You might remember me as the captain of the C-Cheshire. Well, over the past few days between running sorties from Freeport 11 in Delta, the ship has been undergoing a heavy retrofit in order to survive the more hostile conditions that the Omicrons have proven to have. Heavier armor has been applied to the ships bulkheads, a cloak and jump drive have been added, and a new name has been given to the ship in light of this. The previous name was selected when the ship was being built for the ZDF. As such, it has been given a new name: Eventide. Meaning when a star begins to set over the horizon of a planet and the darkness of night begins. We will be the firewall between that darkness and the rest of Sirius. It may be bad luck to rename a ship after it's been given one, but this is basically a whole new ship with state-of-the-art technology meant for burning these alien bastards alive.
With that out of the way, I wanted to send a message after the events of the past few days. We've met up a numerous amount of times, had discussions relating to our purpose in the Omicrons, and have even had the intent to fight side by side in a few scenarios. Every dealing we've had with you and yours has been a positive encounter. We wanted to create an open-ended transmission link to you to report any sightings, dealings, or reports to your team. Primarily, this is to facilitate cooperation between those of the Eventide crew, and those of the Overwatch command structure in dealing with the true threat that Humanity faces: The Nomads.
We will report any dealings with the alien menace (or their pawns) within the Omicron systems that we encounter. After all, you and your people can't be everywhere at once. Additionally, this can serve as an open link to the Eventide crew as well in light of any things you need from us relating to the defense of Sirius. Be it supplies or combat aid. With that being said, please keep in mind, we will not render aid in the destruction of your enemies that are not a direct threat to humanity. I speak, of course, of the Core or Outcasts. After all--we are, for the time being, still Zoners and our neutrality stands to that effect. I hope that will not be a problem in our future relations and that you understand our stance on the matter.
I hope this initial message reaches you well. I speak for my entire crew when I say I look forward to any future cooperation between us. I thank you for your trust in both myself, and the crew of the Eventide.
THE CONTENTS OF THIS TRANSMISSION ARE CONFIDENTIAL BETWEEN SENDER AND RECEIVER. ANY ATTEMPTS; BE THEY SUCCESFULL OR NOT; TO ACCESS THE CONTENTS THEREOF WILL BE MET WITH REPRECUSSIONS.
Sender: Einar Lundgren Receiver: Captain Zylar Vespertine | CC: Subject: RE: Cooperation Transmission origin: Akabat, Omicron Mu
Opening message...
Greetings Captain,
Thank you for your message. I am sure that we can cooperate against the Nomads together, and your idea of sharing a communication uplink was indeed very well received on this end. I can understand you wanting to preserve your neutrality. You are a Zoner after all. Though do be wary of the Core. They tend to not be very.. good neighbors to the Zoners.
We can use all the support we can in the active operations in the Omicron Zeta system, and your added assistance on that war front would be very well received by our exhausted pilots. Keep up the good work, and if we can assist in any way, let me know.
This Galaxy is vast; its wonders and beauty are almost unfathomable. But the galaxy also hides dark secrets, some of which have lain dormant since the beginning of time itself. There is a danger in secrets, both in seeking and in knowing. Some things are meant to be hidden from view. Some mysteries defy understanding, and sometimes even the things we think we know are untrue. Some secrets should remain untouched.
To - Overwatch From - Carrier Eventide Subject - AI Activity - Omicron Delta
Greetings Overwatch. Submitting a report to you concerning an interesting encounter I had in Omicron Delta this evening. We were pursuing Renegade ships when we came upon an AI on sensors. Naturally, with all of the recent aggression from them lately, we powered up our weapons and kept them on standby as the vessel approached. However, the vessel simply scanned us and said something about scanning for defective units. It mentioned our proximity to Gammu being a direct correlation to our hostility which they stated was 0%. Afterwards, they stated they were continuing to scan for defective units and quickly departed the area. We have attached the recording in the attachments in the footer of this communication.
Could this mean there is some sort of schism forming within whatever the AI consider a community? Perhaps this could be connected to the odd items in Beta we were investigating previously. As I stated, there could be AI units working with some other entity or group and it could be leading them to hostilities against organics. Theories abound, but we wanted to submit this to you so that you can keep it in your records.
--Zylar Vespertine Captain of the Carrier Eventide
THE CONTENTS OF THIS TRANSMISSION ARE CONFIDENTIAL BETWEEN SENDER AND RECEIVER. ANY ATTEMPTS; BE THEY SUCCESFULL OR NOT; TO ACCESS THE CONTENTS THEREOF WILL BE MET WITH REPRECUSSIONS.
Sender: Einar Lundgren Receiver: Captain Zylar Vespertine | CC: Overwatch High Command Subject: RE: AI activity Transmission origin: Akabat, Omicron Mu
Opening message...
Greetings Captain,
Thank you for your report. We have indeed been troubled by a high influx of AI vessels of a hostile nature. Due to the damage they have been causing to non-combatant vessels, aswell as patrols we have launched, we have determined the best course of action to be taken is to disable any and all AI vessels we come across, /unless/ they show signs of immediately wanting to de-escalate the situation.
The vessels you will want to keep an eye out for are those designated with a }{ prefix or a Sentinels| prefix. We are also running into issues from AI vessels running identification signals corresponding with the greek alphabet, and numericals after the fully written out letter. Theta-44 is a nice example. Be cautious when dealing with them, and do not hesitate to disable any that might come across as hostile.
If there is indeed a schism developing in the central intelligences located on Gammu, we have yet to see it.
This Galaxy is vast; its wonders and beauty are almost unfathomable. But the galaxy also hides dark secrets, some of which have lain dormant since the beginning of time itself. There is a danger in secrets, both in seeking and in knowing. Some things are meant to be hidden from view. Some mysteries defy understanding, and sometimes even the things we think we know are untrue. Some secrets should remain untouched.
To - Overwatch From - Nephilim Class ZSS-Defiance Subject - Assistance Required
Salutations Colonel Lundgren,
We've run into a serious problem one of the ships we utilize for Elysium's Shield activities and we're hoping that you can help us out.
The ship in question is the Nephilim Colony Ship we've recently recovered. It was heavily damaged by House forces and has only recently been recovered and put back together by skilled workers and technicians. However, it seems the damage done by the Houses was much more serious. During combat with Nomad ships in Omicron Delta this week, we began to notice redlines throughout the ships superstructure. Within moments of this discovery, the vessel began collapsing in on itself. Luckily, no one was killed but we did suffer several injuries amongst the crew. We managed to limp the ship back to Freeport 11 where technicians from Livadia flew up to investigate. After repairs at their shipyard a few days later, they stated that it was capable of sustained flight, but combat was out of the question. With our tasks in the Omicrons, and all of the constant battles wee regularly see; you can understand how this might be a problem. Obviously, we don't want to retire the ship and would rather it be one of the bulwarks against the alien scum.
During our months of combat against the Nomads, Renegades, and the AI in Omicron Delta, we have attained a significant amount of information concerning how these different entities function--I am sure your people are much more well versed and read-in on these things. Our scientists have researched many components of the AI devices we've recovered and we have, at times, worked closely with Order scientists in researching the Nomad and Renegade components that we have found from the combat we've seen out here. We would like to see if any of these discoveries that we've found could be applied to a fully refurbished Nephilim ship suited for combat rather than for colonization as the Nephilim currently is.
We're hoping that you're able to lend us a hand, as the technicians at Livadia would rather us scrap the ZSS-Defiance rather than try to breathe new life into her. You can, as always, reach out to me on this open communication link. If you have any shipyards that are open, we can bring a skeleton crew along with the ship to the location for an assessment of the damages to see if it's even possible for us to recover the ship.
Thanks for all that you do. We will be standing by with the ship moored at Freeport 11 for further instructions or communications. Salutations.
--Zylar Vespertine Captain of the Carrier Eventide & ZSS-Defiance
Good day, Captain Vespertine. As we had not spoken, allow me to introduce myself. I am Grand Admiral Golanski and also the only serving member of the Admiralty Board with background, experience and interest in ship engineering, optronics and mechanics. Additionally, I also served on a Nephilim-class as its Commanding Officer once upon a time.
Ships' bulkheads collapsing on itself is the death knell of any ship, Captain. While The Order would still deem your ship combat ready (one way or another) and could theoretically bring your ship into working order, the question is how severe is the damage and whether your ship is still jump-capable. I witnessed a ship initiate jumphole transit, collapse at molecular level and emerge in several pieces on the other side. I also saw Corsairs chaining captive bounty hunters in front of their ships and then taking them though jumphole transit. It is a ‘traumatising’ experience to say the least, assuming one survives the ordeal.
However, enough of my digressions. We have to consider the options besides opinions of Livadia shipyard workers. Having the big picture and ship's diagnostics would help immensely, for regular inspection of such a large vessel may take an entire week. Anyway, here are the options I can think of with information you provided:
Scrap the ship entirely and build a new one, taking account of lessons learned from the ZSS Defiance, salvaging any equipment that could be used in the new hull to reduce costs. Sentimentality cannot be afforded in Omicron space of all places.
Expensive and expansive overhaul of ZSS Defiance. Depending on how severe the damage actually is… we may have to dissect the entire ship into smaller, more manageable pieces; replace or restore problematic bulkheads and perhaps repair the spine of the warship. It is possible and we have several techniques at our disposal, but funding of this operation will be your personal responsibility.
Patchwork solution, abandon most badly affected decks in favour or repurposing them as spaced armour or structural reinforcements. Liberty Rogue treatment and fastest way to Valhalla for desperates with nothing to lose and certainly lacking time and funds to do any better.
The Order has a single Juggernaut class ship in its roster, currently mothballed due to political concerns and availability of its replacement. It figures on our lists as OCV Inquisitor. Why am I telling you this? While the hull itself is Zoner in origin - Zoner Trading Consortium to be exact, which successors nowadays name themselves Phoenix and Outworlders - we had experimented with various refits and solutions to change the vessel’s role from a mobile battle station to dedicated, heavy warship. Regardless of the path you choose, we can assist by applying our accumulated knowledge of working with this particular class. Call it what you want: Inquisitor-class, converted dreadnought or militarised Nephilim.
Grand Admiral Michal Golanski
1st Battlegroup "Wargods", Black Fleet
To - Overwatch From - Nephilim Class ZSS-Defiance Subject - RE: Assistance Required
Salutations Grand Admiral Golanski,
It is an honor to speak with you. As soon as we ran into the problems in Omicron Delta, I knew we were in trouble. The ship is old and has been through a lot in her long life--at one point even being broken into three pieces under heavy combat. Allow me to go through your recommendations one-by-one to come to a definitive conclusion:
While scrapping the ship and starting fresh would probably be the wisest solution, it's not one that I wish to take. This ship has a history with the Zoners and fighting the alien threat that goes back many years. I would feel like I gave up on her. She deserves to keep living...after all, it's in her name: Defiance.
This is the option we will go for. It's the most expensive, true. It's also the best possibility of keeping the ol' girl alive and still fighting the good fight against these monsters that lurk in the shadows out here. We have no problem providing currency for the ongoing work as well as materials required for the work itself. We wouldn't expect to you to use your own stock of materials that you have on hand. After all, we're asking a favor, not a handout.
I've seen enough ships in the Gallic wars have this treatment done to them. All it takes is one well placed shot to render the ship crippled. With how much combat we see out in the Omicrons, this one is simply a no-go...but I expect you knew I would say that considering your background.
Your experience with ship building and some background on older Zoner tech would lend a lot of help in this matter. While Inquisitor-class seems like a suitable name for the class of vessel we're going for, I must admit I've never heard of a Juggernaut-class Zoner vessel. The largest I've heard of is the Nephilim-class ships with rumors of another, much more rare class that the Nephilim-class is based off of...but those are just that--rumors. Regardless, any assistance you and your people can render is appreciated. We can carry on our tasks with the Eventide in the mean time, but a larger vessel such as the Defiance would go a long way in aiding us keeping the Omicrons clear of the vile Nomad menace.
We look forward to your return communication and any plans to begin moving the vessel to a more suitable location for repairs on your say. Salutations.
--Zylar Vespertine Captain of the Carrier Eventide & ZSS-Defiance
Excuse me for using outdated terminology. By “Juggernaut” I refer to a line of consecutive versions and overhauls of Zoner “Juggernauts” that bore many names. Most famous were ‘Jinkusu’, out of which Inquisitor was derived from, ‘Persephone’ and ‘Nephilim’. As far as I know, unless Livadia Shipyards did anything crazy, there is nothing fundamentally different between Jinkusu and Nephilim that would make upgrades incompatible.
Regardless, the very fact that at some point your starship structural integrity lowered to a point it was three independent parts held together only by an odd deck or superstructure. Its not something we can (or should) weld back together. Going by what I heard so far, here is a list of things to be done.
New spine. Some may call it keel or backbone of the ship. Even a minor fault the size of a nanometer is going to cause problems in the long term. Superalloys with increased quantity of iridium. Horribly expensive but critically important if you want to survive the next G rotation near planetary gravity well.
Bulkheads. The skeleton. For civilian shipbuilding higher concentration of world famous basic alloy with some mix of super alloy would do the trick. For warfare purposes, any navy with more than four neurons combined uses super alloys. Way more durable, this is go-to military grade shipbuilding material. Both spine and bulkheads will need sonic treatment to create the most resistant lattice in place.
Hull. Triple-hull primarily basic alloy with beryllium mix for increased strength, layered with integrated iridium armour. This will protect you from outside void. This is the golden standard for any and all warships built upon Liberty military standards from 800 AS onwards - The Order is not an exception.
Rebuild destroyed decks. This determines internal layout and is heavily customizable and constrained only by physical limitations of hull’s size. This means basic alloy, not even you could afford to construct a ship of that volume out of super alloys for little to no gain… but well, surprise me.
All of the above requires blueprints, I am afraid. In particular: dimensions and spatial location of the hull, connections and internal layout. We do not require classified blueprints that specify things that make it uniquely Zoner - doubtful they would share it with outsiders anyway. Livadia should have relevant documentation for Nephilim class.
External armour plating. Iridium armoured belt, covering parts most susceptible to enemy weapons fire. Meant to be easily replaceable and expendable. Better that way than to tank every plasma shot directly into the hull.
Optronics. The Order opts for the best: Kishiro and limited Order homebrew solutions. I am afraid we cannot part with proprietary hardware and software, we always strip them off from ships intended for export. ‘Redundancy’ is a desired trait: quality AND quantity.
Secondary reactors. Ship of that size needs a smaller power plant away from the engine to provide emergency power to critical systems in event power cables are cut or disrupted. While typical economical ship drive derives power from fission, modern fusion is compact and runs off H-Fuel which is easy to come by in Omicrons thanks to Zoner and Order purchases from GMG.
Nanobot and liquid metal injectors. This is an emergency measure to rapidly improve structural integrity. It's a long term solution, they are too slow to affect warships of that size during combat. This shall extend the lifetime of a modern warship by many years if not decades.
Bridge and CIC will be rearranged in fashion used by Liberty Navy, LSF and The Order to maximise officers efficiency during combat.
The Order built weaponry. Enough to say, you are aware of our firepower already.
Power couplings, capacitors and shield battery banks. Armoured, isolated cables powering weapon systems, shields, localised gravity stabilisers. We are talking about something that under no condition should be exposed to the crew during a combat scenario. You will need something better than generic/civilian grade components you use . The Order weapons need more juice.
A guideline rather than upgrade. Toss out ANY AND ALL wireless equipment that has physical connection to ship critical functions. It's a common mistake and I cringe everytime I see it - you are basically inviting Lane Hackers at this point, or a Core script kiddie. Cables, cables, cables! Comms by nature of well… communications, have to go external. Absolutely under no circumstances network them with your main computer mainframe! Firewalls are necessary for both internal networks and comms alike. You do not want some smart-ass crewmember messing around with your systems, or have uncontrollable broadcast of old-Sol’s superhit ‘Never gonna give you up’ on system-wide range and frequencies. I saw this done as a prank by some shipyard worker once. I recommend installing ancient sound powered telephones in case of power cuts.
Fire control. Your weapons are useless if you cannot synchronise sensor and targeting data with your weapon systems to less than micrometre margin error against static or moving targets. We can help with that as well.
You will have to source your own electronic warfare suite, ship drive (Livadia should be able to build one), primary reactor/power plant, life support systems, shield projecotrs, environmental control, standard jumphole translation drive, scanner, passive and active sensors, radar, thrusters, gravity generators, software and laserlink/radio/hyperspace comm suite.
Are you sure we are not getting into theseus ship paradox situation at this point? Anyway, one thing has also passed my mind since our last communication. Something that my mind disregarded as… almost insane. How did your ship end up in House space, exchanging fire with the local militaries? That must be an… interesting tale.
Grand Admiral Michal Golanski
1st Battlegroup "Wargods", Black Fleet
To - Overwatch From - Nephilim Class ZSS-Defiance Subject - RE: Assistance Required
Salutations Grand Admiral Golanski,
I've heard of other Zoner ship types but I've never actually seen them. Perhaps I should brush up on some of the older Zoner types. Perhaps another trip to Freeport 1 is required for me to review the Zoner Heritage stuff that's setup there...but I really don't want to get close to Omega-7 again. I've had enough of that system for a lifetime...I'll explain that towards the end of this message to answer your question at the end of yours.
Concerning your points from what I've read, the following materials will be required by us to bring in. Please feel free to let me know the amount per unit (ton):
Spine: Super Alloys and Iridium. We know that Freeport 11 sells the Iridium. We can source the Super Alloys from another location and bring to you.
Bulkheads: Basic Alloys and Super Alloys for the bulkheads. Not a problem to source these either.
Hull: I will assume you mean the "inner hull" on this statement as you have armor on a section further down. Basic Alloy and Iridium with Beryllium to further improve upon the strength.
Ship Decks: Luckily, we only lost one deck in the accident. Although, depending on a through inspection of the remaining decks, this number could increase. Basic Alloy can be sourced as well as Super Alloys along with the bulkheads.
Blueprints: Without sounding like we don't trust you (because we do), the blueprints for Zoner tech are highly guarded. While I don't have the authority to transfer those to you, some of our ship engineers can join your team during the retrofit to ensure that things go well. I anticipate the ship design to be different towards the end of this project anyway, so I'm not sure how much it matters if you have them, but I would rather Zoner blueprints not be passed around.
External Hull/Armor: We can pick up some Ablative Armor Plating and Iridium to reinforce. Shouldn't be difficult to obtain.
Optronics: We have a...contact that is good with these kinds of things. They're a bit squirrely about their privacy, but we may be able to reach out to them in order to get some advice on this. Stripping any propriety hardware is fine. We understand the need for secrecy. Whatever is installed is fine, we can modify these as needed by our contact.
Secondary Reactors: Redundancy is always important. Just let us know the materials we would need to source to bring them in. We can reach out to contacts closer to Sirius space that can bring them to us.
Nanobot and liquid metal injectors: This sounds like something that will significantly increase the lifespan of the Defiance. Let us know what we'd need to source materials wise and we can bring them in.
Movement of CIC and Bridge: You all have more experience in this. As Zoners, we're usually neutral and don't go into combat. Us in Elysium's Shield are a bit of a different breed wading into war against the alien threat. We will differ to your experience in these matters.
Order Weaponry: We generally use Zoner weaponry but the option is nice to have to opt. for others if needed.
Power: Let us know what materials we would need to supply to make this possible. More power is always needed. We can never get enough in combat scenarios.
Wireless: During the initial modernization of the Defiance back when apart of the ZDF, we removed most (but not all) wireless systems onboard the vessel. All of your recommendations hit home and it makes more sense with the amount of hostile AI vessels we've been dealing with and the lurking Auxo ships in the area. We support everything you've said here. Let us know what we would need to provide in order to do this.
Fire Control: Agreed. These Nomad vessels can be quicker than their mass belays. We would need some upgraded targeting sensors to make combat in the Omicrons viable. Let us know the materials we would need to provide.
In summary:
Spine:Super Alloys and Iridium.
Bulkheads:Basic Alloys and Super Alloys.
Hull:Basic Alloy, Iridium, and Beryllium.
Ship Decks:Basic Alloy and Super Alloys.
Blueprints:See above.
External Hull/Armor:Ablative Armor Plating and Iridium.
Optronics: Standard Optronics. Our contact can modify if required.
Secondary Reactors:Materials list needed.
Nanobot and liquid metal injectors:Materials list needed.
Movement of CIC and Bridge:See above.
Order Weaponry:See above.
Power:Materials list needed. Might we recommend PlasFoam Conduits as one item?
Wireless:See above.
Fire Control:Materials list needed.
As for the Electronic Warfare Suite, Primary Reactor/Power Plant, Life-support, Shield Projectors, Environmental control, Jump hole Translation Drive, Scanners, Passive and Active Sensors, Radar, Thrusters, Gravity Generators, Software, and other items--we have a plan for these. The initial repairs and retrofit we reached out to you for we believed that Overwatch could give us a highly versatile foundation of a ship capable of taking on the Nomads and their pawns with ease...and you are right, we are approaching a Theseus Ship Paradox with everything that needs doing. However, even though the ship will be practically new, the idea that it is the same vessel will still exist. This ship was once flown by my father, and I have no intention of giving up on her. There is one item on here that we believe we may be able to assist with.
Through our combat with the Nomads and their pawns, we've recovered a significant amount of their remains. These we've discarded either through jettisoning them into space, or giving them over to Order representatives for study or destruction. We don't want those items around our people and risk infection. However, we have had an almost equal amount of combat against malfunctioning AI units and have recovered a lot of scrap from those ships. We've had some of our brightest minds looking over them and analyzing them. We may have come up with a way to adapt their drive technology to our own but all we have are theories and inconclusive tests. If possible, we would like to work with your team to see if it is possible to adapt this technology to the new Defiance. If not, then we can bring the ship to the next location and apply standard drives when the time comes.
As to your question: We were defending a Zoner Whale carrying Terraforming Gasses to the Hudson system and the Houses didn't much like that. We were doing our duty as the Zoner Defense Fleet protecting our own. We were destroyed for our troubles in Omega-7. Since then, we've moved as far away from the House systems as one could get and discovered the true menace threatening Sirius space: The Nomads. Thus we have begun our not-so-silent vigil of combat against them in the Omicrons. We've paid a heavy price so far, but we have no intentions of giving up.
Hopefully that explains just a little bit of combat the ship has gone through since it's return. It's a good ship and a wonder that it can still be flown with the amount of damage it's taken over the years. A testament to Zoner engineering...but even that has it's limits and we've reached them. Let us know what materials we need to bring and the amounts. We will get started on a plan to provide those as long as you are still willing to aid us.
--Zylar Vespertine Captain of the Carrier Eventide & ZSS-Defiance
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