Bait Starship

[Ackehece]

Erm, you do want to save the ship for the next op ... don't you? o:

is why I prefer the ping pong grav plate method of controlling hijackers...
instantly switching gravity direction multiple times rapidly equates to some seriously inconvenienced at the very least thieves.

 

[Enoki]

is why I prefer the ping pong grav plate method of controlling hijackers...
instantly switching gravity direction multiple times rapidly equates to some seriously inconvenienced at the very least thieves.

The problem with that is, again, physics. What sort of acceleration are you achieving here? Let's say you can manage 4G on the plates. Instantly changing 4G of gravetic energy 180 degrees in direction is going to have some very interesting effects on the ship... Potentially, you could tear it apart doing something so violent as that.
Also, you'd have to put some time between going one direction and then the other in any case to allow for acceleration to take place. Switching them say every second might only result in something akin to jumping up and down.

 

[coliver988]

is why I prefer the ping pong grav plate method of controlling hijackers...
instantly switching gravity direction multiple times rapidly equates to some seriously inconvenienced at the very least thieves.

I've never liked that option (aside from the potential damage as mentioned below). IMTU grav plates work more like those from the Deep Space 9 Tech manual: they take a while to spin up, and take some time to spin down if you lose power. No reversing gravity - it is a 1 way direction only.

The higher the tech, the fast they can spin up, and the higher the grav you can go. I've never formalized it per se, just left it as a background consideration.

And now to return to the bait ship thread: as others have posted, I see this only working more for opportunist type of thieves: those from the rogue career would probably do enough research to determine that the ship is a tad suspicious.

 

[Lycanorukke]

And now to return to the bait ship thread: as others have posted, I see this only working more for opportunist type of thieves: those from the rogue career would probably do enough research to determine that the ship is a tad suspicious.

That was my thought as well. Eventually the smart pirates are going to ping the ship even if it changes its registry, transponder etc. Even more so if they have an inside man at the port.

A differing idea may be to have 'Q-modules'. A 'patron' hires the ship and loads his cargo. The cargo is a set of modules which fit together like lego and contain a small self-contained barracks. The resident of the barracks are dosed up on fast drug, with an autoinjector of antidote worn. The 'patron' if a hijacking or piracy attempt occurs hits the 'showtime' button, and before you know it you have a squad of professionals popping out of the cargo ready to make the hijacker/pirates day miserable. If nothing happens, you hire another ship and load you modules there.

For a slight additional option, have 'gunnery modules' which have a self contained mass driver/laser, so when the pirate gets close the cargo bay doors are opened and the module pops open ready for business. But in all cases, the modules can be move to just about any ship. A Beowulf one day, a Fatty the next, maybe even a Belter ship for claim jumpers.

Of course the big downside for any sort of Q-ship is escalation. If any ship could be full of trouble for the pirate/hijacker, 'Cruiser rules' go straight out the window.

 

[kilemall]

That was my thought as well. Eventually the smart pirates are going to ping the ship even if it changes its registry, transponder etc. Even more so if they have an inside man at the port.

A differing idea may be to have 'Q-modules'. A 'patron' hires the ship and loads his cargo. The cargo is a set of modules which fit together like lego and contain a small self-contained barracks. The resident of the barracks are dosed up on fast drug, with an autoinjector of antidote worn. The 'patron' if a hijacking or piracy attempt occurs hits the 'showtime' button, and before you know it you have a squad of professionals popping out of the cargo ready to make the hijacker/pirates day miserable. If nothing happens, you hire another ship and load you modules there.

For a slight additional option, have 'gunnery modules' which have a self contained mass driver/laser, so when the pirate gets close the cargo bay doors are opened and the module pops open ready for business. But in all cases, the modules can be move to just about any ship. A Beowulf one day, a Fatty the next, maybe even a Belter ship for claim jumpers.

Of course the big downside for any sort of Q-ship is escalation. If any ship could be full of trouble for the pirate/hijacker, 'Cruiser rules' go straight out the window.

Along those lines, my Q-cargo would be sabotage robots.

Unarmed so they look innocuous even if the containers are opened and they are scanned.

At a time or better yet a signal, they activate and go to work.

Hacker bots get into the computer and stop any jump or weapons, start comming and dumping every incriminating data they can find into transmissions, and turn the anti-hijack program against the crew (or thoughtfully bring along their own copy for loading).

Meanwhile some brawler bots subdue the engineering crew (see what happens when you get punched by a strength 20 metal fist) and the majority engineering bots go about shutting down power and drives then dismantling them long enough for the authorities to arrive.

If it could be worked out that the bots get hauled to the pirate base before activation, they could be a REALLY effective inside saboteur force in a coordinated attack.

Expensive especially as you are likely to lose a lot of those robots, but far more likely to get gleefully loaded into a pirate bay as opposed to the difficulties in masking X number of trojan horse low berths.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Q-modules with troops? Sabotage robots?

Aren't you making this a little more complex than it needs to be? And how long are the troops going to be in those modules anyway? They've got to eat and breath ... eventually.

 

[flykiller]

Aren't you making this a little more complex than it needs to be?

depends on how much the merchant's are losing or the pirates are taking. even a little free-trader is worth over 24MCr, that's nothing to sneeze at. and if a noble's honor and reputation is on the line then cost is right out.

 

[kilemall]

depends on how much the merchant's are losing or the pirates are taking. even a little free-trader is worth over 24MCr, that's nothing to sneeze at. and if a noble's honor and reputation is on the line then cost is right out.

Add in greater cost of goods due to fewer ships getting through, insurance and cargo fees skyrocketing due to risk, key people not getting through due to passenger interruption/kidnapping/killed, disruption of industrial work due to loss of supply chain, less government revenue due to lower import/export activity, and the starship losses can start looking like peanuts compared to the bigger problems.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Right, but it's not the cost I'm arguing against or questioning. It's the complexity of the schemes to nab hijackers.

All you need is a well hidden kill switch, then when that thing hits orbit or beyond, you shut it down and move in with the type-Ts or SDBs.

Hiding troops and robots on board? Well, okay, sure, maybe secret them in some large crates or a dummy hold or something, but it just seems easier to shut the ship down and then board it.

I guess if you're really draconian, you'd also shut down the ship's life support and wait a week o:

 

[kilemall]

Right, but it's not the cost I'm arguing against or questioning. It's the complexity of the schemes to nab hijackers.

All you need is a well hidden kill switch, then when that thing hits orbit or beyond, you shut it down and move in with the type-Ts or SDBs.

Hiding troops and robots on board? Well, okay, sure, maybe secret them in some large crates or a dummy hold or something, but it just seems easier to shut the ship down and then board it.

I guess if you're really draconian, you'd also shut down the ship's life support and wait a week o:

I want to get the pirates, then I have to deal with either they seize the ship and go, or their M.O is to just nab the cargo or possibly damaged the target ship too badly to use it. Putting the bots in the cargo covers both possibilities.

 

[lostscout5]

is why I prefer the ping pong grav plate method of controlling hijackers...
instantly switching gravity direction multiple times rapidly equates to some seriously inconvenienced at the very least thieves.

I thought it was 3G.

"The three sword worlders did several things that might have gotten the A.I.’s attention. First they cleared some floor space in the airlock of the Tulawar from broken robot bits without actually entering the other ship. They did this by blasting the area with their rifles. It was vitally important that they didn’t enter the enemy ship. Vampire ships had a nasty habit of playing with a ship’s artificial gravity. One moment the grav plates would be a nice normal one gravity, then zero, then three gravities, then negative three. The zero gravity would cause a person to float off the floor, then the three gravities would slam them into the floor. The negative three would then slam them into the ceiling. Repeat as needed. Many a human had been beaten to death this way. Of course ensign Brun had nasty habits of her own. Like playing with explosives."

 

[lostscout5]

Q-modules with troops? Sabotage robots?

Aren't you making this a little more complex than it needs to be? And how long are the troops going to be in those modules anyway? They've got to eat and breath ... eventually.

Have to agree with Ghost here. I think you are over thinking this. It would be cheaper to just improve security on your merchant. Or have some ringers among the passengers. Think Marshals on airliners today. Could be a fun merc ticket.

 

[aramis]

Well, I understand that, but your typical smoke detector has a little radioactive material in it, as do X-ray machines and lots of other things that have consumer applications.

From a pure rules standpoint, sure, if your NPC hijackers see some label on a crate, and they interpret that as some valuable radioactive material, then that could prove a lure.

I think it might depend on how long the ship was docked for layover. That is some ship thief who was a bit more savvy might know enough to steal the thing, but to some opportunists it wouldn't make much of a difference.

Note that, given the price for Americium is $1500/g, and is set by the NRC... a $20 smoke detector has less than a milligram... Oh, and that price hasn't gone up since 1968.

So, for Traveller purposes, Cr1500/g, or MCr1.5 per ton...

 

[Ackehece]

I thought it was 3G.
Vampire ships had a nasty habit of playing with a ship’s artificial gravity. One moment the grav plates would be a nice normal one gravity, then zero, then three gravities, then negative three. The zero gravity would cause a person to float off the floor, then the three gravities would slam them into the floor. The negative three would then slam them into the ceiling. Repeat as needed.

Ah I was looking for that in the wrong era book. For some reason I thought it was Traveller first adventure: kinunir. But that ship is even more diabolical....
TNE... should have known.

Warning Spoiler !!!!!

(as if anyone on this site hasn't seen Kinunir already but warnings are warnings)

Irises, hatches, scanners... all antihijacker (or crew if evil). I have always suspected that Kinunir was the origin of virus...

 

[kilemall]

The G slam thing I figured out back in the 80s, had not read about using it, but had a lot to do with why I limited G plate abilities. No point in heroic boarding or defense if the guy with the enviornmental keys can win.

Space Hurts is the other.

 

[lostscout5]

There are ways around the grav plate ping pong.

"After moving back to a safe distance, Myra took her last breaching charge and tossed it like a frisbee to the space on the airlock floor that they had cleared.The space they had cleared was just below the airlock control panel. As soon as it hit the floor myra detonated it, blowing a good sized hole in the floor. She limped back to the edge of the airlock and hooked herself to a safety line, then leaned over so she could reach the control panel in the enemy ship. Since the grav plates in ships are universally in the floors (at least in human designed ships) she was safe. The plate in the deck below was to far away to affect her. The two crew with her took up positions to cover her, now she could work in peace."

Never underestimate a sword worlder with explosives ! :devil:

 

[Ackehece]

The G slam thing I figured out back in the 80s, had not read about using it, but had a lot to do with why I limited G plate abilities. No point in heroic boarding or defense if the guy with the enviornmental keys can win.

Space Hurts is the other.

it is canonical though

 

[Blue Ghost]

I seem to recall that the Kinunir was diagnosed with the computer AI equivalent of "paranoid schizophrenia".

Solution; rewire its components with lithium based circuits and hook it up with a female Kinunir?

Or just reformat its HD

 

[Blue Ghost]

Note that, given the price for Americium is $1500/g, and is set by the NRC... a $20 smoke detector has less than a milligram... Oh, and that price hasn't gone up since 1968.

So, for Traveller purposes, Cr1500/g, or MCr1.5 per ton...

Okay, fine. But how do you translate that into a lure for a rogue crew to hijack a ship?

 

[Ackehece]

Okay, fine. But how do you translate that into a lure for a rogue crew to hijack a ship?

hmmm

Psst...Remember that kickback you promised me for a good lead from work? I just saw the "ImC Freegull" load up with the shipment from Milner mines... I think they loaded all 25 Dtonnes worth! How much will you give me for that information Captain G'eerck?