Debauchery Worlds 38 (Patreon)

Commissioned by Southmonk

Debauchery Worlds

Chapter 38

-VB-

3J

Proserpina VI, Federated Suns

2981.09.02

We watched through the eyes of my clones at the factory space station as the first ship ever produced in our new shipyard began to gently roll out of the drydock.

The released clamps pulled back into the drydock and the red lights turned green. 

The piloting clone activated the maneuvering thrusters while keeping the main rear thrusters. Those thrusters flared out as they pushed the ship out of the enclosed docks and through the energy barrier keeping air inside. 

The ship slowly, and quietly, left the shipyard and out into open space.

This… was the Irotryoshka class Carrier Corvette. At 420 meters long, 170 meters wide, and 120 meters high, it was bigger than the smallest Star League warships (which was either the Vigilant or the Nightwing according to publicly available information in Terran libraries). It wasn’t a powerful warship, though. It only had 4 ASF bays for 24 aerospace fighters, barely 100,000 cubic meters of space rated to hold 1,000 tons of cargo including ammunition, rations, and repair parts, and only ten standard weapons. 

What set this warship apart from other warships of this era and previous eras was that it had double the armor for a ship of its size, “alien” technology that gave it artificial gravity (and thus great for the comfort and health of the crew), a single MAC which could and would punch through most things in the Inner Sphere, possessed both a quantum drive to allow solar FTL travel and a miniaturized tinkertech jump drive for interstellar travel, also possessed an energy shield, and, most importantly, only took two months to build from a single shipyard.

Yes, we installed a shield generator on this ship. We reasoned that since the Federated Suns already knew about it, the information would leak out sooner or later. 

Now, the downsides of the Irotryoshka was that it was extremely powerless by itself. It could use its manuevering thrusters to aim its MAC, but its bulk meant that it couldn’t aim quickly. Instead, it depended heavily on its ASF squadrons to keep it safe and project its firepower. Oh, it wasn’t weak by any means; it had so many fighters and heavier armor than ships of its size. It just lacked the firepower expected out of a corvette aside from the sole MAC, which even the Stomata had two of.

But that’s alright. 

The Irotryoshka wasn’t supposed to be a frontline warship. It had more fighters than most destroyers and a long range attack that reached further than most weapons as well. What was more important than the fighters was the nature of the fighters. Unlike the aerospace fighters used by everyone, all of the fighters aboard the Irotryoshka were drones. This meant each Irotryoshka required less crew., meaning that we could use more of them for the same amount of clones we had. Also, drone fighters could pull off moves that no flesh and blood pilots could. 

The reason why the original chose to make a carrier and not a destroyer or frigate was because in this day and age of the Inner Sphere, larger enemies were nearly non-existent. With how easel we tore them apart, ComStar was also unlikely to send another battle group after us. Thus having a carrier that could shut down smaller crafts and dropships was more valuable than a destroyer or frigate that needed ten times more resource and time to make but incapable of projecting its power beyond its immediate weapons range. 

The pilot turned the ship around once it fully cleared the dock, and then activated the two main thrusters at the ship’s rear. Plasma flared out once, twice, and then bloomed into a stubby blue cone. Stubby blue cones that were each ten meters high and sixty across. 

These thrusters and their attached engines were outsized for the size of the ship. Backin the United Earth Empire, the Javelin was a capital ship equivalent to our Irotryoshka in size, but that destroyer didn’t have thrusters as big as the ones the Irotryoshka had. 

The pilot then moved the ship around, doing some maneuvers like a barrel roll here and there as well as atmospheric reentry and exit. All throughout the exercise, onboard sensors across the ship (not standard part of the ship) recorded and sent information on how the hull was doing.

One of the lessons we learned with the Stomata patrol ship was the fact that, well, spaceships didn’t behave the same in atmosphere as they did in space. While computer simulations helped to address some concerns, there were a few things that couldn’t be seen until we had a physical prototype. So we continued the test to see what needed to be improved.

“Alright, start bringing the ship around-”

“SHUT UP! I’m the pilot, NOT YOU! You’ve been yammering away at my ears constantly for the PAST FUCKING TWO HOURS! I know what YOU know! Can you please shut the fuck up?!” the piloting clone roared at his co-pilot clone.

If only our own clones were serious about this…

-VB-

Alan Marris

David II, Federated Suns

2981.09.16

Once the prototype proved itself to be capable of withstanding (most) situations we expected to put it in (including a nuclear attack), we began to streamline our existing factories to mass produce the ships. 

We even built up new factories, and factories that made parts for the new factories. And factories that made the tool for those factories.

Of course, all of this build-up was inadvisable when we had so few clones. We now had three hundred sixty clones, but what was that in the face of a dozen factories, right? 

Right.

So we began to recruit much more from the ex-slaves and refugees from Falmart.

Yes, that outpost we maintained in Falmart continued to benefit us. Actually, that place looked more like a town now than a simple military outpost. A lot of it probably had to do with the fact that we sold a lot of low quality consumer goods at a “discount” to the locals. But 21st and 30th century low quality goods were high quality for classical/medieval era folks.

And when we offered to pay people double the wage of what they would ever get in Falmart, a lot of people came over. 

Which … was actually why there were now a lot of non-humans in my factory-company town. 

No matter. 

What mattered was the manpower they provided, the fact that they enjoyed a higher standard of living and happiness, I got to free more slaves, and the Irotryoshka streamlining would continue on as planned. Once it was completed, we will be able to make the ships faster than what it took to make the prototype. 

-VB-

5B3

Southfury River, Barrens-Durotar Border

2981.09.15

“...” he stared at the thing in front of him.

The thing stared back. The two different clones with 5B3 also stared at the creature. 

All three of them stood there wondering what they should do about the six-legged alligator/crocodile. It remained laying placidly in front of the three. 

He remembered how this crocodile/alligator used to be the bane of his Durotar experience in World of Warcraft. Had to kill a hundred of them for a measly ring. 

So, even if he wasn’t the original, 5B3 had some feelings about the six-legged lizard. 

There were a lot of them around the river as well, but for whatever reason, they didn’t move to attack them.

Including the one right in front of them.

“Maybe they ate recently?”

“Maybe.”

“It’s kind of cute.”

5B3 and 5G8 turned to look at 5H5. 

“Bruh.”

“What the hell…?”

“We’ve had worse!”

“No, we didn’t.”

“We don’t have pets for a reason.”

“But it’s -!”

“I get it. You have an inferior taste.”

“Amen.”

“You guys are bullies.”

““We’re you.””

Without another word, the trio continued to make their way downstream. 

-VB-

Irotryoshka-class Carrier Corvette (Prototype)

Mass: 150,000 tons

Dimensions: 420 m  170 m  120 m

Cargo:

12 ASF - 2 Launch Bays

1,000 tons of cargo - 1 Door - 100k cubic meters space

Kama Quantum Drive (SC)

SecureScreen Shield Generator (SC)

10 Escape Pods

Armor:

Layered Standard Armor + Titanium Diborite Armor Plating

-100 tons bow

-50 tons top and bottom

-40 tons stern

-40 tons port and starboard

Tota: 320 tons

Armament:

-1 MAC

-4 LRM-20

-4 AC/20

-2 Naval M AC