Mission Day:   9

ECEI:          6
Morale:        7
Supplies:    76%


  The Sharshana arrives at the Sestos system after a week in jump-space, and although the list of needed maintenance and repairs has gained a few more entries during that time, the overall number of unresolved issues has been shrinking more or less steadily.

  There's not much worth seeing on the planet itself unless you have an interest in chemical extraction or trade in its products; the sealed city-states are too focused on necessity to offer much in the way of luxury. The starport is a similarly functional affair, with just enough amenities to service the shipping that comes through.

  At least refuelling shouldn't be a problem, although the starport lacks the refining capacity to deal with the Sharshana's needs. It will take at least a couple of days to refine enough to jump out for the mandated meeting at Mtensc.

  Aside from transit and refuelling, the Sharshana's time is essentially its own here: two to four days to use as the captain sees fit...


The captain (with advice from the staff, of course!) can decide what to do with the free time. There are no specific intelligence alerts for the Sestos system so intel-gathering will be routines unless the captain and/or intel officer directs it to be otherwise.

Patrol duties would be entirely within reason. Various exercises are also an option. Diplomatic/political opportunities are likely to be scarce but making a good impression never hurts. Other ideas can be considered per staff creativity!


Colonel/Intel: Investigate (Int or Edu), Average difficulty (8).

This message was last edited by the GM at 01:52, Tue 11 Aug 2020.

"Chief Engineer Tsetsegmaa to the Captain-Baron Reziilka

The engineering team has been focusing on GGRP (Gas Giant Refuel Procedures). We've been working with Astrogator Yune to find which one of the 3 GGs of the system is closer to the Starport - that'll be Sestos VIII. We've been sim' the GGRP on this planet with Chief Pilot Standarsson.

Thus, we respectfully submit the following plan : after refueling 3/4th of our capabilities at the starport, we move to Sestos VIIIs - during the M-Drive journey duration, we could :

• refine enough to jump-2 - thus, testing our refining capabilities
• scan the vicinity of the planet, looking for ToO (Targets of Opportunity)

Once in the atmosphere, we practice the fuel scoop of 1/4th of our tanks for a few [1d6/4? hours - whether we do it slowly, or simulating scooping while in the middle of a battle is up to you.

Thus, we could jump to Mtensc at J+12 at the latest, and arrive there with 2/4th refined fuel in our tanks."

Hrolf will recommend to the captain that they proceed immediately to the gas giant nearest the mainworld and conduct a full or three quarters frontier refueling exercise.  They can conduct purifying operations on the normal space transit to the port and then finish refueling in orbit at the high port.

He will also note that the engineering and piloting operations teams are ready to go.  The sooner they conduct this potentially stressful exercise the sooner they will flush out any operational or equipment shortcomings which can be fixed during the transit in-system.

---

When the ship breaks out of hyperspace Hrolf will take control of the ship from Jacqueline and conduct an independent evaluation of their emergence. "We're right on position and vector Captain.   Request permission to proceed as planned."

Now the sheer size of the gas giant Sestos VIII (the natives surely had another nickname for it. Iita didn't care) filled the sensors screen, without zooming. The Sharshana was approaching the giant with the sun behind the ship, to add visual aid to the otherwise blind flight.

The chief-engineer repressed her doubts. Both departments (flight+astro & engineering) had been cross-training for this GG scoop for a week, as soon as the captain approved the exercise, and the sims were set on the exact parameters of Sestos VIII.

So, basically - and barring the unforeseen differences between sims and reality, they already had refueled 5 times here. This was going to be very interesting...

Iita gave the start to the GiRMoSI procedure (gas GIant Refuel MOnitoring - Simulations Improvement). During the exercise, the engineers will carefully log the parameters such as gravity, radiations, speed and position of the ship... you name it... in order to raise the accuracy of the next simulations. So far, the emulator of the BC2M GRYH-14 Y00 interface gave accurate predictions.

She hopped CP Standarsson would not change the flying style he showed during the simulations, and would not forget he wasn't piloting a Gazelle cruiser this time. People were less predictable than machines...
This message was last edited by the player at 12:37, Sat 15 Aug 2020.

Refuelling is a drives problem, not something in which Mammady has any expertise, instead he went looking for Colonel BS to have a word.  He begins with a visit to Colonel's office.

Reziilka gives a nod at Hrolf.

"Take us inSub-Lieutenant. All personnel prepare for gas giant refueling."

He peered out at the monitors towards the gas giant in front of them.

"Also do a sensor sweep. Let's see if there are any cockroaches about to flee before the might of the Imperium."

Hrolf nodded.  "Commence gas giant refueling aye sir." He released the M-drive control and activated the normal space engines.  His fingers danced across the controls. "Drive engaged thrusting to maximum G's."  Hrolf set them on a minimum type orbit to the atmospheric entry point.  Once he was satisfied with the vectors and engine performance he snapped in the course.  "Locked in sir, we're headed inbound to the refueling point." As before Hrolf smiled at the rapid response of the ship to the thrusters.  It was as if the ship were eager to be underway.

With course set for now Hrolf switched gears and brought the sensor array up in the nearby display. "Passive sensors sweeping Captain, do you wish to go active immediately?"

OOC: Set course for the refueling start point and activate passive sensors.

  The Sharshana's dives into the gas giant's atmosphere are almost graceful despite its bulk, and a stark contrast to its erratic flight performance during the flight trials. There are no alerts, no errant systems, no sudden surprises of any kind, and the crew remains alert and efficient throughout. If it weren't for the fact that this level of professionalism is expected of the navy, an observer might well be tempted to applaud.

  The refining process gets underway as the Sharshana moves back into an orbital position around the gas giant and prepares for a sweep of the area before heading toward the inner system. Nothing untoward had shown up on the sensors on the way in - the few contacts that had been made so far appeared to be belter ships of no immediate concern - but a more thorough sweep and an inspection or two would remind everyone that the navy was everywhere.

  And if there were just belters out here then that reassurance would certainly outweigh any brief inconvenience.

Hrolf sighed with relief as they broke free of the upper atmosphere of the gas giant for the final time and boosted up and out of the radiation belts and magnetic fields.  He glanced at his board quickly to confirm.  "Refueling completed, all stations report nominal status Captain.  We're slightly ahead of Astrogator Yune's schedule sir.  Do you want to go 'hunting' and manage a few inspections?  We can exercise the small craft as well."

Jacqueline would have just as happily refueled at the starport; gas giant refueling was an extra difficulty, and it wasn't as though the navy didn't have the money. But the captain no doubt knew what he was doing. Hrolf was doing quite well with the maneuvering, anyways, and all the crew seemed to have handled the situation well. Jacqueline kept her eye on the route and monitoring the sensors for anything that would require course adjustments. She tapped some commands into her tablet. "I'll give us the best search pattern in the limited time we have."

01:26, Today: Jacqueline Yune rolled 7 using 2d6-1 with rolls of 4,4.  CEI.

Mammady returns to Colonel's office and knocks once more.  This time, if it's not occupied, he'll enter and look around, trying to find out what it is that Colonel does and why he's so hard to find on a ship this side.

Reziilka gives Hrolf the affirmative.

"Yes, Sub-Lieutenant. Let's start with active sensor pings and see if anyone tries to rabbit. Prioritize any ships that are not running active transponders and then if there are no likely targets assign some junior personnel to run their registrations and look for any discrepancies or outstanding warrants. When it is time for our patrol we will need to quickly assess and prioritize targets so what better time to practice that routine then here and now when we are ahead of schedule."

There was a hunger in the Captain's eyes. It was clear that power and command was something that he craved and what better way to demonstrate it than to wield it as a weapon. Woe be the first smuggler or pirate that they fell upon as mercy would not be in the Captain-Baron's playbook. At least not at first contact.