»TO: ALG - Printable Version

Mister Giraud, it's truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I appreciate the willingness to assist me in this matter, though there's a few things we need to address about the nature of this subject.

First and foremost, its location is in a rather secure and secretive space. It's being hosted graciously by a third party in exchange for some aid I had levied months prior. In light of the absolute need for security and discretion, obtaining an in-person analysis will require that an armed escort accompany your personnel at all times, both for their safety and the safety of the facility's occupants. This isn't a negotiable term, given that it's a request from the managers of the facility that outsiders be observed by security. Our own personnel are under similar observation, thus it's more of a mutually shared burden of scrutiny.

Second, the facility largely does not have atmosphere, and it's advised that your team be prepared with atmospheric suits and be notified of the potential need to traverse in zero-gravity situations. While this hasn't been ideal, it has at least benefited the small team I currently have over there immensely with traversal limitations in the provided bay. Safety equipment such as harnesses will be provided by my engineering staff, currently under directives from Sentinel Stokes and receiving additional oversight from Sentinel Kaufman. They'll be your guides and direct correspondents during the analysis. In addition to that, I'm attaching some notes from the project's file for your consideration.

And last but not least - the particulars of what I'm looking for in terms of components. Much of the vessel as you'll see in the report is present, with critical systems currently being inoperable or beyond repair. Things such as the fusion drive have been completely destroyed, and the reactor is suffering from throttling issues and leakages, making it long overdue for a replacement.

Now, to be clear - I am not looking for those components to be replaced. Rather, the structural makeup of their housing. The superstructure itself. The framework. As I'm sure you're aware, the Technocracy is often driven to push the boundaries of technology as we acquire various samples from all over. My particular specialty comes from time spent among the very people who had manufactured these old machines of the Commonwealth, and procuring remnants has become more and more difficult. Like in past projects such as my Prosecutor or the Achlys itself, the goal has always been to fuse our design elements and our vision with the platforms we obtain. The Judicator will be no different.

That said I imagine the list has just gotten a little smaller in terms of 'rare' components. Struts, leftover frames or the materials that made up engine housing is what my sights are set upon. Though that's not to say I'm not open to recommendation, and should your analysis provide an alternate view of this project, I'd be more than happy to involve you and your team further.

If you find everything to be agreeable, then I will send you a rendezvous point where your team can be transferred to a marked vessel for safe passage into the area. The same people will serve as your escorts and provide a means past the various security measures in place until you reach the facility.

I do hope to hear from you soon.

Attachment

Quote:

3. HULL STABILIZATION REPORT - Jan. 835

The Halcyon by all accounts wouldn't have been considered a space-worthy ship under appropriate inspection circumstances at the time of its recovery. An entire deck had been considered unlivable. Its hull plating was broken and blasted open with holes and dents from both its service period and time in the hands of the Rogues. The entire third deck as specified was torn apart, suffering even further damage amidst the fighting on board when the ship was recovered. The events of its journey to the depths of the Omicrons had further strained its already weakened superstructure, and much of that infrastructure was exposed in places where the aforementioned plating had been destroyed.

The exterior superficial appearance almost made it look completely wrecked, with most of its paint having been worn off or stripped over the years. The interior had not been much better, with fresh scars from the firefights that had broken out on board. Sections of the floor and wall paneling had rusted from a lack of maintenance, and some of the rooms were completely cut off from power and oxygen in order to preserve the vessel's lifespan and ensure function in key areas such as the main corridor, hangar, bridge and general quarters. Power seemed to be getting routed manually at the discretion of the crew on board and their needs.

The nature of [REDACTED] and its current capabilities have posed a number of difficulties and benefits when its come to the initial phase of stabilizing the vessel. Resources from the Pytheas and work over the past few months has resulted in much of the outlined exterior hull being patched, with a full restoration of the interior currently underway. Panels inside have been stripped out to fully assess the vessel's superstructure, and address the power deficiencies that had been identified with rigorous conduit testing.

Unfortunately, we've yet to be able to fabricate the necessary components to replace the current reactor, and have been resorting to short bouts of work to prevent further strain on the deteriorating core. Furthermore, we've yet to make any progress on repairing the primary propulsion system, and are still completely reliant on maneuvering thrusters with short controlled bursts to make any needed adjustments in the bay. Outlined below are the scans taken from the Pytheas, with the aid of Venator Serapis.

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Engine Structural Update 1

>:: Initial scans of the stern have shown that it has completely been demolished as a result of a corona beam cutting through the weakened plating to the engine's coolant system. The already overworked engines were disabled as a result of a capacitor failure, and the reaction to an unsuspected attack from the reported Bounty Hunters had the Rogues overload their engines in an attempt to flee before maintenance had been completed.

The bulk of the main thrusters have been completely demolished, and lost in the nebulae in Copernicus. As a result, replacements from salvage operations are necessary to begin the first stages of reconstruction. If salvage cannot be acquired, reproductions should be investigated as swiftly as possible. The reported output of the Judicator's fusion engines were quite high, and the adaptation process to an Ionstream-based system will require some foundational work on the restorative end.

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Engine Structural Update 2

>:: The second pass with the Pytheas revealed some severe damage on the primary struts of the engine housing. While the tertiary engines remain operational and unscathed, the overall propulsion drive has been completely demolished. The depths of the impact were only revealed after deep analysis, and it's suspected that the entire stern of the vessel will need to be stripped down and rebuilt.

The structural integrity has remained in question and under constant observation as work continues within the Halcyon's interior as teams are pushing to clear the remaining debris from the engineering room. Fire damage had completely demolished all of the systems within the primary deck and secondary deck, and it's unlikely anything short of a full restoration of these consoles can be done in the process of repairing the ship. The housing however does offer ample space, and the potential to rebuild the stern will accommodate any upgrades or changes the Navarch wishes to make.

...transmission complete
...terminating stream

Leviathan,

The mystery deepens! I may fancy some guesses as to this undisclosed location, and the identity of this unnamed third party host, though I might best keep them to myself. My team will have no objections to heightened security measures, those were implied from the start by the nature of the project.

I will preempt my many questions with agreement to the terms as laid out, so if the answers will become obvious by your response to this, they may be superfluous.
But I will give a brief listing regardless.

Are we working in a facility with proper drydocks sized to accommodate the vessel, or is this a situation of a capital vessel moored to a shaky asteroid tether? This will be relevant as with the description of the necessary work, which I will get to momentarily, heavy equipment may need to be brought in if machinery to maneuver large component segments around the craft are not available at the site.
Per your report, much of the work to be done will be replacement of superstructure and paneling, or in other words, the main mass of the vessel. I cannot give a full assessment until we have actually laid eyes upon it, but as we are speaking of a situation suggesting the craft has suffered abrasive degradation due to combat and extended travel, we will need to establish what your baseline restoration standards are to be. Or in other words, how close to cosmetic perfection we will be working towards.
With the requirement for high mass replacement, we are looking at bulk shipments of alloys and paneling. The nature of your mystery location will be highly critical for estimation of the ease, and hence cost, of such shipments.
I admit I am somewhat confused in relation to your requirements for the "wet systems", that is the reactor, propulsion, and related systems. You say you do not wish for these to be replaced, only the "dry" structural elements. Do you intend for us to restore these systems or is this to be done by other parties? In either case, examination of these systems will be necessary for any further assessment. Depending on the nature of the facility in question, the ability of the craft to supply its own power will be critical to the restoration effort.

I have much more which I will need to establish but cannot without a location and initial examination, so let us proceed accordingly. Consider us onboard, metaphorically and as I hope, soon physically as well.

Kind regards,
Simon Giraud
R&D Division
ALG

Mister Giraud, glad to hear from you. I appreciate the understanding.

To answer your questions...

The vessel has been allocated a single bay designed for ships of its classification, though the makeup of the bay may be a little 'different' than what you're familiar with. The owners utilize a lot of advanced metalworking which is extremely rare to the more central regions of Sirius. We're being housed by friends from Gammu, deep in the Omicrons.

The reconstruction of this asset isn't intended to be a full one-to-one historic recreation. Paints, and external structure discoloration are all a part of the process, and once my report is opened up to your team the full scale of what you've got to work with - on top of whatever analysis you deem necessary when you arrive - will be brought to light. ideally the goal is to bring the ship up to modern specifications and press it into service, but I can show you the overview when we meet.

The focus on the 'dry systems' for you is in light of the other aspect of this project, involving sensitive materials and other items related to the Technocracy's own designs. The makeup of the Ionstream propulsion system, and its power source for example. These are closely kept secrets for a number of reasons, and to avoid any misconceptions we can discuss the exact nature of the 'wet systems' I intend to employ here. The craft itself retains a functional centrifuge, but the conduit system has degraded and limited its output significantly. The destruction of the vessel's primary propulsion drive was indeed an unfortunate setback, but it paved way to modernizing Joyeuse's eccentric design. I intended to take the bare bones frame and develop a system I could adapt to it,

Though if you wish to be more involved, we can discuss a better approach together.

That said, allow me to defer you to a rendezvous point. Omicron Delta, the Freeport. A shuttle will await your team there to ferry you past the mines.