Avastan Planning & OOC

[shaidar]

I'm assuming that you can differentiate between the manufacturers of different plants by the energy signature, like Liv knew the corsair at Inchin had been upgraded with an imperial plant?

[Tiglath]

Yes. Think sonar and submarine warfare as a reference.

Each power plant will have an expected "profile" per manufactured type which you could look for. However, once you have scanned a given plant in sufficient detail you could go one further step and identify its individual data to yield a unique "fingerprint" for that ship.

This field is obviously very much for serious Sensor Ops types only!

[joertexas]

Yes. Think sonar and submarine warfare as a reference.

Each power plant will have an expected "profile" per manufactured type which you could look for. However, once you have scanned a given plant in sufficient detail you could go one further step and identify its individual data to yield a unique "fingerprint" for that ship.

This field is obviously very much for serious Sensor Ops types only!

The senor software should have a good bit of that detail programmed into it - saved profiles and such.

[Tiglath]

Oh absolutely!

As it goes the sensor suite onboard your merchantman (the "Four Nine" - named by Corporate HR) is "surprisingly good" for a trader.

[The Bindoner]

#397 Post by joertexas » Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:06 pm

BackworldTraveller wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 5:54 pm
We could always throw Jess at it!

The fallout would wreck the entire downport.


#398 Post by shaidar » Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:18 pm

you guys are in so much trouble!

Fair point, that's a caustic tongue with an industrial-grade vocabulary.

Jess would be delighted to hear that she has established the proper reputation for an RSM.

[shaidar]

Just to confirm my understanding of the sensor data analysis:

Hawkwind is an Empress Marava II class merchant registered out, from what I can gather this is a 200t ship.

We've identified 2 off 200t ton ships, most likely the 2 support ships, but in theory one could be Hawkwind.

There are further, unidentified, plants further away, plus the masked ship somewhere. I assume we know its around somewhere nearby, but that's it.

Does such masking have to be built into a ship, or can it be part of a building or portable system?

For clarity, and to avoid my denseness, could you mark each ship on the map? It would be very much appreciated. Knowing where there isn't a ship helps us work out how to determine which of the empty bays might have the hidden ship in by obversation of people nearby. The hidden ship may or may not be the Hawkwind, of course.

I'll take another look at the map later when I'm on my laptop.

[Tiglath]

OOC: Basically you are a 200ton trader short of a full house. It appears you have all of the pirate flotilla and/or Hawkwind present except one 200ton trader. So you are missing one of either: Hawkwind (distinctive Empress Marava II class) or Saxon or Nazareth (both being Beowulf Class Type A traders).

The confusion lies with that while you have visual confirmation of the (masked) power plant on the Deliverance (Patrol Corvette) you can only confirm two Imperial standard power plants consistent with 200ton traders without a visual to confirm ship type.

Library data yields this image for the Empress Marava:

[shaidar]

Thanks Tig, that clarifies things a lot now I know it's the corvette that is shielded.

So we need to do some nighttime recon to try and determine if one of those 200t ships is the Hawkwind.

I'm guessing there is little flightplan info available in a place like this? Would we have any telemetry/sensor data from our approach to the planet that might help I'd one of those ships in orbit or nearby?

[joertexas]

Thanks Tig, that clarifies things a lot now I know it's the corvette that is shielded.

So we need to do some nighttime recon to try and determine if one of those 200t ships is the Hawkwind.

We have the chance to wreck their whole operation, while Erica keeps the local forces occupied. We need to move quickly, though, before the ships leave.

[shaidar]

Hmm, what time does it get dark around here?

[Tiglath]

Hmm, what time does it get dark around here?

Nearly always at night!

Say full dark by 1900hrs - there's a light snow shower that will also affect visibility.

There is an either beautifully simple or downright reckless system of air traffic management. The local flight announcer declares that craft are taking off or landing and otherwise you're on your own! Since military (and likely pirate) traffic has right of way its your own fault if you hit or are hit by anything else. From local observation this system is, in turn, apparently trumped by the "Tonnage Rule" whereby craft who will barely notice the impact of something much smaller may assume right of way.

Bizarrely, it seems to work in spite of itself...

[Tiglath]

We have the chance to wreck their whole operation, while Erica keeps the local forces occupied. We need to move quickly, though, before the ships leave.

There may be a reason some of them can't - at least immediately...

[joertexas]

Hmm, what time does it get dark around here?

Nearly always at night!

Say full dark by 1900hrs - there's a light snow shower that will also affect visibility.

There is an either beautifully simple or downright reckless system of air traffic management. The local flight announcer declares that craft are taking off or landing and otherwise you're on your own! Since military (and likely pirate) traffic has right of way its your own fault if you hit or are hit by anything else. From local observation this system is, in turn, apparently trumped by the "Tonnage Rule" whereby craft who will barely notice the impact of something much smaller may assume right of way.

Bizarrely, it seems to work in spite of itself...

Visual separation exists to the point of impact - see and avoid.

[gurusql]

Why would some much of the pirates space force be grounded?

(1) We are just lucky?
(2) Maintenance cycle and the mechanic is only available to the pirates for a short time
(3) There is a "Captain's" meeting - planning something big

In all of the above options this will be a limited time thing.

[Tiglath]

You might be lucky...

Then again some folk make their own luck...

You have seen some movement...

[BackworldTraveller]

So who is on the reaction force for when the non-military recon needs rescuing?

And which of the non-military force are wearing red tops?

[BackworldTraveller]

One option we have for finding the location of the missing ships is recon by death...roll the drones through and see where they die (and what they see as they go).

[Tiglath]

Your spy bot is indeed even sneakier than drones and people...

[BackworldTraveller]

True - But it's the most expensive thing I own. If it needs playing I'll use it for the last minute updates if I can.

[shaidar]

Just checking my understanding:

Four (+) fast moving grav vehicles, some kind of hawkeye providing local EW cover, including ghosting the local security forces (how easy is this?) plus overwatch, which may be separate to hawkeye. Sounds like some kind of forced extraction to me.

Occurred roughly the same time as team left. This might be chance, I can't see an obvious reason it's might be linked to us.

I'm pondering the usefulness of having Jakob have a team ready, in civvies as much as possible.

How long does it take to get into the city?

What is stopping me is that we'll have to blow our cover getting a vehicle out of the ship, unless we can source one elsewhere.