. And assuming they don't turn the weapons you gave them on you later once the 'evil regime' is gone. Like the Contruum rebels would've done with the Republic if they hadn't been cowardly stabbed in the back," she said bluntly.

Of course, according to Moira, Butcher of Contruum, Republic Intelligence had had a 'contingency plan'. Another reason for Siobhan to dislike her. Wait, was Siobhan being the voice of caution? Perhaps someone had replaced her with an alt version!

They could not make plans like that while the Protectorate was so dangerously exposed and had to make priorities for its defences. "Not to mention that we don't know who our enemy will be - Republic, Fringe, Sith. Any rebel force doesn't just appear out of thin air. Take the Empire, any insurgency started there would have to be supplied over vast distances if it does not get crushed right away and ends like on Contruum."

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Karen Roberts"] @[member="Noah Corek"] @[member="HK-36"]
Tegaea raised her hand for silence.
“The problem with insurgents is that today they fight our enemies, tomorrow they might fight us. This is not the place for that discussion. This is about technology. @[member="Skree Ariko"] had a fascinating idea which I would like to hear more about.” She smiled at the Twi’lek.

“The tank will go into design and if it passes the necessary trials, it will go into production. It is vital that we maintain a strong ground presence.”

“I however have a piece of design that I would like to bring up.” She produced a holoprojector and brought up an image of…a ship.

“Ladies, gentlemen, I give you…the Leviathan. Plans have been underway for some time, and now we have some important technology supplied by MICO and by our efforts at Roche and Pollis Massa, we have the capacity to build it. This ship will be, in time, the flagship of the ODF. To be honest I had some qualms about building it, but I have been persuaded in the wake of recent events to push ahead with my ideas for this. Does anyone have anything to add to my plan?”

She spread out the technical specifications too.

Spoiler

Intent: This ship is allowed due to the participation of OP in various events. The intent of this ship is to create a vessel using the Protectorate’s resources, and create a deterrence to enemy fleets. It is also designed to counter the Lords of the Fringe’s new super-battleship. It is designed to be a ship primarily used for ship to ship combat, leaving support roles to other vessels.
Development Thread: Yes, in progress.
Manufacturer: Omega Industries, Fondor Shipyards.
Model: Battlecruiser
Affiliation: Omega Protectorate
Modularity: None.
Production: Unique
Material: Durasteel, quadranium, glassteel.
Description: The increasing isolation of the Protectorate, as well as the increasing stability of the nation, had allowed the military focus to shift from small scale to larger scale. Where the Jaeger had been designed to operate against raiders and pirates, the current galactic situation required a ship which could take on the largest vessels in the galaxy.
With this in mind, plans were laid down for a flagship of the Protectorate fleet. Using captured technology from Polis Massa and Roche, the Leviathan was born.
Unlike the other super-battleships of the galaxy, the Leviathan had no special function. It was merely a very large ship with a lot of guns, appearing to be much like the old Star Destroyers in shape.
While the Leviathan carries attack craft it is not the main arm, and is usually used for defending against bombers and enemy escorts.
With this in mind, the Leviathan is a formidable vessel bristling with guns intended to take on and defeat anything the enemy can throw at it.

Classification: Battlecruiser
Role: Command ship and battleship.
Height: 900m
Width: 1300m
Length: 4000m
Power Core Generator/Reactor: Hypermatter reactor
Hyperdrive Rating: 2.0 Backup 10.0.
Minimum Crew: 5,000
Optimal Crew: 50,000 + 5,000 gunners.
Armaments:

• 30 Quad Heavy Turbolaser batteries.
• 175 heavy turbolaser batteries.
• 200 turbolaser batteries.
• 30 ion cannon batteries.
• 50 quad laser cannon batteries.
• 50 flak batteries.
• 10 tractor beam projectors.

Hangar: The Leviathan can hold the following ships:

• 60 x fighters/interceptors.
• 36 x bombers/gunships.
• 6 x large transports.
• 18 x medium transports.
• 12 x shuttles.

Non-Combative Attachments: Hyperwave transceiver, redundant shield generators, detention area.
Passenger Capacity: 10,000
Cargo Capacity: 25,000 tons.
Consumables: 5 years.
Sublight Speed and Maneuverability: 9

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="Skree Ariko"], @[member="HK-36"], @[member="Noah Corek"]

Siobhan was an army girl through and through who loved her tanks and walkers - and especially her ability to throw heavy things such as vehicles around - but she could appreciate a big battleship.

And big was one way to describe this. Big, sexy and powerful. "Err...no, boss. Just that I like it a lot. How soon till we get it? It's hot. Love the name!"

 

[Skree Ariko]

Skree was, first and foremost, a ship engineer. And when she saw the technical readouts - and the hologram - her jaw literally dropped. She had to close it before she started drooling and swallowed self-consciously.
"I...don't think ship quite does it justice." She muttered, eyes glued to the technical readouts. Skree's lekku quivered excitedly at the thought of seeing - and possibly helping to build - the mother of all flagships.

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"]

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@[member="Skree Ariko"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]

Tegaea smiled indulgently at the Twi’lek. She’d heard about the girl from Anya, and knew she was just the sort of person she needed.
“Skree, was it? Would you like to help out on the construction of this ship? I admit I’m not down on the nuts and bolts, as it were. If I put you in touch with some of the designers would you be able to look over it and report back to me with any suggestions?”

She shared a glance with Siobhan. “A little while until its ready, I’m afraid. Still, I’m thinking a year or so is doable. We have the shipyards at Fondor, and the resources to build it. It will be expensive, but I feel it’s possible. I’ll need to get a final review of course before we go ahead.”

“Anyone else have anything to discuss?”

 

[Skree Ariko]

Skree sat a little straighter. "Yes ma'am. I'd be happy to." She said, eyes glowing - figuratively speaking - at the idea of working on such a massive prospect. Then Skree caught sight of the blueprint paper she'd brought out earlier, but she hesitated anyway. Starting-slash-opening conversations were not her strongpoints.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

Tegaea caught her look. She thought quickly. "Ah yes, you had a proposal. Please explain it to me, @[member="Skree Ariko"]," she requested.

 

[Skree Ariko]

Skree nodded cheerfully and maybe a little too enthusiastically. "Right." She said, rotating the paper so the rest of the people could see it. "And on the other end of the scale..." She murmured, half to herself. "It's a sort of stealth-sphere-slash-mine-sniffer. As far as names go, that's as far as I've gotten." She added wryly. The blueprints detailed that the sphere had three-hundred-sixty degree vision, due to a ring of photosensors - or whatever droid eyes were called - that alternated between visible spectrum, infrared, and X-ray, although she was sketchy about the X-ray.

In the margin were a few notes about a small defense mechanism or a weak shield against flying debris and stray blasterfire. The method of control was still unresolved, but Skree couldn't come up with a practical and useful remote-free will blend that made any amount of sense, so she left it alone for now. There were more notes, mentioned a sort of modified railgun or blaster pistol for defense, and an explosive defense mechanism, especially for the stealth portion of the programming. Quickly, she bent over and added another few notes - something about two different programmings that could be activated.

Concepts...

@[member="Tegaea Alcori"] @[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] @[member="Noah Corek"] @[member="HK-36"] @[member="Karen Roberts"]

 

[HK-36]

@Siobhan Kerrigan @Tegaea Alcori @Karen Roberts @Noah Corek @Skree Ariko
"I like it."
HK said looking over the concepts, glancing to Skree he commented
"Good job, Engineer Ariko."
He looked back to the design
"I see it is rather vague on the defense mechanism, I do not want to sound repetitive, but perhaps have you looked into shatterpistols?"
He looked back to the Twi'lek once more
"They are quite powerful for their small size, and, best of all, they are completely silent."

 

[Skree Ariko]

Skree brightened at the droid's praise, then shook her head. "No, I haven't. I only thought of putting in a defensive mechanism when you started talking about railguns." The young engineer made a quick note-to-self on the blueprints.

 

[Valiens Nantaris]

@Siobhan Kerrigan @Noah Corek @HK-36 @Karen Roberts @[member="Skree Ariko"] @[member="HK-36"]

“I think HK has a good point. A shatterpistol is a useful way of sniping at enemies. You’d need to lower the power of course, but as a surprise attack it could be powerful. You’ve done well, Skree,” she said warmly. It was always wise to be nice to Engineers! Especially blue twi’lek ones.

“If you wish to draft up a design brief (read: tech submission) we will add that to the list!” she added.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

@[member="Skree Ariko"], @[member="Tegaea Alcori"], @[member="HK-36"]

"I agree. Nicely done, Skree. Looking forward to seeing it out in the field. I think a shatterpistol's ideal," Siobhan said warmly. She understood how important it was to be nice to engineers and especially blue Twi'leks!

"I'm largely done. I'll get back to you on the railgun project and like I said Omega Industries' gonna work on the self-propelled rocket launcher to give the Pyre artillery. Fast firing, rapidly deployed and good for saturation bombardmet in squadrons. Draft has progressed far," she passed a datapad over to Tegaea with preliminary specifications. Needless to say Siobhan was not a developer. She had long wanted a heavier battle tank and artillery, but she did not research and design. Anya was there to provide advice and make calculations and undoubtedly occasionally troll Siobhan and distract her from losing her temper!

That said she wondered about loading rockets with forcebreaker gas and perhaps trihexalon. Nasty, but war was about who was left standing at the end, not who was right. Maybe the latter should be discussed in a less...public forum.