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[Devastator]

Accepting Esperanza as the ship name

Go to middle-ring system with resources.

Do we have the capacity to set up navigation/communication buoys, which we could interface with the Esperanza's systems? It'd be nice to have what's basically GPS satellites in interesting systems, which could send us data on movements of stellar bodies, planets and asteroids, not to mention carry messages to and fro. Knowing in advance if there's gonna be a solar flare/CME and where it's headed would help a lot, too.

You'll need to build them, but there's a fairly extensive database of such buoys.  Scanning is basically 'yes', as you have a full suite of schematics for temporary probes and longer-term sensors and telescopes.  You'll need to research for anything more specialized, like stealthy spy satellites.

Comms gear is also 'yes'.  Relay probes are available, although you'll need to build them.  Although if you're in the next system over, you'll be able to remain in contact with the larger salvages and miner ships.. but they aren't designed for fully independent operations.  You don't need many crews, but having some more people is necessary if you want to run even one remote ship.  You could try to do it with five or six people, but if there are any serious problems or any kind of combat, everything is going to get blown up.

The fighters and bombers have no long-range communications ability.  They can only talk in-system.

+1. I'm sticking to my own plan -- figuring out what kind of deliverables we can make with the shipboard foundries that would be worth something to people. And maybe, what tech we already have that we could sell but also replace. Let's be seen as reasonable businessmen, not as conquerors. At least at first. Having raw materials to work with and test the foundries is perfect.

Plenty of stuff.  You can make all kinds of interesting goods, from basic resources such as metal and refined fuel, life support equipment, machinery, engines, electronics, home durables, jewelry, fabrics, uniforms, hand weapons.. in general, you can make anything at a below-remnant tech level.

In general, there are exotic, improved remnant, remnant, high-quality, and then standard goods.  You can easily make anything of standard or high quality.  Remnant tech is probably possible, but difficult, you'll need to study particular systems in order to get them to work properly.

"If I might offer a suggestion," Ceglan chimes in over comms from the deserted hallway he is currently walking through, "I would like for us to check this ship's library and other databases to see if it might contain something concerning cloning technology. If we might find such technology on board, it might solve both our problem of crew and avoid problems that strangers in our mids might bring, as comrade Aunaewan cautioned. If you want something done right, you have to it yourself, in a certain manner of speaking."

Research Cloning (2d8)2,3 (-2, below minimum crew)

Nope.  The ship doesn't have information on cloning adults.  Organs and replacement tissue for medical support, yes.  There's some stuff about augments and cybernetics, but that's not your specialty.  Whole cloned humans, nope.  You'd have to develop that tech yourself.


You jump into another middle-ring system.  This one you explored last week.  It's very much not suited for permanent inhabitation, but it should be good for you.  It was a K0 dwarf system, with at least four planets, but the blastwave of space gas and dust may have provided enough gas to heat the star up to a low G-class or so, once it settles down.

The two gas giants have suffered as well.  The outer one lost a lot of its atmosphere, and is now about half the size it used to be with an atmosphere full of radioactives and heavier elements.  The larger one survived a bit better, and continues being a big ball of hydrogen and helium.  Their various lunar systems got smashed, though, forming vast bands of small and medium sized debris full of moonlets in unstable orbits.

There were two rocky planets.  One got mostly ejected, and is in an extremely eccentric orbit at a high inclination, currently freezing its way way out into the depth of space, with a thick ocean of liquid nitrogen.  The other one is a blasted inner-ring heavily metallic rock with a high density, surface gravity, and medium size.  It's likely to get more scorched as time goes on, but for the moment it's simply a big rock covering a thick layer of metal.

There are also many, many small asteroids and bands of gas and dust.  You weren't able to find any intact relics of the Old Empire here, but there are some shattered clusters of debris containing refined materials and metals.

In general, the system has plenty of gas for fuel, as well as plenty of all the fun gaseous elements save oxygen.  The blown away gas giant in particular is mostly composed of liquid hydrogen with lots of specialty noble gases and an impressive amount of sulfuric acid.

Then Aunaewan goes back to researching that reduction of crew needed for shield control and use.

(2d8) 7,5 -2 (sub-minimum crew)

To be continued

[Devastator]

(2d8) 7,5 -2 (sub-minimum crew)

There is room to improve here.  The removal and replacement processes are heavily automated, but the test chamber.. that's not properly done.  The tests there can be measured with some new computerized tools..

..you get to work for a bit.

You can add 'Enhanced Shield Automation Routines' to your character sheet.  Note that they need 24 units of basic materials, 4 units of electronics, and 4 units of enhanced resources to build.  When installed, crew requirements will be cut about 1%.

(2d8) 8,5 +3 (Sensors) -2 (sub-minimum crew)

Examining the middle-ring system with the new, dream-like sensor systems, Vladimir documents and categorizes the available resources.

"Okay, just going to list at basic, readily-available stuff first.  Nothing we need to work hard for, or set up some kind of base.  Just stuff we can pick up and gather easily."

Resources:

Basic resources, >500,000 units
Enhanced resources, ~3400 units
Advanced resources, 240 units
Exotics, 14 units

Processed materials:

Basic materials, 5,200 units
Enhanced materials, 11 units.
Electronics, 8 units.
Weapons, 1 unit

Gases (for mining purposes)

Water, ~unlimited (high availability)
Hydrogen ~unlimited (high availability)
Heavy Gases, ~unlimited (high availability)
Basic Chemicals, ~unlimited (high availability)
Enhanced Chemicals, ~unlimited (Needs containers, moderate availability)

Fuel Radioactives, >500m fuel units (extraction rate moderate.)

"And that's all.  Looks like there's an old cache of weapons here, might be something interesting."

Take a gas scoop craft out for a scoop. We'll get some material to work with, and I'll get to see what these small craft can do. Shouldn't be a problem having low crew with a small craft, either.

Kaitaryn heads to the hangar, grabbing a few hands to pilot one of the gas harvesters.  These aren't so much 'scoop craft' as 'small industrial spaceship.  Normal crew for something like this is about fifty or sixty people, but with the big ship in the area you only need a couple of hands to help turn on the engines, align the scoops, monitor the fill and flow..  well, assuming you don't want to sleep, or get best efficiency, or fix something that's broken..

Can certainly collect stuff with it, if the big ship is here to watch over you.  Need a crew if you want it to operate independently, though.  And heaven help you if there's combat.

Interestingly, it's not unarmed.  It's got full remnant-quality shields, more than capable of handling things out here, if not the same quality as the ones on the Esperanza.  And it has a few weapons.  Nothing compared to the old cruiser, but it can probably see off a small pirate ship or two.

Jump-capable, and it's got full long-range communications.  Mining sensors, too.  Doesn't have the manufacturing ability of the cruiser, or the full pod command network, but it has the ability to fill and empty cargo pods, as well as tanker capability for gaseous and liquid cargo.  Overall, it can handle about 4,000 units of fuel and about 40 units of gas or liquid cargo internally.  It can't process fuel radioactives into fuel, unfortunately.

It's also not fast.  This is no dogfighting ship, it's a porky industrial ship.  Less pokey than you'd expect, because seemingly everything Old Imperial is better, but it's not quick even by contemporary standards.

Spoiler: Ship Character sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: Esperanza
Type: Unicorn-Class Imperial Cruiser
Hitpoints: 4500/4500
Armour: 36+400/36+400
Weapons:
-> Siege guns, 4/4
   Ammunition: Empty
-> Railguns, 16/16
   Ammunition: 24,000 rounds (100%) (200 units for 1x basic materials)
-> Remnant Fracture Cannon, 1/1

-> Triple laser Turrets, 48/48 (8 fore, 8 aft, 8 port, 8 starboard, 8 dorsal, 8 ventral) Short/medium range.
-> Saturation Frag Cannons, 10/10. (1 fore, 1 aft, 2 port, 2 starboard, 2 dorsal, 2 ventral) Short range saturation fire
-> Missile Racks, 60/60. Medium/Long Range
   Ammunition: 2400 Hyperion Anti-Ship (Standard ASM) (50%) (60 units for 1x basic materials, 0.5x basic chemicals, 0.5x enhanced chemicals.)
-> PD Racks, 30/30. Anti-missile missile launchers.
   Ammunition: 18000 AMM (100%) (3600 units for 1x basic materials, 1x hydrogen)

-> Engineering, 100/100
   Major Tooling, 240/240 (Manufacturing tools)
Remnant tech level (+2 to repair checks, -2 to logistics checks)
   Minor Tooling, 240/240 (Repair and portable tools)
Remnant tech level (+2 to repair checks, -2 to logistics checks)

-> AI System, 8/8
   Unresearched Notes.

-> Engines, 300/300
   3x Mark V. (Maneuverability checks at +0) (-1 per 60 points of damage)
   Power generation, 512,000/380,500
   Engine bonus armour, 24+120

-> Hangar Bay.  (Enhanced Remnant tech level, +3 to repair checks, -2 to logistic checks). 80/80
   48 Skyripper Beam Fighters (Enhanced Remnant tech level)
   24 Old Imperial Bombers (Unknown Class)
   18 Shield bearer support Fighters (Enhanced Remnant tech level)
   17 support vessels. (Remnant tech level.) 6 mining ships, 2 salvagers, 4 gas harvesters, 1 refinery ship, 2 repair/construction ships, 2 tugs.
   Gas harvesters: 4,000-size fuel tank, 40 units of liquid/gaseous cargo, can harvest 0.2 units/day at minimal availability, 1 unit at rare availability, 8 units at standard availability, and 160 units at high availability.)  Armed and protected at a (small ship/remnant tech level)  Cannot refine fuel.
   1 salvager (Contemporary tech level.) (Enhanced Shields)

-> Sensors
   Combat Sensors, 40/40 (Remnant Tech level) (FTL Detection)
   Passive Sensors, 24/24  (Remnant Tech level)

-> Pods
   0/24,000

-> Jump Drives 150/150 (internal), 200/200, (external). (4 joint-jump, Remnant-tech level navigation)
   Consumes 240 fuel/jump

-> Multiphasic shields. (Mass/Energy/Particle/Reserve) (1000/800/800/450) (4% regeneration)

-> Consumables:
Fuel, 7715/8000. (12 months, standard operation)
Food, 1,290,000 person-days of emergency rations. (Taste god-awful)
10,900 person-days of real food.
Resources: 240 units of internal storage (Pods may be used, too, and can store at least a hundred times as much.)
   Empty!  0 units of exotics, 0 units of rares, 0 units of common materials, 0 units of unprocessed fuel

-> Crew + Passengers
   80/8000. (Below Minimum!)  -4 to all ship rolls! In-combat damage control is impossible.  Ai system reduces penalty to -2.
Minimal crew is 600, which is a -2 to all ship rolls. (Ai reduces penalty to -1), and allows in-combat damage control, although at -3.
Reduced crew is 2400.  -1 to all ship rolls. (Ai reduces penalty to 0), in-combat damage control at -1, and crew bonuses are disabled.
Acceptable crew is 4000.  -1 to all ship rolls. (Ai reduces penalty to 0), in-combat damage control at 0, crew bonuses limited to +1.
Standard crew is 6000. No penalty to ship rolls, in-combat damage control at 0, crew bonuses limited to +2.
Optimal crew is 8000. No penalty to ship rolls, (Ai bonus of +1), in-combat damage control at +1, crew bonuses uncapped.

Quarters exist for some 12,000 crew.  There are also full staterooms for 50 luxury passengers, and 100 high officers.

..In addition, there are barracks for some 2500 soldiers or marines, including a few hatches for vehicle bays.

[Devastator]

Could our mining ships and such operate in the Mid-Ring systems, or would they need extra shielding? Could our shield support craft provide said shielding?

Based on the radiation readings we have (from the places we visited) in the middle and outer ring systems, try to determine what we can expect for the radiation levels in the inner-ring systems, and if our ship could withstand that. If not or unsure, how much would we need to beef up our protection to be safe?

The mining and support ships can't handle inner-ring systems, they're just too hot.

The cruiser could take it, due to a combination of good shielding and it being both thick and massive.  But you couldn't stay there.  Some systems are really bad, and you'd only be able to spend hours there, others you could last days or weeks.  In either case you'll be taking damage from sitting there, so you'll want to be ready to handle some damage control.

As for upgrading from old imperial ship shields?  You have no idea.  Some research might turn up a plan to upgrade it, but you don't know of a better way other than just doing a lot of redesign work to add more shields at the cost of other systems.

The shield support craft is an interesting idea.  They might be able to help the situation, but as right now, you'll be losing moderately expensive shield bubble craft to save relatively cheap on-ship shield generators.  But maybe you can research a better way to do it, and it would work to give you a longer usable lifetime in an inner-ring system..

[Radio Controlled]

Since I have some piloting skill, and if it would help: go out with one of the mining ships (or the salvager?) and start mining materials. Focus on the processed materials first, basic => enhanced => electronics => weapons.
Then for raw resources it's the same idea: basic => enhanced => advanced => exotics.

Alternatively, if people with logistics skill are on that job, then employ my engineering skills to make consumer goods we can use for trade later. Ideally things that would be valuable on any world and that are easily tradable, since we'll probably be hiring crew with this. 

Spoiler: Character Sheet (click to show/hide)

Name: Zakharov Gagarin.
Additional details: Eternally curious, wishing to see the cosmos and uncover its many secrets.
Inventory

• Light personal armour, Remnant Tech
• Energy Rifle, Remnant Tech
• Energy Pistol, Remnant Tech

Specialty: Research
Secondaries: Engineering, Piloting

[Devastator]

(The primary skill for harvesting resources is Logistics.  Other skills may certainly be relevant, depending on how you're gathering resources.)

[Radio Controlled]

"We did it, jump complete! Smooth as butter, they really don't make 'em like this these days."

"Now we can begin harvesting and turning the resources here into stuff we can use to get more crew aboard. Anyone got a specific proposal?"

[Imp]

"Mmm, well done handling our first jump!

I recommend, let's further scan that cache and other processed stuff you noticed and make sure we can't detect unpleasant surprises, while someone heads out to get it, presuming we still think it's safe by the time the collection gets there.

Saves us a few steps to take and use processed stuff since we can, if we can.

Then the other rare stuff that we'd call enhanced, advanced, or exotic.  Since we can just get what we noticed so easily here, why not send a ship around to collect what's easy and so fast to get.

I'm not sure, do we need or care about fuel radioactives yet?  If not, maybe leave them.  Chances are they'd be here and as easy or hard to safely collect when we come back, if we care later.

And if nobody needs me hands-on, I'ma continue some research here.

By the way, I did spot a way to make us more crew-efficient with shields, but barely.  Given the amount of crew we're short, improving that as I can think to now probably isn't worth the work.  But it's an option to make us a bit stronger that way, if we decide it's worth it.  I'll be looking for areas that are more amenable to additional automation."

Auneawan goes back to research, using the experience gained with how much and what improvement can be made to the ship's shielding system, looking for what systems and other needs might be most improvable with what Auneawan currently understands about this stuff.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Name: Aunaewan
Additional details: Reclusive prompt engineer who got embroiled in this situation through a lengthy series of unlikely and unexpected events.  Might take a liking and assist someone or anyone.
Specialty (primary): Diplomacy
Specialty (secondaries): Sensors, Engineering
Gained during play: Enhanced Shield Automation Routines

[NJW2000]

"I’m willing to take a skeleton crew out and harvest fuel or resource. Someone else can take a look at the weapons cache and the other salvage.

”I hope it’s clear to all of you that unless we want to raise a few generations onboard, we’re going to have to recruit people. Some goods for barter might help, but we shouldn’t need to pay at the point of hire too often. I think the main concern is staying in control of the Esperanza… especially if we invite pirates on board.

“While I’m gone, a few of you could try hardening the internal security, and locking down control of the ship to us and our people. That way, we can take on new hires without worrying too much about loyalty.”

[Xvareon]

"Happy Name-day to me..."

Those who spot Jake around now might notice him having a little party to himself and maybe involving one or two other crew members, some generous slices of carbohydrate cake ration, obviously smuggled non-regulation booze, and conical party hats made of folded and welded-together sheets of aluminum. The party's held near what passes for the shooting range around here so as not to spook any acoustic gunfire sensors, because Jake also takes to plinking cans and scrap with an old Navy revolver. He also tests the Remnant energy weapons this way.

"And that's all.  Looks like there's an old cache of weapons here, might be something interesting."

I'm on that. Munitions specialist Jake for the cache. BUT FIRST. First, I will query the AI about this cache. Does it have a cargo manifest that includes this? What can it tell us? If it can tell us something, that helps me find the good bits with Munitions and then sort them with Logistics. I REALLY want to know if there's anything super dangerous in there, like a crate of mines or killer droids we don't have the Off switch for. Going in blind is a risk tech-miners are willing to take, but if we don't have to, we take every advantage we can get.

Apart from that, I'm going to spend my time lending Logistics support to any resource-harvesting operations, with an eye towards ensuring workplace safety. And also playing Navy Chaplain with Diplomacy to keep abreast of how the crew's feeling. No one ever went wrong treating humans like humans.

Spoiler: Jason "Jake" Esperanza (click to show/hide)

Name: Jason "Jake" Esperanza (fluid last name, he takes the name of whatever ship he's working on)
Additional details: Jason, or "Jake" to his friends, is a mix of navy chaplain and tech-miner—which seems a bit odd from the outside, unless you know what tech-miners go through. Those who don't pay proper respect to the hulks they scrounge for valuable finds don't live long enough to regret their mistake. Malfunctioning plasma conduits, failing mag-clamps and unstable ordnance are just the tip of the iceberg. And ever since Jason became part of the crew who found the battleship, he's been loudly exhorting everyone to stay cautious, to not lose themselves in glory and to respect the monster they might've unleashed.

Specialty (primary): Munitions
Specialty (secondaries): Logistics, Diplomacy

Armor: "Light personal armour, Remnant Tech"
Weapon (primary): "Energy Rifle, Remnant Tech"
Weapon (secondary): "Energy Pistol, Remnant Tech"

[Pancaek]

Since I have some piloting skill, and if it would help: go out with one of the mining ships (or the salvager?) and start mining materials. Focus on the processed materials first, basic => enhanced => electronics => weapons.
Then for raw resources it's the same idea: basic => enhanced => advanced => exotics.

Alternatively, if people with logistics skill are on that job, then employ my engineering skills to make consumer goods we can use for trade later. Ideally things that would be valuable on any world and that are easily tradable, since we'll probably be hiring crew with this. 

Work together with Zakharov to start using the ships to mine/salvage materials, using my logistics skill

Spoiler: ceglan (click to show/hide)

Name: Ceglan

Additional details: Has sickly grey skin, owing to the toxic athmosphere of his home planet. His face and head are clean shaven, a holdover from when he needed to guarantee good seals on environmental gear. He no longer constantly wears the full body environmental gear as his fellow countrymen have the habit of wearing, but oftentimes still walks around with a rebreather because it comforts him, leaving only his eyes as the only visible part of his face. His body is criss-crossed with all manner of tattoos, though the vast majority are covered up by his clothes and gear.

Specialty: Ground Combat

Secondaries: Engineering, Logistics

Inventory
Light personal armour, Remnant Tech
Energy Rifle, Remnant Tech
Energy Pistol, Remnant Tech

[Devastator]

Are you going to just fill the cruiser's internal cargo hold, or are you going to build pods to enhance your capacity?  Note that it'll take a remarkably long time to fill up everything when you're this short of crew, so it's probably a good idea to limit the pod count.

If you do want to use pods, let me know how many cargo units you intend to carry in them.  Max is 24,000

[Radio Controlled]

Are you going to just fill the cruiser's internal cargo hold, or are you going to build pods to enhance your capacity?  Note that it'll take a remarkably long time to fill up everything when you're this short of crew, so it's probably a good idea to limit the pod count.

If you do want to use pods, let me know how many cargo units you intend to carry in them.  Max is 24,000

((I think the idea was to get easy materials, turn them into goods for trade, fill up the old salvager and have some people jump out in search of crew while the rest remains behind and continues salvaging/mining. ))

[Xvareon]

Honestly, I feel like mining/harvesting isn't so much the issue right now. Do we even know who we're gonna trade with in the first place? We are literally sitting on one of the biggest finds in recent history already, we could sell just a bit of the tech and live like kings. We don't have the need for extra production just yet, let alone the manpower required. It's good to scout around so we know what we have to work with, and test some of the craft and systems, sure, but that's mostly to replace expendables, broken parts, and things we sell. We haven't done any of that yet.

I'd like to make another query as part of my action. Would Jake know anything about who might buy stuff from us? Who has manpower and things we could trade for it? Do we have contacts or discreet channels? I'd imagine Jake would 'cause he's a tech-miner whose job revolves around this, but I'll leave the finer details up to GM. It's obvious that the Remnant tech is worth a LOT, but worth to whom? Ideally, worth something to people who can help both solve our manpower issue and ensure a reasonable quality of life for newcomers that makes them want to work for us.

Spoiler: Jason "Jake" Esperanza (click to show/hide)

Name: Jason "Jake" Esperanza (fluid last name, he takes the name of whatever ship he's working on)
Additional details: Jason, or "Jake" to his friends, is a mix of navy chaplain and tech-miner—which seems a bit odd from the outside, unless you know what tech-miners go through. Those who don't pay proper respect to the hulks they scrounge for valuable finds don't live long enough to regret their mistake. Malfunctioning plasma conduits, failing mag-clamps and unstable ordnance are just the tip of the iceberg. And ever since Jason became part of the crew who found the battleship, he's been loudly exhorting everyone to stay cautious, to not lose themselves in glory and to respect the monster they might've unleashed.

Specialty (primary): Munitions
Specialty (secondaries): Logistics, Diplomacy

Armor: "Light personal armour, Remnant Tech"
Weapon (primary): "Energy Rifle, Remnant Tech"
Weapon (secondary): "Energy Pistol, Remnant Tech"

[Devastator]

Resources and materials are sellable basically anywhere that's inhabited.  Stuff that's more valuable than that, like technology or ships, you'll need to make a roll for them.  Let me know what, specifically you're interested in selling and I'll make the appropriate rolls.

[Xvareon]

Let's take a look at the Mining Ships and Gas Harvesters. We have 6 miners and 4 gassers. We don't even have the men to crew those fully, yet, so we can't possibly use them right now, and it shouldn't be that hard to get more down the line, or outfit other ships with machinery. Some mining corp is bound to pay quite a lot for a working Remnant-era mining vessel with all the trimmings, especially if it comes with light weapons that could deter opportunistic pirates. It also lets us play close to the vest about our heavy weaponry, at least for now. Mining orgs are exactly the kinds of people we want to talk to right now, because they deal heavily in both human crew and robotics, both of which we could use more of to make our ship(s) run.