The "Speed Wing" labs, located on Blackport's Blackhack Hangar, are specially designed and supplied for research and innovation. With a large amount of size and capacity, they are able to be mixed-used to provide many sorts of activities and experiments. Lab 3 was dedicated to the research of the new project Sunny had in mind. Already, equipment was being moved into the labs from other storage facilities as well as externally from IMG ships that would be moored from the outside and bringing in supplies. The labs themselves were not attached to the rings of the station, and thus are able to have the unique characteristic of having their gravity off or generate artificial gravity.
Sunny was heading down to meet the IMG crew that had just arrived. He'd been excited to meet them.
The IMG crew was just unloading part of the equipment that they could carry, while the loading robots were unloading the heavy equipment in the cargo bay. As the AFC was informed, Mr. Henderson himself would accompany the group as he was on his way to a Liberty meeting anyway.
Sunny would see IMG engineers and science crews in Guild uniforms, and the only one who is just wearing a businessman suit is Jack Henderson, Operations Coordinator who Sunny already did some deals with (and who Julia worked for in some not-eaxtly-legal missions - he might remember).
"Good day, Mr. Sunny... good to be here." he walks towards Sunny, extending his hand immediately.
Sunny takes Henderson's hand in a firm handshake. "Happy you've made it in one piece as usual. I suspect there was not much trouble getting down here and you have a pleasant route." he grins a little. "Why don't we let the rest of your crew get settled in while I take you and whoever else you'd like down to the labs to show you around? There are some things I'd like to show you personally."
Jack shakes his hand and nods when he hears the offer: "Let's do it this way. Chief engineers and science staff will be busy getting their things settled and they have more than enough time to get accustomed to this place... whereas my time frame is more limited and I would like to get an idea of this operation - to be able to present it to the Guildmastery on return." he tells Sunny in a matter-of-fact voice, but with a friendly smile: "Jack Henderson, running IMG Operations Coordination. Rumor has it, that I do the shady stuff. We have been exchanging things mainly via Ms. Morrow's convoys."
"Alright, lest get going, then. I'm sure you are very busy. Right this way..." He turns and starts to lead him down the corridors towards the lab. "You'll be happy to notice we are decently equipped around here to do things... in a shady sort of way. You will have our equipment at your disposal as well as an AI if you so need it. Usually she just works in the background. We call her Diata... though it's D.I.A.T.A Data Intelligent Analyst and Technological Assistant. We've been programing her for some time now... anyway... right this way down this hall... it's gonna be on the left..."
He takes them further down and the area around looks industrial. Some people with lab coats are walking around and others look more like mechanics. "We do a range of things here. Some more ... hazardous than others... there was a major incident one time before we doubled down on safety... heh. No need to worry..."
He leads them through sliding doors and they enter into a large open space, in the center were already things being gathered...
Jack is following Sunny, taking in the information he is offering and looking at the quite impressive equipment: "Not even half-bad..." he says in a Bretonian understatement voice. "... I assume I underestimated the R&D capabilities, as well as your complete operations here, Mr. Sunny." he admits. "... pretty impressive facilities - which I am sure will be put to great use."
They enter the main hall and he looks around, while addressing Sunny: "I am not the technical type, to be honest entirely. That's what experts are for. However, I have been discussing the potential fields of use for what you mentioned and discussed with our R&D staff... and I have a question." he tells him. "... you know Tau 23 fields, mining areas. Those huge rocks. Do you think... Sir... that what you develop here can be used to break up these rocks? I mean... the Guild-masters will ask me for very much... practical usage"
"Yes, definitely. We can consider that to be the final test of the capabilities of our creation, but that's the intent. If we were to be able to have our device burrow itself and discharge at the correct depth, we'd be able to accomplish just that. The rock would either crack, fragment, or be split... in theory anyway... You'll find this a good place to test such theories. Not many people know about what we do around here. I like to keep it that way." He smirks back.
"Anyway... I am excited to show you the examples we will be working on to analyse and perhaps repurpose or learn from.... right this way." He says, walking down the room towards a large weapon-like item. "You may recognize this. The sunslayer torpedo... two of them in-fact... now out-dated technology."
Jack keeps walking next to Sunny, who is explaining the details of the plan which Jack knew partially, but wanted to get the short version without all the technical details of. "M-hm..." he nods and seems content: "<joking> We have a lot of training objects for fire-tuning payload and depth-detonators, etc..."
Jack follows him into the lab and they stand in front of the launcher, a massive thing: "... Hm... <nodding> outdated is a large term - especially for something that can still be very useful." he adds and looks over the piece of technology: "... pretty frightening when one sees it in a room, on board of a station.. unshielded..." he remarks.
"Well then I hope what I am about to show you does not give you nightmares." Sunny comments back. This, may be timid at best. Follow me, please... ah, never mind... here it arrives now."
From accros the room a large door would slide open and allow for a towing vehicle to pull with it a launching device of similar scale as of the torpedo launcher. On the following pulled platform layed the ammunition for the weapon.
"Henderson, I present to you... the NEMP bomb."
Jack snickers when he talks about nightmares and nods: "Bring it on, I guess..." he says and follows him around the installation. Jack notices the security doors and that would already lead him to the idea that this might be even more powerful. "... You... have a..." he looks at the huge bomb and the even huger launcher... "... Ouch." is all he says.
Sunny turns to Jack and has a more serious face. "It is quite important we keep the acquisition of the weapon in upmost secrecy... you of course have heard rumors of what sort of destruction this thing can cause... and what it can do in the wrong hands. But..." Sunny says and takes out of his jacket pocket a pack of cigars and offers one to Jack. "...I am sure you understand now what I am thinking to do with your help."
Jack nods and seems to agree, while he is running his hand over the glass casing of the ammunition... "... I agree. This can't be known or you might get some unwelcome visitors or unwanted requests..." and he shakes his head in amazement. "... With this little... toy in your possession... and with the right team of scientists... focused on the right goals, I am pretty sure that the tools to accomplish big thing are available..."
"Exactly, I'm glad you agree and understand. We have the possibility to make advancements here without the restrictions from the military or the scientific community. The best part is that our public image does not betray us." He nods an sighs for a bit, looking at the weapon. "So, Mr. Henderson, I imagine you are excited."
Jack nods while looking at the ammunition to the NEMP launcher, somehow with awe. Imagining what this warhead could to to the inside of this station is a terrifying thought, especially after he saw what effects an Unioner's on-board terrorist attack did in Rheinland. "... secrecy is a must." he re-iterates and nods when Sunny asks him whether he was excited about this: "Indeed. I see vast chances... on many different fronts, given the power that we have at hand." he says. "... this opens chances that go way beyond breaking up asteroids in Tau23 for more access to ore-rich asteroid-cores."
Sunny clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Indeed it does. We'll Mr. Henderson, unless you have some more questions to ask I do not want to keep you waiting more than you have to. Think about all this and let's get started."
Jack smirks and nods: "I think this has answered all the questions that the Guild-mastery might ask me..." and he uses his knuckle to tap the protective glass that holds the NEMP bomb safe... "... I expected that much more conversation would be necessary to clarify this thing, but you have presented a... very convincing... argument for this." he concludes while he is walking with Sunny: "... is there a place to waste 3 hours before my shuttle flight to Liberty departs?"
Sunny would meet Jack outside the nightclub and lead him inside, down to the bar and showing him to a reserved semi-private area on the side where they can easily discuss things over a meal and a drink. The bar was bursting with activity as usual but the table they had arrived at received much less noise from the crowd. As they sat down, a cute waitress walked over to them.
"Good Evening Sirs. Here are the menus for our drinks and grill. If you don't know what to choose, I'd recommend the New York style strip-loin steak. It's my favorite!" She stated with a giggle. "We also have Steak Tartar if you are into that that I can recommend you trying. Please let me know when you are ready." She smiles, bows a little and turns around the leave.
Jack opens the tie when he exits the hangar and meets Sunny at the door of the night club: "... I swear, at some point, these are going to kill me..." he jokes and opens the uppermost button on the white shirt. Moments later they pass the queue through the VIP entrance that Sunny of course can take and end in the semi-private part.
"Nice... classy... still wild... eccentric... a little... I like it" Jack comments while passing the club's vibrant area before sitting down. The waitress comes to their table and he pushes the menu away the moment she recommends the steak. "... I'll have the steak. And... if you have a Corsair drink? Rum? I think... after Liberty... I should take something strong." he already tells the waitress who wants to turn around and walk off. He is also hungry from the flight.
She smiles and curtsies, writing the order down. "And is that everything? Would you have room for desert, Sir?" She politely asks. "I can recommend you the triple chocolate cake if you have a mega sweet tooth... or a light ice cream. Flavor of your choice." She looks at Sunny. "And if I remember correctly, you'd like the usual, yes? Tartar and a small vodka bottle with shot glass and lemon and salt..."
Sunny nods, smirking.
"So! Gentlemen. Deserts?"
Jack nods again when she mentions desert and shrugs: "Trusting your judgement there, the triple choc." he remarks and then puts his attention to Sunny. "Nice club." he says again, watching the waitress walking away... "Guess it takes some maintaining and some resources to keep it running smoothly like this`?" he starts with some small talk, even though he does not have to feign interest. He is always interested in well-running businesses of any kind.
"Very good! And I will assume Sunny here would like to have the ice-cream, yes? Vanilla. Good! I will be back with your orders soon." She curtsies again and walks off.
Sunny looks back at Henderson and smirks at the compliment. "Helps to have a good staff and all that. Yeah." He says. "It's a bit of work but once you oil the machine it runs smoothly. I bet you know all about that too." He chuckles.
Jack smirks when he suggests that he himself knows how to run things and nods: "A little... but I have to say your 'little' <understatement> operation out here has created quite a name for itself... I remember it being this hidden small outpost and I can't say I am not surprised seeing the scope of it now." he comments and then leans back into the leather cushioned seat. "... ahh... good." he remarks and then looks back at Sunny. "Any chance I can stay here for the night? Time zones and system lag are killing me."
"You're more than welcome to, Henderson. Please feel comfortable here. We can make the arrangements later, for sure. Thank you though for the kind words." He smirks back. "I have to thank you as well... IMG was the first major contact we had as a club. I really do appreciate it. But you know how it is... leave people to flourish freely and these things can happen."
Jack nods again and seems to agree: "I guess we are on the same side when we stress the importance of liberty and freedom..." he smiles and moments later the waitress comes to their table, waiting for a good moment before she serves the drinks and retreats again. Jack smiles towards her politely before he refocuses on Sunny: "... alright. Ethics... materials... logistics... I saw on the agenda." he lifts his glass, as if to ready himself for the business part. "... which one is it?"
"I admire your eagerness to get down to business." Sunny chuckles and takes his bottle, pouring himself a shot and putting it in front of him. "I suppose we can start with ethics. I do recall you looking a bit worried and in thought a few days ago."
"Call it... a certain 'do it before you crash anyway' attitude." he jokes. "... Ethics..." he says, drinking from his strong rum that makes him close his eyes for a moment. "... you sure I am the right one for that? I mean... if you ask for a critical mind who would tell you about potential ecosystem dangers for asteroid-phil bacteria... I fear it's not what you get from me." he jokes. "... I send people into radiation poisoned fields, and that's not even the most dangerous missions... so..." he shrugs: "... the only thing I am a little... uncomfortable are these two aspects: discharge of a weapon while on base... that would lead to catastrophic consequences... and secondly: house intelligence finding out about this little... thing. Which could also have dire consequences if traced back to us."
"Right, I hear you on that. The best thing to do for your second worry is to just remember to operate secretly around the station. Perhaps also do something to cover up any suspicions. For the first one, I am sure we can lay down some rules to make sure that doesn't happen." He takes a shot from his glass. "But hey, I guess you are fine with us being in a dark matter cloud." He grins.
Jack nods: "Ye, we definitely need to keep security around this ultra-tight. And we best keep it around here..." and then he adds with a wolfish smirk: "... dark matter cloud is good... in case it explodes. No one will even realize the difference." he jokes, even though the thought is somewhat not very comforting either.
"Eeehh... I would contest... It would be a large explosion than you'd think..." He smirks a little back and shrugs. "Anyway... Yeah, for sure. Whatever is conducted here stays here. Nothing new to blackport." He grins.
Perhaps security also would entail the IMG researchers involved to have a stay here for a while as operations are undergoing. Keeps things from spreading, though it is up to you. You know your people better than me."
Jack smirks when he tells him about the motto: "... I like the motto. Pretty much how I have been running most of my operations." and he leans back, sipping from his drink. "... I agree. We have to restrict movement of the personnel that are working directly with the NEMP device. Also, this circle needs to be as small as possible. I mean... we both know that a secret is leaked much faster the more people know - and we cannot afford that. I mean..." he checks his PDA and then puts it onto the table. It has the Fulda Frankfurt NEMP news... "... best if no one can blow up something and then point at you... that would be devastating."
"Mm... just picture the news now... racing gang and miner guild hold weapon of mass destruction." He chuckles and pours himself another shot, not drinking it yet. "We'll have some rooms for the few scientists then that you entrust. Not to worry. They will be sure to have enough reason to not think about speaking about it to the outside." He says, drinking and making a little face as he slaps the shot glass roughly back on the table.
Jack nods and lifts the glass before Sunny takes the drink: "Yep. I am re-thinking the whole scientist part. Only few of those that I have sent here can have the clearance to know everything. I'll... send you someone whom I trust fully." he says and looks at the PDA again.
The waitress returned carrying with her two plates, placing them down on the table. "For you... And for you, gentilmen! Please be careful, it's still hot! Enjoy!" She giggled and left them again.
Jack smiles and nods towards the waitress and then turns his attention to Sunny, then to his food: "Alright. I guess... this comes at the right time. And... I -am- hungry." he says and takes fork and knife: "You don't mind, but I am starving." and he starts eating, complimenting the food after a few bites: "Good cuisine... as the Gallics would say."
"I don't mind at all." He laughs and helps himself to his plate as well, taking a few bites and enjoying the food before continuing their conversation. "So I guess ethics is finished. Lets move on to the materials and equipment we will need for this to work."
Jack nods, while taking another fork full... "... Indeed." he answers: "As I said, I am not the kind to worry too much about what we do... space is dangerous enough." he says and then nods again. "... logistics however is much more an area that I know and that we will likely have to work with quite a bit... this is not going to build itself from space dust, I fear." he jokes.
"Right." Sunny nods and takes another bite. "So tell me, have you thought about what materials you need? I guess we can start with mining machinery and engineering components... And armaments too for parts... We might have to get into the black market for munitions so that it is untraceable.."
Jack was thinking about the question for a time and then nodded: "Alright... so... we want the warhead to track and hit the target. Then dig into the target to a certain depth before detonating. Is that correct? So... we do not just want something ultra-hardened to penetrate an asteroid by pure energy of impact... but we want it to drill its way in... in a controlled fashion." he asks again to make sure they were on the same page.
"Yeah. Thats right." Sunny nodded. "We want it to drill in and then detonate at the right depth."
"Alright..." Jack answers and nods: "... Drill Bits and Mining Machinery will be central to this. I mean... I cannot really help you much with the explosives and that part, but getting a drill to the right depth at the right time... that's definitely something that we can do even under extreme conditions." he agrees
"Well.." Sunny thinks. "Drill bits... maybe. Depends on the size. There may not be a drill piece out in the market that we can get our hands on. Not even the Black Market in fact. Since this research is new, we would have to research and create our own drill piece that can fit onto the top of the warhead without it being ripped off on impact of a rock... Probably we will need it to come from a hard material like diamond or something... Is niobium a strong metal? Can it withstand large amounts of heat? I forget."
"That was the idea..." Jack nods... "I was thinking about... large scale. I mean... it will have to be designed from scratch anyway because we normally do not fire drilling devices but anchor them firmly, etc etc... so... yes, this will be like a little autonomous robot..." he shrugs and then nods: "... Niobium would be heat-resistant... and diamond would be hard enough to get into whatever is there to penetrate... so... hm... going to be an expensive ride... I guess." he smirks.
"I guess you can call it that, yeah... but you can't really mix diamond and niobium together. Maybe it would have to be a refined mix of steel and other metals together to make the best drill for the job.... hmmm platinum...titanium??
"It works... it is can't be the same item. I mean... the drill has different components. The diamond-headed drills itself to cut into the hardest rocks... and a metal hull to shield it, to fix it to the surface... a machine with a drilling unit inside. Niobium comes to the mind there because of the heat resistance." he tries to explain it. "Makes more sense now?"
"I don't exactly know what you are talking about. Do you mean a deployed drone?"
"Okay... so..." he smiles and finishes the last bite of the meal before explaining: "... we fire a shell... from a launcher. Like yours. It contains a robot that impacts on the target asteroid. That "robot" as I call it is protected by a heat- and radiation resistant casing. In parts of a second, it fixes itself to the surface of the asteroid and then the drill apparatus inside the 'robot' starts drilling. When at the right depth, the 3rd part - the charge - destroys robot, drill and the target... hopefully."
"And how large would the robot's drill be?" Sunny asks between bites.
"How much space do we have?" he asks him, smirking... "... the NEMP launcher seemed pretty big... was that a diameter of like... 80 centimeter? Minus the casing for the launch... so the drilling vehicle would be as big as possible to house and protect a as-large-as-possible drilling unit... that delivers the warhead to its place." he answers, taking a sip... "Or... would you suggest something different? You seem... to have something else in mind.-"
"I do, actually." Sunny finishes. "I was just wondering though about yours because it does seem interesting... though I wonder about the efficiency of it and how big of a hole it can make on the surface if you were to do it the way you are describing. To separate this missile into pieces gives a few problems. First, you are wasting the potential impact you can achieve becasue the method means you want to protect the robot. Second, since the robot would be inside the missile, it may mean it will be smaller than the torpedo... and it would need to have enough size for the payload to be able to fit through. Third... the payload will somehow need to be pulled into the rock, and this means that the robot will not only be drilling but also need to use energy to pull the payload with it down....
Ehh, don't get my wrong... it may work... but what if we keep things a little simpler.
What I am thinking of is when the torpedo launches, it will immediately deploy fins on it's side or be launched in such a way that it starts to spin. If you've ever seen archery before, you'd see that the arrow spins in the air... that's how it goes straight, right? Same with a bullet from a gun. There are grooves inside the gun that make the bullet spin.
Anyway, when the torpedo is launched and spinning, it will impact the rock. the tip of the torpedo would have already a large drill on it'd end that would have started spining before impact. When it hits, the energy of the impact plus the drilling will begin and so it would have a head start into the rock. It will also stay intact, meaning that the payload will be with the rest of the drill.
So as it burrows, the inside will need to have a motor to keep the drill running. It would need a computer system to know how far it needs to go, and it would still need some fuel for the propulsion to drive it forwards...
And then... boom... Done."
Sunny pauses. "Anyway, that's how I imagine it to be. The robot sounds cool, but I would use a robot if we were doing something more remotely or if we needed to do something with precision and adjustment. A robot can move around a bit before it starts drilling. For us, it really doesn't matter if we are off my a meter or even 5."
Jack listens and the nods once Sunny finished his explanation: "Interesting concept... more like a large artillery shell that keeps spinning and has drills to make it go deeper... that is totally not what the IMG knows much about yet, but it definitely could work!" he seems to agree: "You are right about the limitations of the robot. We are used to... landing a vehicle, anchor it, deploy the robot... place the drilling unit.. etc." and he takes a sip... "But for a weapon, your approach to use the rotation is likely a lot better. Less steps, less potential for mistakes."
"Right... and the tiny pieces are all inside the torpedo to begin with. You have less risk of the drill breaking as well and stuff like that... Though.. you could make with a robot a drill that folds out to be a lot bigger, but you are trading diameter for strength... anyway... I think this is why we should spend some time reverse engineering the missiles we have. We should see how they work exactly and then we can work to modify it." Sunny smirks and pours himself another shot.
Just then the waitress walks by and notices they are finished. She walks over. "Oh goodness! You're finished! Let me get that for you gentlemen. Can I get you any refills on anything? I'll bring your desert over right away!"
"I like your idea... we'll have our engineers on that topic... and then see what they suggest. Drill and projectile mass plus kinetic energy on impact have to be right, but that's details that their formulas will cover. The general idea however..." and then he sees the waitress and stops talking, until he answers her: "Desert." and when she is gone, he continues: "Good general idea."
"So... I guess we need maybe some appropriate fuel propellant too.. maybe some optronic chips... high performance alloy... reinforced alloy ... Oh and we need extra gyroscopes for helping the rocket fly straight...."
"I am out of my field of expertise here, I have to admit... as we do not go with a mining robot. But ye... what you say sounds okay. The drill has to survive impact, dig itself into the rock... and the high-tech insides have to shielded by a very sturdy hull... I'll however have to talk to the engineers, as I did not expect a completely different approach."
"What can I say, Jack. It doesn't make sense to finish the sentence with: "When Life gives you Missiles, make a robot" He chuckles a bit. "But I guess the list for now would be more than enough to get started plus any research personal equipment that you need to transport to us. We are quite well supplied though in our facility for that sort of thing...Actually." Sunny interrupts" We wouldn't mind a smelter to have ores melted and made into shapes... could you provide that?"
Jack nods: "Can provide that. I mean...we can do that in the Taus, or we can have a smaller facility here. It is not a large issue... and I think it would make more sense to have the complete production on your facility... better hidden, and transporting parts of the missile through Kusari... would at some point raise eyebrows."
"Exactly, yeah. The smelter can be on the staiton or could be on a mourned ship that would house the operation. Whatever works. In house would be best because that reduces the travel time and so forth."
"Indeed. I'll make all the arrangements for that." he nods... "That's something the IMG can do easily." he answers quickly and without hesitation, taking a note on his PDA.
"Well, I think that's it for now in terms of that." Sunny grins, and right after waitress arives again with their deserts and places them on the table. "Enjoy~" He smiles and giggle, walking off.
Jack leans backwards again, taking his glass with him, having a short sip: "... more details will pop up in the process once our techies are on the issues... but with a solid framework, that should be manageable easily." he agrees. Then the waitress joins them again, and Jack starts having that.
Sunny starts to eat his as well, after he drinks another shot again, getting just a hint of a feel for the drink now. The ice cream with it was a nice touch on his taste buds. "So... how's the meal?" He asks him, seeing they had finished their main topic.
Jack takes the spoon to test the desert and it really tastes good: "... <sighing> Ye.... that's really really good... damn it." he admits and takes another spoon full of it. "... sometimes I wish the Taus were not that remote. It's pretty difficult to get fresh ingredients... but sitting between two Houses... <he takes another spoon> I envy you for this."
Hey Sunny! We were in Liberty and got you a few things that are needed. Enjoy! I would have tried to stick around, however we had an assignment pending, so... that's life, I guess. See you soon.
Hey Sunny! I guess you'll like what I did today. I grabbed that Annapurna vessel that was earmarked for becoming a smelting unit for this little project that you didn't want to tell me exactly what it is about. But... I didn't want to fly the Parbat oder the Shishi, so I quickly grabbed the Anna and flew her down. Good think I know how to moor these ships, as your chaos of bases, rocks and anti-matter, thunder and lightning did not really help.
Anywhere, here a picture after we managed to moor it:
And in case you have trouble finding the small Annapurna in that picture:
And here are more pictures of the operation: << Full Download >>
Julia Morrow
Convoy Leader
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