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[NUKE9.13]

In case anyone misses it, an important update from Chief:

Chiefwaffles Today at 5:23 PM
Alright.

The moon is a big place. It will have 6 regions, each with 2 sections of territory. You will have a region rating, representing the extent of your logistics and technology responsible for how far you can expand on the moon.
Your scientists and engineers believe that (given enough cable) SERF/HAUNTER-based EVAs out of landed Starknights will give you a region rating of 1.

Each region can hold one operation or site, like a mining operation or anything else that you may want to put on the moon. Operations have to be part of a revision or design, and can be allotted in the Combat phase. You can change operations in regions with ones already active, but depending on the operations it may take a turn to take effect.
The effect of an operation depends on what you try to do in its revision/design (they can be a part of other actions, with difficulty depending on how well they fit in addition to other difficulty favtors) and how well the action ends up doing.

If both you and Aratam end up on the moon, combat can still occur even if your region ratings don't "reach" each other. You just won't be able to hold more territory.

[TricMagic]

Note, Magmatite Processors allow us to make drone versions of Starknight, Starsquires. So we can launch a Starknight and a number of Starsquires. The Starknight carries the crew, and connects to the Squires which carry all the cargo for moon operations. More effective.

So, If we do the Starkinght this turn, I want to do the Magmatite Processors next. Then a revision to create the Starsquires.

[Madman198237]

ME-STS-64 'Starknight'
The Skyranger is a remarkable piece of technology. However, in order to lift a large amount of mass to the Moon, we need something better. Enter the concept of the Bigger Skyranger^tm (patent pending). It's a bigger version of the Skyranger. No, really, it mostly looks like the Skyranger. There are two long bulges in the hull along either side (the wing roots are located on the outside edges of these bulges) that end in rocket engines, but otherwise it does look mostly like the Skyranger but substantially bigger. It uses an ablative coating on the bottom of the ship (good for one-half use only, warranty void if exposed to vacuum) to reduce maintenance costs compared to the Skyranger, but lands the same way as the Skyranger. The Starknight carries six crew on the round trip to the Moon plus an extended stay on the surface.

The engines are primarily rocket GOFAST engines now, dispensing with the drag caused by intakes and making use of a turbopump system. That is, it uses a small combustion chamber pointed at a turbine, which spins a shaft which is connected to the pump system, to pump a massive amount of GOFAST into the main combustion chamber really fast and at high pressures. The extremely hot rocket exhaust can then be directed into the primary nozzle, which is gimballed so that it can point almost straight up or down. Far enough down, in fact, that the ship is capable of using the forwards RCS thrusters to stabilize its completely-vertical descent to the lunar surface, using its regular landing gear to land on the Moon. The turbopump system combined with the power of GOFAST allows the engines to be relatively small as far as aircraft or rocket engines go, saving weight and space for the all-important MORE BOOSTERS FUEL.

A series of GOFAST-burning small rocket engines based on the present rocket engine (but smaller) as used in the Skyranger act as a reaction control system, capable of adjusting the pointing of the spacecraft or making smaller changes to its velocity as dictated by the guidance computer or crew, which is based partly on Birdbrain missile guidance and tracking hardware and partly on ORACLE's predictive power and computing knowledge. The system is thus capable of keeping track of the spacecraft's position and the direction it's pointing in space using gyroscopes and a few accelerometers plus the crew's own ability to use the star field to re-align the system should a computer fault occur.

Stores of food, oxygen, and water, and some repair supplies/backup equipment are stored in the pressurized crew compartment. Most of the cargo is stored in the unpressurized external cargo bay, including the two HAUNTER wire-controlled robots (without weapons) used for space or moonwalks and the four SERFs exclusively for moonwalks, science experiments, a pair of GOFAST electrical generators, and half a disassembled Excavator in mass and volume. Or other things can be stored in the bay, like any satellites our scientific organizations, or other nations' scientific organizations, would like us to put in orbit for them, as a gesture of our friendship, goodwill, and willingness to occasionally sell some cargo space if the price is right and we've got enough launches in the schedule.

The mission plan as programmed into the guidance computer: Fly to the moon, initiate a braking burn, fly a near-vertical descent using gimballed rocket thrust and RCS, land, do stuff, tip the nose up and take off, return to Earth and descend through the atmosphere to land back at Mereth. It is hoped that the Starknight will be cheap enough to deploy multiple at a time, so that two or even more can be flown together to the same landing site and an Excavator and any desired scientific equipment can be assembled by SERFs and HAUNTERs just like in a factory. Albeit a factory in space, where you don't need heavy equipment to lift heavy pieces of machinery. The goal is to use the equipment that can be brought without modification or that our scientific departments can design without any military assistance to start sweeping out potential Magmatite deposits and explore the development of landing sites and beacons to aid landing guidance for future missions. The Excavator(s) will be operated by SERFs or HAUNTERs for now since they're not spaceworthy. Things like doors and windows for those Excavators will thus just not be included in the cargo package to save weight.

OK, so this has been substantially updated to reflect Discord discussion as well as the ruleset NUKE linked. We're not going to try mining initially, just ship stuff to the surface and begin exploration of the one zone we will probably have access to.

[NUKE9.13]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (1) TricMagic
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (1) NUKE9.13

So, I'm on board with doing the Starknight now, and- provided it works- developing a 'Magmatite mining operation' with our revision.

[TricMagic]

ME-STS-64 'Starknight'
The Skyranger is a remarkable piece of technology. However, in order to lift a large amount of mass to the Moon, we need something better. Enter the Bigger Skyranger^tm (patent pending). It's a bigger version of the Skyranger. No, really, it mostly looks like the Skyranger. There are two long bulges in the hull along either side (the wing roots are located on the outside edges of these bulges) that end in rocket engines, but otherwise it does look mostly like the Skyranger but substantially bigger. It retains the same reentry system (good for one-half use only, warranty void if exposed to vacuum) as the Skyranger and lands the same way. The Starknight carries six crew on the round trip to the Moon plus an extended stay on the surface.

The engines are primarily rocket GOFAST engines now, dispensing with the drag caused by intakes and making use of a turbopump system. That is, it uses a small combustion chamber pointed at a turbine, which spins a shaft which is connected to the pump system, to pump a massive amount of GOFAST into the main combustion chamber really fast and at high pressures. The extremely hot rocket exhaust can then be directed into the primary nozzle, which is gimballed so that it can point almost straight up or down. Far enough down, in fact, that the ship is capable of using the forwards RCS thrusters to stabilize its completely-vertical descent to the lunar surface, using its regular landing gear to land on the Moon. The turbopump system combined with the power of GOFAST allows the engines to be relatively small as far as aircraft or rocket engines go, saving weight and space for the all-important MORE BOOSTERS FUEL.

A series of GOFAST-burning small rocket engines based on the present rocket engine (but smaller) as used in the Skyranger act as a reaction control system, capable of adjusting the pointing of the spacecraft or making smaller changes to its velocity as dictated by the guidance computer or crew, which is based partly on Birdbrain missile guidance and tracking hardware and partly on ORACLE's predictive power and computing knowledge. The system is thus capable of keeping track of the spacecraft's position and the direction it's pointing in space using gyroscopes and a few accelerometers plus the crew's own ability to use the star field to re-align the system should a computer fault occur.

Stores of food, oxygen, and water, and some repair supplies/backup equipment are stored in the pressurized crew compartment. Most of the cargo is stored in the unpressurized external cargo bay, including the two HAUNTER wire-controlled robots (without weapons) used for space or moonwalks and the four SERFs exclusively for moonwalks, science experiments, a pair of GOFAST electrical generators, and half a disassembled Excavator in mass and volume. Or other things can be stored in the bay, like any satellites our scientific organizations, or other nations' scientific organizations, would like us to put in orbit for them, as a gesture of our friendship, goodwill, and willingness to occasionally sell some cargo space if the price is right and we've got enough launches in the schedule.

The mission plan as programmed into the guidance computer: Fly to the moon, initiate a braking burn, fly a near-vertical descent using gimballed rocket thrust and RCS, land, do stuff, tip the nose up and take off, return to Earth and descend through the atmosphere to land back at Mereth. It is hoped that the Starknight will be cheap enough to deploy multiple at a time, so that two or even more can be flown together to the same landing site and an Excavator and any desired scientific equipment can be assembled by SERFs and HAUNTERs just like in a factory. Albeit a factory in space, where you don't need heavy equipment to lift heavy pieces of machinery. The goal is to use the equipment that can be brought without modification or that our scientific departments can design without any military assistance to start sweeping out potential Magmatite deposits and explore the development of landing sites and beacons to aid landing guidance for future missions. The Excavator(s) will be operated by SERFs or HAUNTERs for now since they're not spaceworthy. Things like doors and windows for those Excavators will thus just not be included in the cargo package to save weight.

OK, so this has been substantially updated to reflect Discord discussion as well as the ruleset NUKE linked. We're not going to try mining initially, just ship stuff to the surface and begin exploration of the one zone we will probably have access to.

+1

[Madman198237]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (3) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman

Tric, we have a votebox for a reason.

[andrea]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (4) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman, Andrea

[TricMagic]

The Division of Unusual Chemistry comes in clutch once again with Air Concrete.

Normally, catalyzing Instant Roads uses air as a medium, but what happens when there is no air? Well, using a Vacuum Chamber,(Totally not built to see cool vacuum stuff done to other stuff like marshmallows and oil) they've come up with an oil based compound that creates air in vacuum. When mixed with Instant Concrete, spraying it on a wall in vacuum is something to see. The new air gets sucked out by the vacuum, and in doing so, completely hardens the concrete's structure, eliminating all pores in the concrete. And it sticks to the walls airtight in the process.

Sure, it's pretty thin for something meant to keep things pressurized, but we can just spray more on the outer wall to thicken the walls to our desired thickness. And sure, when we took it out of vacuum too quickly after cracking it off for analysis it ended up igniting. And it's flammable when sprayed in atmosphere... Those are only small problems though since it's meant to be sprayed in vacuum. It can even serve as a makeshift bandage on holes in a hull. You know, when the vacuum is sucking all the air out, perfect time for it.

Oil that is highly oxygen rich. Among other gasses. Goes in mix, and creates air in vacuum, and that air gets sucked out, closing all the pores. Meant for use in Vacuum only, store outside or in vacuum areas whenever applicable..

[flabort]

Two proposals, neither of which I think will be voted for, but I will write them up anyways.

ME-APC-76 Singularity Logistical OmniTerrain Hydroplane

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

SLOTH is a machine intended to travel to all places (except space) at any time, transporting Grizzlies, supplies, even the GATE/HAUNTER system to where it needs to go, faster than we are capable of without the Skyranger - a larger transport for larger cargo. The vehicle is waterproofed, with hatches being sealed by electrogel powered rubberized locks surrounding the doors. It has GOFAST powered treads capable of locomotion on the ground, which can be retracted into sealed hatches underneath, and also four wings which can similarly be retracted. The SLOTH is designed around a central GOFAST oversized stovepipe ramjet, modeled after the one used by the Blizzard. However, modifications were made. It's increased size for a longer and much heavier craft necessitated further cooling, and it required special sealing for operation in the water - fins with propellers on the back allow for navigation in the sea. For increased air mobility, the SLOTH also features two more ramjets much more like the Blizzards' on each wing, which are tucked away when not traversing the sky. But perhaps the most expensive and extensive modification to the central ramjet is the armoring and shaping that allows ground up rocks to be passed through it without damaging the systems, even while the engine is still operational. The front of the craft features aerodynamic panels that can be withdrawn into it that hide grinding rock crushers, doubling the SLOTH's pointed tip as a drill, allowing it to navigate much like an Excavator, and faster at that.

The SLOTH has been equipped with much the same systems as an Excavator - GASOLINE Earthear, Instant Roads, and assistance from a Birdbrain to intelligently retract or redeploy the treads, wings, and drill. The retractable equipment does increase the overall size of the vehicle and reduce the available cargo space, but it is still large enough to fit multiple Grizzlies and their required crew, plus enough additional crew to lay down the infrastructure to set up additional Oracle-A outposts much more rapidly. Defensively, the SLOTH is C.O.M.B.A.T. ready, with only the drills when exposed being unable to be armored with it - when the covers are closed, they are armored just like the rest of the craft. This does leave a weakness in the front-end, as if any of the plates are destroyed, that leaves a rather vulnerable weak spot into the inner workings of the SLOTH. Most weapons would break off when the SLOTH is underground, but thanks to the retractable wings, it is able to fit a small number of Shrike hardpoints for deployment when in the air, and it is able to fit two CLAWs into the roof which can be retracted into the sealed interior much like the rest of the external equipment. It also sees the reuse of the Ursine Vision and periscope system installed in the Grizzly, up sized for more displays throughout the SLOTH, and a decentralized control system, with multiple consoles throughout each being able to control most of the SLOTH and allowing multiple pilots more efficient control.

The interior is designed to be comfortable, with recirculated air being filtered, and cooled with STABIL-ICE. The bulky machinery required for the central jet and the external retractable has enough space between it and the cargo hold and cockpit to put electrogel stabilizers so that very little turbulence is felt in the area. The internal floorplan includes a main cargo hold, with a large door big enough to fit Grizzlies through in the back of the craft, which occupies most of the internal space. Off of that there are four smaller rooms, each of which with a console, a set of bunks, and an eating area. There is a shared washroom and showers towards the drill end, and an office with a private bed, shower, and toilet for a commanding officer. There is also a maintenance viaduct underneath and above wide enough to fit two soldiers back to back, albeit uncomfortably, with access to the treads, wings, drills, and weapons.

The craft is not expected to be as fast as the Blizzard, but in the air it is expected to reach respectable speeds, and able to go just as far as a blizzard on a single load of GOFAST, while being able to carry many more loads of it in their cargo hold. Underground, it shouldn't be slowed down too much, as the main engine continues to burn GOFAST around the gravel made by the drills and spit slag out the back, and it will be assisted by treads. The engine even works underwater, making the SLOTH the first submersible used in the war.

There is room for improvement. There is still unused space which could be fitted with weaponry, possibly torpedo silos or more retractable weapons, or used for other projects, but without enough time the designers had to leave those areas as simply flat armor for now.

SElf Replicating Psionic Entrenchment Neutralizing Textiles

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

We tasked the Division of Unusual Chemistry with reverse engineering recovered biopaste reactors from Aratamite planes. Those that didn't die of radiation poisoning brought back reports of a hyper efficient fuel, not as good as GOFAST as a fuel itself, but with electrochemical properties that don't make a lick of sense. More important and more puzzling was the biopaste matrix which processes it. It just doesn't seem like the generation of electricity should be this efficient. We couldn't replicate the gel-matrix exactly, but when we mixed Electrogel with the samples of their biogel we recovered, something inexplicable happened.

The new material is able to take in raw electrogel, and turn it into more of itself. The result is still gel-like in texture, but nonreactive to pressure or electricity. We initially thought this was a flaw, and were prepared to dispose of the samples, but we discovered when exposed to the heat of the incinerators, it transformed further into a dense flexible material, easily manipulated like latex. Live samples are kept to manufacture more from electrogel, while uniforms, and certain other materials, can be made from the material.

It's unique properties are two fold: It affects the N-Dimension somehow, like the space there curved around the material, or maybe it creates a barrier of hardened something, preventing anyone outfitted in it from being detected remotely by SEEMs and Goldeneyes. It can also be fitted in Grizzlies, Bears, and Blizzards as an insinuative lining just under the armor which hides the vehicle from their damn senses. It does tear when it overheats, opening holes in the cloak against their psychics, so it can't be put onto our skyrangers, and when the armor it's placed under fails from heating so does the SERPENT, but being able to surprise the enemy is a great boon. The drawback is that N-Sensitive individuals would not be able to sense the enemy's Enhanced soldiers, making it difficult for us to identify potential Volunteers on the battlefield.

SERPENT's other unique property is that it can be easily patched up by applying electrogel to any holes and then heating. Even the inert heat treated SERPENT material is able to convert electrogel into more of itself, though this process takes much longer than the live samples. The electrogel doesn't need to be charged to function, and the different versions of electrogel all seem to function more or less the same - we want to avoid using magmagel due to the cost of magmacite for the manufacture of SERPENT material, but it will do in an emergency, and the magmacite doesn't bring any drawbacks to the SERPENT.

We aim to outfit every soldier with a SERPENT uniform, and install SERPENT into every newly manufactured vehicle - retrofitting existing vehicles is outside of the scope of this project.

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (4) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman, Andrea
SLOTH: (1) Flabort
SERPENT: (0)

[NUKE9.13]

Welcome Flabort. Yes, for this turn we’re pretty eager to go to the moon, as the extra Magmatite will make a lot of important things cheaper. That said, your proposals are well-written, and their names are MASTER ACRONYMER-aproved. Mechanically, they might have some issues, as literal all-terrain vehicles may suffer from a case of “jack of all trades, master of none”, and the GM has indicated that making a material that negates psionics would be rather tricky. But that’s no problem- they’re ideas worth considering, at least, and like I said, well written and suitably acronym’d.
So, don’t feel discouraged. We may be shooting for the moon this turn, but we should be dealing with more down to earth ideas next turn.

[flabort]

Well, less well-written, and more comprehensive. I saw what happens when we dont describe things well (who never armored the bear feet?), but I may have been too wordy. hence putting them in spoiler boxes.

[Happerry]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (5) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman, Andrea, Happerry

[NUKE9.13]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (5) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman, Andrea, Happerry
SLOTH: (1) Flabort
SERPENT: (0)

It's unlikely that SLOTH or SERPENT will win the vote, but we should still maintain the votebox properly.

[dgr11897]

Talk With Seventeen & Oracle- Magmatite Processors, Upgrading Oracle: (0)
ME-STS-64 'Starknight': (6) NUKE9.13, TricMagic, Madman, Andrea, Happerry, DGR
SLOTH: (1) Flabort
SERPENT: (0)

[TricMagic]

STARGATE
Adrea: Space and Terrestrial Advanced Repositioning GATE

In Roman mythology, Abeona is known as the Goddess of Outward Journeys. Not only does she protect travelers, but she also watches over the travels of young children. Her partner is Adiona, referred to as the Goddess of Safe Return. Together, these two are the power couple of travel.

The Eye of Horus they seem to be using allows us to theorize that the use of old symbols known by many affects how N-Space acts. However, we here at Merdeth R&D believe in breaking the rules.

In this case, we build two GATEs, and assign them a specific code using Chevrons, Designs built upon the gates to represent certain coordinates, as well as which STARGATE we are using.

The N-Sensitive on our side acts as Abeona, the Goddess of Outward Journeys. She focuses on thinning N-Space until it disappears entirely in the Event Horizon of our STARGATE Portal in R-Space.

The STARGATE on the other side has an N-Sensitive acting as Adiona, the Goddess of Safe Return. She focuses on the same thinning of N-Space as the other, until it also disappears into the Event Horizon of that GATE Portal in R-SPACE.

The Chevrons are dialed, and our Gate connects to the other. After which, the GATEs no longer seem to be connected to N-Space, but rather has linked the two GATEs in R-Space. This is an illusion, as the N-Space is still active, it simply isn't observable, nor can it act on materials and people that pass through it.

And so, the STARGATE, in which one passes through to the other side safely on their Journey.


Mereth Geothermal Material Processing Plant
I probably don't need to say Command was annoyed when we decided only to cheapen a single cost. But it is what it is. With recent developments though, most notably the work on the Space Mission and it's (Swallow), we now have the base needed to build a plant for that.

The Geothermal Material Processing Plant makes use of state of the art ICE Cooling and Geothermal Energy Processing. As well as the new Magmatite Design Molds. How it works is thus.

Magmatite and Ore is made into molds for a certain part. Molten Ore is poured into it, and the ICE is run through the Mold once it has been closed. In this manner, we can make various parts quickly for assembly.

The Geothermal Plant creates Electricity, which runs the OVERSIGHT system and the various mechanics involved in assembling the various parts with only slight SERF assistance, also run by ADMIN. Likewise, ICE is used to keep it all cool. In this manner, we create an assembly line of parts, which then get put together into a finished product. No waste whatsoever, and the finicky bits are dealt with off-site once loaded onto the elevator.

In this manner, we can expect all designs using Ore to be reduced in their cost, so long as they aren't National Efforts. Mass Production for a better tomorrow.

[Note on OVERSIGHT]
OVERSIGHT is a reduced version of ORACLE-A, designed to allow input by us to automate most of the Geothermal Material Processing Plant. It will automate the melting of Ore, and pouring it into molds, sealing the molds, cooling it with ICE,, removing the pieces, and the conveyors for a smooth operation, without the need for a Human's oversight. 24/7 production, or as close to it as we can get. We humans just need to put in the systems, and then finish it.