Dark Fate, Chapter 96 (Patreon)

Chapter 96 – Escort and Carrier Design

Samiess looked pleased that I had named her assault shuttle variant after her, but she quickly shook her head to clear those thoughts, and continued with the briefing. “To start, the System separates warships into several categories, based on size and function. These categories are Escorts, Cruisers, Capital Ships, Carriers, and Support Ships. Each category has subcategories with different design strengths and weaknesses, as well as production and crew costs.

“Escorts are lighter warships that include Corvettes, Frigates, and Destroyers. These can be specialized or multi-role craft, with specialized versions typically being purpose-built for a single task, like how the Hellspawn is a stealth corvette, designed to gather intelligence and ambush targets. A generalized design would lose some of the stealth for better speed and point defense, possibly having more space for Marines or cargo, and more sensor equipment, which would allow it to perform picket defense, inspecting transports, and escorting Cruisers and Capital Ships in a fleet, adding to their point defense.

“Naturally, the biggest flaw in Escort ships is the fact that they have limited space for weapons, armor, and gear, making them easy targets if they are attacked by ships of a higher class. Not that the battle would be entirely one-sided, depending on the weapons used, but ninety-nine times out of a hundred, the only question when an Escort faces a Capital ship is how much damage they’ll do before they get obliterated. However, Escorts are cheap to produce and require far fewer trained crew to operate, which means a fleet can sport more of them, possibly leading to a swarm of little ships taking down far larger vessels.”

“Yes, that’s pretty much going to be our defense strategy, until we get strong enough to actually be able to field the larger ship types. Even if we managed to crew a single battleship, we would have to pour so much into it that we wouldn’t be able to do anything else with it. I will want design ideas for larger ships, so that we can build them when we need them, but for now, let me see what escort designs you have.”

“Of course, Master. I have four designs for your consideration. As before, most of these designs use wide-spread technology templates or existing ship design elements, to reduce the amount of work needed for each design. However, this also allows for more accurate modelling, since more factors are known quantities. As for my designs, I have two Corvettes, one Frigate, and one Destroyer. Starting with the corvettes, the first design I’d like to show you is this one.”

A new design appeared on the hologram display. It was an Oscuns-class stealth corvette, identical to the Hellspawn. Only, this version had all four external hard points already filled.

“Obviously, this is just a modification of the Oscuns-class, with the modifications made to the Hellspawn added as standard. In addition, the components you asked us to design for the Hellspawn’s external hard points have been installed at the start, though they can be replaced, if needed for mission-specific equipment. The Inhibitor Module, Mult-Grapple Array, Active Jamming Array, and Phased Travel Array can also be added to the Hellspawn, once the components are produced.”

“Good. Those kinds of improvements will help keep the enemy from getting away again. But I want to be able to have some kind of IFF system on the Inhibitor Module, so that our own ships can go to FTL while keeping the enemy ships in place.”

“Easily done, Master. That’s actually a standard feature in the software package for the device.”

“Excellent. Then consider the modified Oscuns-class approved. We’ll decide ship numbers later on. What is next?”

A new ship replaced the modified Oscuns. This was still a corvette, but it was different. Odd. Everything about it looked off. Probably because it was 83% biological. And shaped like a squid. And there was the way the tentacles moved…

“This is the Nautiloid-class corvette. It represents a heavier use of magic and psionic energy than more traditional ships, but the biological nature of the ship means that it can regenerate over time, if supplied with proper nutrients. It is also naturally stealthy, due to its low power curve. At the same time, it has definite strengths in attacking and capturing enemy vessels, thanks to a number of natural and technologically enhanced capabilities, like the augmentations on its tentacles.”

“Yeah, I’m going to stop you right there. I’m sure that there are plenty of advantages to this design, but any humans that look at it are going to want to blow it out of the sky the instant they set eyes on it. Research ways to defend against its capabilities, but I won’t be having any of those in my fleet unless there is a damned good reason for it, like my needing to infiltrate someone who uses these… things.”

“But you haven’t even heard about the dark matter ‘ink’ spray, which they can use to hide from enemies!”

“And I’ll be very happy to hear about any counters you come up with to that. But I won’t be having those built in my yards. Move on to the frigate.”

Samiess sighed regretfully, but nodded. “Yes, Master.” With a flick of her wrist, a new image appeared on the display.

This ship was NASTY looking, but in a much better way than the last design. In terms of weaponry, it was essentially the same as the Hellspawn, and its armor was no less capable, but a larger size meant that it had more room for a more powerful reactor, better shields, and larger engines, making it stronger than the corvette, while still being able to match it for speed and stealth. more importantly, it also had room for two squads of Marines and two assault shuttles, as well as the pilots and ground crew needed for them.

“I am calling this the Repulse-Class frigate. As you can see, it is based on the general makeup of the Hellspawn-variant of the Oscuns-Class Corvette, but using the extra size and space afforded to a frigate’s frame to incorporate a Marine detachment that can be used for boarding or ground offensive actions. In addition, the Repulse-Class has two additional hard points, which default to an ore processor and manufacturing unit, and a minelayer unit. This allows the Repulse-Class to resupply munitions for itself and any attendant vessels in the field, given time and raw materials, and to manufacture and deploy mines which can serve as area denial weapons to hamper and slow an enemy.”

“Yes,” I nodded. “I like this a lot. I can see a Repulse leading a group of Hellspawns, performing raiding duties. With their firepower and speed, they should be able to outrun anything larger than them, and outgun anything their size or smaller. And the Marines give options for capturing enemy vessels, which I like. Consider this design approved.”

“Very good, Master. Next, I would like to present my Destroyer concept. It is a refinement of the armored freighter idea I gave you, mounting pulse torpedoes in the empty holds, and turning it into a purpose-built warship, rather than a converted merchantman. Currently, I am calling it a Decimator-Class Destroyer.”

The image on the display changed, revealing a nasty little piece of work. The ship had eight point-defense turrets, placed such that any approach vector was covered by at least four turrets. For primary armaments, the Decimator sported five pulse torpedo launchers on either broadside, and twin launchers both fore and aft, along with the reactors to support them. A dorsal turret sat just aft of amidships, which sported two powerful graser cannons. This ship was made with a single purpose: to wreck people’s shit, wherever it was found.

But Samiess wasn’t finished. “Because of the multiple reactors, the Decimator can recharge pulse a pulse torpedo every three minutes. That energy can also be routed to shields, engines, or other critical systems, sacrificing recharge time to increase shield strength or engine speed. Even without that increase, the Decimator is fast enough that only corvettes and fighters will be outpacing it.”

She paused, and then said, “Also, in addition to the normal FTL drive, we’ve added a dedicated in-system FTL drive we’re calling the Sprint Drive, hardened and designed specifically for quick-jumps of up to one light-hour at 60c. This will allow for hit-and-run tactics, without stressing the main drives. There isn’t space for a dual-FTL drive in the smaller ships, unfortunately, but there is a software patch that can lessen the burden on normal FTL drives for making quick jumps. Quick-jumping with a normal FTL drive will still degrade engine performance and lifespan, but not to the same degree as before.”

“Most impressive,” I nodded. And it was. That kind of technology, combined with the sheer amount of firepower that the Decimator had, could easily cripple entire fleets, until they found some way to keep the ships from flitting about. Even then, they would still bleed even a vastly superior force, thanks to that much concentrated firepower.

“The Decimator-class is approved. Fleet will start putting together purchase orders, once we get an idea of our overall needs, but I can definitely say we’ll be using these things quite a bit. That beautiful piece of devastation is a battleship killer!”

“Yes, Master. That was the idea.”

“Now, I’ve notice you haven’t made anything that would have a flag bridge or fleet command center. Even smaller task forces will need something for a unified command, after all.”

“Yes, Master, but I decided that including that on one of the other ships would be counterproductive. A command ship needs to be able to actually command, and it is too easy to get caught in the chaos if you’re actively diving into combat. So, I thought it best that carriers get the flag decks, rather than the dedicated attack ships.”

“Ah, I see. Also, you mentioned ‘we’, when talking about the Sprint Drive? Was that on purpose?”

“Yes, Master. Taji and I looped in one of the asteroid miners who had technical expertise, Nehera, the Necrozian Overseer from the shipyards, and Spacer En’salarien from the Hellspawn, who had a degree in software design that he earned while in the Navy. Together, we designed the Sprint Drive, and the software patch to allow other ships to do the same thing, with less than 35% of the increased wear on the engines.”

“Right. I’ll be sure to pass on my thanks to them personally. What kind of carrier designs do you have?”

“Well, there are three classifications of carriers: Pocket, Escort, and Fleet. Basically, the split is based on how many squadrons of fighters or bombers that they carry. Pocket carriers only have a single squadron. Escort carriers have three squadrons. Fleet carriers have five or more squadrons. I’ve created designs for all three types, but the escort and fleet versions are basically upsized versions of the pocket carrier.”

“All right, I can see that. What can you tell me about them?”

“Well, all three are basically unarmed, save for point defense. They have strong shields, but really rely on their fighters for defense and offense. Pocket carrier has one squadron of fighters, as stated, or two partial squadrons, but also an assault shuttle, with a squad of marines. Escort carrier upgrades to three squadrons of fighters, four assault shuttles, room for a specialist craft, and a platoon of marines. Fleet Carrier has five squadrons, four assault and room for four specialist craft, and a platoon of marines.”

I nodded slowly. It was a fairly simple escalation. “That works. Approve the designs. We’ll figure out what numbers we’ll need later on, when we see what kind of recruitment numbers we get. We can’t commit to a fleet carrier right away, but a pocket carrier or two is definitely something that we’ll be needing at some point.”

I took a breath, and said, “Anything else to show me?”

“Nothing military, Master. There are a couple freighter designs, to build up the merchant and logistics fleets, but they are simple modifications of existing designs.”

“Very good. Go ahead and approve them. And good work, Ran. You and the rest of the design team have been doing excellent.”

“Thank you, Master!”