Originally posted by mickazoid:
Dan - I'll need lotsa help! And I don't wanna be overly 'territorial' at all - I wanna welcome all collaboration but also wanna make sure we don't wind up with divergent plans. Maybe a nice blocking-out of functional areas first, then a kind of 'cross-section', then localized blueprints.
And if you have any ideas, or thoughts about how to structure or differentiate the interior, please send 'em on over at any time, whatever the idea.
Thanks Dan, and Andrew, and Liam, and Kafka and everyone else who's chimed in. Please feel free to pass any and all ideas on.
You're much welcome Micki, it was your original drawing that has earned much respect and interest. And again, thank you for it, and thank you kafka for starting this.
I agree with your outline of approach, it's the best way, and hashing out ideas in this thread is probably the best way to make a truly fine ship.
So, with the little I've started, in much the way you outlined, I've roughly blocked out the following areas:
Ship TL-12 with some solid TL9 and perhaps experimental TL13. Configuration 7 - irregular - (partially) streamlined - may skim fuel but not land. Heavy on Armor (factor 60 superdense). Full EM Masking (4000tons) and lots of commo and other electronics (full range multiple sets, some 8tons total)
Upper Command Section (above the spinal throat) - Flight Bridge (4000tons), Cutter Hanger (~500tons), and port and starboard stations for the external monorail cars to the aft section.
Lower Command Section (below the spinal throat) - Auxiliary Bridge (4000tons), Frozen Watch Racks and gear lockers (500tons?), Officers and Dignitaries quarters and commons (2000tons? this may have some double height conference rooms to impress), 2x 100ton Repulsor Bays (factor 6, to keep stuff from hitting the command center), and the auxiliary monorail car station to the mid section.
Spinal Weapon Section - with a little fudge this can be originally a TL12 Particle Accelerator (factor Q) replaced in some models with an experimental TL13 Meson Cannon (factor K) of the same size (~4445tons) and weight (14,000Mtons), drawing 250,000MW and costing MCr2,000
Mid Section - the root of the spinal weapon and whatever engineering space is needed and perhaps fuel.
Drives Section - Pretty obvious what goes here
I figure good old solid TL9 AntiGrav Thrusters (use less power for one) and 1G "feels" right given the size and mission. For jump TL12 J3 seems the way to go. Enough fuel for more than 3parsecs would be nice if there's room. Oh, and fuel purifiers of course.
Weapons Disc - I figure 8x 100ton Missile Bays (factor 9) and perhaps missile storage in the remaining volume. I had toyed with the idea of making it a deployable (saucer-streamlined) escape boat with a minimal landing thruster and powerplant (perhaps limited to the power allotted to the missile bays). In an emergency, evacuation to the emptied missile magazines would allow the entire complement to land on a world. Problem with that is the hanger opening through the middle.
Hanger Section - I guesstimate some 30,000tons of open hanger space for a number of possible uses. On the leading edge of the Hanger Section would be the enlisted crew quarters and commons. Below the hanger deck would be more cargo space, vehicle bays, and workshops. Above the hanger space I'm not sure, perhaps fuel. The back end of the hanger space would be the fuel scoops and purifiers, with the fuel tanks and feed running up the back of the hanger section.
Anyway, that's the way I was picturing it, subject to actual design constraints. Of course there's room for a lot (a whole lot) more weapons, either in the form of more Bay Weapons and/or Turrets. Perhaps on the upper Hanger Section and/or upper and lower Drives Section and/or Mid Section, and/or even the upper Command Section.
