June 20th, 004 SDE; Ruri’s Lab:
Countryman stepped through the door and into the lab where he found Ruri dressed in a torn lab coat. He sighed then his gaze fell on Vera and he blinked, “Oh not you too. I don’t need...”
“I know, I’ve got a nice one in the locker. I picked this one since it was already worn and I don’t mind a few rips in it.”
“I see, but you two called me down. Why pick an outfit that’s torn?”
“Well I was working, I should get changed. Be back in a second.”
Sure enough she was back in a second with a lab coat that actually preserved her modesty. Unlike Ruri who just looked perplexed, it seemed she’d never change.
Taking a breath, “so what do you two have for me?”
Ruri smiled as Vera pulled something out. “Well after the forcefield project, Vera and I got together. We started taking another look at weapons.”
“Weapons? Oh, anything interesting? Those pulsar torpedoes have proven very useful.”
“Right, well, I was taking another look at our standard particle cannons. The upgrades I made four years ago have worked out quite well, I think. But we bounced some ideas for improving them, and got to work with small-scale experiments and computer simulation.”
Countryman blinked, he remembered that. Her work with compression beams had resulted in a substantial improvement in firepower. Proper compressed particle cannons had been an important development for them. One they had made mere months after launch. Back before all the craziness, and when they had more resources. “A new generation of compressed particle cannon?”
“Yes, we’ve been looking into a few improvements primarily focused on the compression chamber, but we’ve also taken another look at the focusing system. With recent developments in lasers, we’ve revisited laser-based focusing systems but haven’t made any meaningful progress in that area. Material limits precluded us from any real testing, so we instead focused on traditional spatial lensing projectors.”
“Interesting, what kind of improvements are we talking about?”
Vera unveiled a prototype cannon and started talking, “I did most of the work on the new compression chamber. The original was really well designed, but there was still room for improvement. I kept the key elements, and took advantage of recent developments in force fields, along with my own theories on graviton based structural fields to enhance the overall integrity of the compression chamber. This allows us to compress the particle medium to significantly greater densities. Which in turn results in a higher particle density in the resulting particle stream.”
She paused and aimed the cannon at a mechanical target set up down range. Pulling the trigger she fired three compressed bolts down range, each one a vibrant blue. They slammed into the target with explosive results. Punching into the armored frame, then detonating and blowing out sections of armor. “Impressive, not the usual swiss cheese.”
“No, the higher density of the energy pulse causes the particle bolt to act not unlike a plasma round, albeit with much greater armor penetration.”
“In other words, you invented the particle cannon version of an APHE shell. We could definitely use something like this.” Turning to Ruri, “So what did you do?”
“I completely redesigned the focusing mechanism, reducing the size of the spatial projectors by 22%. The new projectors improve not only on size though, I based the design on insights I gained from studying Valorian pulse cannons. The Valorian spatial projectors are quite remarkable, and extremely efficient designs, but not perfect. Ours were competitive, now they are better.”
“Oh? Where else did you improve?”
“In addition to making the projector smaller, I was able to incorporate Valorian efficiency improvements into the system. The result is a lower energy draw for the same effect. An increase in the speed of the system, and most importantly, a reduction in waste heat. The result is we had more room in the housing for other stuff, allowing for a generally more powerful and faster cannon.”
“That sounds pretty good, and I trust these improvements translate to our cutting beams?”
“They do, but it would be hard to test that at this scale, but smaller projectors is a step forward for the cutting beams. We could reduce their overall volume in the ship and in theory the new size would make them practical in frigate sized hulls. In fact, I think we might be able to, with some more development, put them on a corvette. Likely not a full array, maybe a turret?”
Countryman nodded as he looked over their prototype. Beam turrets were a concept explored before, in fact before the advent of arrays, they used to be the standard for beam weapons. “Hmm, it might be worth looking into. We are going to need a new combat vessel to replace the Umikaze and the Coto. Some kind of corvette would be far easier and cheaper to build than a full destroyer.”
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Ruri nodded. “I’ll consult Richards on that. In the meantime, we are going to need materials to build full-scale prototypes for our new third-gen particle weapons. They are ready for testing.”
“I can work it into the schedule, I have Misaki keeping an eye out for a place to set down and conduct repairs. It wouldn’t be too hard to work in some weapons testing.”
Ruri and Vera both shared grins. The pair quickly turned back to their work. They’d made good progress here, and he could certainly use the improved weapons. Those would help him keep them alive. He grabbed the current data they had and started reading it and noting down the specs and what they had managed to do.
Suddenly the intercom turned on, “Captain Countryman, please report to the bridge.”
He blinked, excused himself and headed on out. It seemed some new development required his attention. Today was certainly shaping up to be eventful and he’d had far too many of those lately. Countryman just hoped it was good news, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up. There was an equally good chance that a Valorian battlegroup was bearing down on their position.
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Exiting the lift, Countryman stopped only briefly to greet the guards before passing through the blast doors onto the bridge proper. Greyman was there and turned with a smile. Countryman relaxed, “Good news I presume?”
“More like mixed, but nothing too urgent.”
“Well what do we have?”
“Long range sensors are currently tracking three Valorian battlegroups entering the sector. So far they do not appear to have spotted us.”
Countryman sighed, “Great, more guests just what we needed. Now you said things were mixed?”
“On a more positive note, Misaki has found a system that may suit our needs.”
“Oh? Sounds good.”
Countryman excused himself and headed down to get the details from Misaki. Who greeted him with a cheery smile, she’d been in a good mood lately. “So what did you find?”
“I almost missed it, the soup in this part of the cluster is so dense, but I found a star system almost directly in our path. The initial probe has already relayed some basic data on the system. So far we’ve only located four planets and several asteroid fields, but the mineral readings are excellent. Most of what we need is right in the system, although I wouldn’t want to live in the system.”
She pulled up the chart and he looked it over.
“As you can see only two of the planets we found are in the habitable zone and both of them are very cold. The third planet is basically a frozen ice ball, while the second planet is warm enough for liquid water in some parts of the world, but much of the surface is covered with thick glaciers. Most of the local life is found on the equator with average regional temperatures just below zero. Not much vegetation on the planet either, just a lot of snow and ice. I’ve highlighted notable mineral deposits, the planet does have a fair amount of easily accessible titanium and most everything else we will need.”
Countryman took the mineral report and started reading it. Noting they had a wide list here, enough that they could resupply. He glanced at the patrols, but there was a question on how long the Valorians would leave them alone.
“Agreed, this does look to be what we are looking for. We can get the ship fixed and Richards can finally give the engines that overhaul she wants done. We’ll have to work fast, those battlegroups are obviously looking for us. Sooner or later they’d visit that system.”
Eri looked up from her console. “I saw them. I’d wager we’d have a month, maybe two before they reach the system. Not much longer than that though.”
“So not enough time to do more than refit the Enterprise, but I think we can make the most of it.”
Greyman leaning against the railing inquired. “So are we setting a course?”
Countryman answered that by addressing Eri. “Set a course for this frozen oasis, maximum warp.”
She smiled, “Aye, sir!”
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VHS News Report; War!!!
The reporter shifted worriedly on the screen, “News just in, as of one hour ago, the Valorian Trade Confederation is at war. The Voskar, the Malora and the Toral Confederacy made their joint declaration of war earlier today and the council has convened an emergency session.
The screen shifted to show a military spokeswoman, “At this time we would like to ask all citizens to remain calm. The fleets are already mobilizing, you will be safe. The Minara clan promises that none of these powers will set so much as a foot upon any of our worlds.”
The screen shifted again to show several large ships leaving their berths, moving to join growing fleet formations. There were easily thousands of ships, with the distinctive sleek and elegant lines that were so common to Valorian vessels. The ships moved with grace and strength. An entire fleet could be seen leaping to warp.
The network voiceover continued, “As you can see already, the clan has mobilized the fleets who now sail bravely into battle. Our network looks forward to proudly reporting their victory against this heinous alliance that dares threaten the peace we have enjoyed for so many years.”
It was quite the statement, and seeing the fleet set sail to do battle with this new alliance it even seemed probable. The ships almost seemed to blot out the stars. There were so many of them, many of them were also large and impressive-looking vessels.
Shifting on screen the reporter continued, now seeming a little more confident. “In light of the recent war, the clan has opened recruiting offices throughout the confederation. If sitting at home isn’t your thing, enlist today! Be among the first to fight in the war, this opportunity won’t last long, the compensation is generous and think of the stories you will have to tell.”
Setting aside the papers, the images shifted. “Now in happier news, Silver Shoals has opened a new vacation destination. Owned by the Wovnar corporation Pu’cor, this fantastic beachside resort features several spa centers, a top-of-the-line hotel and some of the best amenities this side of the core. As is typical of Wovnar-owned resorts, they also ban clothes, so no need for a bathing suit.”