C56 First Harvest
First Harvest.
Weldor System.
Kira stretched lightly on the Captains chair of the Hope, watching the primary screen transmit Anthony’s view as he currently approached the 02. He had already brought over two ships he previously captured, which included that Striker ship that supposedly scared of a Terran destroyer.
She had heard of the Logan system before, and that Terran’s dragged wrecks in there while prohibiting entry to anyone but the Military. And she could see why now, there where so many ships, if even a fraction of their weapons were still salvageable, people would have a field day.
Some ships actually looked halfway useful, bent and warped here and there, but what may seem to expensive to the Commonwealth in repairs, was sure acceptable to some shadier elements who would just patch it up, or probably start tearing replacements from other wrecks to make one good ship from it.
“ Ok, got her, bringing her over now. “ She could hear Anthony say, and then his view changed to that of the Weldor System, where he had to establish an orbit around the star, before he could start to approach the Hope again.
“ Hope ? Say, if you can control those ships while he stays connected to them, can’t you make a sort of, connection I can control from here ? Like, a remote control ? “ Kira asked with some curiosity.
She has only been flying that darn shuttle as of late, and she always wanted to fly bigger ships. Which was why she had started to partake in the fighter squad before all this, as she had intended to work her way up to one of those Siren Destroyers.
“ That Is actually a good idea, why didn’t I think about that ? “ Anthony could be heard.
“ You do have a tendency of being quite dense at times. “ Hope responded, which caused Kira to barely restrain the fit of laughter that wanted to burst forth.
“ Well, then I guess I am glad I have you girl straightening me out, eh ? But honestly, that should have occurred to me sooner.
I think Merc’s and Pirates have a sort of, virtual connection room to their robotic representatives, which lets them control those units similar to how I do with my ability ? “ Anthony wondered.
“ Yeah, kinda. But the Pride’s fall doesn’t have that, she is too old to have something like that installed. “ Kira suggested, watching Anthony start approaching the 3rd planet to dump the 02 wreck into a stable orbit.
“ If you can get me one of those, I can replicate it, and we can set up a control room, Kira, and some of the Other Siren may be able to assist you more directly then. “ Hope suggested.
“ Hm, maybe we are lucky and that Transport Ludwig provides has something like that. If not, I will have to get lucky with ships we may get on the way.
Any way you can jury rig a sort of, makeshift solution that Kira can use from the Hope’s bridge for now ? May be a lot faster with the salvage operation if I just need to dump them in system, and have Kira take them into Orbit. “ Anthony requested, as it would make this so much faster, and save on the crystals energy too, as establishing orbit consumed the most of the ships energy reserves.
“ I could do that too you know. “ Hope offered.
“ Perhaps, but your occupied with the shipyard and four planetary bases as is. And I think between you two, Kira is the better pilot. “ Anthony countered.
“ That still stands untested. “ Hope seemed to protest.
“ Hey, just let the girls have some fun too. It’s not like they get to do much these days, something else to do for them would be a good thing. “ Anthony offered.
“ Understood. Do give me access to the Artillery ship, and I see if I can produce a simple control mechanism for Kira. But keep in mind, I need a working computer system on the ship for it to work, otherwise, you still have to drop them into Orbit yourself. “ Hope advised.
“ There, should have it now. “ Anthony responded.
Kira snickered lightly hearing those two, it was kind of amusing to watch. Though her amusement was then cut short as two small control screens were being positioned before her from the left and the right side of the captains chair.
“ Give me a moment Kira, I have to translate a control scheme UI for you. “ Hope addressed Kira, and then shifted Anthony’s view to the left screen, while the Central one was now showing the view from within the Artillery frigates bridge, with Hope gradually placing a Control overlay on the screen’s before Kira.
“ 02 is in orbit, and repaired. There you go, pick her up with the drones and take her to the maintenance yard for disassembly. “ Anthony instructed.
“ On it. I estimate that I may need around a week to finish the disassembly. “ Hope responded, and then used the drones from the Terran Drone carrier, sending them out to capture the 02, which soon would be taken to the Hope’s smaller maintenance bay..
“ A week ? “ Anthony asked a bit surprised.
“ I am not simply taking her apart after all, cataloging materials and structure takes a while. And I do have to reconsider interior build after the fact, which may take another day. “ Hope seemed to defend herself.
“ Don’t misunderstand, I actually thought it may take longer. “ Anthony assured.
“ It may with the other ships, my familiarity with the New Horizon permits me to speed up the process on the 02. “ Hope responded.
“ Point taken. Now, I am going to check for other vessels. Kira, do me the favor and keep your Eye’s peeled for any ship that would be permitted for Civilian use. I will need some over in Rendar. “ Anthony requested.
“ Will do. “ Kira responded.
“ Kira, try it now, tell me how responsive it is and if you need anything else. The ship has enough fuel for a few maneuvers, but don’t overdo it. “ Hope instructed.
“ Can you give me an external view of the ship ? I just need to know how well it responds to movement commands for now. “ Kira requested, only for Hope to use the right screen for an External view of the Frigate, taken from one of Hope’s own external camera’s.
Kira nodded, and then begun to use the simplified controls before her to watch the ships reaction. If and how all the maneuvering thrusters responded, and if simple back and forward movement worked as intended.
“ Yes, this should do, just give me access to the three dimensional map in the bottom center of the screen, and I should be able to take over for Anthony, if the ship is flight-worthy. “ Kira remarked.
“ Like this ? “ Hope asked, placing the requested radar view from the target ship as requested.
“ Perfect, thanks Hope. “ Kira responded, to which Hope gave a friendly, “ My pleasure, “ in response.
Kira would watch then for a while how Anthony went for the next ship, establishing an orbit through the wreckage ring that was showing plenty of different ships of both sides of the Terran conflict with the Seltran, and for now, Anthony was showing little interest in the Seltran ships, due to the lacking ability to repair or reproduce them.
But over time, Anthony managed to find another of the artillery ships, which he was quick to repair and carry over for Kira to take control of.
“ Another Artillery, not to bad. “ Anthony mused as he made the Jump back to Logan.
“ Terran’s call them Striker. “ Kira informed him as she moved to establish an orbit with the new vessel.
“ Striker ? “ Anthony asked.
“ Yes, Everything long-range is classified as a Striker, close range are usually brawler, the Front-liners are Tanks, and the support ships, well, front line engineers mostly.
But that’s mostly just for frigates, starting with destroyers, that line blurs somewhat. Like, most Destroyers have Striker outfits with some limited brawler functions, they usually evade close combat though. The only distinction for them worth considering is front-liners and fire support. “ Kira explains.
“ Then why bother with Frigates at all ? I mean, if they need to be designed for specific roles. “ Anthony wondered.
“ Because of the smaller frame, higher maneuverability, and the fact that A group of Frigates, even if put against an equal amount of Destroyers, can win against them, if their role is utilized.
Brawler frigates can get in close and strip a destroyer of it’s turreted weapons, as Railguns usually are not fast enough in tracking to keep up, and defensive emplacements do not do enough damage. Leaving the Destroyer with missiles, and the usual main weapon setting.
Missile pods are usually sealed if a brawler is to close, because the brawler is likely to fire into the missile tubes if the captain is worth his mettle, And Striker frigates can meanwhile pelt from afar, while being to agile to be hit by main cannons, and they become increasingly efficient if the brawler manages to take out the turreted rail-guns. “ She explained.
“ Huh, that is good to know, so my worry about getting Destroyers is perhaps a bit rushed. “ Anthony guessed.
“ Don’t get me wrong, Destroyers are still stronger, but it’s about skills of pilots and captains too. If the destroyer group can coordinate well enough, they can still occupy the brawlers enough to kill them off one by one, it’s About opportune moments as Brawlers will try to keep destroyers in line of fire of one another, so they can not fire without risking to hit their own ships.
But if the destroyer group has a spread formation where one destroyer is covered from multiple sides, it becomes harder for a brawler to even approach. And Brawlers should always be priority targets, as Destroyers can still evade Strikers that use projectiles. It becomes another thing entirely if you have missile or Laser based Strikers in formation though. “ Kira explained further.
“ Huh, Hope, I think we just got ourselves a Tactical adviser. “ Anthony said with a chuckle.
“ I concur. Congratulations Kira. “ Hope spoke.
“ Eh ? “ Kira uttered with a hint of surprise.
“ So how do Siren engage in combat ? “ Anthony asked.
“ Well, depends on ship, we have a few standard destroyers, comparable to the Terran versions. But our mainstay are specialized once that only Siren can fly, due to the extreme g-forces during maneuvers. Instead of small turreted guns and a main cannon, we use medium and large turreted guns with fast tracking. That makes those ships hard to hit and problematic to deal with. “ Kira explained.
“ Hm, also a good note, Hope, I think when designing our own ship, we can use that in our design philosophy. “ Anthony decided.
“ Yes, and we can use the frigate setting they use to our advantage as well. It appears a simple rock, paper and scissor theme on the surface, but that can be abused. “ Hope claimed.
“ How so ? “ Kira asked.
“ We don’t have human crew on our vessels, that means we can tune our ships in maneuverability, and have more room for increased power and weapons management. A Brawler with the armament of a Striker. A Striker with the defensive capacity of a Brawler and so forth. “ Hope elaborated.
“ You mean, you consider playing by their rules, but break them ? “ Kira asked.
“ In part, analyzing the ships I seen so far, I would dare say a Striker frigate with increased anti missile capacity, and increased maneuverability may become a problem for Terran ships. “ Hope considered.
“ In that case, they would increase the number of brawlers next time you face them, they are strong enough to kill other frigates themselves. “ Kira countered.
“ Adaptation, good point. I will have to run Simulations on possible settings, I would like for you to give your input on it, Kira, my Tactical experience is obviously lacking. “ Hope admitted.
“ I am starting to think I need better computation equipment for you, Hope. “ Anthony groaned in sarcasm.
“ That would be very much appreciated. “ Hope agreed, ignoring the fact that he was being sarcastic.
“ Ugh. Make a new priority to search their computation systems for any possible upgrade to you, so we can design new equipment. With the current setting, we would have to put you planet-side to create proper infrastructure. “ Anthony relented.
“ But that gives me an idea. You mentioned you can alter a ships Interior, Anthony ? “ Kira asked then.
“ Yes, why ? “ He responded.
“ Hope, The Pride’s fall, she has five of those shuttles, and a larger shuttle to it’s back which doubles as storage space for the ship. For the standard shuttles, do you think you could design a new primary module ? Rail-gun platform of sorts ? “ Kira inquired.
“ You mean, turn some of them into armed drones ? “ Hope asked.
“ Yes, four of them, that can be undocked and remotely controlled. “ Kira agreed.
“ I like the way she is thinking, that would vastly increase the Pride’s fall’s combat capacity, and serve as a nasty surprise for pirates. “ Anthony agreed.
“ I can try, the ammunition may be limited, but we can use the Haunt’s rail gun module as basis for it and use a newer rail-gun design. “ Hope considers.
“ Do give me a few hours to come up with a plan based on it, and I get back to you about it. “ Hope then agreed.
“ Thanks Hope, and you too Kira, I think that will help a lot soon. “ Anthony remarked.
“ Kira is currently blushing. “ Hope then teased.
“ Hey ! Who’s side are you on here ?! “ Kira protested.
“ The one that is more fun ? “ Hope responded with light laughter.
“ Lets get back to work, still got plenty of energy, so I am going to get as many Frigates as we can today. If nothing else, we can assemble a standing guard fleet. “ Anthony interrupted those two, though obviously amused himself.
In the meantime…
Planet Eden, Cradle System.
“ Not good. It looks like they are growing suspicious. “ Modaran mused, looking at the screen that currently showed Thomas, connected from the newly Terraformed Colony that was just being settled.
“ Any sign they are planning to engage in hostilities again ? “ Thomas asked, as the Terran’s seemed to increase their activity on the border, if mostly watching for now.
“ I don’t think so, they are still keeping their feet still since they are scared about the Singularity in Saratoga. But I think they are on to us about the Psykers. They are watching the increased ship traffic, and I think it wont be long until they start actively controlling ships. “ Modaran explained.
“ The Sovereign android just came online. “ Aria then chimed in.
“ Anthony going for a walk ? “ Modaran then asked, feeling a bit annoyed about the interruption, but Anthony was still someone they intended to keep an eye on if he bothered to make an appearance.
“ No, it is Hope, she is contacting me now. Anthony seems to have given her access to Sovereign to ask us about Catapult access. Apparently, he’s going to transport resources through it to Rendar.
“ That would be an extremely inefficient route. To long, wasting fuel, and Rendar wont be paying much. “ Thomas remarked.
“ Apparently they intent to become a target to Pirate assaults, and create the image of piracy themselves, acting on one of Ludwig’s suggestions. “ Aria reported.
“ Typical, must be a plot from Ludwig to help boost notoriety. “ Thomas noted.
“ We could use that. “ Modaran then considered.
“ How do you mean ? “ Thomas asked.
“ Relevance. If we become a resource hub that feeds part of the Terran war machinery, they can hardly dare cut of their own supply lines by angering us. “ Modaran suggested.
“ They are hardly reliant on us for their ship production pipelines. Besides, we have little production to spare, we only produce what we need. “ Thomas countered.
“ We can increase production, we connected enough star systems to increase it and become too important to the Terran’s to consider hostile actions. And if they start searching ships for Psykers, well, we cut them off.
Their current ship production rate is good, but they can not keep up with the Seltran, it’s basically a standstill now. And the longer the Terran’s take to break into the Seltran systems, the more defensive ships and structures the Seltran can throw against them. “ Modaran explained.
“ The Seltran will not like that. “ Thomas countered.
“ The Seltran don’t loose their captains and crew when they loose a ship, and we can talk to them, use their gate to deliver resources to them as well, to compensate in possible ship losses.
Besides, increased merchant traffic wont only decrease likelihood of our ships being searched, pirate activity will soar, Terran’s will be to busy patrolling the systems to care for our ships smuggling Psykers. In fact, it will further increase their need for ships to patrol and counter the rise in Piracy. “ Modaran suggested.
“ What is my response to Hope going to be ? “ Aria interrupted.
“ Yes, he can get access. In fact, suggest to Hope that we would like for Anthony to increase his transport capacity, and start playing merchant. The more vessels and resources that pass through the better.
Make him aware that we want to create a condition were pirate’s activity increases. We are going to construct a trading hub in Merag, and he can pretend the role of an, exclusive trader, the only one with direct access to our systems. Though, I would prefer if he keeps producing and transporting his own Resources for now. “ Modaran explained.
“ Received, responding to Hope now. “ Aria responded.
“ That may come back to bite us. “ Thomas remarked.
“ That is fine for now. The Psykers Union is helping us to funnel Psykers towards the new Colony. “ Modaran waved Thomas concern off.
“ Eventually, they will try and make contact to the Psykers union, and smuggle someone in here. We need someone like Ludwig on our end to check the Psykers. I can not read the emotions of stronger Psykers. “ Thomas warned.
“ Then we try and get Ludwig to come, or find someone equally capable of reading another's Intent. Besides, the Siren are more then capable to help defend the Psykers, if someone dares start to attack them. And Hostile Psykers will likely be too greedy to just kill the others off, they are a valuable resource for growth to them.” Modaran claimed.
“ I hope your right. “ Thomas uttered.
“ I do too. This has to work. “ Modaran agrees, thinking about how the Sisterhood of Kadim has suddenly started moving. Something was going to happen, and he did not have a good feeling about it.