Abandoned scout
- Thread starter vegascat
- Start date
salochin999
SOC-13
On the assumption that all the options were actually possible at the time then I'd impulsively jump in and fly off to Mars and think it through afterwards.
It's good to 20 atmosphere, but I'm not, and I don't think the typical scout comes equipped with waldoes. I can see hovering over the desert trying to find lost gold mines or some such on the densitometer, but how do you treasure hunt in 20 atmospheres if you can't leave the ship, or are you hoping the crew left behind their vacc suits?
I don't have to dive it; I just have to FIND it. Then, with camera footage in hand, I can talk to a buddy who is a deep diver (technically, he's an underwater weld inspector).
My choice would be a dangerous game, as I'd have to crash learn to fly, then take off and land several times as I picked up the other members of my crew from around the world.
"Don't ask questions, just get in the ship and lets go!"
"Don't ask questions, just get in the ship and lets go!"
If I find it, I'm gone.
Grab a toothbrush, grab some clothes, maybe empty the checking account and buy TV dinners, but I'm gone.
First stop is the Sea of Tranquility. I'll pick up the Flag from where Eagle's take off knocked it down and plant it again.
Next stop is Mars. I'll dig Spirit out of that sand patch and place it where it can rove again.
Then I'm gone. Alpha Centauri, Proxima, Barnard's, they all await.
Grab a toothbrush, grab some clothes, maybe empty the checking account and buy TV dinners, but I'm gone.
First stop is the Sea of Tranquility. I'll pick up the Flag from where Eagle's take off knocked it down and plant it again.
Next stop is Mars. I'll dig Spirit out of that sand patch and place it where it can rove again.
Then I'm gone. Alpha Centauri, Proxima, Barnard's, they all await.
I am part of the "Oooooo' Space Ship lets go for a ride crowd ....
yes using superior scanners to find a bunch of Gold, stock food and rum, and away I go with my friends .... maybe dump the design schematics and publish them to the Internet on my way out the door
I maybe leaving, but that doesn't mean I want the old home world rofle stumped when I am gone.
yes using superior scanners to find a bunch of Gold, stock food and rum, and away I go with my friends .... maybe dump the design schematics and publish them to the Internet on my way out the door
I maybe leaving, but that doesn't mean I want the old home world rofle stumped when I am gone.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
To follow up...
I'd want to find a place to hide it ASAP. Why be in a rush to leave when you have no idea how it really works or what you're getting into going to another system. Better to learn some first.
Then there's the database... Always nice to have some useful spending cash and equipment before going on "vacation." Details on other systems in the database alone would be highly valuable. Maybe sell some of the systems designs after patenting them...
Why rush headlong into who-knows-what. Take a year or so to learn how the thing works and what you're going to find when you leave. Also gives you some time to pick who you might want to go with you...
You know... (You to super model at party) "Hey, wanta check out my space ship...?"
I'd want to find a place to hide it ASAP. Why be in a rush to leave when you have no idea how it really works or what you're getting into going to another system. Better to learn some first.
Then there's the database... Always nice to have some useful spending cash and equipment before going on "vacation." Details on other systems in the database alone would be highly valuable. Maybe sell some of the systems designs after patenting them...
Why rush headlong into who-knows-what. Take a year or so to learn how the thing works and what you're going to find when you leave. Also gives you some time to pick who you might want to go with you...
You know... (You to super model at party) "Hey, wanta check out my space ship...?"
I'll "hide" it on the Moon, in orbit, or in deep space. If I stay where I found it on Earth there's a chance some slob will stumble across it just like I did. If I have to move it to where no one can stumble across it, I might as well move it into orbit.
Orbit will be fine. The US has nothing to launch and how fast can the Russians or Chinese get anything in orbit? In orbit I'll have plenty of time to learn what I need to know while flipping off the crew aboard the ISS.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
Whereas I'd try and find somewhere a little less obvious, like a very remote deserted island or maybe at one of the poles where nobody would be looking for it. That'd go double if an air raft were aboard.
If you hide it in orbit it's going to get spotted. That means somebody and likely lots of somebodies are going to take an interest in it. Better to hide it where nobody will look for it.
If you hide it in orbit it's going to get spotted. That means somebody and likely lots of somebodies are going to take an interest in it. Better to hide it where nobody will look for it.
If a I can more several hundred km to the pole or several thousand kilometers to Gilligan's Island, I can move it the same distance straight up. Besides, if I move it within the atmosphere it's going to show up on someone's radar somewhere.
So what? They can see it, but they won't be able to get to it.
They can take all the interest they want, they still can't get at it. The US has no manned orbital lift capabilities and neither the Russians or Chinese can quickly pull a Proton-M or Long March-4 out of their pockets. If anyone launches, I've got 2gees of thrust to move me to where they can't go.
If I stay on the planet, there's a slight, but real, risk that SEALs, SAS, Spetsnaz, or any other number of other highly armed, highly trained, and highly scary groups will come knocking.
Orbit for me. Let's see some TL7 capsule with chemical thrusters try to intercept and dock with my 2gee, fusion powered Suleiman.
Better to hide it where no one can get at it.
Orbit for me. Let's see some TL7 capsule with chemical thrusters try to intercept and dock with my 2gee, fusion powered Suleiman.
Better to hide it where no one can get at it.
True, no manned mission would be able to get it.
It would be a real shame if someone decided to make it a target for a live-fire anti-satellite or ICBM exercise, though.
Enoki
SOC-14 1K
That's why a snow cave (you have some laser weapons most likely) under the snow cap on say Bovet Island would be better. Isolated in the extreme, not on anyone's radar. Nobody will show up looking for it if they didn't see you go there.
That gives you time to quietly raise funds and acquire a crew if you want one. You could buy food and such in locations that are "safe" from prying eyes, particularly if you have the air raft available.
I for one, given the rate of character death in Traveller, would want to be blundering off into the wild black yonder without knowing what I was getting myself into.
Sure, if you go to the Moon or further out immediately you are immune to anyone doing anything to you or the ship but you also aren't going to have an infinite food or air supply either...
That gives you time to quietly raise funds and acquire a crew if you want one. You could buy food and such in locations that are "safe" from prying eyes, particularly if you have the air raft available.
I for one, given the rate of character death in Traveller, would want to be blundering off into the wild black yonder without knowing what I was getting myself into.
Sure, if you go to the Moon or further out immediately you are immune to anyone doing anything to you or the ship but you also aren't going to have an infinite food or air supply either...
Manned or unmanned, we're still looking at TL7 chemical thrusters versus a 2gee fusion powered M-drive.
So, I can learn quickly enough to fly to some polar island and use the lasers to dig a snow cave, but a couple weeks in orbit, plus trips to the Moon and Mars, plus a trip to the jump limit won't allow me learn enough about anything else?
Okay.
I did mention TV dinners, didn't I? As for LS, I've two weeks for each occupied stateroom aboard. Two months will give me time to both check out the neighborhood and learn what I need to do.
You can hide in a snow cave hoping no one picked you up on radar and the armed and special forces of ever world power, corporation, and crime organization aren't looking under every rock and interrogating every polar bear looking for you. You can recruit a crew too, one you hope won't mutiny, slit your throat in your sleep, and throw your body out of an airlock.
Me? I'm gone.
You're absolutely right. The scout would have the high ground, would be able to see something coming at it, and definitely has the technical advantage.
But since you had posted the following:
Emphasis added. If someone in the Kremlin orders a strike while you're still on the "what does this button do and why is that other thing flashing" part of the mission, it could ruin your whole day. Just sayin'.
But since you had posted the following:
Emphasis added. If someone in the Kremlin orders a strike while you're still on the "what does this button do and why is that other thing flashing" part of the mission, it could ruin your whole day. Just sayin'.
As I previously explained to Enoki, if already I know enough to fly the scout hundreds or thousands of km to some remote spot to hide, I should also already know enough to fly the scout straight up to orbit. Similarly, if I know enough to fly the scout to orbit, I should also already know enough to move the scout far enough away to avoid ICBMs and ASATs.
Moving the scout, whether to a snow bank outside Yukloyaktuk or the lagoon on Gilligan's Island, means I can also move the scout to orbit and moving the scout to orbit means I can move to orbits Earth's weapons cannot reach.
I'm gone.
bromdenlong
SOC-12
as a player/character, or in real life?
When I read the question, I assumed I was playing a character in a game. If the GM hands me that, I quickly gather my friends and go exploring.
In real life, to do anything quickly would pretty much require that the ship's computer(s) are fluent in English, or can and will learn it really quickly; or the ship's controls and gauges are ridiculously simple and handling is really forgiving.
In real life, with an English-fluent computer, I have to find out the crew's purpose and circumstance first. If they are on Earth for hostile purposes, that has to be dealt with. If the pilot is just here to collect floral samples, and has just died of a rattlesnake bite, then it's time to have fun with his ship.
First, I am sure I would be freaking out that he was human. Actually, if he was human, I wouldn't believe it was extraterrestrial. If it wasn't human, I would be freaking that the ship was so perfect for humans.
Assuming it wasn't human, I guess I'd use sensors to see if I had anything or anyone scary headed in my direction. If it had any stealth capability, I would use it. Then I'd see about water and food, perhaps hydroponics. Even if the alien breathes an atmosphere similar to ours, it's not bloody likely its food would be edible, let alone sufficient, for humans.
I have a couple of friends whom I would trust to not rat me out, and who might want to go along. I'd ask, then I'd go. I'd disable my comms receivers, so no one could try to hack into the ship's computer(s). I would do ball of twine surveys of the sun and all of the planets and their moons, sending the data back to Earth. Then I'm off to the most promising looking system in the navigational database.
If I am worried about getting jumped by cops, military, or whomever - likely, if there is no stealth capability - then I head for L5, or the far side of the moon, or Mars, NOT EARTH ORBIT. I do not want to be in range of anything hostile. Constant acceleration is great, but 2G ain't squat compared to an incoming missile.
Really, if there is no stealth capability, I won't be able to stockpile enough food aboard to make this work. Well, if there is a Star Trek food console that can create any food, and a medical computer or database to tell it what I can survive on, then I could take off immediately, if need be, and survive indefinitely.
When I read the question, I assumed I was playing a character in a game. If the GM hands me that, I quickly gather my friends and go exploring.
In real life, to do anything quickly would pretty much require that the ship's computer(s) are fluent in English, or can and will learn it really quickly; or the ship's controls and gauges are ridiculously simple and handling is really forgiving.
In real life, with an English-fluent computer, I have to find out the crew's purpose and circumstance first. If they are on Earth for hostile purposes, that has to be dealt with. If the pilot is just here to collect floral samples, and has just died of a rattlesnake bite, then it's time to have fun with his ship.
First, I am sure I would be freaking out that he was human. Actually, if he was human, I wouldn't believe it was extraterrestrial. If it wasn't human, I would be freaking that the ship was so perfect for humans.
Assuming it wasn't human, I guess I'd use sensors to see if I had anything or anyone scary headed in my direction. If it had any stealth capability, I would use it. Then I'd see about water and food, perhaps hydroponics. Even if the alien breathes an atmosphere similar to ours, it's not bloody likely its food would be edible, let alone sufficient, for humans.
I have a couple of friends whom I would trust to not rat me out, and who might want to go along. I'd ask, then I'd go. I'd disable my comms receivers, so no one could try to hack into the ship's computer(s). I would do ball of twine surveys of the sun and all of the planets and their moons, sending the data back to Earth. Then I'm off to the most promising looking system in the navigational database.
If I am worried about getting jumped by cops, military, or whomever - likely, if there is no stealth capability - then I head for L5, or the far side of the moon, or Mars, NOT EARTH ORBIT. I do not want to be in range of anything hostile. Constant acceleration is great, but 2G ain't squat compared to an incoming missile.
Really, if there is no stealth capability, I won't be able to stockpile enough food aboard to make this work. Well, if there is a Star Trek food console that can create any food, and a medical computer or database to tell it what I can survive on, then I could take off immediately, if need be, and survive indefinitely.
Computer-Aided Learning should be pretty advanced in the Third Imperium. Having the computer teach you the basics should go pretty quick. There should be a checklist on the computer that the Pilot and Engineer have to go through to take off and for operations. With a chameleon circuit and probably a serious ability to counterfeit 21st Century money, setting up an expedition might only take a couple of months. I'd say getting to know the ship and gearing up for Jump to Alpha Centauri would take less than 6 months.
There's no indication at present that CAL is any faster than an individual tutor.
