H.M.A.S Badger ~ Online Æther Ship ~ Member's Wanted (OOC Thread)

[MWBailey]

I've been wondering about the orientation of the ship; does teh badger stand at rest on its belly (A) or on its fins(B)?

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[img=http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/th.3c95e838ed.jpg]

Seems to me, if we're going to get a map done, this really ought to be decided first...

MWBailey

[Theosophus Grey]

Well met, sir, I was mulling the same over the weekend; let's talk naval architecture before the Germans intrude.

HMAS Badger, new class aetherliner, civilian construction.  Traditional cigar-shape but mounted in a two-piece longitudinal flat iron frame, one each horizontal and vertical intersecting in right angles at the bow and stern, both to provide support for sectional rotation (as mentioned by Mr. Bailey) of the 'cigar' and on which are mounted the four fins (as mentioned by Miss Voltaire), ballast tanks, and turbofans for atmospheric trim and thrust, as well as the forward landing sprit.  The conical forward and aft terminal sections of the 'cigar' are fixed to the open frame and do not rotate, containing the command and engineering functions respectively, reached by gangway from the primary corridors (as mentioned ad nauseum).  Thirty 3-meter thick, disc-like "decks" stretch between these endpoints, each free to rotate independently within the frame to provide gravity while in aether, centered on a non-gravitic primary access corridor that runs the length of the ship.  Passengers and nonessential crew are gathered in the 'lower' lounges during atmospheric maneuvers when the discs are locked in place, and are released to move about the ship once the slowly turning sections are brought up to 1g after having left the gravity well of a planet.  (This is an innovation for the Badger-class ships - existing aether ships rely solely on acceleration/deceleration to provide periods of gravity, and are non-gravitic most of the time.)

Unlike an airship, there is no bag or cell of lift gas, although same is still used as trimming ballast, and is stored in compressed form in the engine room (as mentioned during the meteor shower).  Primary lift is provided by the (highly unstable and extremely expensive) cavorite core, while two drive systems provide thrust - atmospheric by mach-pressure fans (thrusters), and aetheric by simple fission reaction of hydrogen fuel, the latter also providing onboard power (think Nautilus) and additional lift gas for trim control.  All major systems are hydraulic in preference to electrical, as befits a SP world, requiring almost continuous mechanical maintenance (oh what fun!).  Efficiency on all these systems is very low, resulting in high fuel consumption and a very competitive market for more advanced drive systems (right, Mr. Nightshade?).  To answer Mr. Bailey's question - neither, sir; the ship has not touched the ground since the cavorite core was brought on line, and never shall unless it crashes (heaven forefend) - all ground operations would be by landing mast or hovering, unless serious structural repairs were necessary, in which case there are four extendable landing struts to prevent damage to the fins or hull.

Navigation is by aetheric compass, which registers both proximity to and direction from the Sun (based on its sensitive detection of cosmic rays) rather than the magnetic pole of a planet, giving both horizontal and vertical bearing from the solar system's ecliptic plane and distance from the primary star (i.e., a position would be read as 94 degrees mark 227 degrees mark 1.2 AU).  The bridge's nav station includes this compass, a powerful telescope to doublecheck positions by star chart, and the radiograph, a primitive form of sonar that picks up reflected UHF waves as generated from the ship's antenna, the reading of which is more art than science (as mentioned by bridge officer Moreau after the meteor shower).  Visual navigation is made through the glass dome that forms the nose of the ship, and covers the bridge.

Unarmored except for its polished 'aluminium' hull (with the exception of the extremely thick cavorite enclosure in the engine room), and unarmed except for one forward Tesla cannon intended for asteroid control, the Badger is nonetheless heavily built and able to absorb a great deal of damage before foundering; designed in radial sections, hull penetrations are easily isolated by bulkheads (just like the Titanic - and we all know how well that worked out...).

[Theosophus Grey]

My thanks to Nightshade for getting me aboard in time! I was unexpectedly away from the computer this weekend. 

I also left my usb drive plugged into the computer at work, and I had a lot more (important) stuff to include in my last post that I'm not able to put up right now. gahh! 

since I can't really put it in later in the story, I'll go back tomorrow and edit my last post to include it. please bear with me! 

(interestingly enough, Vilkaus may have something that will be able to take care of that ship following you) 

Welcommen, bienvenue, come on in... 

[Theosophus Grey]

I tried to keep the action from being too awfully graphic (Esp. forebore the description of gore resulting from gunshot wounds and employment of the Khukhuri -its a pretty brutal weapon in any case, but figured some swordplay might be in order; my character's attack was not nearly as darkly brutal as the kind that Bailey's kind of blade is famous for)

I will, of course, make whatever changes are requested.

Not at all, excellent CQB tactics applied, sir.  BTW, I'm a knife collector and former cutlery tradesman myself, and am familiar with what I know as the khukri - is there a reason for the different spelling?  I'm assuming yours is the more authentic, just curious.

[sevenlies]

I think I may have to bow out of the story/game for right now.  Things are just too hectic IRL and I simply don't have time to keep up...you guys post too fast for me to keep up with! 

Hopefully I'll be able to rejoin later.  It was fun while it lasted!

[Cornelius Nightshade]

The following is an article from “space 1889 rpg” I have read a lot of material from this source, so it tends to be the lens I have been looking at “ out own universe “ with. You might find it interesting. ,,, or maybe not
=================================

Space: 1889 is set in an alternate universe, similar to our own but with significantly different physics. The inspiration for the setting comes primarily from the science fiction of the late 19th century. The Space: 1889 timeline begins to diverge from our own in the late 1860s, with the proof of the existence of the ether.

 A theoretical construct first proposed by Rene Descartes in 1638, the ether was described by 19th century scientists as the medium through which light waves and other types of energy were transmitted as vibrations. In our own universe, the ether theory was discredited by experiments done in the late 19th century and was replaced by relativistic and quantum physics.

 In the Space: 1889 universe, however, the ether exists, and its existence makes travel between the planets possible. In 1868, Thomas Edison, inspired by the theories of the physicist Etiene Moreau, built and tested a device to manipulate the ether. When he found it would not work, he consulted with Moreau, who suggested that the atmosphere was interfering with the device, and that it would work if taken to a sufficiently high altitude. In 1870, attaching his invention to a balloon, he and the Scottish explorer and soldier-of-fortune Jack Armstrong became the first humans to leave the Earth\'s atmosphere, landing on Mars and returning unharmed.

Edison and Armstrong brought back electrifying news -- Mars was inhabited! Within a year dozens of companies were building flyers based on Edison's design, and the race to explore the solar system was on. Mars was the focus of much of the earliest exploration, and while humans found a great deal there that was interesting (described in more detail later in this article), the most interesting was the second major difference between the Space: 1889 universe and our own: liftwood.

Grown only on certain high-altitude groves on Mars, the wood of the liftwood tree has a unique quality -- it resists the force of gravity. Ships equipped with liftwood panels can fly, and so the Martian skies are filled with warships and trading vessels. Humans have been quick to take advantage of this new material, and European gunboats now sail the skies of Mars (and Earth as well).

 Liftwood is rare and expensive, however, and many of the colonial struggles on Mars have their roots in the liftwood plantations. Most liftwood is used now to build spacecraft, liftwood being safer and more easily controlled that balloons for lifting ether engines above the atmosphere.

 What humans have found in the decades since space travel became possible is a solar system that is teeming with life. So far, the limits of exploration are defined by the asteroid belt -- space ships are powered by solar boilers, and the Sun\'s rays are inadequate to go further out. All of the planets within the asteroid belt are inhabited by sentient life at various stages of cultural development, and there are a wide variety of adventure opportunities.

[Theosophus Grey]

Nightshade - Wow, that brings back memories of 1980s tabletop gaming! 

sevenlies - Best wishes, and please post when you can, just jump right in - I find this to be a great stress reliever, myself . 

[Cornelius Nightshade]

more crap no one wants to  or cares to read!





Given the enormous speeds which ether flyers achieve, it is obvious that the energy which drives them is not furnished by the ship's solar boiler. The astonishing fact
is that the energy which accelerates an ether flyer comes from the ether itself. The ether propellor extracts energy from the ether, and uses it to accelerate the ship. The electricity generated by the boiler is used only to trigger the release of etheric energy.
Ether flyers are still subject to Newton's laws of motion. Therefore the ether propellor accelerates the ship, but once the vessel has reached a suitable speed, the Propellor can be shut off and the ship continues to move. Alert readers may wonder why, then, do ether flyers have a maximum speed? Why can they not simply accelerate indefinitely, reaching very high velocities?
The answer lies in the nature of the propellor's interaction with the ether. The amount of energy extracted varies inversely with the propellor's velocity relative to the ether. As an ether flyer approaches
its maximum speed, the energy released from the ether rapidly drops to nothing, making it impossible for the ship to accelerate further. This is why ships with more powerful ether propellors can reach higher speeds: they can extract energy from the ether at higher velocities.
The acceleration produced by an ether propellor is chiefly limited by the strength of the ether flyer's hull and by what the passengers can withstand. Most commercial ether flyers do not accelerate at more than one gravity, but military craft occasionally accelerate at up to two gravities. At an acceleration of one gravity, it takes about half an hour to reach Ether Speed 1.

[Theosophus Grey]

Actually, I like this immensely, it suits the setting - let's assume the aether technology in place of the fission drive I noted, but reserve the onboard mini-reactor concept (a la Nautilus) for electrical power etc.

[Alexis Voltaire]

The post has now been edited to include all the stuff I missed last night.

on an unusual and unrelated note, I came up with the name Vilkaus originally for a time traveler, being a short variation for violator of causality.

---

Great stuff Nightshade! I'm really enjoying the scientific parts of this.    I thought I'd add some of my own:

The 'rifle' that Frank brought is an auto correcting pulsed resonance weapon. it works on the principle of destroying an object using sympathetic resonance, similar to using sound to shatter a wineglass. It has an automatic correcting feature where it sends out a concentrated pulse wave towards the target and receives and 'echo', and corrects its pulse frequency to match. (I have no idea whether this would actually work) It's powered essentially by a large rechargeable battery, and is good for around a hundred shots. it has a short range however (about two hundred yards), due to the fact that the pulse waves dissipate over distance.

this is not really so far fetched, and actually has a basis in working theory. It was inspired by Tesla's experiment's with resonant sound energy.

It also has an 'experimental' aetheric setting. (because sound doesn't travel through space, or so I assume is true here.)

The aetheric setting works by using all the energy in the power cell to send out a concentrated magnetic pulse into the target. It is faster, since it travels at the speed of light, and very effective, as it essentially warps the aether into force waves. (I'm guessing aether has screwy physics that allow an object to pass through it with nearly no friction resistance or turbulence, but that it can be magnetically manipulated to act on other things.) this means it will work in outside of the atmosphere, but only has one shot per power cell.

it was built as an experimental military weapon, but it was, to say the least, a lot more more powerful than anyone expected. it's design was also easy to copy, and it's operation was simple.

The idea of having a standard-issue military weapon that could take out anything from windows to skyscrapers was a bit too much, and those in power that had heard about it knew it would be impossible to keep secret if the plans became known, so they destroyed or hid all the prototypes and plans.

The scientist who designed them was Frank's great-uncle, and somehow or other he ended up with one of the original prototypes.

---
The dart pistol is air-operated and clip fed, and due to not having shells to eject is not as prone to jamming. It's usually used by scientific researchers because it will stop large animal's attacks without killing them.

As for the darts used, pyracantha is an actual species of plant, and is known for having chemicals on it's thorns that are very painful of you get scratched by them. indian firethorn (which I made up) is just a more powerful variety.

I also really want to make one.

[MWBailey]

I tried to keep the action from being too awfully graphic (Esp. forebore the description of gore resulting from gunshot wounds and employment of the Khukhuri -its a pretty brutal weapon in any case, but figured some swordplay might be in order; my character's attack was not nearly as darkly brutal as the kind that Bailey's kind of blade is famous for)

I will, of course, make whatever changes are requested.

Not at all, excellent CQB tactics applied, sir.  BTW, I'm a knife collector and former cutlery tradesman myself, and am familiar with what I know as the khukri - is there a reason for the different spelling?  I'm assuming yours is the more authentic, just curious.

As a collector, yours may very well be the more correct; my experience with the weapon is more recent and strictly conjectural, extrapolated from what I know to be possible with long daggers or machetes.

As faras the proper spelling is concerned, I just figured that we would likely be talking about a British Empire that still retains its Far Eastern possessions, and that being of a Victorian  mileu, its linguistic norms would most likely retain the older spellings of things as the "correct" forms.

It is interesting to note that on the current websites which sell "authentic" examples, the form that you have used, "Khukuri" is prevalent, but on at least one such site (I forget which one), it says that they tend to be alternately spelled khukhuri, khukri, or kukri, but all three are thought to be correct, or something to that effect.

The confusion of spellings is apparently believed to derive from European phonetically-based spellings (or misspellings, perhaps), such as Cookery, Cook-kurry (which I had Bilstrupp use, by the way) and Koo-kree, to mention only three such.

Meh. I digress. I hope I answered your question in there...somewhere...

[Theosophus Grey]

That's interesting, Bailey; you're likely right about the language issue, there was an extensive discussion on another thread about indo-european language differences.  To my knowledge the khukri was and still is the traditional blade of the Nepalese Ghurkas, so I thought it was a perfect addition given your British Empire backstory, nice touch sir.

Alexis, good descriptions of the weapons, definately something you should mod up for a SP convention! 

[MWBailey]

It is unlikely, to my mind and those of Bailey an Bilstrupp,  that the Germans will simply let the Badger go on to Mars without further harassment; the damage to her radio and the fact that what amounts to High Space Piracy (pardon the coinage of a probably ridiculous term) has already occurred, both violations, undoubtedly, of international (interspatial?) law, it seems less likely than a more gruesome fate.

Until the Germans have the new drive system built, perfected, and installed on their ships, the Badger being allowed to roam free seems unlikely; provided that they do not simply scuttle and/or destroy the Badger, it seems likely that she will be an undeclared spoil of war until war erupts. Thus, resistance, and perhaps even taking the Adler (once the big, scary battleship goes away) seem to be the only alternatives to surrender.

Of course, I will go along with whatever the storyline demands.

[Cornelius Nightshade]

.Well,, dose that not, correct me if I am wrong, ASSUME that Mr. Nightshade did in fact tell you the Truth about this "new drive system".

If we ASSUME just for a moment that he my have been less then honest with you and may, just may, have a bargaining chip or two to play.

Even if we do assume that he did tell you the truth , for no other reason then “ because you asked him to”. In till the Germans HAVE what there looking for, the ship is safe.

Who knows what might happen??

Don’t give up the ship!

[Zuttle D. Curious]

*nodds to Nightshade* Yeah, The Germans obviously have SOMETHING to gain by doing this, and something even more to gain by not right out destroying the ship. Must figure out what and Why.

[Alexis Voltaire]

(as mentioned by Mr. Voltaire)

btb Grey, (and I just noticed this) its Miss Voltaire.

I understand the confusion, and I hope it doesn't seem overly weird for me to be writing a male character. I used to write in stories like this on a forum where people did that sometimes. Mostly I'm just not that great at writing female characters.

[Zuttle D. Curious]

(as mentioned by Mr. Voltaire)

btb Grey, (and I just noticed this) its Miss Voltaire.

I understand the confusion, and I hope it doesn't seem overly weird for me to be writing a male character. I used to write in stories like this on a forum where people did that sometimes. Mostly I'm just not that great at writing female characters.

I'm extremely happy you informed us of this, I have been sitting in a pile of confusion for a long while over that.

[Alexis Voltaire]

I'm extremely happy you informed us of this, I have been sitting in a pile of confusion for a long while over that. 

My apologies. 

Like I said, I just noticed that. hopefully I can get a better avatar picture soon.

[MWBailey]

more crap no one wants to  or cares to read!





Given the enormous speeds which ether flyers achieve, it is obvious that the energy which drives them is not furnished by the ship's solar boiler. The astonishing fact
is that the energy which accelerates an ether flyer comes from the ether itself. The ether propellor extracts energy from the ether, and uses it to accelerate the ship. The electricity generated by the boiler is used only to trigger the release of etheric energy.
Ether flyers are still subject to Newton's laws of motion. Therefore the ether propellor accelerates the ship, but once the vessel has reached a suitable speed, the Propellor can be shut off and the ship continues to move. Alert readers may wonder why, then, do ether flyers have a maximum speed? Why can they not simply accelerate indefinitely, reaching very high velocities?
The answer lies in the nature of the propellor's interaction with the ether. The amount of energy extracted varies inversely with the propellor's velocity relative to the ether. As an ether flyer approaches
its maximum speed, the energy released from the ether rapidly drops to nothing, making it impossible for the ship to accelerate further. This is why ships with more powerful ether propellors can reach higher speeds: they can extract energy from the ether at higher velocities.
The acceleration produced by an ether propellor is chiefly limited by the strength of the ether flyer's hull and by what the passengers can withstand. Most commercial ether flyers do not accelerate at more than one gravity, but military craft occasionally accelerate at up to two gravities. At an acceleration of one gravity, it takes about half an hour to reach Ether Speed 1.

This provides an answer to a question I kept getting (and still occasionally do get) from people who asked about a ship I created for another RP, which was originally coal, then oil-fired, and which then switched to something I referred to as "Aether reciprocators" (in the original concept, a steam-analog engine - one that imitates the action of a steam system without using steam- using not steam, but aether to drive its expansion arrays. I nthe version I finally settled on, the "reciprocators" replaced the arrays and powered teh ducted fans that drove the airship. 

People kept asking (and occasionally still do ask) whether the reciprocation array has a maximum speed, or in some questions, if there would still be a maximum speed if the problems of friction, gear resistance, and torque were solved. The answer would of course be "yes," because of the phenomenon that Mr. Nightshade just mentioned, of maximum speed=reduction of available energy. (thinking of tis for future use in this RP, not sure how just yet; maybe an antiquated ship comes to the rescue/offers a tow/drives off the German ships?

Bleh. forget that above, I must be feeling the effects of my new meds (antibiotics, cold medicine, etc)...

[Zuttle D. Curious]

I'm extremely happy you informed us of this, I have been sitting in a pile of confusion for a long while over that. 

My apologies. 

Like I said, I just noticed that. hopefully I can get a better avatar picture soon.

Hey, at least you have an avatar

[MWBailey]

OK, the stage has been set for Mr. Frank Vilkaus to offer his wildly-powerful gun. I hope I didnt steal your thunder, Mr. Nightshade and Miss Voltaire (as per the questions of why the Germans didnt just go ahead and attack). I re-used the idea of a friendly ship coming to the rescue, and recycled it as a possible british warship bolting to the rescue, instead of a "tramp steamer" (so to speak) happening along. That seemed better to work with than a cut-and-dried answer. As ever, I will rewrite, etc, if necessary.

[Theosophus Grey]

(as mentioned by Mr. Voltaire)

btb Grey, (and I just noticed this) its Miss Voltaire.

I understand the confusion, and I hope it doesn't seem overly weird for me to be writing a male character. I used to write in stories like this on a forum where people did that sometimes. Mostly I'm just not that great at writing female characters.

My apologies, I have a male friend named Alexis and simply made an assumption; and not weird at all, good writers have to encompass all character types, male/female, good/evil, young/old, etc.  Keep at it, your descriptions are terrifically visual!

And I agree with Mr. Bailey - given that Frank Vilhaus is already in the main corridor and looking to help, let's give Alexis the opportunity to pick up the thread and offer to use the rifle her character brought aboard; I love the "secret weapon" concept. 

[Cornelius Nightshade]

Why Yes! I mean what are the lives and safety of the passengers when compared to our,{ gonads } “,, self esteem?
A brave man lives but a day, a wise man lives to fight a another day.
BUT, a truly cunning bastard avoids the fight altogether, and lives a hell of a lot longer then two days.

 A wise man said that, his name?
Cornelius Nightshade.

[Theosophus Grey]

"He that fights and runs away, may turn and fight another day; but he that is in battle slain, will never rise to fight again." - Tacitus

Stooping to plagiarism now, are we Nightshade, hmm? 

[MWBailey]

Why Yes! I mean what are the lives and safety of the passengers when compared to our,{ gonads } “,, self esteem?
A brave man lives but a day, a wise man lives to fight a another day.
BUT, a truly cunning bastard avoids the fight altogether, and lives a hell of a lot longer then two days.

Thank heavens for cunning bastards who are on one's own side. May they be forever watchful.