The SJ Chronicles - Phase One.
OOC: This is from when the tier 3 bs's came out. I saw some renders of them and casually mentioned on TS that the Rokh would make a good spinal mount battleship like the Ion Frigates from Homeworld. One Shot. One kill.
The SJ Chronicles... Phase 1... A Bit of Duct tape and some bigger guns...
Samurai Jack hummed as he examined the new blueprints. Tech division was doing great. He wasn't going to ask how we had got the new battleship prints. He was pretty sure that the answer would just be a grin.
It wasn't a bad revamp. Long range railgun setup. A Sniper. The name? Rokh. That needed a rethink for sure.
He examined the blueprints closer. There was something about her shape. The long axis and engine cluster spoke of something long past.
"Lucy? Archive search. Take the Rokh's engine config and long core and search for existing designs fitting that profile."
"Might take some time. Just what are you looking for?"
"I'm not totally sure... I've seen something like that before. A long time ago. The engines were in a cross pattern and it had a long shape like the Rokh and only had 2 guns."
"Narrowing search... 3 possible matches."
The first was an old bulk carrier with pulseburst engines and a long spine for cargo pods. "Nope. Not that one."
The second however...
"Grab the specs and port it to the drawing table."
"I'll have to best guess." Lucy warned. "There are no specs for this listed. Just a few holos and some stories. Its a Gunship apparently. Has two long railguns down the core. Designed for planetary defense and anti-installation work. Project was abandoned because the reactors took too long to recharge and the railguns were unstable apparently."
"Gimme 3 views. That Gunship on top. Rokh on middle and Gunship overlayed on the Rokh on the lower view... Oh and page Caytlyn..."
The screens flickered to life and SJ moved closer and started making notes.
A little later the door opened and Caytlyn Rose entered.
"Lucy says you wanted a talk? Said you were doing odd things."
A grunt from the table and a vague wave was the reply. She walked closer and peered at the table and drawings.
"SJ... What is that!"
"A Rokh."
"I know that... What have you done to it!"
The Rokh had been cut open down her spine and peeled back. Guns had been stripped and the main core was open to space. A long barrel extended along the spine in the core and a mass of cabling appeared to be attached directly into the reactor.
"Tweaked it? Lucy show the test fire of the Gunship."
The room darkened and the wall screen lit up...
An asteroid belt formed. The camera panned left to the Gunship. It was an ungainly looking ship. It looked like a double-barrelled shotgun with the stock sawed off and a cluster of engines attached in a cross pattern. Just in front of the engines an exposed reactor glowed.
As they watched the reactor started pulsing and the barrels of the ship started to glow slightly. The engines fired and the gunship moved forward, tracking an asteroid. The throbbing of the reactor flashed faster and faster then peaked. Guns flashed and a translucent line seemed to arc between the guns and the asteroid. Two puffs from the asteroid seemed to be the only effect. The line faded. Statistics came up on screen. Despite the engines firing at full thrust it appeared that the ship was thrust backwards a considerable way by firing and was just beginning to slow to a stop.
The camera zoomed closer to the asteroid. The dust was just clearing. No major damage appeared to done. Then the view changed and panned across further. Two perfectly circular holes were bored straight through the rock. The holo faded.
"See? I adapted a dread gun for the spinal mount for the Rokh. That gunstar clip shows its possible. We've got better reactors and equipment. She'll only be able to fire the dread gun slowly and she wont be able to have any other defenses but she'll make mincemeat out of anything she shoots at. So can I try it please?" SJ looked plaintively at Caytlyn.
Caytlyn sighed and looked over the blueprints again. "If you can wait a week then bay 12 will be free. The Orion group's battleship orders will be done then. You can have that and one of the Rokh's from fleets order. One of them had some problems during testing and they blew out one side of the ship. It needs a refit anyway. What you are proposing will mean stripping the other side out anyway and you can rebuild off the frame. You had better find Loki and tell him. I don't think you will manage to fit the gun and power conduits in but Loki will have better idea."
Caytlyn walked out shaking her head. Boys and their toys....at least it was keeping him busy.
---
A week later SJ and Lokisson stood in a inspection pod floating over the exposed spine of a Rokh, arguing over power grids.
"... I'm telling you that we cant route any more power through the primary grid. She was only designed for 15k and you want 125k?" Lokisson threw the controller at the wall exasperatedly.
SJ picked it up and highlighted the lower conduits and added another layer on top of the spine. "Look if we boost the lowers and add another primary circuit to the upper layer we can fit the main gun down the spine and supply power in 3 phases. She'll charge slower and fire less often but it would work. She's not designed to be a dread. She's designed to one shot one kill."
"And she'll be exposed. She'll be like a naked chick running into a gun fight. Yeah she'll distract you but then she becomes primary."
"Yeah but how many naked chicks you know that can one shot a battleship?" SJ laughed.
Lokisson shook his head. "You're mad you know. How did you even talk Cayt into this?"
"I'm not sure. I just asked. I don't think she knows that Dread guns are that big. She builds them and leaves fitting to the Sales crew"
"Well, I suggest we remote fit this. I don't want to be on-board when we test fire this. GHZ has a test area we could borrow. It will be about another week till the rest of the parts are here anyway." Lokisson tapped at a data pad. "It means we can just use the main corridors for the additional grid power lines for now. We can tidy it up for a production model if this thing works."
"Oh ye of little faith... Of course this will work. I designed it!" SJ beamed happily.
"... that's what I'm afraid of... " Lokisson sighed and piloted the pod back to the bay.
---
Voices drifted out a conference room. Someone was arguing.
"... and you let him do it?"
"He'd only con someone from RIT to do it for him otherwise. At least this way its remote controlled and he's not strapped into it this time."
SJ poked his head in the door. "My ears were burning. I assume this is about my most inspired idea?"
Lokisson looked up from the chair he was slouched in, a cup of hot Java in his hand.
Caytlyn was at a desk in the front window over looking the yards. She waved her hand and floating displays disappeared.
Menolly Rose was perched on the desk corner. A little smile played on her face. She put down her datapad and said "Speak of the devil..."
SJ looked hurt. "I'm not THAT bad."
Menolly laughed and pushed the datapad to Caytlyn. "There's the final figures. I'm going to take the next carrier back and I'll ship the remaining minerals with the next run."
Caytlyn nodded and Menolly left, giving SJ's arse a pinch as she left.
"OI!" SJ rubbed his arse and sat down. "What's a person gotta do to get a Java round here?"
"Ask nicely... and leave her alone." Caytlyn waggled finger at SJ as he slouched into the chair and put his feet on the desk. "AND GET YOUR FEET OFF MY DESK!"
Lokisson grinned and pointed to the coffee in the corner. "She likes you."
Caytlyn glowered at Lokisson. "Behave, you."
SJ poured himself a Java and slid back into the chair, feet avoiding the desk this time.
"Well the reactor is boosted. The new grid seems to be able to take the load. We lost about 15m/s in speed due to added weight. She's lighter on shields too. Lost about 1500 due to most of the grid being needed for the gun. Other than that, I think we're ready for testing." He sipped his Java and relaxed as the heat spread into his chest.
Lokisson tapped his pad. "Yes that was what we were talking about. Cayt doesn't think the power conduits will take it."
A display on the left of Caytlyn's desk flicked back on.
"You have got the grid available, but you only have 3 primary routes. If you get an overload there is no redundancy nor anyway to route it for dissipation." She tapped the display and indicated the grid lines.
"Only so much room on her. With the reduction in shields we really didn't want to string stuff externally." SJ shrugged. "Its a trade off. I think it will work. We're not going to fire more than about 10 shots. We'd be pressed to get 4-5 off in any single location. Its a shoot and scoot affair."
Lokisson nodded. "Unfortunately I agree. She's exposed enough with the reduced shielding. She's power hungry. Haven't got the cargo for many shots either. Those XXL shells are huge. We used up half the cargo just cutting through the upper decks for the loading mechanism. Good news is reduced crew. With only one gun we only need about 30 to cover gun and loading. Targeting and fire control can be done from bridge. We boosted her manoeuvring thrusters. She's more agile but she is slower. She'll spin but she will take longer to go to warp. Upside. She'll hit to 250k easy. And she'll hit harder than any battleship in the fleet... even that fleet tempest."
SJ finished his coffee and stood up. "So field tests on for tomorrow then?"
Caytlyn tapped on a display and nodded. "Providing they finish the remotes by tonight. She'll be towed out 10am and you can slave her from 300k above the belt. There is a small bunker roid there with a beacon. No-one on board when you test her."
"Spoilsport. It will work I'm positive." SJ threw his cup at the trash and failed to hit completely.
Caytlyn eyed the cup. "I hope it works better than your aim. Now both of you hop it. I've got work to do."
Lokisson and SJ scarpered.
---
GHZ Testing Grounds. 10:30am
"What did I tell you... damn remotes don't work." SJ grumbled.
Lokisson threw a datapad at him. "They are still off. The loading crew are still clearing the jam in the loading mechanism. They'll turn em on when they leave."
"Children... behave." Caytlyn warned.
"Yes mum" automatically answered SJ.
A stinging clip to the top of his left ear reminded him that smart comments were not smart. He tried to ignore his ear and added the cargo bay feed to the monitor instead.
On screen a crew were struggling to prise a XXL railgun shell from the loader. The rails feeding it to the loader had twisted and it was jammed in the elevator feed.
"Loki. More bracing or bigger rails for cargo area. Maybe a redesign of the main feed." SJ mused.
"I told you that it wasn't enough. We could raise the elevator feed up though and bottom feed it? Avoids the rails problem totally."
"Well I was expecting to use Iron... Not Antimatter shells. They are heavier. But yeah. We'll bottom load it and if we do it that way we get more cargo cos we can suspend the mount from the upper deck instead of bracing it on the cargo floor." SJ stretched in his chair and flexed... " I get all the great ideas."
Lokisson kicked him as he grabbed his datapad back. "It was my idea."
Caytlyn coughed. SJ and Loki looked at each other and shut up.
Caytlyn smiled sweetly and ordered another drink. She really wanted to be finishing the figures for the next carrier orders but SJ had pestered her all morning to come see his baby. She'd given in at that point. The image of her cousins child pulling at her mother's skirts for attention came to mind. She smirked. Looking at SJ and the cargo bay monitor she sighed and took her datapad out... might as well finish the figures while they fixed things.
Back in the cargo bay the shell had come loose and dropped to the floor. SJ was on the comm and telling the crew to just cut the rails off and use them to brace the elevator loader.
"We'll refit it properly tomorrow. If you can just get the loader to suck up about 3 rounds that will do for the test."
40 minutes later the cargo bay was clear of personnel and a shuttle jetted towards the bunker. The bottom of the loader looked like a spider had built a web, securing the loader to the ceiling and floor. The jammed shell was now in the elevator properly with 2 more in the feed on the floor.
SJ waited impatiently for the board to go green as all the remote systems linked in. Lokisson played with another console which had a drone slaved to it. He was playing loop the loop with asteroids.
"Yay! Finally. We're good to go."
"About time" said Caytlyn.
"Ok opening test. I'll try that asteroid at 70km then i'll go for your drone Loki?"
Lokisson nodded and brought the drone above the Rokh to watch the test.
SJ locked up the asteroid and triggered the countdown. Turning and grinning at Caytlyn he said "Hold onto your hats ladies."
On screen the Rokh shook and a blast of fire flew from her nose. The asteroid exploded and fragments of rock flew everywhere.
"Oh YEAH BABY!" SJ stood and punched the air. "1 minute till I can fire again."
Lokisson looked impressed. "Ok. Moving target next. Battleship sig sized target at 100k?"
"Sounds good to me. Not too fast on the transversal. Dread guns ain't made for fast movers."
The Rokh edged forwards as Lokisson spun the drone out to 120km and came angling back in to cross the Rokh's path.
Caytlyn watched as SJ's hands flew over the console, targeting and aligning the gun. The cargo bay monitor showed the loader suck up another round and send it up to the gun.
Lokisson pointed. "The loader is shaking."
SJ nodded. "I expected as much. Its only temp braced. We'll fix it with proper stuff later. It should be ok."
Lokisson frowned. Big guns, bigger ammo, and held together with almost Minmatar wishes of duct tape and string. He was very glad he wasn't aboard.
The loader elevator reached the gun and rammed the shell home. The elevator shook again as the heavy shell slid into the gun. Below in the cargo deck one of the struts started coming loose.
SJ grinned. He had Lokisson's drone locked and set. Few more seconds for full power and it was dead. He paused... Wonder what would happen with a bit more power? He eyed the controls... and added another 2% to the reactor output.
Onboard the ship the rattling got worse. Halfway up the elevator shaft a power conduit glowed. Cables already taxed by the immense power loads were starting to glow as the reactor dumped more power into the straining grid.
102% power and the drone was well within firing range. This should be spectacular, he thought.
Lokisson, having locked the drone's flyby path in, looked across at the Rokh's console. "Urm... isnt 102% pushing it?"
SJ grinned. "Watch and see. I'm gonna Rokh your world!" He stabbed the firing control.
The Rokh shook and belched fire again.
The drone vanished completely.
The cargo bay monitors showed the elevator plunge gracefully from the ceiling through the cargo bay floor slicing an Antimatter shell in half.
The overloaded conduit flashed back the residual power towards the reactor. The reactor already at full power dumped it back out the gridlines... where it jumped down the now empty shaft of the elevator... and into the cargo hold... half full of shells.
The Rokh exploded.
SJ sat stunned with his finger on the button.
Caytlyn leaned forwards. "Impressive. It does indeed make a battleship vanish. Just remind me WHICH battleship is supposed to do that?"
Lokisson sniggered.
SJ looked at the monitor. "Well, I killed the drone!"
Caytlyn gave him a withering look. "Dread sized gun on a battleship. Oh well... You will be mining for..." She tapped her pad... "about 8 days to replace that ship."
SJ groaned.
"I could make you haul for 2 weeks instead?"
SJ slumped lower in his chair. "No no" he murmured... "Mining will be fine."
Lokisson snorted.
Caytlyn turned. "And you can help him."
Lokisson protested. "But I said it was daft!"
The look said it all... he shut up.
Caytlyn stood and walked out the bunker and towards her waiting shuttle. Oh well... It hadn't been a total loss of a morning. She had got the figures done. And SJ hadn't managed to kill anyone with his crazy idea. Small mercies at least. She stepped aboard. "5P-AIP. And send a cargo scow for them two when they finish complaining... they can help scoop the belt of remains. Then assign them to D6 for 8 days. Shatana will keep them in line."
She settled into her chair and ordered a hot chocolate. At least Menolly had remembered to bring some new flavours from Jita this time.
The shuttle door whispered shut... cutting off the dwindling sounds of Loki and SJ arguing about just what caused the explosion.
She sipped her chocolate. Perfect. She wondered if she ought to tell SJ that if he had added 2 more sets of conduits and a dissipation grid that it would have worked. Best not. He was dangerous enough without creating monstrosities like that again. She settled back and wafted the chocolate smell towards her. Must remember to get Menolly to bring some more of this... rather good this one.