Sirius Business - a C# Aurora forum game. v2.5

[blue emu]

The raid took place on the 26th of May, so the survivors were adrift for about eight days.

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We have built our first four Xeno-Archeology units. I'm going to send them out to look at that destroyed alien outpost on AX Microscopii A-1, but first I'll scout the AX Microscopii system again with a scout ship, in case the Raiders or somebody has moved in while we were gone.

 

[blue emu]

DSP (Deep Space Population) Luhman 16 TRP (Trade Route Protection) Base.

It says "Maintenance Support: 37,500 tons".

So it can support one each of Fighter Base, Sentry RADAR Base, and Sauron Beam Weapon Base (total 35,000 tons).

I can move those Stations in, although the first Sentry Stations are still under construction.

 

[Flockingbird]

We have built our first four Xeno-Archeology units. I'm going to send them out to look at that destroyed alien outpost on AX Microscopii A-1, but first I'll scout the AX Microscopii system again with a scout ship, in case the Raiders or somebody has moved in while we were gone.

I can’t remember; do they have any defense against our space pirates? Are you planning on sending a military escort of some kind? (Edit: a force that will remain with them, I mean, just in case.)

 

[blue emu]

The first four Sentry class RADAR Stations have completed. One goes to the Luhman 16 DSP, of course.

I can’t remember; do they have any defense against our space pirates? Are you planning on sending a military escort of some kind? (Edit: a force that will remain with them, I mean, just in case.)

I wasn't, no.

This is effectively a small scientific team... a few hundred people. The entire expedition fits in a single troop transport ship.

We have no reason to expect pirates. We have no assets at all in the system, no colony, no mines, nothing to draw their attenion.

But I'm sending a scout ahead of them anyway. Myself, in fact (the Blue Emu character).

More pragmatically... I can replace the entire expedition (except the Troop Transport) with about ten days production.

 

[Flockingbird]

The first four Sentry class RADAR Stations have completed. One goes to the Luhman 16 DSP, of course.


I wasn't, no.

This is effectively a small scientific team... a few hundred people. The entire expedition fits in a single troop transport ship.

We have no reason to expect pirates. We have no assets at all in the system, no colony, no mines, nothing to draw their attenion.

But I'm sending a scout ahead of them anyway. Myself, in fact (the Blue Emu character).

More pragmatically... I can replace the entire expedition (except the Troop Transport) with about ten days production.

Makes sense!

But from an rp-perspective: if I were one of the Xeno-archeologists, I’d be unhappy risking being captured by slavers just because I was considered expendable. I would consider the team a valuable asset and wouldn’t care that we have no permanent structures to attract the pirates’ attention.

Now, if our ships were cloaked, I could be persuaded to risk the tin-can journey for the lifetime opportunity to study the alien outpost!

(Oh dear, have I volunteered? A short life but a tinny one?)

 

[blue emu]

On the other hand, I've volunteered to personally scout the system and orbit the planet, before the Xeno-Team arrives. So I share the risk.

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The first phase of the build-up at Deep Space Location DSP Luhman 16 TRP Base has been completed, with the arrival of all six of the defense modules:

Three Gadget class Maintenance Stations to support the three combat stations: one Sauron class Beam Weapon Station, one Sentry class RADAR Station with a detection radius of nearly 200,000,000 km (depending on enemy hull size), and a Fighter Base Station with 35 Strike-Fighter plus spare ammunition and fuel.

 

[blue emu]

Two Gadgets will be enough to support a Beam Station and a RADAR station guarding the Refinery in orbit around the Luhman 16 A-1 gas giant.

... and except for the 2,000 ton Pirate Chasers, that should just about settle the defenses of Luhman 16... at least until we open another mine or whatever.

 

[blue emu]

OK, I'm orbiting the planet Bugeyes in the AX Microscopii system... and there appears to be nobody home.

My Actives are ON, by the way.

The next planet out from the sun is interesting... the Colony Cost is N/A instead of ZERO because the Gravity is 0.05g too high. Only that.

Worth breeding a race of slightly high-g Humans?

 

[blue emu]

Excellent! Those two Fat Man Tugs were specifically designed to tow those monstrous Arks around.

Let's go get our Test Ark (the one we built just to try it out - over 500,000 tons IIRC) and see how fast one of these puppies can tow it!

 

[blue emu]

Another experiment:

Can I just store minerals floating around in zero gravity at a DSP? Will they STAY there?

 

[blue emu]

So our new Fat Man class Tugs can tow a half-million-ton Ark at nearly 770 kps.

That's about as fast as a Freighter at early-game, low tech level... they tend to be between 680 and 840 kps, depending on the engine tonnage.

Nice.

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All of the specialized components for our 2,000 ton Pirate Chasers have been researched, and we are only waiting for the shipyards.

 

[blue emu]

I can indeed unload and stockpile minerals in empty space at a designated Deep Space Population.

The next thing to test is whether I can actually bring in workers and industries (such as ground-based Maintenance Facilities, as distinct from our Gadget Orbital Maintenance Bases) and operate them... so that the Gadgets are free to be used elsewhere. I want to use the Gadgets where Pops are impossible.

 

[blue emu]

No.

I cannot unload factories, maintenance facilities, etc at a DSP.

EDIT:

Or missiles. Or Maintenance spare parts.

 

[blue emu]

Alright... that seriously limits the number of things a DSP can do.

It can provide (with Gadgets) overhauls, maintenance and shore leave. So it can keep a fleet in "ready" status.

 

[Wagonlitz]

The main fleet will be based at Earth, with perhaps detachments at major bases such as Luyten's Star and Tau Ceti (both only in the planning stage).

Sounds like a good plan.
I was gonna say to have it be luhmans rather than tau ceti, but luhmans sensors cover the Galapagoean JP, right? If so then we'd know immediately if a hostile fleet arrived that way and can send help from Earth so in that case a fleet in Luhman probably isn't needed.

Perhaps a squadron down in some of the barren systems? Or is it less likely somebody comes from there?

But yeah, as we spread our we probably should have smaller squadrons here and rheee, and not just at the outer limits of our empire. But for now, the outer limits probably will do.

On the other hand, I've volunteered to personally scout the system and orbit the planet, before the Xeno-Team arrives. So I share the risk.

---

The first phase of the build-up at Deep Space Location DSP Luhman 16 TRP Base has been completed, with the arrival of all six of the defense modules:

Three Gadget class Maintenance Stations to support the three combat stations: one Sauron class Beam Weapon Station, one Sentry class RADAR Station with a detection radius of nearly 200,000,000 km (depending on enemy hull size), and a Fighter Base Station with 35 Strike-Fighter plus spare ammunition and fuel.

View attachment 1080731

View attachment 1080732

Will the pirate chasers be based out of that Base too?

The next planet out from the sun is interesting... the Colony Cost is N/A instead of ZERO because the

Could a colony atoll be built using lots of life support?

Worth breeding a race of slightly high-g Humans?

I don't think we should split humanity in two. That's just a recipe for disaster.

 

[Iche_Bins]

Shouldn't a few fighters with one AWACs fighter on each colony mostly do the job? They should have enough range to reach the most important parts. Of their system.

 

[blue emu]

Sounds like a good plan.
I was gonna say to have it be luhmans rather than tau ceti, but luhmans sensors cover the Galapagoean JP, right? If so then we'd know immediately if a hostile fleet arrived that way and can send help from Earth so in that case a fleet in Luhman probably isn't needed. - Each system with a colony - and Luhman 16 has Claymore - will get a small squadron of Pirate Chasers anyway, for Trade Protection. The Pirate Chasers are only 2,000 tons apiece. Even a combined squadron of seven of them is cheaper and easier to maintain than a single AWACS or Carrier (25,000 tons).

Perhaps a squadron down in some of the barren systems? Or is it less likely somebody comes from there? - Except for knocking out the odd unmanned listening post, there isn't much DAMAGE that opponents can do to us there. Not until we expand past the Dead Suns waste. Or start mining the comets there.

But yeah, as we spread our we probably should have smaller squadrons here and rheee, and not just at the outer limits of our empire. But for now, the outer limits probably will do.

Will the pirate chasers be based out of that Base too? - I'm planning to base Pirate Chasers at DSPs, and Fleet elements at colony planets.

Could a colony atoll be built using lots of life support? - It says N/A. The gravity is too high.

I don't think we should split humanity in two. That's just a recipe for disaster. - Possibly so,

Shouldn't a few fighters with one AWACs fighter on each colony mostly do the job? They should have enough range to reach the most important parts. Of their system. - Takes 2 hours to reload Box Launchers. The Jerkmobiles are fast and apparently stealthed (they show up on the display as improbably small targets, which is what Stealth does in-game) so I don't want to underestinate them and leave too small a guard. Also, that 200 million km Fighter strike range sounds impressive... but there are many systems (including Luhman 16 itself) where that only amounts to about a quarter of the trade route length.

 

[blue emu]

February 22nd, 1987

We now have one of each model of Pirate Chaser under construction (Gunship, Box Launcher and AWACS versions)... due out around August (Box Launcher), October (Gunship) and December (AWACS).

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I did something dumb and sent our Arks out empty... ... and now I have to go get them one by one and bring them back, load people into them, and send them back where they go.

 

[blue emu]

The Atotonilco! And there are ten xeno-archeological sites on the planet Bugeyes that we can dig up and investigate.

Unfortunately, the Atotonilco were only TL-2 (early interstellar travel) so we aren't likely to learn much of practical use... we are currently around TL-3.

Let's sent an expedition to dig up the ruins anyway! We'll start by bringing the scientist boys home and replacing them with lots of guns.

A set of STO and a brigade of Space Marines.

 

[Wagonlitz]

Even with pirate squadrons then I still think we should have actual fleet squadrons in some systems, as we expand.