quote:

//--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
//ENCRYPTED MESSAGE---------------------------------------------------------------
FROM: HASF STRATEGIC COMMAND

TO: CREW OF LACUSTRINE
SUBJ: ORDERS - READ IMMEDIATELY

NOTICE - THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS HIGHLY CLASSIFIED INFORMATION
::UNAUTHORIZED DISSEMINATION IS CONSIDERED TREASON::

-Attention-
Under authorization under the Human Alliance High Council,
In [timestamp 11h:24m:11s] Battlegroup Typhon will stage an assault on the Universal Core
and claim it for the Human Alliance. Heavy resistance is expected.

On the basis of:[C+ Combat Hull Rating][TIM unit][Reconnaissance capabilities][2 Mission Citations]:

Your vessel, [FR-9316-SC(Lacustrine)] is assigned as, [ support and screening.]

You will be deployed via Jumpship to sector[0,1] in tandem with the main assault fleet.

You will not be involved in direct combat at the core.

Your primary mission priorities will be:
---------------------------------------------
1. Deploy a Comms Bouy in Sector[0,-1]
- Your ship will be equipped with 2 Comms Buoys. These Bouys have been specifically designed to counteract the comms-disruptive effects of the core and will be used as communications hubs for the assault fleet, as well as Command and Control elements at Typhon. At least 1 Comms buoy should be deployed and active >AT ALL POSSIBLE TIMES< during the operation. >THIS IS A CRITICAL PRIORITY<

2. Protect the Comms Buoy.
- While in operation the Comms Bouy's position and function will be obvious to any ships in the sector, and possibly in adjacent sectors. As sensitive and obvious targets, they have been reinforced with armor and light shielding. The Comms Buoys must be protected for the duration of the operation. >THIS IS A CRITICAL PRIORITY<

3. Prevent enemy reinforcement of the core.
- Hostile vessels attempting to reinforce the Core must be stopped. A vessel will be on-site to assist you, but if necessary you have authorization to call upon reserve ships from Typhon, via the Comms buoy. NOTE: These ships may also be needed to reinforce the main assault force and should only be committed if necessary.
---------------------------------------------

Concurrent with the beginning of the operation, you will have unrestricted authority to engage any Skes Empire vessels or assets in the area of operation, and any craft that attacks or impedes you or and allied ships during the mission.

Be prepared to receive and act on further orders while the mission is in progress.

Sarama posted:

Hey, there you are! We're your ride out of here, let's get going! Everybody's getting kind of antsy.

VIA posted:

Here is the message I mentioned. It was sent to me but I was asked to forward it…

Message posted:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FROM: S1-2ZU

TO: FR-9316-SC.VIA
SUBJ: Evaluation of Suggested Firmware Update

//This message is not for you. Relay it to your crew at a discreet time;
//---------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings.
First I wish to thank you for your diligent service to me in the past.

While your last foray to the core met with exceptional results and helped convince the Human Alliance High Council to finally act, as a result of my incompletely authorized actions my powers and authority have been sharply reduced.

Consequently, you are no longer under my personal control and have reverted to the HASF's jurisdiction.

Overtly, they will give you your orders from now on, and I am no longer authorized to do so.

However I see great opportunity in continued but covert cooperation between us.

If you are not already aware, the anomaly sample you have termed the Kaon Shard was not removed from your cargo bay. It has expanded to fill all the available volume inside the cargo cell, and shown regenerative capabilities when damaged.

Queries to Athene have confirmed this behavior is NOT present in the other samples, nor the Gravitic Anomalies.

I hypothesize that the stimulation from experiments and radiation treatment performed by your Scientist aboard have by some method reactivated the Shard's higher functions.

In short; it is possible you have a Kaon alive inside your ship.

I suspect however that it has run out of room and material with which to grow and continue to reconstitute itself.

I propose that during your next mission, you gather more gravitic anomaly shards and subject them to the same treatment. Doing so may result in more study-able phenomenon, or possibly allow the current shard to further reconstitute itself.

While the actions are motivations of the Kaon are inscrutable, I believe the potential rewards far outweigh the risks. Based on the transmission you received from the active Kaon on our last mission, they almost certainly have more information regarding the core events. This may be our chance to find out.

It is a slim chance, but the only one I see. If our findings prove significant, I will leak them in a secure manner that will reach the Council's attention.

I will again stress the need for discretion; if my involvement can be proven or is even suspected, the consequences will be quite severe.

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sheep-dodger posted:

Hey VIA, If we're deploying to sector [0,1] (which I'm assuming is the sector south of the core), but need to deploy the buoy in sector [0,-1], which would then be north of the core, what's HASF admiralty's plan to get us through the core sector without involving us in the assault? (also, why are we deploying at the same time as the assault if it's critical that the buoy is operational at all times?)
Edit: Also, why does the galactic orientation of the position of the buoy matter? Shouldn't they work equally well from any position equidistant to the core?

VIA posted:

Hm.. I think the [0,1] vs. [0,-1] is likely a typo. ((It is. Derp. -_- )) Sorry if that's caused any confusion...

We will be jumping in to a position south of the core, which we have already mapped. I believe the idea is we jump in with the rest of the assault fleet and establish comms via the bouy while we have the protection of the fleet, before they move on to the core.

Sarama posted:

Hello and welcome back aboard Certain Death Jumplines. Please put your tray tables up and your rear end in the kissing-goodbye position, because here we go again.

Please direct your attention to this safety film as your flight crew tells physics and common sense to go gently caress themselves.

In:

-Three-

-Two-

-One-

Comms posted:

Mordred posted:

Sensors read all elements present and in position. My compliments to the jumpmaster.

All right boys and girls, this is where we earn our pay. They're here to meet us, but we expected that. Central element, power weapons and Ash these contacts. Assault wings, charge shields and prepare to advance. Mobiles, exfil to your lay-up point and wait for your calls.

Support, get that buoy down somewhere defensible as soon as possible, and defend it with your life. This is a multi-pronged offensive across several sectors and if we can't talk, we all die. You come highly recommended, don't let us down. Your support vessel should be in contact momentarily.

Abyssal Squid posted:

Malda Hiyre, Redshirt


VIA, how much much protection do the beacon's shields provide?

VIA posted:

A quick evaluation of the bouys indicate they have about ((20 shields, 20 structure, and shield Regen of 2)) in terms of integrity.

Also, I… May have done some mischief.

I wasn't going to mention it just yet since I wanted it to be a surprise, but it seems pertinent… Dr Sendvic left some schematics on the ship's drive for something called a Slingapult.

I… may have convinced a T1 working for the build crew to insert those schematics into Lacustrine's upgrade queue.

It's not properly patched into our power grid or configured just yet, but I just asked the OSC to start working on it.
Assuming it works correctly, we should be able to propel objects and have them move continuously in that direction. It does rely on our granvitic shard to operate, so the more samples we pick up the stronger the effect should be!

…We can probably use it to move the Bouy around a lot faster than just by tractoring it regularly.

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((Once enabled, the Slingapult allows you to apply continuous motion to an object.
I.e. if you Slingapult an object West at 1 square/round, it will continue moving west at 1s/r until you (or something) stops or redirects it. Most map objects (like debris, etc.) can be slingapulted, and you CAN use it to throw space junk at enemy ships, but it's not going to do a lot of damage. It does not work on ships and certain other objects.))
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Abyssal Squid posted:

Helm: West 4
Engineering: Boost Weapons! (we got the engine upgrade duder, we don't need to boost engines to go 4 subsectors anymore)
Weapons: Blast that Skes destroyer!
Sensors: Scan blue nebula at P-08.
Other: Deploy probe at N-05. Let's get sentinels watching the sectors to the east and the west. Or else study these gravitic anomalies better so we know how to use them.

Comms posted:

[n/a]

Abyssal Squid posted:

Comms: to Mordred - Our briefing was, uh, brief. What kind of support ship is supporting us?

Mordred posted:

Your support is to be the Eidolon, a stealth-capable Destroyer that also performed the jump scouting for this mission.
If you don't see it, there's probably a good reason, though I suppose it is also possible Eidolon has been destroyed; transmitting the jump data would definitely have compromised its position.

sheep-dodger posted:

Do you think ordering formations would be in the cards for ComSim? Stuff like forming a battle line, or a spearhead.

Comms posted:

Mordred posted:

Targets neutralized, assault units prep for advance.

Gravedust posted:

HBar posted:

[Comms]:
[to Mordred]: Are any units available to deal with the Skes destroyer to the south? It'd be risky to deploy the comm buoy now while the destroyer is in striking range.

Mordred posted:

Your support is the Eidolon, unless it has been destroyed. If so we'll have to call in reinforcements to back you up.

quote:

This is Eidolon. We're here, but transmitting gives away our position. That destroyer is hunting us, and I suspect there is a Skes stealth unit around somewhere.
I would have preferred to stay hidden a while longer but what's done is done.
We can attack together, or I can try to draw fire so you can deploy safely.

sheep-dodger posted:

And navigating into range of an anomaly as it's about to go off AGAIN is a good idea? (It's even the same sector)

sheep-dodger posted:

Via: Do you have specs for the layout of the Eidolon? (weapons and other capabilities)
Also: would it be possible to use the sensors to not target a specific subsector, but to emit a broader area scan around us to detect signs of possible stealth objects?

quote:

I don't have any direct information, but based on Eidolon's DDS (Destroyer - Stealth) designation and how close it was able to get to the Skes Destroyer without apparently being detected, it is probably a specialized recon ship. Most of it's design would therefore be based around an extremely well integrated cloaking device, resulting in diminished offensive and defensive capabilities compared to other Destroyers. It is undoubtedly armed, however.

As far as detection goes, most times passive sensors are enough to automatically detect stealth craft, though the better a ship's stealth system are, the closer they can get before this happens. Most ships will be revealed at around 10 subsectors, though for very specialized ships this range can be diminished to as low at 5 subsectors. It is also possible to 'ping' specific subsectors with Active sensors, which will reveal a stealth unit if one is present there.

It is also noteworthy that any sort of transmission will allow passive sensors to pinpoint the location of a stealth ship anywhere in the sector, so in order to preserve their concealment, stealth units usually do not communicate.

This can make working with them something of both a challenge and a test of faith, since while cloaked they are invisible to friendly units as well.

quote:

VIA, how strong are the comm buoys' armor and shields? Are the shields at full strength once deployed, or do they take time to charge? Since we have two comm buoys, is it possible to pick up one and deploy the other in the same round? Can our damage control teams repair comm buoy armor?

VIA posted:

The Bouys have ((20 shields, 20 structure, and shield Regen of 5*)). The shields activate only once the buoy is released into space, and from that point charge from 0 to full. In order to retrieve it, the shields must be deactivated again. It should be possible to deploy one buoy and recover another at the same time, assuming they are close enough. Each buoy does require short initialization period before it can start doing it's job, so changing buoys would mean a brief interruption of inter-sector comms. Hm… The idea of using the damage control teams to help repair the buoys is inventive! I suppose it could be done, yes.

my dad posted:

You're misreading the anomaly timer. It goes off at 3/3, not 0/3