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

[Alexis Voltaire]

Back to the storyline:
Shall I go ahead and post the Badger, et al, docking in New Purgatory?

Sounds good. I had pretty much intended the bit I posted with the storm to take place at about that time. So it'll probably pass through a few hours after the the ships have docked.

The Schatzenjaeger may encounter some problems when that happens though, since it'll scramble (and possibly damage) their navigational instruments.

[Zuttle D. Curious]

Noted. But how dangerous would this storm be to a small scout ship?

[MWBailey]

devastating, I'd imagine, if it were not strengthened against such stresses.


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We have had a mason who travels around Vadhagh-style, and have a former-Texan Indian/Nepali Air security officer who can "flit"/teleport/call it what you will.

And now...

Yes, You guessed it, the Beau Rosin's presence means that Mad Jack Pulsifer (one of my time-and-space-travelling steamwestern characters) is somewhere nearby; don't worry, I wont bring MW Brantley in, Mad Jack needs his own separate exploits.

Mad Jack is the most wanted/sought-after man in all of time. Literally. Both regular authorities from the late English renaissance to to the 28th-century  Plutonian Hegemony, as well as  various spatio-temporal enforcement organizations such A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.I. (don't ask, it's an acronym that is partially alien in origin and has driven trained linguists insane) and the Celestial Intervention Agency (to name only two) are constantly after him for crimes they think he's committed, showing up decades, even  centuries in the past or future without apparently aging, or aging far too much (He's actually one of Bailey's Texas Revolution contemporaries), or just to try and confiscate his Chronojammer time machine...or to keep people from confiscating it... It's a sometimes colorful, sometimes violent, always confusing and active, and sometimes rip-roaring life ol' Mad Jack leads...  and nine times out of ten, it's his own damn fault...

The Beau Rosin is being fitted with a cavorite core and a similarly-operating device built into a new lightly-armored envelope, and having an aether-capable prop added.

Of course, if the character is objectionable , he can be removed...

[Alexis Voltaire]

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see what sort of trouble this'll lead to...

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Noted. But how dangerous would this storm be to a small scout ship?

The way I imagined it, aether doesn't act forcefully on objects that aren't magnetized. (thus no friction on ships, it acts pretty much like a vacuum) It's sort of a substance outside the normal realm of physics, it can be manipulated by magnetic forces, but matter itself doesn't really affect it. (It's probably not even a 'substance', in the usual sense of the word.)

Ships with steel hulls would need to be degaussed every so often, so that the natural magnetism of the metal itself doesn't cause unnecessary friction. (similar to the way ships, in WWI I believe, were made to be mostly 'invisible' to magnetic mines.)

This could get really bizarre if we start taking into account the really strong magnetic fields of Jupiter, and that ships entering it's atmosphere (like Bailey mentioned, I think) would obviously get magnetized to a great degree. So they would probably need some sort of on-ship mechanism to degauss them after they left the atmosphere, so they wouldn't be affected by the huge amount of friction this would create when they entered aether space.

Philadelphia Experiment... 

[MWBailey]

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see what sort of trouble this'll lead to...

---

Noted. But how dangerous would this storm be to a small scout ship?

The way I imagined it, aether doesn't act forcefully on objects that aren't magnetized. (thus no friction on ships, it acts pretty much like a vacuum) It's sort of a substance outside the normal realm of physics, it can be manipulated by magnetic forces, but matter itself doesn't really affect it. (It's probably not even a 'substance', in the usual sense of the word.)

Ships with steel hulls would need to be degaussed every so often, so that the natural magnetism of the metal itself doesn't cause unnecessary friction. (similar to the way ships, in WWI I believe, were made to be mostly 'invisible' to magnetic mines.)

This could get really bizarre if we start taking into account the really strong magnetic fields of Jupiter, and that ships entering it's atmosphere (like Bailey mentioned, I think) would obviously get magnetized to a great degree. So they would probably need some sort of on-ship mechanism to degauss them after they left the atmosphere, so they wouldn't be affected by the huge amount of friction this would create when they entered aether space.

Philadelphia Experiment... 

That's one of the reasons for the Sutter's 's helical aether screw; also, originally, she would have been covered in either tiles, like the space shuttle, or in some form of celluloid armor.

[Zuttle D. Curious]

.... O.o So what would happen? The Aether force would "push" an insufficiently degaussed ship far faster than it should go in a displeasing direction? (possibly resulting in collision with another object...)

Or would it be just a cause of friction causing a huge increase in heat and eventually possible explosion?

[MWBailey]

I'd say, probably the first, along with the second, but only after a certain point of no return. It'd probably be much the same as what happens inside the tube of a rail or coilgun, with the tunnel bored through the aether by the ship as it passes through it serving as the charged tube that causes the object being fired (in this scenario, the ship) to slip along at greater and greater velocity relative to the static charge built up.

A 'de-gausser' might be as simple as a construction similar to the cranes used on the sterns and midships of the Trilidian Miners' ships to attach lines to and haul the ore trailers; sort of a 'trailing ground' feature... I would imagine, however, that a solar storm would also carry a radiation (and thus, extreme heat) component, that would still make navigation during one a very dangerous proposition indeed.

[Alexis Voltaire]

The bit about the Santiago is based on a true story my dad told me from when he was in the Navy.

At the time dad was a gunner's mate on the USS Savage (though as he said, it was often spelled with an 'L'), out of Pearl Harbor. The ship then was part of the DEW, or Distant Early Warning line, watching for missiles coming over the pole from the USSR. They would, as he put it, 'bob around in a big circle' about two hundred miles south of the Aleutian islands, for several months at a time.

One night when they were out there something in the ship caught on fire, and they got a call to 'general quarters, this is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill.' They had to empty out the ammunition lockers that were close to the fire. They didn't have a lot of time, so they just threw everything over the side. By the time they had almost gotten everything out, he said the metal bulkhead at the back of the ammunition locker was actually glowing red hot. Two people were killed in the fire, one who went down to try and put it out, and another that went down to try and get the first person out.

They did get in some trouble for throwing the ammunition over the side, and from what I remember dad saying, it was either him or someone else that was there who said 'And what does a destroyer cost you these days?'  

[MWBailey]

A.U.N.T.S.A.L.L.I.'s alien component is meant to have something to do with the developing storyline et al;  and Miss Sally and the "shunting" of Mr. Rodney are just there
1. because (in miss Sally's case) she's teh boss of teh organiozation, and
2. to give a sense of urgency to Mr. Rodney's mission and plight in light of the storm.

It's not just Mr.Rodney who's on the way; he's carrying much-needed supplies, and recruits (some of which are completely new pairs) for the Dragon Corps. Being subsidized by her majesty's service does have its perks. Problem is, it's a long-distance traverse, in what is basically an airtight shipping container, so it tends to be vulnerable to things like solar flares, which have an influence in Hyper as well as Normal/Aether space.

I will have to confess that I really don't have all of the letters taken care of in the AUNTSALLI acronym; the alien (Metezoin, perhaps?) component does make a handy opportunity, though...

[Alexis Voltaire]

Pics! 

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Both khukhuris. They still have a lot of belt sander marks. The blades, measured, from what I can recall, by placing a ruler along the flat part of the back to where the tip ends on that 'line', are 11 1/2 inches long. Confusing, but I'm not sure what the exact method is for measuring them.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

detail on the blades.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

detail on the handle. Also shows the thickness of the blade material some.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The wood in that pic is pretty soft, actually.

The edge took about 5-6 hours per blade. I spent about two or two and a half hours rough-forming the angle on an 80 grit belt on a belt sander, running one side of the blade down once, turning it over and doing the other side once, ect, until it was down to where there I wanted it. Took a lot of time just for that, but it gave a good even edge on both sides. Another hour or so on a 120 grit belt, doing a bit finer but still rough forming. Then I spent about two hours or so on each blade finishing the edge by hand with pieces of 250(ish) and 320(ish) grit sandpaper.

They don't have notches yet, and since the metal is, to use the technical term, hard as the hinges of hell, there aren't many ways to put them in. I'm also somewhat worried about how the blades will hold up with them in, since it would seem to make a weak spot where there really shouldn't be one. They'll get put in, but I'm still thinking on how much and how deep.

It's currently 4 AM...  I'll have to finish the rest of this tomorrow.

[Theosophus Grey]

Beautiful job, Alexis!

[MWBailey]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Both khukhuris. They still have a lot of belt sander marks. The blades, measured, from what I can recall, by placing a ruler along the flat part of the back to where the tip ends on that 'line', are 11 1/2 inches long. Confusing, but I'm not sure what the exact method is for measuring them.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

detail on the blades.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

detail on the handle. Also shows the thickness of the blade material some.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The wood in that pic is pretty soft, actually.

Alexis, you ought to put this on the Tactile thread too, this is a major achievement! - plus the metallurgically-inclined folks over there would be able to help with the notch-cutting equipment, etc. much more than a scrap-sharpening knife-making neophyte like myself can.

I'm not much on the original process...

As far as wher eteh notches go, my big "Police Service"/'Gurkha" Khukuri (note the modern RL spelling )) has its notches approx. just shy of 1/4 inch from where the wooden handle ends (it has no metal bolster), and they are approximately 3/8 inch deep, BUT they are on a sort of bulge in teh profile of teh blade at that point.

I think the reason (Just my two cents, other explanations may be more valid) for the bulge close to the handle is to avoid the "weak point" that you mentioned caused by the notching. Also, there seems to be a sort of taboo against locating the notches right hard up against the handle; from a stress standpoint, I think you can understand why that might be a bad idea, since it would not only be a notch, but also a notch held rigid in a semi-flexible, relatively-narrow flat right up against a fulcrum (the end of the handle), which would to my mind be a recipe for disaster.

It looks to me as though there is a slight increase in width between the tangs and the beginnings of the blade edges on your Khukuris, so I would advise perhaps honing (meaning with a file) the two notches, small, on that edge and up a quarter or a couple of cents more up from the handle, then grind the blade back down from there toward the middle of the blade, just enough to have a bulge. or not; some blades I've seen on the net have no bulge *shrug* I would guess that it depends on the style of the individual.
 

Great Job! I want one of em! (J/K)(well, not completely joking.... could I hold one? Pretty please? oh, hey, how about this coconut, ya want me ta slash it for ya? mwa ha ha ha...oh, uh...*sweatdrop*   )

[Alexis Voltaire]

Busy yesterday. Ah, the joy of cleaning black powder... (seriously, I think I may have some sort of weird disease that makes me enjoy doing it, no one else does ) It was a good day though... Got my first 10X on my first shot. (it was only 25 yards, but even so) Only loaded without powder once. Got to have some really good chili, and it didn't rain and the weather was actually (slightly) above freezing this time.

-Continued

The handles are walnut (local area stuff, actually, which is really nice considering that's similar to the traditional wood.) They have a slight downward curve, somewhat because the back of one of the blades was right on the back of the original metal, and I had to make room for the flared end. It works out very nice though, and the curve feels good on it. The handles are rough-sanded on the 80 grit, and I had started to sand one of them down better, but it started getting too slick to hold on to very well, so I gave up on that and roughed it back up some. They do have some interesting grain and a couple of knots that would show up nice if they were sanded smooth, but they're meant as working blades, not really display, so I went for being able to hold onto them. They're still dry, and hopefully soon they'll get an overnight soak in linseed oil, and they'll be a bit darker.

As for the sheaths, I haven't figured them out quite yet. Suffice to say my cousin wasn't happy about the idea of ripping boards down from a half-round of tamarack. I believe his word was 'insane', which he said repeatedly. So that option is out, at least for now. I might just have to go for something that's already thin, like composite or plywood, if I do that. I've noticed that with the curve on the blade and the way a sheath would have to be made, a regular leather sheath probably wouldn't last long for normal use. It might work though, if it had an extra piece of leather on the inside protecting the stitching. (that might not last either... but it seems doing a wood sheath properly, plus covering it in leather, will take a very long time)

I think the reason (Just my two cents, other explanations may be more valid) for the bulge close to the handle is to avoid the "weak point" that you mentioned caused by the notching. Also, there seems to be a sort of taboo against locating the notches right hard up against the handle; from a stress standpoint, I think you can understand why that might be a bad idea, since it would not only be a notch, but also a notch held rigid in a semi-flexible, relatively-narrow flat right up against a fulcrum (the end of the handle), which would to my mind be a recipe for disaster.

It looks to me as though there is a slight increase in width between the tangs and the beginnings of the blade edges on your Khukuris, so I would advise perhaps honing (meaning with a file) the two notches, small, on that edge and up a quarter or a couple of cents more up from the handle, then grind the blade back down from there toward the middle of the blade, just enough to have a bulge. or not; some blades I've seen on the net have no bulge *shrug* I would guess that it depends on the style of the individual.

That's about what I had figured on the notches. The blades do have a width increase of a bit under 1/4 inch just in front of the handle, mostly for the reason of putting the notches in. Since the edge is already on them though, I don't want to grind them down any more. I think if I put them on that part, like you said about 1/4 inch away from the handle, and outside the 'line' of the handle, It'll probably be fine. I was also planning to have the inner parts of the notches rounded a bit, rather than sharp. Might not make much of a difference, but I think it would probably reduce the stress area.

Finding a file that can notch them is something else, from what my cousin's said... Haven't tried it myself, though, so I'll see what I can come up with.

I've got the two small knives roughed out for shape, need to put pins, handles, and an edge on them still.

Even if I don't make a wood sheath, I'm going to try to keep it as traditional as I can. I'm not sure about the sharpening steel though, (never having actually used one either) Any suggestions on that would be welcome.

This is actually my first knife project like this from the point of scale and time involved. I've made a few knives before, but the first two were only the handles (doesn't count, really) and the others were very rough compared to this. (I'll have to get a pic of the bowie with the band saw teeth on the back, though. )

Tried out cutting buckbrush with mine today, works very well, thought I did manage to notch the tip a bit. Nothing too bad, just needs some good resharpening. I probably need some practice on angle.

For some reason the first pic isn't showing up on my computer now... I'll try it again.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Great Job! I want one of em! (J/K)(well, not completely joking.... could I hold one? Pretty please? oh, hey, how about this coconut, ya want me ta slash it for ya? mwa ha ha ha...oh, uh...*sweatdrop*   )

Actually... I wasn't planning on keeping them both. Generally when I make something, art, writing, projects, whatever, I do it in hopes that it'll be appreciated, rather than just for achieving something, making money on it, ect. There's so much work and time in these that I'd like the other to go to someone who'll appreciate it, rather than it just collecting dust on my shelf somewhere.

I'd be more than happy to send you one when I get them done.  

Is there anything you'd like written on the blade or the sheath? (I'll find a way... somehow...)

[MWBailey]

Lordy! *falls over in a surprised faint*
I'm flattered, believe me! Only...

If there were any way I could accept such a generous offer, I would, but it's just not possible at present; doing so would  place me in a very precarious position both at home (they are already leery of my swords and knives, and paranoid as hell about the internet), and in regard to my tax bracket (out of which I cannot afford to stray at present) 

But Lordy Almighty I'm flattered!

[MWBailey]

In regard to Bailey's and Kirza's imprisonment...

Talk about eerie, I was just wondering last night what would happen if they found themselves in such a predicament...

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Sorry about the short posts, we've been getting back from the hospital at all hours, and the zany, nonstop pathos and effort of getting hospital personnel to do their job (the phrase "implacable stupidity" also springs to mind) had me pretty much prostrated last night after 11 or so.

In case no one's figured it out just yet, Mad Jack adn Miss Sally are from a different dimension, where the Texas Revolution was still successful, and there was a Bayou Marauder Mercenary Company, but Dreyfuss survived being shot down and became a flag-level liaison to HMSS; Mad Jack didn't die (he did in the Badger's mileau, hence the lack of paradox danger, and the possibility of Bailey killing him when he shows up again later), and Texas would be more likely than Germany or the other world powers (of which Texas is one) to be toddling around the system with a huge battleship.

Jack's ability to hear the dragons is apparently inborn, and has never manifested itself elsewhere for any number of reasons (Mainly the lack of Moon Dragons, I'm thinking). Unfortunately, for the opposition, he is like Bailey and can hear ALL of the dragons ALL of the time, never having been trained to use this ability which he did not realize until now that he had -- but unlike Bailey, he is nefariously guileful enough to figure out how to use it on the fly, and trace the source of certain interesting conversations he's been involuntarily eavesdropping on...

Another factor? like John Carter of ERB's books, he can read, receive, and send, but unless he sends the thought, the denizens of  teh Badger's Mileau cannot read one Iota of his mind, nor affect his perception. He doesnt quite realize that fact yet, however...

...And he has left the chronojammer and the Beau Rosin out-of-phase; no one can get aboard (or get off) until he performs a certain action (yes, he does have a device similar to Brantley's that he has told no one about)...

Dare we hope?   ...


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I'm off now to take my car to the shop and get the dent repaired and hopefully get a rental to take up the slack...

[Alexis Voltaire]

Lordy! *falls over in a surprised faint*
I'm flattered, believe me! Only...

If there were any way I could accept such a generous offer, I would, but it's just not possible at present; doing so would  place me in a very precarious position both at home (they are already leery of my swords and knives, and paranoid as hell about the internet), and in regard to my tax bracket (out of which I cannot afford to stray at present)  

But Lordy Almighty I'm flattered!  

Sorry that it won't work out. I understand about your situation, though.

I'll probably end up keeping the other one around anyway, if your situation changes, and it hasn't wandered away into my junk collection where I can't find it, I'll still be happy to send it to you.

And/or, if I ever find myself in your part of the world, (never know, it COULD happen... I have friends in Arizona and other places around the southern US) I'll try and look you up.  

edit: yeah, kind of loopy from a change in my lack-of-sleep schedule. It's why I normally never write until late (though sometimes that causes several edits later to untangle the awkward sentences)

[Alexis Voltaire]

It isn't clear in the last post, but Shi-Markia is doing stuff long-range mentally, and isn't anywhere near Zhan at the time.

Just thought I'd clear that up here, since it doesn't exactly read that way and I couldn't really come up with a way to make it obvious.

[MWBailey]

OHOOoooo... looks like the Beau Rosin is going to be going on the warpath...

The Beau has been used before for long-range travel and attacks; she's been all the way to a different Mars (albeit after being rebuilt to a much different configuration; sort of like a wooden hovertank) but that was years in the future of the current debacle and in a different set of dimensions.

They should have the cavorite-augmented envelope installed, as well as the onship (scow) cavorite unit by the time Pulsifer and Rodney stop their pissing contest and they decide to track down Bailey and the troublesome Shi-Markia...

[Theosophus Grey]

Apologies for my absence, I had a serious turn in my ongoing health issues and have been lying low.  I am following along, good stuff!  Will post soonest - Best, Theo

[Alexis Voltaire]

I had an idea about what the Star of India might actually be.

The Star of India is, in it's drawn version, what's called a 'power symbol'. It's used as the equivalent of a power source for a written 'spell', like Bailey mentioned. Power symbols are linked directly to a main source, through a 'true symbol', or physical object of the same design. The power symbol, when drawn correctly and linked with the writing, links to the true symbol and draws power through it from the source.

One problem is that the link from the drawn symbol to the true symbol limits the power it can use. (Like the need for a shield generator that Bailey mentioned, otherwise the symbol itself wouldn't be enough) The 'true symbol' works slightly different from the drawn one, and doesn't really have a limiting factor.

This could partially explain the fragmented bits of voices, since the stone was broken, and the symbol is still there but the words are separated and some are missing

[MWBailey]

That's pretty much the way that i imagined it, also that the Power symboil , acting like an electrical connector, could be made to draw power from either a True Sourse or a regular, mundane electrical (or other energy) outlet or generated source. I suppose one might be able to run small inscriptions on batteries, in that context, like maybe "Bagdad batteries" powering a small boobytrap or "flashlight" circuit for lighting a tunnel when triggered...(don't hit me, it was just a thought )

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anybody go ahead and post whatever, I'm planning to eventually post an example of Rodney and Pulsifer working together/threatening each other/achieving uneasy harmony to the goal (the rescue) and a description of the Beau Rosin's "bridge" and temporal controls, as well as fire control, etc.

For now, however, I must away to my ultrasound appointment. Wish me luck...

[Alexis Voltaire]

Nice description of the 'circuitry' functions, interesting... I hadn't thought of an 'electrical factor', but that's a really fascinating idea.

I have (quite a bit of) stuff to put in at this point, just trying to figure out right now how to tie it in with the current storyline. hope to post more soon.

Interestingly enough, I noticed a while ago that Neptunium IS actually a named element on the periodic table... a fact of which I was completely unaware (and I'm almost positive I'd never even heard the name before), and find unusual, since I used to read the periodic table all the time in school (kind of like the dictionary, though I never did that. Mostly it was out of boredom and a lack of anything else to read)

I have plans for what Shi-Markia is doing, among other things, it's roughly the equivalent of a teleport.

[Alexis Voltaire]

Hope I'm not going off on too many odd tangents here...   I've been having some rather odd distractions lately and I had to modify plans slightly for the Star of India and the 'true symbol' bit. hopefully the going off solo (as in not really having a spot for others to write in) part won't last long.

My last post might get some minor edits, because I realized there's some points I missed putting in there, to have it make more sense.

Hopefully, this won't turn into another time the Drene-Vah just get killed off. (I'm trying to get better at writing them, mainly )

As for the solar storm, I also kinda missed writing some stuff on that. Realistically, the ships near Mars and the base on Deimos might not have taken near as much damage as others closer to the sun would have... Hopefully this will tie in with the Drene-Vah finally getting a thing or two that they want...

[MWBailey]

No problem, I was just thinking that its about time Sheriff Morrison and his enforcers woke up and started trying to interfere -- er, I mean, regulate the violent and unruly activity... they benig this almighty powerful policing force and all... Just a short post, a "shot over the bow, literally...

[Alexis Voltaire]

When Shi-Markia took the star, she took the source of energy that was powering the lights, shields, ect. in the place. (that much of it would need a huge amount of power, I'm thinking, and something that wouldn't run out over the several (thousand?) years it's been there.)

Got to watch The Man Who Would Be King last night, finally. Good movie, and well done adaptation.

I have to ask, Bailey, is the scene in Khyber pass where that name came from? (I could have misheard it, but it sounds really similar )