That's not a black globe generator...

[Andrew M]

Spare capacitors for the jump drive to allow the ship to make two jumps in quick succession. Who knows, it might even work.

 

[far-trader]

I was going to jump (ooh, sorry, bad pun, honest one, but bad) all over that and rant about how the time it would take to refuel would allow the capacitors to cool anyway. Then I thought about it for a second and realized it would be a cool possible tactical idea, IF you didn't burn all your fuel in the first jump. Jump in hot and close, snap a quick situational awareness and jump out again before anyone knows you're there. I like it.

 

[jshiggin]

...that's a... what?

So, you're the naval architect designing the Kinunir class. One component is an experimental TL15 force field generator massing 10 dT. But that's a top secret. So what sort of use do you make of the space that is going to house the generator on the plans that those who don't Need To Know get to see? What's the cover story? An auxiliary Model/5fib computer? An extra fuel purification plant? Or what?


Hans

You don't have a cover story.

It was built at an Imperial Depot, everyone involved has clearances high enough that God has to show them his notes, and the Black Globe (or whatever) was put in quite openly.

Note that whatever the lads and lasses at the shipyard knew (or didn't), the crew of the Kinunir knew what it was. And probably talked about it in bars, in at least general ways.

 

[rancke]

You don't have a cover story.

It was built at an Imperial Depot, everyone involved has clearances high enough that God has to show them his notes, and the Black Globe (or whatever) was put in quite openly.

No, it wasn't. It was built in Ling Standard's yard at Mora. Or Mars Yards in Glisten. Or General Shipyards on Regina. Or GSB, AG on Trin. Or Yard 17 at Mora. Or Clan Severn's yard on Rhylanor.

[Canon note: The locations of General Shipyards and Clan Severn are canon. The rest are my additions.]

Note that whatever the lads and lasses at the shipyard knew (or didn't), the crew of the Kinunir knew what it was. And probably talked about it in bars, in at least general ways.

Yes, the chances of keeping the secret are not good. But that doesn't mean the Brass, in its perennial optimistic way, wouldn't try to make it a secret.


Hans

 

[jshiggin]

No, it wasn't. It was built in Ling Standard's yard at Mora. Or Mars Yards in Glisten. Or General Shipyards on Regina. Or GSB, AG on Trin. Or Yard 17 at Mora. Or Clan Severn's yard on Rhylanor.

[Canon note: The locations of General Shipyards and Clan Severn are canon. The rest are my additions.]


Yes, the chances of keeping the secret are not good. But that doesn't mean the Brass, in its perennial optimistic way, wouldn't try to make it a secret.


Hans

These two points are contradictory - if the Brass wants to keep something a deep dark secret, they don't build the ship at a public Yard where pretty much every workman is going to realize that "leave a X*Y*Z hole in the ship, with the required power leads, etc." means "the Brass is sticking some supposedly super-secret gizmo into this ship - prolly that Black Globe generator they have over in the secure warehouse, since it's about the right size".

 

[Blue Ghost]

Right in the middle of the engine room?


Hans

What better place for fuel than next to the engines?

 

[Cryton]

These two points are contradictory - if the Brass wants to keep something a deep dark secret, they don't build the ship at a public Yard where pretty much every workman is going to realize that "leave a X*Y*Z hole in the ship, with the required power leads, etc." means "the Brass is sticking some supposedly super-secret gizmo into this ship - prolly that Black Globe generator they have over in the secure warehouse, since it's about the right size".

Sad thing is that according to Adventure 1 Kinunir, The Kinunir class of Battle Cruisers WERE built in civilian yards, so contradictory or not, its whats in the book.

Personally, I think that it was handled in the same way that modern shipyards that build or refurbish Navy vessels handle things. Compartmentalization of information. Not only do you require a clearance to know something, you must also have a "Need to know" to get access to the info. If you dont need to know, the brass just donst tell you why your doing something. You just wire it to spec, and try not to violate your non disclosure contract.

 

[aramis]

Sad thing is that according to Adventure 1 Kinunir, The Kinunir class of Battle Cruisers WERE built in civilian yards, so contradictory or not, its whats in the book.

Personally, I think that it was handled in the same way that modern shipyards that build or refurbish Navy vessels handle things. Compartmentalization of information. Not only do you require a clearance to know something, you must also have a "Need to know" to get access to the info. If you dont need to know, the brass just donst tell you why your doing something. You just wire it to spec, and try not to violate your non disclosure contract.

Yup. And then there is the issue of: if people know there's a BG in the warehouse, then there's gonna be a bunch of people sent off to prison planets.

It's not like the BG's specs are common knowledge, anyway; the warehouse would be under clearance and need to know restrictions. And the people working there, under NDAs.

 

[rancke]

Yup. And then there is the issue of: if people know there's a BG in the warehouse, then there's gonna be a bunch of people sent off to prison planets.

Which is why I'd like to assume that there wasn't a BGG in the warehouse, just a place to install it on the ship. With a cover story that explained the place as something other than the place to put a BGG. Which brings me back to my original question. What might that "something" be?


Hans

 

[Cryton]

Which is why I'd like to assume that there wasn't a BGG in the warehouse, just a place to install it on the ship. With a cover story that explained the place as something other than the place to put a BGG. Which brings me back to my original question. What might that "something" be?


Hans

An advanced meson screen generator? or perhaps a capacitor bank for the ships spinal mount that would have allowed more rapid firing?

 

[boomslang]

It's not like the BG's specs are common knowledge, anyway; the warehouse would be under clearance and need to know restrictions. And the people working there, under NDAs.

I have always thought that the entire BG program must be a massive disinformation campaign to instill fear of the technology in the 3I's neighbor polities.

In this way, BG tech is much like the Darrian Star Trigger (except that it does actually work): more useful for the strategic uncertainty it generates than any practical, tactical applications.

Thus, the always-unimpressive Kinunir patrol ships were built to make public use of the technology (it is, for example, great for stealth applications such as the clandestine delivery of Imperial Warrants), while the Agility-5-you-must-be-kidding-me Atlantic-class proper cruisers had their BG fittings "plated over" before being gifted to client states the 3I wished to coerce into allegiances.

Even the absurd Lightning-class Frontier Cruiser refits were little more than a demonstration platform to make sure the Zhos were properly respectful of the stealth applications of the tech.

Have you ever seen what PCs do if you let them get ahold of a BG? Corsair Legends, they aspire to become. Until they get cocky and blow themselves up, of course.

I have always seen BG tech as an "open secret" in the OTU, more of a political tool than a military one. So much pretense goes into keeping it "classified" while the other hand carefully shows off its existence to anyone keen to take an interest. The only real secrecy is maintained around the early progress that has been made in reverse-engineering the tech, and in insuring that BGs are destroyed if the ships carrying them are combat causalities (which is a fairly trivial, albeit suicidal, process; it could even -- ahem -- be automated with the right software).