Vortex of Death

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Tålamod Shapochka"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

A secret location in an unsettled system.

The meeting was held aboard the Star of Alderaan. The reason given was that it was undergoing ‘upgrade refits’, which it was, but that was not the real reason for the meeting.

In the Admiral’s private office only those of Captain rank or above were allowed. Tålamod Shapochka’s presence therefore would seem slightly odd at first glance.

However, when everyone was present the Admiral turned to her. “Commander Shapochka, for your brave and skilful service in our recent operations, and also the loss of several senior officers due to the…occurrence…you are hereby promoted to full Captain, and confirmed as commanding officer of the Righteous. The official announcement will follow tomorrow, but I wanted you to know this so you could be present for this meeting.”

The Admiral looked to the other officers present. “Ladies, gentlemen, the recent incidents have caused great strain on the Republic. Previous defeats and encounters have taught us much. Therefore I have been looking to find new ways and methods of using our fleet to our advantage. War will resume with the Sith soon, and we must be prepared. I have already discussed the Maelstrom Class with Admiral Tyven. It will be a support Destroyer suitable for long-range bombardment of enemies. What will enable this is the weapon system I now propose. I call it the Vortex Cannon.”

A holo-image of a vast ship mounted cannon appeared. It was colossal, with a barrel over a metre wide.

“This is the weapon which will win us back the war, I hope…or help at least. It’s a large railgun capable of throwing a five ton solid slug at speeds of 10km/s. As you can imagine, this weapon passes through ray shields, and the kinetic impact of a single shot is tremendous.”

 

[Mariya Pyne]

If there was one thing that impressed Kayleigh about Stahlmann, it was his incredible mind. Not only was he the Navy's finest admiral, but he had one hell of a brain when it came to outfitting the fleets with some serious firepower. He was, for lack of better words, the best the Republic could dream of, and she would be crazy not to take any opportunity available to both learn from and aide in her colleague and former mentor's endeavors.

The promotion of the new Captain Shapochka was well deserved after the recent battles and operations. She made quite an impression, and did well to aide the Republic. She began the round of congratulatory salutes of those gathered. "Congratulations, Captain. Well earned."

Standing to Stahlmann's right, refocusing the attention in the room, the blonde motioned toward the hologram of the proposed design. The two had spoken in general terms about the weapon, but did not fully flesh out the details pertaining to it. Now would be the best time to raise concerns or questions as to its construction and intended purposes.

"Sir, I have a small bout of questions, if I may ask, to hopefully get a general understanding out to those gathered here for its intended use, number of ships to be retrofitted, cost of assembly and maintenance which I am sure the Senate will be concerned with first and foremost as they always are when it comes to military spending, and lastly, whether this weapon is meant to be an answer to some of the One Sith's use of the Vong technology, and their latest uses of their Immortal class destroyers. If you could please elaborate on the subject for those gathered."

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Tålamod Shapochka]

It was apparently forbidden--or at least quite frowned upon--for an officer of even a commander's rank to be present in the Admiral's office. That Commander Shapochka had been explicitly invited to this event seemed quite the honor, although the request for her presence was initially met with confusion. There was no chance that the wrong name had been issued the invitation (How many Commander Shapochkas could there be?), but it was very much a pleasant surprise. Tålamod had persevered through her physical and mental ailments so far for moments like this.

And moments like this, when she was called upon the initiation of this meeting by the Admiral himself. Practically at the snap of a finger, she was promoted in front of the small assembly of the Republic Navy's senior officers. There was little she felt to say. She nearly cried, in fact, but her Imperial-endowed confidence never abated her face, lest she allow the Admiral to be second-guessed. "Thank you, Admirals, yes." Captain Shapochka of her thus far ordained ship, Righteous, raised the glass of mistwater she held and bowed her head slightly in reverence. This was enough for her right now. She would have to rejoice elsewhere.

Her composure changed with great subtlety--but it did indeed change--now with her rite of passage to captaincy affirmed. But it was as yet not her place to be too vocal about the weaponry in discussion. For now, she had no commentary to provide. She was only interested in hearing what Admiral Stahlmann had to say for now. It was no use asking questions yet.

But this weapon would be quite the weapon. She certainly hoped such guns could be turned towards the mongrel fleets of the One Sith. Anything to make every one of them die.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"], [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]
“Very good questions, Admiral. No ships will have these added to them. They are entirely too demanding of space. That is why the Maelstrom is being created, specifically to house six of these weapons. No other vessels, for now, will be fitted with them. The reasons for this are apparent; these are very expensive, big, power draining and complex to maintain. Until we know they work I will be keeping them specifically for the Maelstrom. However, in time, I can see one being added to the prow of the Avenger class to replace the hypervelocity cannon.”

“This weapon has been, as you can imagine, inspired and necessitated by the conflict with the One Sith. The ability to penetrate shields, the ability to crash through Vong coral armour, as well as certain other modifications I will discuss later means that yes, this weapon is designed specifically for this fight. The Maelstrom is designed to be able to outrun that which it can’t outfight, and these cannons will help it do that. The magnetic propulsion will allow it to achieve tremendous velocities. Because of its speed and solid nature, enemy point defence guns will have little chance of stopping it. At best they might deflect it slightly or break pieces off, but ultimately that will not matter much. A five ton slug of durasteel will make a mess of anything it hits.”

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh continued to observe the design for another moment, nodding in acknowledgement of Stahlmann's answers. "Admiral, how many of these guns will each of the Maelstrom class destroyer carry? A single cannon? And how many of these destroyers are we talking about manufacturing? And, probably the biggest question, is who will be underatking the manufacturing of these vessels? Furthermore, do we have a rough estimate as to the cost of building each new vessel, as well as the additional cost for the weaponry with which you wish to fit this with? And what of the crew requirements to maintain and fire this newly designed weapon?"

The girl was excited for the new class of warship, but she also needed to have the answers to the logistics for these before the Senate got wind of this. They loved to drill her on the necessity for fiscal responsibilites and budgets. She heard the word budgets in her nightmares now. Shoring up the executive side of the military was if nothing else a thankless job. On one end you got the nagging of the Senate, constantly demanding budget cuts in the military spending, and on the other, the constant demand by the military to increase spending for upgrades and R&D. It was a lose-lose situation, and required very delicate hands to balance each side to maintain the peace.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Tålamod Shapochka]

The weapon sounded more glamorous to Tålamod as the presentation continued--and the mention of perhaps affixing such a gun to the Avenger-class star destroyers did not at all go unnoticed by the newly-promoted captain. What she would do to push for its addition to the Righteous...

Still, there were the points the Republic's military leader brought up about financial and construction limitations. These things always got in the way of progress. But, indeed, progress was about surmounting such obstacles and declaring victory in the challenges that arose. The Republic Navy had found a way before. They would certainly find a way again.

She did not want to speak out of turn, but perhaps it was time to be a captain. If she could get beyond her unwieldy speech. "Has it been considered for modular designing, or yes? It is not required for one manufacturer. Is every component of one ship made with one company? And is every ship static and not able for being remodeled? So a gun does not need being made entirely from only one company, yes. And we have enough destroyers already for when we expand. We have not wasted like the Sith and their 'Immortal', yes."

Actually--considering the present company--that might have been out of turn...

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"], [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Gir Quee]

Commodore Quee sat in the rear of the Admiral's room, watching the conversation unfold. Various electromagnetic weapons had come into vogue as of late, especially among the major powers. Such weapons were certainly powerful, well-suited to smashing through the heavy armor used by many of the heavier star cruisers. Gir could certainly understand the attraction of those weapons, but he was more relieved to hear that there would be multiple weapons on the proposed ships, rather than a reliance on what was often a single, so called spinal-mounted weapon, found on many of the contemporary designs. He liked the redundancy built into the Maelstrom's concept, because it meant that he was not relying on a single gun or system to make up the majority of the firepower. If he was facing such a system as the opposing commander, he would almost certainly target that single system to cripple that ship's firepower.

But more guns potentially meant more credits.

Admiral Tyven made some fair points about cost-analysis, which made him only more glad that he did not have her job; his mind wandered to more technical and battlefield-related questions. But he would hold those until after the admiral had had a chance to respond to the barrage of questions already fired at him.

[member="[/COLOR][B][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/792-friedrich-stahlmann/"]Friedrich Stahlmann[/URL]"] | [member="[/COLOR][/B][B][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/6886-kayleigh-tyven/"]Kayleigh Tyven[/URL][/B]"] | [member="[/COLOR][FONT=tahoma][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/5394-t%C3%A5lamod-shapochka/"]Tålamod Shapochka[/URL]"][/FONT]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

The Admiral nodded. Especially in these times of chaos it was no longer feasible to churn out boondoggles without restriction.

“The Maelstrom will carry six of these cannons,” he replied. “Three will be placed along the top, three along the bottom. They will be positioned in such a way that the bottom ones have a 360 degree arc of fire, and a 0-90 degree elevation allowing them to fire directly downward. The top turrets have a 270 degree arc…they obviously cannot shoot through the bridge…but the same vertical arc. Obviously a broadside of all six guns is best, but unlike almost any other destroyer, this ship can fire at pursuers.”

“As for numbers, the Maelstrom is what I would class as Limited production. It is a support ship, and having more than one per fleet action would likely not be necessary or useful. Therefore, I can see no more than six being produced in the near future.”

“The costs of this weapon would be about what the Avenger Class cost to produce. Whilst the Vortex Cannons are more expensive, the ship has relatively few other guns and thus has less crew overall.”

He turned to the new Captain. “We will not make the mistake we made with Rendili by placing all our eggs in one basket. This ship’s production will be either made by the Republic directly or tendered to others, but we retain control of the specifications and blueprints.”

“The Vortex Cannon also has capacity to fire other types of ammunition, and it is to that we will turn next if there are no more questions?”

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh entered the information that was being provided into the datapad in her hands as Stahlmann spoke. She would need to file the appropriate paperwork to avoid running into red tape down the line mid-production. As she tapped on the device she shook her head at the prompt for any further questions. At this moment the admiral had answered all of the critical questions that would need answers before proceeding with the briefing.

"Nothing from me, Admiral. Carry on."

The girl was able to relax a bit given the responses to her questions, especially regarding the locations of production and manufacturing logistics, knowing full well the ramifications of relying on a sole company to produce, or hold blueprints to some of the Republic's most valuable vessels. The loss of Rendili was tragic, to say the very least, and the military would do well to not repeat the same mistake again in the future.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Tålamod Shapochka]

This project sounded very ambitious, but well worth the planning. The 'Immortals' were quite horribly conceived and hardly imaginative in Shapochka's opinion. And their primary weakness was one that Admiral Stahlmann had already confronted in his presentation thus far--the rotation of the cannons. All seemed sound in concept. She assumed that the science had been done prior, as well.

Captain Shapochka nodded after the others had spoken. She had nothing to ask for now. They should wait to hear about the proposed projectile loads before discussing much further. If there were any kinks in these designs, surely some brilliant project developer would have caught it. This was a time when everyone was just as serious in mentality as Tålamod unceasingly was. No one had time to be implausible.

[member="Gir Quee"], [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"], [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Tålamod Shapochka"] | [member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

"Thank you." He looked to ensure there were no other comments before moving on.

“The solid slug is a weapon of great power, and I feel it will do a great job. The ammunition is inert, so there’s no chance of a magazine strike. However, it somewhat lacks in some areas, and thus I have two further ammunition types to try.”

“Firstly is a shell which will be one of the most formidable and terrifying of all weapons I have ever created. I call it the Apocalypse Round. If some of you remember the Galaxy Gun of earlier times. An impractical and dangerous weapon, far too monstrous to be used well. However, by scaling these shells down to this level I have replicated at least some of the technology. Now, on the plus side, against unshielded targets and even against shields it will cause horrific damage as the particle disintegration atomises whatever it hits. I estimate that it can carve a sphere up to fifty metres in radius into a target. Imagine the utter devastation of several of these rounds hitting home….”

“Of course, these rounds are exceptionally dangerous, very expensive to build, and very rare. More than one per cannon per battle would be stretching it. But at the right moment…imagine one of these hitting an Immortal….”

Was it moral to use such a weapon? To the Admiral, it was war, and the Republic had lost too much to dare playing nice.

 

[Gir Quee]

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." ~Charles Darwin

Gir nodded as Stahlmann continued with his briefing.

The epitome of tactics was to concentrate force at the right place and moment while lessening the risks to your own side. It seemed to Gir that the Maelstrom was conceived around that thought as long-range, heavy hitting support starship. But Gir had a few questions that he would have liked to ask, if the Admiral would permit him. He shuffled forward into the conversation, sensing a moment to ask his own questions.

"Excuse me sir, but I have a hypothetical question about the Maelstrom," said the Commodore, "it goes without saying that our opponents and their technology will likely be undergoing a change of their own. When the first Maelstrom enters service, it may be facing a different design or even threat than something like an Immortal. Has there been thought given to making the Vortex cannon updateable with new technology, given the cost it will take to develop and produce it? I would seem to understand that a variety of shells can be fired from this weapon, which would certainly help keep it up to date, which leads up to my next question: is there any way that this weapon can be utilized against smaller capital ships or starfighters, perhaps with some sort of scatter or cannister shot? I am a bit worried that our enemy will adapt to the appearance of this weapon by employing weapons of their own that are possibly too small to be easily targeted by such a powerful weapon, though perhaps that is a question answered by the other, supporting weapons of the Maelstrom..."

[member="[URL="http://starwarsrp.net/topic/51097-vortex-of-death/"]Friedrich Stahlmann[/URL]"] | [member="[/COLOR][/B][/FONT][FONT=tahoma][B][COLOR=rgb(255,255,255)][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/topic/51097-vortex-of-death/"]Kayleigh Tyven[/URL]"] | [member="[/COLOR][/FONT][FONT=tahoma][COLOR=rgb(255,255,255)][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/5394-t%C3%A5lamod-shapochka/"]Tålamod Shapochka[/URL]"]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh paused for a moment, her fingers hovering above the datapad while the commodore spoke his questions following Stahlmann's delivery of the types of munitions the weapon would fire. With there being a total of six cannons on each Maelstrom class ship, each cannon could in theory pack a different type of munition, giving the ship an even wider array of answers to whatever the Sith decided to utilize in battle.

Interjecting to answer some of the questions that [member="Gir Quee"] had raised, she placed the datapad on to the table. "I believe that the core technology should be relatively flexible with respect to updates, as well as any mechanized components required to fire varying numbers of munitions. With regard to targeting smaller ships and fighters, that tech would lie within the realm of the targeting systems behind the weapon, as well as those operating the weapon to be both properly trained and well versed in its inner workings. There is only so much compensation a computer system can do before the human aspect is relied upon. However, that said, the struggle to answer one enemy's technology with one's own is a never ending battle. For instance, when one side makes heavier armor, the other makes a stronger weapon. I fear that is something we must simply accept as a factor, and be prepared to further invest in, when the time comes."

The girl smiled, hopefully answering his questions, while leaving the floor open to Stahlmann in the event that he had further input.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"]


Of the individuals assembled in the room, Callisto was the only one who could not be considered a naval officer or researcher. Of course, in all likelihood she would claim that she was brilliant in so many ways, but her writer is quite comfortable admitting that many technical things are beyond them. Hence why they usually outsource tech subs to people who enjoy that sort of thing!



Regardless, even if the Star of Alderaan was an imposing battleship with a sizeable contingent of Republic marines and even if the meeting was taking place in an unsettled system far away from the hurly-burly of galactic war and daemons, one could never be too careful. Especially given the fact that Sith were terribly fond of infiltrating everything, trillions of people had vanished across the Galaxy and word had just been received that apparently Corellia had been...devastated by a cataclysmic event. Right when it was still trying to recover from having space stations dropped on it.


So with that in mind Callisto was standing in the background. Observing but not acting, ever-watchful, but otherwise invisible unless called for. Blue eyes looked upon the various naval commanders attending the briefing, listening attentively, before falling upon the Admiral and his presentation. Truth be told, Callisto did like him...somewhat. Well, actually like was the completely wrong word since she was an amoral droid who did not particularly care about people. Rather, she acknowledged the fact that despite his organic weaknesses, one of which was adhering to illogical notions of morality, he was very capable as a military leader and clearly had a creative mind, as shown by the design he was presenting.


If this Vortex Cannon worked as presented, it would be...beautiful and the destruction it caused would be magnificient. Certainly far more practical than the Galaxy Gun - Callisto had never understood the Old Empire's fascination with impractical, costly and ultimately ineffective superweapons, especially since if you wanted to cause mass destruction, a couple Star Destroyers or, more insiduously for planetary genocide, plenty of nerve gas or a biotoxin could do the job just as easily. Was it moral to use such a weapon? That was not a question Callisto would ever ask herself. War had no rules except survival and the human her had been a Contruum girl.


So she watched, absorbed data and conversation and filed it away in her memory banks. In the event that against all reason and logic enemies teleported in, there was a bolt pistol and a heavy blaster holstered on each hip. Until then she would stand sentinel in the background. Terminatrices were apparently good at being silent, stoic and unobtrusive.

 

[Tålamod Shapochka]

Commodore Quee was thinking along the right lines as a devil's advocate, and Tålamod had to admit that what he had brought up could become serious setbacks as soon as the Maelstrom was unveiled to the galaxy. Captain Shapochka had no doubt that the first employment of the monstrous weapon would be beyond successful--from a military point-of-view--in that it would certainly devastate the Sith fleets with no quarter given. But following the first engagement, would the Sith develop a counter for such an expensive weapon?

She did not care. It was worth any price to kill as many Sith as one could. And if it could be done in one event, so much the better.

The only good Sith is a dead Sith.

"If it works, yes? There are more uses than for bombing a fleet." Imagine Vong'd planets shattered and eradicated of the parasitic filth. We can kill them all.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"], [member="Gir Quee"], [member="Kayleigh Tyven"], [member="Callisto Scarlett"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

“You all raise very good points. The ammunition for this cannon, unlike turbolasers, is incredibly adaptable. New rounds can be created and added to the inventory. I feel that this will be perfect for keeping the weapon up to date.”

“This all leads in to the final round I have devised, mainly to deal with the issues Commodore Quee raises. This is where it gets its name ‘Vortex’. This round, unlike the others, is not designed to kill capital ships, but smaller ships. Attack craft, corvettes, frigates. Essentially it operates as a giant cluster munition. On firing the weapon is programmed to go a certain safe distance from the ship, then breaks opens to reveal some 2,000 miniature explosives. These lock onto enemy targets, seek them out and attempt to destroy them. The turning speed is not great, but with two thousand small rockets, it doesn’t need to be. Once their fuel is expended they explode so they do not clutter space.”

“Predictions indicate that an attacking group of fighter squadrons or a corvette can be utterly destroyed or dispersed by a single shot like this. Against Vong ships, the smaller ones anyway, it is an effective means of negating the Dovin Basal by providing too many targets to defend against. However, it utterly is useless against ships larger than frigates. The Maelstrom can deploy six of these shells in a volley, for 12,000 bomblets. Enough to obliterate any attacking enemy fighter force if timed well.”

He looked around the table. It was a bold tactical innovation, and could make a big difference if used well.

 

[Gir Quee]

Commodore Quee nodded in appreciation of that revelation, as it put him more at ease. The implications of a such a potentially versatile and powerful weapon could be staggering in a potential engagement. His mind raced back to the recent reports of Republic warships encountering various illusions; such a submunitions round might have some practical use in determining if such illusions were real, as the multitude of projectiles hitting such an illusion might be hard to realistically portray given the sheer amount of them. But the nature of the Force and his own inexperience with it made Gir uncertain as to how that strategem might play out in reality.

And that inexperience brought one other thought to mind, though thankfully for Gir, it did not relate to a mystical energy field.

"Admiral, are there any plans to release some of the Vortex's chamber specfications in order for various companies to produce, and possibly develop their own munitions for the Vortex?"

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] | [member="[/FONT][COLOR=rgb(235,235,235)][URL="http://starwarsrp.net/user/5394-t%C3%A5lamod-shapochka/"]Tålamod Shapochka[/URL]"][/COLOR]

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Kayleigh's eyes widened as the smirk on her face grew larger.

"A weapon capable of overcoming the vast strength of the dovin bassals would be a tide turner in galactic space combat. Admiral, this could be a major breakthrough if we can get this off the ground."

The rest of the room looked just as astounded as she did. A weapon fitted to the Republic's fleet such as this, let alone a ship carrying six of these could tip the scales in favor of the Republic even further. She knew they had a better fleet and better crew already, but substantial increases in firepower and tactical advantage were nothing to scoff at in the slightest. She was incredibly excited for this project. More so than any other in the recent past.

[member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Tålamod Shapochka"]

 

[Kyrana Gould]

[member="Gir Quee"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

Turning first to the Commodore, the Admiral spoke.
“I would not be adverse to this, but that is a decision for the military High Command. If we do, we must do so with reliable companies who will not sell or let this fall into the wrong hands.”

To Admiral Tyven next he held up a cautionary hand.
“It may be, but we must not get ahead of ourselves. The Vortex Round is powerful, but against larger, or shielded ships it is almost entirely ineffective. The Maelstrom is a tool, a rapier which can do great things when handled well. However, it is not strong enough to resist the enemy onslaught, and like a rapier before the hammer it will shatter if hit hard. However, used well, these two items can give us an edge. It cannot win the war for us though.”

Turning to the assembled officers he gestured. “Are there any further questions before we move on to the final part of this demonstration?”

 

[Gir Quee]

Commodore Quee silently shook his head and glanced around at the others to see if they would have any questions. Gir found himself wondering what that demonstration would be, but he figured that he would learn soon enough. For all he knew, there could be a full-size version already built, or some sort of working prototype. It may even be a non-working scale mock-up or electronic simulation. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

[member="Friedrich Stahlmann"] | [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]