Update: Day 20.1 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Recalibration - Double Down
Details
Double Down
I got most of this one done yesterday, but it got late and I figured I'd leave this and Blackjack II for today.
Assumption turned out to be spot on; Plugged in a copy from Flush's targeting and it clicked in without issue. Small details like powercore drain and whatnot weren't hard to fix, but the rest of the numbers lined up perfectly. Like I said, both of 'em are full burners, so it's like plugging it into a smaller, more agile version of Flush. Hell of a lot more convenient than realigning everything from Blackjack I's copy file.
Double Down should be ready to go. Might need to readjust the chair, but systems are good.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 20.2 Profile: Adm. Amy West
Subject: Recalibration - Blackjack II
Details
Blackjack II
Like I suspected, this didn't take long.
Calibration for the prediction matrix had to be drawn back up from scratch, but coding an algorithm like that was half my job back at Detroit. Linking with the sensor suite probably took longer, but I don't anticipate I'm going to be tasting much pre-sequence detonations in the field with these. Hopefully, at least. Have to keep in mind that rocks do exist.
The new equipment actually helped speed this up, too, which was a surprise. Must've been past time to ditch the old gear, but that stuff was Locklear-era equipment. Guns are up to snuff, the cannon's drawing the right amount of power, even a little less than I expected; Overall, I expected II not to take long, but maybe I'm just used to sifting through the diagnostics at this point.
Either way, Blackjack II's ready to go. That should be the last of them, too, so time to get some field tests in.
Gonna be good to break out the wings again.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Change to IFF Markers Profile: Amy West
Subject: TF Prometheus - Integration
Details
Idents and IFFs
Been working on getting the group packaged up and in line with the new ident and IFF packages. Downside of latticing is that any changes are an absolute pain in the ass to implement. I've had to effectively go through and rework each ship, which wasn't too complicated, just time consuming. Still, I will say the prospect of launching Blackjack from the techno-bird nest was definitely not something I'd expected.
For now, though, I've only got some minor technical work left before they're ready to go. Given how many ex-Legion and ex-Insurgents are showing themselves, I'm hoping I can look back on this project for notes and insight later down the line, instead of relegating it to the recycle bin.
West, out.
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Update: Hour 0 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Short Stack
Details
Re-activating this project for a small addendum. Managed to nab one of the scout fighters from the Procyon's hangars, and figure I'd give it a go. Never know when an interceptor will be the order of the day.
Only experience I have with these things were Epsilon squad, and even then keeping them ready wasn't my focus at the time. Still, will be good practice at least for future projects.
Initial lookover reveals that damage Procyon sustained during Duskstorm bled over to the ships in the hangar. Battle damage bleed over looks to primarily be structure related, but some physical damage to delicate internals seems evident as well. Seems there's also blackout damage (because of course there is); Reactor refuses to kick on, no matter which priming method is used, and hooking up the electronics to external power reveals a lot of damage to systems surrounding the weapons mounts.
Might be more cost-effective to write this thing off as scrap and sell it to the Junkers, but pride won't allow it. I've also gotten the log filled out already, so the work's earmarked.
Some of the internal damages might be easy enough to fix after looking back at old notes. Work on Double Down in particular might be the most useful, given the somewhat similar weight class, but I feel it wouldn't be an 'Amy Restoration' if I didn't soup this thing up past its eyes.
I'll do more work on it tomorrow. For now, this thing's going in the 'to do soon' pile.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Day 5 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Reactor No-Go
Details
Short Stack
Too much time spent romping around in the Procyon's servers, I need something easier to focus my mind on.
Reactor might be unsalvageable, so I'm likely gonna have to nab one from one of the Daggers we've got stowed in the crates on Barrier Gate. About the most comparable to the ones used in these Libby ships. I'd go bigger, but I doubt the frame, let alone the electronics, would be able to handle it. Too much EM emission, and no emitter to make use of it.
A bit of a shame. I guess the blackout had a more pronounced effect on smaller ships not protected by atmo.
The weapons mounts I'll get on when I have proper power to test them with. First analysis was with an external power source, and I'd much rather see how it belches with the ship's own power juicing it.
Might be a fat minute, though. I'll have to go through the crates, and I've honestly forgotten how much of that stuff I actually labeled right.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Week 2.5 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Reactor Oh-Boy
Details
Short Stack
Took a bit longer than I thought going through all those crates, but there were indeed some dated but serviceable reactors hidden among the scrap. Why I pulled these things from Leniex instead of electronics or programming salvage I don't know, but it's useful at least. I'll also have a stockpile in waiting should I ever find the time to get Epsilon Wing back into gear.
Spent a few days getting the thing to the Palmdale, then another day just moving it into Workshop 1.
These Liberty-grade internals never seem to change, though. Same reactor plugs and mountings as the Defender, which is very handy. A bit less handy were these Daggers' B-series reactors; Had to razor off a few of the clip mountings, but it's nothing a good welding session didn't fix.
I'll finish up the wiring tomorrow, then start troubleshooting the power draw. These things famously suck a lot of power into maneuvering thrusters, which I'm very curious if it's possible to overtune those without destroying the frame.
Guess we'll find out.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Week 3.5 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Reactor Oh-Yes
Details
Short Stack
Turns out I'm a fuckin' genius.
Side-note first, it is possible to overtune those maneuvering thrusters. It's not advisable, and it definitely put some strain on the wing-frame ailerons, but there was just something beautiful about watching the test footage and seeing her just flip around like a fuckin' playing card.
The power drain was pretty impressive to say the least. Something I forget about these B-series reactors is just how absurdly reliable they are, and quick reaction maneuvers had little to no effect on the ship's energy recharge. Not surprising, given these come from the same ships Outcasts use to tear apart convoy escorts, but it's definitely going to help get the power-tuning right.
Getting Epsilon fixed up is gonna be child's play.
I'll keep playing around with the inputs, and maybe I'll have myself some ship-flippin' crotch rocket to dance with soon.
Man, I love my job.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Week 6 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Catch Up
Details
Short Stack
Kept a ledger on this one even while I was down in Vespucci. Remote control really is something, ain't it?
Most of the numbers I fed the bot gave back pretty good results. Actual test runs I kept to a minimum, for obvious reasons, but the ones I did showed a lot of promise.
Figure 5 kept in-line propulsion stable, but wasn't quite as promising with agility as Figure 7. I'm also hoping one of these templates will give me something close to Figure 1, which was about as good for weapons as I could probably ask for in an aging hull like this one. I'm not holding out hope, though, and weapons for this thing aren't my main goal, but having a rocket with a death beam is just GOATed these days.
Figure 4 looks to be somewhere on the mid-line, but with a somewhat worse fuel econ, so that will probably be the template for rebuilding Epsilon. My own, though, is gonna take some more time to figure out the quirks. It won't be perfect. God knows that dream will never happen as long as reality keeps me in check, but peak performance is just out of my reach.
I just need that extra inch.
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Month 6 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Mounts
Details
Short Stack
Been a fat minute since I've updated this, though the work never stopped.
Engine calibration was a nightmare, but a few more testing figures ironed out the balance I was expecting. Not looking for, but about as good as I'm gonna get. Figure 11 is a fairly baseline compromise, at least. It won't be dancing like a playing card, but it's still more than suitable.
Weapons now are a critical issue.
I know I said I wasn't going to focus on guns, since this is an interceptor, but what good is a ship if it can't fight?
Mounts are out, fried the first time after the blackout exposure, and a second after rewiring the new reactor. They were ancient, anyway, so no real loss.
We have older Series X mounts in storage, grafted to their hosts, but they're far older than I'm comfortable with. Newer mounts are ideal, and will still sync with the reactor, but that requires going to Barrier Gate, which requires effort.
Assuming the Techies don't have any in stock (I asked Rev, she wasn't sure), I guess it's a trip out to Barrier Gate to get some.
West, out.
Amendment: R1 and CTE1500 mounts would also work fine, as they're rated for the same power draw. I'll ask Rev or someone else if there's any spare lying around. They're a bit more durable than Series Xs, anyway, so less chance of older ones being unreliable.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
Update: Month 11 Profile: Trch. Amy West
Subject: Mounts 2 & Blackjack I
Details
Short Stack
Incursus is done, or done enough is probably more accurate, so I can get back to the smaller things. Not sure how much smaller it gets than a beefed up Patriot, but anyway.
Solved that issue of flying back and forth to Barrier Gate; Moved everything that would fit in storage onto El Alto, so now I have prisoners as well as my fancy gear. Nice.
Figured Series X mounts will work fine. Not flashy, but all the flash this thing needs is speed-related. Will go through the crates tomorrow and pull them out into the workshop. Jameson borrowed my precision welder for the weekend, so I'll probably have to break down his workshop door before I can get them fastened. Perks of being the boss.
Blackjack I
Readding the main to the project for organizational deets rather than actual work. I have work in mind for it, don't get me wrong, but Short Stack's gonna take priority for now.
I wanna try and link Blackjack to the lane network, like the old days. Hot take, I know, but linking to either Spyglass or USI will give us an eye on the flow of traffic, probably even monitor pirate activity so all our goldie oldie boys and girls can larp as the real Liberty Police. I figure USI will be an easier try; Ageira never takes threats to the network seriously, especially when the Hackers bust in with even less subtlety than I usually do.
Spyglass would be the true way to do it, though. I could probably just get access by asking, but that's no fun. Better they never know I'm even connected in the first place.
I'll toss the idea around later. Be nice to have an ear to the ground, though.
Might even be able to scale it up. Can someone say 'Battleship-grade Big Brother'?
West, out.
"The truth's always harder to swallow than a simple white lie.." Join the Fight
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