For some time Cobra had been hard at work planning the modifications to the systems of the Battleship. Datapads were strewn around his office with abandon containing complex calculations covering a wide range of topics such as main power conduit designs and drive power statistics. For the past couple of weeks he had been working on a refit of the drive systems currently in use on the overlord class vessels. One which if testing would successful be able to achieve the goals of the project.
Copying his initial drive designs to a single pad he sent a message to Nova to request a meeting to discuss the updated plans.
Nova had continued supervising everything as the ship was gone through, making notes on her datapad about what would be needed. The supply list was rather large, too much for the logistics wing to handle which meant outsourcing the shipping of incoming supplies. Thankfully this wouldn't push the project over budget but it did mean relying on others to drop supplies off to a more public location then moving them to Juneau, but that wouldn't be too big of an issue. She headed up to her office to make the listing, intending to have Edwards reach out to the various shipping companies.
Christopher looked at his PDA one last time before leaving his office. A list of names along with "option A" and "option B", one of each check-marked for every single name came up on it's screen. It was the complete catalogue of every currently active crewmember aboard the Akhetaten with their desired response to whether they want to be on leave until the project is complete or remain on-duty to help with the ship's construction. A much welcomed surprise for Christopher was that the vast majority of the crew chose "option B", showing desire to remain on Juneau and help out with the ship's reconstruction.
With a deep breath, Christopher exited his office and headed towards Prower's. After knocking on the door and being called in, he opened it and saluted Prower.
"Rear Admiral." He said in a serious tone as he stood at ease, placing the PDA on Prower's desk. "The list you requested about the crew's intentions during the construction phase has been compiled. As you can see, the majority of them wish to stay on board Juneau and help out. Those that have went that option are ready to be assigned to their posts and receive further orders after your approval." He continued, giving the Rear Admiral a minute to take a look at the lengthy list.
"That being out of the way leaves me on stand-by. Is there anything that requires my attention at the present time?"
Hard at work of sorting out the various work teams to handle what developments had been tested and decided upon, she looked up to meet Edwards' look. She took the PDA, scrolling through it before transferring the data to her secured databank for record keeping, handing it back. "Thank you, Commodore. I do find it pleasantly surprising most of them opted out of paid leave, but I can understand why. I do have something I'd like to ask of you while I have you here."
She reached down into her desk, pulling out a new, separate datapad and set it next to the PDA. "I've been looking for someone to reach out to the various companies to arrange shipment of needed materials to Norfolk for the project, which would then be transferred here for use. Think you could handle the task?" She was less asking and more of telling with how her stern demeanor felt, concentrating of what looked like three things at once in the moment. "The datapad contains a full listing of needed materials and suggested suppliers. Reach out to them or who is deemed necessary and negotiate a contract, then submit the contracts to me for forwarding to dockmaster so our budget can accurately reflect things. Last time something wasn't documented properly a full audit was needed. I'd rather not have to do it again. Understand?"
"With all the respect, it didn't come as a surprise to me, Rear Admiral. I was certain much of the crew would pick that option." He said as he took a seat on a nearby chair, facing Prower's desk as he eyed the datapad she set next to the PDA. With a positive nod to Prower's 'request' which was more like an order, he grabbed the datapad and had a good look at the resources necessary as he was listening to her speak.
He eventually let the datapad back down and spent a few moments to think about what Prower just told him, making sure he understood everything correctly.
"So I'll be contacting the suggested suppliers and once each of them offers me a contract I will forward this contract to you in order to make sure that everything can be settled before receiving confirmation to accept them. Sounds like a plan, Rear Admiral." Christopher repeated Prower's words to make sure he understood everything the way he was supposed to, and with a nod from a Rear Admiral suggesting that he did, he took the datapad and slid it in his pocket, getting back up.
"You will be informed once all the contracts have been submitted to us, Rear Admiral." He continued, saluting Prower as he opened the door to her office and exited, heading for his own office in order to prepare to contact the suppliers.
About a week later, Christopher had not only contacted the suggested suppliers on the list but he also had received the contracts from all three suppliers and was taking one last look at everything to make sure it's all in place before he left his office to head to Prower's, his datapad in hand.
After knocking on the door and being called in, he opened it and saluted Prower.
"Rear Admiral, I've got news from all three suppliers. Each of them has provided us with a contract, here." He said as he left the data-pad on her desk and took a seat at the nearby chair. The data-pad displayed saved copies from three communication channels that Christopher had established with each supplier.
"The contracts can be forwarded to the dockmaster by you so they can be evaluated. I will make sure all payments are sent properly once the contracts have been accepted, as well as reply back to each supplier and let them know that the supplying can begin." He said, waiting for Prower to look at the contracts and forward them for approval.
"Everything looks to be in order. Honestly it's a bit cheaper than I anticipated. Very well, the dockmaster will be notified, make sure to check with the quartermaster aswell to ensure we maintain the needed stock of weaponry when we reach that stage. As the parts come in we'll assemble what components we can but the majority of work will be going into the hull, so expect that portion to take the longest. In the mean time I want you to meet with agent Phoenix who's handling the internal blueprint designs for me, get opinions from your crew about the layout and how to make the most of what space we anticipate to have."
Cobra nodded to Nova's secretary as he walked into the meeting room.
In his hands were the schematics of the prototype ship for her sign off and approval. As well as dispatch orders for large amounts of hull plating and other equipment.
'Ma'am, please see the schematics listed 3a, 3b and 3c. They should be on your datapad now awaiting approval and sign off from Commodore Edwards.'
He paused slightly.
'As you can see the general outline of the craft has been retained. However, the front of the craft is where the largest modification is taking place. Primarily there is a lot of space now devoted to hangar and fighter ops for long-range cruises. As well as accommodation for transport category mooring bays for tankers and resupply.
There is also a large capacitor area located at the front of the ship. I have read from your reports that the craft has a tendency to lose power to the front cannons if the lines are cut. This will allow the primary cannons to remain active for a short period.'
Cobra then drew attention to the schematic of the drive section.
'As you can see the drive itself is of a floating design, this is an improvement on the open core technology used in the overlord class. We expect further weight savings. The power is provided by four conduits connecting the drive section to the main body. There is also a secondary shield generator that is powered directly by the core itself. As long as the generator is active, it should not be possible for a direct attack to be completed on the drive core itself.
The outer casing can still be damaged and unfortunately, damage directed at the core will be transmitted through the ship's frame so hits in this area will still cause damage. There is just limited risk of a catastrophic core meltdown due to the main core taking a single unshielded hit.'
Nova looked over the schematics, fairly impressed by the design and improvements over current shortfalls while enhancing the baseline design of the warship. Although always skeptical of the free-floating design, she wanted to bring it up.
"Only one support for the rear casing of the drive core? I understand the weight saving by losing excess secure sections, but would destruction of the sole support connector not compromise integrity of the drive core, will it be strong enough to support itself?" She was quite curious, but otherwise, everything seemed to be in order. "Aside from that I have no concerns, this design is impressive, Cobra, well done."
She looked over to Edwards. "What do you think, Edwards?"
Christopher had arrived at Prower's office a few minutes earlier than Cobra would, wanting to make sure he wouldn't be late for their meeting. It was hard for him to hide his excitement regarding the events to come as he was very curious of what Cobra had came up with on the designing end of things. The Commodore had done his part of contacting their suppliers for the materials that Prower had predicted the Akhetaten would require for her re-purpose, and he was hoping that he wouldn't have to burden their suppliers with extra parts.
Finally, after a short wait, Cobra made it into the meeting room.
Christopher greeted him with a nod and grabbed his own datapad at the same time with the Rear Admiral, looking at the schematics as Cobra spoke, taking glances between the schematics and the operative every few seconds.
"I've taken care to already contact various suppliers for the hull plating as well as other equipment that will be necessary," he interrupted Cobra for a moment, "a rough estimate was calculated with the Rear Admiral on how many resources we'd need to request. It seems the estimate was very much on-point, looking at the numbers you're giving me." Cobra would then continue on to speak about the capacitor as Christopher's face lit with joy, seeing an evident problem find such an elegant solution.
"I am greatly pleased by the existence of a capacitor on the Akhetaten's bow as that should indeed reduce the chance of the front batteries being rendered useless after a barrage strong enough to cut the lines." He spoke right after Cobra was done explaining, effectively validating the capacitor's existence.
The Commodore fell silent as Cobra spoke about the drive section. It wasn't immediately noticeable if he was happy with what he was seeing in front of him or not. That would, however, become clear once he begun talking.
"As far as the drive goes, it seems like you've put a lot of thought in that section of the ship, Cobra. The Republic already thought that the Overlord class perfected the drive design but I have to admit you might have outdone our most capable engineers. The secondary shield generator covering the relatively exposed core that is being powered directly by the pre-mentioned core is a wonderful idea." He paused for a moment, taking a glance at Prower. "The Rear Admiral Prower's worries are definitely valid, but I highly doubt that the disadvantage she listed outweights the positives that your drive design provides."
He paused for a few moments, thinking about possible solutions to the issue Prower identified.
"Of course," he soon continued, "the amount of risks taken should be minified, therefore I believe mounting a much more durable shield of the type used on the Atlantis class for that section of the ship to be one way to solve the issue. We wouldn't be applying too much weight on the core by covering the whole ship on such a high-tier shield, as the rest of the hull can be covered by a more standard shield for a ship of this size."
"As for the.. 'support' problems, I cannot recommend anything at this time. I'll have to give the schematics some thought." He continued, looking at Cobra. "Do you have any ideas on how to tackle that, Cobra?"
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Datapad Supply List![[Image: 3b.png]](https://i.ibb.co/Z19kDsG/3b.png)
![[Image: 3a.png]](https://i.ibb.co/dKB1M8b/3a.png)
![[Image: 3c.png]](https://i.ibb.co/mbnfGb2/3c.png)